Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Aslan Kingdom's Hero Sage (2)
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Bergio's sword aimed for my throat.
I deflected Bergio's blade, which never lost its spirit until the very end.
Clang!
Bergio's sword, split in two, soared into the sky.
"Urgh!"
As he watched his final strike end in vain, despair settled into Bergio's eyes.
Despair at the realization that he could not win.
"You're strong."
I gazed at Bergio, my body covered in wounds.
He was at least half a step stronger than me.
The countless gashes etched across my body were proof of his caliber.
Even wielding the demonic sword and bolstered by Amy and Yulia's buffs, I had been pushed back.
The fact that he lay defeated before me now was purely due to luck.
"You got unlucky."
I looked down at Bergio, kneeling on the ground.
He was strong. Stronger than me.
But he had failed to land a fatal blow until the end.
A sword had pierced deep into my chest.
Not once, but twice.
Yet his blade hadn't damaged my heart or any vital organs.
It was the fool's mistake of assuming the Demon King's internal structure matched that of a human.
Had he taken my head instead, I might have been forced to retreat to the dungeon, combat ineffective.
'This is troublesome. Swords don't work on me.'
As if embarrassed, he changed his expression and shifted strategies.
Stall for time and somehow report my existence to the capital.
"All units, retreat!"
I wasn't about to let that happen.
As time dragged on, the knights who had followed Bergio were overwhelmed by my subordinates.
Bergio grew desperate, lost his composure, and failed to spot the feint hidden in my sword strike.
Once the demonic sword plunged deep into Bergio's shoulder, the tide turned completely.
And that brought us to now.
"......Kill me."
Bergio, now bereft of even his weapon, looked up at me.
It would be a waste to simply kill a Swordmaster of his talent.
Subordination was impossible.
To turn him to my side would require making the entire kingdom mine first.
"Yulia."
Understanding the implication in my call, Yulia shook her head.
"It's impossible with Your Majesty's current power."
"I see. What a shame. I thought I'd gained a capable subordinate."
"My apologies. Once Your Majesty grows stronger, it will certainly be possible."
"So there's no way right now?"
"Yes."
"Then there's no helping it."
It was the honorable way to treat a worthy foe who had fought valiantly.
I severed Bergio's head without hesitation.
If he couldn't serve me, he died.
That was my iron rule.
"Sorry, Sage."
Bergio's head flew off as he tightly shut his eyes.
He'd muttered something to himself, but I wasn't curious.
Probably words for the lover he'd left in the capital.
His body slumped to the ground.
Experience from Bergio and the knights has been acquired.
Dungeon Fame has increased.
"Shall I absorb the head as well, Your Majesty?"
"No. There's somewhere else for the head to go."
"To the Aslan Kingdom?"
"Exactly."
He was the Aslan Kingdom's Knight Commander.
Having killed him, a full-scale war was inevitable.
If avoidance wasn't an option, charge head-on.
"Change of plans."
It wasn't just knights anymore—the Knight Commander himself had come.
And the strongest one in the kingdom, at that.
Having come this far, there was no turning back.
A half-hearted stance would only invite ambushes and derail the conquest.
So, then.
"Declare war. The Knight Commander's head should strike sufficient fear into them."
If fear drove them to negotiate, all the better.
Of course, several cities and fortresses would fall before then.
My thoughts were brief, my decision swift.
"Tell Kina and Reilly to return as well. Nothing good comes from staying at the capital."
"Understood."
I had Yulia take the Knight Commander's head and send it off.
"I'll return safely."
Wings sprouted from Yulia's waist, growing to full size, and she soon took to the skies.
Flap!
Sage felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if a blade had stabbed her there.
What had gone wrong?
A visceral sense of crisis churned her stomach.
'Sir Bergio......'
She was anxious.
Anxious about what might have happened to him.
But it was absurd.
The kingdom's strongest Swordmaster.
Even if the Demon King had appeared, he wouldn't fall so easily.
He would return.
Report the Demon King's existence.
And then they would go on that date at the steakhouse she had found for them.
"H-Hero!"
The urgent cry from the Royal Guard snapped her from her reverie.
"What is it?"
She cleared her throat to maintain her composure.
"A-A demon has appeared in the sky."
"A demon?"
"A succubus is flying straight for the capital!"
What?
The sun was dipping toward the horizon, but it was still broad daylight.
What madness compelled a demon to appear under the sun?
When the gods themselves were surely watching.
"Grab your weapons and head to the capital! Prioritize protecting His Highness!"
Sage snatched her holy sword and raced to the palace.
"Hero!"
How much time had passed since she arrived at the audience chamber where the king waited?
Bang!
Someone roughly flung the door open and strode in.
It was a woman wearing a shirt like those worn by guild staff in the Empire, wings sprouting from her waist. Yet her voluptuous figure made it seem lascivious, even fully covered.
Her slit pupils gleamed vertically, and her face held an indescribable allure—that of a demon.
A succubus.
Was this the succubus the Royal Guard had mentioned?
"Oh my, Your Highness and the Hero are together. That makes this easier."
The succubus bowed her head.
"I am Yulia, succubus in service to the Demon King. I've come today bearing a gift for you both."
She proffered a wooden box in her hands.
The moment Sage saw it, the inexplicable anxiety from before began to take horrifying shape.
Her eyes trembled.
She was afraid.
Perhaps due to the chilling gaze Yulia fixed on her.
Forcing calm through self-hypnosis, she approached the box the succubus offered.
Her inner voice screamed not to open it, but she couldn't ignore it.
If her suspicions were correct...
What should she do?
Sage opened the box.
"N-No......"
"Hero, what is inside?"
The king's words fell on deaf ears.
She stared wide-eyed at the contents.
Bergio's head, eyes closed in death.
The man hailed as the kingdom's strongest, returned as a cleanly severed corpse.
"H-How......?"
"We executed an intruder who trespassed into our territory without permission. Turns out he was your Knight Commander. As a gesture of goodwill, we brought his head here ourselves. What do you think?"
"I'll kill you!"
Sage drew her holy sword and lunged at Yulia.
"H-Hero!"
Whoosh!
Sage's sword struck nothing.
Even as she dissolved into an illusion, as if she'd anticipated it, Yulia smiled leisurely and continued.
"If you're angry, come find us. His Majesty the Demon King awaits your visit."
Yulia vanished.
Sage needed an outlet for this surging rage.
Doing nothing would drive her mad.
Sir Bergio.
Sir Bergio.
Because she'd needlessly suspected those women.
Because her own abilities fell short.
She had gotten the Knight Commander Bergio killed.
Self-recrimination gnawed at her, and she gritted her teeth.
"Kina, Reilly......"
The women who had dared lie to His Highness and the Hero flashed in her mind.
She would kill them.
Cut off their heads and send them to the Demon King.
That would at least partially avenge Bergio.
The Hero charged off.
Only then did the king and knights glimpse Bergio's head.
"Egumunina!"
Ignoring their reactions, Sage headed to the room where the two mages had stayed.
"Kina! Reilly! For treason, you......"
But their room was empty.
Bergio died because you got cocky relying on that holy sword.
We're heading back to His Majesty the Demon King, so come find us if you want revenge.
A beastly scream tore from Sage's lips.
She invoked vengeance hundreds of times, calling the names of the departed mages, the succubus, and the Demon King.
She would kill them.
She would kill them with her own hands.
She swore it.
"Good work."
I faced Yulia, Kina, and Reilly upon their return to the dungeon.
They bowed deeply before me.
"I thought my heart was going to burst from nerves."
Kina, who had turned into a chatterbox after her corruption, spoke first.
"When that Hero figured out who we were, my heart was pounding like crazy! But we handled it perfectly, right? Good job?"
"Yes. You did well."
Not satisfied with words alone, perhaps.
Kina wheedled with a nasal whine.
"Is that all?"
A hint of disappointment in her eyes.
She twisted her body, looking up at me coquettishly.
"While we were out on assignment, I didn't get to taste Your Majesty's body at all. While my sisters were having their messy fun with you, I was...... Sniff sniff."
"That's a lie, Your Majesty. Kina played plenty with the part of Your Majesty's body that forms my tongue."
"Reilly! Stop!"
"There were times she forced my mouth open for a kiss while masturbating her lower half with her own hands. She even spread her folds and begged me to lick her pussy. Each time, calling out Your Majesty's name......"
"Aaah! Stop! Stop it!"
Kina clamped Reilly's mouth shut, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
But shame was a feeling long gone from Reilly, whose mouth wouldn't stop.
"Indirectly, but using Your Majesty's body for masturbation was somewhat satisfying......"
"I-I said stop."
Kina looked ready to cry, so I silenced Reilly.
"Enough, Reilly. It's true she didn't get satisfaction during those few days in the capital."
"Th-Then......"
"Follow me. It's not ideal here, so let's go to my bedroom."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Reilly stood frozen instead of following, so I asked.
"Why aren't you coming?"
"Was it me too?"
"Of course. It wasn't just Kina."
"Understood."
"Yulia, you did well too. Rest up today."
I dismissed Yulia, whom I couldn't bed anyway, and led Kina and Reilly to my bedroom.
How should I satisfy them?
I pondered as we went.