17. Rubelt (1)
17. Rubelt (1)
Cloné captured it in her golden eyes. The sight of Yuma instantly slaughtering three high-ranking vampires.
She had thought something must be going on when she saw Yuma suddenly leave the inn without a word, so she followed him.
And if something was going on, she intended to help Yuma somehow. But she couldn't.
"...Nothing."
The energy the three vampires gave off was far too ferocious. It was a level of magical power that could have killed someone like her with a flick of the hand.
Yet such beings.
Before Yuma, they were literally nothing more than moths willingly burning their own wings and vanishing.
Yuma, lightly deflecting every attack imbued with monstrous martial power.
Vampires whose very lives were crushed by the attacks they themselves had launched.
"...I hate it."
Yuma was already an overwhelmingly brilliant existence.
A being so brilliant he had no need for a mere lamp like herself.
A desire, more intense than any she had felt before, surged up from deep within her. A desire to become strong.
"I don't want to be abandoned."
The memory of a woman who had left her behind resurfaced. It was a deeply unpleasant memory.
***
Tears welled up in Hestia of the Cat Tribe's eyes.
"Huaaaaang! Please save me!"
Yuma observed Hestia carefully with <Searching Eye>.
[Lv.67] Hestia
Race: Cat Tribe
Class: Swordswoman
State: Sword Expert Intermediate
She was a talent freak.
On a completely different dimension from Yuma himself.
Yuma's mouth slowly opened.
"I'm not going to kill you. Be quiet."
"R-Really?"
"Yes."
Hestia stopped crying, sniffling.
"You really aren't going to silence me?"
"If I don't, are you going to go spreading rumors all over town with that mouth of yours?"
At Yuma's words, Hestia shook her head fiercely.
"Never! I'll take it to my grave!"
"Alright."
Yuma nodded half-heartedly.
'Anyway.'
The rumor would spread all over town anyway. Even if the cat tribe swordswoman in front of him didn't spread it. Someone would have observed his battle just now. Yuma thought so.
He had become quite a prominent figure in this world. And the three vampires he had just killed were also considered major players.
"I'm going."
Yuma slowly moved his steps.
He was a little curious why this cat tribe member, Hestia, was wandering around, just like at the inn earlier. But right now, letting his fatigue-soaked body rest was more urgent.
Tak!
But Hestia stood in front of Yuma once again.
"H-Help me!"
Yuma's fine brow furrowed.
"What are you talking about."
"My little sister disappeared. No, she's not my real sister, but we travel together like sisters. She suddenly vanished overnight!"
Yuma let out a sigh and spoke.
"Slowly. Tell me in detail."
Hestia's eyes grew wide.
"...I-I know this sounds crazy. But I think a dragon kidnapped her, that little sister! And it seems true that missing person cases suddenly increased in the county starting last year."
"A dragon?"
"Y-Yeah! The Cat Tribe has senses far superior to others. We're especially good at detecting the scent of other races besides humans. No matter how I look at it, there's a dragon within this county."
A dragon.
Yuma organized his thoughts for a moment.
"I-I'm not a crazy bitch! Ah, I'm not a crazy cat bitch!"
"Be quiet."
"Okay!"
Yuma hadn't concluded that the scarlet-haired cat tribe young girl, Hestia, before him was a crazy bitch.
Because the Cat Tribe's uncanny ability to smell other races was a setting that existed in 'Loof Blood' as well.
Unable to hold back any longer, Hestia poured out the words that had risen in her throat.
"It's my Ronjecture. I think Count Luvelt has some kind of relationship with the dragon. There's also a feeling that he's controlling the town through his knights so that no word about the disappearances gets out!"
Yuma recalled something at Hestia's words.
'Come to think of it.'
How would a normal count have welcomed him?
Though he said so himself, objectively, he had become quite a big shot in this world.
Wouldn't a normal count have invited him to the count's castle on the first day, instead of guiding him to an inn?
They'd be desperate to get close.
Even if he were a noble of the First Prince Schubertche faction, he would try to get close to him. Having another channel open for emergencies was never a bad thing.
'That's a sufficiently plausible hypothesis.'
He didn't know about dragons or disappearances. But it seemed certain that Count Luvelt was hiding something tightly.
If a dragon truly existed within the County of Rubelt, it was worth finding. Because a dragon would be a being that knew quite a lot.
Information about the things Yuma himself felt he might need to obtain. And information about the 'Blue-haired Sword Saint'.
It wouldn't be a bad result even if he only found out about one of the two.
Yuma stared at Hestia.
"Come back tomorrow morning. In front of the inn. I'll help you find out if there's a dragon or not."
"...Really?"
Hestia swallowed her saliva.
"Yes, really."
"However, my interest lies solely with the dragon. Whether or not we can find your little sister in the process is something you'll have to handle."
"Okay."
Hestia nodded her head vigorously.
It was not something she could dare ask Count Luvelt directly. But the man before her seemed like he could pull it off.
If he dug into this situation, she would definitely be able to find her little sister.
Hestia felt that certainty.
"So, I just need to come in front of the inn tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes."
"W-Wait! Can you tell me your name...?"
Even as Hestia asked brazenly, she was strangely timid.
"Yuma."
"...Yuma! I'm Hestia!"
Her green eyes shining, Hestia boldly extended her right hand. Yuma accepted the handshake request indifferently.
After finishing his conversation with Hestia, Yuma slowly walked straight back to the inn. Dragging his fatigue-soaked body.
Of course, in Hestia's eyes, he looked like nothing but a monster who, even after ending such a tremendous battle, walked gracefully and nobly.
Yuma opened the inn door. A familiar face was visible on the first floor.
It was Cloné.
"Why are you out here?"
Cloné's two golden eyes stared straight at Yuma.
"...You went out and didn't come back, so I was worried."
"If it were a big deal, I would have told you before going out. You could have just rested soundly. Let's go in."
Cloné bowed her head deeply.
She felt a sense of self-loathing seeing Yuma, who called dealing with high-ranking vampires like the ones just now 'not a big deal'.
'A small kingdom would have trembled at the mere existence of those three.'
She couldn't help but feel self-loathing seeing Yuma speak of fighting a force that would make a nation tremble as if it were nothing.
"...Why am I so utterly useless? To you, Yuma-nim. And to the princess-nim."
Yuma stared at Cloné.
"Originally, everyone has times when they think they look pathetic. And those who don't avoid it but face it head-on are bound to see the light someday."
It wasn't consolation.
Since he was saying this to a being whose growth potential was an 8th-circle archmage, it was closer to a fact than consolation.
Cloné stared at Yuma with wide, rounded eyes.
"Was there a time when you were pathetic too, Yuma-nim?"
"Even now, things aren't exactly great for me."
Cloné burst into a small laugh. No matter how she heard it, it only sounded like excessive humility.
After opening the door to the inn room and entering, Cloné felt that way today.
The feeling of wanting to shake off all the complex emotions in her heart.
So instead of going into her own room, she stared at Yuma.
"Have you ever felt bothered by the fact that I'm a witch's daughter?"
Yuma stared at Cloné again. And he slowly opened his mouth.
"No."
He really hadn't.
The beings called witches in <Loof Blood> all had their own stories. Stories that left them with no choice but to become witches.
Of course, he had killed them all without mercy.
"And whether your mother is a witch or not, that doesn't matter."
The reason more important than that was this.
"Cloné, you are just you."
What use was it if a being who seemed destined to be a protagonist in this world got held back by such trivial issues?
Yuma had only said that with that thought in mind.
"So don't have useless thoughts and go to sleep."
Cloné smiled with her eyes at Yuma's words and said in a low voice.
"...Yes, Yuma-nim."
And she went into her room.
Cloné lay down on the bed. For the first time in a very long while, her mother's voice came to mind. A voice she had wanted to forget and had forgotten for a long time.
-Cloné, Cloné. No matter what happens in the future. You just need to live as yourself, Cloné. Alright?
That affectionate voice.
That affectionate embrace. Because it had been so affectionate, it must have been so hard when she was alone.
That night, Cloné was able to fall into the deepest sleep she had taken recently.
She slept a very clear sleep, free of any nightmares or any dreams.
***
Yuma came out in front of the inn.
"..."
He saw a cat tribe young girl dozing off, nodding her head while leaning against a tree.
To be precise, a cat tribe young girl who had hidden her cat ears under a robe.
Yuma tapped Hestia's shoulder.
Hestia's eyes snapped open. And irritation flickered in them.
"Shii! Who is it!"
Eyes fiercely wide open.
The being those eyes held was a man with ash-grey hair and clear blue eyes.
"...It really is a nice morning! Isn't it! Yuma-nim!"
The irritation in her eyes had somehow melted softly away.
'A textbook example of the strong preying on the weak.'
She controlled her anger very well.
It didn't leave a bad feeling. Because it was fairly cute.
"Don't use honorifics, it doesn't suit you. First, we're going to the guard post. Lead the way."
"O-Okay! Yuma!"
Nodding her head vigorously, Hestia sprang energetically to her feet.