The Holy Knights’ dormitory and training grounds.
Shutra, Silvia, and Emma, who had reconciled safely. With this heartwarming feeling deeply etched in their hearts, I decided to give them a brief moment of private time with their best friends by taking a break. I asked Colette if she wanted to join us, but she politely declined with a smile I’d never seen before. Her smile was so beautiful that I doubted if it was really Colette. What was the completely opposite smile she showed last night?
“But! If Kelvin-sama gives me an order, I will gladly charge!”
“………”
And then, in the next moment, I was astonished for the second time by her usual smile. Stop it, don’t pant.
However, it is true that the best way to reconcile is to apologize sincerely. From a certain perspective, this situation is a golden opportunity. Now is the only time to apologize to Efil for last night’s mistake. I, using my parallel thought, immediately put this into action while watching Colette’s fervent smile, as she pleaded with a posture of prayer.
In the end, Efil easily forgave me. Or rather, she wasn’t angry at all, even before considering forgiveness. The reason Efil looked sad was— I was more tired than usual. To put it simply, Efil was just worried about my well-being.
“Cheating, you say? If it makes my Master happy, there is no greater happiness for me. More importantly, shouldn’t you eat more invigorating cuisine…?”
Efil-san, how vast is your heart? To not only tolerate infidelity but to even provide support from behind, it makes me worried about you instead? No, I have no intention of cheating. This time it was an unforeseen accident, or rather, I was the victim, well, I have to take responsibility.
—And so, the problem begins here. Yes, the real trial began from here. While I was apologizing to Efil, I was overheard by Ange, a top-tier intelligence agent with many super qualifiers. The leaked information flowed to Sera, leading to this.
“Kel-vin!”
“…Ah ha.”
“Wait, we can talk this out! We should be able to!”
Sera, who was cracking her knuckles, and Ange, who was calmly drawing her Dagger Knife. I tried to transition into a dogeza posture silently and without any thought, but before my self-defense could be completed, Sera grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. And then I was dragged away. My destination was a training ground, one of the facilities used by the Holy Knights. As expected of the knights of a great nation, the facilities were superb. In terms of size, it was about the same as the Underground Training Ground. It seemed the stage was set, and people had already been cleared. I wondered if I could get away with a little recklessness. As I pondered this, I was almost in a state of resignation. And so began the public execution.
“For-give meee!”
“Who’s going to do that—!”
I surrounded myself with a powerful Spiral Wind Barrier II to counter Sera’s punches. At the same time, I attempted to persuade her, but I almost flinched at Sera’s sharp, fiery red eyes. This is bad, this is really bad. Sera is serious.
Sera was clad in crimson armor, the Demon Fist Crimson Battle Rage. A black and gold demon matched her enlarged fists, and even her gleaming gauntlets were dyed red, as if synchronized with Sera’s emotions.
I was almost caught by such a menacing fist, and I was defending myself with a wind barrier. What is this scene? It’s like the scene where someone tries to crush an apple. Of course, I am the apple. The Spiral Wind Barrier II gnawed at the surface of Sera’s palm, but the constant, extraordinary pressure instilled an indescribable sense of fear. The blood spray that danced on the wind around me looked just like peeling an apple. It was fortunate that it was an intangible, flowing wind barrier, but if it had been the sheer cliff-like Black Castle Wall, it would have immediately collapsed under an order that spared no consideration for whether it was blood-dyed or not. Damn it, I’ll show you the pride of an apple!
I tried to be brave, but this situation is not good. Sera’s tightening grip approaching from the outer wall of the barrier is certainly a threat, but the truly troublesome thing is that by deploying the barrier, I have been confined to this place. Why? Because—
“Got it!”
“You won’t get it!”
Ange, ignoring the dangerous area where strong winds and blood danced, charged without hesitation. She slipped through my Spiral Wind Barrier II as if it were nothing and swung her Dagger Knife. Fortunately, Ange is a party member of mine. Since her position is displayed on the map, even with her incredible speed, she cannot achieve a surprise attack with split-second judgment using parallel thought (though she can with the Wind God’s leg buff). I calmly parried the knife with the Black Sword Akrama. I didn’t forget to keep an eye on Sera by splitting my thoughts.
“Kelvin! What do you mean by laying hands on someone else before me, your lover!?”
“I told you, it’s a misunderstanding!”
The skill “Unblockable,” Estoria, was also very effective in your battle, wasn’t it? I understand, I understand. So please stop aiming for my neck so persistently. I can’t handle the difference in sword speed between a longsword and a dagger knife. You’ve been grazing me subtly this whole time!
“Ground Shatter II!”
If this continues, I’ll be in a losing position. I caused the ground to explode from inside the barrier, momentarily lifting Sera’s crushing grip. The moment her fist opened was extremely brief, but if I missed it, I would die. With Wind God’s leg at full power, I backstepped. I put maximum distance between myself and the two of them. You guys really don’t listen to people at all.
“Mel-nee, aren’t you going to help?”
“Yes. I feel like I’m the one who started this, and I want to, but… you see, would it be right to interrupt them when they’re having so much fun?”
“So that’s how it looks? Kel-nii, even though you say things with your mouth, the corners of your mouth don’t lie.”
I caught the voices of Mel and Rion talking in the distance. The corners of my mouth… Tracing them with my fingertips, I could indeed feel them turning upwards. Yeah, I know. It’s inappropriate, but right now, it’s incredibly fun!
“Sera-san, this isn’t going to work! Kelvin is actually enjoying himself, so this isn’t a punishment! It’s more like a reward!”
“This is troublesome. If I see such a cheerful face, I’ll unconsciously go easy on him.”
“You too!?”
I will say this much: I would never cheat with the intention of receiving such a punishment. What I seek is a pure exchange without any guilt. I am absolutely not thinking that this is acceptable! Now, let’s continue!
~~~
About ten minutes have passed since the battle began.
“I feel refreshed, in a way!”
“Yeah~. But at first, I was genuinely surprised. Sera-san was really serious, you know? I understand her anger, but it was…”
There stood Sera and Ange, with bright smiles on their faces. And at their feet lay my mangled corpse, Kelvin, beaten to a pulp. I couldn’t win against two opponents…
“No, I wasn’t really angry. I just wanted to do something like this once. You know, it’s written in books, isn’t it? The more you fight, the closer you become!”
“Um, so?”
“It means that our bond with Kelvin has deepened through overcoming this fight!”
“R-really!? Yay!”
Sera and Ange high-fived each other, making a satisfying “Pa~n” sound. In other words, it was their cute honest desire to become closer. As a man, I have no regrets. I truly have no regrets.
“Now, my lord. It’s my turn next.”
“And then it’s my turn~.”
“U-um, Master. Then I should too…”
Three fully armed figures appeared, taking turns. It appears I cannot collapse here. To love equally is what that means. I stood up with all my might, recovering with White Magic.
