Chapter 69

I got down from the table and once again urged the man in front of me to surrender.

However, it seemed he wouldn’t listen. On the contrary, his expression became even more severe as he thrust his sword at me.

“Hey, can’t you see this!?”

“What!?”

At that moment, a shout of anger came from behind. Turning around, I saw the old man from earlier holding a sword to the knight’s throat. The knight’s sword had fallen to the floor, and he was bleeding from his upper arm.

“Takumi-kun, I’m sorry…! Forget about me, go join up with the commander!”

“Hey, don’t you dare run! Don’t you care what happens to him!?”

The knight shouted desperately for me to run, but the old man’s face turned red with anger, shouting for me not to flee.

“What a coward…”

“Takumi-kun… I’m sorry… Please, just run!”

With tearful eyes, the knight pleaded. I smiled and nodded reassuringly.

It’s okay, it’s okay! Gazelle and the others will come to our aid, right?

Upon seeing our exchange, the old man smirked with a vile grin. “Heh heh heh, you understand well. Don’t worry; I’ll sell you for as much as possible––uh, gah!?” However, his words were cut off.

A dagger had silently flown from somewhere and stuck into the back of the hand that was holding his sword.

That’s Iris’s throwing knife.

So, it wasn’t my imagination that I saw Iris outside the window earlier!

Thank you, Iris, you’re a lifesaver!

But seeing the old man dropped his sword, the man facing me quickly attacked. Barely dodging the blade, I grabbed a chair with my free hand and threw it at his face!

“Guooh!?”

He took the chair full in the face and let out a groan. But he quickly recovered and charged at me again.

It seems a blow like that wasn’t enough to knock him out.

But that’s fine.

All I needed was to buy a moment’s time.

The knight quickly ran towards his fallen sword while the old man’s back was turned.

Just as the old man tried to swing his sword at the defenseless back––I slid in between them, guided by my cursed sword, and swung my right hand.

In an instant––a high-pitched, clear sound rang out.

“Huh?”

The sword the old man was holding had been cleanly cut in half. He stared in bewilderment at his sword––or rather, what was left of the blade.

The severed tip flew through the air with a whoosh and hit the man chasing me in the head.

Taking a blow to the unprotected head, he staggered for a few seconds before falling to the floor unconscious.

“Huh?”

The old man, now even more confused, looked at the fallen man. But my cursed sword showed no mercy, and I struck the old man’s solar plexus with the back of my blade.

“Guh, oooh…!?”

The old man foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the floor. The knight quickly ran over and tied him up with a rope.

…Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but it seems we’ve successfully subdued all three.

I glanced out the window to see what had happened to the bandits and Black-winged knights outside. There, a familiar figure climbed through the window into the room.

“Good job, Takumi! We’ve subdued the others as well.”

“That’s great. Thanks for earlier, Iris.”

As Iris’s charming smile lifted his hand, I gave him a high-five, producing a crisp sound. From the situation, it seemed that the knights and villagers had gotten through unscathed. I’m really relieved.

Then, the knight who had tied up the three men approached us.

“Iris-san, Takumi-kun… I’m sorry for causing trouble with my carelessness.”

He bowed his head, but I quickly shook mine.

“No, if you hadn’t been with me, who knows what would’ve happened to me. So it’s mutual. Right, Iris?”

“Exactly! You entrusted your back to him, so Takumi could fight with all his might! Look, we totally won, so let’s not dwell on it, okay?”

“We totally won?”

“Of course! The reinforcements that Gazelle had urgently requested from the royal capital joined us quickly, and from there, we were overwhelmingly victorious… Wait, Takumi, you spaced out! Wasn’t it Takumi who advised Gazel?”

“Huh?”

Strange. It must be because of the intense battle, but I seem to have misheard.

What… did I say to Gazelle?

“So, it was Takumi who said it, right? That it’s suspicious not to guard the carriage’s cargo.”

“And then, Commander Gazelle sent a fast horse to the royal capital, and had the nobleman’s identity investigated there, didn’t he?”

“And then, since the characteristics and age of the merchant from Oster Kingdom who entered from Wazlow City were way off, the Black-winged Knights concluded something was wrong…”

“The real merchant of Oster, who had been captured by the bandits, is also said to have been rescued by the Yellow-winged Knights, so the headquarters should soon be under control.”

“Huh?”

Dangerous. I don’t understand what the two are talking about at all.

Well, if the real merchants are safely saved, that’s all that matters!

What concerns me more is… Did Gazelle, Felix, Iris, and in fact, all the knights except me, know that the uncles were villains!?

Was I the only one who didn’t realize!?

Uh, ugh… How embarrassing…!

Maybe I shouldn’t say anything clumsy to these two. If I did, they might have thought, “Huh, Takumi, you didn’t notice? What… really? Even though it was so obviously suspicious?”

Let’s go along with their topic, pretending not to know anything! Yes, that’s best!

――After that, the bandits who attacked the village were completely defeated, and the real merchants were safely rescued by the Yellow-winged Knights led by Captain Ortolan.

The scheme was that a group of slave traders had kidnapped the merchants before entering the Ritzheim Magical Kingdom. They then took their place, using the merchants’ tokens and identification to request an escort from the Black-winged Knights.

However, considering the slave traders’ too-smooth switch and the specific request for the Black-winged Knights, there might be someone in Ritzheim who assisted the slave traders… or so it was said.

Such wicked methods, and besides, slave trading is strictly prohibited in Ritzheim. Therefore, this matter will likely be pursued rigorously.

“…I guess it’s settled for now.”

By the time all the village follow-up, resident safety checks, bandit arrests, and handovers were completed, the eastern sky had already begun to lighten. The knights who were originally on guard duty were to stay at the village inn for the night before returning to the royal capital in the afternoon.

It’s already today, even though we say tomorrow!

We could head back to the royal capital right away, but after fighting all night, everyone was at their limit. Besides, the villagers seemed still anxious after last night’s raid. Seeing that the knights would stay, they showed relieved expressions.

“Huff, ngh…”

I’m glad to stay at the inn, too.

Because―the demerit of the cursed sword I used in battle is currently in full effect!

The penalties are mainly paralysis or arousal, and this time it seems to be the latter.

Ah, if it weren’t for this, it’d be an excellent weapon! It’s just too inconvenient to use…!

“Hah… Tch…”

After capturing the old man’s group, I was still holding the sword, checking on the villagers and guiding them, but the moment I returned to my room and sheathed the sword, this status effect hit me all at once.

I breathed heavily and desperately distracted myself with other thoughts.

This time, I’m sharing a room with Gazelle… Fortunately, Gazelle hasn’t returned to the room yet.

I thought about going to the bathroom, but this inn has only one for each gender on the first floor. I can’t occupy it for a long time. Going outside is out of the question, too.

“Ngh, ugh…”

It’s tough, but I have no choice but to wait wrapped in a blanket and―

“Takumi?”

“Huh!?”

As I was thinking, Gazelle peered into my face. He seemed to have returned to the room at some point.

A well-arranged face suddenly appeared in front of me, and I almost let out a scream, but I managed to hold back at the last moment.

“Gazelle… you’ve come back, haven’t you?”

“Just now. It’s rare for you not to notice me, isn’t it?”

Wrapped in a blanket, I sat down on the bed, while golden eyes looked down at me curiously. However, he quickly nodded as if understanding, and his hand slipped under the blanket.

“Mmm… Oh, Gazelle…”

“Yeah, just as I thought.”

The bed creaked as it bore the weight of both of us.

Trying to maintain some composure, I looked up at Gazelle in silence. However, it seemed like Gazelle had figured out, and his hand slowly, yet with a forceful determination, pulled away the blanket.

“Gazelle… Well, this time, it’s not as bad. I think it’ll go away quickly if I just stay still.”

Gazelle furrowed his brow upon hearing my words.

“Am I supposed to just watch you suffer in silence during that time?”

Uh. Yeah, I guess… If there’s someone panting next to you, even Gazelle wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully… Oh well. I guess I have to leave the room after all… Wait a moment!

“Hey, Gazelle!”

“Come on, just stay still. You’re really in pain, aren’t you?”

“It’s painful, but as I said earlier, I think it’ll go away quickly if I just stay still… Oh!”

 

“Is being so reserved a bad habit of yours?”

Well, not exactly reserved… Rather, asking him something like, “Hey, Gazelle! Can you help me out with some self-relief?” is an impossibly high hurdle, and how would that even be for someone as a human being?

As I pondered such thoughts, Gazelle’s fingers brushed against my cheek. His fingers, dry and rough, gently caressed my face.

“Also… I’m sorry about earlier. Even though it was a mission, I made things difficult for Takumi. It’s not about making up for my mistakes, but at least let me do this much.”

Unusually for him, he said with a bitter expression, almost dazzlingly.

Unpleasant experiences… Could it be? Was I completely fooled by the old man?

Or perhaps, did all the other knights realize the old man’s true identity and I was the only one left out?

Well, it was certainly shocking. To think my lack of perception was that bad!

“If it’s about that fake merchant, I don’t care.”

However, Gazelle grimaced regretfully and hugged me tightly. It was as if he was making sure that I was really here.

“Yeah, I know you’re not the kind of guy who would let those scoundrels do anything to you… But still, when I heard about how you confronted them alongside Iris, I couldn’t help but feel a chill. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

“Gazelle…”

What should I do? When I was fighting those old men, I didn’t really think of any strategy…

Not only did I not think of anything, but I was also completely relying on Gazelle and the others coming to save me. 

“Gazelle… I’m sorry for making you worry, but honestly, I didn’t have any thoughts at all.”

“What?”

Gazelle looked down at me with surprise in his eyes.

Of course! That’s right! Even though my friends were held hostage by the enemies and I was in a dire situation, to say that I wasn’t thinking of anything would surely surprise him. How naive can I be? It’s me, after all.

“Even if something happened, I believed Gazelle would come to my rescue right away.”

“Tsu! Takumi…”

“But from now on… Uh, ugh…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Gazelle leaned down and kissed me passionately. His warm tongue pushed into my mouth, tickling the underside of my jaw, and entwined with mine.