Chapter 537: Jealousy is My Power (37)
Chapter 537: Jealousy is My Power (37)
There were countless rumors surrounding the 'Vampire.'
She was a monster who had lived for hundreds of years. Her martial prowess was said to rival that of a Master, and in the distant past, she had truly reduced the southern part of the Continent to ashes.
The worst daughter born of Omeros.
That was what those who witnessed her might cried out in unison. The 'Vampire' was a legendary Fiend who had slaughtered groups of contemporary powerhouses who had set out to subjugate her, taking their lives instead.
Unless it was the 'Great Sage' or the 'Saint,' she had no equal.
However, those protectors of the Imperial Household and the Holy City of Siendel would not lightly lead a personal expedition all the way to the South. The people of the South had begun to sink into despair, believing their homes would be stolen away.
That is, if the 'Great Witch' hadn't appeared just in time.
Nothing was properly known about the relationship between the two women. There were only rumors spreading in the shadows that the 'Great Witch' referred to the 'Vampire' as her 'ugly older sister.'
Such was the 'Vampire,' an existence steeped in numerous legends.
And 'Greed' had said:
The 'Vampire' was 'Jealousy' of the Dark Cult’s Seven Deadly Sins, and she was currently infiltrated within the Academy.
It was information as difficult to believe as it was significant.
That was why I couldn't help but speak with an even more suspicious tone.
"The Vampire's whereabouts?"
"Yup, that’s right. Isn't that what you wanted?"
The girl, lying face down on the bed with her chin resting on her hands, wore a beaming smile. At a glance, there wasn't even a trace of malice to be found.
But the person before me was 'Greed.'
Though her power wasn't yet whole, the girl in front of me was still a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. It meant she was, fundamentally, a monster no different from the 'Vampire.'
I couldn't let myself be charmed by her lovely appearance. If I did, I would end up like prey caught in a spider's web.
I struggled to keep my heart rate down as I asked back.
"Is that reliable information? In the first place, how could a Fiend like the Vampire sneak in here unnoticed?"
"Because she’s using a 'Prosthetic Body.'"
My hands, which had been pulling off my shirt, froze.
'Prosthetic Body.'
It was a concept I had heard of before.
Fortunately, the girl didn't read much into my agitation. She seemed to think I was simply bewildered by an unfamiliar term.
"Didn't you know? The old nobles of the Southern Great Forest researched immortality. During that time, they dabbled in all sorts of taboos... One of their brilliant achievements was the 'Prosthetic Body.' The idea was to transcend the limits of the flesh by transferring the soul into a new vessel."
"……And the Vampire got her hands on that technology?"
At my point, the girl wore a peculiar smile.
It was because the question held its own significance.
If the Vampire had only recently acquired that technology, it meant she couldn't create Prosthetic Bodies before.
This exchange essentially held two pieces of information.
First, if she had only recently acquired the technology to create a Prosthetic Body, then who on earth gave it to her?
And second, if she had possessed the technology all along, why hadn't she shown herself until now?
The girl stared at me in silence for a while before finally opening her mouth.
"……Hmm, I wonder? I think I might know if you finish taking off that shirt."
"What kind of……."
Before I could even spit out a hollow retort asking what kind of nonsense she was talking, Greed quickly beat me to it and began to act coy.
"Oh, come on, what’s the big deal! It’s just your upper body! I want to see them too—our Oppa’s back muscles!"
"……You’re not a child."
In the end, I clicked my tongue and threw the rest of my shirt aside.
At that, Greed let out a squeal of delight, expressing her own brand of happiness. Only a hollow chuckle escaped my lips.
To think I was being dragged around by an executive of the Dark Cult.
Even as I thought that, I didn't have the confidence to meet the girl's gaze head-on. Of all things, for her to act spoiled toward me with that face.
There was nothing I could do about my heart, which throbbed painfully every now and then.
I could only bite my lip and steel my resolve.
After chirping like a chick for a while, the girl finally spilled the information she knew.
"Hehe, she’s probably only been using Prosthetic Bodies recently. Though, hasn't it been a few decades already~?"
"You call that recent?"
Since those weren't words a fledgling who had just reached adulthood should say, I gave her a sharp rebuke.
The girl, however, merely shrugged as if it were nothing.
"We’ve been hiding in the shadows of the Continent for thousands of years. Compared to that, a few decades is a very short time, isn't it?"
"What a proud history that must be."
Despite my mockery, the girl didn't seem the least bit discouraged.
If anything, she was staring blankly at me with eyes full of love.
"Ah, so Oppa recognizes it too? Our sad history… As I thought, we’re a match made in heaven, destined from birth!"
"Stop talking nonsense and just give me the information."
My voice was still cold.
Of course, that didn't mean the girl lost her spirit. Even though I knew that full well, I deliberately feigned composure.
We were destined to kill each other one day.
There was no reason to leave any room for affection.
"Anyway, the important point is that it’s a 'Prosthetic Body'… It would be a disaster if you went through all the trouble of defeating her, only for the Vampire to transfer her consciousness out of the Prosthetic Body right before she dies, right?"
It was a valid point.
The Vampire's main body was excessively strong. There were even rumors that even a Master would have to risk their life to subjugate her.
But what if she was killed while trapped in a Prosthetic Body?
Her consciousness might return to her main body, but based on what 'Greed' was saying, it didn't seem to be that simple.
It was an enticing proposal.
The problem was how to kill her while keeping her consciousness trapped in the Prosthetic Body.
A sigh escaped my lips as I hesitated for a moment.
"……And?"
"Oppa should handle that part of the problem. You can do at least that much for your lovely younger sister, right?"
Younger sister, my foot.
I snorted and added another question.
"In the end, you haven't told me the most important information. How can I find this 'Vampire'?"
"Umm, well, about that……."
With that, the girl's cheeks flushed slightly as she began to feign distraction for no reason.
Judging by the way she kept glancing at me, there was a ten-to-one chance she had a hidden motive.
Here we go again.
I couldn't help but let out a weary tone.
"What is it?"
"If, if you sleep with me tonight… I might tell you……?"
Does even a crazy woman have a minimum sense of shame?
After blurting out such an absurd request, the girl rarely cast her gaze downward.
I was about to tell her 'absolutely not,' and ask how I could possibly sleep in the same bed as a Saintess of the Dark Cult.
But just as I prepared a barrage of cold words and looked toward the bed...
"……Is it a no?"
The sight of the girl clutching the blanket tightly with a melancholy expression filled my vision.
My lips twitched; I inhaled and exhaled.
After agonizing over it several times, I finally spat out a word in annoyance.
"Do whatever you want… But if you show even the slightest suspicious sign, I’ll kill you."
Despite such a cold permission, the girl merely raised both hands and cheered.
"Yay!"
It was a heartlessly bright smile.
That night, as I lay down in a state of high tension.
Surprisingly, the girl fell fast asleep the moment she leaned her head against my chest. It reached a point where I felt like a fool for keeping my muscles so tense.
A faint smile played on the face of the deeply sleeping girl. To the point where the usual mysterious and sly appearance was nowhere to be found.
Isn't she being a bit too defenseless?
What if I were to kill this sleeping girl right now?
But on the other hand, a thought occurred to me.
The girl had said she dreamed of my younger sister while being tortured. Since Ria had been timid since she was a child, she often used to fall asleep huddled in my arms.
What did I say back then?
Didn't I pat Ria on the back and tell her it was okay now?
Because her Oppa was here.
The girl must have been watching that scene.
I spent several minutes hesitating, clenching and unclenching my fists for no reason.
Finally, I let out a sigh and closed my eyes.
It was an unavoidable choice. I couldn't very well kill my only source of information, could I?
That was likely all there was to it.
The next day, I was on my way to find an expert to seek advice regarding 'Prosthetic Bodies.'
Beside me, the Sword Duke was walking with a grand, confident stride. By now, I was so used to his company that I didn't even feel much of anything.
If I had one sentiment, it was just that he was a nuisance.
"So, when do you plan on sparring? As they say, the path of the sword is endless. One must devote oneself while even a little young to barely realize what the sword is. Indeed, indeed……"
It was a bit ridiculous to hear someone who looked younger than me talk about 'while young.'
However, I wasn't foolish enough to voice such a rude thought. If anything, I preferred to keep my manners while letting out a deep sigh.
"Elder Sword Duke, could you please stop? With the Vampire's whereabouts right in front of us……."
"Tsk, tsk. Young knights these days have no grit… no grit! How many minutes could a little sparring possibly take? Hmph."
The constant grumbling was starting to make my ears sting.
I was seriously considering whether I should use mana to block my hearing when it happened.
"Ah, the duty of an Imperial knight has fallen to the ground! How can a knight break a promise made to a maiden?"
I came to a dead stop at that suspicious first-person pronoun.
My eyes, filled with horror, turned toward the Sword Duke. At that, the Sword Duke began to act smug, as if he had finally found my weakness.
"Sir Ian, why won't you spar with this maiden~? It truly makes me feel neglected~"
"Ugh, ugh……!"
I didn't know what his intention was, but the effect was certainly potent.
My stomach suddenly turned, and I ended up covering my mouth with my hand.
As I slightly bent my upper body, the girl's lightning-fast palm struck my back.
A childish scream erupted from my mouth.
"Gah… A-aaagh! That hurts!"
"You brat, do you know how great your sin is for putting me in this state? You’d better tell that old hag to return my original body while I’m still asking nicely."
Wasn't that a request that would naturally be fulfilled once the operation was over?
It was a matter separate from my will. In the first place, he could probably return to his main body if he really set his mind to it.
As if he had expected such a retort, the Sword Duke placed one hand on his hip and gave a meaningful smile.
"Whew, at this rate, I might really become a maiden……."
"I'll tell her, I'll tell her! I will definitely tell the Great Witch!"
In the end, unable to withstand the linguistic sabotage, I shouted.
Only then did the Sword Duke wear a satisfied smile and cross his arms. A glimmer of hope for the future could be seen in his nodding head.
"Hehe, yes. That’s more like it! No matter how important a disciple is, I can't be treated like a bitch by my granddaughter anymore……!"
It was then.
The Sword Duke, who had trailed off for a moment, glanced behind us. There was a roadside tree there, and a tuft of gray hair was peeking out from behind it.
This had happened before.
I let out a long sigh. Since even I had noticed, there was no way the Sword Duke didn't know.
The girl asked, unable to hide her discomfort.
"……So, when do you plan on dealing with that brat?"
In the end, instead of answering, I decided to call out my junior's name loudly.
"Seria, come out!"
At that, the gray hair flinched and hid further behind the tree.
But any human with normal social skills would have known. That my voice was filled with certainty.
While it was hard to describe Seria's social skills as normal even as a polite lie, it seemed the training over the past few months hadn't been meaningless. Seeing how Seria hesitantly revealed herself from behind the tree, that is.
Seria's face was red enough to burst.
"C-coincidence! Ugh… I-it’s a coincidence. Senior Ian!"
Coincidence, my ass.
You’ve been tailing me since this morning.
When I signaled for her to come closer with a hand gesture, Seria hesitantly narrowed the distance between us. Though I didn't know why she was clutching her sword tightly with both hands.
Was she trying to hide behind her sword instead of the tree?
While making such an absurd imagination, I voiced my question.
"What is it?"
"Th-thaaat… Ah! Right! My sister told me to tell you that we should have a remote communication as soon as possible!"
Intelligence from Senior Delphine.
It was information that couldn't be ignored.
I nodded and filed that away in a corner of my mind for now.
But that wasn't the end of Seria's business.
"But, um… Senior?"
"Yeah?"
Suddenly, I felt the surrounding temperature drop a bit.
The Academy at midday was hot and humid. The sudden chill was bound to be suspicious.
The cause was obvious, though.
Seria's blue eyes were now harboring a cold light.
"……Who is this woman?"
As she spoke, the way she gripped her sword was far from ordinary.
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly began to make excuses.
"No, it’s nothing much. She’s a special admission student, so I’m just accompanying her and looking after her for a bit……."
"For that to be the case, the relationship between you two is quite unusual, isn't it? Putting hands on each other so freely… H-how vulgar."
As soon as the sound of teeth grinding echoed.
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was already too late.
Soon, Seria's trembling voice, having lost its thread of reason, continued.
"How filthy. How can she act like that even toward a man she doesn't like? No, no… it’s strange. Surely this bitch is also aiming for Senior Ian, right? Even without her, I’m dying of annoyance because there are so many females eyeing Senior Ian lately……."
Until then, the Sword Duke had been yawning, not paying much attention.
He seemed to have adapted, having been misunderstood so many times.
However, the Sword Duke didn't know yet. What kind of woman Seria was.
"S-since it’s come to this, there’s no other way… So as not to defile Senior Ian's side, I will personally clean up……!"
Just as Seria's blue eyes flashed with murderous intent and she placed her hand on the sword hilt.
Thwack.
Seria's body flew through the air. It was literally a strike that couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
The Sword Duke's sword hilt had already touched Seria's afterimage. Even she hadn't expected this development, as her eyes were wide in surprise.
Soon, Seria's floating body slumped onto the ground.
Judging by the way her eyes were spinning, she was definitely unconscious. When my dumbfounded gaze turned toward the Sword Duke, only then did the girl strike her forehead with her palm and let out an exclamation.
"……Oops!"
"What do you mean 'oops'!"
Leaving behind my cry of anguish at losing my precious junior before my eyes.
Regardless, the unconscious Seria was merely letting out a stupid sound like 'Hueh' as a groan.
This was the full story of how my junior ended up joining the group right before meeting the Great Witch.