Chapter 50
The tenth-ranked Guide of the <Cult of the Abyss>.
Oro of Erosion.
“…It seems you’re a brat who doesn’t know the meaning of manners.”
Gilliam’s continued disregard for him made his tone change.
“So you’re stubbornly ignoring my ingenious psychological predictions just to show off in front of that woman?”
“…I wouldn’t exactly call them ingenious.”
And I wasn’t stubbornly ignoring them. They were very easy to ignore.
“Ha! You’re still putting on that kind of bravado!!”
Oro was enraged.
“Fine. I’ll grant your wish and give you the worst despair imaginable.”
“?”
“First, I’ll spare your life and merely subdue you. I’ll cut off all your limbs, but leave your eyes, nose, and mouth intact so you can see and hear everything! I’ll even cut off your eyelids so you can’t close your eyes!”
Oro crooked a finger.
“Then I’ll make the woman you were trying to show off for writhe in agony.”
At Oro’s finger movements, a vast quantity of water danced about.
In fact, when it came to water magic, he was one of the greatest masters.
“This stream of water can do some pretty amazing things, you know. Heh heh heh… It can move with incredible delicacy.”
The stream of water formed thin tentacles and wriggled like the feelers of a sea anemone.
“What do you think, miss? How about tasting the pleasure this stream can offer while that man does nothing but bluff? Heh heh heh heh!”
Maron began muttering in a low voice.
I leaned in to listen.
“—I’ll kill him, how dare he insult Liam-kun in front of me, how dare he threaten to do that to me in front of Liam-kun, I’ll never let him go, I’ll definitely kill him, no matter what, I’ll kill him—”
‘Maron!?’
I was horrified. Was Maron’s villainess meter about to go up?
‘I need to end this quickly.’
I gripped my sword.
【Skill Activated: <Decapitation>】
The bluish effect once again enveloped the sword.
This time, I didn’t let it move on its own from the start. I controlled it with my own hands.
“Hup!!”
Holding the sword wrapped in the effect, I charged at the enemy.
Oro burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!! You think you can cut me with that pathetic sword!?”
Oro raised a wall of water in front of himself.
“Your sword will be blocked in vain, and then you’ll cry, ‘Damn! I didn’t know he was this strong!’”
But the moment it touched the water.
Fwoosh!!
The blue effect covering the sword’s surface flared up like a brilliant blue flame.
【×10】
And.
SPLAAASHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
The massive wall of water came crashing down.
Oro’s mana, which had been controlling the water, scattered, and the barrier protecting him turned back into ordinary water.
Oro’s eyes widened in shock.
“Th—!!”
Oro hurriedly tried to raise a new barrier and attack me, but.
It was too late.
I extended the sword’s trajectory, which had smashed through the barrier, so it would cut right through Oro’s body.
I didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
Even setting aside the insult he’d just thrown at Maron and me, this was a bastard who deserved to die.
Oro of Erosion, the tenth-ranked Guide.
Being tenth out of thirteen made him sound weak.
But if the battlefield was somewhere with lots of water, like a river or seaside, his strength rivaled even the third-ranked one.
In other words.
The ambush at the seaside outing after midterms, one of the academy’s greatest disasters.
Blaming Professor Kadisha Flareheart, who’d been in charge of the outing, for the students who’d been captured by Oro and made prisoners of the Cult of the Abyss or killed…
Could be considered somewhat harsh.
Recently, I’d somehow ended up killing a few people. I hadn’t meant to.
But this bastard was different.
I swung my sword with the genuine intention of killing him.
The smooth grip of <Waterfall Slash> seemed to meld perfectly with my hand.
And the blade of my sword touched Oro’s body. I felt resistance. He was probably coating himself in water like a thin layer of armor just above his skin.
Oro’s face lit up.
But.
【×10】
The sword dug in. Oro screamed.
“Th—!!”
It pierced Oro’s shoulder. Following the sword, I felt flesh, muscle, and bone.
“That’s impossible—!!”
“Shut up.”
I didn’t want to hear it.
The next moment.
<Waterfall Slash>, which had begun cutting from his shoulder, sliced through Oro’s lungs and heart before emerging diagonally downward.
Blood poured from Oro’s mouth.
And.
SPLAAASHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
The water that had been under Oro’s control was freed and came crashing down.
A vast amount of water was released all at once. The blades of grass and leaves in the field grew damp with moisture.
Like dew on a fresh, bright day.
Like spring rain blessing an evildoer’s end.
Maron stared blankly up at the man she had fallen for.
‘…Liam-kun.’
Droplets soaked Gilliam and ran down his silver hair.
Maron suddenly…
Felt a tightening in her belly, squeeze, squeezeee…
The time once a month when moonlight visits a woman.
The very spot in her lower abdomen would tighten and cause Maron pain.
But what now spread through Maron’s body wasn’t pain.
A tingling sensation.
Her body shivered with a chill.
Throb.
Throb, throb.
She wanted him.
A woman desired a man.
A female longed for a male.
‘…Liam-kun.’
An instinct deeper than womanhood stirred.
The wicked, disgusting male who’d tried to violate her had been defeated by the handsome male she loved.
He had protected her.
Ah.
That man’s.
That male’s.
She wanted to carry his seed.
She wanted to give birth to a child who looked just like that male.
If he wouldn’t give it to her…
Taking it by force didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Maron’s lips parted.
She smiled without meaning to.
“…!?”
Gilliam suddenly flinched, looked into empty space, then looked at Maron.
‘…Hehe.’
Why was he acting like that?
Ah.
How cute.
Ah.
How pretty.
I could just…
Force him down.
Then tie his hands and feet to the bed so he couldn’t resist.
Just—
Whoosh—
“Heh.”
Her shoulders shivered with a chill.
“Hehehe….”
Her belly throbbed.
“M-Maron.”
“Yeees…?”
Why was he calling her?
Hm?
Whyyy?
“You’re not, by any chance… thinking about becoming a villainess right now, are you?”
“Mmmmmm…?”
Who knows.
“I’m not sure what you mean…?”
There’s no way this desire could be wrong.
Right?
Isn’t that right?
Isn’t it?
“Heehee♡”
Maron unconsciously stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.
“What’s wrong…?”
“Hmm… I just think Liam-kun looks so delicious?”
Gilliam backed away. Actually frightened.
Heehee.
How cute.
“Don’t worry. I don’t mean I want to eat you.”
At least not with my upper mouth.
Or do I want to eat him with my upper mouth, too?
“I don’t mean I want to chew up your flesh and swallow it.”
“Why did you have to make it more specific…?”
“Hmm… I wonder why?”
Maron’s irises glowed red.
Luscious.
Alluring.
“Heehee…♡”
——————
Around that time.
The infirmary.
“Professor Mella.”
“Hmm? Professor Kadisha?”
Mella, who’d been sipping strong coffee, lifted her head over the rim of her cup.
“Is this about Everchess?”
“You saw right through me.”
The two women exchanged a brief glance.
“….”
Translation: Professor Kadisha, aren’t you a little too obsessed with Everchess?
“….”
Translation: I wonder?
And then.
“I heard Everchess is currently out because of ‘the quest you gave him, Professor Mella.’”
Translation: Aren’t you the one getting a little too invested?
“That’s right. I asked him to help gather some ingredients for making my potions.”
Translation: I really did just give him a quest.
“And what is the quest reward?”
Translation: Did you really just give him a quest? Not just a roundabout way to give him spending money? Or win over a cadet?
“Nothing much. If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you give Professor Kadisha a quest next time?”
Translation: If you’re jealous, you can do it too. Don’t tell me to stop.
“….”
Translation: Professor Mella, are you trying to start a pissing contest with me?
“….”
Translation: You started it.
Kadisha clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘I never thought Professor Mella was the sort of person who’d do something like this….’
Resolving the unjustified hostility and unfounded suspicions directed at Gilliam Everchess.
That was exactly what Kadisha was working toward.
There were many people at this academy who bore Gilliam ill will.
Especially Crown Prince Roderick.
‘He was saved by Everchess this time, so he’ll have no choice but to keep quiet for a while….’
Of course, Roderick wouldn’t just say, “Oh, sorry,” and back down. He’d keep grinding his teeth and opposing him.
Even so, he wouldn’t be able to do anything for a while.
‘That doesn’t mean his enemies have disappeared.’
The cadets other than Roderick.
The professors.
The board.
And beyond the academy, the aristocratic society.
The enemies of House Everchess itself.
‘Even the Cult of the Abyss, that mysterious group.’
There were plenty who harbored hostility toward Gilliam.
How could she protect Gilliam?
Apart from her duties as a professor, that was the most important thing to Kadisha right now.
‘I’m glad Professor Mella has become an ally, too, but….’
Kadisha knew that some people looked down on Mella.
But Mella was a rare healer, someone the academy couldn’t easily replace.
‘But… this isn’t just my imagination, is it?’
Lately, Mella seemed to be getting more and more obsessed with Everchess.
And in a way a professor shouldn’t be obsessed with a cadet.
‘Sigh… Honestly, it’s a little pathetic.’
Kadisha could afford to think that.
She absolutely did not see Gilliam Everchess as anything more than a cadet.
Absolutely not.
……Absolutely not.