CHAPTER 76…………………….
Claude and Tristan’s gazes met in midair. There was a fleeting illusion, almost as if a crackling sound could be heard.
“No!”
How much effort had gone into keeping these two apart? If this continued, so much could change depending on how Claude toyed with that disaster’s mouth!
“You’re not a cleric, but… that’s a sword imbued with holy power. This is going to be troublesome.”
Claude curled one side of his lips into a sardonic smile.
“Step back.”
Tristan whispered into my ear, keeping his gaze fixed on Claude.
I quickly hid behind Tristan, and Claude let out a dry laugh, as if incredulous.
“Ah, I see. It already had an owner? Stealing someone else’s is fun, but not exactly pleasant.”
“Don’t insult Miss Emily.”
“Take care of her. If you don’t want her taken.”
At that, Tristan’s face contorted in anger. Such words treating someone like a dog could easily provoke indignation.
Samuel’s sword seemed to hum in response to Tristan’s emotional agitation.
“Whoa. That’s fierce.”
Claude stepped back with exaggerated shock.
“Pointing a sword at someone you’ve just met is a bit much. Rude without even introducing yourself.”
“……”
“My name’s Claude. Remember it.”
Even standing before the crown prince of a nation, and facing someone wielding Samuel’s sword capable of delivering a fatal blow, Claude showed no hint of intimidation.
On the contrary, he smiled knowingly and boldly revealed his name.
“…What’s your game?”
“What do you mean, game? We’ll be seeing each other often, so I thought we might as well know each other’s names. Ah, but I already know Your Highness’ name, so no need to tell me.”
“Why are you approaching Miss Emily?”
“Huh?”
Claude looked at me as if asking something so obvious was absurd.
“Because I want her.”
“……!”
“Need another reason? If I want it, I take it. That’s our way.”
A thoroughly barbaric way. But when the one saying it is a dark mage, the problem becomes far more complicated.
“For that reason…”
“What’s the issue? You humans don’t treat us dark mages like humans either, do you?”
Claude shrugged.
“Think of us like monsters, maybe? That’s right. You can’t treat humans on the same level as dark mages. Unfortunately.”
Claude’s face showed not a trace of regret.
He licked the blood oozing from a slight cut on the back of his hand. His flesh was blackened by holy power.
“…Huh?”
Through a split in his glove, I glimpsed something. At first, I thought I might be mistaken. But it was impossible to misidentify the symbol. Tristan hadn’t noticed it, being too focused on Claude.
“…That hurts.”
A sudden surge of deadly intent radiated from Claude. Tristan tightened his grip on Samuel’s sword.
Yet Claude merely swept his hair back, showing no intent to attack Tristan.
In fact, trying to have a conversation in this standoff was absurd.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I have no intention of going full-scale yet.”
The smile on his face was infuriating.
“So… step back too.”
Snap.
Claude snapped his fingers, and new figures appeared behind him.
“Hmph. You’re taking only that one?”
The beautiful blonde twisting her fingers as she walked forward was undoubtedly Penelope.
“Pe, Pe, Pe, Penelope… come… hehe.”
Trailing behind her in a hunched posture was Hermann.
“…We’ve been completely outmaneuvered.”
We were overwhelmingly outnumbered. Three against two. And since I couldn’t even fight, it was practically worse than a three-on-one.
Tristan pulled me tightly behind him, brandishing his sword threateningly.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. We have no intention of harming you.”
Claude chuckled and continued.
“If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done so. But it’s not the right time yet. One day I’ll personally take that neck, but today’s not the day.”
“You bastard…”
“But even if you wanted to step back, you wouldn’t let us go easily, right?”
Claude wore a playful expression. Every time he acted like this, my unease surged.
Thrum…
The ground trembled in the distance.
Thrum!
The noise grew closer until something erupted from the ground between us and Claude.
- Ssss!
It resembled a massive worm. Except for the countless teeth lining its mouth at the tip!
“Great Worm…!”
I knew the name; it was a well-known type of monster.
Shk!
- Kyaaa!
Tristan swung his sword, and the Great Worm writhed, spraying fluids in agony.
Individually, they weren’t particularly fearsome, but their strength lay elsewhere.
Thrum!
- Saaa!
- Ssss!
They moved in groups.
Great Worms emerged from all directions, surrounding us, casting shadows that darkened the ground.
Acid dripped from their teeth, melting the floor.
“Hahaha! You won’t die from this, right? Then I hope you escape safely!”
Claude grinned annoyingly and waved his hand.
As he touched Penelope and Hermann, the three of them blurred and vanished entirely.
I reached out to grab them, but it was futile. The monsters loomed above, salivating.
“Your Highness…”
I clutched his robe tightly.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“Wear this.”
Tristan handed me his cloak. It was fairly heavy, and upon inspection, protective magic was intricately inscribed inside.
But it was more suitable for Tristan, who directly fought monsters…
Thrum!
Crack!
Before I could even think, Tristan charged forward. I realized my worry was unnecessary.
As a skilled knight with a sword imbued with holy power, even a Great Worm fell like leaves before him.
I started to relax, thinking we might make it out safely.
“Ah!”
Among the worms, an unusually large one with a horn on its forehead appeared.
It was clearly the leader of this swarm.
The other worms slinked back. Standing before a creature easily the size of Nyx Tower, Tristan seemed comically outmatched.
The Great Worm lunged at Tristan, wrapping around him!
Its massive body twisted against him.
Crack!
Tristan’s sword sliced through its body, and he escaped, soaked in its fluids.
But the leader’s blood splattered his vision, leaving his back exposed.
“Your Highness!”
Squeeeak!
The monster used the opening to charge with its horn!
I felt the surge of magic in my fingertips but suppressed it. The clerics were right ahead; reckless use of magic could give me away!
‘What if they discover I’m a dark mage?’
Fear surged, and I couldn’t move a finger. My mind went blank, and I trembled in panic.
Crack!
Fortunately, Tristan twisted his body and avoided the attack.
Then reality hit me. What on earth am I doing?
I hastily retrieved the orb Tristan had given me.
Screech!
I threw it to the ground. The orb cracked, releasing a bright light, revealing the most welcome figure at that moment.
Shk!
- Kyaaa!
“The mother of the Great Worms. You’ve met a tricky opponent, Your Highness.”
Wearing a cloak of unknown animal fur on his shoulders, he wiped the monster’s blood from his sword. The Duke of Ghellraine, the expert in monster hunting, had arrived.
He positioned himself in front of me and aimed his black-bladed sword at the monsters.
“I’ll protect Miss Emily, so go ahead and run wild.”
Tristan paused briefly but then nodded calmly.
What followed was near-ruthless slaughter. Tristan moved as if he had wings, and the Duke of Ghellraine watched with satisfaction.
“…We survived.”
The tension finally broke.
Seeing the enemies helplessly defeated gave a sense of safety.
The situation was resolved in an instant.
The encounter with Claude was kept secret, and the Duke of Ghellraine’s appearance was dismissed as a brief incident.
Cardinal Bellado seemed suspicious, but when Tristan said, “There doesn’t seem to be any issue with the barrier,” he smiled brightly and nodded.
That seemed to settle the matter for now.
Though the presence of dark mages near the barrier was a bad sign… upon inspection, the barrier wasn’t completely broken.
It was weakened, and they were only waiting for an opportunity.
‘Not great, but still better than nothing.’
Even so, I couldn’t sleep, because something else worried me more.
“…Could a dark mage have a stigmata?”
I murmured softly.
The symbol glimpsed beyond Claude’s glove. What was clearly etched on his hand… was a stigmata.
