The Swordmaster Wants to Fall in Love! 87. Whoever It May Be (1)
Having belatedly realized that Evan was actually a virgin, Elenoa found herself wrestling with how to deal with her guard knight, Monica.
For all that she was her own personal knight, how could she possibly have less sexual knowledge than a princess?
'Come to think of it, if I recall that conversation properly, something was off.'
When asked what her first time was like, she'd answered with a grimace. When asked about size, she'd been unable to respond at all.
If she'd thought more carefully, she could have picked up on the strangeness. She'd simply never considered that Monica might actually know less about sex than she did!
"Elenoa? Is something wrong?"
"Huh? No, no! So, Evan, you still haven't had that kind of experience, right?"
"Well...?"
He'd come within a hair's breadth of it a few times. Penelope had been close. Seolhyang had been close.
For one reason or another, neither had gone all the way, though...
Thanks to that, Evan was in a state that was neither virgin nor not-virgin.
"If you have, say you have. If you don't, say you don't. What's with the 'well...?'"
"There are things like that. Besides, what about you, Elenoa? Do you have experience?"
"As if I could. I'm a princess, you know?"
Elenoa let out a bitter smile as she spoke. She was a curious, talkative princess, but she also knew there were things she must not do.
First, she must not fall in love with anyone else. She was a princess who carried the Spear King's blood in abundance, and her body and heart belonged not to her alone.
Second, she must not destroy the proof of her purity. Because of that, she couldn't even comfort herself alone.
"But I think it'd be fine with Evan!"
"It's not good to pick someone just like that. You should do it with someone you actually like."
"Hmm... Then if I say I like you, Evan, will you hold me?"
"What?"
Caught off guard by the sudden confession, Evan stared at Elenoa in shock. But seeing her expression, he quickly realized she wasn't serious.
That mischievous, troublemaker's grin she wore whenever she was joking. Seeing it, Evan chuckled and played along with her prank.
"It's a problem when you're too popular. Fine, Elenoa. Take a number and wait your turn."
"Ahahaha! What number am I?"
"Since you're a princess, I'll give you a special pass — number three."
"Because heroes have three wives and four concubines?"
"You know your stuff, huh?"
Elenoa, who had been laughing uproariously at Evan's words, suddenly stopped mid-laugh, turned her head, and wiped away tears.
If he ever learned that what she'd just said wasn't a joke at all, what expression would he wear?
He was the only person in the world she could give her body and heart to freely — the thought of that made her helpless. If he knew that, what would he look like?
'But then again, number three, huh.'
That meant there were at least two people ahead of her, right?
Elenoa chewed over Evan's words and realized that more than two women had already entered his heart.
If some ordinary man had said something like that to her, she would have executed him for blasphemy... but Evan had the right to say it.
'Well, I did come a bit late.'
He was a Transcendent, after all. Just like her father, the Spear King.
'But I'm confident.'
Still, Elenoa had no intention of giving up. She was a princess, and she was someone who had always managed to get whatever she wanted.
Evan's body and heart would be no exception.
"Evan! Let's go over there this time!"
To capture his heart, Elenoa grabbed his hand and took the lead.
After all, men were creatures whose hearts followed their bodies.
'Prepare yourself, Evan.'
I'm going to have you, one way or another.
"—Pass!"
The soldier guarding the gate spoke, and the two elves waiting before it entered the city, holding up their permits.
"How shabby."
"It's a city for adventurers, after all."
Mirinae said this as she surveyed her surroundings. Inside the city, she could see not just humans but other races as well — merfolk, elves, and the like.
It was a kingdom ruled by humans under the Spear King, but South Eli was different.
A borderline where other nations and organizations clashed. A front line where all manner of monsters made their lairs.
It was a city of adventurers who lived by hunting monsters.
"So the Swordmaster lives here, huh..."
"That's what the information says."
"Let's go. Take the lead."
Mirinae, who had been watching the people, immediately leapt onto the rooftops alongside Ausolate.
True to their nature as elves who climbed trees in the forest, the two moved so swiftly they were impossible to track with the naked eye.
From rooftop to rooftop, the pair darted about, and using the information Mirinae had gathered, they headed straight for Evan's mansion.
"That's it."
"What? Seriously, that's it?"
"According to what I heard from the informant..."
"A Transcendent lives in a place like this?"
Mirinae let out a hollow laugh at the sight of Evan's mansion. Then she turned her gaze toward the lord's castle. A mere noble, not even a Transcendent, lived in such a grand and magnificent building, yet a Transcendent dwelled in this shabby mansion?
Of course, if one looked closely, it wasn't shabby at all — it was a mansion with a distinctive, ancient Eastern elegance. But Mirinae and Ausolate, who had only ever lived beside the World Tree, couldn't possibly have recognized that.
"He's inside, right?"
"I can't see him, Mirinae-sama."
"Well, it's his own house, so he'll come back eventually. Let's go in."
Mirinae said this and infiltrated Evan's mansion. The two made sounds lighter than falling leaves as they carefully stepped inside.
Despite its old-fashioned charm on the outside, the interior was cleaner than expected. Someone was clearly maintaining it very diligently.
Never knowing when or where Evan might pop up, Mirinae gripped her sword hilt cautiously and suddenly pointed her blade at a woman who had emerged from a room.
"Kyaaaak!?"
"—Shh. Quiet."
"E-elf-sama? Why is an elf here..."
"We've come to collect a debt from your master. Where is the master of this house?"
"W-why are you looking for the Swordmaster-sama?"
"Is she unable to understand such a simple word, or is she deliberately pretending not to know..."
Mirinae said nothing and drove the tip of her blade forward. A thin line of blood began to trickle down Anya's neck, cut by the sharp edge.
"H-hiiik..."
"We elves may live forever, but we're a bit busy right now. Speak quickly—"
"Evan isn't here."
And at that moment, Seolhyang appeared, tapping her cane, and spoke to the two of them.
Mirinae, seeing the woman who appeared to be blind, tilted her head in confusion at the situation of having a blind woman as a maid.
"Then where is he?"
"He left several weeks ago... to rescue an acquaintance of mine who had been captured by elves."
"Hmm— Is that true?"
"What benefit would I gain from lying?"
"True. Well— she doesn't seem to be lying, so..."
Mirinae, who had been about to sheathe her sword and spare the two, was stopped by Ausolate, who shook her head.
"Witnesses must be killed."
"What? Kill these two?"
"Yes. Otherwise, they might report us."
"Still, killing them feels a bit much..."
Scratching the back of her head, Mirinae sighed as if there was nothing she could do. Then she quietly gripped her sword and aimed it at the two.
"—Well, since it's come to this. I'm sorry, okay?"
"Kuh—! Run! Anya!"
"Y-yes!"
"Wow, this is embarrassing."
Seeing Seolhyang draw a sword from her cane to block her path, while Anya fled without even looking back, Mirinae let out a hollow laugh.
Did they think they could hold their own against her? That they could escape?
Even if she hadn't shown herself in hundreds of years, still.
"—Come, Minerva."
The wind blew.
There was no passage connecting to the outside, yet a fierce wind blew.
Soon, the typhoon embedded in her sword granted Mirinae transcendent speed and power.
"Run, huh?"
"—Hiiik!?"
Riding the wind, Mirinae teleported to Anya's front, chuckled, and swung her sword.
The next moment, a storm swept through the mansion.
"Waaah..."
"Evan! Evan! Look at that!"
Elenoa jumped up and down, pointing at the man standing before her. Evan, who was staring at the man just as she was, let out a gasp of admiration as well.
"Are these kids crazy? Is this situation funny?"
The man, watching Evan and Elenoa's behavior, began to grow irritated. He swung the dagger in his hand through the air, then pointed it straight at Evan.
"Why are kids these days so damn stupid? You're being kidnapped, you idiots!"
"Kidnapped! Evan! Kidnapped!"
"How interesting... I've never seen this in other cities!"
"Probably thanks to this robe, right!?"
"No, these damn kids really..."
Watching the two's strange reactions, the robber began to wonder if he was the strange one here.
But that was short-lived. Thinking he'd been underestimated, the robber thrust his dagger forward.
"You'll have to see blood—!"
Clang!
"Kuh—!?"
The man, who had quickly thrust his dagger, suddenly collided with armor that had appeared before him and rolled across the ground.
Clutching his wrist and rolling on the ground, the robber looked up in confusion and froze stiffly at the sight of a dozen knights standing before him.
"K-knights? What are knights doing here..."
"We apologize for interrupting your fun, Swordmaster-sama."
"T-the Swordmas...?"
Hearing the words "Swordmaster," the man's eyes darted to the boy standing before him. Why hadn't he noticed? The boy's face was identical to the statue erected in the center of the city.
"—What is it?"
Evan, whose date had been interrupted, opened his mouth with a slightly uncomfortable tone. Sensing Evan's mood, the knight quickly got to the point.
"The Swordmaster's mansion has been attacked."
"...What?"
"The royal army is currently pursuing the perpetrators, but... I'm sorry. We don't yet know who they are."
At the news that his home had been attacked, Evan glared tightly at the knight.
"—And the people inside?"
"...I'm sorry. We found not a single body—"
The knight's words cut off as he froze stiff. He had no choice.
"Let's go."
A menacing killing intent was erupting wildly from the Swordmaster before him.