Chapter 68
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: If the Enemy Appears, We Fight
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The corners of my mouth were curling up on their own.
"Fuck, if you cut it like that, I'll run away."
Wow, Ibu. Have you ever seen such a selfish prick?
He went and turned my head into this mess...
My blood was boiling, but the magnanimous Holy Knight Captain Kalluk decided to hold it in.
Because if Ibu bolted, it'd be a real problem.
Right now, Ibu was a being who drew power from Toolsep, just like me.
If he went into hiding, even I wouldn't be able to sense him.
I lowered the axe and held out my hand to Erakins.
"Erakins, you've got a pocket knife, right?"
"It's sharp, so be careful."
I took the knife and asked Ibu.
At times like this, be as gentle and kind as possible.
"So, how would you like it done, sir? Or should I say customer?"
Ibu gestured with his hand as if slicing his own neck clean off, swinging it around his shoulder area.
"Fuck, right here above the shoulder. Cut it so it just barely reaches when I hold my head up stiff like this. Like that—nice and clean, fresh, confident, like chopping off a mountaintop."
Damn, look at those detailed demands.
I grabbed a thick handful of his lush, straight hair.
There was no way cutting this crazy bitch's hair could feel good, but strangely, my heart was racing.
'The thrill and sense of accomplishment are intense!'
Grabbing her by the hair and feeling that electric rush of conquest—yep, I'm a pervert Holy Knight.
But anyone pointing fingers at me would be a heretic.
Snip, snip.
Glossy black hair fell in thick clumps.
"Hee hee hee—."
Ibu stomped her feet like a girl desperate to pee, bubbling with joy.
'As expected... Ibu really is a crazy kid.'
While cutting the damn woman's hair, I noticed something unusual.
Her ears, hidden beneath that long, thick mane, were now revealed.
"Ibu, your ears are pointed at the tips."
I'd known her claim of coming from another world was true, but seeing the physical differences firsthand felt entirely different.
When I'd first laid eyes on the fat, stubby dwarf Grevare, it had been shocking. But witnessing Ibu's new look brought a fresh sense of novelty.
That just went to show how important appearances were.
Erakins, holding the mirror, gazed at her with an ecstatic expression.
"Ohh, as I thought! You're so beautiful—no wonder. Lady Ibu, you're of the Troublare race, aren't you?"
It was the face a shut-in otaku would make upon meeting a fairy from myth.
Ibu scowled in the mirror.
"What the hell are you talking about? I flew here whoosh from another world. Got trapped in a Luvec stone and thud, crashed down. You comparing this noble Lady Ibu to some lowly, weird race?"
"N-no, not at all."
Erakins trailed off awkwardly.
Muttering that the Troublare would declare war if they heard.
"All done. Take a look."
Erakins adjusted the mirror, and Ibu fixed her gaze on it, tilting her head this way and that.
It was a scene I'd seen countless times at the salon with Mom or a girlfriend.
She fiddled with the ends, wrapped a strand around her finger a few times, then grinned.
"Fuck, I like it."
Glad you approve, customer.
Hairdresser Holy Knight mission accomplished.
"Fuck, how's it look? Guys lining up to marry me now, right?"
Ibu demanded agreement from Erakins.
"Pfft, marriage? You'll be worshipped as a goddess."
That's right, Erakins, good job.
"Hee hee hee hee—."
Ibu laughed like a madwoman at the flattery. Though she already seemed half-mad.
Gazing at that smile—which wasn't the least bit ugly—I quietly prayed.
'Please, just let today end peacefully. Time for me to get some rest.'
I'd awakened a disaster, given those surprise Holy Knights a proper schooling, and even finished a haircut.
That was more than enough to earn a break.
As I stretched my aching back, Sergei approached hesitantly.
"Um, Captain..."
Before I could ask what was up, Ibu cut in.
"Fuck, why call Kalluk 'Captain'?"
"Because he is the captain. And a Holy Knight, too."
"I know that! Captain means..."
Ibu fumbled for words, so the ever-helpful me explained.
"Captain just means captain. No other meaning."
"Fuck, right. But if Kalluk's captain, what am I?"
"You're Lady Ibu, of course."
Erakins said it with a face like he might die from adoration.
But Ibu didn't seem pleased.
I patted her shoulder.
"You're noble, right? Noble things don't need labels."
Like how pineapple is perfect on its own.
Making fried rice or pizza with it is just pointless excess. I'm right, period. Argue and you're a heretic.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Absolutely."
Whatever.
Too annoying—just brush it off.
"Fuck, good. I'm just Ibu."
Ibu was way too curious.
She interrupted more often than Silver Star, poking at everything.
It made my mental fatigue spike.
'Did I wake her for nothing? Her potential's unquestionable, but she's not strong enough to help yet.'
I rubbed my frustrated chest, then locked eyes with the fidgeting Sergei.
"What were you gonna say?"
"The ones who passed out—"
"Ah, got it."
I could tell without hearing the rest—Holy Knight Captain Kalluk, master of intuition.
I followed Sergei to the spot.
Requiya, propped up, was shaking his head to clear the daze.
Yuderg was already awake, sitting cross-legged. Fred blinked from his lying position.
Steron, who'd woken first, was murmuring something like a chant by Fred's head, seemingly aiding his recovery from the knockout.
Without his helmet, Steron was strikingly handsome.
The remorse in his deep turquoise eyes was genuine.
"Taking responsibility for your actions?"
"I have the power of recovery, so I'm just helping."
His speech was natural, earnest.
There was even a hint of respect toward his foes.
That must be what a true Holy Knight looked like.
'Power of recovery... A Holy Knight healer, huh.'
I scanned the recovered knockout brothers once over, then turned to leave.
"Sort out your reconciliation yourselves. I'm about to get busy."
"Captain, sir. Busy how? Where are you going?"
Loginin, handing water to Fred, asked urgently.
"You guys handle things inside. Keep the monsters from getting in."
"Pardon? Monsters?"
"No rest for the weary. Guess downtime's not in my fate."
While checking on the knockout brothers, Blue Eye had caught something.
Aerial view made it iffy at first, but the forest was shaking wildly.
Something burst out from it.
'Rest? Give it to the dogs.'
The thieves who'd gone hunting were being chased by something.
Based on intel gathered from the thieves' mountain lair west of Brad, their identity was clear.
"Ogres are coming."
"We can handle ogres."
Steron looked strong.
Like before our duel.
Steron acted like he'd draw his sword any second, but I held him back with a hand.
"Not just one or two. And there's a weird one mixed in."
"Weird one?"
"Shoulders twice as broad as the others, white hair, brown skin. Like conifer bark."
"Brown, you say?"
Steron held his breath.
"You know it?"
"I've heard Ogre Kings have brown skin. But nothing about one that huge. Just a bit larger than regular ogres..."
"King or queen, it's fucking huge. Seems a tad faster too. There's a smaller one that's insanely quick."
The thief bastards, hardened by long marches, were barely evading it.
That one chased like a vanguard, ahead of even the Ogre King.
"What does that one look like?"
"Dunno the details. Just pitch black all over."
Steron gave me a doubtful look.
"Never heard of an ogre like that."
"You'll see it soon enough. Then you'll believe."
Dozens of green giants trailed the Ogre King at a distance.
The thieves finally hit the plains.
A sunlit area with decent grass growth.
The pale green plains tore dark under their pounding feet.
'Hurry up if you wanna live, you bastards.'
Realizing the situation, Requiya and his crew struggled to their feet.
Obviously meaning to help however they could.
"There's a bow in the armory. Grab it and head to the walls. Don't shoot to hit."
Steron furrowed his brow.
"You're planning to fight that monster alone?"
"You didn't get hit enough? Why ask the obvious?"
Rebuked, Steron turned away with a sulky face.
Holy Knight Steron.
He'd seemed impressive in my imagination before facing him, but after thrashing him, he looked no different from the thieves—kinda pathetic.
If he came off as a holy thief in my eyes, was that too harsh?
'Ah, fuck. Getting pissed for no reason. No Silver Star to calm me down.'
I glared at the plains, grumbling irritably.
Too far to gauge their strength.
But Blue Eye confirmed one thing for sure.
'That heat haze is coming fast.'
Come on.
'If it's shimmering like that from this distance, how insane is that power?'
★
I rolled my shoulders to loosen up.
Time to head out.
"Captain..."
Requiya called me back.
His voice trembled gravely.
"Something called an Ogre King must be extremely powerful."
I wondered why he was stating the obvious, but I got what he was driving at.
Irritation surged.
"So you wanna bar the gates and save our skins?"
"Pardon?"
Requiya's eyes widened round.
As if it were the most natural thing.
I'd thought he was someone I could reason with, but apparently that was just me.
I knew this demon's mindset, but barricading the gate was too selfish.
"Leave the guys who trusted me and followed me here to die? Huh?"
It had been ages since I'd snapped at Requiya like this.
I'm human too.
Of course I feel fear.
Probably the person who fears fire most is a firefighter.
Because they see and feel it up close.
Flames are a monster no words or footage can fully capture.
They devour everything without mercy, like they hate all existence.
No grace, no purity.
Roaring crashes, choking black gas.
A ferocious fire dragon, plain and simple.
Why did I fight something like that?
I knew facing it meant death.
Who'd curse me for running?
No one else to do it?
Didn't wanna die?
To save even one life?
All wrong.
"Just... If the enemy appears, we fight. They're not the type to back down easily. Neither are they, nor I."
"Captain Kalluk, sometimes you gotta know when to retreat."
Fred sided with Requiya.
"You always said survival comes first."
Yuderg chimed in too, glancing warily at the unwavering gazes of Steron and Loginin fixed on me.
"That's why you stay inside the fortress. And you crazy bastards—"
Mid-sentence, rage welled up.
I swallowed hard and snarled.
"Ah, fuck this! Who said I'm going off to die? I'm going to find a way to save the same idiots who followed me here!"
Got it?!