Chapter 200: The Swordsman and the Witch - 4
Chapter 200: The Swordsman and the Witch - 4
An evening café.
The place where Asira and Pairan were meeting.
Jiha strode inside.
The owner behind the counter spotted him and quickly acknowledged him with a glance.
"Ah, Chairman, you've come."
The Fact-finding Committee investigating the disruption of the Summoning War—and the four Uniques serving on it—had become the new power ruling Waris.
Merchants are sensitive to the shifting currents of power.
They regarded Jiha, the chairman over the four Uniques, as the city's de facto ruler, and were eager to curry favor with him.
Moreover, Jiha had been investing money in Waris's commercial sector for some time, so the merchants were desperate to win his goodwill.
"We have a quiet spot. And..."
"Enough. Don't take any more customers. Clear everyone out except for my seat. I'll pay."
"No, no, there's no need. Instead, might I be permitted to buy you a drink sometime?"
"..."
The owner had decided that even if he closed up shop for the day, securing a drinking session with Jiha was worth the investment.
Jiha nodded and moved deeper inside.
"Ah, thank you very much."
Joy spread across the owner's face.
Leaving behind the sound of him hurriedly ushering out the other customers, Jiha walked toward the back.
Asira Hellrunner sat alone.
"Ah..."
Jiha waved a hand to stop her from rising to greet him and sat down beside her.
"Were you together?"
Jiha's gaze was on the seat opposite Asira, where a lone cup sent up faint wisps of steam.
Belatedly grasping his implication, Asira spoke quietly.
"She said she was going to wash her hands for a moment. She'll be back soon."
"The discussion?"
"It's ongoing. But it's not going particularly well..."
The current subject of conversation, Purple's Unique Pairan Amaut, had originally been Asira's Super Rare.
Asira had handpicked her and kept her as a close aide.
But caught up in Kamain's scheme, Pairan had defected to Purple.
And now she had reappeared as a Purple Unique.
Jiha got straight to the point.
"How did a woman who was a Super Rare show up as a Unique? Weren't Uniques determined in childhood?"
Uniques were identified in childhood, recognized by a Legend's discerning eye for their exceptional talent.
He laid out what he knew for Asira, who was a Unique herself.
"Uniques, the core fighting power of both factions, are limited to one per species. Not every species has a Unique. Those that do gain a stronger voice within their faction. Gnolls and dwarves, having no Unique, naturally find their standing weakened, while elves, who can put forward Leticia, and demons, who can put forward you, find their positions strengthened."
"..."
Asira managed only an awkward smile.
Asira was noble, but she was no fool. She had a political eye, understood how things worked, and often worried and lamented over them.
"Pairan's species was Yogwi. Was there no Unique among the Yogwi?"
"They aren't a particularly numerous species. Yogwi have little concept of kinship and mostly operate alone. I've directly met fewer than five Yogwi besides Pairan, and they were all similar."
Asira shared what she knew.
"The Yogwi are a species born from the mingling of darkness-corrupted spirits and human blood. Usually, they're born when a spirit forcibly violates a human woman... Or sometimes, it's said, they're born by corrupting a child already in the womb. Either way, they are an unwelcome species that struggles to grow to adulthood safely."
"Harsh."
A species hard-pressed to survive to maturity.
Asira nodded as well.
"In the past, they were called cursed children. The moment a Yogwi is born, they're abandoned by their mother... Pairan told me she doesn't even know her mother's face. She doesn't speak much about her past before she met me."
"So, did you ask how she became a Unique?"
"There is a proper order to things. That is not something one can simply ask outright."
Asira slowly shook her head.
She seemed to harbor complicated feelings toward Pairan.
There was likely self-reproach for having been completely deceived by Kamain and failing to prevent Pairan from defecting to Purple.
"Alright, so does that mean there are now eleven Uniques in Warsland? Weren't there only ten maintained since the Thousand-Year War ended?"
"That is... I do not know."
"Asira."
Jiha prodded.
She had been talking with Pairan for some time now—didn't that mean she hadn't managed to get a single piece of information?
But Asira offered an explanation.
"Pairan is not a talkative girl. She doesn't easily reveal what's inside. And more than that, I misjudged her, and when she needed help, I failed to be there for her. I want to approach this carefully."
"Even given your circumstances, I can't afford to wait long."
Considering Shade's identity and the existence of Barjet and Heinrich, he wanted to bring Pairan in as quickly as possible.
That would open a channel to untangle the situation.
"I am aware. I want to persuade her if I can... and bring her back."
When Asira spoke with conviction, Jiha was inwardly pleased.
If Asira had been doing this purely out of emotion, he would have been disappointed, but seeing her reveal a genuine desire to win Pairan over satisfied him.
Asira was a guileless and honest knight, unhesitant to sacrifice herself for others—noble, but not a fool.
Her flaw was that she could be too trusting of others and thus easily deceived, but...
'If I handle that side of things for her, she's highly useful.'
Asira had personal charm.
In terms of pure sexual allure, the other women Jiha had taken were not lacking. But in interpersonal relations, Asira stood out.
'She'll be invaluable for recruiting talent...'
Putting Asira forward to win over Pairan would be the quickest route.
As Jiha decided to observe the situation for now, Asira changed the subject.
"What are the others doing?"
She was asking about the other Uniques' whereabouts.
"The exchange of opinions with Barjet is over, and the whole thing fell apart. I sent Leticia back to her existing duties, and assigned Enril to monitor Barjet. I have Yura on standby at the faction base."
"I see..."
Asira trailed off somewhat vaguely.
Had she asked because she was curious about the movements of Yura, the junior she cherished like family?
Seated comfortably, Jiha smirked.
"For once Yura has free time, so once this is over, go and rest with her. She'll be happy."
"...No, that is something you should do. It is not my place."
As she spoke with a strained smile, Jiha frowned.
Asira could barely lie, and when she did, it was painfully obvious. She was exactly like Yura in that regard.
"What, you don't want to be with Yura?"
"No, what nonsense are you...? You of all people should know how lovable that girl is. Every time I see her, she's so adorable I can hardly stand it, so how can you say such a thing?"
"..."
Asira's love for Yura was truly devoted. Even actual family would rarely go this far, but for Yura's sake, Asira was ready to do absolutely anything.
And the words she was speaking now weren't empty flattery—every one of them was sincere.
"I simply do not wish to take away your time alone with Yura. So tonight, please spend it happily with her..."
At Asira's words, Jiha abruptly reached out and wrapped an arm around her neck.
Belatedly flustered by his touch, Asira looked at him.
"Um..."
"What would you do if I said I wanted to be with you?"
When Jiha asked provocatively, Asira looked troubled and then lowered her voice.
"...Even so, please do not leave Yura's side empty. I would rather you prioritize her over me."
"What if I refuse? It's been a while, and I'm feeling a bit lonely."
"..."
Asira sighed, then spoke straightforwardly.
"If you absolutely insist, then I will explain the situation to Yura. If things between us have come to this, I must at least obtain Yura's permission. I do not wish to do anything more shameful to her."
"I'm not asking about procedures and trivial details right now."
"..."
"I'm asking whether you have any desire to be with me."
A faint blush spread across Asira's cheeks.
How honest this lady knight was.
Jiha spoke in a tone of mild reproach.
"We're finally alone, and all you do is talk about Yura. It kills the mood."
"...I'm sorry. As you already know, I'm not a very entertaining woman."
Asira spoke as if this had been weighing on her mind for some time.
"Hearing you say that truly makes me glad. I'm grateful that you value me, but we cannot keep hiding this from Yura forever. These days, every time I see Yura, I'm so anxious it's painful. Yura knows nothing and keeps bragging to me about you..."
Yura was trying to seduce him into a threesome with her.
'It's getting harder to keep up the deception, and things are only going to get more chaotic from here... I should start letting Asira know the truth soon. Shall I set the mood first?'
Jiha smiled as he asked.
"When Yura talks about me, do you get jealous?"
"..."
Asira's eyes widened in surprise, and she hesitated to answer.
"That is, I..."
The guilt of secretly sharing a bed with Yura's man, and keeping it a secret from Yura.
And yet, whenever Yura talked about that man, a feeling of jealousy she couldn't control disquieted the lady knight's heart.
Watching her anguished profile, Jiha stealthily slid his hand down, following the line of her waist to grab Asira's backside.
"Ah?!"
Sensing that the man's hand was laden with desire, Asira grew flustered.
"Wait, not here..."
"I sent all the customers away."
"N-no... Pairan will be back any moment."
"Then we'll include her too."
When Jiha grabbed her rear and pulled, Asira, startled, braced her hands against his chest.
"Please, Jiha. Stop. My heart is glad, but you know as well as I do that this is not the time..."
"Your heart is glad?"
Jiha seized on her words and tilted his face closer.
Forehead to forehead with Asira, Jiha stared straight into her eyes.
The black-scleraed demon woman, flustered by his nearness, cast her gaze downward.
Even though their bodies had already known each other, he liked how she grew shy at mere proximity.
"So you've been glad whenever I wanted you."
"...Yes."
Asira spoke with a note of lament.
Though Asira had already gone so far as to say she would become Jiha's concubine, a flicker of torment showed each time she said such things, as the fact that she was still hiding it from Yura weighed on her heart.
"Good. Now I want to spend tonight with you..."
"No. Yura is alone..."
"You're glad, aren't you?"
When Jiha teased her persistently, Asira closed her mouth.
The guilt of once again betraying Yura bound her heart.
And yet, even so, she could not bring herself to tell a lie that denied her own feelings.
Under Jiha's gaze, Asira finally gave the tiniest of nods.
She had, in the end, admitted that it pleased her to hear Jiha say he wanted to spend time with her instead of Yura.
Phase one complete. Satisfied, Jiha pressed his lips to hers.
Asira offered no further resistance, simply closing her eyes and surrendering her body to Jiha.
The fact that a noble lady knight did not resist the desires of Yura's man, and that she had acknowledged this herself—that pleased him a great deal.
As Jiha savored Asira's full lips with his own, he pushed his tongue inside.
Shrrrk.
And then, the sound of a privacy curtain being drawn aside.
A woman he had never seen before was looking down at them, but Jiha did not stop kissing Asira.
Instead, he pulled Asira into him more firmly, opened his eyes, looked straight at the newcomer, and smiled.
At the sight of Jiha laying claim to her former master, Pairan Amaut's face stiffened.