Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Late Visitor (1)
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"...This hurts a bit."
Elena clutched her head and grimaced.
The reason was that Cyan, upon waking up, had immediately balled her fist and socked her right in the head upon seeing her.
Her head throbbed and stung, and it even felt like a bump was forming, doubling the pain.
"Next time you feed someone that kind of stuff, warn them first. And tell them ahead of time that your master is such a maniac."
"Th-that's definitely my fault for being rude. Honestly, I get why you're mad after meeting a guy like that."
"Hah, at least we got some useful info out of it."
Cyan reached into empty air and pulled something out from her subspace.
⚙ ITEM ACQUIRED ⚙ ▶ Item – Accessory 『Spatial Crystal』 ※ Unknown ※ A necklace made from a soul stone. A gem glowing with red light.
It was the spatial crystal she'd received from Time's Transcendent just moments ago.
Elena stared at the necklace in fascination, turning it this way and that. Soon, she pulled out a book and sketched it roughly, jotting down a description as well.
"...What are you doing?"
"I've never seen that necklace before. We can only see stories from after we were born. It was probably made before that."
Elena explained.
She had lived since the primordial era, but she knew nothing about the first Transcendent, Cresia.
Her younger sister Alena might have glimpsed that past, but their master Diavela had forbidden peering into times before then except in dire emergencies, so even she didn't know.
'She recognized me and Diavela.'
Cyan had a rough idea why.
She recalled how the woman had sensed and repelled even Diavela's observation, whose power over authority was no less—perhaps greater—than that of the twins.
'She observes from up close, but Diavela deliberately watched from afar for a reason. Though we still got caught anyway.'
Even so, they'd been detected and driven off.
Luckily, the woman wasn't aggressive, so nothing bad happened. But if she'd attacked, Cyan doubted she could have resisted properly.
Especially if her personality was like Alena's—or worse, Diavela's. That would have been a nightmare.
What might have happened to her then?
...Probably nothing good.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 1.
-Pzzt!
As blue particles gathered, her vision returned, and sensation flooded back into her limbs.
This was the usual feeling when passing through a portal.
Portals moved you through nonexistent paths to spaces severed from the main world.
Some got portal shock and puked, but she'd never experienced that.
-Flash!
"Phew, finally back."
She stepped out and surveyed her surroundings.
She wasn't sure of the exact time, but judging by the sun, it was around 2 or 3 p.m. outside.
[The Forest of Dawn and the outside don't share the same time flow. Time here passes about twice as fast as outside. If you leave now, roughly two days will have passed out there.]
What shocked her was that four days had gone by during her brief meeting with Diavela.
The Forest of Dawn had no day-night cycle since time didn't exist there normally, but relative to outside time, that's how much had elapsed, according to Elena.
'The Turk Company stays for about three days, right? So one day left.'
Best to head back to the Miresho first.
Walking would take time, but with teleport, no need. Places she couldn't teleport to were limited to bounded areas like the Forest of Dawn or spots she'd never been before.
Excluding those, even flying airships were fair game.
Come to think of it, what was Louise up to now?
Before coming here, she'd locked her in the room with the tentacles. Two days later, had she reflected enough?
'Hmm.'
Endless tentacles sprouting; the cabin was spacious, but left alone, their volume would fill a sealed room quick.
And they'd target the room's sole lifeform—and female—Louise.
No matter their level, Louise could dragon out and escape, but Cyan had ordered no resistance, making that impossible.
"...She didn't die, right?"
Black tentacles coiled around the fleeing girl.
They invaded every hole, plugging her mouth to force in aphrodisiac slime, extending into her ears to manipulate nerves.
What followed wasn't spectacular.
Feelers slithered under clothes, binding limbs to immobilize her.
Soon her whole body was slick with slime, neck, chest, arms, legs wrapped tight...
That's when it really began.
From experience, those tentacles felt like thousands of snails crawling over skin.
Inside the body? Imagine countless snails filling you up.
Writhing within.
No matter how Louise screamed or begged with whitening eyes and fading mind, they wouldn't stop without Cyan's command.
"Well, that'll be punishment enough."
Seemed sufficient.
Daring to shove her wasn't enough; she even had those delusions?
And because of it, Cyan had let Alena slip away.
If not for business with the archmages, she'd have disciplined her personally, but no time—so tentacles it was.
...Time to end it.
-Flash!
She teleported to the Miresho.
But not straight to the cabin.
It was probably tentacle-packed; teleporting in might get her swarmed too.
Disgusting tentacles devouring her body? Oh, that rivaled Diavela in horror. ...No, insult to the tentacles.
If choosing, tentacles it was.
-Click!
"...Louise, reflected enough?"
She shoved aside stray thoughts and opened the cabin door.
"?"
Cleaner than expected.
No tentacle mess or fishy slime; just like always.
-Squelch! Squish!
But something had happened.
"Ah, ahh... Stop, p-please stop...!"
Louise's voice first, then slithering tentacles.
A faint fishy smell hung in the air, but the cabin wasn't filled.
Seemed tidy, like nothing occurred.
So the sounds came from...?
"Eek! Urgh... Again, again?! Hah, ah!"
Louise's pained moans.
From the bedroom.
Tentacles writhing in there with her, busy at something.
'In there, huh.'
She headed over.
"Urgh, ngh... I lost. Please be gentle... Don't hurt, please be nice..."
Louise's pleading voice, then more slithering as tentacles approached.
She begged, but they wouldn't stop.
No matter how she cried.
-Creak
As she opened the door to peek...
-Thud!
"Ugh?"
"Aaaah...! Hurts, it hurts! I said be nice! My forehead's already red!"
Louise suddenly flew at her, crashing into her.
She tried charging forward in a huff; her two horns pierced clothes in the collision—right at chest level.
'What the—why...'
Horns were sharp, but no injury.
Normally she'd snap over it, but the room's scene left her speechless.
She even forgot to get mad.
'...Chess? And booze smell?'
How to describe the room?
Chessboard on the table, beside sashimi-like fish and dozens of green glass soju bottles scattered around.
-Squelch, squish!
Across the table, human-sized tentacle coiled a chess piece, writhing like it'd been playing Louise.
'What the hell were they doing.'
Perplexing.
How had Louise avoided tentacles, even played chess?
And lost.
Perfectly checkmated by the tentacle.
'Now I'm seeing dragons and tentacles downing soju over chess.'
With sashimi snacks...
"Hey, Louise. What the hell is this?"
"Huh?"
The absurdity made her forget scolding; she just asked.
But Louise seemed off.
"What're you? Who're you to call me by name?"
Alcohol on her breath. Drunk?
Red face confirmed it—not natural for red dragon skin. ...This was insane.
"...You're wasted. Snap out of it."
"Snap out? What, sober up~?"
Then—
-Rip! Splash!
"?"
Louise grabbed and tore her clothes, splashing table soju on her.
Had she lost it? Drunk madness, maybe.
'Damn...'
Soju dripped from chest and belly: drip, drip.
Looked like a whore to passersby.
...Yet, oddly, no anger.
Normally, she'd yeet Louise outside.
"Snap out of what?! Come on, you black bitch! Pounce on that arrogant slut over there! She looks just like that bitch!"
"......"
"What, why not? Bite those fat tits till that smug face is tear-streaked and wailing!"
-Slither...
The tentacle eyed her and crawled under the bed.
Seemed to recognize her.
No glass by it, so probably sober.
Whether tentacles could drink anyway...
"Fuck... Why not pounce on her? She looks just like that arrogant bitch! Same smug face, uselessly huge tits, blood-red eyes! Just like the one who tossed me to you!"
As it hid, Louise approached her.
-Splash!
"Mm."
"Hmph, damn... That arrogant bitch! People—dragons—make mistakes! But for that!!!"
Louise stomped over, uncorked another bottle, splashed more.
Clothes soaked, underwear visible.
Archmage robes were thin; top torn, exposure worse.
"Y'know, you look just like her. But she doesn't have horns like you? Hides 'em with Transform, looks high elf."
Oh, right—no Transform on exit.
Always remind her, yet forgot again.
-Pzzt!
She cast Transform to hide horns.
"Yes! That look! Now you're exactly her!"
"......"
-Smack! Slurp!
Louise clung, rubbing face, licking soju off her body.
Hmm, wait...
What was she gonna say again?
This lizard brat's crazy antics made her forget.
Something important...
Ah.
"...Remembered."
"Huh? Remember wha—"
"Louise? I'm back."
"Back? Back from wh— Huh?"
She smiled sweetly at Louise.
After saying that, if Louise pulled this crap, how would she react?
"Wh-what? Huh? Ah?"
"Drank a lot, huh? Only now recognizing me. Got put through hell because of you."
"S-sorry! Sorry! I must've gone nuts! Sorry! Really sorry!"
Louise snapped to, frantically wiping soju off her.
Shocked pale—white dragon levels—begging, crying.
"Really sorry! N-never again!"
"It's fine. I don't get mad over this. Even if you call me arrogant slut or big-titted bitch."
Yeah, no anger.
"R-really...? For real?"
"Yeah. Even forgive mouthing off like that."
"F-for real?!"
"Told you."
She'd forgive for real.
Drunks go crazy sometimes; blabber unconsciously.
"...Louise?"
"Y-yes? Lady Cyan? What?"
Yeah, the booze was the villain.
-Thwack!
"Guhk...? Ah, hngh?! Uwuk...!"
Punch to Louise's gut.
-Thud!
"Ugh, urk... Uweeeek..."
Louise collapsed, puking up all the soju.
Floor messy, but whatever.
"U, ahh... Why? Y-you said you forgave..."
"I forgive you. But I can't forgive the booze that made you like this."
Couldn't forgive the booze.
So make her puke it all out.
"...Ah, uh?"
"Tore clothes, blabbered crap, splashed booze... Thirty hits should do."
"Th-thirty...?"
"Bite down. Don't bite tongue."
Absolutely no tolerance for bad booze filling her ship.
⚔ SKILL ⚔ [Back of the Blade Strike – Combat Skill]
※ Attribute: Physical / Range: 3m / Max Targets: 1
- Special: Always leaves target with at least 1 HP.
▶ Basic close-range combat skill. Can use weapons.