kscans

Chapter 46 - A Formidable Foe and Fatigue

Crucified and unable to move, the members of ‘Beautiful Sword’ were helpless.

Then, a sudden gust of wind whipped through the alley.

The pink gas vanished in an instant, leaving only the crucified ‘Beautiful Sword’ and Harynair. Harynair looked in the direction the wind had come from. There stood a large man holding a great axe and another man in strange armor. She knew who they were. They were the two who had been spectating and fighting in the arena just moments ago: ‘Intense Thought.’

Rewinding a little, to the waiting room.

After finishing my fight with Rodel, I returned to the waiting room. Bardos, who had somehow already returned, was there.

I thought this was a good opportunity.

"...Bardos. Could you come with me for a bit?"

To my question, Bardos replied.

"? Sure. Where are we going? ...Oh, maybe to a tavern? To celebrate with ‘Beautiful Sword’?"

Bardos asked with a happy expression. I replied.

"...You’re not wrong about it being with ‘Beautiful Sword,’ but the destination is different. I saw them leaving with grim expressions on their faces. ...It’s a little concerning."

My concern made Bardos’s expression turn serious.

"...I see. That is concerning. Alright. I’ll go with you. ...Also, what’s with the red eyes?"

Bardos said as he stood up, grabbing his weapon and voicing his question.

As we left the arena, I explained that it was from using my new skill.

Near the entrance, I tried to find their footprints, but there were none. So, I activated ‘Detection.’

There were so many blue dots that I thought it would be impossible, but then I saw a single red dot in a back alley. I also confirmed that there were four blue dots. Figuring they were there, I headed in that direction.

And now, the present.

Before my eyes was an indescribable scene. Tina and the others were crucified, and a woman with bat wings was standing there. From her appearance, I guessed she was probably a succubus. If so, she likely had abilities like seduction or dream manipulation. I was truly glad I had watched anime and played games on Earth.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make such an assessment.

As I was thinking this, the succubus spoke.

"My, my~~. For ‘Intense Thought’ to come as well, how unexpected~~. ...A pleasure to meet you. I am Harynair. I didn’t want to meet like this, but I suppose it can’t be helped. ...I will invite you both to my mansion as well~~."

Harynair said with a bewitching expression as she released her pink gas.

Tina thought, This is bad. The two of them didn’t know that inhaling this gas would immobilize them. She tried to shout, but her mouth wouldn’t move properly, and she was helpless.

But when the gas reached the two of them, Bardos exclaimed.

"...What is this?! This smell?! It’s going to make my nose crooked!"

Bardos shouted as he covered his nose.

I said.

"...!! Ugh?! Disgusting?! My head feels weird!"

I waved my right hand to clear the gas.

The sweet scent had no effect on the two of them.

Why? Because Bardos had thought the perfume worn by the noblewomen at the party the other day was far too smelly. In reality, the noblewomen had applied far more perfume than the recommended amount. It was naturally nauseating and overpowering. But in high society, this was common sense and everyday life.

Bardos was more suited to the smell of sweat.

As for me, when I worked at a company on Earth, a female superior wore overpowering perfume. The other men were also put off by her perfume but endured it without showing it on their faces. However, I had inadvertently let my disgust show, which had earned her displeasure. From then on, that female superior started spraying that perfume at me.

When I asked her why, she said with a bully-like expression, "I was just trying to make a junior who doesn’t understand the splendor of this perfume understand." Because of that, perfume fell into the category of things I disliked, and the impression that it was disgusting grew stronger.

Returning to the story.

The two of them, having had these experiences, stood their ground against Harynair’s gas without their strength draining away. The gas’s effect was to neutralize the opponent’s strength by having their mind accept the sweet scent. But if the mind didn’t accept it, the effect wouldn’t manifest. The two of them looked at Harynair with disgusted expressions. But Harynair’s face was downcast.

Harynair had been certain of her victory.

There had never been a living creature that hadn't buckled at the knees after smelling this gas. If there were, it would be another one of the ‘Seven Demon Lords.’ The effect was weak on beings of her own level. But these two were below her; she had thought she could easily enthrall them. But the words that came from their mouths were ‘disgusting.’

Harynair was shocked.

No one had ever called this scent disgusting before. The other ‘Seven Demon Lords’ had only said it was a sweet scent, not disgusting. And yet these two had said it was ‘disgusting.’ Humans. And men. These two. Had called her scent ‘disgusting.’

A deep, indelible wound was carved into Harynair’s heart.

Bardos and I were perplexed.

We had been bracing for Harynair to attack, but she was looking down, trembling slightly. What’s going on? we thought, looking at each other, then back at her.

And then, Harynair raised her face, her eyes slightly teary.

"Y-You’ll remember this—! For the crime of defiling me, you will pay dearly—!"

After shouting, she was enveloped in a black mist and disappeared.

I didn’t really understand, but I felt relieved. After using the ‘Detection’ skill, my magic had run out. I was standing on willpower alone, but if a fight broke out, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. It would have been up to Bardos to fight alone. The two of us, assessing the situation, approached ‘Beautiful Sword.’ We checked to see if there were any more enemies as we reached them. Nothing appeared.

The two of us looked at them again. They were crucified, completely unable to move.

Tina spoke.

"...Th-Thank you. Just like with the Orc King, you saved us."

Tina said in a weak voice.

The other three had similar expressions. They were extremely weak. I wondered if that gas had a debilitating effect. I was glad I had an aversion to sweet scents.

Whether that was truly a good thing was questionable, but Bardos said.

"For now, let’s get these chains off."

As Bardos readied his machete, I stopped him.

"Wait. We don’t know what kind of traps there might be. I’ll check them over and try to cut them with my sword."

I warned him.

Bardos had a look of understanding. He had felt it in his gut that the monster from before was on a different level from any they had faced. I first checked the chains binding Tina. Since I couldn’t use ‘Analysis,’ I touched them, shook them, and checked to see if any traps were triggered. No problem. With that thought, I drew my Mithril sword. The tip was gone, and it was half its original length, but it was still more than enough to cut the chains. I first cut the left chain with a powerful slash.

The chain broke, and Tina’s left arm was free.

Nothing happened. Convinced, I gave Bardos a thumbs-up with my right hand. Bardos then started cutting Leona’s chains. I cut all of Tina’s chains, and then we each cut the chains of Rumily and Milfy.

To the four freed women, I said.

"Are you okay? We saw you leaving the arena with grim expressions, Tina, and got worried, so we came to check."

To my words, Tina replied.

"...That was because Milfy said she felt a flow of magic from the spectator seats. Then came Rodel’s rampage. After it was over, we saw a dancer leave with a smile, so we followed her. ...And when we mentioned it, she revealed her true form, and we were defeated."

Tina’s last words were filled with regret.

It didn’t seem like they had let their guard down. If they had, they would have died on the battlefield long ago. They had always worked in top condition, without letting their guard down. The succubus, Harynair, who had bound them, was just that formidable. That was all there was to it.

Leona said.

"Thank you, Bardos, Shinsuke. We can’t thank you enough. We will definitely repay this debt."

To Leona’s formal words, Bardos replied.

"Don’t worry about it. We’re friends, aren’t we? ...Well, if you still want to repay me, just keep sparring with me like you always do."

To Bardos’s smiling words, Leona replied.

"Hehe. That sounds just like you. Very well. I’ll spar with you anytime."

Leona said with a slightly flushed face.

She looked at me, and I pointed at Bardos as if to say, Don’t worry about it, just fight Bardos for my share too. Rumily and Milfy just said a simple thank you. I didn’t know much about those two, but they were considerate, so I didn’t mind. After that, we left the back alley and returned to the arena.

The reason was to retrieve our luggage. And then, we intended to leave the Royal Capital immediately. If we stayed any longer, we might get invited to the royal castle again.

I wanted to avoid that at all costs. But when we went to the waiting room of the arena, the king and the prince were there. I wondered what they had come for.

The king said.

"‘Intense Thought.’ That was an excellent duel. I thank you for knocking that Rodel down a peg."

The king expressed his gratitude.

The prince added.

"I too offer my thanks. It was most convenient that Rodel’s reputation was tarnished in this duel. Thank you very much."

The prince gave a slight bow.

Words of thanks from the two leaders of the country. I felt like I couldn’t possibly accept them.

With that thought, I said.

"N-No, it was nothing. More importantly, I cut down the royal sword. Will there be a severe punishment?"

To my words, the king replied.

"No, that was done head-on in the midst of battle. It does not warrant a severe punishment. If it did, I would not have lent it out. ...However, the loss of a symbol is a heavy blow."

The king said, his shoulders slumping.

The prince had a similar expression.

Seeing this, I said.

"...In that case, shall I repair it? I have the skill ‘Matter Conversion.’ If I touch metal, I can manipulate it. With this power, I can restore it to its original state."

To my statement, the king replied.

"...Is that true? Then, I will have you do it at once."

He said, and conveyed it to a guard.

A guard brought the royal sword. Holding the sword that had been cut in half, I activated my skill. My magic had been depleted in the back alley, but it had recovered slightly. I concentrated hard and restored the royal sword to its original material and length. When I finished, I fell to my knees.

Even though it had recovered a little, it was still depleted. I somehow managed to return the royal sword to the king on willpower alone.

Seeing this, the king said.

"...Magnificent. There is no seam, and the finish is as if nothing ever happened. A wonderful skill. However, to be so exhausted... you must have used a great deal of magic in the duel, and then repaired the royal sword. Your magic must be gone now."

I unconsciously nodded at his words. The king continued.

"This is a reward for repairing the royal sword. Stay at the castle again tonight. I will have a meal prepared for you that will make your stomachs burst."

The king said. I looked at Tina.

Tina spoke.

"That is a joyous offer, but... we were about to leave the Royal Capital today. And, if I may say so, we would rather not deal with the nobility anymore. I don’t think we could eat our fill at a dinner with nobles present."

We all had similar expressions. The king said.

"...Mmm. In that case, how about you take your meal in your room? I won’t say there will be a party like yesterday, but it is certain that at least a few nobles will attend the meal. All of them are just trying to curry favor... but please forget I said that. Well, since you probably can’t eat much in such a setting, I’ll have it brought to your room. Then you won’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll keep it a secret that you are in the castle."

The king said.

We couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ after all that. We accepted.

We entered the castle through a back entrance and were shown to our rooms. Bardos and I threw ourselves onto the beds. We were completely exhausted. However, as I lay there, I recalled the sight of Tina being crucified.

A female knight in armor, captured by the enemy, and crucified. It was a situation you don’t often see even in doujinshi. I almost snorted with excitement. But to do something strange while they were suffering would have been the lowest of the low as a human being.

I wanted to praise myself for not succumbing to such a temptation as I took a breath.