Mother of the Earth - 4
An awkward silence settled over them.
Marianne sat demurely, her head bowed low. From the way her ears had flushed scarlet, I could tell without looking just how red her face must be.
"I've got plenty to say, but first—let's not bother bringing up what happened earlier."
The moment I promised not to dig into the scandal, Marianne ducked her head even deeper. The flying squirrel perched on her shoulder awkwardly rubbed its nose with both paws, looking every bit as bashful as if it, too, had just made a complete spectacle of itself.
What kind of world am I even living in?
"……Ever since the day I parted from you, Bern, my body has been… strange."
"Huh?"
"Every single night your face would rise up in my mind, and I couldn't get a proper wink of sleep. Even when I offered prayers to the Earth Mother Goddess, you kept slipping into my thoughts."
"That's…"
"I know. I know how wrong it is. So at some point I reached a place where I couldn't endure it unless I disciplined myself. I forced a precious animal friend into acts of violence that should never have been done… and even then I was thinking of you, enjoying it…"
Forced? From where I stood, the flying squirrel itself had looked like it was having the time of its life.
I shot a sidelong glance at Marianne's shoulder. The squirrel casually tossed aside the vine it had been holding, folded its tiny hands, and bowed its head in a belated show of repentance.
Cunning little bastard.
"So you ended up making SM play a regular habit."
"Yes. That's why, when I reunited with you, I was happy—but at the same time I felt crushing guilt. Because I had been doing such vulgar things while thinking of you."
"Is that why you ran the second you saw me?"
"Shamefully… yes."
I let out a long sigh and shook my head. It wasn't that I couldn't understand how she felt. From Marianne's point of view, it was basically the same as confessing she'd been getting herself off to thoughts of me. If the AV actress who'd raised me through my teenage years suddenly appeared in front of me, I might feel something similar.
Still, standing on the opposite side of that equation, I had no idea what the right thing to say was.
"People pick up all sorts of hobbies as they live. I get it."
"R-really?"
"……Yeah. Of course."
You actually bought that? The words rose all the way to the tip of my tongue before I swallowed them again. Crushing a pure-hearted girl's feelings wasn't something I could do—and it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that the grip strength sitting right next to me could casually snap a log in half.
Even after absorbing part of the Earth Mother's power, she's still this solid.
[On the contrary—by devouring the excess power she didn't need, you allowed her to refine what remained into pure strength of her own. Don't you think a forged iron sword is far more terrifying than simply swinging raw ore around?]
…Yeah, that actually makes sense.
Meaning Marianne's power had grown far beyond what it used to be. At a rough glance, she didn't look inferior even to Lin. The first time we met she had seemed so fragile I only wanted to protect her. Watching her grow this strong in such a short time made it clear—she, like Kang Junhyuk, was overflowing with talent.
In the original Adokchoe, there had been a setting that she sealed herself away because her presence risked endangering Kang Junhyuk's position. A tragic character who never even got to appear because she couldn't control her own power. That same Marianne was now walking an entirely new path of fate because of me.
She might end up becoming a top-tier powerhouse on par with the future Kang Junhyuk.
[And that deeply rooted little sprout has become a masochist who gets excited imagining you, of all people.]
Haha……
I hadn't opened a new path of destiny for her so much as completely wrecked the old one and shoved her down a completely different road. The sheer absurdity of it made me laugh, yet at the same time I felt wronged. All I had done was protect Marianne from the Magic Tower. Beyond that…
[Didn't you try to suck even more of the Earth Mother's power out of her on your own?]
So what? That should count as a demerit, if anything.
[Or you could interpret it differently. A man who nearly died absorbing her power still pushed himself to take even more for her sake. From her perspective, what was pure greed on the contractor's part could look like bone-grinding self-sacrifice. More than enough reason to fall for someone.]
Is that really how it works?
The person who actually ought to feel guilty was sitting right here. I scratched my cheek and looked at Marianne. She was letting out a soft sigh of relief, a faint smile on her lips—clearly she had been terrified I would look at her with contempt.
In most cases, a guy would be thrilled to learn a girl had been doing filthy things while thinking of him. The reason she still fretted so much was probably because elven society was a world of reversed chastity values.
"Thanks to you, Bern, my heart feels so much lighter."
"Glad to hear it."
"Oh? Are you leaving already?"
"I've got an important match tomorrow, remember? I only stopped by today to say hello. Let's save the real conversation for next time."
The knot in her heart had been loosened. Judging that the purpose of my visit was complete, I stood up—only to hear Marianne's sulky protest. But there was no helping it. The hour was already too late to pour out every lingering feeling. The sun was sinking low; today's regrets would have to wait.
Especially since Marianne herself had something important scheduled for tomorrow.
"W-wait just a moment!"
"Something else you want to say?"
"That is…"
Marianne pressed her lips shut and lowered her head. Just as I was about to leave, promising myself I would wait for the day she found the courage to speak—
Her eyes flashed open and she declared with sudden boldness:
"P-please hit me! Just once!"
"……"
At some point the flying squirrel had climbed all the way onto my shoulder. In its tiny hands it held a long, thorny vine. With adorable little paws it casually offered the vine to me, then raised a thumb in a cheerful thumbs-up.
Why don't you join us on this path?
That was exactly the look it was giving me.
Nature was starting to scare me.
The next afternoon.
Amid a roaring crowd, my companions and I sat side by side. After having been the spectacle myself, sitting on the spectator side felt strangely fresh.
"The atmosphere is incredible."
"It's the finals, after all."
"I asked one of the staff—every seat is sold out. The arena's popularity had cooled lately, so a complete sell-out hadn't happened even once… until this match. They're calling it an unprecedented case."
"That just means the matchup is that highly anticipated, right?"
"Hrund, known as the Master of the Spear, versus the rising star they revere as the Wood King. Look around—plenty of skilled fighters have gathered hoping to gain enlightenment just from watching."
"Must be a lot of pressure on the fighters."
"Or maybe knowing so many eyes are on them only gets them more fired up?"
"Who knows."
Some types simply didn't care about the audience. Either way, all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the show. Until recently I had been an ordinary person; I possessed zero talent for analyzing fights. For me, the result was enough—especially while cheering for Marianne, with whom I had a personal connection.
"Ladies and gentlemen! You've waited long enough! The long-awaited big match everyone has been dying to see finally begins right here!"
The same announcer I had seen when I competed myself stepped out and poured fuel on the crowd's fire. His clear, booming voice only heightened the anticipation.
"Before we begin, a few words from today's special guest—the heart of the Holden Kingdom's Second Knight Order, Sir Daimus!"
"Aah, it is truly an honor to stand as witness before so many of His Majesty's beloved subjects. I expect nothing of the outcome. I shall simply focus on the brilliant contest these two warriors are about to display, and hope to learn a thing or two myself."
"Splendid words—our thanks!"
Disciplined, dignified, the very picture of a knight. Even after receiving the rank of knight commander at such a young age, he overflowed with humility—a true model for every knight.
[A knight with a promising future.]
After Bern, he becomes Kang Junhyuk's rival, after all.
He even had a record of defeating Kang Junhyuk once. Because of that loss, Princess Charlotte's fiancé had been decided as Daimus—until a demon raid rendered the engagement meaningless. In a way, he was another man who had his heroine stolen, just like Bern.
Frankly, considering that Princess Charlotte would later awaken as the Extraction Princess, Daimus ought to be on his knees thanking Kang Junhyuk.
Fuck, he took Charlotte and dumped the pink-haired one on Bern. Still pisses me off.
[Endure it, Contractor. In this timeline, you were the one who bound those two together, were you not?]
Haaah…!
Right. Because of the artifact I foisted on him, Kang Junhyuk was now stuck with Sherin for life. And after Hades had socially buried him not long ago, my revenge was more or less complete.
I steadied my mind and refocused on the match. While I had been seething, both fighters had finished their preparations.
A handsome young man whirled his spear in dazzling flourishes, drawing gasps of admiration from the crowd. Opposite him, completely unmoved by the performance, Marianne stood with both hands clasped in prayer.
A battle between a beautiful man and a beautiful woman—the audience was already losing its mind.
"Both fighters appear ready! Let the match begin!"
Clang—!
The moment the announcer finished, the arena gong boomed with majestic force—the signal that the bout had started.
Hrund opened with a swift, clean thrust. A light probing attack; as an opening move it was excellent.
If the opponent hadn't been Marianne, that is.
"It's over."
"It's over."
Lin and I spoke the exact same words at the same time.
In that same instant Marianne caught the spear traveling at near-supersonic speed and yanked it toward herself. Hrund's entire body was dragged forward with it.
"Wha—?!"
"I'll finish this in an instant."
She released the spear mid-pull and closed the distance on Hrund in a blink. The moment her fist clenched, the slender muscles hidden in her thin arms swelled all at once.
It had begun—the moment Marianne's true power was unleashed.
Objectively speaking, Hrund's level was high enough that he could have put up a decent fight against Marianne. But he had made the fatal mistake of looking down on her. He should have gone all-out from the first exchange instead of starting light. In a spear-versus-fist matchup the spear held an overwhelming advantage… yet by letting his guard down, Hrund had allowed her a single free attack.
That one strike would become an irreversible, fatal wound.
Demonic Wood Shatter
Marianne gently pressed her fist against Hrund's abdomen.
"Wh-what was that?"
"It was so fast I flinched, but the actual hit didn't look like much."
Those were the reactions of ordinary spectators.
"Th-that is…!"
"Hah! A realm that defies all reason!"
Those were the reactions of people who actually understood combat.
And it did not take long for the ordinary spectators' reactions to change.
KRAAAANG—!
The instant Marianne withdrew her fist, a violent shockwave erupted from Hrund's midsection and slammed his body into the arena wall. The man once called the Master of the Spear collapsed to the floor with his eyes rolled back.
One strike.
Marianne had dropped her opponent with a single blow.
"I-insane! How is that even possible?!"
"Hahaha! She took Hrund down in one hit!"
"Wood King! Wood King! Wood King!"
The reaction was, of course, explosive. A duel between masters that everyone expected to drag on had ended in a single exchange. The aftershock of that heat even reached the knight commander who had been watching.
In the blink of an eye Daimus descended from the VIP seats. He strode toward Marianne—then suddenly dropped to one knee.
"That was a truly magnificent fight. It is improper of me, yet I find myself captivated by your strength. Would you do us the honor of joining our knight order?"
An unprecedented scouting offer from the royal knight order. The crowd's cheers grew even hotter; every heart present pounded as they waited for Marianne's answer.
Her reply came faster than anyone expected.
"I must politely decline."
"M-may I ask the reason?"
He clearly had never imagined being refused. Becoming a member of the royal knight order was, after all, an honor beyond measure. Who would turn down the chance to become a knight of the king?
But Marianne was the Saintess who had inherited the Earth Mother's power. An elf who served a god greater than any king would hardly find a royal knight order appealing.
While every spectator stood open-mouthed in shock, I alone—already knowing the truth—was about to smile.
Then she said it.
"Because compared to Bern, you look fucking weak."
Why the hell did my name come up?
Even my expression froze solid.