Chapter 247

Chapter 246 – Fragments of the Past – 1

“Puhuh! So you ran away here?”

“I’m just as freaking upset right now, so don’t laugh…….”

“No, kuhuh, how can I not laugh? Puhahaha!”

Claudia stuck her greatsword vertically into the ground and laughed until her stomach hurt. Kuhuhuh mixed with her boisterous laughter burst out between her chuckles.

This all happened the moment I started explaining what happened before I came here. No one else found it particularly funny, but just Claudia was rolling with laughter.

After descending from the pillar of light in Eclipse’s world and being surrounded by thousands of people, I was dragged right to the center of Sun Plaza.

The people who dragged me there started bowing in a circle around me. As they bowed, the word must have spread, and the crowd just kept growing.

Even Stella and Selene, along with their elite Battle Nuns, showed up to join in the prayer directed at me; even the Pope showed up, praying for me!

‘Being worshiped like this has its limits.’

Some Battle Nuns voluntarily bowed down, claiming I shouldn’t touch the filthy ground, inviting me to walk over their backs and bellies.

I didn’t want to mimic the ridiculous antics of the mages from the Mage Tower, so I refused and just walked, leading hundreds of people to kiss where I had walked.

Anyone who locked eyes with me fainted on the spot, and the women near my path began stripping off their clothes, declaring their faith was overflowing.

I didn’t want to be even a moment longer in the middle of such madness. I had tried my best to hide my identity to prevent such events, but it had all gone to waste.

‘Thanks to this, the Pope’s entourage has followed me back to the Empire.’

I shuddered, thinking about Floretta and Luna, who would probably be warming up my bed on the pretense of it being for ‘keeping it warm.’

Claiming to warm the bed was merely an excuse. In this world, there are magical devices that act similar to electrical heating pads. Naturally, mine was installed as well.

Despite this, they insisted on going in, which was obviously a blatant intention. I’d be lucky if the blanket wasn’t damp upon my return.

Floretta and Luna had become inseparable now. My existence had been exposed, and one of my girls had officially declared in front of thousands that she was mine.

People from the Holy Kingdom were so ecstatic they looked like they might faint from joy.

They even tried to erect a monument to commemorate the day their Pope lost her purity. Thankfully, I had yelled at them to back off, so it didn’t happen.

Having grown weary of the zealotry of the Holy Kingdom, I hurried the Popes back to the Empire. For a while, I should avoid stepping foot in that Holy Kingdom.

Upon returning to the Empire, I went to the Silver Dawn Knights to tell them about the hole in my abdomen and why my face looked like a mess, and their reactions were just as expected.

Aurora and Nix weren’t around. I heard Aurora was talking to Kaiquilia, and Nix had already returned to her territory.

“Kuhuhuh….”

I sighed as I looked at Claudia, who now seemed on the verge of crying rather than laughing. Lize was right next to me, closely examining the spot where I had the hole.

This had been her expression since hearing about the hole in my abdomen.

Of course, not just Lize, but Claudia, Iris, and Erica all looked somewhat shaken by the news of my injury, and I had to make a few jokes to lighten the mood.

Now that I was completely healed, I didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe, Delta. If someone else had said that, I’d have seriously asked if they were alright.”

“You fought the dragon that showed up here last time, ascended to the sky to meet a goddess, and now you’re being venerated as a living saint in the Holy Kingdom? How is that even possible?”

Iris and Erica had very normal reactions according to their personalities.

“Lize, stop that. Didn’t Delta say he was fine?”

“Exactly, sister. How embarrassing! Just back off a little. We have things to do.”

“This is way more important than whatever tasks we have! Our Delta almost faced disaster! And don’t you know a man’s life is tied to his waist being intact?”

Lize poked and prodded around my belly, making a beep sound.

“No, I’m fine now! The goddess herself healed me, so I’m alright.”

“I want to see it for myself! Let’s do a performance test to check if your waist is okay!”

As Lize suddenly tried to lift up my shirt, I sighed and grabbed both her armpits, lifting her up like a cat.

“Huh? Uhh? Uhhhhh?”

Lize was hoisted up into the air. Her legs flailed around in the air, but she didn’t touch the ground at all.

Aside from Nix, Lize was the shortest girl I knew, so raising her above my eye level was quite a feat.

“Ah, even for me, this is a bit embarrassing, Delta.”

“I’m doing this to make you feel embarrassed. Think about what you were just about to do.”

Lize didn’t respond and instead squirmed, trying to pry her hands free from where she was holding her armpits. Her flailing legs continued to swing in the air.

As her efforts went nowhere, Erica clicked her tongue audibly.

“We already know you’re close with Delta, so just come down already. What are you even doing in a sacred sparring ground, sister?”

The prickly words stung. I looked back at the two of us.

Lize with her short limbs flailing around, and me, lifting her as if she were a cat by grasping her armpits.

However, because of Lize’s sizeable bosom being pressed against my arms, it was significantly more serious than I had expected. I could understand Erica’s reaction now.

Best of all, with Lize’s comfortable personality, she would probably enjoy being lifted by me, feigning struggle just for fun.

But apparently, Erica’s thoughts strayed off course.

“This isn’t coming off, huh?”

“…Huh? What did you say, sister?”

After Lize stubbornly muttered, both Iris and Erica reacted with what the hell is this? Claudia stopped laughing and started staring at us.

With all her might, Lize pushed against my wrist, but my wrist didn’t budge even a little.

“I’m serious. I just used all my strength, and it’s stuck.”

“…I thought it was just a play. You’ve really gotten used to it, haven’t you, sister? You can even lie like that. I’m impressed; now come down.”

“I’m serious?!”

Lize looked extremely aggrieved as she tried to push my wrist away, but she carefully kicked her legs around to avoid a kick, but it was utterly futile.

“We have the sparring Delta requested to do now, Lize. I didn’t want to say this, but… you don’t have to pretend to be weak to prove your sexual preferences in this situation, do you?”

“Iris, you too?!”

As Iris chimed in, Lize’s face melted into an expression of pure injustice as she continued to strain to free herself.

“Ek! Eek!”

“Nice try, Lize. Look at our height difference. You won’t get free that way.”

“…This isn’t about height. Just wait and see.”

Lize eventually seemed to give up, sulking with her limbs hanging limply. She resigned herself to fate. I laughed and hugged her for a moment before letting go.

Finally, Lize stood on her own two feet and gave my chest a light smack. Erica opened her mouth with a look of utter disappointment.

“You’ve achieved your goal. Did you enjoy being cuddled by Delta, sister?”

“No, I really did use my strength but couldn’t get free!”

“Yes, yes, right. At least you used some strength, even if it was just to grab the spoon.”

Lize and Erica walked over, playfully smacking each other. Iris stayed back, gazing at me intently and subtly gripped my right hand.

She began to caress my arm from my wrist to my elbow.

“What’s up, Iris?”

“…It doesn’t look like you’ve gained enough muscle to overpower Lize.”

Well, just because my strength stats went up didn’t mean it would show on the outside. Even they seemed way weaker than what they could resist; I had no idea why she was concerned about that.

After a good minute of stroking my arm, Iris turned towards Lize and Erica. Lize teased, asking if she enjoyed my man-handling.

“Have you all laughed enough, Claudia?”

“…Somehow. Wow, I thought I was going to die from laughing. If this was an attempt to relax before the sparring, I’ll tip my hat to you, Delta.”

“If you laughed so much while the other three didn’t, maybe the issue is on your side?”

“Well, maybe. So, why are you asking for a sparring match?”

“I have something to experiment with.”

As I said this, I pulled out the Wingless Nightmare.

“Experiment… Are you really going to use the Commander of the Silver Dawn Knights just for an experiment?”

Claudia smirked and pulled out the greatsword she had planted in the ground. She knocked off the dirt stuck to the tip with her foot, then asked as if she had suddenly remembered.

“Just now, did Lize actually let you go? Given her personality, it seemed likely.”

“Probably not. It wasn’t her full strength, but I could definitely feel some serious force.”

From far away, Lize’s victorious declaration of “See!” echoed triumphantly. Erica and Iris gasped in surprise at the same time.

“Wow, when did our Delta get so strong?”

Claudia seemed surprised too, but I wasn’t particularly shocked. My strength stats were over 70 now. At that level, it would be more bizarre for Lize to win against me.

What I just did could likely have been accomplished with one hand.

Upon seeing me grasp the Wingless Nightmare, Claudia aimed the blade at me. Even though Claudia was considerably tall, the length of her greatsword matched her body.

She had decent muscles, but objectively had average thickness in her limbs, yet she effortlessly hoisted the greatsword and took her stance.

“…But, are you really okay with me going all out? If I don’t hold back, it won’t just end with injuries. It could potentially result in death.”

“I’m fine. Just do as you said.”

“No, even if you’re fine, that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it. What if something happens?”

“Claudia.”

I looked deeply into Claudia’s eyes.

“When have I ever said something I didn’t mean?”

“……”

“I’ll explain after the sparring. I just want to surprise you all.”

Hearing I wanted to surprise them piqued Claudia’s interest. If I was saying this, it clearly meant something significant was on the way.

“Wow, our Delta! When did you become so manly? You keep impressing me with your choices!”

Claudia grinned and took her stance again.

Their expressions became a bit serious. Gripping the greatsword with both hands, she slightly bent her knees and then launched herself off the ground, charging at me. Bang! echoed throughout the arena.

The distance closed instantly. Claudia lifted her greatsword overhead and swung it down vertically. It seemed aimed at my left shoulder.

While she packed in a lot of power, I had positioned myself to minimize damage in the worst-case scenario if I failed to block it entirely.

Even if my upper body got crushed, I could easily heal with a healing spell and a health potion after resting a bit, so it was a daring feat. As long as it wasn’t a lethal blow, I could treat just about anything.

I met her attack with the Wingless Nightmare. Teroooong! The trajectory of the greatsword abruptly shifted sideways. Claudia’s expression widened in surprise; “Oh?”

‘Definitely much less recoil than before.’

With a sword that size, I expected my hand to go numb just catching the impact, but it felt similar to just deflecting a regular sword.

Immediately following that, Claudia launched her next attack. She spun the greatsword in the direction it had been deflected and swung again from the opposite side. This time, it was a horizontal attack.

I switched to a proper grip on the Wingless Nightmare. I was planning to surprise all four of them this time. Instead of deflecting, I extended my right hand out.

ㅡTerroooong!

I caught the incoming greatsword with my hand.

“…Huh?”

Claudia’s dazed voice echoed through the sparring ground.

The sword was the length of a person, one arm’s width thick, and nearly as tall as me, spinning with impressive momentum, yet I caught it with one hand.

“You… you…”

Claudia must have been deeply astonished, and she dropped her greatsword. But since I was holding the blade, it didn’t fall to the ground. I calmly positioned it vertically.

From a short distance away, the reactions of the remaining three were not much different.

“I told you, Claudia. I was going to surprise you.”