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Chapter 5 Ones that hide in the darkness
Part 1
Toale’s house was in the midst of silent slumber.
Ryner peeked around like a kid coming back early in the morning and hiding from his parents as he snuck in through the windows…
“Ahh~ how tiring…really, what time is it now? Dawn is about to break now, right? I’ll definitely be woken up by those kids later again…and my stomach seems to be grumbling.”
He grumbled to himself.
Ferris then followed him in by slipping into the room through the window silently,
“Nn. I still have some dangos. Do you want to have some as we watch the moon?”
“Oh, not bad. But my stomach is most probably going to be full.”
“Fm, dangos won’t make you full, don’t you know?”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s true. At least for me, I’ve never had a bloated stomach when I eat dangos.”
“…That’s because you’re a monster.”
“You have no right to say that to me when you’re the ultimate sex maniac.”
“Fine fine.”
Both of them continued to talk as they prepared the dangos and lined two chairs towards the window where they could see the moonlight. They then sat down and ate the dangos Ferris prepared.
Soon after,
In this quiet night, the sound of them chewing on dango could be heard.
From both of them, Ryner and Ferris.
Ryner stared at the moonlight with his sleepy eyes.
“But even though it’s a little weird to say such things, the moon I see in Roland doesn’t seem to be any different from the moon I see in Nelpha.”
Ferris’ hand that was holding a dango stopped as she narrowed her eyes and stared at the moonlight.
“Nn. That’s true. They’re both round.”
“…I say, is that a thought or something? There is no feeling in this at all. You should at least feel something, right?”
“…For example?”
“Eh? Ahh—that, for example…the moonlight’s yellow…wait, ahh, that’s not good. I can’t think of a good analogy at all. I won’t be able to get a girl like this as well.”
And then, he smiled in a slight self-mocking manner.
‘However, I’ve never gotten one before anyway…”
At that moment, Ryner used his hand to cover his eyes.
What existed there were—
Things that anyone would fear, curse and detest…
I know more than anyone how dangerous Iam…
I kept calling Ferris a monster, but I am the real monster…
That’s why I had always intended to avoid people.
I didn’t want to hurt the people I liked or the ones were kind to me…
I…I don’t want to kill them…
On thinking about this, Ryner glanced at Ferris, who continued to eat her dango, and sighed.
“…”
Sion said that he wanted him, the him with the ‘Alpha Stigma’.
Also, Kiefer didn’t know whether to call him a monster…
And Ferris may have already heard of his situation from Sion, but continued to sit beside him calmly,
“Nn. It’s true that you should learn how to hook up with women. If you continue to attack women upon seeing them, you most definitely can’t go to heaven.”
She said such a thing.
The people who had been with him recently were all people like this.
They knew of his true identity, yet it seemed like they were not scared of him at all. Also, they wanted to approach his heart gradually.
This was…
A remarkable feeling.
Perhaps I will hurt them one day, will I kill them? This fear expanded in his chest, but he couldn’t close up the feelings in his heart.
He was definitely scared…
His heart was so shaken that he felt sadness.
A lot of things happened before in the past.
But that girl…he left that girl before he managed to hurt her.
And what about now?
Right now…
Ryner stopped thinking and stared at Ferris,
“Really, you’re such a troublesome person.”
“? What are you saying?”
Ferris stared at Ryner.
The beautiful narrow and long eyes lacked emotions, and Ryner took her stare with his calm eyes.
“No, it’s nothing.”
The room was very quiet.
The moon was tilted.
He could only hear Ferris’ weak breathing.
It was a strange atmosphere.
Some sort…
Something…
Ryner immediately stood up.
Showing a serious expression.
“Ferris.”
And then…
“Nn. I noticed it.”
She nodded.
She then stood up and took the sword that was placed aside.
“Something is coming.”
“Ahh. But, what is that? It’s like…some amazing killing intent. And there’re a lot of them…are they the assassins from just now? Are they here for revenge?”
“…Do you really think that way?”
Ryner’s face showed a very tense smile,
“No, these guys…aren’t on that level. Rather, are they human? This,”
The killing intent that was slowly closing in was really unbelievable.
It felt like a killing intent that was more like a beast than a human with rational thoughts. Several of them were closing in, and Ryner took a step back,
“What should we do…?”
Ferris’ sharp narrow eyes stared over at Ryner,
“The opponent with this killing intent is coming over after having detected us. We can’t escape.”
“……Really, we can’t use this house as the battle stage …the kids are still sleeping. How about we accept this invitation…?”
“Nn.”
After saying that, the two of them jumped out of the window again.
Part 2
It was a place reasonably far from the front door of Toale’s house.
The green courtyard that people would pass by whenever they head in or out in the day was now in complete darkness.
There was a silent and beautiful moon.
There was a man standing there.
Only one person, a man was there, draped in black clothes as if he fused into the darkness.
From his body…
For some reason, there were multiple killing intents shooting out.
The man’s beautiful long black hair swayed in the air, and the bottomless icy-cold eyes stared at Toale’s house. At this moment,
“Oi, the one you’re aiming at isn’t there. We’re here.”
Ryner called out to him.
And then, Ryner and Ferris arrived in the courtyard.
The man looked over at Ryner’s group.
“…Hou. To think that you would actually come out to take me on…did you intend to ambush me here after discovering that I was closing in?”
Ryner shrugged,
“I say, anyone can notice such a powerful killing intent you released.”
The man chuckled,
“That’s too kind…most of the people who can notice this killing intent…should be rendered immobile but this…
But both of you remain rather normal now. How impressive…”
The man looked at Ryner,
“Toale Nelphi-sama.”
Ryner widened his eyes,
“Heh?”
The man showed a troubled look,
“But it’s weird…from the report on Toale-sama’s history, he does have talent and popularity, but there’s no information that stated he had high battle capability…”
“…Wait…Toale, you say…?”
What in the world is this guy saying?
Just as Ryner was hesitating, Ferris walked forward.
“This definitely means… it’s for that reason?”
It seemed that this man that was giving off this overbearing killing intent wasn’t coming at Ryner’s group, but at Ryner.
Also, he viewed Ryner as Toale…
It was a situation where he was severely mistaken, however…\n“Well, looks like this might be a troublesome situation…”
However, Ferris interrupted Ryner’s muttering to himself as she asked with an emotionless expression,
“I see. Speaking of which, who are you?”
The man cautiously lowered his head at them,
“Pardon me of my rudeness. I’m Miran Froaude. Please forgive me for coming over so late at night.”
“Not going to. If you really feel that way, please go back.”
Ferris didn’t show any mercy in her words,
The man who called himself Froaude lifted his face and showed a slight smile,
“No, I really hope to do this…but this is very critical.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“…Toale-sama’s name has spread far and wide, and the methods he uses to capture the hearts of people…can be said to be brilliant. The people all hope that you’ll become the next king, and I feel this way too. You, Toale-sama, who is blessed with aptitude, popularity is suited to be the king of this country. This country can only prosper with an outstanding king ruling.”
Nicely put. An outstanding king. If Toale becomes king, he would definitely become an outstanding one.
Ryner thought, but Ferris,
“…Stop babbling away and get to the point.”
The man’s dark devil-like eyes stared at the two of them, and then snorted coldly,
“…How troublesome. If that’s the case, I would be troubled. This country being cared for by an outstanding king would be very…I say—”
Immediately, Froaude raised his hand slightly as if he was moving the air,
“Darkness…”
The man let out a powerful pressure that couldn’t be compared to before at all.
It seemed that this overwhelming pressure…of killing intent could kill someone directly…
Ryner’s group withstood it.
“Th, this guy’s…dangerous…”
“…”
Ryner and Ferris immediately leapt backwards as if they were deflected away.
At this moment—
“Appear.”
Froaude’s voice whispered in the dark night.
At that moment, the shadows below Froaude’s feet gradually expanded…
“What’s that…”
On seeing this, Ryner couldn’t help but exclaim.
Black shadows flew out from the middle…and flew straight at Ryner’s group.
At a speed that was so unbelievable Ryner couldn’t react at all…
Ryner tried his best to move his body back to dodge, but it was still too late.
“Ku!?”
I’m going to die. Such a thought appeared, creating despair.
He could see something else moving from the corner of his eyes…
At this moment.
Giin!
The sharp sound of metal colliding rang. Unknowingly, Ferris was standing in front of Ryner, using her sword to block the black shadow.
She swung the sword down to shake off the shadow.
“Don’t just stand there! Do you want to die?”
“……I’d say, you’re the weird one to be able to react to such a thing!!”
Ryner got into position as he called out, and as he saw Ferris parry away the shadow…
Ryner was stunned.
That shadow had the appearance of a beast. It was a mysterious beast that was like a fusion of a wolf and a bear…
It had limbs that were blacker than darkness, sharp fangs and claws, and its mouth was oozing out a black saliva-like fluid that immediately dissolved and disappeared once it flowed to the ground…
Ferris asked,
“Oi, Ryner, what’s that…?”
“…How would I know about that…is it…magic? But that guy doesn’t look like he used magic at all, you know? Let me go check now.”
After saying that, Ryner closed his eyes. Once he opened them again, the eyes where should the crimson red pentacles…
The situation was immediately analyzed.
But…Ryner answered back in a grumbling manner,
“Ah, just like what I thought, it’s not magic…the ‘Alpha Stigma’ can’t see the form of that thing…”
“Then, what’s that thing anyway?”
“Didn’t I say that I don’t know?”
“……How useless.”
“Ah, what did you just whisper!?”
“How useless.”
“…No, I’m very embarrassed that you said it so directly as well…”
Even though they were talking to each other in a rather frivolous manner, both of them were extremely tense.
There was an unknown enemy in front of them, an unbelievably strong one at that.
During that split second just now, Ryner’s head nearly separated from his body.
This enemy wasn’t like those guys from the Estabul Magic Knights. He wouldn’t enjoy the satisfaction of trampling over others.
There was no sense of emotion. This enemy that actually closed in on them nearly took his head off…
“Such evil people…”
Ryner muttered and groaned. That opponent had overwhelming strength on top of that as well…
It wasn’t any ordinary magic, and it was a certain something that even the ‘Alpha Stigma’ couldn’t analyze…
Softly, Ryner said,
“It’s a little troublesome…I don’t know what’s with him, and I can’t just go near him just like that. I don’t know what will happen if I get near to him…”
But Froaude looked rather amazed.
“Amazing…you actually reacted to that action just now. What are you?”
But Ferris didn’t answer his question,
“What about you…what was that monster?”
“…This, you ask? This is the death god sending you on the way. And…”
Froaude muttered some other things again—
“No, no way…?”
On seeing that, Ryner couldn’t help but groan. At the bottom of Froaude’s feet, the unnatural-night-like large shadow let out beasts right in front of his eyes.
And this time, it wasn’t just one beast; 5 beasts appeared, charging at Ryner’s group with unbelievable killing intent.
It seemed that the killing intent he felt were these monsters.
Ryner frowned,
“Oi Ferris…this is troublesome…I don’t think…we can run away…”
“Nn. From the way you couldn’t react to their actions, it seemed that it would be very difficult. There are 5 monsters with that speed, and to be honest, I really can’t protect you and fight them.”
“…You’re right. I got it. I’ll think of my own way then…really…why do I feel that I’ve been working nowadays? Can’t I just do a simple menial task of taking a good ample nap that’s a lot more low-key? I only wish to live such a life…”
As he said that, Ryner’s hands moved fast, drawing a word of light in the air. On seeing this, Froaude couldn’t help but frown,
“Nn? Isn’t that…magic from the kingdom of Estabul…what’s going on? Nelpha’s Toale-sama would actually know Estabul’s magic…”
He narrowed his eyes and stared at Ryner as he said this…
“Ahh, I see. You’re not Toale-sama. I was really fooled by you. You’re a bodyguard or something, right? And one of the remnants of Estabul…?”
He continued to speak respectfully in battle, but Ryner didn’t answer,
“I offer the contracted words, letting the slumbering malicious spirit dwell within.”
The spell was activated.
Ryner’s body glowed…
He sped up.
Ryner seemed to be a completely different person from before entirely as he immediately charged at Froaude.
The shadow beasts reacted to this action and attacked Ryner…
“I’m different from before.”
Ryner’s movements got faster as he dodged the sharp claws and the agape mouths, forming a magic array of light against in the air.
Immediately, the magic array was complete…
Froaude’s expression changed drastically for the first time,
“Wha…Roland’s magic…? You Itsuki, what are you…”
But before he could finish, Ryner let out the spell,
“What I seek is burning fields>>>Kurenai.”
Several fireballs immediately exploded out from the magic array Ryner drew as they attacked the shadow beasts and Froaude.
Several of the shadow beasts were hit directly by the scorching fireballs and disappeared.
Froaude reached out his hands,
“Appear.”
Immediately, some sort of black thing appeared at Froaude’s feet, enduring all the fireballs Ryner let out as if it was protecting him before disappearing.
Ryner saw that,
“Tch, didn’t get him…”
And clicked his tongue…
Froaude however turned towards Ryner,
“I’m really amazing. You know Estabul’s magic and Roland’s magic? I don’t know who are you…but it seemed that you’re a dangerous person as well. As expected of the bodyguard of the future Nelpha king, I guess?”
Froaude said calmly, but one could still since his lack of urgency in front of Ferris and Ryner like this.
That’s why Ryner clicked his tongue,
If this man actually got serious…
It was understandable. Looking at Ryner and Ferris’ movements just now, there would be no problems no matter how many of the black beasts there were.
Ryner’s movements were equal to the black beasts, but in terms of experience and mobility, Ryner had a slight advantage.
Also, if Ferris went serious, her speed—could surpass Ryner’s magic-enhanced speed…
Undoubtedly, they were in an advantage in this kind of situation.
But…Froaude showed a slight smile.
“But since such people like you are gathered around Toale-sama, that means that I have to get rid of Toale-sama.”
“…I won’t let you. Do you intend to kill off all of Toale’s siblings? I still have to take revenge on them for dragging me out of bed with their crude and violent methods.’
“…What a pity. Looks like you have to be the first to die. If you have something you need to settle with Toale-sama’s siblings, finish it in that world.”
Ferris then continued,
“Unfortunately, this man will definitely go to hell because of his misdeeds every day. He won’t be able to meet Toale’s siblings who will go to heaven.”
“…I say, why must I go to hell?”
“Nn? Am I wrong? Or is it that there’s that kind of worth for people who abuse women…”
“HOW CAN THERE BE ONE!...Now’s not the time to talk about such things…anyway,”
Ryner again turned to Froaude,
“It’s troublesome, but I still have some things I need to investigate on at Toale’s place.”
Ferris followed up,
“Nn. Our meals and lodging are all set. We can’t just lose our temporary residence just like that.”
Both of them got into position, and on seeing that, Froaude,
“Is that so, I’ll go serious then.”
He said, and closed his eyes,
Ferris would never let go of this chance.
She immediately charged forward, trying to slice Froaude in half…
However,
A thing that was larger than the beasts just now appeared at Froaude’s feet…
It blocked Ferris’ sword,
“This…”
Ryner was speechless by this unexpected thing,
It was a large humanoid monster,
No, it would be apt to say that it’s a hybrid of a beast and a human…
Like the beasts just now, its entire being was darkness, it had limbs as large as tree stumps, and its tough muscles were scattered all over its arched back.
The abnormally shaped head had horns on, and its back had black wings and a sharp tail…
That look…
“Oi oi, are you kidding me…”
Was the ‘demon’ as normally seen in legends or fairy tales…
This demon moved its body that was much larger than the beasts just now, using its sharp tail to block Ferris’ sword,
“HUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!”
It let out a discomforting roar as it attacked Ferris. Ferris leapt to dodge the demon’s punch, and as she landed, used the sword to attack its arm…
But the demon with its arm cut off didn’t back away as it continued to attack Ferris, using the opening she created to attack her with the sharp claws…
At this moment, Ryner got into action,
He used the magic array that was completed instantaneously,
“What I seek is thunder >>> Izuchi.”
The lightning was released, and the demon’s head was blown right off from the base. Ferris immediately used the sword to stab through its heart.
“Did we get him?”
However—
Ferris shouted out,
“GU…YOU CAN’T, RYNER…RUN AWAY…”
And her words were interrupted,
Unknowingly, the demon’s arm that was sliced off by Ferris used its sharp claws to stab into Ferris’ back…
The wound definitely wasn’t light.
Bright red blood splattered out from her back…
“FERRIS!?”
Ryner wanted to charge over, but…
“Hold it. I’m your opponent here. Ryner-kun, is that what I should call you?”
Froaude immediately got in front of Ryner to block him.
Behind him, Ferris continued to fight against the demon with her injured body. However, she was obviously being held down.
They definitely did blow the head off, sliced off the arm and pierced through the demon…
But right now, the arm and head grew back as if nothing happened…
The demon continued to attack with its stump-like thick fists, and Ferris continued to move her injured body as she dodged…
But one of the attacks hit her.
Ferris used the sword to block…
However,
“Ku…a…”
She was sent flying away with an unbelievable speed…
Ferris collapsed on the ground like a puppet with its strings snapped…
Ryner narrowed his eyes,
“Move aside.”
Froaude shrugged,
“That won’t do. Besides, you won’t be able to help much even if you go, right? She’s done. She’s more uninteresting than what I thought she was…but I guess it’s just the level she’s at. The weak are always weak, and can only bow down in front of the strong.”
In response, Ryner,
“Weak? That woman?”
The moment he said that, he started shaking his head in a mocking manner,
“…Do…you know?”
He said. With such a question directed at him, Froaude tilted his head,
“What?”
Ryner’s black eyes were showing a lazy kindness…
“That woman really has a horrible personality.”
He said such a thing,
“Also, she’s very violent, always bullies me, always eats dango, and always shows that that casual emotionless expression. Without that woman, I wouldn’t have to make such a difficult journey…to be honest, I never intended for her to save me at all.”
And Froaude smiled back,
“I see. It seems that you’re the same kind of person as me. I can let you go as long as you don’t get in my way…”
However, Ryner took action before Froaude could finish his words,
He let out a sharp punch that couldn’t be imagined from that lifeless body of his.
Froaude was hit directly in the face and was sent flying.
However, the shadows that grew out from the ground suddenly supported his body… Froaude’s mouth had blood on it as he slowly landed.
“Nn? What was that just now? Didn’t you hate that woman and want to get away from her? Or is it that you want to fight me no matter what? I don’t think you have a chance of winning…and you should have realized it, right? I can increase the number of shadows infinitely.”
Ryner sighed hard,
“Ahh. I know that. For some reason, you got some unbelievable power. If possible, I hope to give up on such a troublesome thing and run somewhere else to sleep”
“Nn. Can’t you just run away? That swordswoman is the stupid one for risking her life for others. Other people’s lives will never be as important as oneself's. Just run all you want. I won’t pursue you.”
However…
“…Annoying.”
Ryner muttered,
But Froaude didn’t hear it clearly,
“Ha? What?”
He asked,
Ryner’s sharp black eyes were staring at Froaude,
“…You really annoy me. It’s better for that woman to remain expressionless all the time, for her not to react whenever anything happens, whenever she eats dango as she watches other people…she has a strength that doesn’t need me to go save…”
Ryner started running,
He created several magic arrays, earth, water, fire, wind, letting out all sorts of spells.
Froaude summoned the shadows to defend, but Ryner’s movements got faster.
“Izuchi.”
A lightning bolt was released.
“Kurenai.”
Flames danced.
“Misumi.”
Waves swarmed.
“Chigashira.”
A giant hole was blown in the ground.
Froaude continued to create shadows to defend them…
However, Ryner caught up to Froaude, grabbed his face with the hand and pressed his head down…
“…That woman’s not someone who should collapse onto the ground like this! If you beat her so easily, wouldn’t it be shameful for me when I keep getting beat up by her?”
Such words were unreasonable.
Froaude was crushed on the ground as he gave a very bewildered look,
“Fm, then what do you intend to do?”
“I’ll beat you and make the shadows disappear.”
“You can’t do that”
But Ryner merely retorted coldly,
“That’s hard to tell. I won’t know if I don’t try. You’re…using that ring to manipulate the shadows, right?”
Immediately,
Froaude’s expression changed, and the shadows in the ground jumped up to attack Ryner.
Ryner leapt away from the ground to avoid the attack, and faced Froaude again…
Froaude pressed onto his right hand, no, the rare black ring on his right middle finger…
“…You’re really a scary person. How did you realize that?”
“What did you say? Just instinct, that’s all. Whenever you swing the hand, for some reason, my eyes would hurt. I don’t actually understand…but I noticed your hand, and saw that ring. At that moment, I remembered the legend of the Great Emperor ‘Dark Emperor’…”
On hearing that, the smile that seemed to be stuck on Froaude’s face disappeared.
He stared at Ryner with an emotionless expression,
“You Itsuki, how did you know…”
But Ryner interrupted and spoke clearly with a foreign language…
No, it was the lost language of an ancient civilization that was created a long time ago.
In a rhythmic manner…
“The life of one in darkness.
The night of the dark moon.
The night curtain.
The pitch black wings.
The illusion of darkness.
The king of shadows.
Wherever he was, in the world, in the distance, he was always surrounded by darkness, covered in the endless universe—”
“You are…”
However, Ryner didn’t stop talking as he stared at Froaude,
“That was the legend of the shadow king who covered the world. There were also rumors that he was actually human…as he carried out cruel violence in the world, he was viewed as a demon lord…but this king gave a ring with mysterious ability to his most capable subordinate, which was…”
“SHUT UP!”
Froaude’s roar didn’t make Ryner quiet down,
“The ability to manipulate shadows. After that, the subordinate used that power to kill off important people in opposing countries one by one, and the Dark Emperor’s land expanded. However…when that subordinate was about to kill an important person from a certain country, a knight who was protecting that person sliced off the finger with the ring and stole it, and the Dark Emperor was finally killed by the power of the shadows…the story goes like that, I guess? However, it’s still a mystery how the Dark Emperor had such a mysterious ring and where the ring came from. The manuscript never left these details…but the name of the knight who took that ring became famous as a legendary hero who saved the world, and he’s definitely called…"
Ryner paused and looked up at the sky, looking like he was trying to search through his memories,
“He’s definitely called, yes, Halford Miran.
And then, your name is Miran Froaude…doesn’t that sound similar?”
“…”
“Are you a descendant of that Holy Knight Miran…?”
“…Even if I am, what do you intend to do? The situation hasn’t changed one bit, right? You will die here. There will be no other ending.”
But Ryner coldly retorted,
“Don’t be so self-obsessed, descendant of the Legendary Hero. When you say that you’re going to kill off all the kids, aren’t you wrecking their dreams?”
“I’ll kill them before their dreams are destroyed.”
Froaude reached out his hand that was wearing the ring.
However—
“…You can’t do that.”
Ryner said.
“Isn’t it proven? Halford Miran sliced off the finger of the assassin who manipulated shadows and withstood the power of the ring.”
“But you’re not Halford Miran. You can’t do that.”
Ryner nodded,
“Ahh…I definitely can’t do it. But, if it’s her… Ferris, she definitely can. If it’s her, she can move at a speed faster than Halford's.”
“How stupid…you believe in such a thing? That swordswoman was personally killed by me.”
But he, Ryner, lifted his head,
“Id~iot. Don’t say such awkward things like trust and stuff. I’m just used to being beaten up by her. It’s more of a personal experience or something like that, I guess? And…see for yourself.”
After saying that, Ryner stared behind Froaude,
Ferris was still fighting.
She completely ignored the wound on her back as she sliced off the limbs of the demon with her godspeed blade, and continued to slice the limbs up into bits before they returned to the body…
She was just like a tornado.
A sharp tornado that would rip anything that touched her into bits.
Her movements were faster than ever before, and Ryner had never seen her being so fast when she was fighting against him…
However, her movements were still speeding up…
It was an unbelievable scene.
Froaude was gobsmacked.
No, even if it wasn’t Froaude, anyone who saw it would call her,
A monster.
One with tremendous strength, one that anyone would fear, curse, detest, stay away from.
However…Ryner just grinned happily as he watched what was going on.
“Okay. Now then, Froaude, I’m sorry, but I’m going to pull up the curtain. I haven’t slept at all during this time, and I’m really tired…”
After he said that, he started moving his hands quickly and created a magic array,
“What I seek is thunder >> Izuchi.”
And immediately, he shot a lightning strike at Froaude.
Of course, Froaude easily defended against it…
But this was just to hold him down. Ryner was just diverting Froaude’s stare at him,
“Ferris!!”
He shouted. Ferris turned that emotionless stare over here in a response-like manner..
She immediately dashed here…no, it could only be described as instantaneously…
She swung out her fist,
“I say…heh!? No way!? Wha—…GYAAAAHHH!!?”
Ryner got hit by the fist on the head.
The figure that stepped on Ryner, who collapsed on the ground, flattened him,
“Too slow, Ryner. I nearly died there. Alright, hurry up and tell me the weakness of that shadow monster.”
“No, if this keeps up…I’ll definitely die faster than you would…”
In this situation, even the most pressing of things didn’t matter,
“Now’s not the time to say such things! But when you said I was too slow…did you know that I would see through his weakness?”
“Nn. I felt that you would definitely realize it, which was why I held off the demon myself.”
“In other words…”
And Ryner inadvertently looked up at Ferris, who nodded her head,
“Yes, because you’re an evil person who uses the weaknesses of women to blackmail them. I think you should be able to do so this time…”
“I knew that it would be like this in the end…”
And so one and so forth…
As for whether the term called trust existed between these two people, let’s not look into it for now…
Ryner’s face showed a smile as he lifted his head to stare at Froaude,
“Alright, what are you going to do? You should have seen the movements of this person here just now, right? If it’s her, once she knows what her target is, your finger with the ring can be sliced off that easily. Also, it’s 2 vs 1 now. I’ll return those words you said just now right back at you…I don’t think you have a chance of winning, do you?”
Ferris then continued,
“Hou. So that ring can create shadows? What is that thing, Ryner?”
“U~n, that seems to be a Hero's Relic that we’ve been looking for…no, I think it’s more accurate to say that it’s a demon’s legacy. Anyway, it’s something like that.”
“I see…then, why are you prone in such a place? There’s a hero’s relic in front of us, you know? Hurry up and take it back. Get moving!”
“What!? Weren’t you the one who took me down!? I’ll kill…”
But Ryner’s words were interrupted as Ferris’ sword was placed right in front of him,
“Oh, sorry, my hand slipped. Then? What were you saying?”
“……No, I’ll stand up now. Sorry…”
Ryner got up slowly.
As he watched the two of them, Froaude…
“Fu…fufu…kukuku…I see. You two are really interesting. It would really be a pity to kill you…”
Ryner stared at him,
“Di~dn’t I say that you can’t kill us?”
Froaude simply nodded,
“Maybe. But I will have to kill you one day.You two are too dangerous. If I let the two of you live, you will become an obstacle to my master, a powerful obstacle even Toale Nelphi won’t be able to match…”
Ferris looked intrigued as she said,
“Who’s the one controlling you from behind? A noble from Nelpha…I guess not? What are you scheming?”
But Froaude merely showed a smile and leapt backwards, away from where he was.
He stared at the sky that was starting to showthe light of dawn,
“It’s a pity, but I can’t tell you at this point. Looks like I still lack ability in dealing with you two…I’ll retreat for now this time.
Ahh, but don’t worry. I won’t take action on Toale-sama. That’s because I have the huge issue of having to kill you two…then, that will be all for today…but we will meet in the near future.”
The moment he said that, the darkness under Froaude’s feet expanded quickly and surrounded him, devouring him within…
His body disappeared.
However, Ryner didn’t have any intention of chasing after him.
Ryner showed a tired expression,
“I really don’t want to see him again.”
He said. Once he checked that Froaude’s presence had disappeared completely, he sighed.
He stared at the spot where Froaude disappeared from…
“Really. We got a troublesome opponent targeting us…”
He groaned.
The next time, he would prepare himself with enough power to win…even though we managed to force him to retreat…
The next time…
Ryner turned to Ferris, and said,
“But if that move just now wasn’t effective…it would be bad…is it unbearable?”
Ferris’ breathing started to be erratic as if she was a completely different person from before, and her face was flushed,
“Ahh.”
She leaned her body on Ryner’s chest.
Ryner shouldered her weight and frowned.
The blood that was flowing out from the wound on her back had already drenched her clothes…
It was a wound that was on a fatal level.
As the blood continued to flow out, her body heat was sapped away, and her body was abnormally cold.
She tried so hard not to let Froaude realize how serious her wound was. Ryner stared at Ferris and realized this.
Ferris, who often showed a poker face, was showing a slight anguished expression on her face…\nRyner carried Ferris’ body gently,
“…You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me, take a nap for now.”
“…Nn. Don’t you dare attack me when I’m asleep…”
“OF COURSE I WON’T!!”
Ferris lifted her head for a moment and stared at Ryner’s face,
“……Nn.”
She closed her eyes in Ryner’s arms.
Part 3
The next morning…
Even though it can be said as that, it was already morning, so it should be an hour later instead…
They hid their presence and tried their best not to let out any sounds as they moved.
The enemies were powerful. They would not be shocked by any half-hearted methods, and they were always sleepy.
But failure was not an option. Their mission was important.
They had never failed before, and from today on, they would not allow for any failure.
This fact brought about a huge burden in their heart…or rather, eased their hearts. Their concentration heightened as part of this profession. They opened the door to the room, exchanged looks with each other, formed formations and moved forward.
Their target was the one sleeping on the bed.
To them, it was a job they were already used to, and they would not hold back. The key was to move things cautiously and smartly.
And then…they reached their target.
They stared at each other, waiting for the time to strike.
The careful plan was drawn up last night. They had already decided on the positioning and the roles of each person.
It was simple, and there were no problems.
The leader closed his eyes, counted 3 seconds, and slowly opened his eyes.
With this signal, they pinched the target’s nose and mouth…
“……………………….!? U…a…aauuu…I say…”
Ryner’s face was twisted as he got up from the bed with force and roared,
“HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY THAT YOU BETTER WATCH OUT BEFORE I’LL REALLY KILL YOU!!?”
“KYAAHHH!! THE BEAST WOKE UP—!”
“WHO’S THE BEAST—~”
“Eh—but Iris-chan…”
“I HEARD THAT A LONG TIME AGO!!!”
“KYAH KYAH!!!”
The kids jumped around happily, messing up the research materials Ryner worked so hard to arrange.
Ryner showed a look of mortal despair,
“…….Seriously? …Not talking about it here, but I pretty much didn’t get any sleep at all last night…ahh, if I let Froaude kill them all here…”
He clutched his head. However, the kids didn’t care about Ryner as they said excitedly,
“Alright! Now for Ferris nee-chan!!’
Just when they were about to rush out of the room, Ryner frantically grabbed the collars of all the kids in a skilful manner,
“Ahh, hold on. Well…she’s not feeling too well, so don’t call her up. Also…”
At this moment, his face showed a heinous smile,
“Now that you guys actually bothered my sleep, do you think I’ll let you off without doing anything?”
“Wh, wha…what are you trying to do?”
“Fuufuufuufu.”
Ryner laughed in an eerie fashion…
“DIIIEEE!!!”
He wanted to let the kids suffer a hell of tickling…
But after that…
“GYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
Only Ryner’s cry could be heard as the kids counterattacked…
Part 4
After doing such a stupid thing, Ryner was dragged downstairs by the kids and into the dining room where Toale prepared breakfast.
Over there, Sion and Iris were again sitting from who knew when as they ate breakfast…
“Yo, Ryner.”
“……I say, why are you here again…really carefree…speaking of which, is that thing done?”
He said as he sat down. In a substitute-like manner, Iris,
“Thank you for the treat!! Hey hey, lookie look, Iris finished up all the food cleanly, you know! Iris is not picky at all, you know? Amazing, right? Amazing, right?”
Sion nodded in agreement,
“Un. Iris is amazing, isn’t that right, Ryner?”
“Naa? What amazing? Why must you always bring up such trivial stuff…GGYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
And Iris beat down Ryner viciously,
“Iris will go and play then!”
With lots of momentum, she ran out to the outside where Toale’s brothers were.
And right in front of Ryner, who collapsed on the floor,
“Are you alright, Ryner-san?”
Toale asked in a concerned manner as he prepared Ryner’s breakfast…
Like usual, Ryner weakly raised a hand,
“Do, don’t mind…ah, but it looks delicious today. Sorry to let you treat us every day.”
“Don’t be so formal. Did you sleep well last night?’
These words caused Ryner to immediately think of the long night yesterday…
“……Ahh, I did sleep.”
He said in a rather tired voice.
However, the oblivious Toale showed an innocent grin,
“That’s good then. There’s still a lot more, so please eat up as much as you want.”
Having said that, he returned to the kitchen again.
Ryner then turned his head around and looked at Sion, who was sitting down and giving an evil grin that was completely different from Toale…
Ryner sighed,
“You…don’t just eat the rice and pay Toale properly.”
“I don’t want to be told this by you when you’re just freeloading off them just because you saved them from thugs.”
“Shut up, it doesn’t matter since I worked hard to protect Toale’s life.”
“Heh? What does that mean?”
Ryner pondered for a while and wanted to say what happened last night…but he didn’t know where to begin as he pondered…
The fact was that the guy wanted to attack Toale. I don’t know whether it’s a real one, but the guy had a mysterious ring that was like a hero’s relic. Ferris was also injured by him. Even after explaining all of this…they didn’t get that ring in the end…so how could I just say such a troublesome thing in a happy manner…I’m so sleepy.
Having thought about such a complicated thing in an efficient manner, Ryner bore a sleepy expression as he said,
“No, just something personal. Then, what about you? What’s your intent in coming here?”
At this moment, Sion chuckled,
“Nope, I just came here today to give a report. It seemed that you guys were really active last night. My subordinates told me that it seemed that the nobles of Nelpha were planning to assassinate me…Gustaph…or something like that? I think they requested this famous assassination group that had this name…really, I didn’t notice that they arrived. Did you take them down?”
Ryner showed an annoyed look as he said,
“Really…everything was so troublesome…thanks to all these things, I didn’t manage to sleep well recently, you know? Also, there was an unbelievable monster…”
“Nn? Monster?”
“Something personal.”
Sion showed a surprised look, and Ryner forcefully diverted the topic,
“Then? What happened in the end? Was everything all right?”
Sion nodded,
“Ahh, Nelpha owes me a huge favor this time. For the time being, the king of this country can’t lift his head in front of me. However, it seemed that the spies from Roland don’t know…I can’t say that it’s a perfect score for me…but it’s a pass.”
Ryner heard that explanation,
“Really? That’s good then.”
He spoke in a completely lethargic voice, and on seeing that, Sion smiled in a satisfied manner,
“Yeah, that’s good. Since you’re so useful, I’ll give you more work…”
“AHH!? HO, HOLD ON A MOMENT! IS…ISN’T THAT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU AGREED ON! I JUST NEED TO FIND THE HEROES’ RELICS…”
Sion played dumb as he gave a blank expression,
“Really? What are you saying? However, it’s your choice whether you want to listen to me or not, but the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad would definitely get in the way of your sleep.”
That, on hearing the term sleep…
“Uu…”
Ryner, who didn’t get any proper sleep recently, admitted defeat completely…
The dejected Ryner stared at Sion who was grinning proudly over his victory. I have no idea which part of my life has gone wrong here… and while Ryner was extremely bothered, Sion looked around,
“But what happened to Ferris? I didn’t see her today for some reason…”
“Ah, that person’s sleeping now. She’s not feeling well.”
Sion widened his eyes and showed a sincerely astonished look,
“Heh? She…she’s not feeling well? That person? No way…don’t tell me she got injured fighting the assassins…that is impossible…for her.”
“Nope.”
Ryner simply nodded, and Sion sank into deep thought again,
“Ah, then, is it that thing? That thing every month?”
Ryner shook his head,
“That kind of thing can beat her? I think she’s someone who’ll say something like ‘Nn. No problems.’ with no expression on her face even with her arm sliced off.”
“Ahaha, that’s like her, that’s like her. It’s really possible that she would say that. Then, what happened? Did she hurt her stomach eating too much dango? Or…lovesickness? Don’t tell me you did something to Ferris?”
A pale-faced Ryner stared at Sion who said such a thing that even God would be horrified by…
“DO…DO YOU SERIOUSLY WANT TO KILL ME!!? IF I DO SOMETHING TO FERRIS, IT’LL BE WEIRD IF MY HEAD DOESN’T SPLIT FROM MY BODY IN LESS THAN ONE SECOND…”
“Not bad. It’s a man’s romance to bet his life on a woman. Do you best, Ryner.”
“SHUT UP!! GO DO IT IF YOU WANT!!”
“Nope, I’m the kind of person who prefers to live long and prosper.”
“Ah? What about the romance?”
“Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
“…That’s true…that’s a reasonable saying. Anything’s great as long as I don’t die, right? FINE, I’VE DECIDED! I’M NOT GOING TO DO DANGEROUS THINGS AGAIN! EAT, SLEEP, EAT, SLEEP!! AHH, I’M SUCH A GREAT PERSON!”
“……I think your thinking here is atrociously wrong, Ryner.”
As the duo continued their stupid conversation…
It was completely impossible to think that one of them was the king of Roland who was called a wise king, and the other was a hero who single-handedly defeated every one of Estabul’s magic knights and stopped the war…
At this moment,
Something was standing behind the two men, silently and without presence.
“Nn. I see. I was wondering what my male colleagues were secretly talking about. So the men’s romance you two are so concerned about is such a noble thing. I’ll grant you a wish then.”
Suddenly, a sound could be heard from behind Ryner.
KIIN! Then, the sound of a sword being unsheathed could be heard…
Ryner and Sion…
“…………….GGGGGYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!.”
The worst cries of anguish in the past few days rang through Toale’s house…