CH 20

Act 3-20: Omiros And Regena 2

（Of all places, I never expected to meet him in Velos Kingdom.）

This was her first time in Velos Kingdom. She knew that this was her mother’s birthplace as her mother had recounted several of her childhood stories to her. Later on, Regena had found out from her wet nurse that her mother had once been considered the most beautiful woman in Velos Kingdom. She was the daughter of a noble of Velos Kingdom and was hailed as the kingdom’s gem.

Her mother was always the center of attention whenever she danced in the Velos balls. It was Regena’s childhood dream to dance at one of those balls like her mother. That was why her mother had taught her how to dance.

However, she knew that this was nothing more than a pipe dream. Her mother was previously the fiancee of Velos Kingdom’s king, but had eloped with her father, the king of Algore. Since she was their child, she knew that she would never get the chance to be invited to a Velos ball and dance. It didn’t help that she looked exactly like her mother.

She couldn’t dance at these parties since that would bring too much attention to her, which could lead to the nobles who still held a grudge against her mother to attack her, but she could still at least attend the ball and watch. That’s why she had asked Kuna to take her with them when she heard they were attending the ball.

「Kuna-sama is so beautiful…」

Regena had watched Kuroki and Kuna’s dance. She longed to dance with Kuroki too, her ch*st hurting everytime she thought of him.

The first time she met Kuroki, Regena couldn’t hide her shock. Kuroki’s appearance resembled that of a human despite being Nargolian. But then, she realized that there was no way that a Dark Knight was human. Thus, she concluded that Kuroki only looked like one. She understood later on that Kuroki was an existence that made a normal human like her feel like an ant as even the fearsome demons bowed down to him.

From what she heard, it seems that Kuroki was even more powerful than that Hero.

The Hero was her mortal enemy as he was the reason why her tribe was destroyed. As such, Kuroki was in some ways her savior in every sense of the word as he had also avenged her tribe by defeating the Hero. She was thus willing to give her everything to him, even if it was her body.

However, that was easier said than done. Whenever she would try seducing Kuroki, Kuna would always appear and show extreme hostility towards her.

Regena wasn’t clear about Kuna’s identity, and she never asked about it either. However, there was a rumor in Kuroki’s mansion that Kuna was in fact the daughter of the Demon King. Kuna was extremely devoted to Kuroki and would bare her fangs everytime Regena, who she considered as a mere lowly human, would get close to Kuroki. Kuna’s beautiful yet piercingly cold stare suddenly came to mind and sent a chill down her spine.

Regena knew that Kuna should be dancing with Kuroki around this time. She heaved a sigh upon recalling Kuna’s appearance in the dress she wore for tonight’s party. The fully adorned Kuna was extremely beautiful, her beauty rivalling that of the Goddesses themselves.

Not just any man could dance with such a beauty.

Though Regena also wore a lovely dress to attend the party, the difference between her and Kuna was like heaven and earth. She couldn’t even compare to a third of Kuna’s beauty. In fact, she knew that any woman would be overshadowed by Kuna.

Regena shook her head at her thoughts. She always tried not to compare herself to Kuna since she knew that it would make her more miserable. She pushed her current thoughts out of her mind. She should just forget about such longings and just settle with the brief dances she had with him during their training.

Regena then decided to head towards the delicious food for a change of pace. She was currently in a separate room from the venue, one reserved for all the food. Many types of dishes she had never seen before were displayed on a grand buffet. She pulled out the container she had brought with her and started stuffing it with food.

The container she had with her was some sort of magic tool made by the dwarven craftsmen for Kuroki. It had endless space and great heat insulation. She had borrowed it from Kuroki before leaving Nargol.

「Everyone will be delighted.」

Regena recalled her tribe back in Nargol. Ingredients suitable for humans were really rare in Nargol, thus Regena and her tribe were always troubled when it came to finding food they could eat.

Kuroki had tried several times to give them some of his food, but doing that ended up making the demon race have more animosity towards Regena and her tribe. Thus, even if Kuroki was their patron, Regena and her tribe had no choice but to refuse his offer since they simply couldn’t afford to offend the demon race, the natives of Nargol.

Thus, Regena was thinking of bringing back food with her to share with everyone.

Regena moved her hands.

""

Suddenly, she noticed someone coming from the corner of her eye.

（Could it be someone from Velos noticed my actions, which are a breach of manner?）

Regena felt guilty. She wasn’t an official guest of this party after all. Thus, things would get troublesome if she got involved in some sort of quarrel.

Regena clasped her skirt. Hidden beneath her skirt was a short sword. This short sword was made personally by Kuroki, and was given to her so she could defend herself during an emergency. Thus, even though the short sword made it hard for her to move, she still brought it with her to Velos.

But, she also knew that using this sword was to be her last option.

She judged that she should just leave the place immediately without even looking at the other party’s face.

「Regena.」

Suddenly, the person who came to her side called out her name.

（Eh, why does he know my name?）

Regena stiffened in place when she turned around and saw the other party’s face, she couldn’t hide her surprise.

It was a familiar face.

「Omi… ros.」

The face of her childhood friend, who had left for a training journey one year ago, was right before her.

（When did he return I wonder?）

Regena looked at the face of her childhood friend, Omiros. His face had become more refined compared to the last time she saw him.

「Regena… how are you… here…」

Omiros was looking at her, unable to hide his shock. His eyes kept scanning her from head to toe and then stopped at her hand that was holding onto something.

His eyes were now locked on the food container in her hands.

Regena, who realized what he was looking at, tried to hide the food container from Omiros.

「Y-You’re mistaken… You’re definitely mistaken…」

Regena tried to explain herself in a hurry. For some reason, she didn’t wish for her childhood friend to see her in this embarrassing state.

「Sorry, Omiros!!!」

Regena turned around and was about to escape from Omiros.

「REGENA WAIT!!」

But, Omiros ran after her.

Regena herself had no idea why she wanted to escape from Omiros. But, she automatically went toward Kuroki. When she arrived at the venue’s gate, she suddenly bumped into something and fell on her rear.

（Eh? Was there something huge blocking the gate before?）

Regena looked up at the huge thing blocking the gate.

「… EH?」

Regena couldn’t hide her shock. A creature with a height far surpassing hers was standing right in front of her. Though its appearance resembled that of a human, its height towered far above anyone of the human race. Moreover, a pair of tusks protruded out of its mouth.

The creature’s eyes slowly looked down at her.

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!」

Suddenly, screams resounded from every corner of the venue.

「OGRE!!」

「WHY IS THERE AN OGRE IN THIS KIND OF PLACE?!!」

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!」

Upon hearing the word “Ogre”, Regena finally realized the identity of the giant in front of her. Though this was the first time she saw an ogre, she knew that the creature in front of her was in fact the belligerent, human-eating monster.

「I n-need to escape!」

Regena tried to escape but she fell on her rear and was unable to move.

「You look quite delicious.」

The ogre stretched his hand to Regena while saying such a terrifying remark.

「LET GO OF REGENA!!!」

Omiros rushed over to save Regena. But, his attempt was futile. It was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to beat an ogre in his lifetime, even if he had a weapon with him.

「Noisy—」

The ogre swung his hands and easily brushed Omiros away. Its eyes were now focused on Omiros.

（Oh no, he’s going to kill Omiros!）

The moment Regena realized that, her body moved on its own. Regena stood up and unsheathed the short sword hidden in her skirt. The black sword’s blade, clad in black flame, appeared from within the sheath.

「GET AWAY FROM OMIROS!!」

Regena swung her sword at the ogre’s feet.

「GUGYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!」

The ogre, who let his guard down, paid for his negligence and writhed in pain.

「OMIROS!!」

Regena pulled Omiros back on his feet.

「Regena….」

Omiros stared at Regena with a dumbfounded look on his face.

「Omiros, we have to get away from this place!!!」

Regena pulled Omiros’ hand as she started running away from the ogre.

「WAIT! WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!」

The ogre bellowed upon realizing that both of them had managed to get away from him.

Naturally, Regena and Omiros weren’t stupid enough to wait for the ogre.