Chapter 95: Leslie (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Leslie (6)
I’d expected something was up from the very beginning.
How else could a man, supposedly so frail he’d spent half his life in bed, suddenly possess a physique that could rival Frillite’s?
I thought he might have made a deal with a demon or something.
But that wasn’t it.
Usually, a contract with a demon leaves a trace—a kind of thread, like a marionette’s string, connecting the contractor and the demon.
Osner had no such thread.
So I had to think of other possibilities. Had he grown stronger through magic? Eaten some kind of divine herb? If he was destined to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it had to be related to the demon race, right?
My questions were answered on their own as I fought him.
A faint, evil energy, what people call demonic energy, could be felt coming from his heart.
[Knife Hand]
A technique I learned from a former Hero of Prona.
I gathered a faint amount of mana in my palm.
My fingertips became a blade, plunging into the left side of Osner’s chest. As they slipped between his ribs, I felt a frantic pulse.
Proof that I was close to his heart.
A gooey, slime-like texture met my palm.
Just as I thought.
Some strange creature was living inside him as a parasite.
It must have been what made Osner’s body so strong, while also slowly stealing his free will.
I grabbed the parasitic creature.
The heart is a delicate organ, so I did it with an extremely gentle touch. Once I had a hold of it, I realized the thing wasn’t just attached to his heart; it had spread throughout Osner’s entire body.
But it didn’t matter.
Even if it had spread everywhere, this was its core.
If this died or disappeared, the rest of it would stop moving as well.
When I tried to pull the parasite out, it began to resist, clinging to the heart, refusing to let go.
Where do you think you’re going, you little bastard?
I used my mana to separate its body from Osner’s heart. Thanks to that, the creature slid off the heart as smoothly as if it were coated in oil.
It really does look like a slime.
The parasite I pulled out was an amorphous black something.
It was gelatinous, just like a slime, but…
Surely this wasn’t one of the Four Heavenly Kings?
No, no way.
I could somehow accept a succubus or an octopus, but a slime was just too much.
Besides, the demonic energy it gave off was pathetic.
As I was lost in thought, I heard a cough from behind me. I turned to see the old man collapsed on the ground, coughing weakly.
“Are you all right?”
I helped him lie down comfortably and asked. He let out a dry chuckle.
“You dig out my heart and then ask if I’m okay?”
“Should I put it back in?”
I held up the black slime, and Osner shook his head, horrified.
“That’s enough. Can’t you take a joke?”
Kids these days… Osner clicked his tongue before his expression turned serious.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to stop before I committed a great sin.”
His gaze wasn’t on me, but somewhere else. Reflected in his eyes was Leslie, her white hair flying as she ran toward us.
“Father! Are you okay? Blood, there’s so much blood…! We need a cleric, right now…”
“It won’t do any good to call one.”
Leslie’s eyes shot toward me. Her expression asked what I meant, so I held up the black slime in my hand.
“This was the parasite living inside your father’s body. No, ‘parasite’ isn’t quite the right word. This thing was keeping his dying body alive.”
Leslie’s gaze returned to Osner.
She looked at him as if to ask if it was true, and Osner slowly nodded. Leslie’s face crumpled. Osner gave her a warm smile and stroked her hair.
“This body should have been dead and buried long ago. I only prolonged my life a little longer because of my own stubbornness and obsession. And I did it while being a burden to you.”
“No, you weren’t. A burden? You weren’t, so please don’t say things like that.”
Her eyes glistening with tears, Leslie shook her head.
Osner’s smile deepened.
“If you really feel that way, could you stop frowning and smile for me? You’re so pretty when you smile.”
“…Yes.”
Leslie forced the corners of her mouth up. It was an awkward, strained smile, but it seemed to be enough for Osner, as he said nothing more about her expression. Instead, he started talking about the fight that had just happened.
“Did you see your father tear that strange fellow’s arm off?”
“Yes. You ripped it off as easily as tearing meat from a chicken bone.”
“To be honest, I was surprised myself. I never imagined I’d become so strong.”
“And after that, you took care of the two men who came after me in an instant.”
“I did. It was so easy it was baffling. They were clearly strong warriors.”
“That’s because you were too strong, Father.”
“Technically, it wasn’t my strength, but… I suppose so. Still, I couldn’t beat that one.”
Osner looked at me with a hint of disappointment.
I let out a small laugh.
“Did you really think you could beat the Hero?”
“Hero? You’re the Hero?”
Osner and Leslie’s eyes went wide.
I could understand the old man, but you too, Leslie?
All your siblings knew.
Just how little interest did you have in me?
“I am Cloud, the Hero of the Prona Kingdom. It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”
Osner, who had been staring blankly, burst out laughing at my introduction.
“Hahaha! Right, if you’re the Hero, then it makes sense I couldn’t win. It would have been strange if I had!”
“How was your fight with the Hero? Did you enjoy it enough?”
“More than enough. It was a good experience to have before I die.”
“I’m glad you feel that way.”
I smiled.
Osner stared at my face for a moment before saying something completely out of the blue.
“I knew there was something about you. So handsome, and the Hero… Say, would you be interested in becoming my son-in-law?”
“Shouldn’t you ask your daughter that first?”
“I’m fine with it.”
“You hear that?”
“Then I have no reason to refuse. I’ll take good care of your daughter, Father-in-law.”
Laughter erupted from all of us at once, and the gloomy atmosphere gradually brightened. Leslie’s awkward smile became a little more natural.
The conversation continued.
It was mostly Osner speaking, with his daughter chiming in to agree.
“That time… what your mother said was…”
With every word that left his lips, the old man’s face grew paler. His voice lost its strength, and the pauses between his sentences grew longer.
Still, Leslie didn’t let it show.
She forced a smile, trying her best to keep the tears from falling.
Perhaps the sight of his daughter struggling for his sake in his final moments was too pitiful to bear, because Osner stopped talking.
Instead, he squeezed his daughter’s hand and said, “I love you.”
That was the last thing he said.
The strength left his hand, still holding Leslie’s, and the love in his eyes slowly faded.
“Father? Father…?”
Leslie called out in a desperate voice, but there was no answer. The dead do not speak. Her shoulders trembled slightly.
I closed Osner’s eyes, stood up, and placed a hand on Leslie’s head.
“He left with a smile. Don’t be too sad.”
I ruffled her hair a few times, then walked away. In the corner of my eye, I saw Katarina staring at me with a sullen expression. She was clearly unhappy, but she had held back out of consideration for the situation.
What an incredibly lovable woman.
I chuckled and said to Shedia, “Potion.”
She pulled a potion from the small backpack she was wearing and tossed it to me. I made a small cut on my stomach with a dagger, reached inside to set my broken ribs, and drained the blood from my lungs. Then, I downed the potion.
It must have been an expensive one, because the effect was immediate.
Torn flesh began to regenerate, and the bones started to knit back together.
Phew, that’s much better.
I picked up a knight’s sword from the ground and turned to face Alfred and the others. Dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on me.
Shock. Fear. Awe. Reverence.
The emotions in their eyes were all different.
I met all those feelings and gazes head-on as I walked toward them.
To get straight to the point, Alfred and the sons and daughters who sided with him did not die.
Leslie said that even though they were scoundrels, they were still her father’s children, and killing them would make him sad.
So, she didn’t kill them.
Instead, she cut off one of each of their arms and legs.
They screamed for her to kill them instead, but Leslie flatly refused.
She told them it’s better to be alive, even if you have to roll around in dog shit, and that a servant would be with them all day, so they wouldn’t be inconvenienced. Then she burned their severed limbs right in front of them.
The sight of them wailing as their own arms and legs sizzled and cooked was a little pitiful, but they got off easy.
The warriors who had participated in the rebellion were all beheaded without exception.
Maybe seeing her father die right in front of her made her this ruthless.
She wasn’t this extreme in the game.
Should I reconsider recruiting Leslie?
No, that’s not what’s important right now.
I had a much more important problem than Leslie’s personality.
“Katarina. Are you still not talking to me today?”
“…”
The problem was that a thoroughly pissed-off Katarina was giving me the silent treatment.
And it had been a week since that day!
We ate together and slept in the same bed, but she treated me like I didn’t exist.
She ignored me when I spoke to her, of course, and if I gently touched her like this…
Smack!
She would violently slap my hand away.
…Is it time for separate rooms?
We’d only just started dating, and we were already on the verge of sleeping separately. Isn’t that something that usually happens after about ten years of marriage?
I sighed and picked up my pillow.
“Where are you going?”
It seemed she hadn’t completely tuned me out. She spoke up when she saw me heading for the door with my pillow.
“To another room. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Are you going to see that woman? To play the husband?”
I heard the rustle of blankets.
It sounded like Katarina had sat up.
Play the husband?
“What are you talking about?” I asked, turning around.
Just as I expected, Katarina was sitting up in bed, glaring at me.
“Did you think I didn’t hear? That old man asked you to be his son-in-law. And you accepted in a heartbeat.”
“Huh? What, is that why you’re mad?”
“‘Is that’?”
Katarina scowled. I walked back to the bed, put my pillow down in my spot, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Thankfully, she didn’t shrug it off this time.
“That was just a white lie.”
“A white lie?”
“Yeah. The old man was dying right in front of us. There was no need to ruin the mood by refusing. I wanted to let him go in peace.”
“…”
“And if you heard me, you must have heard what Leslie said, too, right? She answered without even looking at my face. Does that make any sense? Agreeing to marry someone without even looking at her future husband’s face?”
“Well… now that you mention it…?”
Katarina’s murderous glare softened into a look of confusion.
I smiled and pulled her into a hug. She was startled and tried to push me away, but it was no use.
“L-Let go of me. I’m not done talking!”
“There’s still more?”
“Of course there is! You fought so recklessly back then! Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when you said your broken ribs pierced your lung!?”
“It’s fine. It didn’t hurt that much.”
“That’s not the point! And what do you mean it didn’t hurt?”
Katarina’s voice was a strange mix of anger and bewilderment.
I hugged her tighter.
“I’ll listen to your nagging later. For now, can’t we just focus on the hug? It’s been a while, and my heart is fluttering.”
“…What do you mean, a while? It’s only been three days.”
Katarina grumbled but wrapped her arms around my waist. I was enjoying her warmth for the first time in a while when it happened.
With a click, the door to our room opened.
What the?
A servant wouldn’t come at this hour. Did someone send an assassin?
“Oh, you’re still awake. I’m glad.”
The late-night visitor wasn’t an assassin, but Leslie, dressed in a pure white negligee. The moonlight shining on her gown made the underwear she wore beneath faintly visible.
“Uh… that’s a pretty fancy nightgown.”
“Fancy, my ass. Turn your eyes away from her, now!”
Katarina grabbed my head and forced me to look at her. Then, looking over my shoulder at Leslie, she said, “You… no, Your Grace. What brings you here at this hour? Judging by your nightgown, you were about to go to sleep… Did you perhaps come to the wrong room?”
“Is this not Sir Cloud’s room?”
“Well, it is, but…”
“Then I’m in the right place.”
“…Do you have some business with Cloud?”
“I do.”
“And that business would be?”
Was it just my imagination?
Katarina’s voice seemed to be getting colder by the second.
“It’s nothing major. My father’s funeral is over, and I’ve taken care of all the backlogged work, so I thought it was time to do our duties as an engaged couple.”
Leslie’s voice, on the other hand, was as calm as when she first entered.
I could even sense a hint of leisure in it.
“I plan to spend the night with Sir Cloud. I’m sorry, Miss Katarina, but could you please move to another room?”
“…”
Katarina didn’t answer Leslie’s outrageous words. She simply tilted her head slightly to look at me. It was the same murderous look I’d seen her give Shedia before.
“A white lie?”
“Wait a minute. You’re misunderstanding something. I haven’t done anything yet—”
“‘Yet’?”
Katarina’s head tilted slowly to the side. With those murderous eyes, she looked absolutely terrifying.
“Um… Katarina. That’s not what I meant.”
“Y-e-e-e-t?”
…Why isn’t there a save and load function in this world?