Chapter 131: Harvest Day
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: Harvest Day
The morning after the pink-haired slut left.
I introduced Mars to my party members.
“This guy’s name is Mars. He’s a good friend of mine, younger than me, and a poor guy who’s had his heart broken twice.”
“Did you really have to add that last part?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but you didn’t have to say it.”
Mars grumbled as he greeted my party.
“Hello, my name is Mars. I was fortunate enough to meet Cloud in the past. It will only be for a short while, but I look forward to being with you all.”
The first to accept his greeting was Katarina. With her gentle nature, she looked at him with pity in her eyes.
“To have your heart broken twice… It must be tough, but hang in there, okay? My name is Katarina. I used to work as a dancer. I’m Cloud’s companion and his lover, so you don’t have to be so formal. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes, it’s nice to meet… huh?”
Mars shot me a look as if to ask if she was telling the truth. When I nodded, he glanced over at Neria and let out a short sigh.
“So it ended up like that after all…”
“What are you talking about? Stop spouting nonsense and keep introducing yourself.”
“Alright.”
Next up was Leslie.
“Hello. I am Leslie, the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Polizzia and Cloud’s wife. Please don’t feel you have to treat me differently because of my status. Feel free to call me sister-in-law.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Did you not hear me? I said to call me sister-in-law.”
A strange pressure emanated from Leslie. Just as Mars was getting flustered, Katarina jumped in.
“Hey! Why are you the sister-in-law?! I’m the sister-in-law!”
“Yes. You can be a sister-in-law too, Ms. Katarina. I will be one as well.”
“That’s not the point!”
Katarina shouted while Leslie calmly retorted.
It was a common sight for me, so I was just letting it happen, but then I felt Mars’s gaze on me.
It was the kind of look you give a piece of trash, completely devoid of any respect for his elder.
Normally, I would have delivered a harsh punishment for such audacious insubordination, but this time, I had nothing to say for myself, so I subtly turned my head and avoided his gaze.
When I noticed their voices getting louder, I stepped in to stop them.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.
“…Let’s just call it a day for now. We can finish this over dinner. And Neria, could you come with me for a moment?”
“Huh? Me?”
Neria, who had been staring at the ground with a gloomy expression, jumped in surprise and pointed at herself.
“Yes, you. I have an item to give you, so follow me.”
I led the bewildered girl into my room. After undoing the locking magic on my wardrobe, I took out the Lion King’s armor and shield.
Seeing them, Neria’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me the item you wanted to give me is…”
“Yep. This is it. The Lion King’s Armor, a national treasure of the Carta Kingdom. You saw Lorian using it, right?”
“Y-Yeah…”
“Take it. It’s yours now.”
I handed her the armor. As she accepted it in a daze, she looked back and forth between the armor and me.
“W-Why are you giving something like this to me…?”
She seemed to be implying that there must be someone more suitable than her.
To be honest, after prying the Lion King’s Armor from Lorian, I had given it a lot of thought.
Who would be the best person to use it?
First of all, not me.
I was confident I could use it well if I had to, but there was no need. I was long past the stage of relying on equipment. Besides, this armor is most effective when worn by a tanker with high defense.
I considered giving it to Mars, but I passed for similar reasons.
After a process of elimination, the only person left was Neria.
She’s a tanker, so this armor is a good match for her. If she uses it well, she could become a reliable vanguard.
“You’ve been training nonstop lately without any rest, haven’t you? Think of it as a reward for all your hard work.”
Neria’s pupils trembled faintly.
“Really… Am I allowed to accept this…?”
“Of course. You’re the right person for it. I want you to be our party’s reliable shield.”
“Cloud…”
Her eyes began to well up with tears. I quickly raised my hands in a gesture to stop her.
“Wait, wait. Let’s just add one condition.”
“What is it? Tell me anything. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Neria nodded with a determined expression. I pleaded with her in an earnest voice.
“Stop crying so much. You’re a grown woman, it’s not right to keep doing that. Don’t you think?”
“…”
As if she knew it was embarrassing herself, Neria blushed and hung her head.
If you know, then let’s not do it again.
*
For a while after that day, nothing special happened.
The only changes were that Neria’s inferiority complex grew stronger after being repeatedly defeated by Mars in their spars, and Ophelia was starting to feel a sense of rivalry toward the new saint candidate, Marietta.
Three uneventful months passed, and the Karta Noble Alliance finally sent the ransom.
Now that I had the money, I had no reason, nor any need, to hold them any longer.
Tomorrow morning, they would be leaving Lupus.
“Do you really… have to be like this, even on our last day?”
Lorraine, lying beneath me, wore a fed-up expression. I chuckled and stroked her hair.
“It’s because it’s the last day. We won’t see each other for a long time after tomorrow.”
“…It won’t be that long. You’re coming to the Imperial social gathering, aren’t you?”
“We can’t be like this there. There will be too many eyes.”
“Since when do you care about prying eyes?”
“Is there and here the same?”
“What’s the difference?”
“You’re not being serious, are you?”
“Ah, I don’t care! Do whatever you want!”
Lorraine clicked her tongue in annoyance and whipped her head to the side. I began to move my hips. I figured she’d loosen up after a few thrusts, just like always.
But it seemed this time was different.
“Mmph. Nngh. Mmph…!”
She was seriously sulking, covering her face with a pillow and even holding back her moans. Wondering how long she would keep it up, I silently continued to move my hips.
Only after I came inside her about three times did she move the pillow and cautiously reveal her face.
“…How long are you planning to go? You usually leave around this time.”
“I’m not leaving today.”
“What?”
“I said I’m not leaving. It’s our last day, right? I’m staying all night.”
Lorraine’s face began to turn as red as a ripe persimmon.
“R-Really? Y-You’re not planning on… keeping me up all night or something, are you?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
I whispered into her ear.
“I’ll warn you now. You’re going to be very tired tomorrow.”
“You’re a real pervert…”
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Before the east gate of Lupus.
The nobles and knights were preparing to leave the city.
Among them was Lorian, who was arguing with Marietta, his former saint candidate.
“To betray one’s trust so lightly. I can’t believe you are a saint candidate of the Church of Iries.”
“Trust? Are you, Sir Lorian, really one to speak of trust?!”
The two hadn’t started out arguing. Lorian had tried to persuade Marietta, but she had already made up her mind and kept refusing, which led to them getting on each other’s nerves and starting a fight.
Taking advantage of the attention drawn to the fighting pair, I approached a haggard-looking Lorraine.
“Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay to you…?”
She gave me a dumbfounded look before letting out a deep sigh.
“I can’t believe you actually went at it all night. My hips, my everything… there isn’t a single place that doesn’t ache. Because of you.”
“That’s not what you were saying when you were clinging to me.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Anyway, your brother’s argument is over. I’m going before they spot me. Get home safe.”
“W-Wait!”
I had said my goodbyes and turned to leave when she grabbed my collar.
Thinking she had something more to say, I turned back to find her hesitating with her head hung low.
“What is it?”
“W-Well…”
After opening and closing her mouth a few times, Lorraine finally said, as if making a declaration:
“N-Next time, I’ll win, so you’d better be ready!”
Seeing her somewhat awkward state, I couldn’t help but ask, even though I already knew.
“What are you talking about? A spar? Or in bed?”
Lorraine’s face turned bright red.
“W-What are you talking about?! Of course I mean…!”
She stopped there, her lips pressed tightly together. Gripping the hem of her clothes, she avoided my gaze and muttered softly.
“B-Both…”
*
“Sir Gis! You have to get away!”
A female knight in full plate armor shouted as she grabbed hold of Gis.
Her dented and broken armor spoke of the battle’s ferocity, while the burning city and the corpses of soldiers strewn about testified to their defeat.
“Let go of me! I’m not going anywhere until I kill that bald-headed bastard!”
His left arm was severed, and his right arm was seared by black flame. Blood poured from a wound inflicted by a great curved sword, so much that it wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed at any moment.
Despite this, Gis struggled against his companions pulling him back, glaring with murderous eyes at a scar-faced orc.
He was the great chieftain leading the orc army, the one who had dealt Gis such a crushing defeat.
“You son of a bitch, you just wait right there! I’ll be back to slice that thick neck of yours!”
The orc watched in silence as Gis was finally overpowered by his companions and dragged away.
Another orc, seeing this, complained.
“It would have been better to just kill him. This is just leaving a problem for the future.”
“That human is the Hero. If we killed someone like him, the Empire wouldn’t stand for it. I’d rather fight that wet-behind-the-ears Hero than take on the Empire.”
With those words, he no longer paid Gis any mind.
The Great Chieftain, Lugar, turned his back.