[No Title Provided]
Lucille had been defeated.
She didn't like the hero's way of doing things—the human way. Of course, Lucille knew all too well just how pathetically weak the elves were, so the hero's methods had initially brought her a sense of relief. But watching him stand idly by as those same elves were being slaughtered by Balam of the Demon King's army right before her eyes, she began to think something was seriously off. No, if she really thought about it, maybe she just hated the hero himself.
She had trained for over a decade, yet she'd only heard about the hero's emergence a few months ago. News of some ordinary young man from a rural village becoming the hero had spread widely even to the kingdom, and most people had doubted his abilities. Lucille had figured that anyone called a hero couldn't be that weak, but the hero she faced far surpassed her own skills.
Maybe even Master...
The duel between the Light Sword and the hero had ended anticlimactically, but to Lucille's eyes, the hero was no inferior to him. The problem was that he'd become this strong in a mere few months. To Lucille, who had endured bone-grinding training to grow powerful, it was utterly infuriating. Of course, the hero's strength came from the hardships of his previous life, but that was something Lucille could never know.
She simply couldn't accept that he'd grown so strong just because he was chosen. She was already skeptical of his methods—and now, she was full of doubt. On top of that, Lucille was a quick-witted woman. Still in her mid-twenties with no experience with men, she wasn't ignorant of matters between them. Anyone not a fool could see the relationships between the hero, the mage from the Magic Tower, and Jena the knight. And calling a beastkin woman his "pet" carried obvious implications.
While some of us train ourselves to death, this hero...!
Thinking he'd spent those few months charming women instead of training only made Lucille angrier. The final straw was Karen. Hearing the mage let out those lewd moans while casting spells forced Lucille to feel shame on the battlefield for the first time. Just listening made her feel as exposed as if she were naked—and the hero would glance at her with those half-lidded eyes every time.
She had no regrets in life, but suddenly feeling like a fool made her furious. So her impulsive outburst was perhaps inevitable.
Not even the Demon King—just some Demon King's lackey. I can handle that much.
Lucille had seen Balam's cheat-like physical prowess, but she believed she could take him. He'd only blocked spirit or magic-based attacks with his body, and he'd deflected the elf queen's arrows one by one with his weapon. That meant he had high resistance to magic and elements, but physical attacks would land properly.
From that, Lucille gained confidence she could do it too. While the hero chatted with the elf queen, she ambushed Balam.
"Ho, a human wench."
Balam blocked Lucille's surprise attack and flicked his tongue. Unlike beastkin who only resembled animals in ears and tails, Balam looked exactly like a massive bull. The lecherous gaze he directed at her from that form filled Lucille with unbearable disgust. She hadn't expected her first strike to land anyway.
She spun quickly, swinging her sword at his legs. A faint white glow emanated from her blade, and Balam hastily twisted his axe to block the strike aimed at his lower body.
"Not bad, human wench. I like you—you'll make a fine concubine."
"Shut your mouth!"
Lucille unleashed a barrage of attacks at Balam for daring to suggest making her his concubine. But her strikes were effortlessly parried. Balam blocked with a relaxed expression, all the while running his mouth nonstop.
"Your tits bounce so nicely—quite the sight!"
"Oh! That ass has ripened plump."
"Good, I'm getting more and more curious about your taste."
With Balam spewing vulgarities while defending, Lucille couldn't focus. No—in truth, she was realizing her skills fell short of his.
Why...?
Lucille gritted her teeth in frustration. Had all that training been for this humiliation from a mere Demon King's subordinate?
Thud.
The moment she got lost in thought, Balam's thick, bull-like hoof slammed into her gut. Caught off guard, Lucille flew back, rolling across the ground. Balam grinned lewdly and approached slowly.
"A wench who gets too cocky doesn't get pampered. You need some proper breaking in."
Balam reached for Lucille's head as she lay on the ground. Staring up at him, she felt fear for the first time.
"That's far enough."
At that moment, the hero appeared, slashing at Balam's outstretched arm. Sensing the unnatural power in the sword, Balam retreated swiftly, leaving the hero positioned protectively in front of Lucille.
Looking at the hero's back blocking her path, Lucille felt her cheeks burn. She'd always pursued strength independently, never relying on anyone—but she couldn't help idealizing the hero who protected her in her moment of crisis.
"I'll let you run your mouth, but touching what's mine? Can't have that."
Of course, only up until he opened his mouth.
What's mine? Who do you think I am?
Lucille stared at his back in bewilderment, furrowing her brow. Still, despite her expression, her heart beat a little faster.
* * *
"You're the hero?"
I smirked as Balam's face twisted. He'd been so fixated on Lucille he'd forgotten this was a battlefield—a war against elves. It was my first encounter with a Demon King's soldier obsessed with women, which was intriguing. Watching the arrogant Lucille get one-sidedly beaten was entertaining too.
Though she couldn't hold against Balam, her swordsmanship was a direct inheritance from the Light Sword. It had rough edges, but observing it yielded insights for me, so I'd let the situation play out.
But I can't let some beast pup touch what's mine.
That's why, the instant Balam reached for her, I drew my sword. Lucille might call bullshit if she heard, but I'd been eyeing her lately—his filthy hands on her body was intolerable.
"Perfect timing to interrupt. You die."
"Crazy bull. Were you gonna let me live otherwise?"
"...Fair point."
I tightened my grip on my sword as Balam tilted his head. Demon King's army had no normals, but Balam was exceptionally odd. He looked like a bull, but his true nature was one of the Demon World's overlords, like Baal. Yet since coming to the continent, he'd acted with baffling simplicity that even made his enemy—me—dumbfounded.
"Gotta kill you anyway, so I'll eat that bitch after."
"If you've got the skill, go ahead."
I retorted and swung at him immediately. Balam raised his axe to block like he had with Lucille, but... well.
Our swords carried fundamentally different power.
Boom!
A thunderous crash echoed, like a massive hammer striking a wall.
"Kuh."
A groan escaped Balam for the first time. I taunted him, weapons locked.
"Welcome—first time with a hero, pup?"
With my weapon pressed against his axe, I hit the secret button Katrin had built in.