Kuroka let out a sigh.
“Now that you’ve told me this... what do you want me to do?”
“...That’s for you to decide. You can just slit my throat with your favorite short sword, or if that’s not enough, you can just slug me to death. All I’m saying is... your revenge is standing right here.”
This man was here for atonement. Even Raphael didn’t know what Kuroka was planning to do to this man, nor did he know what was the correct thing to do.
In the end, I am also just a murderer.
Nevertheless, was it something he should stop her from doing? And while Raphael worried about what to do, Kuroka pulled a short sword from her cane.
“...Understood. Have you resolved yourself?”
“Yeah. Do as you like.”
The man didn’t avert his gaze from Kuroka’s blade at all. And then, Kuroka brought her sword straight down at him... and a dull thud rang out.
“Ow?!”
Kuroka sent the flat of her blade crashing down on Shax’s head.
“Are you satisfied with that?”
“Huh...? Satisfied? What are you...”
“I don’t resent you after all this time. My revenge ended a long time ago already, anyway. I’ve properly... come to grips with it now.”
Kuroka then knelt down in front of Shax, who was squatting with his hands on his head.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not unfortunate. It’s not like I haven’t been blessed all my life. I’ve met people who helped me, people who saved me, people who accepted me, and people who supported me.”
Raphael now knew that all his worries were needless anxiety.
Kuroka is already a grown woman...
She overcame her past with her own strength. Kuroka then held Shax’s hand.
“But, if you’re going to listen to my own selfishness, I do have one request of you.”
“A request...?”
“Yes.” Kuroka replied, with a clear smile on her face. “I’ve decided to have my eyes healed.”
It was apparently possible for Nephy to heal Kuroka’s eyes. This was something Raphael knew as well.
“But, I’m still a little scared. So when I get treated, I’d like you to be there by my side.”
“...Yeah, sure. I promise,” Shax replied with a worn out smile, “You’ll surely be okay.”
With that, Shax stood back up to his feet.
“Sorry for getting in the way, Chief. I’m done here.”
“Hmph. Have you said your fill?”
Shax nodded, then turned back toward Kuroka.
“See you later Blacky.”
And with that one word, Kuroka stiffened up completely.
“Y-Y-Y-Y-You noticed?!”
“Oh, so you are. I just realized right now, though.”
Kuroka turned bright red and began wailing on the sorcerer’s back. She was far too shaken to put any strength in her arms though, so it only looked like a kitten playing around. And with such a harmless scene playing out before him, Raphael was able to put on a natural smile. It wasn’t the smile of a fiendish villain, but one of an affectionate father. Such was the case, but both Shax and even Kuroka were completely shocked.
“Um... dad...?”
“Hm? What?”
“Why are you drawing your sword...?”
Raphael had drawn his Sacred Sword from his left arm before he even realized it.
“It isn’t a problem. I shall simply inform my liege that Shax has gone far away.”
“Wait a sec, Chief. You’re joking, right? I didn’t really do anything bad just now, right?”
“I am simply human. There are times when I’ll lose myself in emotion. Thus, burn him to ash, Metatron.”
Flames shot out of the sacred sword, and Shax scooped up Kuroka as he dashed off.
“You’re screwing with me, right?! We’re getting out of here, Blacky!”
“Eek! Why me too?!”
“You won’t get away.”
Carrying Kuroka off was just adding fuel to the fire, but unfortunately enough, Shax didn’t realize this. And so, on this holy evening, sacred flames beautifully soared through the sky.
◇
“What the hell are they doing...?”
Zagan watched the turmoil going on with Raphael from a distance with a sigh. All Shax and Kuroka had to do was get away from each other, but apparently that thought never came to mind and he just continued to run away while carrying her around.
He’s got guts, but he really is a dumbass...
A truly disappointing man. However, Zagan did understand Raphael’s feelings on this matter. His daughter finally had come to see him, and upon reuniting with her, he was shown such a scene. It was only natural to see it as some sort of pest chasing after his daughter. And as he strained a smile, he suddenly felt extreme anxiety over the matter.
Huh? I feel like that’ll be exactly what I look like if Foll brought back some pest...?
This very scene may in fact be Zagan’s future. And with that anxiety weighing on his mind, he heard a sweet giggle coming from the darkness.
“That’s quite the long face your making, Silver-Eyed King.” It was Alshiera. “There’s a party going on, so why are you all the way out here on your own?”
“I just went off on my own to enjoy a smoke from my pipe. It’s delicious, but it isn’t something to smoke while others are enjoying a meal. More importantly...”
It felt pleasant to exhale the tobacco, but it had quite a quirky smell to it. It was entirely possible to completely ruin a meal with it. There was no way he could do something so crass when his subordinates were enjoying the banquet of food, even more so since it was a party Foll had organized.
Zagan returned Alshiera’s gaze, and spotted a wine glass in the giggling vampire’s hand.
“Is that wine? I thought vampires only drank blood.”
“It’s enough to distract oneself from hunger is all.”
“Hmm. Do you even have a sense of taste?”
“Even vampires have a palate, you know?”
Zagan didn’t know whether it was the same as a human’s, but she didn’t show any signs of finding it unappetizing at the least. He found the sight of a vampire consuming anything other than blood quite peculiar, and after observing her for a while longer, Alshiera muttered in a bitter tone.
“Were you the one to make that man’s arm?”
“Foll was the one to give it to him, the device hidden within was made by me.”
“...I see. Well, you are the one who inherited Marchosias’ legacy.”
What an unpleasant vampire...
The function to stow away Raphael’s Sacred Sword within his artificial arm and the ability to shoot a pseudo-dragon’s breath out were both ideas he gained from Marchosias’ legacy. There were several tools within the preceding Archdemon’s legacy perhaps best referred to as magitech, a combination of a magical apparatus and a mechanical contraption.
Zagan had analyzed the technology behind them and applied his learnings to Raphael’s artificial arm. However, Zagan was still a sorcerer. It didn’t feel good to have his secrets pried into and seen through completely like that.
Hang on, the power Alshiera used back there was also kind of like magitech wasn’t it?
It was a power similar to Heaven’s Phosphor which engulfed the horde of undead. The tools used to produce that phenomenon were similar to the way Raphael’s arm could shoot Orobas’ breath. Both of them used firing mechanisms to unleash a projectile made of mana. And just to check, Zagan feigned ignorance as he muttered back.
“Does it annoy you? I don’t know what you call them, but those weapons of yours probably use the same damned technology.”
“They’re Seraph Hunters. To begin with...”
Alshiera began speaking, but froze up completely.
“I see,” Zagan replied with a mischievous smile. Then, he said, “Seraph Hunters, huh? I thought they were quite similar to something that was
described in Marchosias’ legacy, but to think they were one and the same.”
Alshiera surely noticed that she was tricked, and used her stuffed doll to hide her face.
“...Alas. What a day it’s been. I’ve been tricked by such a simple hand.”
This vampire was one to just dodge every question that came at her. It may have been the first time that she was tricked like this.
“It’s peculiar for a projectile weapon not to depend on sorcery. Is there a reason it doesn’t?”
Alshiera let out a sigh of resignation.
“It’s because... it comes from an age when sorcery didn’t yet exist.”
“...What do you mean?”
“It’s not like sorcery existed since the dawn of time, you know? Back when sorcery had yet to be discovered, tools were developed to fire arrows and bullets using springs and a substance known as gunpowder.”
It was an unthinkable story at this point in time. Bows and crossbows existed even now, but they were only used by brigands who didn’t hire sorcerers. They didn’t work against sorcerers who could protect themselves with barriers anyway, and they couldn’t even surpass a sorcerer’s reflexes to begin with.
A pebble tossed by a sorcerer possessed more power, and they couldn’t match the range or speed of the fire and lightning born of sorcery. It was far more efficient to just hire a sorcerer than bother with maintaining some troublesome bow when it came to killing others.
And before any of that even mattered, projectiles had no effect at all within a sorcerer’s domain. That’s why Angelic Knights went out of their way to wear sturdy Anointed Armor and challenged them with blades. So in this age, projectile weapons like bows were largely cast aside and held little purpose outside of being a hobby for the rich.
Alshiera peaked out over her stuffed doll and muttered a reply.
“That power is no longer required in this world.”
The vampire’s expression was saying that she didn’t even want to remember such a thing. And giving her a sidelong glance, Zagan felt that he may have gone too far. As such, he crossed his arms and snorted.
“Hmph. I believe otherwise. They were fired and saved my subordinate. The necessity of any power depends on who uses it.”
Alshiera stared back in wonder for a moment, and the faintest of smiles creeped up on her face, giving a peek of her fangs.
“Is it... fine to use it like that?”
And she pointed over to the party. Raphael was still chasing Shax around. It was now at the point where if someone didn’t stop him, someone would really die. A bead of sweat ran down Zagan’s cheek. And then, Foll ran over to him. Unleashing the Sacred Sword’s flames really was going too far. She had one hand on her waist and scolded the old man as he then reluctantly stowed his sword.
“Oh my, the little dragon sure has grown into a reliable girl.”
“Of course she has. She’s my daughter.”
Praise for his daughter made him happy, even from a vampire.
“I would have liked to show the Silver-Eyed King how you are right now...”
“...What do you mean?”
This girl was the one who called him Silver-Eyed King all the time, and here she was referring to another. Alshiera simply smiled like she always did, and didn’t reply. Instead, she raised her glass and whispered.
“Well, just think of it as a clever birthday present for me.”
“...? Hey, it’s your birthday today?”
“Oh my, I’ve made a slip of the tongue once more. Well, not that it really matters.”
The profile of her muttering, unable to truly find the meaning behind any of it, for some reason reminded Zagan of Gremory. Even if she was one who turned into a little girl, these two weren’t really similar in any way, but... thinking of it just a little, it reminded him of the moments that granny lost her presence of mind, despite doing whatever it was she wanted all the time.
Shall I test it out a little?
Zagan tapped the ashes out of his pipe, spread out his mantle, and turned toward the party.
“You’re drinking wine at our party. Come with me for a bit.”
“My, my, an invitation from the Silver-Eyed King himself? How delightful. Will you dance with me?”
“Something like that.”
“...?”
Taking along Alshiera as she tilted her head in confusion, Zagan cut into the ongoing party.
“Do you lot have a minute?”
The first to energetically wave at him was Selphy.
“Oh! Welcome back Mister Zagan! How’d you like the taste of the kiseru?”
“Just what I would expect of a pipe chosen by Nephy. The taste is marvelous.”
“Yay! Looks like it was totally worth getting a job to buy it, huh, Miss Nephy? He said it was marvelous!”
“...Selphy... that’s embarrassing.”
Nephy covered her face as Selphy cheerfully slapped her back. This was normally where Lilith would raise a big fuss and stop her, but apparently she had managed to get her hands on some strong liquor. She was sprawled across a table and wasn’t moving.
Next, an avian woman came floating over, flapping her wings noisily. It was the clerk from their usual clothing store, Manuela.
“Hmmm? Hey Zagan, is that another new girl? Her taste in clothes is pretty good too. Are you maybe the one who picked Kuroka’s clothes?”
“Oh my, what a lovely little birdie. I could just eat you up. Being praised isn’t all that bad now is it? They’re just something I gave her on the spur of the moment.”
She then glanced over to Kuroka.
“They’re not really clothes though, more of a part of my body...” she whispered.
So those aren’t clothes, but something like a flock of bats and shadows?
He thought it wasn’t just a regular dress due to the strange mana they contained, but he never thought that was why.
And with Alshiera’s typical arrogant smile before her, in an unusual turn, Manuela looked to be at a loss.
“Grrr, how guarded. But, an artisan’s spirit is one that fires up all the more at a greater challenge!”
“Come now, wait just a moment, comrade Manuela.”
Manuela began wriggling her fingers suspiciously when unexpectedly, Gremory cut in and stopped her.
“My liege has something to say. First, we must listen.”
“Oh yeah. It’s time for Zagan to show off his skills, huh? Show me the talent that charmed comrade Gremory!”
Alshiera’s smile was now cramped from being surrounded by two perverts. In any case, Zagan had created the atmosphere. He spread his arms out in a bombastic matter and directed all attention to Alshiera.
“Several of you already know, but this here is a vampire called Alshiera. Both Kuroka and Shax are indebted to her. I’d like you all to consider her a guest of honor tonight.”
Alshiera didn’t seem to expect such a courteous introduction and was left staring in wonder. And with all eyes on her, Alshiera tried to gloss it all over by bringing her wine glass to her lips.
“It seems that today is Alshiera’s birthday. Congratulate her.”
“PFFFFT!”
Alshiera’s wine went spraying all over.
“S-Silver-Eyed King?”
“What’s the matter? Are you not Kuroka and Shax’s savior? We must celebrate.”
Zagan ignored the faltering vampire and clapped his hands. His subordinates were bewildered at first, and impossibly enough, the most reliable one here was Selphy.
“Yaaay! Happy birthday Miss Alshiera! I like, saw you a bunch back home, right? I’m Selphy! Nice to meet’cha!”
Lilith’s consciousness was apparently drawn back by Selphy’s shouting, and she hazily got back up.
“Lady Alshiera’s... birthday...? I-I must celebrate! Congratulations! Congratulations! M-May you have a wonderful day!”
Lilith was on the verge of tears, clapping her hands as if spurred on by some sort of compulsion.
�
��H-Hold on, calm down. Aren’t you two my cute little fawns?”
Next, Foll began clapping her hands enthusiastically.
I thought she went through something horrible because of Alshiera in Liucaon...?
There was no way Foll had forgotten. However, the gaze she pointed at Alshiera was completely pure.
“Congratulations. Birthdays... are meant to be celebrated.”
“U-Ugh...”
She really couldn’t oppose such a pure gaze, and Alshiera finally shrank back with a groan. And as if to further corner her, next it was Kuroka who began clapping.
“You really did save me today. Thank you very much. I can never thank you enough... Come on, you too Mister Shax.”
“Hey, cut it out Blacky. The chief’s looking this way with a super relaxed look. I’m gonna get killed... Dammit, whatever, I get it! Happy birthday missy!”
Kuroka pulled him along by the arm, and Shax turned completely pale. He then screamed out at the top of his lungs. And with that as a trigger, Chastille clapped her hands and began singing.
“Happy birthday, to you.”
“Erk! I-I shall take my leave here!”
“Wait. My subordinates want to give you their thanks. Accept it.”
Alshiera tried to turn into bats and run away, but Zagan grabbed her by the nape of her neck and stopped her. This apparently caused her transformation to fail, and after returning to her form as a girl, she began squirming about to try and escape.
“Happy Birthday, Miss Alshiera.”
“Ummm... Congratulations. Alshiera.”
Nephy, followed by a somewhat awkward looking Nephteros, joined in on the chorus.
Alshiera finally gave up on running away and stopped squirming. Taking a closer look at her, her face was beet red and she had tears in her eyes, despite being undead. Nevertheless, it surely wasn’t something bad. Her face was saying that she didn’t know whether she should laugh or be angry, but it certainly did appear like she was smiling.
“Nice love power! Now that’s my king!”
“A strike by excessive praise using a wave of attacks...! I see, so that means also exists. That’s really impressive, Zagan.”
Gremory and Manuela also began clapping and throwing in their adoration.
Normally Zagan would get angry, not wanting their praise to begin with, but just for today, he was in a good mood.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium) Page 20