Ch-68: Behemoth (10)

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Frillite, who was staring at Cloud in silence clasping her hands under the cheek, finally thought it was time for her to wrap up.

Since Cloud was showing no signs of waking up from the sleep.

She helped Cloud out of the room.

'Which one is Cloud's room?'

As soon as she left with him, she faced a problem. Frillite didn't know in which room was Cloud staying. Just when she was contemplating whether to just lay him down in the spare room.

She saw a woman with short blue hair walking down the dark hallway, visible through the faint lighting of a candle.

Frillite knew the woman's identity.

She was one of Cloud's teammates.

'Her name was Neria, I guess,' she thought.

Neria was looking around, restlessness showing on her face. She had a reason why she was doing this in the middle of the night.

During the day she had listened to Cloud and Frillite betting on a drink. It meant that the two of them were going to have a drink, and Neria, who was worried, went to check on Cloud in his room.

Cloud was not in the room.

Because of which, Neria felt anxiety rising inside her and she was out looking for Cloud.

"You?"

Neria was startled by Frillite's voice and turned her head. As soon as she saw Frillite, and Cloud leaning on her, she gave them a wide eye, before hurrying forward to check on Cloud's condition.

"Cloud, are you alright?"

"Yes..? Yes…"

Cloud opened his bleary eyes, sighted Neria, and then closed them again. He was looking more drunk than she had expected. Gladly, she found him quick. The thought passed Neria's mind.

"Are you Neria, Cloud's teammate?"

Frillite questioned suddenly. It was then that Neria regained the consciousness of the surroundings and turned her attention to Frillite.

Frillite was dressed in white shirt and long black trousers, unlike when outside, where she wore her silver armor. She was dressed in plain clothes, but maybe because she was the one wearing them, she looked strangely pretty.

The saying that the clothes made a person wasn't holding true in this case.

For, a person was making the dress more beautiful.

Neria's eyes narrowed slightly.

It was not because of jealousy over Frillite's beauty. She was dissatisfied with her casual attire, or with the casual way she got along with Cloud.

"…Yes, that's right."

Frillite looked at Neria's expression, and felt puzzled inside for a moment before continuing what she was saying.

"That's good. Now can you tell me where Cloud's room is? I want to bring him there, but I'm facing trouble because I don't know where his room is."

"Is that so? No problem."

Neria supported Cloud with his empty shoulder.

"I will take Cloud. Frillite-sama, please go and have rest."

"Well? No, it's fine. It's also my responsibility that I let Cloud get drunk, I can't burden you. Just tell me the location of his room and I will take him there."

Neria shook her head.

"If Frillite-sama does do that, when Cloud wakes up next morning he will be shy about the experience."

Cloud, and shy?

Frillite's expression became strange.

"I don't think so, but…"

"He will be."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because Cloud and I are childhood friends."

"Well?"

Frillite's eyebrows twitched.

She couldn't understand why, but Neria's words made her feel uncomfortable. Neria, unaware of her feelings, went ahead with her own words.

"And Cloud is the hero of our party. It is also my duty to look after him."

Right.

Now Frillite realized at least a little where this discomfort was coming from.

She remembered the words Cloud had murmured in a pub in a village west of the Empire, near the border.

– Sorry.

– If only I had done a little better, you all…

At the time, Cloud missed his teammates who had left him in tears.

He attributed everything to his own shortcomings.

She left Cloud because Neria thought him to be incompetent. And now that the tables had turned, she was pretending to care for him.

Frillite abhorred Neria's hypocrisy.

Frillite's heart wanted nothing more than to scold her out loud then and there, but she couldn't.

No matter what Frillite thought, Cloud had accepted Neria again. Neria was Cloud's teammate, and what she was doing now was a very natural act of taking care of her own teammate.

There was no reason for Frillite to intervene. So she withheld.

"Where is Cloud's room?"

"As I said before, Cloud…"

"I asked. Where is Cloud's room."

But she couldn't hide the anger in her voice.

Her anger made Neria quiver.

"…Thank you, once again for your kindness, Frillite-sama. But Cloud…"

"Neria. What is your last name?"

"…I have no last name."

She was a junior baron.

When Neria was recognized as a knight, she was given a noble title alongside. Since knight is just a title and cannot be hereditary, she was not granted her own land.

Before she defeats the Demon King and is recognized for her work and receives a real title, Neria was just Neria for now.

"Right. Dame Neria, I won't ask again. Where is Cloud's room?"

She added 'Dame' to Neria's name.

Unlike before, the tone held authority. In other words, this was a command, and not a request.

Command of the next ruler of the Duchy of Perdiac.

How many people on the continent can reject it? At least in this kingdom, there were only a handful.

And Neria wasn't counted among those handful. She told Frillite the location of Cloud's room.

"Then I will be taking Cloud. I have no intention of doing anything bad, so don't worry and go back. Dame Neria."

"…right."

Frillite supported Cloud to his room. Looking at the back of the two figures moving away from her, Neria bit her lips tightly.

* * *

A few days had passed since Behemoth's subjugation. Except for Frillite, the other three hero parties had not left the Duchy of Oler. It was because Duke Oler, who was trying to make a connection somehow, was persistently holding onto them.

The treatment wasn't bad either, so his party hadn't taken their leave until now.

'But we will have to leave soon.'

Behemoth was already subjugated.

The implications of which were quite large.

After the death of Behemoth, the demons—they will begin to attack in earnest.

After the death of Behemoth, the demons—they will begin to attack in earnest.

Starting with Creas, the Heavenly King who descends first—Lich, commanding his undead corps, and then the Queen of Demons, Succubus Queen.

Big events will follow one after one.

Before they start, it is necessary for me to find and recruit Shedia, Katarina and Leslie.

That meant we had to be moving quickly.

"So I shouldn't be interested in things like this."

When I woke up, I found a letter pushed in the gap under the door.

It was a duel invitation penned under the name of Lorian's younger sister, Lorraine. The letter asked to come to the grounds alone tonight.

"I can't…"

Unlike the mind, body was honest.

I had woken up late, the sun had set and I was crossing through the darkened garden and heading towards the grounds.

But it sounds like fun.

A duel letter sent by Lorian's sister.

How can I leave this go?

As I was rationalizing in my mind, I arrived at the grounds. A slender figure stood in the center where the only light source was the moonlight.

A woman with long curly brown hair.

She was Lorraine.

With only metal plates covering her vital points to retaining mobility, she had a thin, sharp broadsword belted around her waist.

"What did you do to my brother?"

As soon as I arrived at the grounds, Lorraine looked at me with a terrifyingly frigid expression, and asked.

"What are you talking about? On the side note, you were actually really waiting alone? I had thought you will have other guys hidden up to ambush me."

There was no sign of any significant presence around the grounds. She may have hired someone with hiding mastery, enough to deceive my senses, but that's unlikely.

Why would such a great master of skills follow the orders of a princess of some Kingdom of Carta?

He would have served the Emperor instead, that would guarantee a better life quality.

Which means that Lorraine really intends to fight me damn straight.

"Answer the question I asked!"

Lorraine shouted as she drew her broadsword.

I quietly compared my sword to hers.

'…it's again time to change the sword.'

In the meantime, I had been using it because of my positive emotions towards the old man, who I'd met in the Kingdom of Alitia, but now seems to be the time to let it go and give the rest it deserves.

"So you are not going to answer me, huh? Alright, let us both see for how long you can keep your mouth closed!"

Lorraine sprinted towards me.

She wasn't someone with just all talks and no show.

She wasn't Lorian's blood sister just in name.

I drew my sword and used the glyph.

(King's Sense)

My senses expanded.

Sense of hearing.

I could hear Lorraine's clear footsteps, her breathing, and even her heartbeat.

Sense of sight.

My vision, which had just been in darkness, opened up in gray and white. Darkness was no longer an obstacle. When I narrowed my eyes, I could clearly see the small scratches on Lorraine's sword.

Sense of smell.

The smell of my body, the smell Lorraine's body carried, the smell of earth, the smell of flowers in the garden, etc. There were various smells coming in at once, but they were distinguishable.

Sense of touch.

As Lorraine ran, I felt the air flow passing across her skin.

"Die!"

The broadsword descended diagonally.

Lorraine slashed her sword horizontally as I pivoted on my right foot, ducking her sharp sword.

The sword passed by me without landing as much as a graze.

'Cause I had already distanced myself away from her.

All of my enhanced senses made me read her movements in advance.

"How long can you scurry away from my attacks, lowly subject?!"

Judging that her normal attacks alone were not enough, Lorraine began mixing feints.

But even that was easily readable.

It was too obvious a feint to deceive the sense enhanced by the Glyph.

After about two minutes, the expanded sensation gradually returned to normal.

As effective as it was, it wasn't long lasting.

But the loss of my enhanced senses didn't turn me hapless. I calmly dodged or knocked out Lorraine's sword moves. After participating in the sweet sword dance for quite some time, Lorraine finally became tired and plopped on her knees.

"Unbelievable… No way… This is nonsense… I-I was defeated by a c-commoner, an i-incompetent hero…"

Lorraine mumbled with a look of disbelief. Then she flared her eyes and looked at me.

"What trick did you use?!"

"Hm?"

"Don't even think about shrugging it off! Your movements had definitely seen a sudden change in between! I definitely felt it!"

There was a huge difference in the depth of five senses I feel normally, so my movements were bound to be slightly different.

There is a big difference between reading the opponent and anticipating the opponent's moves.

However, the minor change in my movements wasn't that great.

To actually catch that, it means that she had some actual talent…

I thought she was just an end user of royalty pleasures, but I was left surprised.

"Look! I see you can't answer, so I'm right. To cheat in a sacred duel. Right, I shouldn't have involved a lowly person in such sanctity."

And now she had brazenly accepted my silence as affirmation.

What the hell was she, for real?

"Hey, let me ask you one thing. Do you hate commoners so much? After all, your people are also mainly commoner, alright?"

I asked as I walked to Lorraine.

As I moved, she was startled, and then spoke in a voice bordering on anger.

"Hah! Isn't it natural to dislike ugly things that are dumb like mules and don't know about basic politeness? In particular, things like you who don't know their position and try to elevate themselves, are more disgusting than dirty cockroaches!"

"Please, let that hate be given to your cockroaches alone."

"What do you—huh?"

Lorraine's eyes widened.

That was natural.

Because I stole a kiss off her lips. Lorraine, who was momentarily stunned by the sudden kiss, grasped the situation and immediately swung her sword.

I tilted my head and avoided the sword's sharpness.

Lorraine heaved as if she couldn't believe what just happened.

I exclaimed at her exhilaration towards me.

"Ever dreamed of having a romantic first kiss with a wonderful nobleman? Regretful, ain't it? Your first kiss is commoner's, miss, it's commoner Cloud's."

"Ah… no… no no!!!"

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02