EP: 96
The expedition team setup to retrieve the last fragment was much more colorful than the previous one. Unlike last time, which only consisted of Kaiton, Muriel, and Fen, this time Ondal, August, Debbie, and Sadie joined as well. With the addition of these four, the scale was quite big.
“I’m coming, too? Why me…?”
Muriel didn’t plan on going this time. There was nothing she could do while Kaiton used his magic. She could play her role as Kaiton’s auxiliary battery even from the castle. The misunderstandings about Kaiton seemed to have been resolved, and there must have been apologies and grant of forgiveness of its own between Kaiton and the black wizards. Since her role was over, she intended to relax at the castle, but Kaiton very naturally put Muriel in the lineup.
“I need to see how you’re doing. It would be problematic if you faint again, wouldn’t it…?”
“Well… that doesn’t matter… can’t you just use pacio even if I faint?”
Muriel really wanted to rest. In fact, she hadn’t been able to tell Kaiton because she was afraid he would feel worse, but she had aftereffects from the fainting. Her body ached as if she’d caught a cold; she felt extremely cold. Like ice was floating in her blood vessels. So she thought, since pacio could be used even if she fainted, couldn’t she just stay at the castle? But Kaiton’s expression turned fierce.
“Are you telling me… to use the pacio of someone who’s fainted?”
Kaiton swept his black hair with annoyance, like he was holding back anger.
In the palace, Kai Crawford was always a neat and perfectly-groomed man, with his hair neatly styled and not a speck of dust on his black clothes. But Kaiton Ur, staying in the Ghost Estate, sometimes showed this disheveled appearance. He would naturally let his untamed hair fall down to cover his forehead or would simply leave his nervously messy hair as it was. It was as if he didn’t care about the messy state of his hair even if it was unkempt. Either way, his black eyes and pale skin stood out and matched his appearance well, but when his hair was disheveled like this, it was a little embarrassing.
Muriel was afraid her hands would move on their own. If she was distracted for a moment, she thought her fingers would slip through the strands of his hair that felt good to the touch and sweep it aside.
Muriel flinched and kept her hands still, quickly turning her gaze away. The disheveled Kaiton was dangerous. On top of that, when his jaw trembled like that and furrows formed between his brows, he was even more so.
“No… It’s not really useful for me to follow… It’s not good to disperse our forces… And… Someone should stay behind to protect the castle, shouldn’t they?”
Muriel shut up at Kaiton’s low sigh. Did she make him angry again? She should have just said she was tired…. She regretted it, but it seemed too late. Kaiton snapped, undoing the neat buttons around his neck, as if tearing them off. His suppressed voice sounded like the growls Fenrir made.
“Pushing me like that, what are you going to do if I really act however I want? Huh? …What, what if I don’t care even if you cling to me and cry? If I don’t care even if you faint from not being able to handle it, if I don’t bat an eye and consume like a vulture… You keep stirring me…”
“Why… Why are you talking like that…”
Why was he talking so provocatively…
Maybe it was because Kaiton looked so unusually flustered, like his usual composure had been irrevocably disturbed, or because she hadn’t yet fully escaped from the aftermath of the dream butterfly… for some reason, Muriel was embarrassed by Kaiton’s strange sounding words and shouted loudly before turning away. She was making an escape out of the situation.
“I-I can just follow…! Next time, it won’t be like this…! Never again!”
But she was caught without getting far. A panicked Despite Muriel tried to shake off his arms and retreat, but Kaiton pulled her even closer. They were close enough for their breaths to touch.
“Why… Why…? What’s…”
“Tell me when it’s cold. When it’s hard.”
His fingers swept the skin of her wrist, as if to see through any lie. Normally, Kaiton’s body temperature felt cool, but now it felt eerily similar to her own, meaning hers had fallen low as well.
“…I’m not cold.”
“…”
She could see how hard he was holding her wrist, considering it turned red and swelled. She didn’t know if he was doing it to cause pain, knowing that she wouldn’t feel it, or if he himself was unaware he was doing it…
“Fine then. Follow me. Let’s go somewhere.”
***
She was going to vomit. This motion sickness… No, Fen-sickness was the worst.
Fen, wanting to outrun the Murishi, jumped and leaped way more energetically than usual. As a result, Muriel’s face, pressed against Fen’s back, grew paler and paler. Everyone else was on high alert, ready to catch demons, but Muriel could only imagine herself on a soft bed inside the castle. She wished she hadn’t followed… She was cold, exhausted, and dizzy.
“Pen… Can you slow down a bit? Uh… I might throw up on your fur at this rate…”
If it were a Murishi, it would have understood. But Fen ran on without realizing that its pristine white fur could get dirty. It seemed he was enjoying himself being able to run as much as he wanted after a long time. Yes… Run, Fen. She couldn’t fall behind the rest of the group anyway, so she had to endure.
If only she hadn’t known the pain of nausea too…
Muriel closed her eyes tightly, resenting her selective numbness.
Murriel resented her selective numbness and tightly closed her eyes.
“Murriel, are you okay?”
Ugh. She was retching alone when Ondal, who had been ahead of them, leading the path, asked, his Murishi attached to his side.
“Yeah. No problem.”
“You haven’t looked good since earlier…”
“…Were you watching me?”
“Not on purpose…! It’s because Kaiton’s using pacio… I could see.”
“Oh… You can see simultaneously? Seeing three… no, a total of four point of views at once?”
Ondal never showed off, so she hadn’t thought about it. Come to think of it, when Ur’s sculpture was broken, the perspective seen through Sharan’s eyes would have also split. To have multiple perspectives at the same time… the sensation was unimaginable for Muriel. To see a demon somewhere while simultaneously seeing Murriel and Kaiton in front of his own eyes. It seemed like Ondal was the one who should be feeling nauseous, not her.
“Are you okay? Aren’t you feeling nauseous?”
“Uh… No, I… actually, I feel a little dizzy… Should I tell Kaiton not to use Murriel’s pacio so that I can focus better on the monster? I think I’ll be able to concentrate better then…”
Ondal had been progressing without a hitch all this time. It meant that he was adept at handling four perspectives.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard the true Sharan’s command. It’s an honor.”
August, who had said that before departure, was so emotional. It was probably a lie to say it’s hard to concentrate now.
“You promised before departure. That you wouldn’t get in the way of Kaiton using my pacio, so Is that really true? Is it difficult to find the monster when Kaiton uses the fragment?”
After hesitating and mumbling for a while, Ondal said, “I’m… really a bit dizzy.” He looked cute when he immediately spilled the truth after a little probing.
“But there’s no problem finding the monster, right?”
“Uh…”
“Then let’s let Kaiton do as he wants. Because I don’t mind.”
***
“Finally.”
When they rushed as Ondal instructed, there was indeed a monster. As soon as Kaiton spotted the monster, he quickly flew ahead without waiting for the others. The place where the fish-like monster was hiding was bustling with other monsters. It seemed like a chosen spot to hide their bodies. The surrounding monsters, like worker bees protecting their queen, rushed towards Kaiton, guarding the fragment with their entire bodies. The number was more than a dozen.
Black flames burst from the ground like bombs. Kaiton, without protecting himself, focused only on penetrating the center of the monsters where the fragment was located. His back was exposed and defenseless. The monsters avoided the sporadically bursting flames and flew towards his back. He was alone, and the monsters were countless.
Thump.
Kaiton’s back was caught by the sticky touch of the monster. Oh… Did he get caught in an attack he couldn’t block…? Sticky blood spilled onto his back. But it wasn’t Kaiton’s blood; it was the monster’s. When Kaiton glanced back, Debbie nodded and smiled as if to reassure him. It was her who disposed of the monster.
“Leave the back to us!”
“I’ll take care of the back for sure, so don’t worry!”
Sadie joined in and guarded Kaiton’s back as if to protect him.
There were now three people facing the monsters gathering like bees protecting their beehive.
Kaiton did not answer Debbie and Sadie’s shouts, but he let his back be. He didn’t trust them enough to leave his back in their hands – however, he just thought that if his back were attacked even after their confident words, he would get to laugh at their pathetic skills when they returned to the estate.
Annoying things
The monster who had the fragment was using the others monsters as its shield. Kaiton clicked his tongue as he desperately waded through the monsters protecting the fragment. He couldn’t verify Muriel’s condition. She was already too far away. He couldn’t predict which approach would be more difficult for her, considering she was already in bad shape. Dealing with it swiftly in one blow? Or slowly, so as not to overwhelm her?
Kaiton frowned as he recalled Muriel, who turned pale as if she was about to collapse, but stubbornly insisted she was fine.
It doesn’t matter if I faint, so just use it…?
Muriel’s words constantly echoed in his mind, scratching at his nerves. Do whatever he wants? Yes, he thought he’d do whatever he wanted. He decided to distort that fearless and indifferent face into agony. He plundered tirelessly, pulling out the pacio that burned hotly from her.
To the point where even he was exhausted. He pulled out the pacio without a moment’s pause, and his fingertips trembled slightly.
Without a moment’s pause, he used the magic, his fingertips trembling slightly. He vented his frustrations to his heart’s content. But the more he did, the more upset he became. His insides churned, and his mind grew cold. The ferocious desire for destruction grew as if it would consume him.
Enough with this slow and boring handling, let’s just finish it in one go. Smash, kill, and blow everything up until we’re satiated.
Such an impulse rose within him. He wanted to obliterate all those insect-like monsters without leaving a trace… but he couldn’t bring himself to do it…
Because he remembered that cold, demon-like hand.
Because he recalled the pale and chilling body temperature that touched his chest…
He couldn’t bring himself to act according to his temper and continued the tedious fight. Despite his grumpiness, he couldn’t be so selfish.
“I’ll wrap it up!”
The monsters forming a massive circle at the tip of August’s sword flew away in a hurry. His blade pierced through the demon that had the fragment precisely.
“That guy…”
August did not back down even as he was deprived of his pacio by the demon who had the sculpture. He was determined to finish it when the opportunity came, even if it meant pulling his weight a bit.
Creak… Crash!!
Caiton had to use a slightly stronger magic to remove the demon stuck to August. He was concerned for Muriel. Did she faint? She should be okay… She has to be okay…
“Don’t go overboard, Eklum. It’s not like you can refill your pacio too, can you?”
“My pacio exists for the sake of peace in Bulrion anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Nonsense. Why does your pacio exist for Bulrion? Your pacio exists only for yourself, no matter how much of an Eklum you are.”
“…Haha. Is that so?”
As the monsters rushed towards them to protect the fish-like creature resembling an alligator that had fallen, Kaiton and August naturally leaned on each other’s backs. The two joined forces just as they did when the monster moat. They were a fantastic team that flawlessly filled each other’s gaps without needing to say anything.
“They’re coming. If we become demons, it’s over. Don’t die needlessly and save yourself.”
“…Yeah. Be careful too, Kaiton. Being an Ur… isn’t it the same as being a demon?”
“Isn’t Ur the Demon King to Eklum? The Demon King can’t become a demon, can he?”
“…That’s true. Haha. In that case, you really should be careful. Since, afterall, you’re not the Demon King, Kaiton.”
A glance. Kaiton looked back at the kingdom’s protector who spoke softly. When his deep emerald eyes met his black pupils, they folded into crescents.
“Well, shall we get the final fragment?”
***
“What’s wrong?”
Muriel asked Ondal while listening to him explain the situation of Kaiton’s party. If she were to actually faint, she thought it would be better to do it out of Kaiton’s sight, so she slowly fell back and hid. Kaiton, who had been adamant to her about staying within his sight, couldn’t chase after Muriel, perhaps because things weren’t going well.
“You flinched just now. Why? Is there a problem with Caiton?”
“Ah… no… not really…”
“Ondal.”
“… “
Trailing off at the end of a sentence was Ondal’s habit when he told a lie or didn’t want to say something. Muriel urged him by grabbing his hand, but he kept bowing his head and trying to hide his face.
“Does Kaiton need help? Is hein danger? What happened?”
“It’s really… not that…”
Suddenly, she felt a sensation like her heart was dropping. Pacio was escaping at a tremendous rate. Even though her pacio always drained away scarily fast, as soon as it was filled, the pattern suddenly changed. Something had happened.
“Tell me what happened. Please.”
“I don’t want to…”
“We’re friends.”
“…That’s why… I don’t want… Muriel to be left alone.”
“No. Not just me, who’s hiding safely here. The people fighting over there. They’re all our friends.”
“…”
“Is everything really okay…? Is there anything we can do to help?”
Ondal clenched his fist as if he were angry, shaking his head side to frantically.
“No..! Muriel, if you leave… If you leave me here alone… I… “
“I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“The Murishi… got scared and ran away… S-Sadie and Debbie… are going after them… they’re getting f-further away from Kaiton.”
“Then take Fen with you. Bring the Murishi here, and Sadie and Debbie will be relieved.”
“You’ll stay here…?”
“You’ll be watching anyway. Don’t worry. I know how to use magic too.”
It was a lie. Muriel, while sharing pacio with Kaiton, could not use any magic.
“T-Then…”
“Go! Go help our friends!”
Muriel smiled brightly as she looked at Ondal, who was riding on Fen’s back and moving away. She imitated a smile, at least. Muriel, who was finally completely alone, groaned. She felt like she was going to die. The sensation of Pacio slipping away made her teeth chatter, no matter how hard she clenched them, and the cold that pierced her bones made her shudder.
However, thinking that Ondal would see everything through Sharan’s eyes, she couldn’t bear to grimace. So, she smiled brightly like a madman while groaning inwardly. To the extent that even when a knife was pressed against her neck, she couldn’t stop smiling. So the thief who came to loot her was greeted with a bright smile.
“Hey, girl. You look like you have some money.”
I love August. I really do. He’s such an interesting character. Despite being strict with his principles and upright, he does not give into prejudices and bias – a lot of people have a hard time separating these things.
Like with the Murishi too.
Kaiton being a major tsundere as always.
