Chapter 151

But she came back the next day, and the day after that, never seeming to tire of it.

“Look, I let it slide yesterday, but today is the day of the raid on the Harpun Count’s Domain. Why are you here again?”

“That is tonight, is it not? I have absolutely nothing to do during the day.”

“Is this place some kind of hangout for when you’re bored…? No, wait, isn’t it weirder that you’re free? You should have a mountain of preparations to make right about now.”

“I just told them to handle the preparations themselves. After all, it is an affair that my Lord and I could easily resolve by ourselves. The rest are merely there to stand around as extras for a display of force, which is more than enough.”

“Well… I mean, that’s true, but still.”

I shuddered as a piercing glare stabbed into the back of my head, right on cue.

“You can read the room, can’t you? To be honest, I have no idea why I have to deal with this, but things have been pretty rough for me lately, you know?”

It wasn’t like I was completely clueless. I knew the houseguests harbored romantic feelings toward me, and that a subtle competition was playing out among them.

But in Carmen’s case, she was viewed with an exceptional level of wariness by the others…

‘It’s probably because she completely overwhelms everyone else in terms of both raw martial power and social status. Her booming, dragon-like scale might make her a bit of an acquired taste, but when it comes to beauty, she easily holds her own against the top three houseguests—Sodin, Kelly, and Chel.’

Strictly speaking, Sodin didn’t lag behind in social status either. In her hometown, her position was considered even more noble than a princess’s.

However, that only applied if she returned home to reclaim her title as the successor to the World Tree guardian in the Arsus Kingdom… Here in the Kesala March, she was just another mage.

Naturally, the original residents’ territorial instincts against this formidable newcomer(?) grew fiercely aggressive.

‘Seriously, I didn’t gather everyone here with that kind of intention. Come to think of it, I didn’t even gather them, did I? The only ones I brought along of my own volition were the three from the Geom-shin Party. Everyone else just barged in because they wanted to… So why am I the one walking on eggshells?’

Feeling a sudden surge of victimization, I snapped my head toward the group of women who stood watching with their arms crossed in deep disapproval.

“What are you looking at?”

“…Orabeoni. You’re dense.”

“Ahjussi. What gives you the right to glare at us like that?”

“Oppa. Send her away already.”

“Tsk. We were having a perfectly good time until this obstruction showed up.”

Unable to say a word in response, I quietly faced forward again.

“Ahem. They’re telling you to leave.”

“Fufu. You certainly have it rough. Do they torment you like this every night after I leave? If it is you, my Lord, I believe you could effortlessly endure it—or better yet, turn the tables and teach them a proper lesson.”

“…Hey. We are not in that kind of relationship.”

At that, she tilted her head, glancing back and forth between the women and me, before covering her mouth with her hand in genuine astonishment.

“…Really?”

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Oh my, my, my. To think they attend to you so closely and do not even serve you in your chambers at night? Since all they do around here is eat, sleep, and play, I naturally assumed they were earning their keep in bed… Doesn’t that mean they are ultimately just freeloading parasites with nothing going for them but their pretty faces? Goodness. Why does a man of your stature, my Lord, keep such useless creatures by his side?”

In that exact instant. I heard a distinct crackle—the sound of the atmosphere snapping into pieces, though it didn’t literally make a sound.

…Ah, we’re doomed.

Sure enough, Chel—the second most short-tempered member of the group (the first was Kelly, who was currently still dazed)—snatched up her spear from where it leaned against the wall and bared her teeth.

“…Hey. What did you just say?”

“I asked what value a bunch of pretty eye-candy dolls could possibly have if they cannot even fulfill the basic duty of pleasuring my Lord?”

“Ha… I’ve been holding back, you absolute bitch, but I’ve had it…”

“Why get so worked up? A woman whose only merit is a decent face, yet fails to utilize even that properly, is the very definition of a parasite. Oh! Don’t tell me you actually think that mustard-seed sliver of martial prowess you possess is of any use to my Lord? Fufufu. How utterly laughable.”

At that mockery, Chel bared her teeth and flashed a chilling smile.

“Fine. Let’s have a proper bloodletting today.”

“Oh? A piece of trash that already got thrashed dares to challenge this lady again?”

In truth, on the first day Carmen had arrived, Chel and Kelly had immediately recognized her as a Master and challenged her together, only to be utterly defeated in less than three minutes. I hadn’t called Carmen the strongest mortal I had encountered so far for nothing.

“We only lost that day because we went a bit overboard trying to treat you like a guest… Today will be different, you bitch.”

“How vulgar. Such foul language. Very well, come at me. I shall make that crude body of yours truly understand exactly who was holding back.”

Their aura and murderous intent began to boil over.

Watching the scene unfold, Kelly let out a sigh and picked up her halberd.

“Ah, I guess I have to step in too. Hey, you winged psycho over there. You won’t bitch about me joining in since you’re a Master, right?”

“Heh. Whether it is one grain of mustard seed or two, it makes no difference.”

As the signs of a deathmatch masquerading as a sparring session became unmistakable, Shia—who had been snickering on the sidelines while being pampered by Scala instead of trying to stop them—shouted out.

“What are you all doing?! Clear the area immediately!”

“Yes! Lady Shia!!”

At her command, the maids, who had also been watching the unfolding drama with great relish, rushed forward in a flurry. They weren’t moving to stop the fight, but rather to quickly clear away the furniture around the lakeside so it wouldn’t get smashed.

Since the residents here were who they were, similar incidents happened almost every other day, making the maids’ movements exceptionally practiced and efficient.

“…….”

“……”

And… realizing they were all waiting for my signal, I let out a long, heavy sigh and gave them the go-ahead.

“Sigh. Do whatever you want, you lunatics.”

“Victory to my Lord.”

“He’s not your Lord, he’s our Orabeoni, you crazy bitch!”

BOOOOOOM!!

.
.
.

About thirty seconds passed since the clash began. Skipping any form of testing the waters, the three immediately slammed on the gas, colliding so violently it felt as though the entire lakeside would be obliterated.

Boom! Craaaack! BOOOM!!

Having fought as partners for a long time, Chel and Kelly coordinated their attacks with terrifying precision.

Perhaps finding it tedious to deal with both simultaneously, Carmen deftly evaded Kelly’s relatively slower halberd and lunged her spear fiercely toward Chel.

Chel narrowly managed to deflect the simple yet lightning-fast sequence of thrusts, slashes, and consecutive thrusts, but her stance broke completely, and she was blasted nearly thirty meters backward.

Despite that, Carmen wore a dissatisfied expression. Her spear strike, aimed to at least rupture her opponent’s internal organs, had done little more than push her back.

“Heh. You’ve improved a bit. Fine. Shall I test the blue-haired one this time?”

Whirling her spear around, Carmen let out a mocking sneer and adjusted her grip. It was a blatant provocation, openly broadcasting exactly when she intended to strike.

“Ugh…!”

Even so, Kelly raised her concentration to its absolute peak. She knew that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to block it.

An instant later, Carmen’s figure, which had been facing sideways, snapped toward the front as if the transitional movements had been completely deleted from reality.
With that, a violent aura whirled as her red spear split through space.

Flash!

Kelly prided herself on not lagging behind anyone in terms of skill, but even her eyes couldn’t follow the lightning-fast trajectory of that spear.

But, even so.

CLAAAAAANG!!

‘I can block it…!’

Unlike Chel, Kelly wasn’t pushed back; she deflected the attack with pinpoint precision. Utilizing that very momentum, she swung her halberd around with explosive force. It was the technique known as Moon-render.

WHIRRRRRRRRR!!

Faced with a ferocious strike that even a Master wouldn’t dare underestimate, Carmen took a defensive stance for the first time since the fight began.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

As the resulting shockwave whipped up wild waves across the distant lake, Carmen whirled her spear around to dissipate the impact, a look of surprise crossing her face.

“Your skill… it has…”

“Pant, pant… What. Did you think I’d just helplessly get beaten and collapse like last time?”

“That Elf over there, and you as well… Both of you have changed remarkably over the span of barely a week. What happened?”

In place of Kelly, Chel—who had returned to her original position before anyone noticed—pointed her spear. She gestured with her chin toward the Sword God, who was currently half-reclined on a beach chair, casually eating grapes fed to him by a maid.

“The two of us put our heads together and begged him. We asked him to help us crack open this dog-like dragonkin bitch’s skull next time.”

“Ah…”

‘Yeah, seriously… it was a fucking brutal time.’

Kelly winced involuntarily as the memories of the past few days resurfaced.

“You want me to teach you? I already spar with you guys from time to time.”

“Orabeoni… You saw us get thrashed, and you can still say that?”

“Ah, Carmen? But there’s nothing we can do about that. She’s a Master. And one who’s pretty much reached the absolute peak of it, at that.”

At those words, Kelly, who had been standing at attention beside Chel, quietly dropped to one knee and bowed her head.

“Please, Sword God. We request your assistance.”

“No, seriously, stop calling me that. I’d rather you call me Orabeoni like before… Wait, no, actually that’s not it either. Just call me Kiers like Ailet does.”

Kelly hesitated for a moment, then clenched her teeth and adjusted her form of address.

“O-Orabeoni. Please help us.”

“Uh… I didn’t expect you to choose that option.”

Now that the ice was broken with the title, complaints began to pour out of Kelly’s mouth in a steady stream.

“Honestly, I’m so frustrated I can’t sleep. I know that dog-like bitch is a Master, but… for the two of us to get double-teamed and still get beaten so fucking hard…”

Uh, she got way too comfortable, way too fast.

Of course, I knew this was her true personality, but since she had been acting so demure and modest lately, this sudden hard drift was a bit difficult to handle.

“I-Is that so?”

“That bitch is completely head-over-heels for you, Orabeoni, so she’s definitely going to show up again. And she’ll clash with us over and over. We can’t afford to suffer that humiliation every single time. I’ll literally die of a stroke from pure anger. So, please do something. If it’s you, Orabeoni, I believe it’s possible in a short amount of time.”

“Orabeoni. I’m begging you too. I didn’t show it, but today was seriously fucking awful for me too.”

I scratched my head and nodded.

“Sigh… Fine. Well, if you’re asking, I can do it. But… it might be a bit rough.”

“Orabeoni, please. The two of us have been rolling around on battlefields for decades. No matter how grueling the training is, we can endure it.”

“Yes. How hard can a little training possibly be?”

I shook my head.

“No… I don’t really make people train hard. I can see the entire path right in front of me, so why would I need to give you grueling training?”

“Then what do you mean it’s going to be rough?”

“Well… after Shia learned some hand-to-hand combat from me a few times, she put it like this.”

-My dear, you truly possess a magnificent talent for making a person feel like complete and utter shit.

“What… does that mean?”

“I mean… I don’t really get it myself, but she said I act like a massive, arrogant show-off. Apparently, it feels incredibly infuriating.”

And Kelly realized the true meaning behind those words before even ten minutes of the lesson had passed.

“Hey. How can you not do this?”

“No, that’s wrong. Not like that, swing it like this, like this, and like this. Why can’t you get that down?”

“Ugh… this is so frustrating. Look. Forget it. Hand over your weapon.”

“Alright, look. Your ‘Merina-style’ is a martial art named after a goddess, meaning the path to the peak is already open to you. It’s a style that can take you all the way to Grand Master, as long as you can faithfully follow the footsteps of the founders.”

He snatched Kelly’s halberd away and began swinging it like a master who had trained with it for a hundred years.

“Alright, look. You know ‘Moon-render,’ right? The technique you use all the time.”

Thud!

“This is the Moon-render you’re using right now.”

BOOOM!!

“And this is a Master-level Moon-render.”

“…….”

“…….”

Sssss… CRASH!!

“And this is the Grand Master-level Moon-render. Do you get the feeling?”

“…….”

“…….”

“Now, originally, this is where the technique ends. The person who made it probably only ever reached Grand Master, which is why it stops here…”

Immediately following that, he channeled a strange, pure white light into the halberd—something entirely distinct from mana—and then slashed upward diagonally, as if drawing a sword.

Chiiiiiiing…! SHATTERRRRR!!

“This is the Transcendent-level. If the creator had reached Transcendence, the Moon-render technique would have evolved up to this point. Ah, keep in mind the manifestation will look different when you’re using aura.”

“………….”

“………….”

“Alright! Now you try it! It’s seriously so easy! I even gave you a demonstration! You can copy it, right?! You get it, right?! It’s totally possible, right?!”

Chel and Kelly, who had been listening to the explanation blankly, involuntarily locked eyes with each other. They held a silent conversation entirely through their stares.

‘…Should we just quit?’

‘…Honestly.’