Chapter 88

Chapter 88

“Wha-wha-wha, marriage? Jess, where on earth did you learn that?”
Jess struck a pose with hands on her hips and grinned after hearing my words. Her ears perked up, and her tail, which reached all the way to her calves, was wagging away like crazy.
“The teacher said that if you want to be with someone you love for life, you have to get married! That way, you become family!”
“Well… that is kinda true.”
“I love you, Master, and Master loves me too! So if we get married, we’ll be family! Let’s get married!”
“But that kind of love is… ow, ow, ow!”
As I tried to explain the meaning of marriage to Jess, I felt a crushing pressure on my waist. Gasping, I looked over at Iris, who was glaring daggers at Jess with an expression that screamed danger.
“Iris, I give up! I surrender!”
“…!”
Ever since three years ago, when I collapsed and said I surrendered, Iris would calm down if I said those words. I feel a bit guilty for giving her that trauma, but at least I’ve got a way to defuse this bomb of a conversation.
Slowly, the grip around my waist loosened, and a sulking Iris grabbed the hem of my shirt instead.
Iris’s level of physical contact was like a mood meter. Grabbing my hem meant she was extremely unhappy—we’re talking “about to blow” levels of unhappy.
“Master! Marriage! Marriage! And what about a hundred babies? No, let’s have a hundred kids!”
“Wh-where did you hear that?”
Feeling my Confucian spirit awaken, I panickedly shouted, and Jess tilted her head in confusion.
“The teacher said if you get married, you can have babies! Let’s have a hundred babies and form a tribe!”
Hearing that made all my strength just drain away. Thanks to her rapid beastman growth, Jess had the body of an adult woman despite her childish face, and her words about having babies and getting married suddenly felt way too serious.
‘You’re still just a kid.’
It’s like a kid saying, “When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut! I want to be a dinosaur! I want to be Lian when I grow up!”
“…?”
I feel like something got weirdly mixed up there, but anyway, Jess’s marriage and baby talk is no different than the random stuff kids blurt out without thinking.
‘I should just correct any big misunderstandings and let her learn the rest as she goes.’
With that in mind, I started explaining in a way that would make sense to Jess. I told her that you’d probably age and die before having a hundred babies and that the love needed for marriage is a different kind.
“But…”
Jess curled her tail and drooped her ears, pulling off an adorably pitiful look.
‘Ugh! I have to be firm for education’s sake!’
I turned my head away from that face begging me to give in and shook my head firmly.
“Ch.”
“…?”
A sound I wasn’t meant to hear came from Jess’s direction. Reflexively, I turned to look, but Jess still wore that sad expression.
‘Did I… mishear?’
There’s no way Jess, with that downcast face, could have clicked her tongue. I must have misheard. Yes, that’s definitely it.
“Let’s just go eat breakfast. If we’re any later, we might miss it.”
“Okay.”
“Got it.”
This time, I didn’t comfort the sulking Iris separately. In matters of marriage or physical contact, I had to stand my ground.
‘Since she’s only ever relied on me since she was little… she’s a bit anxious about separation.’
For Iris’s healthy independence, I needed to gradually create some distance. Plus, as she was entering puberty, she’d probably withdraw naturally without me having to push her away.
‘What if she says I smell and starts avoiding me?’
Suddenly, my shoulders felt heavy. With a downcast mood, I made my way to the dining hall. Nero was eating and asked what happened when he saw my gloomy face along with Jess and Iris, but thankfully, nothing major occurred.
*
In the eastern outskirts of Cardishian, a fist-sized black fog drifted as if ready to disperse at any moment.
“Ugh… how did I end up in this sorry state?”
‘It,’ which barely survived after trying a mental attack on Lian and almost getting obliterated in return, was hanging by a thread. But that was about all it could do.
Most of its great powers had faded away, and its body now felt weaker than the humans it once deemed insignificant. It might just vanish entirely if things continued like this.
“Ugh… bleh! Damn it!”
It heaved a rainbow-colored vomit onto the ground, trembling.
“Asterias… did he stake it all just to pass on that ultimate power? If not, then nothing makes sense—ugh…”
After another round of rainbow barfing, it staggered before collapsing into some weeds.
“Damn… I can’t recover if I keep throwing up…”
The reason it hadn’t been able to leave Cardishian for three whole years was because Lian’s power was still stuck in its body. Whenever it thought it could recover, bam—another puke session ensued.
With that repeating cycle, it was left with no choice but to hide out in Cardishian in its feeble state.
“If those black sorcerers catch me, who knows what kind of mess I’ll be in…”
Before, black sorcerers could never lay a finger on it, but now, in this severely weakened state and after suffering a mental hit from Lian, a small mistake could easily lead to its capture.
“Someday, I’m going to kill you for sure.”
It gnawed its metaphorical teeth together, hissing out more rainbow bile. As it glared at the oddly shiny bile,
“Aah!”
A sudden scream pierced the air, and an unfamiliar guy tumbled through the weeds where it lay.
“I-I don’t know! I really don’t know!”
“I can check that myself.”
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
The guy trembled, trying to crawl away as fast as he could, but the robed figure was quicker. In a flash, the robed man had the fallen man’s head in his grip.
“Gah… gurgle…!”
Intermittent gasps were heard as the guy’s eyes rolled back and he fainted, tongue lolling out.
“Tch, this guy’s memories are totally useless.”
The unconscious man was tossed aside, and the robed figure dusted off his hands and turned to leave. At that moment, ‘it’ soared out from the weeds where it was hiding.
“Yo, hey!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly hit with a familiar presence, the robed man raised an eyebrow and turned to look.
“And who the heck are you?”
“Eep! I am the great one’s servant, ‘Hamulina!’”
“Huh? For real? Why are you so tiny now?”
“You rude… Hmph, whatever. I have important news, so take me with you.”
Though the robed man laughed at it, he had no intention of ignoring ‘it.’ ‘It’ was a servant and part of ‘the great one’, after all. The robed man decided to take it back to his quarters.
*
Room 1008 at an inn.
Throwing his robe onto the bed casually, the robed man’s bright sky-blue hair and fierce orange eyes stood out immediately.
With such an eye-catching look, he appeared no older than 16 or 17.
“So, what do you want to say? Is it a command from the great one?”
The youthful man grinned, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth. Hovering near, Hamul spoke in a deep voice.
“In some ways, this is even more critical than a direct command from the great one.”
“Oh! Awesome, hurry up and spill! Whatever it is, I’ll handle it!”
Hamul smiled internally, pleased with the obvious arrogance in the man’s words.
“‘As one of the Four Heavenly Kings should.’”
One of the Four Heavenly Kings had met his demise at the hands of the now-dead hero. Naturally, one seat among the Four Kings was now vacant, taken by the guy in front of him—‘Potensian.’
“‘Heh, even if the champion chosen by Asterias has a strong spirit, his body is just that of a fragile human. It should be easy to wipe him out.’”
Hamul cackled and began recounting Lian’s story. When Hamul said that the champion chosen by Asterias to stand against the great one was around, Potensian couldn’t hide his excitement.
“A champion?”
“Yep, your task is simple: take him out brutally!”
“Heh, that’s my specialty.”
Potensian was thrilled with those words, flashing a grin that revealed his sharp teeth.
“So, where is this supposed ‘champion’?”
Hamul began to share everything he knew, explaining that Lian was part of an organization called ‘Nest’ and that they had a hidden headquarters protected by illusions and recognition-blocking magic, making it tough to locate. As soon as Hamul finished, Potensian scoffed.
“Hmm. So this Nest organization managed to grab hold of the western region?”
“…? Yeah, I have my doubts about whether their hidden HQ is actually there, but they definitely have control over the area.”
Recalling all the chatter among humans, Hamul agreed with Potensian’s statement. Potensian then laughed again.
“It seems the reason I got sent to Cardishian has something to do with them.”
“Speaking of which, why are you even here?”
Hamul suddenly became aware that his mind had been filled entirely with thoughts of revenge against Lian, so the question struck him.
“To investigate that city-wide disaster incident.”
“A disaster on a city-wide scale?”
End of Chapter.