Episode 35: The First Piece (2)
Who exactly was the villain here?
Jaron’s handling of the intruders was vicious. He was playing with the villainous men by stabbing them and effortlessly overpowering them while just avoiding vital points. He was so overwhelmingly dominant that it made her previous concerns about being outnumbered seem ridiculous. He was wickedly powerful.
It seemed impossible to evade the strike of Jaron’s sword when his aura stretched and diminished with every swing. Even from a considerable distance, as the aura extended, it inflicted deep wounds, leaving the opponents helpless.
The villains, who were mercenaries hired by Tyler Hunt, attempted to flee as soon as they realized Jaron’s skill, but they couldn’t. Jaron had them trapped. Contrary to how he’d earlier said he’d just ‘kick them out’, Jaron blocked their escape routes and herded them like a flock of sheep into a corner.
Wow.. look at him enjoying himself. He was releasing all the pent up stress from restraining himself from alcohol and cigarettes here. Although the situation made her momentarily pity the mercenaries when the true villain’s identity became unclear, it was only for a brief moment.
There were no traces of hesitation in the wounds on Muriel’s abdomen and the scratches on her neck. If they had known that Muriel possessed the fragment of the Ur, they would have certainly killed her without hesitation.
Pitiful my ass. It’s time for retribution. Ah, I’m so refreshed just watching this.
“Now, there’s only you left.”
Jaron rested his sword on his shoulder and rubbed his neck.
All the mercenaries had fled, leaving only Tyler Hunt in front of Jaron.
“Give me… give me back my stuff. It’s mine.”
“You disrespectful brat.”
Jaron sneered. Perhaps he really was offended, because he spat on the ground and quickly created a massive aura with his sword, declaring that he would finish this soon. The white light emanating from the sword reached higher than nearby trees.
Oh my.
Muriel unconsciously gulped. She thought this might be it for Tyler Hunt. It seemed that Tyler Hunt had the same thought, as a strange cry came from beyond the light.
As Jaron swung his sword, the trees in the forest shook violently. Some trees fell and broke as if a massive typhoon had passed through, and the ground was deeply dented.
“What? Did you miss him?”
Huh?
No matter where she looked, Tyler Hunt, who should have been lying down, was nowhere to be seen. Jaron didn’t seem particularly regretful as he sheathed his sword.
“No.”
“The hell you mean no… did you let him run away again on purpose? So you could hand him over to Sharan later and get praised?”
“…There’s that, too.”
He wasn’t even denying it anymore. Feeling frustrated for some reason, Muriel stomped her foot, and Jaron brushed his hair with an indifferent expression.
“We can’t afford to delay the treatment.”
What…
He had such a refreshed look on his face after going wild. He even caught someone trying to escape and beat them up. It was absurd, but Jaron blamed Muriel. He could have had more fun, but he had to let them go.
“What? You’re hurt here too?”
Jaron, who was looking at Muriel with a displeased face, approached quickly as if he had found something. His large hand seemed to be aiming towards her face, but he brushed aside the hair on her neck as if pulling back a curtain. The injury from when she was threatened was still bleeding, the blood slowly dripping out.
“Why didn’t you treat yourself yet? Don’t you know that there are wounds you can’t recover from even with healing magic if the treatment is delayed too much?”
“Making a fuss about such a small wound…”
Muriel quickly covered the wound with her hand.
“What the…”
Jaron sighed and scratched his head in frustration.
“Is it because you’re stupid, or is it some strange show-off? Come on, I need to treat it before it’s too late.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it.”
“…If you’re going to do that, you should’ve done it earlier! You left it like that, making others worry.”
“…Did you really worry? Were you secretly sorry for acting so brazen? Well, you must have known I would be attacked, but delayed and got someone hurt like this, so you should be sorry.”
Hehe. Muriel, who found something to tease about, spoke sarcastically, and Jaron clicked his tongue.
“So come faster next time. Then I won’t get hurt.”
Hmph. it somehow felt like she’d won. At least that’s how it felt when she smiled, but Jaron’s face darkened.
“…”
“…Uh… What is it?”
“…It will be similar next time too. Hell, this is why there’s supposed to be a team of two…”
Jaron hesitated for a moment, as if reluctant to speak, then suddenly glared at Muriel. It wasn’t like he was looking for a fight, but his momentum was fierce.
“…When I’m under the influence of the drug, my senses dull and become sluggish… so I can’t react quickly to an attack. From now on, be prepared to save your own life. I’m telling you this because you need to stay alive from my perspective. Don’t think about using this to gloat.”
Jaron shouted loudly, but upon closer inspection, his face was red as if he was ashamed. If she considered them, his words sounded like he was concerned about Muriel.
“…Is it like that after taking the drug from shop 0?”
What could it be? It didn’t seem like a declaration that he would be slacking off in the future; there seemed to be some other reason. She asked, tilting her head, but Jaron shouted again as if he was being laughed at. However, this time, his face turned so red that he couldn’t hide it, catching Muriel’s attention. Was he embarrassed…?
“Yeah, so what if it’s funny! How ridiculous it is that a knight is drugged and doesn’t even notice a raid. Do you think I don’t know that?”
“I’m not laughing at you. You said you take the drug to endure pain. I didn’t know there was pain that even magic could not get rid of.”
He flinched.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“…None of your business.”
That damn mouth. Muriel was tempted to give that cheeky mouth a slap, but when she saw his flushed ears, she restrained herself. It may not have been a story that Muriel would find particularly embarrassing, but Jaron seemed uncomfortable talking about it. Is it because he’s a knight? Slow reflexes in a knight were a fatal weakness, after all.
“Well, that’s true.”
Flinch.
When Muriel stepped down, Jaron stiffened again. Ah, that dishonest human being. Acting like a child who senses their mother’s mood even when she says she’s not angry.
Phew. Muriel let out a deep sigh and spoke in a softened voice. Maybe it was because she’d lost a lot of blood, her body felt heavy. But it bothered her to return to her room while pretending not to notice the sulking bear that was Jaron. No… Was he a fox cub? He may have the size of a bear, but his sly way with words unmistakably were more like a fox’s.
“You know, you’re the type of person who can only live if they say what they mean. That’s why you said you’ll finish your work safely and make a big name for yourself. Usually, people package that kind of thing as loyalty to Sharan.”
“…So, do you have complaints?”
“If you have something to say, go ahead.”
“…”
“If letting it out makes you feel more at ease, I’ll listen.”
“…Hell.”
Jaron covered his face with his hands and agonized.
“Do you know how much of an idiot I might look to you? Damn it… if I hadn’t jumped in because I was blinded by success…!”
Hey, aren’t you talking just fine? Muriel thought about interrupting and letting him know, but she decided to stay quiet. It was better to get rid of all those feelings right now.
“Darn it. More than half my throat was torn out, and I couldn’t receive treatment in time, so I have aftereffects. On top of that, every day, I have to deal with those curse called demons..”
“It must hurt a lot if you have to rely on medication.”
“…Like I’m going to die.”
Muriel unknowingly nodded her head. As if she knew everything, even though she knew nothing about pain. It was laughable even to herself, but she still wanted to empathize with how unfair and agonizing it must be for him. Even just a little bit.
“When the effects of the medication wear off, it hurts so much I’d rather rip my throat off.”
“…Yes.”
“It’s annoying to become a half-assed fighter who can’t properly dodge a clumsy ambush because he’s drunk on medication. I risked my life to save him, and yet he still treats me like a fly while acting all high and mighty.”
“…Yeah.”
“…Above all else, damn it… I came into this hell on my own two feet, and it’s driving me crazy… It’s so frustrating.”
She couldn’t get the words ‘It must have been hard’ out of her mouth. No matter what, Jaron still seemed strong, and she didn’t want to make such a judgment without permission.
“Darn it… Why am I even telling you this?”
Jaron grabbed his face and started writhing. The frustration and irritation on his face soon turned into regret and embarrassment. Perhaps he was regretting saying something he deemed unnecessary.
“Well… Do you want a hug?”
It was awkward. She thought she should offer some sort of comfort.
“Are you crazy?”
Jaron glared at Muriel in disgust. Hehe, Muriel quickly apologized while letting out a silly laugh.
“Sorry. Pretend you didn’t hear me.”
“I can’t just wash my ears and pretend I didn’t hear anything! Dammit.”
Thump, Jaron’s ears turned red as he turned his head. Was he embarrassed because he’d unknowingly blurted out his heart’s contents to her?
An awkward silence hung between the two. Jaron couldn’t even meet Muriel’s eyes. He pretended to be annoyed and kicked the ground, but it was clear that he was uncomfortable.
“Sorry. I told you to let it out if it would make you feel better, but if it’s uncomfortable, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”
“…That’s fine.”
Jaron replied bluntly. He still didn’t look at Muriel. She thought he was shameless, but it seemed he had a surprisingly delicate side.
“Anyway, what I meant was that you have to find a way to live on your own. Even if you trust me, I can’t save you. You know that you almost died if I hadn’t intervened today, right?”
Jaron stared at the wound on Muriel’s neck as if his pride had been hurt. Was that really it? Just by looking into his eyes, she could tell he was accustomed to threats, like Kaiton or Sharon, so he probably never thought he would die at the hands of mediocre mercenaries.
Come to think of it, she was attacked when she was defenselessly sleeping, so she could have lost her life on the spot if luck hadn’t been on her side.
However, if that were to happen… it would be her own luck, not Jaron’s fault. Muriel wanted to make that clear. Although she thought it wasn’t a good idea to confide too much in Jaron, who was unsure if he was an ally or enemy, a bear or a fox, she genuinely wanted to be sincere about that. For him, who had honestly revealed his flaws to her, she thought it was also only fair to be open as well.
“Earlier, I’m sorry for nagging at you for being late. I must’ve sounded like I was blaming you. It’s not like you have an obligation to protect me. I’m weak, so I’m just trying to use you for my benefit. Since you’re stronger than me, I thought I’d be able to bask in comfort.”
“…”
Even though she deliberately tried to lighten the mood by speaking more brazenly, Jaron’s expression didn’t change. His face, with its straight lines, revealed an unmistakable melancholy.
“And thanks for helping me today. Thanks to you, I was able to keep my life, but I didn’t realize I was that close to dying. I guess I was taking it too easy.”
So don’t blame yourself, don’t belittle yourself. She left out those last words. She thought the meaning would be well conveyed even without saying them.
Jaron didn’t say anything, just muzzled and frowned before putting on a bitter smile.
“…You must think I’m pathetic, right? I’m going to suffer forever if I’m greedy for water when my cup is broken.”
“Ah…”
But it wasn’t like that at all. Muriel, who let out a sigh like a lament, briefly pondered how she should tell that to this foolish man. No, she wondered if he would even listen. The negativities that imprison oneself don’t easily disappear just because someone says something. Until he changed his way of thinking on his own and broke free, Jaron was bound to be trapped in self-blame and regret for eternity.
However…
“Tsk.”
Muriel was already indebted to Jaron, and she’d vowed to live in penance and service to protect world peace, so she wanted to do the right thing when she could. Plus, not turning a blind eye to Jaron’s tendency to self-blame wasn’t completely unrelated to world peace when he was an influential knight, was it? What a difference a single word could make, Muriel knew. She thought maybe, with the accumulation of small sincerities and heart, perhaps the destruction of the world could become furtherway.
“I don’t intend to throw my life in the hands of a pathetic person.”
“…!”
“So what if something happens? We’re already long beyond that point.”
