Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: You Have to Recharge the Restoration Stigma Periodically? - 2
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All eyes turned toward the window.
Two women in suspenders were glaring at us from outside. Tyr's face grew a little pale.
"Those are Humpty and Dumpty. Wow, they came out themselves? Cheshire Cat must be really pissed."
Humpty and Dumpty were the two bodyguards Cheshire Cat always kept by her side.
Nicknamed the Egg Sisters—probably because they smashed their opponents' heads like eggs.
But none of that mattered right now.
Veins bulging on my forehead, I shook my head slowly.
"That's not the point. The point is Cheshire Cat still isn't showing her face. I'm done dealing with anyone but her. You all handle this."
Worry filled the three women's faces.
"M-Master? Who else could handle them?"
Ellis spoke up in a deeply concerned tone.
"Figure it out yourselves. They didn't come all this way just for me, did they? Show some damn initiative."
By then, the pair outside was bellowing at the top of their lungs.
"Florian, you bastard! Get your ass out here, you son of a bitch!"
"......"
Unfortunately, it seemed they only had business with me.
Good or bad, I wasn't sure...
I stuck my head out the window and called back.
"What if I don't?"
"We'll crush the whole damn building. Want that?"
Tyr grabbed my arm right away. Dodo seized the other.
"Do you have any idea how much work went into this place? You're the boss—go out there! Show 'em the Stigma or whatever!"
"F-Florian! Th-there are patients everywhere inside! We have to protect the building!"
Sighing deeply, I gripped Trivi.
"Fine, fine."
The drop was pretty high, but I jumped out the window anyway.
If I had to deal with something annoying, my policy was to wrap it up as fast as possible.
The identical short-haired twins fixed me with a stare. They were furious—their eyes burned with murderous intent.
They broke the silence first.
"You're Florian? The one who torched Cheshire Cat's assets?"
"Burned plenty, but not Cheshire Cat's."
"Cheeky bastard... Is Cheshire Cat your buddy or something?"
"More like a junior."
"Shut your mouth!"
The twins' killing intent thickened as they glared daggers at me.
I'd only spoken the truth, but it felt unfair anyway. There were still way too many people in this world who wouldn't believe a word I said.
As I pondered whose thigh to ventilate first, the sisters exchanged glances and whispers.
"Cheshire Cat said not to kill Florian. Remember?"
"Of course. Gotta keep him alive to squeeze out reparations."
What the hell were they on about? I yawned in sheer disbelief.
"With your egg-sized tits, why so damn chatty? You came for business—handle it quick and scram."
Maybe that crossed a line. Veins suddenly popped in the sisters' eyes.
But it wasn't wrong. I'd just called it like I saw it.
The sisters slipped on their knuckle-dusters in unison and dropped into stance. Their real strength came from that combo attack, covering each other's weaknesses perfectly.
...I wanted to tell them they'd picked the wrong fight. Should I clue them in now?
"You girls picked the wrong opponent."
"Shut it, you pervert."
"Small chests and narrow minds to match..."
"I said shut up, pervert!"
The "egg-sized chests" bit must've really stung. Both sisters kicked off the ground and charged me in sync.
Paat—!
Perfectly flanking me from both sides, they closed the gap in an instant.
Plenty of time.
I had the skill to draw, aim, and fire before their fists connected.
But I held off. Instead, I dodged their strikes on purpose while scanning the surroundings.
The real target isn't the Humpty and Dumpty sisters. It's Cheshire Cat.
Right. The ultimate goal was Cheshire Cat.
I could've played it off as leisurely evasion, but I put real effort into making our standoff look evenly matched.
"Haat!"
Humpty's fist whistled past my face by a hair. After staging that close call about five times on purpose...
"Flame Buster!"
Ellis's shout sliced through the air like a blade.
That's the nature of a nail-biter. It builds certainty that jumping in would tip the scales, igniting the urge to do just that.
Ellis leaping in first was a slight surprise. Her loyalty was admirable—no complaints here.
Hwaruk—!
A blazing fireball, heavy with heat, streaked toward Dumpty like lightning.
Peong—!
But it slammed into something invisible and detonated short of the target.
"Huh?"
Ellis faltered. Then, contours of a human figure shimmered into view in the empty air, gradually filling with color.
Pink hues layered on, deeper and deeper. And finally...
"Finally met. Cheshire Cat."
I muttered.
Hair somewhere between pink and purple. Cat ears.
Cheshire Cat emerged, cat tongue flicking out, one hand gripping a hammer perfectly sized for swings.
"Florian. You fucking Florian-nyang... nyang-nyang."
Her seductive cat face spat curses as her first words.
Tacking on those cute endings only made it creepier.
"Can't you drop that speech tic?"
"Shut it-nyang."
I smiled even at her curt brush-off.
Her words weren't even registering. What mattered was that we'd met.
"Take her down in one hit from here on!"
"Right!"
Humpty and Dumpty pumped their knuckles full of mana and lunged.
"Girls."
I muttered briefly and assumed firing position. Now that Cheshire Cat herself had shown, these two had zero value.
Kill 'em? Eh...
Florian, you bastard! Get out here, you son of a bitch!
No. Definitely kill 'em.
"Cheshire Cat wants quiet."
Pang—! Pang—!
Confusion etched the sisters' faces as bullets punched through their foreheads.
No chance to feel pain—they crumpled to the ground.
"...What-nyang."
Cheshire Cat blinked in confusion. I smiled.
Not the smile I'd intended.
Who knew? Did I have a taste for battle? Was tormenting Elfriede just pure fun? Or both?
"That's a Witch's Curse-nyang."
She asked me.
"Right. Probably the worst of the bunch."
"Sounds fun-nyang. This is a Witch's Curse too-nyang."
Cheshire Cat's hammer gleamed under the sunlight. The ermetylene caught the rays and reflected them nobly.
"Fun?"
No mockery—just genuine curiosity.
Didn't look fun at all. Probably wouldn't be.
I pulled the trigger.
Pang—!
Ting—!
"Oh."
I couldn't help admiring. She'd swatted the bullet mid-flight with her hammer.
She split her lips in a grotesque grin—her signature expression.
"This hammer's ermetylene too-nyang. Just swat the bullets-nyang. Seven left? By the time you reload, your skull's mush-nyang."
"Reload?"
I yanked the trigger like mad.
Paat! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot!
"Useless-nyang!"
She batted away all seven in a row. Could she handle the next set?
Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot!
"......?"
Cheshire Cat's face slackened more with each bullet she deflected.
I kept pulling the trigger.
It didn't take long to turn her cool composure into a sweaty mess.
"R-Re-reloading yet-nyang?"
"Nope."
No reload. Instead, I triggered the Restoration Stigma. Ellis, Tyr, and Dodo's eyes had to be saucers right now.
"I-Im-impossible-nyang! What the...!"
"Still got breath for chatter."
I aimed at Cheshire Cat and pulled the trigger again.
"Huuk... huuk... heuk... eueuk..."
Cheshire Cat leaned on her hammer like a cane, gasping for breath.
She looked just like a cat wilting in the heat.
Pot!
"Ugh!"
She barely deflected the bullet.
Her movements had grown sloppy. She staggered, unable to handle the recoil from her own swing.
I gave her a moment to catch her breath, then fired again.
"Ugrut!"
She barely managed it again.
No grand reason for dragging it out. Tormenting Cheshire Cat was just... entertaining.
Of course, I'd quit the second it got old.
"Huh?"
"Uguuu..."
Thud. She dropped the hammer and collapsed, passing out cold.
Her body twitched in spasms—she must've been utterly spent.
Not particularly pitiful. I'd done this to wear her out good.
Spare her life, though.
Cheshire Cat alive had plenty of uses.
She had wounds from the bullets she'd failed to deflect, so I decided to heal her with the Stigma first.
I placed my hand over her body and triggered the Restoration Stigma.
"Hm?"
No. I tried to trigger it, but nothing happened.
A fluke? Tried again—same result.
"...What's wrong?"
She was bleeding heavily.
Left like this, she'd die. And if she actually croaked, things would get messy.
The Stigma couldn't resurrect the dead, after all.
As my mind started to tangle in confusion...
"Th-the Stigma needs recharging. You probably have to... recharge it?"
Dodo's voice came from nearby. Tyr and Dodo had appeared at my side before I knew it.
I shook my head.
"But I haven't figured out how yet."
"Ah... w-well. I do know how the Restoration Stigma recharges... I glimpsed it while studying medicine, but I'm not totally sure..."
Dodo fidgeted with her fingers, trailing off.
"Don't drag it out."
"R-Right, sorry! I'll tell you. So... the Restoration Stigma..."
Dodo cleared her throat with a loud hum.
"...can only be refilled through sex. I think. Probably."
"What?"
For the first time since regressing, I was utterly flustered.