Yahan's Bullish Ambush
Though overshadowed by the monster known as Ash Blue entering alongside him, he was the sole heir to one of the three great ducal houses, the Horain family.
Yahan Horain.
His talent with the sword was incomparable to anyone else, and backed by his ducal family's wealth, he'd received the finest elixirs and training from a young age. He was one of the most talked-about freshmen.
"Not Ash, you say?"
"Y-yeah! It was some guy named Eugene……."
"Family name?"
"None. He's a commoner……."
"A commoner? Puhahaha!"
Yahan burst into laughter.
"Not even a quasi-noble?"
"Uh, yeah……."
"A commoner? Good with a sword? Better than me?"
The delinquent squeezed his eyes shut.
He came from a somewhat notable family himself, but it was nothing compared to Yahan, the official heir of a famed ducal house.
Moreover, having been raised with elite education since childhood, Yahan was arrogant and utterly lacking in manners.
"Hey."
"……."
"Lemme ask you something. You really think that guy handles a sword better than me?"
"W-well, that's……."
"Answer properly."
His sheathed sword whipped through the air.
Crack!
The scabbard smacked the top of the delinquent's head, sending his eyes rolling back as he toppled over backward.
Dusting off the bloodied scabbard with a tap-tap, Yahan turned to the other delinquent.
"You know where that guy went?"
"W-well, that's……."
Crack!
"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you!"
"Yeah, that's better. Speak when you're told nicely."
Yahan flashed an aristocratic sneer of superiority.
"If he's that good with a sword, the professors must've noticed him too. I'll beat the crap out of him and draw all the attention to myself."
He couldn't let some lowly commoner steal the spotlight from noble blood like his.
Ash Blue was more than enough.
'That damn bitch…….'
He still remembered it vividly.
That cold gaze looking down on him, those haughty eyes.
One day, he'd cut off that sky-blue hair, gouge out those arrogant eyes, and force her to kneel naked before him.
Shaking off his stiff body, he glared in the direction the delinquent had pointed.
"At dawn, we strike immediately."
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Dawn broke. Adria groped around near her sleepy eyes out of habit.
There should normally be a magic tool here…….
But what she grabbed was Eugene's foot.
Eugene, tidying up his bedding, looked down at her in disbelief. Adria, finally opening her eyes, yanked her hand away in a panic.
"……What the hell are you doing?"
"Ahem……."
Eugene gazed down at the still-dazed Adria with pity, then tossed her a towel and wash kit.
"Whatever. Go wash your face and hair already."
Adria stumbled out of the cave.
Around the same time, Eodukshini woke up too, fumbling for its wash kit before dragging its slimy body after her.
"Blurp……."
Adria, eyes barely open, headed to the nearby stream to splash water on her face.
Eodukshini washed up beside her.
Gurgle.
After washing her face and mouth thoroughly, Adria patted her lips dry with the towel. Curiosity struck her, so she asked Eodukshini, who had just finished brushing its teeth.
"By the way, why do you even wash?"
-Baldies don't wash their heads, you say?
"Oh, is that it?"
But how does a baldy wash hair it doesn't have?
Pondering innocently, she packed up her wash kit.
As she stood, she spotted Ash across the stream, exercising.
"Haa, haa……."
She was doing sit-ups, hanging from a tree branch.
Her light clothing revealed glimpses of rock-hard abs with every movement.
"99…… 100……."
At 100, she switched to pull-ups, still hanging from the branch.
Adria stared, mesmerized by the sharp muscle flexing beneath her clothes, before finally tearing her gaze away.
-Whoa…….
"What're you staring at?"
Adria smacked the lecherous slime and headed back to the cave.
Eugene was sprinkling ashes nearby—just in case—and leaving traces so they could find the spot later.
His unwashed, tousled hair fully exposed his face.
Hugging Eodukshini, Adria whispered softly.
"Your owner's annoyingly handsome, huh?"
-……Shut up quietly?
"You're cute, though."
-Ahem, ahem.
Adria glanced down at Eodukshini, which had pouted at "handsome" but beamed at "cute," then stared at Eugene.
What the hell has he been doing to act so natural?
Like he's lived in the woods for years…….
"What're you doing over there?"
Eugene noticed her from a distance and called out.
"Ahem."
Clearing her throat lightly, she approached, pretending nothing was up.
Eugene quickly washed up next, then finished the laundry with practiced motions.
-Surprisingly domestic.
"Yeah. Thought he only knew how to break and eat stuff……."
"You two wanna die?"
The pair, caught badmouthing him(?), nearly did.
"Oh, Eugene. Wash my clothes too."
"……Not gonna hand 'em over in advance?"
"Sorry. But my workout's done now."
Eugene tsked at her cheeky tongue-sticking grin but washed her clothes anyway.
"They'll dry quick at least."
Just one day in, yet he moved like he'd done this for years. Ash seemed used to it, but Adria and Eodukshini weren't.
"It's so different from his usual vibe……."
"Keep badmouthing me and you die? Whatever, get inside. Time to plan."
"Yes!"
Eugene grabbed a fistful of Eodukshini and headed into the cave.
Ash followed, humming cheerfully.
Adria started to follow but froze at a faint vibration.
"……Huh?"
……Thud, thud.
········Thud-thud, thud-thud.
The vibrations grew stronger.
What is that?
Sensing it too, Eugene and Ash emerged.
"……Oh, fuck."
Eugene cursed. Adria, puzzled, looked where he stared.
And she saw it.
"GROOOOAAARRR!"
Crash! Boom! Rumble!
A herd of charging bulls plowing through everything in their path!
And the students herding them!
At the front, a male student—Yahan—raised his sword and shouted.
"Eugene! Come out! Fight me with swords!"
Before a reply, the bulls slammed into the cliff.
They dodged in time, but the cave entrance collapsed, and the laundry pile got trampled and shredded.
Rumble!
Their nest, utterly wrecked.
Crack!
A vein bulged on Eugene's forehead.
"You fucking shit-ass bastard motherfuckers, I'm gonna rip your goddamn cocks off……."
Adria and Ash turned away, pretending not to hear his torrent of swears.
He'd suddenly gotten very foul-mouthed…… but it was justified.
Not coincidence—students had driven the bulls right into their home.
'But why are there bulls in the forest?'
What the hell did they set up?
"Fuck faces, attention, all that shit. You done fucked up."
Eugene drew his sword.
Adria quickly assessed the enemies. Familiar face.
The sole heir of the Horain family, one of the three great ducal houses.
"Wait! That pretty-boy looking fucker up front—he's the ducal heir."
"So?"
"……Huh?"
"He stronger than the black mage I caught? Or at least high knight level?"
"Well…… no……."
"Then who gives a shit. You fuckers dared touch my laundry pile? After I hung it up so carefully."
The householder's(?) fury had spoken.
Daughter(?) Adria gauged Eugene's mood and stepped back, readying for battle.
Oblivious to Eugene's rage, Yahan excitedly pointed his sword at Ash.
"Come out, Ash! Didn't know you were here too! Fight me!"
"He wants you, looks like."
"Eww, no way. I hate him."
Ash shuddered in disgust.
Eugene sized up the whole group.
How strong?
'Just skeletons with some meat on 'em.'
Just beat 'em down.
"Adria. Ash."
"Yep."
Eugene's voice dropped low, his eyes flashing red.
"I'll handle those fuckers. You two clear the monsters."
"You sure?"
"Adria."
One word cut her worry short.
"You think I'd get beaten by those losers? I'll leave Eodukshini, so relay anything through it."
"Don't get hurt? And no killing."
"I'm fine. Still got my sanity."
"Your eyes are rolled back!"
Adria followed orders anyway.
She took a small breath, mana rising from her eyes.
"Rise."
Ash gripped her sword beside her, taking guard position to protect the mage. She whispered softly.
"I'll support you. Watch and learn—how a 'knight' and 'mage' fight together."
With that, the bulls charged at Adria and Ash.
Eugene tossed Eodukshini onto Adria's shoulder and leaped onto the bulls' heads, bounding toward the students.
"You motherfucking sons of bitches—!"
Startled by Eugene's sudden charge, Yahan's body reacted on instinct.
He assumed stance, feet positioning—
"Head! Head! Your skull!"
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
Three scabbard smacks to the head, one kick to the balls.
Blood spraying top and bottom, Yahan collapsed without swinging once.
Eugene landed, baring his teeth at the frozen students.
"You're all fucked."
Killing intent exploded from him. The incarnation of violence swept through the students in seconds.
"We…… were wrong……."
Yahan, his face a swollen mess(?), remained unconscious, tightly bound. The rest knelt, hands raised, bodies battered and bruised.
"Wanna go down? Huh? Send you to hell?"
"We're sorry!"
"Think sorry fixes it?! Shouldn't have fucked up to begin with!"
Smack!
Eugene, eyes rolled back, was far rougher than usual. He battered the students mercilessly, panting heavily.
"Hand over all your clothes."
"Th-this per……."
"Wanna live without being able to sit on a toilet?"
"……We're worse than dogs. We're sorry!"
"Shouldn't have fucked up!"
One beaten student spat on the ground and muttered.
"If only Princess Banasi had come……."
"What?"
Eugene crouched before him in an instant, grinning ear to ear.
"Say that again?"
"I didn't say shit!"
"Yeah?"
Eugene raised a skewer from somewhere.
"Won't talk? Fine. Don't."
"?"
"'Cause if you do, you're dead. Got it?"
What followed was horrific torture. Scratched with twigs, tickled, prodded in wounds—he endured it all, finally sobbing for mercy to speak.
'Whoa…….'
Eugene had subjected him to every torment imaginable, enough to make even Adria grimace. Only then did he graciously allow speech.
Tears and snot streaming, the student spilled everything about the princess.
"So,"
"Y-yes!"
"She was supposed to come with you, but found something and bailed?"
"Y-yes!"
"You little shits really planned to gang up on us, huh?"
Why won't anyone leave me in peace?
Eugene sighed deeply and turned.
Guess they needed to talk more…….
"……?"
Adria's face had gone deathly pale.