Chapter 176: Pertinax Auction House (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 176: Pertinax Auction House (5)
An unbelievable chill swept through the overheated auction house. All because of the appearance of one girl—Chloe.
Stare—
Her already red eyes were bloodshot to the limit. Broken capillaries webbed dangerously around her crimson irises.
How could a human make eyes like that? The murderous glare smoldering in her gaze was truly worthy of a yandere.
What happened to your promise to clear the area for thirty minutes, Head of the Family...?
I inwardly blamed Al'tair. Then, I lowered my gaze slightly.
And of course, just as I feared. She was tightly gripping her armament, a katana, in her right hand.
The blade, which should have been stark white, was drenched a deep crimson, having drunk its fill of blood. It had been a while since we last saw each other, but she clearly had no intention of giving me a warm greeting.
In her left hand, she held an ominous bundle. The bottom of the cloth was damp.
A thick, sticky liquid dripped from it, drop by drop. The contents... were undoubtedly what she had just personally severed and claimed as a trophy. A villain's head.
Honestly, it made no sense for me to be trembling before Chloe at this point. Even if her strength had grown exponentially, she was still no match for me.
It might sound arrogant, but that was the reality. Even so, whenever Chloe entered that 'mode,' I couldn't help but tense up. It was probably PTSD. Our first meeting had been just that intense.
Damn it.
As if frozen time had started moving again, Chloe took slow, heavy steps forward.
Only then did Hon seem to sense the strange atmosphere and turned her head. She looked back and forth between me and Chloe, then tilted her head cutely.
“Why is that human acting like that?”
—...
Am I the only one sensing the danger here? I didn't mean to blame Hon, but surely she should have some sense of vigilance.
For some reason, I seemed to be the only one reacting to those murderous eyes.
It was the same with Ryozo before. I couldn't tell if I was just overly sensitive or if they were completely oblivious...
But I stopped myself from replying to her innocent face. I actually had something to ask Hon.
'You're back.' Those words definitely meant something. For now, I would resolve this situation first, then talk to her more.
I pushed myself up, hands on my knees. Although she didn't seem to have any intention of talking, I had just acquired the [Blessing of Communication].
In that case, I might as well put it to good use. I would try to pierce through her ears, which were closed off and drowned in murderous intent, using the blessing. Otherwise, I would have to resort to force.
I took a deep breath and activated the [Blessing of Communication]. Whatever the outcome, I figured it was worth a shot.
—Chloe.
“……”
I called her name. Her steps didn't falter.
—I think there's been a misunderstanding.
“……”
Her footwork grew swifter. A katana in her right hand, a bundled cloth in her left. An alarm blared in my head, warning me that this combination was extremely dangerous.
Even with the [Blessing of Communication] active, it didn't make a dent. That meant she was completely rejecting communication itself. She didn't want to hear or say a single word.
Dash.
Chloe leaped high into the air. Her jump was powerful enough to reach the ceiling in a single bound. She kicked off the ceiling and lunged forward.
If the phrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" could be translated into motion, it would look exactly like this. I groaned.
This is driving me crazy.
Since things had escalated to this point, a clash was unavoidable. Even if it was a bit excessive, I had to respond. Just as my hand reached down toward my pocket—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, another presence lunged at Chloe from the side. It was Nox. Appearing like a flash of lightning, he thrust his Crimson Ring Blade toward his sister without hesitation.
Sensing the surprise attack, Chloe swung her katana in response.
Clang! The blades clashed in the empty air of the auction house. The owners of those blades were family.
Nox bit his lower lip.
I came inside just in case, and look at this.
While he was briefly keeping watch elsewhere, Chloe had slipped into the auction house.
Her reason was that the person wearing the crow mask seemed to be Kang Geomma.
Nox had known this all along but had kept his mouth shut.
He knew better than anyone that Chloe lost her mind whenever she saw Kang Geomma. Moreover, his sister had been yearning for him, especially since her return to the academy had been delayed. That was why he had hidden the truth.
But Chloe had recognized Kang Geomma under the crow mask by his scent. She had kept twitching her nose, and in the end...
She wasn't even a dog, yet she identified someone by scent. Even if she was his sister, she had a real knack for giving people goosebumps.
Nox looked at Chloe again. Her eyes were hollow, like empty husks.
Now that things had come to this, holding back was out of the question. Chloe had continuously honed her combat instincts over the break. With her potential and experience aligning, she had, as expected, been reborn as a formidable assassin.
If he didn't take Chloe seriously in this state, he would be the one who ended up defeated.
Nox boldly swung his Crimson Ring Blade once more. Chloe swung her sword at the exact same moment.
Swoosh! The two blades, which seemed about to entangle, tore through the air. This was because both of them had activated [Raven's Blessing] to execute feint attacks.
However, their intentions were different. Nox's goal was to avoid landing a direct, fatal blow on his sister.
On the other hand, Chloe's was a distraction to conceal a hidden blade. Tch, Chloe clicked her tongue.
Immediately after, she coiled her waist. Using that elasticity, she spun around. She unleashed a flurry of strikes, driving momentum into her blade. She showered him with relentless, heavy blows.
Clang-clang-clang!
Nox crossed his two Crimson Ring Blades in an X-shape to block the attack. To be precise, he barely endured it. Even though he had cushioned the impact, his hands felt numb.
With such speed behind her heavy strikes, the pressure of each blow was no joke.
No matter how much she had lost her mind, she was truly fighting with intent to kill.
Even in his brief moment of panic, Chloe maintained her rotational momentum to continue her rapid succession of strikes. She cut off his peripheral vision, and in the blink of an eye, she would thrust her blade from behind. It was an offensive packed with sheer, sharp malice.
Nox's eyes widened. He stopped thinking and prioritized action.
The siblings' swords clashed relentlessly. Inside the pitch-black auction house, fragmented scenes appeared in rapid succession, like spliced film reels.
Sparks flickered in the air, flashing and fading like car taillights. Occasionally, silver threads of light traced across the ground.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two blades served as instruments, playing a duet. Like background music, the siblings performed a sword dance on a stage that resembled an opera house.
Though no blood had been spilled yet, the exchange was nothing short of a bloody battle. At this rate, neither of them would escape unscathed. Furthermore, as the clash intensified, it was Nox who was being pushed onto the defensive.
It was only natural. Chloe, having lost her reason, was intent on completely finishing her opponent. Nox's objective was to subdue his sister, which was a far more difficult task.
Regardless of skill, this was an overwhelmingly disadvantageous fight for Nox.
I need to step in.
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, leaving Hon behind.
But at that moment—
“Stop!”
A thunderous shout shook the hall. Finally, the tips of the siblings' blades came to a halt right in front of each other's throats.
A bead of sweat that had gathered at the tip of Nox's chin dripped onto the blade below. The sweat washed away a bit of the thin coat of blood on Chloe's sword.
It took a moment for the excitement of the fierce battle to subside. After aiming at each other in that posture for a short while, the siblings finally sheathed their weapons.
“Haa... haa...”
Nox rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand, wiping away a handful of sweat.
He unsteadily straightened his back and looked up. Focus was gradually returning to Chloe's eyes.
...Looks like she's back to her senses.
Only then did Nox breathe a sigh of relief and look back. Led by the Head of the Family, members of the Auditore family filed in.
The Head of the Family looked around, then let out a deep sigh. He rubbed his face and shook his head.
“I thought you had quieted down lately, but here we go again. Just how long do you plan on troubling this grandfather of yours before you're satisfied, Chloe?”
Chloe blinked her hazy eyes. Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, she collapsed. Nox caught his sister. He looked down at his exhausted sister in his arms.
It made sense; she had probably pushed her potential to its absolute limits, so exhaustion must have caught up with her. Nox inwardly hoped that this would keep her from lifting a single finger for at least a few days.
The situation had settled down.
The Head of the Family gave me an awkward smile and spoke.
“I never expected her to slip into the auction house while I briefly stepped away. I apologize for showing you such an unsightly scene.”
I shook my head.
“No, don't worry about it. You should praise Nox instead. He showed up at the perfect time and put an end to it. If I had stepped in, things probably would have escalated significantly.”
“My Lord!”
Just then, Choi Seol-ah came running over in a flurry. She had managed to vanish during the dangerous moment, only to reappear now with a face full of worry.
When I narrowed my eyes at her, Choi Seol-ah fidgeted restlessly. She rolled her eyes and avoided my gaze. She clearly had a guilty conscience.
Well, it's not like things would have been any better even if she were here.
More than anything, I didn't have the energy to scold her. Just looking at Chloe in yandere mode felt like having my soul sucked out.
I looked at Hon beside me. She was sitting there blankly, wearing the same dumbfounded expression she had shown earlier.
At this rate, it would be difficult to have any further conversation with her.
But parting ways with Hon like this left a bad taste in my mouth.
After all, I still needed to get clues about the fourth fragment from her.
If I just let Hon go like this, things would become incredibly troublesome.
Should I take Hon in, like being chosen by a stray cat? Strangely enough, there was no clause in the dormitory regulations stating that one couldn't live with someone else.
The developers of Miracle Blessing M probably hadn't thought that far ahead.
However, except for her long ears, Hon looked exactly like a teenage girl. And despite her scruffy appearance, she was actually quite pretty.
I shook my head.
No, that won't do.
What would happen to my reputation if I lived in the same room as a girl like that?
Useless rumors would spread like wildfire among the cadets. Just imagining it made my head spin.
...But before that.
“Head of the Family, what do you plan to do with that baby dragon?”
At my question, the Head of the Family stroked his beard and fell into thought. After a brief pause, he replied.
“To be honest, that part is a bit of a headache for me as well. Normally, we should send her back to the Demon Realm, but she ended up here through an auction of all things. If the demons find out, they will rise up in outrage. They might gladly use this as a pretext.”
The Head of the Family spoke with a troubled expression. He was right.
If the demons seized on this, things could easily take a turn for the worse.
The worst-case scenario would be them using this as a pretext to launch an invasion.
The demons had already lost two of their Corps Commanders. They were probably in the middle of reorganizing their forces right now.
Humans putting a demon up for auction? It would be like pouring gasoline on a fire.
“Then how about this? We get the Academy Principal's understanding and have the academy manage the dragon. We can give her a cover identity as a cadet. After all, she doesn't look much different from a human. And from our brief conversation, she doesn't seem like a demon who would harm humans.”
At my suggestion, the Head of the Family's eyebrows twitched.
“You communicated with a demon?”
“Yes. I happened to acquire a blessing that allows me to communicate. Anyway, my point is that the academy should manage the dragon in secret.”
The Head of the Family listened quietly and nodded.
“Hmm. Now that I hear it, that's not a bad idea. In fact, I doubt there's a better way. Joaquin Academy is extraterritorial. Moreover, because of recent events, its security has become much tighter. It's practically airtight now. However...”
The Head of the Family glanced at Hon before continuing.
“It seems we'll need someone to act as her guardian. Only then will we be able to convince the Academy Principal.”
“Ah, you don't have to worry about that.”
“……?”
Without a word, I cast my gaze toward Choi Seol-ah.
The moment our eyes met, a look of dread washed over her face.
* * *
Not long after he finished talking with Kang Geomma, Al'tair received a phone call. A Swiss international number was displayed on the screen.
“Yes, Sword Emperor. The situation is mostly wrapped up.”
[You've worked hard all this time. The long journey that started with Cladi has finally come to an end.]
“Haha, it was no trouble at all. By a stroke of pure luck, at the auction house...”
Al'tair explained what had happened in detail. On the other end of the line, the Sword Emperor listened intently, sounding surprised.
[...To think such a thing happened. Why on earth was Kang Geomma there?]
“I didn't ask him. However, thanks to him, the situation was resolved smoothly. Isn't that all that matters?”
[Well, that's true. Or I can just go and ask him myself sometime soon.]
“Yourself? Then, could it be...?”
The Head of the Family could practically see the corners of the Sword Emperor's mouth curving upward, even over the phone.
[Indeed. The preparations for the Seven Stars Succession are almost complete, so I must return to the academy as well. Exactly one month from now, the succession ceremony will take place at Joaquin Academy.]