Chapter 198: An Ill-Fated Relationship (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: An Ill-Fated Relationship (4)
“First, fill your stomach. You can't get revenge or do anything on an empty stomach.”
Neria nodded obediently and began to eat the food Ophelia had left for her. Feeling awkward just watching her eat, Cloud stepped outside the hut.
He was leaning against a tree, waiting for Neria to finish her meal, when an unexpected person appeared before him.
“They said you were here… Ah, there he is. Ahem. Hey, Cloud!”
Having just crested the hill, Eri’s face lit up like a puppy that had found its owner the moment she spotted Cloud. She quickly cleared her throat and composed herself.
Her usual prickly expression returned as she approached him.
“When did you get to the village?”
“Today.”
“You should’ve told me you were here. I was lucky I overheard some villagers talking, otherwise I wouldn't have even known you'd arrived.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to be sorry… Actually, yes you do! You should be sorry. So if you’re sorry, do better from now on!”
“Right.”
“Anyway, what took you so long? Do you have any idea how boring this village was? Well, thanks to that, I was able to focus on my magic research in peace.”
“Good for you.”
Eri couldn’t hide her delight at seeing Cloud after so long. She was eager to boast about her accomplishments and wanted him to acknowledge and praise her.
But as time went on, her expression soured.
The smile that had stretched from ear to ear the moment she saw him flattened into a thin line.
“What’s with you? What’s your problem?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been giving me half-assed answers this whole time.”
“Have I?”
“Yes, you have.”
“I see. Sorry if I upset you.”
“That’s not the kind of formal apology I wanted to hear!”
Eri’s fine brow furrowed. She found it incredibly irritating that he was acting this way after they hadn’t seen each other for so long.
“What is wrong with you? Did I do something wrong?”
Cloud shook his head.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it!”
Hearing Eri’s sorrowful shout, Cloud had to suppress the sigh rising in his throat.
This is so annoying.
Listening to her brag, coming up with appropriate responses, and now dealing with her complaining—it was all a pain in the ass.
No, it was more than just annoying; it was starting to piss him off.
“I’m just in a bad mood.”
“Then you should have just said so from the start. Why didn’t you say anything and make me look like a clueless idiot?”
Eri shot Cloud a glare, then let out a sigh.
“What are you in such a bad mood about? Tell me. I’ll listen.”
“Forget it.”
“I said, tell me. Can’t you even tell me that, after all we’ve been through?”
“I said forget it. It’s not like we’re that close. We’re nothing special.”
His cynical words made Eri’s expression freeze.
Her trembling lips parted.
“Why are you talking like that? What do you mean, we’re nothing special?!”
“Then you tell me. What are we to each other?”
“We’re—”
She, who had been about to shout with confidence, clamped her mouth shut. It wasn’t that she had nothing to say. She was debating whether to speak from the heart or just state the facts.
Cloud pressed her.
“We’re?”
“…We’re companions.”
After much deliberation, she finally stated the fact, leaving her personal feelings out of it. Even so, Cloud’s reaction was lukewarm.
“Companions…”
He recalled Eri’s reaction when the real Cloud had died. Her companion of several years was dead, yet instead of grieving, she had tried her best to get on his good side.
Her, a companion?
“I’m not so sure…”
He didn’t particularly like the idea.
“...What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eri asked, her face a mask of shock. Cloud stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes. Just then, Neria, having finished her meal, emerged from the hut.
“We’ll talk later. Later.”
“W-Wait! Stop. We need to finish this conversation!”
Eri shot to her feet and grabbed his shoulder. Cloud sighed and knocked her arm away with the back of his hand.
“I said we’ll talk later.”
His voice, laced with irritation, made Eri freeze.
Cloud left her standing there and walked over to Neria, leaving Eri to stare blankly at his back.
*
After agreeing to help Neria with her revenge, Cloud began to train her.
It wasn’t training in the sense of teaching her swordsmanship or new techniques.
All he did was engage her in sparring that was as close to real combat as possible.
But that alone was brutal enough.
“Gahk..!”
Kicked in the stomach, Neria rolled across the ground. The powerful blow knocked the wind out of her, but even then, Cloud didn’t stop.
He closed the distance in an instant and stomped his foot down.
Thud!
Neria rolled away, dodging his foot by a hair’s breadth. Then, to buy time to get up, she slashed her sword upward.
But Cloud dodged it with ease. Not only that, but he took advantage of the moment she rose unsteadily to her feet and stabbed her with his dagger.
Stab.
The dagger pierced through the skin of her stomach.
“Kugh!”
Thanks to Cloud’s expert skill, her organs weren’t seriously damaged. But the pain in her abdomen and the fear of being stabbed were real. Neria gritted her teeth, enduring the pain and terror, and grabbed Cloud’s wrist with her left hand.
“Got you..!”
Holding him so he couldn’t escape, she threw a punch at his face.
Before the punch could land, Cloud headbutted her. Her fist cut through empty air, and the direct impact left her head spinning.
As Neria momentarily lost her balance, Cloud grabbed her by the hair.
He then drove his fist into her face.
Smack! Thud! Crack!
A series of vicious impacts followed. Neria couldn’t keep her senses straight under the endless barrage of blows to her face. She tried to resist, but it only resulted in her flailing her arms pathetically.
“You lost again.”
Cloud stopped the beating and threw the dazed Neria toward Ophelia, who was standing in a corner. Ophelia hastily stretched out her arms to catch the flying Neria.
Seeing Neria’s wounds, Ophelia let out a small gasp.
Isn’t this too harsh…?
The question of whether this was truly necessary took root in her mind.
“Heal her.”
“Y-Yes..!”
But she didn’t dare question Cloud.
She felt that if she got on his bad side one more time, their connection would be severed for good.
Ophelia chanted a healing spell over the fallen Neria. A white light bloomed from her hands, enveloping Neria and beginning to mend her wounds.
As her injuries healed and the pain subsided, Neria’s dazed mind began to clear.
“Get up.”
It seemed a cruel thing to say to someone who had just been healed. But Neria got up without a word of complaint and took the sword and shield Cloud tossed her.
He beckoned with his index finger, the dagger still in his hand.
Taking a deep breath, Neria let out a yell and charged at Cloud.
Cloud gauged the distance between them. When she was close enough, he kicked the ground, sending a spray of dirt into the air.
Neria raised her shield to block the dirt from her eyes. In that brief opening, Cloud circled around to her side.
“How many times have I told you?”
Thwack!
Kicked in the side, she staggered back a few steps. She quickly turned her shield to block the follow-up attack, but he struck her shield and all, sending her sprawling backward.
“You might be a little strong, but you’re nothing more than a rat compared to Gis. So why is a rat fighting as stubbornly as an ox? Are you trying to get stomped to death?”
Cloud placed his foot on Neria’s chest and slowly applied pressure. Neria grabbed his leg and tried to lift it, but Cloud had used the Ogre’s Pattern to increase his strength.
No matter how much she struggled, his leg wouldn’t budge.
As the pressure gradually increased, just as she thought her body would actually burst and she would die, he lifted his foot and kicked her hard.
“Gahk! Cough… Cough…”
Watching Neria, who had been sent flying and was now struggling to pick herself up, he warned her.
“If you’re a rat, fight like a rat. Blind him with dirt, spit in his eyes, use poison, shake his resolve with insults—use everything you can. That’s the only way you’ll take at least an arm… no, an eyeball from him. Understand?”
Neria nodded, panting for breath.
Cloud put down his dagger and took out the chain scythe that had been wrapped around his waist. He began to swing the chain with the sickle at its end.
“Good. Now, come at me again.”
*
Naphtalia, a small city on the Empire’s border with the Alitia Kingdom.
Under the banner of the Empire, two guards were patrolling the utterly peaceful night streets of Naphtalia.
“Yaaawn… Ugh, I’m dead tired.”
“You knew you had the dawn patrol today. What were you doing during the day instead of sleeping?”
“What do you think? I won some money.”
“You crazy bastard. Still can’t quit dice? Even after your wife beat you for it?”
“Ah, I couldn’t help it today. I just had this feeling the moment I woke up! It hit me! It was one of those days where I’d have been an idiot not to go.”
“Ugh, what a moron… At this rate, he’s going to lose his house and his wife will run off.”
Instead of being tense, the two guards were completely relaxed, chatting idly as they made their rounds. On any other night, it wouldn’t have been a major issue.
The only kind of nighttime disturbance in this peaceful little city was usually just a drunkard violating curfew.
If they were caught slacking off now, they’d just get a small scolding and that would be it.
But, most unfortunately for them, tonight was the night the city’s peace would be threatened.
Figures moving stealthily through the darkness ambushed the two patrolmen.
They clamped their hands over the guards’ mouths and sank their fangs into their necks.
“Mmph! Mmphh!!”
The patrolmen screamed and struggled, but only for a moment. Drained of all their blood, the two men collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
The two vampires dragged the guards’ bodies into a corner and gestured to the other vampires hiding in the shadows.
At their signal, the vampires infiltrated the city in perfect unison.
The moon set and the sun rose.
The city was still quiet.