Chapter 135

Rewinding time a bit, to two days ago.

After returning home from the grueling schedule on the Western Continent, I threw everything aside and rested.

Actually, the word “rest” is a bit of an understatement. I literally did nothing. I worked hard and actively at doing nothing. I did nothing with absolute intensity.

With my eyes closed, I simply floated on one side of the lake like a drowned corpse, drifting here and there wherever the current pushed me.

I even ditched the Western Continent members I had invited to the manor—Kelly, Chel, Elizabeth, and Ailet—telling them to just have fun on their own while I rested.

The only “work” I did was occasionally leaning halfway back in a beach chair to let the maids pop meals or snacks into my mouth.

Since I had been like this for three days straight, people around me naturally started to talk.

“Dear.”

“Hmm? Shia?”

“I understand needing to rest, but… isn’t playing ‘drowned corpse’ for three days straight a bit much?”

“Why? Is someone complaining?”

“Of course they can’t say it out loud. But there is such a thing as atmosphere. Everyone is quite dissatisfied. Stop overdoing it; even if you’re just playing around, play with them a little.”

“I’m doing this on purpose because I have a plan.”

“Hm?”

“No matter how much I told them not to mention the Demon King or the Demon Territory anymore… one of the Demon Kings who ruled Kion for 200 years just died. Do you think it’s that easy to ignore? Especially when the person who took down that Demon King is right in front of them.”

“Well… I suppose so.”

“So I’m giving them time to cool down. Since I’ve mixed the Western Continent kids in, they’ll exchange information, and eventually, they’ll build their own stories in their heads. Then their curiosity will settle down a bit, won’t it?”

“Didn’t you say you told the Western Continent children to keep quiet?”

“It’s not like they can’t speak at all. They’ll give vague, indirect answers. That much is fine.”

“Giving them time to sort it out themselves? Hmm… you have a point. But if that was the plan, wouldn’t it have been better to properly introduce the Western Continent kids and the manor kids to each other beforehand?”

“Why bother? If they talk, they’ll naturally get close and introduce themselves.”

At my words, Shia clicked her tongue.

“Get close? Dear… your head is truly a flower garden. Honestly… this is why being ‘forever single’ is…”

“What? You want to fight?”

“Dear, let me ask you one thing. Do you actually think the women in this manor, whom you’ve brought together, are friendly with each other?”

“Brought together? I just…”

“Forget it, just answer.”

“Uh… aren’t they? Looking at the three from the Labyrinth Party, they seem much closer than before. And Sodin and the Labyrinth Party kids seem to have a much more unreserved relationship than when they first met.”

“That is only because you are the focal point here. Because they are close to you, they have no choice but to be near each other, and being near each other simply increased the frequency of communication.”

“Mm…?”

“In reality, when you are not around, the number of times those girls exchange words averages less than ten sentences a day. And even when they do talk, the topic is exclusively about you.”

“Ten sentences a day? Isn’t that enough to be close friends? Back in my world, if I went to a cafe with a friend(?)…”

-What do you want to drink? Iced Americano.

-What are you up to lately? Just the usual.

-I’m leaving. Yeah. See you tomorrow.

“…We always parted ways after just that.”

“……”

I wonder which part of my answer was wrong… Shia covered her face with both hands.

“A loner. You poor, pitiful loner… It’s so tragic that tears are flowing from my eyes.”

“Hey! What did I do?!”

“Never mind. All I wanted to say was… if you just throw those girls together without you, it’s more likely to lead to a ‘minus’ than a ‘plus’… but then again, you wouldn’t be you if you understood that.”

“Whatever. Enough with the weird talk, come here.”

I grabbed Shia, who was mumbling something next to me, and plopped her onto my stomach.

“Ah!? Dear!?”

“I was getting bored anyway, so this is perfect. You play with me.”

As I carried Shia on my stomach and drifted toward the center of the lake, Shia smiled playfully and patted my belly.

“Weren’t you keeping your distance from people?”

“You’re the exception. I have no secrets from you.”

“Ah…”

“Never ridden on a drowned corpse before, have you? Alright, the corpse is departing.”

“O-ohhh!”

Since I was playing with her, Shia completely forgot what she was saying and squealed with joy.

“…Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not like they’ll actually kill each other. Right. Even if they don’t become friends, at least they’ll sort out the pecking order.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Hm? It is nothing. Stop worrying and put some more speed into it.”

Illeia let out a low sigh as she watched Shia floating across the lake using Sword God as a boat.

“…If even Lady Shia is defeated like that, there’s nothing more we can do.”

Sodin, who had egged Shia on to end Sword God’s ‘playing dead’ act, also shook her head helplessly.

“Is the answer really only one thing, then?”

Scala nodded.

“…We have no choice but to try talking to those women over there, who are sitting around like sacks of borrowed barley.”

In fact, excluding Shia, the other eight had surprisingly not exchanged a single word for nearly three days. This was because the moment they saw each other, they recognized the presence of a ‘rival(?).’

The Manor Faction(?) ignored the Western Continent Faction(?) like cows looking at chickens, thinking, ‘They’re just unwelcome women who will leave soon anyway, is there any need to introduce ourselves?’

Similarly, the Western Continent Faction, possessing a sense of pride and elitism because they alone knew Sword God’s true identity, made no effort to get close to the Manor Faction ‘side dishes’ who were trying to keep their distance.

Thus, this was the first scene of them officially speaking to each other.

The first to step forward were Chel and Sodin, who represented their respective groups in both beauty and skill. Kelly could have stepped out for the Western Continent side, but… the Kelly here was still in a position where she didn’t quite understand why she had been brought here.

“Hello.”

“Yes. Hello.”

“I am Sodin Cross.”

“I am Chel.”

“I have provided my full name… is there a reason you are intentionally hiding your surname?”

“Ah, it is a tradition of my tribe. Disclosing one’s surname to those one is not close with is halfway forbidden.”

“Ah… tradition? If it’s tradition, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“…….”

“…….”

The two exchanged a sharp look, signaling the start of round two.

“Then, I suppose I’ll have to get closer to you just to hear your surname. In that spirit, shall we start with a simple self-introduction?”

“Fine by me.”

“I’ll go first. I am a 7th-Circle Mage of the Purple Magic Tower. My talent is rather mediocre, so I’ve been stuck at the 7th Circle for decades now. I feel like I’m just one wall away from breaking through… but that thin-looking wall is surprisingly difficult to overcome.”

Subtext: I’m a high-ranking 7th-Circle Mage. I’ll hit the 8th Circle and become an Archmage soon. Know your place and be polite.

Chel gave a thin smile and followed with her own introduction.

“You’re quite similar to me and Kelly here. Both of us reached the peak of the Blaster rank a long time ago, yet here we stay. If I unleash the unique madness of the Merina Elves, I can push myself up to the pseudo-Master level… but I suppose I still can’t compare to a ‘true’ Master.”

Subtext: If you’re at the edge of the 7th Circle, I’m at the absolute peak of the Blaster rank. I can at least touch the wall through a shortcut; can you even do that? Plus, my sister Kelly is just as strong as I am.

The corners of Sodin’s eyes twitched.

“…Hohoho. To think you were such powerhouses. I’ve heard the realm of Steel Body users is like a raging flame and difficult to control… how impressive. By the way, I’m aware of the Merina Elves’ madness… I’ve heard it’s quite a dangerous power. I hope you’re always careful.”

Subtext: Not bad? But it’s much harder for a Mage to ascend than a primitive Steel Body user. And I don’t acknowledge ranks bloated by cheap tricks like ‘madness.’

“Hohoho….”

“Fufu fufu….”

The air didn’t just grow cold; it froze.

The one to shatter the atmosphere was none other than Elizabeth.

“Chel unnie, why are you beating around the bush? Hey, Din unnie over there.”

“D-Din unnie?”

“Just stop the complicated talk and be blunt. You want to know what happened on the Western Continent, how the Demon King died, and what Mr. Sword God did in the process.”

This time, Illeia stepped forward from the Manor Faction.

“I am Illeia. A Priestess. And yes, you’re right. I’m curious. What on earth happened?”

“Can’t say.”

“…….”

“You heard him, didn’t you? Mr. Sword God told us to keep our mouths shut.”

“I know. But surely you can give us a vague idea?”

“A vague idea… Then I’ll ask you one thing first. How strong do you think Orabeoni is?”

“If by ‘Orabeoni’ you mean Sword God Oppa… I’d say somewhere above a Master but below a Grandmaster. Oppa said so himself.”

“So the rest of you think the same?”

“Wh-what about it?”

“To be honest, I heard about this manor and all of you from Orabeoni several times before coming here. Every time, he spoke like he desperately wanted to come back. It made me anxious—I wondered if I’d be nothing compared to the people here. But now that I’m here, I see it. The ‘side dishes’ aren’t on our side; they’re on yours.”

“……!”

“You people truly know nothing about Orabeoni’s true nature. You’re so oblivious that it’s like you’re total strangers to him.”

“……!!”

“Forget it. This is enough. Chel unnie, is there any reason for us to stay here longer?”

“Hmm….”

“Let’s just go back. This is just a house where Orabeoni rests. It doesn’t mean anything more than that. If that’s the case, we can provide somewhere much better, can’t we? Let’s build a magnificent manor and move him there.”

Upon hearing this, Scala let out a snort.

“How pathetic.”

“…What?”

“You’re all making a huge mistake. Right now, aren’t we all competing for the heart of a single person?”

At her blunt remark, both groups looked away, their faces flushing red.

“Stop playing innocent. You’re all just a bunch of restless fillies desperate to catch his eye.”

“N-no… I was just dragged here without knowing why. I’m different from the rest of….”

“Shut it. In that sense, what matters right now isn’t how much we know about him, but how much favor we have with him, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“From that perspective, I am the person who loves Sword God more than anyone in the world. I am someone who can do anything for him. If he tells me to die, I die; if he tells me to kill, I kill. Right now, with a single command from him, I could drive a blade into the hearts of Sodin, Illeia, or Selan. Even into my sisters working in this manor.”

“……!”

“……!!”

“Can you people do that to the friends or colleagues sitting next to you? You can’t, can you? If you can’t, then sit down and stay quiet. You bunch of fake pretenders… *tsk tsk.”

The women of the Western Continent Faction fell silent at the sheer pressure of Scala’s madness. They could feel that her words weren’t just for show—she meant it.

And the following night—the night after Sword God had politely put off Kate’s desperate request by saying he’d consider it….

Unaware that in a distant room, the women of both factions were currently in pajamas, exposing all their insecurities in the 7th round of their war… Sword God was encountering an unexpected figure in his dreams.

I looked at the woman dressed in a peplos, her golden hair fluttering brilliantly, and asked in a calm tone.

“This… isn’t just a dream, is it? Who are you?”

[I am the being Yuribel always refers to as her boss.]

“…No way?”

[Yes. I am Lumina, the Goddess of the Moon and Purity.]

“……!!!!!!”

[Hero. I have a favor to ask.]