Ch. 241

I’m confident in handling this kind of pressure, if nothing else. Magi and Adelaide have trained me well.

“I’m not worried about your life, but I value my own. I made a promise to the Dragon. Not to tell anyone.”

“……So it’s true you’re acquainted with a Dragon. You’re hiding something.”

“Yeah, Magi is a good Dragon. Even if he eats people sometimes.”

Just like Rovenin kills people sometimes, but there’s still someone who believes in her.

“Good thinking, Geenie! How can you break a promise with a Dragon? Rovenin, no one can break her stubbornness, so give up.”

Ash visibly sighed in relief and looked at me as if I were admirable.

Please don’t look at me with those innocent eyes. My mouth is itching to spill the beans.

“Then I have more reason to follow you.”

“……What?”

[Ominous, ominous.]

“Wait, Lord Rovenin! What are you trying to do…….”

“I won’t interfere with Your Highness’s test. But this woman has things to return and things to get, so don’t stop me.”

Oh my, why is the arrow flying at me?

I don’t remember committing sins in my past life. I’ve caused some trouble in this one, though. I left the shock to Ash and just blinked, but Rovenin, who had withdrawn his killing intent, took a step toward me.

“Woman.”

“Hey, I have a perfectly good name given to me by my parents, you know?”

“It would be easier for you to quickly spit out the location of the Dragon Lair.”

“Can’t you ask nicely?”

“There’s no greater favor than keeping you alive.”

I think I’m screwed.

I had a strong premonition.

It wouldn’t be easy to shake him off until I gave him what he wanted…… What kind of madness is in that guy’s head?

As I faced a type of human I couldn’t understand at all, it occurred to me that I could read his mind.

I have the ‘Tears of Truth.’

If I borrow that power, I can look into Rovenin’s mind.

‘If only I could touch that guy’s bare skin…….’

I scanned Rovenin up and down. He was wrapped in black clothes, clearly to hide the bloodstains.

There was no gap in his combat-optimized attire. His shoulders looked twice as wide as mine, and his forearms were thicker than my thighs.

He wasn’t as burly as Chad, but he was sturdier and more well-built than Ash, whose muscles were lean.

He was covering his whole body as if he had obsessive-compulsive disorder, so no matter how much I looked, the only exposed skin was his hands and face, and even that little bit was covered in large and small scars.

He didn’t seem as easy to touch as Ash, who I could handle almost like my own.

I could tell just by looking.

I wouldn’t be able to touch even a single strand of his hair unless he allowed it.

‘……Hmm, now that I think about it, I don’t think I need to read it.’

I quickly gave up.

I was curious about Rovenin’s mind, but if I fumbled wrong, my wrist would be cut off.

It’s better to distinguish between what seems possible and what doesn’t.

“Ash, what do you think? Can you break his stubbornness?”

“No…….”

“What, is there anyone who can break it?”

“You and Lord Rovenin are the exceptions. Both of you stubbornly refuse to listen to others.”

“Was I?”

Even as I feigned ignorance, Rovenin was glaring and on guard, his eyes sharp enough to pierce.

I can’t lay a finger on him, so there’s no way I can kill him.

Even if I tried to poison him, I’d need a certain level of trust to hand him food and have him accept it.

It seemed like the only way to ambush that guy was to make him lower his guard first.

‘It might be easier to kill him if I get a little closer…….’

I had that crazy thought for a moment, but it was tempting enough that I couldn’t completely shake it off.

It was also true that ambushing him after reassuring him was more appealing, since it could hurt both his mind and body evenly.

He seemed difficult to tame, but he would be more manageable than a Dragon. And there’s a saying.

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

[Master, you don’t have any friends?]

[You little shit.]

[I’m a wolf?]

Only then did I realize why Rai was getting on my nerves today.

It’s because he has something he firmly believes in. That is Geenie Crowell’s sudden brake, Aaron de Von Epiros, the angelic prince Ash.

Even now, he was standing next to Ash instead of me, pushing his head into Ash’s hand to make him pet him.

Like his master, he was very good at lining up wherever he could benefit. Who did he learn that sly trick from?

[Kehehe!]

“Um…… Does Rai like me?”

[I can’t keep getting beaten up, can I? I’ve prepared a shield too!]

Ash always stops me when I’m bullying Rai, and once he even told me to apologize to Rai.

The reason Rai actively supports Ash is because he believes that I am purified when Ash is around.

Who are you calling a demon?

Rovenin alone was annoying, but even the Spirit who was always on standby was like that, so it felt like I was surrounded by enemies.

Is Ash the only one I can trust after all?

As I narrowed my eyes, I saw a mark on Rai’s head.

It was from Ash’s hand.

“Your hand.”

“Ah…… It’s okay. It’ll heal quickly if I stop the bleeding.”

“Let me see.”

As expected, Ash is easy to touch.

All I have to do is reach out and pick up his hand.

When I turned it over and looked at it, the cut he got while grabbing Tenebra was deeper than I thought.

Whether it worsened when he took my whip, the blood that had soaked through was staining the dirt floor with dark red marks.

While I was fiddling with it and examining the wound, Ash held his breath, slightly nervous and slightly excited.

-Something’s wrong. Sbe’s not the type to be so calm in front of Rovenin…… Does she have other intentions?

The ring’s ability is normal today as well.

And Ash’s radar for me was still working well.

Other intentions!

I’m just not stupid enough to fight a losing battle. Postponing victory is a thousand times better than rushing in and losing.

I smiled meaningfully and moved my lips to summon a Spirit, both to heal Ash’s hand and to perform an experiment.

“Und…….”

I opened my mouth just a little, and I was stopped so quickly that I wouldn’t even have noticed and been caught if I hadn’t already expected it.

“What are you trying to do?”

“……You’re the one. Aren’t you crazy?”

It’s like this after all.

A clear Sword energy was pressed under my chin again.

It was slightly stabbing my neck, so I couldn’t say another word. Sword essence is quite threatening because it can be drawn without preparation, unlike Magic.

And Rovenin is nothing short of amazing.

He’s my nemesis and the most unlucky guy in the world, but I have to admit it. To sense the moment a Spirit Mage summons a Spirit.

It’s a weak moment with almost no Mana flow. Normally, even regular Mages can’t detect it.

Unless it’s a high-level Spirit like Endairon, the story is different.

“Lower your sword, Lord Rovenin.”

“Even if she’s moving Mana?”

I’ve learned from several failed kicks that it’s useless to make a fuss at times like this, so I acted calmly.

And I quietly made a note in my mind.

Experiment result 1-1 regarding Rovenin’s abilities. If you rashly try to summon a Spirit, your head may fly off. Detected.

“Yes! Immediately!”

“What if she’s casting Magic, or trying to curse me? Besides, this woman hates me.”

“I swear on Ash’s late mother. I won’t do anything like that. I’m just trying to heal him.”

“……Geenie? Why my mother?”

“My parents are alive. And I like your mother.”

When I looked into the people around Ash, the one who made me fall the most was his mother, no matter what anyone said.

She was the one who raised Ash to be so upright and honest, so there were few people who wouldn’t fall for her.

Of course, she was the woman who even made the Emperor fall in love.

There were so many stories about her bravery and beauty that they were talked about for a long time.

How interesting would a story about a concubine from a knight background be? Books about her were published one after another. It never stopped until the Emperor forbade it.

“Healing?”

“Yeah, I’m a Saintess.”

“What kind of Saintess…….”

You damn kid, you’re looking at me so suspiciously. A brief battle of wills broke out.

Me, insisting with my eyes that he move, and Rovenin, twitching his brow as if he didn’t want to. And…….

[Why can’t I bite him!]

Rai, who had opened his mouth wide to bite Rovenin when I was attacked, had been forbidden and was whining like a dog that needed to pee.

Even if we say not to fight, Spirits have a protective instinct for their masters. And it’s hard for me to say it myself, but our kids are loyal and don’t spare their bodies. If the other side attacks, they try to protect me even if I don’t order them to.

But right now, that’s slightly hindering my big picture.

[If I want to kill this guy, I have to loosen that stiff wariness first.]

[Wariness?]

[It gets complicated if you bite him.]

Only after reading my thoughts did Rai hide the teeth he had been baring.

Rovenin, who had been silently glaring at me, finally removed his Sword energy with reluctance when Rai backed down and Ash dissuaded him, and instead drew the sword hanging from Ash’s waist.

Relying on an iron sword, there seemed to be a limit to maintaining Sword essence.

There seemed to be no problem in terms of physical or mental strength, so was his Mana tight? The fact that he couldn’t maintain Sword essence as long as I’d thought was hopeful.

Taking away the sword is helpful after all. Unless it’s a national treasure like Tenebra.

“Undaine.”

I summoned Undaine while looking straight at Rovenin’s eyes and the tip of his sword, which were both flashing with warning.

I summoned a mid-level Spirit to treat the external wound, but next time I should summon Undine and test whether he can feel that too. He might not feel it because it’s a smaller power.

“I’ve seen something like that before. I remember.”

“What do you remember?”

“You’re the winner of last time’s tournament in the academy who fought me.”

“I can’t believe it…… I kept saying it, and now you’re saying it belatedly!”

“I remember you wielding something blue and annoying. And that I cut it in two.”

……No. I should never summon Undine when this guy is around.

I can’t let our Undine taste that pain again.

I can’t bear to see my baby cut in half again.

I was making such a resolution when Undaine slowly flew over Rovenin’s head.

The translucent dolphin made of water is noticeable anytime, anywhere. The way she was wagging her tail without caring that Rovenin was staring intently…….

Undaine was planning to smack the back of Rovenin’s head with that wide tail right now.

“Stop! Undaine, don’t do that!”

As I reached out urgently, realizing what she was trying to do, I wondered if this was how Ash felt when he stopped me.

Like a human with good instincts, Rovenin was watching the pure Spirit and was half-drawing his sword, ready to cut her down at any moment.