kscans

Chapter 273 - Patricia and the Farewell Party, Part 2

I glanced beside me to see Patricia holding her breath, staring intently at the flower field. Her wide-open eyes turned to me. I squeezed her hand and stepped onto the carpet of pale purple flowers. A strong heat radiated from her palm.

"Lady Mo found this flower field on a walk when she was a child. It was daytime then, but enveloped by the night and illuminated by the moon, it looks so fantastical... But it's cold, and scary." With her free hand, she hugged her own shoulder.

"Are we supposed to pick these flowers and go back?"

"Eh, yes...?" She let out a surprised voice at my words, then looked at me with downcast eyes.

"Could it be, Mash, that you're purposely pretending not to notice?"

"Pretending not to notice?" Patricia let out a deep sigh at my question.

"Mash."

"What?"

"This was all orchestrated by Lady Mo to get us two alone." Her words made me feel as if the world had stopped for a moment.

"I see..." It was certainly a fantastical scene. Marmi wanted me and Patricia to be alone in this place.

"So... you came here with that intention, didn't you?" I wriggled my fingertips as if to grope her chest and gave her a grin.

"Y-Yes. I won't be able to see Lady Mo for a long time, but I won't be able to see you either, Mash, you know? In the first place, you're the partner Lady Mo chose for me, so I don't think teasing me like that has any meaning. If you're going to do that, I'd rather you say something more appropriate for us to spend this time together." Patricia's rapid-fire, almost breathless speech took the wind out of my sails. She was right. I just wanted to know if this was Marmi's order, or if she was doing it of her own volition.

"...Sorry about that."

"Ah, no. I said too much. Please just be yourself, Mash. I want to know how you changed Lady Mo, and how you will change me." Patricia turned to face me. The hem of her skirt billowed out, and the wind it created rustled the flowers. I gently put my arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Under the moonlight, her face looked pale, but her cheeks flushed crimson as if with heat. She averted her gaze, then hesitantly placed her hands on my waist.

"Patricia, your face..." At my words, she gave a small nod and gently turned her gaze to me. I could see her moist eyes beneath her long eyelashes. She closed those eyes and quietly offered her cherry-colored lips. I closed my eyes as well and was about to press my lips to hers.

Growl...

Patricia's stomach and mine rumbled at the same time. Come to think of it, we had been walking all day. Patricia had also been mushroom hunting and had waited for me by the lake without eating anything.

"S-Sorry."

"No... I'm hungry too. Let's go back to the fortress." I had been looking forward to eating matsutake mushrooms, so the feeling was especially strong. I shrugged my shoulders, and she giggled.

"That's right. The night is long, and we should eat something..." After she said those meaningful words, her eyes widened in surprise. Then she threw herself at me with the force of a tackle. I couldn't absorb the impact and fell into the flower field. I thought I would be enveloped in a sweet scent, but it was the smell of grass and earth. Then Patricia's hair fell softly over my face, bringing a scent sweeter than flowers. Before I could be surprised by her sudden action, the sound of an arrow cutting through the air passed through the spot where I had been standing.

"What the-" I couldn't move my body and could only dart my eyes around. I saw a black shadow approaching us, trampling the flowers. It was short, with shoulders that seemed to ripple with muscle. It was a monstrous creature with a human silhouette. With its rough breathing, a white, steam-like breath was exhaled. The monster held something like a thick hatchet in its hand, and the blade, bathed in moonlight, shone with a dull white light. I tried to take a weapon out of my storage, but I didn't think I'd make it in time. And it didn't seem possible to peel off Patricia, who was clinging to me. Praying I would be in time, I thrust my hand towards the approaching monster.

"Water Magic, Icicle!" As I shouted, I shot several icicles at the monster. The monster screamed and backed away, but its presence hadn't vanished.

"Patricia... calm down." Patricia's hot breath was on my neck. I wrapped my arm around her waist and switched our positions. Then I sat up halfway and looked around. There were three monster shadows. The one that took the icicles had a round shield, which seemed to have saved it from a fatal wound. It readjusted its grip on the large hatchet and was carefully trying to gauge the distance. A little further away was another monster with a round shield and a large hatchet. And behind it, a monster was drawing a bow. Just as the arrowhead seemed to flash, an arrow was loosed, and the sound of it cutting through the air echoed. I rolled to dodge it and drew my katana at the same time.

"Goblins..." I kept the two in the front at bay while positioning myself to protect Patricia. I figured I could fight while protecting her with this number, and I caught sight of her crouching form in the corner of my eye.

"Patricia, stay down." She gave a small nod, then cautiously raised only her head and looked around. Then, as if she had spotted the monsters, she quickly ducked her head back down. Her movements reminded me of a turtle.

"Mash, the arrowheads might be coated with the poison from these flowers. Nothing will happen right away if you get wounded, but after some time, the vomiting won't stop, and it can lead to death."

"What?!"

"Around this time of year, monsters gather to look for the flower bulbs." So they were having a flower-viewing party in such a dangerous place. I was about to open my storage to switch to a shield and a one-handed sword when the sound of an arrow cutting through the air rang out. If I dodged, there was a chance it would hit Patricia behind me. I instinctively tried to block it by laying the blade flat, but the arrow changed its trajectory on the blade and grazed my arm.

"Ow..." The fear of being hit by a poisoned arrow outweighed the sharp pain. I couldn't imagine what changes would happen to my body; the thought of it mixing with my blood and circulating throughout my body was overriding my ability to think about fighting. As if to take advantage of my confusion, two goblins came at me, trying to flank me. Their lunge was sharp, their swing fast. I barely managed to parry the downward strike of the large hatchet. At that moment, something like a droplet flew from the blade.

"This thing, it has poison on its blade too!" The other goblin's horizontal slash grazed my torso.

"Kuh..." Enduring the new pain, I thrust out my hand and fired an Icicle. I thought I had scored a direct hit, but it was blocked by its shield. I wanted to press my advantage on the retreating enemy, but there was a chance the other one would target Patricia. I pointed my blade at that one to keep it in check. The goblin let out a low growl, as if looking for an opening in me, and circled around, keeping its distance. Its movements were refined, leaving no openings.

"These aren't just any goblins. They're strong..." I now regretted not having Patricia stand up and run to a safe place. But this place, though illuminated by moonlight, was dark within the forest. She wouldn't be able to escape, and there was a chance she'd encounter new monsters.

"Were you and Mo having a flower-viewing party in a place with things like this?"

"Wake was always with us. They were weak at first, but they gradually got stronger too," Patricia answered.

"So these are goblins trained by Wake..." They must have been ordinary goblins at first. By repeatedly fighting a strong opponent like Wake, they must have been trained up as well. But it bothered my pride that Wake had protected Marmi and Patricia from monsters, yet I couldn't protect Patricia. I had to calm down. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and exhaled slowly and steadily through pursed lips. Patricia had said the poison's effects would take time. The wounds stung, but I didn't feel nauseous. I should be able to drink an antidote after I wipe out these goblins. While keeping my blade pointed at the goblin that was circling me, I glanced at the other one. Despite having several puncture wounds from the icicles, it held its large hatchet and moved behind me. As if to check its movement, I fired an Icicle, and the goblin quickly dodged it.

"Gigi!" The goblin that had been looking for an opening in me cried out. When I turned my gaze in that direction, a whooshing sound rang out, and a sharp pain shot through my right thigh. An arrow fired by the monster was stuck in it.

"Mash!" Patricia's anguished cry echoed. I almost fell to one knee, but her voice supported me, and I managed to keep my balance. Just then, a goblin swung its large hatchet at me. I barely managed to block the blow with my katana.

"Guh!" We were locked in a blade-to-blade struggle. I tried to push back, but the pain prevented me from putting strength into one leg, and I was pushed back instead. The goblin brought its ugly, grotesque face close and smiled triumphantly. Then, the goblin that had been behind me came at me from my back. I gave up trying to stand my ground and fell into the flower field. I fired an Icicle at the enemy that was trying to pounce on me for a finishing blow. I then fired a barrage of icicles at the goblin behind me and the archer goblin.

"Take this!" The icicles rained down like a curtain of fire, and flower petals scattered. During that time, I re-readied my weapon, stood up, and slashed at the goblin that was protecting its head with its shield.

"Gah..." It was a shallow strike, but the enemy vanished. I fired an icicle at the archer as a feint, then faced the other goblin with the large hatchet. The monster had its hatchet pointed at the tip of my katana, but it slowly backed away, then turned and started to run. I fired an icicle at its back.

"Gya!" The goblin screamed and vanished. While preparing the next icicle, I searched for the position of the archer goblin, but the enemy's presence was already gone.

I tried to pull out the arrow stuck in my thigh with all my might, but it was accompanied by intense pain, and I couldn't put any strength into my hand holding the arrow. Reluctantly, I set aside my own injury and offered my hand to Patricia to help her up. Then I brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"More than me, you should worry about yourself, Mash..." She said, and then her eyes widened at the sight of the arrow stuck in my leg.

"Can you help me pull it out?"

"Myra is here, isn't she? Wouldn't it be better to just go back to the fortress with me supporting you?"

"It might be poisoned, right? I want to pull it out and drink a health potion and an antidote." Patricia gave a small nod and grasped the shaft of the arrow with both hands. I thought she would pull it out in one go, but she hesitated and let out a small breath.

"Mash, I was surprised at how strong you are. The way you use ice magic was like Lady Marina."

"You think so? But Wake dealt with them without a single scratch, didn't he?" Patricia chuckled at my words.

"You're jealous again, aren't you? But Wake had Lady Mo supporting him with magic..."

"Did you really come to this place just to see the flowers? By the way, was she able to use magic since she was a child?"

"That's right... By the way, Mash."

"What?"

"You're trying to make me jealous right now, aren't you?"

"Huh? I've been talking about Mo this whole time-" Suddenly, her face was close. She pressed her lips against mine before I could pull away. The moment I was about to immerse myself in that soft sensation, a sharp pain shot through my thigh. The arrow was in her hand. Her hand loosened, and the arrow fell into the flower field. My blood on the arrowhead added a touch of crimson to the pale purple flowers.

"Mash..." Patricia hugged me. Her breath was strong and hot. Then, she looked at me with eyes that shimmered with moonlight. I hugged her back and we exchanged a kiss.