Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Village of Liars
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Following Victoria, who was practically fleeing outside, I stepped out to find my comrades already prepared to depart, waiting for us.
Among them, one person in particular couldn't suppress his smile, his lips curling upward as he slung an arm around my shoulder.
"Did you sleep well? Judging by your face, it doesn't look like you got much rest."
The Flame Hero, Kyle Dragonica, looked back and forth between Victoria and me, posing the question as if probing me.
"Don't even ask. Our esteemed Saint tormented me all night."
I answered his question truthfully. It was a fact that Victoria, lacking her teddy bear, clung to me tightly all night, causing me to lose sleep.
I had phrased it that way to spare her the embarrassment of having her sleeping habits exposed to others.
"What...? You two, don't tell me...?"
"Was what you just said... for real...?"
Everyone's gaze shot toward me. The Spirit Mage looked at me with incredulous, suspicious eyes, and the Hero stood there, mouth agape in shock.
"I always thought you two would end up like that someday. If you truly had no interest in each other, you wouldn't even argue."
Only the archer, Taryon, nodded to himself, muttering that he'd witnessed something good.
"Victoria, right? You've only been together for a day, and you're already that far along?"
"......"
- We didn't do anything like that! I told you we just held hands while sleeping! Ah, although I did hug you...!
Victoria remained silent in response to Anima's question. She just stared at me, her face flushing red. Her covered mouth and trembling eyes spoke volumes about her feelings.
"Answer me! You said you'd rather die than be with a virgin mage like him!"
Why was everyone reacting like this? I could sense something was terribly wrong from the look Anima was giving me—a look that could kill.
Objectively speaking, Victoria and I weren't close enough to do anything untoward.
I never dreamed that my attempt to protect Victoria's dignity by speaking vaguely would be taken as the literal truth.
"I think there's a misunderstanding. We really only intended to hold hands while sleeping... But Victoria..."
I hurriedly tried to confess the truth. It seemed if this misunderstanding grew any bigger, it would become truly irreparable.
But then,
"We absolutely did not kiss. I'm saving that for a man I truly love. As of now, Lord Astal is not that person to me."
- As of now, we've only hugged! We haven't kissed like you all are thinking! W-well, I have practiced a lot in my imagination...!
Victoria's shocking statement came at that moment. Her inner thoughts, which equated physical intimacy with kissing, were also audible.
The imagination of this pure Saint, who had zero experience with men, was more than enough to fuel everyone's misunderstanding.
"What? So you're saying you did other things? You just started dating...!!"
"...I'll leave that to your imaginations. I think I'd like to keep some things just between the two of us."
- I-if I say it like this, the others won't misunderstand, right? Later, I want to use the contract relationship as an excuse to try kissing too...!
I felt dizzy and pressed my hand to my forehead. Anyone hearing that would inevitably assume we'd already crossed the line.
- The romance novels clearly said moving your tongue in circles is important. Later, I'll be able to lead Lord Astal confidently...!
No matter how I looked at it, her inner thoughts felt terrifying. In the limited time of one month, Victoria was pulling out all the stops to conquer me.
"You all seem to be misunderstanding something. Victoria and I really didn't do anything."
To set the record straight on its bizarre course, I tried to explain the truth of last night. That it was only because I was secretly drinking and smoking that Victoria scolded me.
But,
"Then who was the man who saw me naked yesterday? I distinctly remember it was Lord Astal..."
"That was because you came out of the shower with only a towel..."
"The fact that you only remember that part just confirms you're a genuine pervert. So, did you enjoy it? Sleeping with the Saint rumored to be the most beautiful on the continent."
Victoria wore a relaxed smile as she teased me. At her question, everyone else fell silent, waiting only for my answer.
"...It was truly the worst."
"Is that so? I found it quite wonderful. I never knew a person's warmth could be so comforting."
Victoria's eyes curved gently as she pretended to show no particular agitation.
- I liked it so much I'd want to sleep like this every day... Could it be he disliked me hugging him? I was quite confident in my chest, you know. It should have been quite soft...
It certainly had a presence as immense as a mountain. It was a violent embrace that touched every part of my body, keeping me from sleeping soundly despite being heavily intoxicated.
"I'm never sleeping with you again."
"Is it perhaps that you're afraid of feeling lust for me? This morning, I saw you were quite... energetic. Isn't that a natural physiological phenomenon?"
- From what I confirmed this morning, he's definitely not impotent. So why won't he give in to me...? Was the underwear the problem after all? Or could it be... he prefers them small?
"You, a woman called a Saint, talking such obscene nonsense...!"
Unable to bear the heat rising to my face, I yelled at Victoria. Her inner thoughts, audible regardless of time or place, kept grating on my nerves.
"Is there some law that says a Saint cannot speak this way? As expected, you really show your lack of experience with women."
- Good, there's a reaction...! As I thought, Lord Astal has no experience with the opposite sex either, so he has no immunity! This is the first time I've seen him blush!
In her heart, Victoria celebrated a small victory and didn't stop teasing me. Even though the Saint, who is practically worshipped as another religion in the Holy Kingdom, saying such things would unsettle anyone.
"You two, save the lover's quarrel for later. I'm sorry we didn't realize until now..."
To the point that even the Hero, Kyle, tried to mediate our fight. To an outsider, it must have looked like a lovers' spat.
"It's not like that."
"It's not a lover's quarrel. It's just a common argument."
In that moment, I forgot the fact of our contract relationship and denied Kyle's words. The idea of having a lover's quarrel with a woman like her was absurd.
"Alright, fine, whatever. Let's focus on where we need to go next. You all know the next place we're headed is called the 'Village of Liars,' right?"
Kyle spoke while looking at a map of the Demon Realm carved on one wall of the inn, tapping a location not far from here with his finger to mark it.
"Yeah, it's the place with the legend that the moment you enter the village, you lose your way due to thick fog, and monsters disguised as people you know trick you and take your life."
The Village of Liars. It was a place even within the Demon Realm known as treacherous terrain, a location we had to pass through to reach the territories ruled by the Four Heavenly Kings.
Before facing the Demon King, we needed to eliminate the Four Heavenly Kings first to avoid being hindered later and to rescue the innocent people captured by them.
"Right, originally we planned to use Astal's magic to move together without getting separated... But after hearing the innkeeper's words today, I think we need to change the plan."
Kyle nodded at my words and looked toward the human with a pig's head sitting at a distant table, wiping a glass, as he spoke.
Due to my Perception Hindrance Magic, even humans appeared as fellow demons now. It seemed Kyle had used his own blood to give the innkeeper a tip.
"He said no magic, divine power, mystery, spirit arts, or even my Holy Sword will work to expose the fakes."
"...What? Is that really possible?"
Hearing Kyle's words, I couldn't believe my ears. If such a thing were possible, it meant not only the Demon King but the Four Heavenly Kings could do the same.
I'd seen many enemies highly resistant to magic or immune to physical attacks before. But a demon or monster that could neutralize all our specialties was a first.
"The one who's settled there is the Chameleon Dragon. Commonly known as the Phantom Dragon."
Kyle raised a finger and mentioned the name of the enemy we would soon face. In this world, dragons were classified as beings humans could never defeat.
"Originally, I suspected monsters like Doppelgangers or Invisible Men... The situation has changed."
There was a reason Kyle's family was famous as a Dragon Slayer clan. It meant you couldn't kill one unless you were that level of specialist.
"Whether it's its offspring or an adult, there's probably no way to tell if it's a fake. It reads the memories and habits of whoever it's mimicking and acts exactly the same."
"The problem is we could hurt the real one, right? So if the fake is exposed, attacks work?"
"Right. Normally, when fighting a dragon, it's best to target the muscles under the wings... But this one is like a giant chameleon, so it crawls on the ground."
Kyle was someone with such specialized knowledge about dragons. As he shared information about the enemy, I immediately began thinking of a way to defeat the Chameleon Dragon.
"What if we tie ourselves together with invisible threads? Then anyone without a thread would be immediately identifiable. My eyes can read the flow of magical power."
"Won't work. The Phantom Dragon has the ability to copy even the magic cast on its target."
"Then how are we supposed to do it, ultimately?"
"Well..."
Kyle glanced at me and Victoria for a moment, then smiled meaningfully and opened his mouth.
"If lovers pair up and pass through, wouldn't that make it easier to distinguish fake from real?"
"What...?"
"Why should we do that? You said the enemy is a creature that perfectly mimics us. Wouldn't it be better for us all to move together?"
I was speechless at the unexpected solution from Kyle's mouth, and Victoria vehemently denied it, acting as if she absolutely refused.
With that level of attitude, even knowing it was a contract relationship, I almost felt a little hurt.
"Hear me out. The memories the Phantom Dragon can read are precisely 'one week old.' Unlike the present we know, it will fabricate lies based on that."
Seeing our reactions, Kyle pressed his forehead and added more explanation about the Chameleon Dragon.
Ultimately, it would mimic based on our memories from before we started dating, so we just needed to spot that difference.
Come to think of it, if a mere monster, not even a Heavenly King, had no such weakness, it would have been superior to the Succubus Queen.
"In that case, does that mean I can legally interrogate my partner to test them? This could be fun."
- Ah, an opportunity to legally ask about Lord Astal's ideal type has appeared...! Thank you, Mr. Chameleon!
Hearing that, Victoria chuckled softly, clearly having some strange thought.
It seemed she planned to ask me things she'd been curious about, as preparation against the Phantom Dragon.
"...Can you tell me what your ideal type is? For reference."
I decided to strike first.