Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Chapter 2-1. Calypso's Nightmare
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Arhil hunched over, pressing her hand to her forehead as a throbbing pain pulsed through her head. There was no nausea, but a faint sense of discomfort made her frown.
What had happened?
Harboring that question, she let out a small groan and glanced sideways at Yuda.
"Ugh, what did you do to me?"
Her last memory was of Yuda's palm covering her face. When she blinked and opened her eyes again, she realized her head was bowed. It seemed her memory had blanked out for a moment. She circulated her holy power around her body, but found nothing unusual.
Yuda watched her with a calm expression and continued speaking as if it were nothing.
"I just cast a spell to ensure you can't betray us. It's a one-sided contract, not mutual, but it was necessary to keep the fragments secret, so please understand."
"Even so, making it so only I can't betray you... isn't that too unfair?"
Arhil voiced her complaint, but he didn't even pretend to listen. She had no choice in the matter anyway.
Instead of replying, he quickly scanned her from head to toe. Forehead, eyes, lips, tongue. Then down to her nape, the backs of her hands... No visible marks or signs of subjugation appeared on any exposed skin. He wondered if the subjugation had truly taken hold, but since the most reliable system in this world confirmed it, he didn't bother searching further.
"Looking forward to working with you, Arhil. I'll introduce Jeanne properly later."
"Is Jeanne the one who was with you earlier?"
"Yes."
Yuda stood, gathering the empty bowls and dishes.
"So, what should I call you, Yuda? Leader? Yuda? Something else?"
"Whatever feels comfortable. I don't care much about titles."
"Then..."
Given that he had the body of a boy not yet fifteen, her options were limited. She seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding as if she'd made up her mind.
"How about Master?"
"...!"
Yuda's hand twitched as he picked up a knife. Noticing his reaction, she burst into light laughter.
"I'm kidding! Did I surprise you, Yuda?"
"Please refrain from jokes like that. Others might misunderstand."
"Aw, you're so serious. No fun. Fine, don't worry. I'll respect you as leader."
Yuda gathered the pot from the ramen, the bowls, and the plates that had held the fruit onto a tray and stood from his chair.
"Alright, I'll come by later. In the meantime, let your former teammates know."
"Okay, okay. Don't worry. But... is it really okay to accept me into your team this easily? We haven't even talked for an hour since we met."
Yuda paused on his way to the firmly shut door and turned back. Curiosity filled her expression as she waited for his answer.
"If you've seen her guard the guild hall for over ten days, there's no need to look at anything else. That alone proves everything."
He couldn't say he'd checked her potential via an info window. This was probably the best answer.
"Heh."
She stuck out her tongue playfully, as if caught off guard by his response.
"Feels like high praise. Kinda burdensome~"
A priest with all primary stats at S? He had no choice but to rate her highly.
Yuda said nothing more, opened the door while balancing the tray in one hand. Jeanne stood guard outside like a sentinel, while the adventurers watched from a distance.
"Jeanne? Why are you standing here?"
"You've finished? I was just keeping them from eavesdropping."
What a thoughtful one. No wonder the room wasn't well soundproofed, yet there was no reaction even when she mentioned leaving the team. The conversation had flowed without interruption thanks to Jeanne. They probably hadn't heard the brief talk about the fragments either.
Yuda smiled at Jeanne.
"Thanks, Jeanne. Made it easy to talk. All done now, so let's go. They probably have a long talk ahead too."
"? Understood."
She followed behind him like a loyal subordinate. As he passed the adventurers, Yuda gave a slight bow.
"You're still up, so go on in and talk."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Thank you? Well, would they still be thankful after talking with Arhil? In a way, he'd just stolen their teammate.
Yuda shrugged and headed to the kitchen, leaving them behind. He started washing dishes as if nothing had happened.
As he turned on the water, Jeanne approached.
"I'll help."
"No, it's fine. Not much to do. Sit and rest over there. You must be tired from standing at the door."
Jeanne glanced at the dishes. One knife, a set of chopsticks and spoon, plates, bowls, pot. That was it. Hardly worth calling dishwashing.
As she awkwardly withdrew her offered hand, the sound of running footsteps came from behind.
"Hey, you little shit!"
"Wait, Mark!"
"Shut up!"
"Mark!"
Yuda turned to see a burly man charging into the kitchen like an angry bull, pursued by another. They were the adventurers from earlier.
Yuda, scrubbing the pot with a scrubber dipped in alchemist-made detergent, turned his head.
"What's the matter?"
He knew without asking. Still, he did.
The man called Mark panted heavily, letting out a incredulous scoff as he approached. Towering over Yuda with his muscular build, he scowled fiercely.
"Ha, what's the matter? You pretending not to know? Is it adventurer conduct to threaten and steal someone else's teammate?"
"...Threaten? That's a word that invites misunderstandings. Did you properly talk with Arhil?"
"Of course!"
"Then there's no reason to call it a threat, or for you to be angry at me."
"That's—"
Perhaps because Yuda spoke so matter-of-factly, Mark faltered instead. But he soon furrowed his brow.
"Even so, what gives you the right to take her without even consulting us? The leader is Lien behind me, not her!"
"Isn't that something to take up with Arhil herself? Of course, I was wrong not to inform your team first. I apologize for that."
"What?"
"And from what I heard, she could leave your team anytime she wanted as a condition of joining. The order was different, but the result would've been the same. Oh, one correction: Arhil said she wanted to join my team first. You're mad at the wrong person."
Mark, who had been listening silently, couldn't respond. His face reddened, looking furious. He ground his teeth audibly and raised his fist. Already massive from muscle, the gesture exuded a threatening aura.
"Listen here, you cocky brat!"
"Mark!"
The man called the leader shouted in alarm, but Mark's fist was already swinging toward Yuda's face.
Yuda, who had been watching intently, raised his hand with the scrubber to block, but Jeanne was faster.
Clap!
With a sound smaller than clapping hands, Jeanne caught Mark's swung fist. Though smaller in stature and hand size compared to him, she didn't yield an inch in strength. Not only did she grab the wildly swung punch, she held him completely still.
"I understand your anger, but I can't allow fists to fly. I haven't heard the full story yet, so I don't know the situation, but I do know you need to calm down."
She spoke in a cold tone, then released his fist as if discarding it. It looked casual, but Mark staggered back several steps. He glared alternately at Yuda and Jeanne with a frustrated expression.
"Wait, hold on. Mark, calm down too."
The man named Lien, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward. Mark retreated further under Lien's pull, biting his lip hard.
"You're lucky, kid. If not for Lien, I'd have grabbed my axe and cracked your skull by now."
"Mark!"
"Got it."
Surprisingly compliant with his leader, Mark shut his mouth.
"You should've grabbed him sooner. Nearly got hit."
"Sorry. He's not usually the type to lose it like that... He must be really upset about Arhil leaving. He liked her."
From behind, Mark yelled that it was nonsense.
'Liked her, huh...'
Even so, storming in to yell and swing fists didn't justify it.
"I see. Does she know?"
"Probably... I think she does. He showed his feelings to her sometimes. Most went ignored, though."
"Then it's over. Instead of coming here to pick a fight over nonsense, why not confess to her before she leaves completely? Clear up any lingering regrets."
Yuda looked at Mark, planting a sliver of false hope in his heart.
"What if she stays moved by your feelings?"
"...Th-think she might?"
So naive. Clueless or pure? He rubbed his stubbly chin, seriously considering it.
"Business done now?"
"Huh? Oh, yes."
"Then take him and go. I have dishes to wash, and he's making me nervous with him behind me."
"Yes. Sorry."
Lien soothed Mark as they left the kitchen.
Yuda finished the dishes as if nothing happened. Jeanne watched his back before sitting down. With so few items, it was done quickly. He shook off the water roughly and stored them in <Bag>.
"Alright, done."
"Good work, Yuda."
"Nah, no big deal. Wish we could rest now, but before that, something to tell you. Was gonna surprise you, but that guy ruined it."
"The priest will be joining us going forward?"
"Yeah. We'll have a proper talk, and watch if that guy actually confesses. Shall we?"
"......"
She looked tired, but nodded.
========== Afterword ==========
Oh my, I didn't know my readers had so many demons in them. (Nose scratch)
No wonder there were cracks in the seal. Oops, did I say something?