Chapter 39: The Imperial Social Gathering
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: The Imperial Social Gathering
The heart of the continent.
The Imperial Social Gathering, held in the Imperial Palace.
Merely attending was an honor for one's family.
Merely attending opened up infinite opportunities.
This was the Imperial Social Gathering.
A place for the nobles who led the continent.
“I heard a lot of your companions died during the ogre hunt, didn't they? How tragic~”
In this noble venue was a frivolous man who didn't belong. A handsome man with brilliant blond hair and contrasting tan skin.
The Hero of the Alitia Kingdom, Gis.
He sat lounging with his legs crossed, plucking a grape and popping it into his mouth.
“It was a noble sacrifice. Their sacrifice will be recorded in history and passed down to future generations.”
Ironically, the man sitting across from Gis was a perfect fit for the Imperial Social Gathering.
A handsome man with long, neatly arranged hair, giving him the air of a refined nobleman.
The Hero of the Carta Kingdom, Lorian.
He took a sip of his tea with a composed posture.
“Sacrifice... Heh, you put a nice spin on it. Well, whatever. But I hear rumors that your party hasn't recovered from the damage you took during the ogre subjugation... Looks like the rumors are true, huh?”
Gis said, glancing at Lorian’s party members, who were conversing with other nobles.
They hadn't added any new members since the battle with the ogres.
Still just five of them.
And since Eri was practically treated as baggage, they really only had four.
Lorian chuckled at Gis’s jab and replied.
“I had a realization that day. It's better to have a small, elite group than to just increase numbers with mediocre people.”
“Sounds like you're taking a jab at me.”
“That wasn't my intention, but if that's how you feel, then I suppose it is.”
“Goddammit, Lorian. I've told you a million times, I hate the way you noble bastards talk shit indirectly like some little girl.”
“Then I'll be direct. Know your limits. I hear your party has already surpassed sixteen members. Do you just pick up any woman you find attractive?”
“To be precise, we have to be sexually compatible. The continent is full of attractive women. I can't take them all with me, so I'm already compromising, you know?”
Lorian frowned.
“Then let me ask you one thing. Among your party members, how many can actually participate in combat?”
“More than you think. They're all surprisingly talented. Even these two bitches behind me were members of the great Hero Cloud's party, weren't they?”
Gis pointed behind him with his thumb.
Two beautiful women stood there.
Neria, a beauty with short blue hair and Cloud's childhood friend.
Ophelia, a beauty with golden-blonde hair and emerald eyes, a former Saint Candidate from Cloud's party.
Unlike the other party members, they were not free to move about.
From the beginning, their position was different from Gis's other companions.
To Gis, they were nothing more than trophies.
Seeing the two women, Lorian let out a deep sigh.
“You should say that after you get rid of the bruise on her neck.”
“What?”
Gis turned his gaze to his trophies. Just as Lorian had said, a bruise was visible on Neria's neck.
His brow furrowed sharply.
“Hey, Ophelia.”
“...Yes, Sir Hero.”
“Didn't I tell you to make sure there were no visible marks?”
“I'm sorry. I didn't see it because of her collar.”
“So what if you didn't see it? Does that make your mistake disappear? It's a good thing Lorian was the one who saw it. What if other nobles had? I'd get a reputation as a brute who abuses his party members... Don't tell me you were aiming for that? Did you want to get some petty revenge?”
“...Absolutely not. It was a mist—”
“Shut up. You've had it easy lately, haven't you? We'll see about that when we get back tonight.”
Ophelia’s shoulders flinched. She lowered her eyes and nodded.
“Yes... Sir Hero...”
“Aren't you being too harsh on them? I was under the impression you were gentle with women, if not men.”
“Gentle? Why would I be gentle with bitches I can't even fuck?”
Gis’s face contorted in a scowl.
At that, Lorian wore a look of interest.
“That's not like you. I thought you would have already had your fun with them. To be honest, I was surprised you were still keeping them around. I thought you'd have thrown them in a brothel by now.”
“Have my fun with a Saint Candidate and then throw her in a brothel? Ha, am I crazy?”
“Were you not?”
“Bullshit. I have a brain. I have no intention of making an enemy of the Church.”
A Saintess must be a virgin.
If anyone were to take a Saint Candidate's virginity before the next Saintess was chosen, they would be excommunicated and receive divine punishment befitting their sin.
“So I'm just going to wait until the next Saintess is chosen. Once she is, I won't have to worry about the Church's opinion.”
Saint Candidates who are not chosen become no different from ordinary nuns. And if the Church had to choose between a Hero and a mere nun, they would naturally side with the Hero.
“I see. So that's why the Saint Candidate is still here. But what about the other woman... you still haven't accomplished your goal?”
At Lorian's words, Gis sighed heavily and scratched his head.
“Fuck, I've been busy. The higher-ups are always nagging me to do this or that. Tsk.”
He simply hadn't had the time to look for Cloud.
He had asked one of his sponsors, his adoptive mother Hailey, to track him down, but... she had refused.
Hailey had even warned him not to get involved with Cloud for the time being, which Gis found utterly incomprehensible.
It's so much fun messing with that fucking idiot.
Even if it was a request from his adoptive mother, Gis had no intention of giving up his own amusement.
“That's why I came here today with high expectations. His whereabouts have been a mystery for the past few months, but surely he'll show up at the Imperial Social Gathering, right?”
Not attending the gathering without a valid reason was an insult to the Empire and the Emperor who ruled it.
Cloud already had no political foundation to speak of.
He wouldn't want to make any more enemies. He would almost certainly come.
Gis grinned and whispered into Neria's ear.
“The day you've been waiting for has finally come, Neria. The day you graduate from being a virgin right in front of your childhood friend.”
At Gis's words, Neria could no longer maintain her composure. Her eyes trembled uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered, and her body shook as if seized by terror.
Watching Neria tremble at the horrifying future that awaited her, Gis smiled brightly.
Like a child who had just received a toy from his parents.
Lorian had already been disgusted by him, but this time, he was utterly repulsed.
The look on Cloud's face as he watched the purity of the one he loved be taken from him.
To think he'd been dragging them around for months just to see that one thing. He'd always felt it, but Gis's obsession with his twisted desires was abnormal.
“Oh? Look, Neria. Your audience has arrived to watch you get deflowered!”
Neria turned her head in the direction Gis pointed. The entrance to the hall. A handsome man in a black tuxedo was walking in.
An overwhelmingly handsome appearance that stood out even in a hall full of beautiful men and women.
It was Cloud.
Cloud...
Seeing her childhood friend's face after so long, Neria felt a surge of emotion. She wanted to run to him and greet him right away.
But she had neither the right nor the strength to do so.
All she was allowed was to watch him from afar.
—Murmur, murmur.
As he walked in, the nobles began to whisper.
—Who is that? He's so handsome...
—Which family is he from? Should I try talking to him later?
A few of the young ladies attending the gathering for the first time uttered words of admiration for his appearance.
But most of the nobles disparaged him.
—Isn't that the Incompetent Hero? After hiding for months, what's he doing showing his face here?
—The Incompetent Hero? Why is that his nickname?
—You don't know? That guy's all looks and no substance. He's pathetically weak, even for a Hero. He's probably weaker than the rookie knight at my estate.
—No way. He's still a Hero.
—I'm serious. You can't wash away lowly blood.
—Lowly blood... I suppose that's true.
Some even raised their voices, as if to make sure he heard.
Cloud paid their voices no mind.
He simply glanced around once.
The person he was looking for wasn't there.
Looks like she hasn't arrived yet.
He sighed softly and found a suitable spot to sit. After getting a drink from a servant, he brought over some food and began to eat.
Gis watched him, smirking.
“Our dear Hero is eating all alone. He must be lonely. I guess I'll have to keep him company.”
With that same smirk plastered on his face, Gis walked over to Cloud and sat down next to him. He threw an arm around his shoulder and said something.
Lorian watched the scene with a smile.
What Gis was doing was a childish prank, but it was different when the target was Cloud.
The image of Cloud putting his arm around Frillite was still vivid in Lorian's mind.
She is not someone to be touched by those lowly hands.
It might be a good chance to teach him a proper lesson.
Just as Lorian was thinking that...
SLAM—! CRASH. CLANG!
Gis's face was slammed into the table.
The plates on the table shattered, creating a deafening noise.
Cloud lifted his left hand, which was gripping Gis's hair.
The dumbfounded expression on Gis's face, who couldn't comprehend the situation, was seared into the nobles' eyes.
SLAM—!
His face was slammed into the table again.
A dead silence fell over the hall.
*
Gis's actions were no different than usual. He approached Cloud with his typical flippant attitude and mocked him. He threw an arm around his shoulder, interrupted his meal, and chipped away at his dignity.
If it had been the usual Cloud.
—Haha, you really go out of your way to act like a motherless child, don't you? Are you that desperate to show everyone you're an orphan bastard?
He would have retorted with words like those. Because that would have been more fun.
However, Cloud was in a very, very bad mood right now.
Cloud grabbed the back of Gis's head with his left hand and smashed it into the table.
SLAM—! CRASH. CLANG!
A deafening noise.
Despite it, Gis couldn't process what was happening for a moment.
Cloud lifted his head.
The hall came back into Gis's view.
Shock, surprise, bewilderment.
The nobles were staring at him with such emotions.
SLAM—!
It was only when his head was slammed down a second time that Gis finally grasped the situation.
Rage shot through him.
This piece of trash?!
I don't know what you're thinking, but I'll make you regret this.
Gis grabbed Cloud's wrist as it pressed down on his head.
He tried to throw it off, but...
What the hell is with this guy's strength...!?
He couldn't break free.
The Ogre's Pattern.
Using it, Cloud's strength stat was higher than Gis's. Although it wasn't a huge difference, it was more than enough for Cloud to overpower him.
Tch, what a humiliating position...!
Gis cursed inwardly and swung the edge of his hand toward Cloud's Adam's apple.
He didn't know how Cloud had gotten so strong, but a vital point was a vital point. He planned to break free when Cloud staggered from the blow to his throat.
I'll show you hell.
Don't think this will end as tamely as last time.
But Gis's resolve would not be realized.
The moment he saw Gis's right hand twitch, Cloud let go of his head and pulled back.
The edge of Gis's hand sliced through empty air.
Before Gis could retract his hand, Cloud grabbed his neck with his right hand. Then, using the full force of his body, he slammed Gis onto the floor.
KWHAAANG!!!
An impact sound of a completely different magnitude from being slammed into the table echoed through the hall.
“Keoheok...!”
The shock to Gis's body was also on a different level. The impact was felt everywhere, but it was most severe in his head.
A mild concussion.
Gis couldn't get up immediately, and that brief moment was more than enough time for Cloud to mount him.
He pinned Gis's stomach with his ass.
He locked his elbows with his knees.
He gave him no room to resist.
In the animal kingdom, it was the equivalent of having his throat bitten.
The game was already over.
If it had been anyone else, that is.
In the animal kingdom, Gis was a viper.
Even with his throat bitten, he still had one last trick up his sleeve. Gis rolled his tongue and took out a needle hidden in his gums.
It wasn't just a needle.
It was a needle dried after being coated in Cockatrice poison.
Cockatrice poison was so potent that it was only used on opponents you intended to kill.
Therefore, it was a poison that should never be used against a fellow Hero, but at that moment, Gis couldn't care less about such things.
All he wanted was to destroy the man before him.
He waited for the right moment.
And just as Cloud was about to bring his fist down...
—Ptoo!
He spat the needle at Cloud's face. Cloud's head snapped back.
It's done. This motherfucker will slowly start to lose his strength.
A smile began to form on Gis's face.
It soon turned to bewilderment.
The needle he had spat was caught between the teeth of Cloud, who had lowered his head.
If Gis was a viper, then at this moment, Cloud was a honey badger.
—Ptoo. Ting, ting, ting.
The needle Cloud spat out bounced across the marble floor. Gis watched the ricocheting needle with a vacant expression as Cloud's fist continued its motion.
What followed was a one-sided assault by the stronger party.
Everyone in the hall, without exception, was overwhelmed by the sight.
Cloud was beating Gis.
It was something no one could have ever imagined. It hardly felt real.
Amidst the chaos, Neria came to her senses.
N-No...!
It was good that Cloud was hitting Gis.
But Cloud had no political foundation. She was partly to blame for that, but what mattered now was that there were too many eyes watching.
And of all people, the onlookers were high-ranking nobles of the Empire, people who already held a low opinion of Cloud.
What kind of backlash would he face when this was all over...?
A terrible thought came to Neria, and she ran to Cloud.
“Cloud. I know you're angry, but please, calm down. Okay?”
Despite her desperate plea, Cloud didn't stop.
“Cloud! I said calm down!”
Neria threw her arms around Cloud's body, trying to pull him off Gis. But he wouldn't budge. As she stood there, on the verge of tears, not knowing what to do...
“What is all this commotion!!”
A loud shout from the entrance of the hall made Cloud's fist freeze mid-air.
The person who had shouted pushed through the crowd of nobles watching the fight and revealed themselves.
“Gis, you again... Cloud...?”
The person who had shouted was none other than Frillite.
Seeing her, Cloud glanced around before smiling awkwardly and greeting her.
“Long time no see, Frillite?”