Chapter 26
If all evil were to disappear, what would become of those who fought against it?
A body that had endured trials knew no aging, and blessed armaments shone forever.
If they were no longer needed.
What would we fight against, and what for—
**
The man lay collapsed on the ground, completely motionless.
Enya stared at Sigona in bewilderment.
“Sigona?”
Her tone suggested she’d discovered an unexpected side of her.
Sigona backed away a step, flustered.
“N-No! I didn’t mean to go that far, but when he laid a hand on you, big sister, it just sort of happened!”
Sigona held up the bags in both hands.
It seemed she meant that her hands were full, so she’d acted on impulse and kicked him.
“For someone who just acted on impulse, that was a pretty impressive kick.”
It had been a swift, precise move designed to deliver the impact efficiently.
It wasn’t just a kick; it was a technique.
“I only learned a little self-defense from someone at work.”
For the man who’d dismissed her as an ordinary woman, it must’ve been an unexpected blow.
He’d flown more than ten meters; it must have felt like being hit by a horse.
Noticing Enya’s gaze, Sigona looked embarrassed and covered her leg with the bags.
Enya chuckled at the sight.
“Didn’t you say I should show off my legs?”
“That’s different…”
Perhaps because of her height, she seemed reluctant to act in a masculine way.
Judging by how she usually acted, it seemed her goal was to face people with a neat, composed demeanor.
Enya looked at Sigona’s waitress uniform and her long, smooth legs in tights.
“Putting the kick aside, your legs are pretty, Sigona. You don’t need to hide them.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Perhaps realizing she’d curled in on herself, Sigona slowly straightened up.
Enya smiled at her, then spoke.
There was something else she wanted to know.
“Sigona, were you always this strong? Strong enough to kick someone flying?”
“No. I was a little sturdier than most people, but not this much. No, this was my first time kicking someone.”
“Could it be because of what happened that night?”
“I don’t know. But I wasn’t like this before…”
Enya’s eyes lit up.
“That night, I forcibly severed Elinol’s curse. Shifters can become stronger if they learn to use their abilities well, so you could even call it a blessing. But after I severed it, your strength actually increased.”
“Big sister?”
She seemed lost in thought, having completely forgotten that she’d nearly been abducted by a suspicious man.
Though she looked like an ordinary girl, when it came to mysteries and miracles, she became absorbed in them in an instant.
“There are no cases of a werewolf being severed from Elinol. As far as I know, you’re the very first, Sigona.”
The werewolf girl looked like she was about to cry.
“Could it be the Light of Chaik? No, but…”
“Big sister, this isn’t the time to think about that.”
“Sigona, what could be more important than your own body?”
Sigona pointed to the mess she’d made.
The man was lying on the cold ground.
“Could the person you saved have become a murderer, big sister?”
“A murderer? …Oh.”
Only then did Enya realize what Sigona was worried about.
But she didn’t look worried at all as she glanced at the fallen man.
Enya smiled and said,
“Ahaha. Don’t worry. That was a great kick, if anything. I feel so much better.”
“Huh?
“That guy will be fine.”
Despite Enya’s reassurance, Sigona looked as though she might cry.
“I really did crush that man’s chest.”
“No. If you had, it wouldn’t have made such a clean sound. You can trust me.”
“But he went flying after I kicked him.”
“That guy isn’t an ordinary person, either.”
Just then, the fallen man’s body twitched.
Sigona watched him in surprise.
The man woke up and flailed his arms, then finally managed to brace himself against the ground and sit up.
“Oh, that was a good hit. Cough,”
He couldn’t even open his eyes properly yet, but he spoke bravely.
Sigona looked worried at the sight.
“Big sister, what should we do?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be all there yet. Want to hit him one more time?”
“Cowardly. Attack a fallen man? I’ll spit on you.”
Enya flushed with anger and patted Sigona’s shoulder.
“He grabs someone by the arm without warning and then says that? This won’t do. Sigona.”
“No. He said he’d spit on us. You go, big sister.”
“Are you saying you’re okay with getting spat on?”
“That’s not what I mean. I don’t want to hit someone again.”
While the two women bickered, the man staggered as he tried to stand.
But he was struggling just to lift his hands off the ground.
“Come at me all you want. As long as I can breathe—cough.”
Enya answered without thinking.
“My duty shall continue.”
It was the oath of the Knights.
The man’s face brightened, while Enya frowned.
“Oh, so you are Sir Benoa. Ugh.”
In the end, the man couldn’t get up and began retching on the ground.
After taking that kind of impact, it wouldn’t be strange for his stomach to be upset.
Sigona asked,
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll explain later. Let’s run, unless you want to hit him some more.”
“Will that be okay?”
It was a question that held a lot, and Enya couldn’t answer right away.
All the other options were too difficult to pursue with Sigona by her side.
She gritted her teeth.
‘Sir,’ huh? She’d discarded all her titles.
“Let’s go.”
The two women left the alley, leaving the man behind.
**
Watching the evening glow, Enya walked home.
In her hand was the bag of clothes meant for her, which Sigona had handed over.
After walking through the winding alleys several times with Sigona and confirming no one was following them, they parted ways.
Now that they’d shown themselves, she didn’t think walking around the alleys to conceal their route would accomplish much.
As long as she stayed in Quaalid, it was only a matter of time before they found her home.
Still, she’d gone around the alleys several times because she didn’t want Sigona getting involved.
It was all she could do.
They called themselves knights, so they probably wouldn’t intimidate a young girl, but one could never be sure.
There had been moments when she was glad Sigona was there.
The moment the young knight grabbed her arm, Enya had instinctively known she couldn’t break free by force.
If Sigona hadn’t been there, she might have been dragged off somewhere without being able to do anything.
Sigona was just a young girl who had only just escaped her cursed fate.
A girl who worried that her height made her seem unfeminine.
Her story was only just beginning to unfold.
She didn’t want to leave a stain on it.
As for her own story, Enya’s was nearing its end.
It was nothing unusual for the Knights to come looking for her.
The appointed time was simply drawing near.
If she left the city and headed for its farthest southwestern corner, she would reach her home.
Her arms began to tremble.
She turned to check Tarmin’s house.
Not a light shone from his home.
Tarmin had met a man in front of his house and sent her on ahead, saying he had business to take care of.
He hadn’t come back by the time noon had passed and she went to buy clothes with Sigona.
The sun would be completely down soon. Had he still not come back?
Thinking it strange, she opened the door and found someone inside.
Startled, she looked closer. The person sitting at the table was Tarmin.
“Taal?”
“Enya.”
Tarmin was sitting in a chair, looking at her.
At the sight of Tarmin, the trembling in her arms seemed to ease.
Still shaken by what had happened earlier, she pressed a hand to her pounding heart and said,
“Taal! Why are you here? You scared me.”
“I have something to say.”
Tarmin didn’t look amused by Enya’s startled reaction; his face was expressionless.
Thinking he seemed different from that morning, she put her things in the bedroom and came back out.
She deliberately tried to sound cheerful.
“What’s going on? Want me to cut you some fruit?”
“Never mind. Sit down.”
“O-Okay.”
His firm tone, unlike usual, made it hard to resist.
Enya sat down.
She found Tarmin’s attitude, which left no room for argument, a little frightening.
**
Tarmin had to struggle to hold back the urge to shout.
His head felt hot, his thoughts dark.
The rising dark emotions were so hot they seemed ready to boil over with just a little more heat.
The man’s words: Why weren’t they being wary of the Hero?
Why wouldn’t Enya tell him anything?
Was she playing with him?
Because no one confided secrets to a hunting dog they kept?
Holding himself back, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Enya, where did you go today?”
“I met Sigona, obviously.”
“You seemed to have bought something. Did you get it at the tavern too?”
“That was—”
Enya started to answer, then closed her mouth.
Tarmin’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
Enya hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said,
“It’s a secret. More importantly, what’s with you? You’re treating me like a criminal. I don’t like it.”
He was glad she found it unpleasant.
He’d been fervently hoping for a chance to get angry without holding back.
“You have more to hide than a criminal.”
“What?”
“I only asked what you bought. You can’t even answer that?”
There were plenty of gentler ways he could have asked.
In the end, the blackness spilled over.
Enya covered her mouth in surprise.
As if she’d sensed something in his words, she spoke in a small, trembling voice.
“T-Taal? I don’t know what’s going on, but calm down. It’s nothing. I’ll show you what I bought.”
Once he’d started, it was easy to keep going.
As Enya rose to flee to the bedroom, he asked outright,
“Did you come to Quaalid to die?”
Enya, who had been heading for the bedroom, stopped dead.
Like an old door creaking open, she turned to look at Tarmin.
“Who told you that?”
He should have been startled by Enya’s serious expression, but this time he found himself feeling a little pleased.
“You’re not going to answer this one either? Honestly.”
“Taal.”
“I asked first.”
Instead of answering, Enya bit her lip.
There was no rule that she had to answer the question asked first, but was she at least thinking about it?
Or was she thinking, Why is the dog she’d trained so well acting up?
If she didn’t like it, she could just kill him with the holy sword.
He didn’t know.
Since he didn’t know, he stood and approached her.
Enya looked up at him, trembling.
“You don’t want to answer this one either? Then don’t.”
“Taal?”
“If you won’t answer me, I’ll do as I please instead. Got it?”
The first not-quite-promise they’d made since reuniting.
He reached for Enya’s face.
"Taal, mmph..."
He lifted her chin and forced his lips onto hers.