Acting as a Slit-Eye Chapter 39

Chapter 39. Strategic Sacrifice

"Yo, Young Master Joshua, I ca to change your towel."

Joshua had been holding a towel to his inflad, red cheeks.

He looked at the maid, who brought cold water and a fresh towel into his room, with half-opened eyes.

"Change it."

"Yes, yes...!"

At his sharp voice, the maid, tense, replaced Joshua's towel, which had beco warm from the heat of his cheek.

The towel was cold once again.

However, in contrast, a blaze of anger ignited within Joshua's chest.

'A re inferior collateral family mber...!'

Perhaps recalling the face of the person responsible for his swollen cheek, Joshua bit his lip viciously.

A man with the distinct gray hair of the Cryphart family, despite being of diluted blood.

Yulian Cryphart Frason.

Joshua could not suppress the boiling anger over the transgression of that overbearing man.

- 'The mont you draw your sword, you beco the swordsman Joshua, not Joshua of the Cryphart family, standing before .'

An arrogant and insolent tone.

A sneering laugh that looked down on everyone.

An attitude oblivious to his status.

- 'Are you still alright with that?'

A man who matched nothing of the noble 'Cryphart family,' yet sohow, Joshua couldn't easily answer his questions.

The confidence in his swordsmanship, felt through his skin.

It was sothing that had already transcended the level of nobility.

That was why Joshua couldn't hide his fury, hot as lava.

Why him?

Of all the Cryphart family mbers, why that inferior collateral?

Why did the Sword Saint choose such a worthless──.

Splash──!

As Joshua continuously questioned himself, he slowly turned his head toward the direction where water had splashed on his face.

"I-I'm sorry, Young Master Joshua!"

There stood the maid who had changed his towel.

While imrsing an extra towel in cold water, so of it had splashed onto Joshua's cheek.

His gaze grew colder than the towel pressed against his cheek. As he rose from his seat and approached the maid, raising his hand abruptly.

"Did you call for , Young Master Joshua?"

A familiar voice.

Rembering that he had indeed summoned soone, Joshua lowered his raised hand and slowly turned his head toward the direction of the sound.

"Alphas."

Alphas Mayend.

A skilled man who had risen to the deputy-commander of the 'Azure Lion Knights' renowned for their strength in the empire.

Though he had been stripped of his knighthood for dishonest acts, as a swordsman, his skills were recognized even within the empire.

Seeing Alphas' face, Joshua dismissively gestured the maid out.

"Can you see my cheek?"

And with that, Joshua pointed to his swollen cheek with his finger.

"Yes, I can see it, Young Master."

"What were you, a mber of my guard, doing while I got in this state?"

"Young Master Joshua, I was following the master's orders..."

"That's not what I'm asking! Your duty is to protect the direct line of the Cryphart family!"

Angry and lost in his words, Joshua's lips trembled violently.

Knowing very well that it was an unreasonable demand, Joshua needed to release his boiling emotions first.

"Indeed... It was a mistake to include a loser like you in the guard."

"I'm sorry, Young Master Joshua."

Joshua sneered mockingly at Alphas, who admitted his fault.

"Oh, does he even know he should be sorry? Even so, you'd probably just be too scared to do anything anyway."

Joshua tossed out disdainful remarks, holding a towel soaked with water in his hand.

Slap──!

He threw the towel straight at Alphas' face.

"A foolish jerk."

The sodden towel slipped down Alphas' face.

His neatly maintained hair was now disheveled and scattered, and his uniform was heavily marked with water stains.

Despite such humiliation, Alphas' expression remained unchanged.

"Getting humiliated by a half-breed and scolded by Herand! Do you know how disgraceful that is from my perspective!?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not apologies I want to hear! Find a way to repay this humiliation imdiately!"

The fire demon burning in Joshua's chest showed no sign of calming.

"Young Master Joshua, do you wish to take revenge on Yulian?"

Alphas stoked Joshua's heart, already blazing with anger.

"What?"

With Joshua's probing question, Alphas started tidying his disheveled hair.

"Do you have a strategy?"

"Yes, I do..."

"Then tell

now!"

Joshua cut off Alphas and shouted sharply, prompting him to continue speaking as if he had no choice.

"Currently, Yulian is definitely strong. His skills are overwhelming to such an extent that ordinary knights can't dare compare."

Of course, Joshua knew this well.

It was a reality he wanted to deny but had to face.

"However, the foundation of his skills is aura. The imnse amount of mana he possesses within."

"So what?"

"Concentration enhancent, posture correction, muscle reinforcent, you na it. He can infuse aura into all those actions, thanks to his abundant mana and the apex known as the Moonlit Sword."

"So what? That's not what I want to hear from you!"

The man before him, Alphas, was indeed one of the monsters entrenched within the empire.

While not asuring up to Yulian's skills, he was still considered a star within the empire.

Listening to Alphas earnestly accentuate Yulian's strengths was quite unpleasant.

What was needed now was purely to find a way to trample that low-born branch mber Yulian's towering ego into the ground.

"If Yulian's strengths, his aura usage, are stifled, it ans there's still a chance for Young Master Joshua to triumph."

Though Joshua wasn't positioned to match the monstrous might of the imperial stars, his fair competency in swordsmanship ant he could easily best an ordinary knight.

"......"

Caught in thought for a mont, Joshua watched Alphas pull out a small mineral from his pocket.

A mineral casting a subtle blue light.

Joshua knew this was called a 'Resonance Stone' out there.

"That's a Resonance Stone, isn't it?"

"Not a currently manufactured Resonance Stone, but a 'failed one'."

"... Failed?"

"Yes. Typically, resonance Stones suppress the 'demonic energy' possessed by demons, inciting psychological rejection."

Joshua knew that already.

Before he could acknowledge it, Alphas continued.

"However! This failure suppresses not just the 'demonic energy' of demons but the flow of general 'mana'."

"Even mana?"

Perhaps to demonstrate, Alphas pressed the failure into Joshua's hand.

"... Uugh?"

Joshua felt sothing amiss with his body. The mana he usually felt clearly in the air and his body now felt as if it were veiled by mist.

"A makeshift barrier created with this will hinder the flow of mana. That ans Yulian won't be able to use his strength and the Moonlit Sword."

Indeed, forming a barrier with this Resonance Stone would create an environnt unfavorable for using aura.

"... But doesn't that an I won't be able to use aura either?"

"Even so, wouldn't that narrow the gap between you and Yulian?"

Indeed, his words were logical; it would indeed narrow the gap.

But rely eliminating one of his strengths, could that catch up to the capabilities of that 'Smiling Executioner'?

As that question swirled in Joshua's mind.

"And we can supplent the remaining gap with this."

Perhaps catching wind of his doubts, Alphas pulled out a small case from his pocket once more.

"... A horn?"

Inside the case lay a small demon's horn, exuding a heavy air of magical energy.

***

'I'm grateful Herand gave his approval so readily.'

Having concluded the discussion, I exited Herand's mansion.

An outsider with no connection to the Dawn Society and the Sword Saint.

Therefore, there were no concerns of internal interference.

It was unlikely that they would be discovered unless sothing significant occurred.

One worry lessened.

Thinking so, I was tending to the orchids in 'Blind Eyes' office when it suddenly happened.

Bang!

"Sir Yulian! A few people from the Dawn Society harboring resentnt against you are conspiring to launch an ambush!"

Startled.

At Lazlot's sudden words, I slightly bent the tip of the orchid I'd been handling.

"Is that certain?"

"Yes, it's straight from the Genl Monastery."

"Perhaps... is there anyone among the Bishops involved?"

While admittedly perplexed by the unexpected ambush plot, the identity of those involved was of primary concern.

Especially if any 'Bishops' were connected—it would prove an extraordinarily troubleso affair.

On the surface, the core of the 'Dawn Society' is the Archbishop, but those below, the Bishops, are individuals drawn by self-interest.

That they'd want to eliminate Yulian for their gains wasn't incredibly surprising.

"I presu not."

"Then non-Bishops are plotting against ? Ha."

Well, it's fortunate in misfortune.

Relieved that, at least, no Bishops were presently antagonistic towards him, I gingerly stroked the broken orchid tip.

Then, suddenly, above Lazlot's head, 'purple haze' began to dance.

A clear aura of 'fear'.

Why? I just touched an orchid, nothing more.

"... What do you intend to do?"

Although he was questioning , Lazlot's gaze wouldn't detach from the misaligned orchid tip.

"Well, they haven't acted yet, so there's nothing to do but wait, isn't there?"

Undoubtedly suspicious, but ultimately lacking anything concrete.

There was nothing to gain from acting on re suspicion without certainty.

'I should hold back and observe the situation for now.'

No need to provoke or stick out a hornet's nest unnecessarily.

A plot remains just that until executed, indeed?

Perhaps the plan might fizzle out just like that.

"... Gulp."

As I pondered, glancing sideward, I caught Lazlot's expression.

'Fear' still painted clearly.

It seed serving as a double agent was deeply discomforting, judging by his unease.

Considering I might owe him in the future, I decided a little casual chat might help ease his tension—for not completely altruistic reasons.

What should I say... Ah, yes.

"A healthy orchid usually doesn't have crumpled leaves like this."

"Pardon?"

You seed interested in the orchid just now. Since you seed intrigued, I'll offer a small tip.

"In such cases, the root is usually the issue."

"It-Is that so?"

Encountering Lazlot's response, I lightly dusted off the soil and cautiously extracted the orchid from the pot.

This revealed nurous roots, among which one was discolored yellow as I expected.

"As I suspected, one root is rotting, right? Even one decayed root can undermine the entirety of an orchid's structure."

"Yes, indeed...."

Ignoring Lazlot as I spoke, I reached for the root.

"However, when tending to orchids, always isolate one root on the outer side."

In preparation for a scenario where the root may rot, placing a sacrificial root outside protects the others.

"Like bait, you see."

Snap──!

After severing the root with my hand, I returned the orchid to its pot, observing Lazlot.

Such trivial small talk should suffice in easing his tension, shouldn't it?

"I see... The reason for your patience is to uproot the opposition completely with this opportunity."

Contrary to my expectation, Lazlot's 'fear' only intensified, burning more fiercely.

Clacky's Corner:

Even mundane things can be terrifying, specially if it is said and done by a notorious person like Yulian.