BSS 81

Chapter 81

It felt as if my eyes were on fire, as if my hair were standing on end from the roots. This bastard, this bastard! This ba—staaard!

“You’re saying you don’t know me?!”

“……?”

“Me! You forgot Jin Crowell?!”

“Jin… Crowell?”

He seemed to react a little to my name.

That’s right! There’s no way you’d forget. Who do you think I am?!

“Now do you remember?”

But my hope was shattered to pieces.

With his lips pressed firmly together, he slowly shook his head.

That cold, indifferent neck slicing through the air—I wanted to snap it if I could.

I couldn’t contain the rage boiling up inside me. This was a completely unprepared encounter.

“How can you not remember me! If you’re human, you shouldn’t do that!”

Aaaah! Even if he was a guy only interested in fighting! Even if he was a battle maniac famous across the continent!

“Did we do it?”

“Yeah! You remember, right? Right? Back then in Elan—”

“Didn’t I do it just because you asked me to?”

“……What?”

“Sex.”

Ah, right. This bastard was crazy.

A crazy bastard who was still considered one of the most desirable grooms in all of Elan.

I was so dumbfounded I almost threw up.

And suddenly, I wanted to cry—badly.

“Not that! The duel!”

“……Did I beat you?”

Y-you jerk! How could you ask that?

I didn’t want to answer, but if I wanted him to remember me, I had to tell the truth.

Just saying that one word was incredibly hard.

“I… I lost.”

“Then I don’t remember.”

Rovenin pulled the mask—apparently meant to hide his face—back up over his nose and looked away from me.

As humiliation struck me once more, I learned firsthand what it meant for one’s blood to boil.

I kicked at him in a fit of anger, but he dodged without even looking.

That only made me angrier.

If there was someone who could make me die of anger, it was this guy.

“Come at me! If we fight, you’ll remember!”

I shouted, then quickly added as I remembered I had no mana.

“Th-that is, today’s a bit difficult… how about tomorrow?”

“I refuse.”

“Why! You’re a fight-crazed maniac!”

“It’s meaningless.”

Look at how curt he is!

This guy really has no sincerity toward other people!

I tried to grab his collar, but he avoided even that with the bare minimum of movement, thoroughly humiliating me.

“I said I’d let you win!”

“……You are not my opponent.”

“Then who is! If not me, who?!”

Who the hell is it?!

“Count Guillotine.”

The name he muttered in an utterly indifferent gaze belonged to a swordmaster famed as a battle-hardened veteran of Dmitri.

“Then fight Count Guillotine and fight me too!”

Begging someone to fight was seriously damaging to my pride.

How had Rovenin treated me back then? Did this guy even have any pride?

Even now, his face was so expressionless I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Excuse me… are you here to meet Count Guillotine?” Bright asked.

Rovenin nodded.

Should I call this a relief?

He wasn’t just taciturn with me. Even to Bright’s question, he answered with only a slight movement of his head.

“May I ask what business you have with Count Guillotine?”

“……I am traveling the Allied Nations to receive instruction.”

“Ah, as expected.”

Rovenin Pedri seeking out swordmasters was a well-known story.

So this time, it was Dmitri.

“Unfortunately, you won’t be able to meet Count Guillotine. He’s currently in closed-door training.”

Serves him right.

As I was secretly delighted, a subtle change appeared on Rovenin Pedri’s face.

I could tell now—he was shocked.

So his face does move.

“I’ve heard it’ll be hard to see him for several years.”

“…….”

“I heard he said not to disturb him unless a war breaks out.”

I sent Rovenin a full-fledged sneer, and he pulled his hood back up. A sign he was leaving.

You can’t just go like that!

“Wait, you have to fight me!”

“Young master! You can’t leave like this! Please allow us to repay you!”

Along with the merchants who had been attacked, I grabbed onto him.

For a moment, I realized how ridiculous I must look, but even so, my lingering attachment overflowed.

“……I have no further business here.”

“I’m in Dmitri too, you know!”

“Ah…….”

“Don’t ignore me! Wipe that rotten expression off your face!”

Of all times to be out of mana—what rare misfortune.

“Please, at least let us offer a reward!”

“Y-you should at least take some water!”

Whether people clung to him or not, Rovenin only took a little water and then whoosh—disappeared into the mountains.

There was no way the current me had the strength to stop him.

My body was extremely frail, while he possessed an extraordinary physique.

Feeling abandoned, I remained among the orc corpses and banged my head against a tree.

‘Damn bastard, I hope you run into a horde of monsters on the way! Meet a wyvern, meet an ogre, and die!’

…No, wait. He can’t die before losing to me.

What exactly is Rovenin to me?

Two months later.

Bright came running to me at full speed, saying he had news I’d be happy about.

“Jinny! You know Rovenin Pedri? Looks like he went to Heidriche afterward and challenged Count Trenpe.”

“Count Trenpe… isn’t he the one famous for being eccentric?”

“Exactly! Not only did he lose to Count Trenpe, he almost died. The rumor is he’s still recuperating in Heidriche.”

What did this senior think I was, that I’d be happy about something like that?

“Hehehe.”

“I knew you’d like it, Jinny!”

“Well… it is kind of interesting.”

Bright often helped out in the royal palace’s communications office, so the rumors he knew were highly reliable.

Though really, my only interests were Rovenin and Ash.

“Any rumors about His Highness Epiros?”

“Hmm? Since that poisoning threat last time, there’s been almost no movement. Same with the First Prince.”

“Elan is really complicated. Trying to kill each other all the time is a big problem. Wouldn’t things improve if they just chose a crown prince already, like our country?”

“Right! There’s more news you might find interesting.”

“What is it?”

“They’re holding a grand ‘Millennial Founding Anniversary Party’ to celebrate a thousand years since the founding of the Elan Empire!”

Imperial indeed—dirty old, too.

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“Apparently His Majesty the King is attending. It’s a party you absolutely can’t skip!”

“Hm?”

“They’re recruiting attendants these days. Don’t you think you’d qualify?”

I immediately understood what Bright was getting at.

It meant an opportunity to meet Ash. At a party like that, a prince would definitely appear.

“Oh?”

“It’s such a historically significant day that all the Elan imperial family will probably turn out. You might get to meet him!”

It was certainly tempting.

Bright knew very well that I wanted to see Ash.

But there was a serious problem with this plan.

Getting selected as an attendant wouldn’t be difficult if I used my connections, and accompanying the party was usually the job of female attendants, so becoming one myself wouldn’t be hard.

However—

“Everything sounds great, but the problem is…”

“Yeah, the problem is.”

[Master has warp sickness. Puhahaha!]

Yeah. I have severe warp sickness…

I looked at Rai, sprawled lazily by the doorway, and smiled deeply.

Then, in my own gentle way, I said,

“Rai? Come here.”

[……I-I’m sorry, Master! I was just joking!]

Not funny. So come here?

[Please spare me!]