Chapter 201: The Swordsman and the Witch - 5

Yogwi.

A race Jiha had known only by name. At a glance, they seemed nearly indistinguishable from humans.

The long dark-blue hair tied high above her head reminded him of the night sea.

A beauty—neat, yet carrying a certain coldness. The moment he saw her, he could tell she was the type who rarely let her true feelings show.

Black tights clung to her body, faithfully tracing the ripe curves of her figure.

A longsword hung at her waist, and a greatsword as tall as she was was strapped across her back.

Her skin was exceptionally pale, and her eyes were peculiar.

Heterochromatic, with mismatched red and blue irises.

While observing Pairan's appearance and reaction, Jiha took his time, leisurely tasting Asira's lips.

"Mmm..."

Unaware that Pairan was watching from behind, Asira melted in Jiha's embrace, putting her allure on full display.

She had grown quite accustomed to kissing him like this, to the point where she would initiate the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠embrace and seek out his tongue first.

Responding to her unspoken request for more, Jiha caressed Asira's cheek with his fingers.

Pleased by the touch, Asira tightened her arms around him.

Squelch.

Jiha's hand closed over the firm breast wrapped in the leotard.

"Ah, oh, don't."

Anything beyond a kiss in a café was improper, Asira signaled, flustered.

She tried to catch his hand and draw it away.

But as if savoring her reaction, his palm rubbed over her breast, fingers kneading freely.

The pale blue breast, having slipped slightly free of the white leotard's edge, pressed tightly against his fingers.

The pleasure of rolling a fully ripe fruit in his hand. Jiha whispered as he kneaded her.

"No?"

"I-I said no..."

This wasn't the place for such things.

Though Asira tried to stop him, mortified, Jiha whispered back.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Hard to hold back."

"Ah, oh, hnngh."

Even though he had held Narsha and been serviced by Yura's breasts just today, Jiha's shameless lie drew only a self-reproachful sigh from Asira.

"Ugh, sob. Yura might find out..."

"Which is why I'm telling you to stay still."

After kneading Asira's breast to his satisfaction, Jiha found her nipple and pinched it.

"Ah, haak?!"

Asira flinched and trembled with every tweak of his fingers.

He could feel it stiffening beneath the skin-tight leotard.

"Ah. Haaa. Ahht."

Asira eventually stopped trying to push Jiha away, letting his hand roam freely as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she kept on kissing him.

Having witnessed this entire scene on her feet, Pairan stood frozen like a statue, unable even to blink.

"Haa, mmnn..."

After entwining her tongue with his until she lost track of time, Asira blinked dazedly when Jiha drew his lips away.

As she basked in the afterglow with a sweet moan, Jiha said softly,

"We have a guest."

"Huh, what?"

Blinking her languid eyes, Asira turned around and was immensely startled.

"Ah, Pa, Pairan..."

"..."

In truth, Jiha had sensed Pairan returning and kissed Asira for her to see, but with the café emptied of other customers, any footsteps or signs of movement were bound to be Pairan's, making her easy to identify.

"T-this is..."

As Asira flustered, straightening her clothes and groping for excuses, Pairan stated flatly.

"I'll be leaving now."

"Sit."

"..."

Pairan didn't even glance at Jiha. She looked only at Asira, her expression asking whether his words reflected Asira's will. Asira nodded, still flustered.

"...Please, sit. Let's finish our talk."

"I'm tired, so make it quick."

Pairan spoke calmly and sat down across from them.

Not even glancing at the now-cold tea, Pairan fixed her quiet gaze on Asira.

Asira looked lost for how to begin. Racking her brains for how to explain the scene of her accepting and kissing Jiha, she finally spoke with difficulty.

"What you just saw..."

"I don't want to hear it."

A hard, sharp refusal. Pairan cut her off before the words could leave her mouth.

"Pairan. So, the thing is..."

"I don't want to hear another word. If this is what you want to discuss, I really will leave."

"She has no intention of having a conversation."

Jiha folded his arms and spoke curtly.

At his rude tone, Pairan glanced at him for a moment before looking back at Asira.

An attitude meant to utterly ignore him. Jiha narrowed his eyes.

'This isn't something that should warrant this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind of reaction, yet here we are.'

Was there a reason for Pairan to be this stern?

Of course, Asira wouldn't want this getting back to Yura, so she'd need to silence Pairan.

But Pairan wouldn't know those circumstances. Couldn't she simply let it slide?

'Misandry? No. It's strange. She acts as if she's disappointed in Asira, yet wants her to notice. That's why she hasn't left yet.'

An attitude that expected the other person to understand and consider her feelings. A feminine reaction.

But did a woman act like this toward another woman?

Just as a man's words and actions differ between dealing with men and women, the same applied to women.

Women adopted different attitudes toward the same sex versus the opposite sex.

Jiha reached out and wrapped an arm around Asira's shoulder.

"..."

Pairan's brow furrowed delicately. Displeasure settled over her neat, elegant, finely drawn features.

"Is this a meeting to introduce me to a man, Dame Asira?"

"No. Pairan. Let me introduce you. This person is with the truth investigation..."

"What is your relationship?"

"..."

Words failed Asira.

Pairan was more focused on what kind of relationship Jiha had with Asira than on his title or identity.

Jiha answered candidly.

"We spend the day together and sleep together at night."

"..."

Pairan stared blankly at Asira, her attitude suggesting she would filter out everything Jiha said and believe only the words that came from Asira's own mouth.

'Admiration, respect, loyalty, blind devotion...'

Jiha ran through several words in his mind as he observed Pairan.

Except for her pale skin and strange eyes, she looked like nothing more than a beautiful human.

But as a Unique, her combat ability was surely genuine, and for now, she seemed to harbor at least friendly feelings toward her former superior, Asira.

Asira, as if steeling her resolve, spoke to Pairan.

"It's as Jiha says. It'll be public knowledge soon enough, but could you... keep what you just saw a secret?"

"Did you ask to see me separately just to tell me this?"

"No, well, that's..."

At Pairan's openly angry tone, Asira floundered.

Pairan placed money for the tea on the table and stood up.

"Congratulations. Live happily. I'll be going, then."

"You're fine with marrying an orc and living in wedded bliss, but seeing another woman get married is an eyesore?"

"..."

Pairan, who had been ignoring Jiha the entire time, froze in her tracks as she was about to leave.

Because of Kamain's scheme, Pairan had been forced to sleep with and marry an orc, which led to her defection to Purple.

That was, at least, the story known to the public, and Asira believed it too.

With her back still turned, Pairan spoke composedly.

"Dame Asira, you'd do well to develop a better eye for men."

"You've barely been sitting. Try making excuses, Pairan Amaut."

"..."

Unable to keep ignoring Jiha's words, Pairan turned around. Though her expression was composed, a hint of anger glimmered in her eyes.

Jiha tossed out a short statement.

"You must know Kamain is dead."

"..."

Jiha had previously tried to contact Pairan by sending an anonymous letter detailing the circumstances of Kamain's end. He had sent the information to summon Pairan to Waris as a contingency for taming Asira. But since he had succeeded in taming Asira, that information had lost its significance. Now that Pairan had appeared as a newly minted Unique, however, it had become relevant once more.

"Asira is also aware that you defected to Purple because of Kamain's scheme."

"..."

Pairan silently questioned Asira with her eyes. Asira nodded slowly.

"I wanted to know what really happened. Pairan."

"I'd prefer to discuss that in private."

Calm, but audacious. Where Lijin was subtly audacious, Pairan was openly bold and cheeky. The type whose likes and dislikes were crystal clear, and who had to express them to feel satisfied.

"That's a problem. The story of how you defected to Purple and re-emerged as a Unique in just half a year might be connected to the incident where the race known as the Shade ambushed the Summoning War."

"..."

At Pairan's look demanding a further explanation, Jiha offered a bit more. He had to give her some information.

"Your defection was Kamain's doing, and that Kamain was someone's pawn. The Shade are also presumed to be pawns of that same someone. In other words, we can assume that various plots have been organically underway for quite some time."

"..."

The circumstances behind Pairan's defection might well have been something Kamain cooked up on his own. But Jiha deliberately suggested it could be part of a larger conspiracy to coax information out of her.

Pairan sat back down and began to speak.

"I didn't get married. Nothing happened with the orc. We were only in the same room for a short while."

"Then why did you defect?"

Defection wasn't something done on a light whim. It was an act Pairan undertook knowing she would never set foot on Blue Seal soil again.

As a Super Rare and a Yogwi, it was no exaggeration to say she had risen as far as she could. Asira hadn't been a particularly bad superior... yet she had thrown it all away and left overnight.

"Because Kamain spread the rumors."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

She had defected to Purple just because she couldn't overcome groundless rumors?

Though Warsland was home to many races with diverse customs, the Yogwi were unlikely to be particularly obsessed with premarital chastity. And Asira wasn't the kind of inflexible person to hold it against her, either.

'...Kamain was fairly clever in his own way.'

As a man, he would have schemed his way to becoming a Super Rare as flawlessly as possible. Meaning, he had acted with the certainty that Pairan would defect to Purple.

'No, now that I think about it, something's strange. Why didn't Pairan bother to explain that nothing happened to her?'

Thinking it over, it was strange. The rumor that had spread was that Pairan had defected to Purple to marry an orc. In other words, she had supposedly followed a man to Purple, which wasn't an entirely implausible story.

That was why Asira had never doubted it, never sent pursuers, and never bothered to investigate further.

But if it had all been a misunderstanding, she could have simply explained this to Asira. Unless the orc had some leverage over her, this meant she had deserted simply because her mental state had shattered.

Asira, seemingly reaching the same conclusion, wore a flustered expression.

"Then you could have just told me that... Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to."

"Why on earth... Was I really that untrustworthy?"

"..."

Pairan answered with silence.

'I have a rough idea now.'

Jiha concluded his assessment.

"The night's getting late, so let's leave the story here. Pairan, we'll arrange accommodations for you at the Blue Seal Barracks. Come stay. You must have plenty more to discuss with Asira."

"I've already secured my own lodgings."

"I've had the room next to Asira's vacated."

"..."

After a moment, Pairan nodded.

Asira looked at Pairan with a complicated expression before speaking gently.

"I lacked the insight to be a source of strength for you when you were struggling in the past. But I hope you'll give me a chance to make up for it now, Pairan."

"I'll get my things from my lodgings."

With that reply, Pairan took her leave.

Once the two of them were alone, Asira let out a deep sigh and buried her face in her arms on the table, looking immensely discouraged.

"...I'm truly pathetic. I didn't realize one subordinate was hiding her true feelings and committing evil deeds, and I failed to understand that another was suffering under a terrible frame-up."

"That's not your fault."

"You don't need to comfort me..."

"I don't do that sort of thing."

Jiha changed the subject curtly.

"First off, we've succeeded in pulling Pairan in. I'll give you credit for that."

If Pairan stayed at the barracks, she would be regarded as having joined the committee. Regardless of Pairan's own intentions, that was how it would appear externally. Barjet and Heinrich, who sought to dissolve the committee, would be forced to act.

'Should I just tie Pairan to our side and then break those two bastards...? But I shouldn't just break them blindly. I need to gain something from it. A justification for independence would be perfect.'

As Jiha calculated, Asira made a request.

"...Could you leave matters concerning Pairan to me for the time being? I want to tie off my past mistakes myself."

"You'll fail."

At Jiha's flat statement, Asira's expression clouded over.

"Am I that deficient?"

"No. It's because you're you that you'll fail."

Asira looked bewildered by his meaning, but Jiha changed the subject.

"You. When did you first meet Pairan?"

"A bit before she came of age. I saw a child diligently practicing with a sword and gave her some guidance a few times. Later, when I saw her again, she had grown tremendously and said she wanted to follow me."

"Try not to spray your pheromones around so carelessly."

"Huh? What's that?"

Without explaining, Jiha reached his conclusion.

Pairan Amaut is in love with Asira.

That explains everything.

The reason Pairan couldn't endure Kamain's frame-up and defected to Purple? She was likely despondent that Asira genuinely believed those rumors.

The woman she had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠secretly harbored feelings for had congratulated her on a marriage that never happened. Whose heart wouldn't be torn to shreds?

All the more so since confessing those feelings was difficult because they were the same sex.

And yet, when an opportunity to see Asira arose, drawn by her affection, she had arranged a private meeting and swiftly taken the bait when offered the empty room next to Asira's.

'And she'll absolutely detest me...'

There was no way a Pairan like that would think kindly of Jiha, Asira's man. She would be grinding her teeth in rage.

The witch, Barjet Dark. The Yogwi, Pairan Amaut.

Both had become antagonistic toward Jiha, but he could use this situation to his advantage. Waris was already his city. Even if they were Uniques, he could cook them as he pleased.

Jiha was merely biding his time, waiting for the right moment to reap the maximum effect.