Chapter 114: The Lord is With Us (35)
Chapter 114: The Lord is With Us (35)
"Can I hit you one more time?"
The words were spat out without filter. It was raw language, unpolished by any sandpaper.
It was also incredibly rude. The Saintess, perhaps never imagining he would go that far, widened her eyes, bit her lip, and eventually lowered her head.
A moment later, the sound of her suppressed rage leaked out.
"……Ugh, uuuugh, uuuuuuuuuugh!"
The Saintess began to stomp her feet. Perhaps because her physical strength was higher than expected, the thumping sounds echoed loudly. I watched her tremble in silence.
That expression of sheer teeth-gritting resentment—that was the emotion that suited the Saintess best. Her pale pink eyes shot a sharp, piercing glare at me.
It seemed my intention had hit the mark perfectly. A satisfied smile played on my lips as I confirmed my goal was achieved.
I can dominate the Saintess's emotions!
"I knew I shouldn't have bothered caring! You piece of trash! Is that what you've been thinking every time you look at me?! That you want to—to cleave me with a hand axe!"
Hearing that, I stroked my chin. Strictly speaking, I was someone who disliked violence, so I didn't actually think about hitting her every time I saw her.
Maybe only when she was huffing and puffing while trying to provoke me?
To clear up her misunderstanding, I decided to tell her the primary thought I actually had whenever I looked at her.
"No, actually, I did think a bit about wanting to touch your breasts."
"Do you think I'd let you?! Be grateful I don't haul you before a religious inquisition for blasphemy!"
It wasn't like they'd wear out if I touched them, so I thought she was being a bit stingy. When I put on a slightly hurt expression, the Saintess looked even more flabbergasted.
As my eyes showed signs of drifting toward her chest, she quickly covered herself with her arms. A wary gaze fixed on me.
She was the one who told me to look last time, but it seemed she’d changed her mind since then. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
"……Anyway, that's how it is."
The Saintess stared at me blankly, seemingly puzzled by my arbitrary conclusion. I wore a bitter smile.
"As you can see, I'm not exactly a great person. Much less a saint or a sage. I'm just a man who's honest about his desires. I just do what I want to do."
The words poured out without hesitation. Even I was surprised by how honest I was being.
Perhaps I had grown fond of her in the meantime—fond of the way she wore a mask of pretense every day, unable to easily trust the goodwill of others.
"To you, I'm probably trash; to the orphans, I'm an inscrutable adult; and to Mr. Guildford, I'm likely a good-natured noble. So don't worry about it too much."
With that, I took a step forward. The Saintess flinched, her body trembling for a moment, but I didn't do anything to harass her.
I simply brushed past her.
"……It's not like you'd believe me even if I said I was a good guy from the start, right?"
The Saintess hurriedly tried to follow me, but I was already waving my hand behind my back. Since the treatment was over, there was no reason to stay.
As a bonus, I could avoid her nagging.
It was killing two birds with one stone. Thus, I didn't know.
I didn't know that for a long time that night, the Saintess remained deeply lost in thought.
Time flowed on, and several days passed.
With every deep breath, I felt my lungs expand. As I repeated the cycle of inhalation and exhalation, my vision sharpened, and I could clearly feel the blood rushing to my fingertips.
I had only one opponent. An old swordsman who had retired long ago—a man who had once reached the level of Sword Expert but was now merely the director of a remote orphanage.
Yet, I couldn't see a single opening. It was as if he had never neglected his training; his skills were so sharp it wouldn't be strange to call him active even now.
The old swordsman—Mr. Guildford—threw a single word at me.
"……Come."
There was no time to wait. Guildford’s sword lunged forward immediately.
It was a thrust of terrifying speed, tearing through the atmosphere with a sonic boom.
The place I had to dive into was inside that very interval. To plunge into the strike zone of a master who had already begun to draw a line of light was not something a sane person would do.
However, the hellish training I had repeated countless times had dulled even my fear.
The moment I kicked off the ground, straight lines were etched across the world. It was an all-out dash. Before the sword could even be fully thrust, I managed to reach his immediate vicinity.
The problem started from there. Within the time that had begun to flow sluggishly, I saw the blade encroaching upon my throat.
I had to move forward. To perfectly penetrate the gap, there was no other choice.
Trying to dodge at an awkward moment would only expose a fatal opening. It was a madman's technique: thrusting one's neck into the trajectory as if grazing it, then riding the flow.
That was the essence of Diffraction.
I gritted my teeth. My resolve had been set long ago. One step forward, and just before the sword's point touched my throat, I would spin with the flow and dig into his embrace.
It was an action principle I had carved into my mind countless times. But in that split second, a moment carved from a moment—
Guildford’s sword came to a dead stop, and then, like a bolt of lightning, he struck my upper body with the flat of the blade.
It was the strike of a veteran swordsman. Even though he had altered the path mid-swing, he delivered power like a whip. My body was sent sprawling onto the ground.
A crushing pain radiated from my forearm. I groaned, my body twitching.
"You hesitated at the end. When you do that, it becomes visible. An amateur might not notice, but a master with rich combat experience can choose a secondary option in an instant."
His voice felt cold, almost clinical. As he calmly listed my mistakes, I, who had been groaning, shouted out in frustration.
"No, but still, I only hesitated for a tiny bit……!"
"There is no 'but still' in real combat. Do you plan to make such excuses in the afterlife as well?"
Guildford’s words were as flawless as his swordsmanship. After showing a brief flash of resentment, I eventually sighed and picked myself up.
No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to discard that final moment of hesitation. I, too, was a human made of flesh and blood; how could I not have the desire to live?
Clinging to life was the instinct of all living things. It is said that even those who have resolved to commit suicide regret their decision in the final, irreversible moment.
Since the shock hadn't fully faded, I staggered for a moment, unable to find my balance. But that was only brief; I gripped my sword again as if I were used to this.
I spoke through gritted teeth.
"……Please, one more time."
Only then did Guildford allow a satisfied smile to touch his lips. And just before he took his stance again—
"Ian!"
An urgent voice called out from somewhere. As I glanced behind me, I saw Elsie Senior running toward us in a frantic rush.
She immediately made a tearful face as she looked at the wounds scattered across my body. She then glared at Guildford, growling like a dog whose master had been attacked.
Though, given her petite stature, she only looked like a small lapdog.
It wasn't threatening in the least. Guildford seemed to feel the same, as he offered a bitter smile instead.
His gaze was like that of a grandfather watching a granddaughter throw a tantrum.
"You, you… how dare a mere commoner do this to Ian! How dare you!"
However, Elsie seemed serious as she spat out threatening words and channeled her mana. The surrounding air began to churn and boil.
Guildford was naturally a kind man who disliked conflict. Normally, he would have humored Elsie’s complaining, but while training, he was strictly professional.
He shook his head and spoke in a firm voice.
"……It is a necessary part of training."
Faced with his confident attitude, Elsie was actually the one who became flustered. Her eyes widened.
I wondered if she still had some respect for her elders left in her, but then—
"A commoner… talking back?!"
At the words flowing from Elsie’s dainty mouth, I pressed my hand to my forehead and sighed. No matter how many times I saw it, her worldview was incredibly warped despite her appearance.
Elsie soon began to swing her fists in the air, making threats.
"You old geezer, seriously… is your vision so blurry these days that you can't see what's in front of you?! Hey, I'm Elsie of the Lainella family! I could blow this dusty old orphanage away in an instant……"
"Elsie Senior."
At my low call, Elsie looked back at me with a look of 'oops.' Without needing to say anything, I tapped the side of my waist, hidden by my cloak.
The sound of tapping something hard and metallic rang out. That was enough.
Elsie immediately began to tremble, then pulled her pointed hat down low and dropped her gaze to the floor.
"……I-I'm sorry."
Only then did I smile satisfactorily and stroke Elsie’s head. Her expression softened instantly.
"Good job, Elsie Senior."
A goofy grin, a dazed look. She looked happy no matter how you sliced it.
Guildford looked somewhat bewildered, but since I was a man who pursued efficiency, I asked Elsie for her business.
"So, what's going on?"
"O-Oh? Hehe… that arrogant lower noble named Reto or whatever told me to come get you… heehee……"
Reto. I fell into thought for a moment. As I retraced my memory for what I might need to discuss with Reto, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Did they find it? The base of the monkey-like demonic beasts?"
"Yeah, yeah… I guess the search was finally successful. He said we should have a meeting… P-Please stroke my head some more."
Excellent. I felt a surge of triumph, sensing that things were finally moving forward.
For a while now, Delphine Senior, Elsie Senior, Celine, Seria, the Saintess, and even Yuren had joined forces to search the forest. All to find out what those monkey-like demonic beasts were guarding.
However, attacking the place immediately was impossible. We didn't know how many of them were gathered, and if a boss beast existed there, we had to assume there was at least one more named-class demonic beast.
So, the plan was to gather our full strength and launch a surprise raid all at once. No wonder Elsie had come to get me so obediently, even while calling Reto an 'arrogant lower noble.'
It was that important.
My eyes drifted toward Guildford. He had a somewhat worried look.
"……Will it really be alright? As I mentioned, there might be a Fiend. It's dangerous with just you all."
"If things go south, we'll just run back, so don't worry too much. You just focus on protecting the orphanage, Mr. Guildford."
Guildford let out a deep sigh, as if he had no choice but to accept it.
That was it. It was finally time to uncover the secrets of this request.
I silently opened and closed my fist. After spending several days focusing on rest outside of my training, my body had finally returned to peak condition.
At this point, even the Saintess wouldn't be able to stop me anymore. It would be a problem if I got injured, but we were facing a total war where every bit of combat power was precious.
I recalled the memory of a certain night. The chillingly blue moonlight, and the claws of the demonic beast piercing my abdomen.
Now, it was time for revenge.
My eyes sank deep with resolve.