[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 116 - The Kingdom (3)
Only after the commotion had settled did I finally hear what had happened from the fox.
Arms crossed, Irene explained the situation in full.
Her hair, which had burned a deep crimson monts ago, had now cooled back to its usual shade of orange.
Had she gained that much experience over ti?
Even in a situation that should have been shocking, she remained composed, her gaze unwavering.
There was a sharpness to her presence now—one wrong move, and it felt like she’d tear my throat out.
...That was kind of impressive.
I waited for her to finish, and as soon as she did, I found myself making a casual remark.
Half praise, half teasing.
"Unexpected."
"Why? Thought I’d get kidnapped again?"
"To be honest, I was kind of expecting it. If anyone were to play the role of the damsel in distress, wouldn’t it be you, Miss Irene?"
"…Aren’t you looking down on a little too much?"
"It just ans I care about you that much."
"Hmm."
The girl made a strange expression.
I was expecting her usual sharp retort, but instead, she simply smiled—a relaxed, confident grin.
Her lips parted slightly as she spoke.
"Too bad. That won’t be happening anymore."
"Hm?"
"I read sowhere that heroines who beco a burden to the hero aren’t very popular."
"That’s... true, I suppose. But where did you hear sothing like that?"
"A book."
"A novel, then? Must have been a genre story. Those are pretty entertaining."
"At first, the descriptions were so… blunt that I was caught off guard. But after a while, I got used to it. It wasn’t bad."
"…What kind of novel were you reading, exactly?"
"That’s a secret."
Pressing a finger to her lips, the fox-eared girl whispered in a teasing voice.
Her smile was downright enchanting.
‘Damn, failed again.’
I clicked my tongue under my breath.
Just a few months ago, it was fun to tease her, but lately, she barely reacted.
If anything, she’d started counterattacking more often.
Her jet-black eyes glead with mischief.
Was she secretly plotting to devour her master?
A truly ungrateful fox, if ever there was one.
"You’ve grown up a lot."
"I had a good teacher."
"That’s debatable."
Brushing off the idle chatter, I turned my head.
My gaze landed on a figure with bright yellow hair.
The one who had attacked Irene just hours ago.
"Hic… hic…!"
She was still kneeling on the hard floor, arms raised over her head in surrender.
Her arms and legs were probably reaching their limits.
Her hands had begun to droop slightly, gravity taking its toll—but the mont our eyes t, she flinched and straightened up imdiately.
She was so startled that even her sobbing caught in her throat.
Like a fragile creature cowering before a predator, she held her breath.
"Hik… hiiik…"
Her shoulders trembled violently.
Tears dripped onto the floor like dew.
By all logic, she was the clear perpetrator in this situation, yet sohow, she looked so pitiful it was hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy.
Beside , Irene shot a questioning look, her gaze skeptical.
"Why is she shaking so much?"
"She just looks kind of pathetic."
"Judging by her reaction, it seems like she’s more scared of you. Do you two know each other?"
"Haha… Let’s just say we have so history."
I gave a vague chuckle, brushing it off.
There wasn’t much point in trying to deny it.
Because, unfortunately, I did recognize her.
I gazed down at the small girl.
"…It’s been a while."
I greeted her, though I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see her.
The trembling girl before was none other than Injustice—one of the Five Negatives under the Sovereign’s command.
We had crossed paths three years ago, during the [Coup], when the underworld of the Empire was thrown into chaos.
And back then, we’d been on opposite sides.
‘Damn, running into old faces is always a pain.’
Especially considering what I’d been like back then.
At the ti, even the biggest nas in the underworld—people who had ruled the shadows for decades—could be divided into two categories.
Thirty percent wouldn’t dare et my gaze.
The remaining seventy percent?
They were already in their graves.
Those were brutal, bloody days.
Too stained with violence to be considered ‘mories’ in any sentintal sense.
Just thinking about them made my brows furrow.
"Hiccup…!"
Noticing my expression shift, the girl’s face turned pale.
Was she going to faint on again?
Not wanting to deal with that hassle, I erased my killing intent and put on a kind smile—the kind you’d use for a frightened child.
Then, in a gentle tone, I said,
"Let’s have a little chat."
"…"
"You’d better explain yourself in a way that makes sense. You know I’m not the most patient person when it cos to these things."
"Y-y-yes, sir! I was wrong—I an! I’ll do my best to answer properly!"
"Good."
I smiled faintly.
In the past, I wouldn’t have even bothered with a conversation—I would have just gotten rid of her.
But the war was over now.
And maybe I’d softened a little.
Besides, with her looking like this, it felt wrong to even lift a hand.
I let out a quiet sigh.
anwhile, Injustice, still on her knees, rubbed her hands together in desperation.
Irene let out a disbelieving chuckle.
"She seed strong when we fought… And I actually used my flas on her?"
"Well, she is considered a big deal in the underworld."
"A big deal…?"
"Her current appearance is probably due to a side effect of her abilities. Sotis, people with unstable mana interactions experience weird physical reactions. In her case, it seems like using too much mana temporarily rewinds her body’s age."
"I did notice she kept getting younger mid-fight."
Irene nodded, as if it all made sense now.
Then, looking at Injustice, she casually prodded her side with the hilt of her sword—curious, like a predator testing its prey.
"Anyway… How did she even get into the academy? The security isn’t that lax."
"She has the skill to get past it."
"Skill?"
"She’s one of the few spatial mages on the continent."
A spatial mage.
An ability so rare that there were barely a thousand of them across the entire continent.
At my response, Irene tilted her head, as if recalling sothing.
"Wait, don’t we have one too?"
"That’s right. Miss Lena is with us."
Lena and Injustice.
Both wielded space-related magic, but there was a clear difference between them.
Lena’s ability functioned like a [Portal], creating a passageway by tearing open two designated coordinates and linking them together.
In contrast, Injustice’s ability was closer to [Blink], allowing her to jump instantly to a location she envisioned in her mind.
In terms of pure utility, Lena’s ability was objectively superior.
A [Portal] could transport hundreds of people at once, while [Blink] could barely move a dozen at best.
Of course, Blink had its advantages—it was significantly faster to cast.
But so what?
Our side was still better.
"Well, if we’re talking results, our side is far more competent. The travel range is significantly greater, too."
"Wow. That’s so serious favoritism."
"Of course. I’m the one using it, after all."
A little pride wasn’t a bad thing.
I shrugged lightly, brushing off the pointless tangent.
With that settled, it was ti to start the real interrogation.
Perhaps due to sheer terror, Injustice didn’t hesitate to spill everything.
"T-this is everything I know…!"
She pressed her forehead to the floor, voice trembling.
Listening to her, I couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.
"Hah… So, to sum it up—"
She had been given direct orders to bring in.
But she knew she couldn’t persuade .
And overpowering ? That was even more impossible.
So she tried to lure out by kidnapping soone close to .
But that plan completely backfired—because Irene was a lot stronger than expected.
And so, she got caught.
"Which brings us to now."
"Y-yes…!"
I frowned slightly.
"This doesn’t make sense."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Why does your master want to see ?"
"T-that… I don’t know… He only said he had sothing to tell you personally. He didn’t give any other details…"
"Sothing to tell , huh."
Nothing ca to mind.
I hadn’t interfered with their affairs since the war ended.
…Aside from that one incident during the school trip.
‘Or maybe…’
Had he finally lost his mind?
That would at least explain why he was provoking soone holding his life in their hands.
Was he simply throwing caution to the wind, knowing his days were numbered?
Either way, I wouldn’t know for sure unless I confronted him myself.
"…Looks like I’ll have to go, then."
It felt abrupt.
But if it was a matter concerning the Sovereign, it was best to deal with it swiftly.
I especially couldn’t let this reach the Vice Commander’s ears back at headquarters.
‘She’d just make things unnecessarily complicated.’
Better to settle it quickly.
I let out a quiet sigh and turned to look at Irene.
"Miss Irene?"
"Hm?"
"I’ll need to step away for a bit."
"…Can’t I co with you?"
She reached out, grabbing my sleeve.
Maybe because we’d had a similar conversation before, this ti, she seed even more reluctant to let go.
Her black eyes reflected only .
"I’ve gotten a lot stronger… Am I still not soone you can rely on?"
"Ah."
Her gaze wavered.
It wasn’t just reluctance.
It was anxiety—fear of being left behind.
Frustration at not being needed.
For a mont, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
‘This is… troubleso.’
It wasn’t that I doubted Irene’s strength.
But where I was going…
That place held too many mories.
And if I went back, I knew—without a doubt—that sothing from my past would co crawling out.
There were things I didn’t want her to see.
Everyone carried at least one part of themselves they wished they could erase.
I reached out, gently ruffling her hair.
"Just this once, please trust ."
"…"
"In return, let’s make a deal. When I get back, I’ll tell you sothing about myself. Sothing from my past—one of those stories I always avoid."
"You hate talking about that stuff…"
"Not anymore. There’s no point in hiding it now. You can take it as a sign of trust."
"That’s so unfair."
A breathy sigh slipped past her lips.
Then, after a brief silence, she held out her pinky.
"…Promise ."
"I won’t take long this ti."
"You better not."
"Of course."
With a soft chuckle, I turned away.
As I walked toward Injustice, a quiet voice brushed past my ear.
A whisper laced with worry.
"…Don’t get hurt."
"I’ll do my best."
I responded with a small smile.
Then, I looked down at the girl still kneeling at my feet.
My voice was lower now, colder.
"Lead the way."
"Y-yes…?"
"You said your master wanted to see . I suppose I’ll entertain him this ti."
"O-oh…! Y-yes! I’ll take you there right away!"
As if afraid I’d change my mind, she scrambled to her feet, mana flaring around her.
Slowly, she extended a trembling hand toward .
I took it.
Golden mana coiled around us.
A brilliant light flared—and then, a crack in space itself.
"Blink."
—CRACK!
With a sharp burst of energy, my vision flickered.
And when I opened my eyes again—
"We… w-we’ve arrived…!"
A suffocating darkness stretched out before .
A place buried in shadow, swallowed by the underbelly of civilization.
A city that should have long been erased.
I exhaled slowly.
"It’s been a while."
The Kingdom.
The largest underground city in the Empire.
A place that had long proclaid itself the heart of the underworld—
A festering den of criminals, brimming with the stench of decay.
And now, once again, I stood on the Sovereign’s land.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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