An Unwelcome Reunion
How long had he been standing there?
Humans whose very existence felt unpleasant simply because they gave off no presence at all weren’t exactly common. And yet, there he was—Robenin.
Even though he was clearly visible, his aura was almost undetectable. The fact that even Ash hadn’t noticed him until he was this close was all because of Robenin.
[This time I’m sure! Should I bite him to death?!]
Why was the guy who was supposed to be in the middle of the arena all the way over here?
Robenin was walking straight toward us. He must have followed us.
I flared my killing intent again, and Rai growled along with me. The more we did, the more desperately Ash tried to hide me behind him.
“Robenin!”
“Young Lord Pedri……”
[Redhead!]
Forget Spirit Master versus swordsman—I just wanted to bite him to death right now.
Ash’s words had already been shoved out of my head. The enemy I’d been injured by was standing right in front of me of his own accord, and Rai was about to lunge.
Robenin opened his mouth and said,
“I was wondering who it was.”
“……!”
“So it was you.”
Did he recognize me? I’d thought he didn’t remember anything at all, so that alone was shocking.
“Not many humans can radiate this much killing intent.”
The distance between us had shrunk to just three or four steps. Seeing Robenin this close made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
I was busy both staying tense and grinding my teeth. Yeah, you’re human too, so you should start remembering me already!
“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Why was he suddenly using formal speech? When he even gave a slight nod, I finally sensed something was off.
It wasn’t me he had recognized.
“Your Highness the Prince.”
“……Young Lord.”
Robenin treated me like I didn’t exist and stepped closer to Ash. The two of them stared at each other steadily, exchanging a look I couldn’t decipher.
Hold on. I’m supposed to be the protagonist of my own life—why am I being ignored this hard?
The irritation lasted only a moment before the question of how Robenin had recognized Ash smacked me in the back of the head.
“……Right. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
“You don’t seem to have been doing well.”
“Not really? Nothing much happened.”
“……I suppose that’s true.”
I was pretty sure he’d had a year just as fantastic as mine.
Robenin shook his head indifferently, as if nothing came to mind, while Ash wore the same resigned expression he often showed me. Maybe the reason Ash never seemed particularly flustered around me…… was because of this guy! He was already used to it!
“More importantly, how did you recognize me?”
“……? I just know when I see you.”
“My face is completely different. Everything is.”
I’d recognized him too, but only because of the scar on his hand, his childhood name, and the intel Rai had gathered through his spy operations. Of course, my beast-like instincts had played a part as well.
“Your face…… Now that you mention it, it does look a bit different. I think your hair used to be black.”
That’s ridiculous! You idiot! That’s not all that’s different!
My whole body itched to tackle him. How could he not notice a face that looked like it belonged to an entirely different art style?
“Your eye color is different too. We have the same eyes.”
“Ah, now that you say it, I see.”
“Right now my face is altered by magic. You’re the first person to recognize me at a glance. That shouldn’t even be possible.”
“I can tell from the body. And the aura. Those don’t change. Muscle structure, the lines of the body…… the look in the eyes, posture, gait. The unique strength of a human. Faces aren’t important when it comes to recognizing people.”
No wonder something had felt off—Ash was speaking to Robenin in casual speech, and I couldn’t get used to it.
Of course, Robenin using formal speech with Ash was also messing with my mood.
“……You haven’t changed. Since you can’t remember people’s faces anyway, I guess that sort of thing doesn’t matter to you.”
Even while talking, Ash kept trying to stuff me further behind him.
Wait! I get that you two are close, so just let me hit him once—only once!
“Being able to distinguish people by strength is a talent in itself.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re not a weak human either, Your Highness.”
“……Hey! Ash is mine!”
Why is he confessing to Ash right now?!
I tried to kick out at Robenin’s nonsense, but compared to the two men, my physical abilities were worse than a newborn’s, so I didn’t even graze him.
“What’s this? You’re carrying around something quite ferocious.”
“……Your rudeness hasn’t changed either.”
“You bastard!”
My temper, which had been lying low while I tried to read the room, flared up instantly.
Not that it accomplished much—I was still being held back by Ash and could only flail uselessly.
“So that’s your preference.”
“……Don’t say another word.”
“I thought you weren’t interested in women, unlike me.”
“I told you to stop……”
I kept getting the scent of a kindred spirit from Robenin. I really hoped it was just my imagination.
There were two famously unattainable men in the imperial palace. Robenin and Ephiros. In completely different ways, neither of them had any interest in women.
“If she belongs to Your Highness, I won’t kill her even if she’s insolent.”
“Robenin.”
“Yes.”
“Watch your mouth. She doesn’t belong to anyone.”
That was when I finally got a sense of just how close Robenin and Ash were.
When Ash spoke in an uncharacteristically angry voice, his killing intent flaring, and Robenin smiled quite comfortably.
[Huh? You two are close, Master? But he’s the human you like the most and the one you hate the most!]
[I hate to admit it, but it seems that way!]
On top of that, I’d just discovered that the human I hated apparently liked the human I liked quite a bit.
It was an extremely unpleasant realization.
How dare he! I should sic Rai on Robenin!
While I was lost in this bizarre love triangle, completely unaware of time passing, a crowd of footsteps suddenly poured out from deeper in the corridor.
It seemed the spectators were starting to leave the stands. The event couldn’t possibly be over yet, so the reason was obvious.
The so-called victor of today wasn’t doing any fan service and was instead flirting with my man right in front of me.
Disgusting…… If I were a beast, I would’ve already bitten him. But since I’m a rational human, I’m holding back.
“Your Highness, the Count was so pathetic that my body still isn’t warmed up. Spar with me. Thinking back, the time I spent with you was the most enjoyable.”
“Gah! How dare you! Get lost!”
“Jeanie, wait. Young Lord, wait and……”
Ash let out a long sigh, then easily hoisted me onto his back and headed for the exit.
He was probably keeping hold of me because if he let go, I’d definitely start brawling with Robenin.
“Young Lord, follow me for now. We should leave. I’d rather not draw attention.”
“I agree.”
“Get lost! How can someone like that even participate in a public match?!”
“He’s still annoying. Can I just kill him?”
“You’re the one who’s gonna die! How can you not even remember me……!”
“……Could it be that we……”
“We didn’t! I’m Jeanie Crowell, you blockhead!”
I couldn’t let him say that ridiculous line again in front of Ash.
The moment I shouted, we burst out of the arena, and right beside me—Robenin was there.
This has to be a dream. A nightmare, at that.
[Ah, I get it! The one who wins the fight gets to have Ash!]
[No, that’s not it!]
I gave up struggling and just hung limply from Ash’s shoulder.
I fully agreed we needed to get out of here as fast as possible, especially since Robenin had started looking at me like I was prey.
Right after watching him defeat the Count at a speed I couldn’t even see, if someone asked whether I was confident I could beat him, I’d have a hard time answering right now. But at least when it came to being bad-tempered, I was confident I wouldn’t lose.
I glared at him without backing down.
“Grrr……!”
[You bastard!]
“Grr!”
[Get those eyes off me!]
[Don’t translate that!]
So now I was the one acting like a beast!
Normally, Rai would be the one baring his teeth like an animal, but right now he was transformed into a snake and hiding deep inside my clothes. That meant the threats were entirely my responsibility.
I kept growling fiercely.
Even if I currently looked like a sack of potatoes dangling from Ash’s shoulder, it would be a problem if he dared underestimate me.
Judging by the deep smile in Robenin’s eyes, my threats weren’t working at all.
Robenin even looked pleased.
“Want to fight?”
“Bring it!”
“Both of you, stop!”
I kicked out at Robenin again, and Ash kept stroking my back as if telling me to calm down. The only one enjoying this situation was Robenin.
[Bite him, Master!]
I needed to add Rai to the list. That damn creature was enjoying his master’s misfortune.
End of Part 1. To be continued in Part 2.