Chapter 282: Waaah! I'm Baby Nepmi! (3)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 282: Waaah! I'm Baby Nepmi! (3)[R-18]
Meanwhile, the Church was thrown into an absolute uproar upon receiving news of Laura Lavandula’s fall.
Laura had been blessed with the unprecedented gift of Foresight, leading the Church to praise and exalt her as the greatest Saintess in history. Her betrayal was a wound to their pride.
To erase that disgrace by any means necessary, the Church moved with frantic haste.
First, through a Sealing Designation, every record of Laura was expunged.
Her portraits were put to the torch, the hymns she once sang were banned, and every piece of evidence regarding her foresight was disparaged as mere fabrication.
Simultaneously, she was branded a Special-Class Subjugation Target. Every heinous incident occurring across the Empire was pinned on her as her sin.
Despite this, Laura remained silent.
The end of this journey was destined to be death anyway.
She didn't care what kind of infamy she accrued along the way.
Her only wish was to eliminate the Ebony Serpent as quickly as possible.
However...
She could not afford to rush.
If she made a single wrong move, she might end up being the one to personally unleash the Ebony Serpent upon the world.
Thus, Laura hid in the shadows and raised her Army of the Dead, waiting until the very moment before the Ebony Serpent shed its White Husk to be born.
*
“The Ebony Serpent, born from the shedding of its White Husk, shall swallow the world with its forked tongue. I must stop it.”
As they listened to Laura’s recitation, the expressions of both Ian and Elfriede hardened simultaneously.
Seeing their faces, Laura thought to herself.
‘As I thought.’
It was exactly as she had seen in her foresight.
No one would understand her.
For I alone know the world’s predetermined end.
However, the reason the two had stiffened was entirely different from what Laura expected.
Whisper— whisper—
“Senior, no matter how much I think about what she’s saying...”
“Yeah, it sounds like Hayangi. It’s almost identical to how you described her before, Elfriede.”
“You feel it too, right?”
“...But that problem... we already solved it.”
“Well... she wouldn't know that. Only we do.”
“Then... if we can just persuade her on that point, maybe we don't have to fight?”
“Do you think she’ll believe us? She seems half-insane just from the fact that she’s taking on the Empire alone. She won't believe it unless we show her directly.”
“...Then we can just show her, right? Elfriede, how long would it take for you to bring Hayangi here?”
“Hmm... I’ll have to do some mental math for that...”
Watching the two of them mutter to each other, Laura decided that further conversation was meaningless.
“The playtime ends here. You have set foot where you do not belong.”
Clang-clang-clang-clatter!
Responding to Laura’s will, the Army of the Dead rose as one, adjusting their grip on their weapons.
“Leave this instant, and no one gets hurt. Otherwise, you all die.”
Elfriede scowled.
It certainly wasn't a bluff.
Laura was radiating a murderous intent so thick it felt like she would pounce at any second.
They could probably win if she and Ian joined forces, but...
Significant damage was guaranteed.
No, more importantly, from the moment they heard Laura’s objective, this entire fight became utterly pointless.
Thump! Thump!
“No, wait... Stop!!”
“Old Hag, I told you...”
“No, fuck! Stop calling me an Old Hag! And just give me a second here.”
Laura shook her head at Elfriede’s urgent cry.
“I already gave you three days. I can delay no longer. I know not when the Ebony Serpent will appear.”
Even giving them three days for the citizens of the Empire to evacuate was the maximum concession Laura could offer.
Shink—
“If you move now, you’ll regret it.”
The blonde man’s gaze was strikingly serious.
“Because we know the Ebony Serpent.”
“...And you expect me to believe that?”
“We have proof.”
“...Proof? Ha, then by all means, show me.”
“Not right this second. It’s not here. We’ll show you the proof, so just give us two more days.”
“....”
Normally, Laura would have dismissed such a claim as nonsense, but...
“...I will give you one day.”
Elfriede’s brow furrowed at Laura’s words.
‘One day... that’s cutting it close.’
If she flew at full power from start to finish, it might just be possible.
The problem was...
“Senior, I think I can make it back in time on my own, but...”
It meant Ian would have to stay behind alone with that Fallen Saintess.
“It’s okay. Go ahead, Elfriede.”
“....”
Asking if he was really sure was a waste of time.
With a single nod, Elfriede transformed into a red flash and soared into the sky.
Boom—!
“....”
“....”
Suddenly left alone with Ian, Laura felt a strange sense of pressure.
Of course, it wasn't strictly "alone" given the massive Army of the Dead surrounding them...
But there were only two living beings.
Glance—
The man with the gentle smile she had seen in her foresight.
And the man who might have become her husband.
Flop—
As Laura watched him, the man sat down on the spot as if it were nothing.
“What are you doing?”
It was an attitude far too defenseless to show an enemy.
Even if it wasn't Laura, it looked like anyone could take his head in an instant if they felt like it.
“I realized there’s no need to fight.”
“...If she does not return within a day, I will cut you down and move on.”
“She just has to be here within a day, right? That means you won't cut me down until then, so it’s fine.”
“Do you... trust me?”
“Yes. I trust you.”
The man’s answer was incredibly plain and without hesitation.
“...Why?”
“Well... it’s not for any grand reason. It’s just... someone precious to me named Estelle once made the exact same face you’re making.”
“....”
If the roles were reversed, would Laura have been able to trust him?
...No, she wouldn't have.
After a moment of silence following the man’s baseless trust, Laura spoke.
“...My name is Laura Lavandula.”
“...?”
“...From now on, call me by my name, not 'you' or 'her'.”
“Ah, yes... Hello, Ms. Laura.”
“....”
At that, a flicker of dissatisfaction crossed Laura’s brow.
“Is something wrong?”
“...Name.”
“Pardon?”
“Tell me your name. You have heard mine, but I do not know yours.”
“O-oh, sorry. I’m Ian. I don't have a last name.”
As Ian scratched his head awkwardly, she repeated the name in her mind.
“...Ian.”
“Yes, Ms. Laura. What is it?”
“...Your ears are sharper than I thought. There is... no particular reason. I simply called it because I heard it.”
She thought she had whispered it softly, but for him to hear...
Laura struggled to hide her reddening face as she continued.
“Ah, speaking of which, Ms. Laura. Why did you call me 'Dad' at first?”
“....”
“Do I happen to look like your father or something...?”
“Be quiet.”
Flinch!
When Laura drew a hard line as if telling him never to bring up that subject again, I backed off.
‘...But Laura... Lavandula. I’ve heard that somewhere before.’
One might think the name would be famous since she was a Special-Class Subjugation target and a Fallen Saintess...
But Laura was treated as 'The One Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken.' Aside from the atrocities the Fallen Saintess was said to have committed, all other information was under a Sealing Designation, so it was the first time I had even heard her name.
‘Ah, but seriously, where did I hear it...’
And Laura’s voice also felt strangely familiar.
The sensation of every word she spoke echoing in my chest.
It felt like I could remember it with just a tiny spark...
I pondered it for a long time, but dawn arrived before I could recall.
Whoosh—
As the dawn deepened, the air grew quite chilly.
“Um... Ms. Laura?”
“....”
Laura looked over as if asking why I was calling her.
“Would it be okay if I started a fire?”
“...I cannot tell if you are incredibly brave or simply thoughtless. ...Do as you wish.”
“I’ll start it, then.”
As Ian was rummaging around to gather firewood, a thud was heard.
“....”
A skeleton soldier standing nearby had subtly kicked a few usable branches toward him.
When I looked toward Laura at the sight, she was facing away, staring straight ahead.
Crackle— crackle—
Time passed again, and Laura spoke while looking at Ian across the campfire that was turning to ash.
“She is not coming.”
“She’ll be here.”
“...What will you do if that Old Hag abandoned you and fled?”
Ian laughed at Laura’s words.
“Is there any need for that? Even if I tried to leave right now, you’d let me go, wouldn't you, Ms. Laura?”
“....”
He had hit the mark.
She had no intention of attacking anyone as long as they didn't block her path.
“And look, she’s coming.”
Just as Ian said, a red comet was streaking toward them from the distant sky.
However... the presence felt was not one, but two.
Glare—
“Has it increased from two to three now?”
Laura glared at Ian.
He said he would bring proof...
Had he been stalling for time just to call for reinforcements?
“It’s not like that.”
Thud!
Simultaneously with those words, Elfriede landed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Ian!! I’m back!!”
“Yeah, Hayangi.”
Even with the Army of the Dead right in front of her, Hayangi didn't care at all as she lunged at me, hugging me and nuzzling against me.
“......!!”
Laura’s eyes widened in horror at the sight.
It wasn't because another woman was clinging to Ian, who might have been her husband.
It was because the woman clinging to Ian was the very 'White Husk' she had seen in her foresight.
No, that alone wouldn't have shocked her this much.
“...The Ebony... is gone?”
According to the Foresight, the Ebony Serpent should have definitely begun its molting by this time...
But the "White Husk" before her eyes had no horn rotting from the inside, no forked tongue, and no wriggling black scales.
“....How?... How can this be... The Ebony was surely... inside the White body... How on earth...”
“Hey.”
While Laura was spiraling into confusion, unable to accept the sudden change in situation, Elfriede spoke up.
“I get what you were worried about, and I understand why you lived in hiding for over a decade and why you dragged an entire army out here, okay?”
Elfriede scratched the back of her head, looking a little apologetic as she added:
“Sigh... But we already took care of it.”
“...What... did you say?”
“I’m saying... you’re late to the party.”