"You bastard," Asmara said with a scowl on her face. I an, it was true that she almost died due to my skill but I made sure to save her so her anger wasn't that much justified, right?
[You think?]
'Yeah, who am I kidding? I would be pissed in her position as well.' I thought inwardly before I said with a nervous smile, "I'm sorry. Circumstances called it. I will make sure not to do that aga--"
However, I was interrupted by Asmara's anger-laced words when she said, "If you could have done it anyway, then why did you make wear that humiliating dress?"
"…"
[…]
'That's what she's focusing on?'
[Maybe she's a little twisted in the head]
[Thinking so, isn't that your type?]
[The crazy ones]
I ignored that remark and focused on Asmara who was getting scarier by the second for so unknown reason.
[You're a wimp]
[A good enough reason?]
'Shut up.' I quipped before I said to Asmara, "That was just to infiltrate the place quietly."
My explanation was bullsh*t and even Asmara who was a little thick-headed knew perfectly well I wasn't saying it right.
"You think I'm an idiot?" Asmara asked, anger still marring her face.
'Don't reply. Don't reply. Don't reply.' Every pulse in my body was dying to say 'Yes' but my brain was telling it was a straight ticket to a beating. I still hadn't forgotten how Rose pumled and almost dug a hole in my stomach with her foot.
I coughed and replied, "I wanted to see."
"See what? Sate the hunger of your eyes?" Asmara asked curtly.
"I needed to see what path you would take. Whether you will still take the hard path after seeing the easy path or not." I clarified my aning.
"There were other ways to do that," Asmara replied but her anger seed to have subsided a little.
"There may be. But that was the fastest one." I said before I asked up front, the reason why we didn't go back to the main party, "And now that you have had a taste of it, tell , how did it feel?"
"Repulsive, for one." Asmara instantly replied as if that was an answer she had prepared for a long ti before she added after a mont of thought, "But I saw your point as well."
"Won, especially pretty ones, and n, especially smart ones, always find the easy way out. That's not a bad thing, that's the human way of doing things." I said before I added, "Truly admirable ones are those who don't. Who make a na for themselves."
"Did you?" she asked, "Ever tried it the easy way?"
"Never. There's no shortcut to power. It's always accompanied by either hard work or pain. If it cos easy, then it isn't power and it certainly isn't your own." I replied honestly.
If there was one thing I was ever proud of, then that was my power. I never took the easy way out just like the easy way never ca for .
"How strong are you?" Asmara asked finally, the question that had been plaguing her mind since long ago.
"Not much." I replied before I added, "Yet."
I stood up and said, "I apologize for putting you through that sha. If you need to do anything for you in return, I will gladly do so."
She stared at for a few minutes before she replied, "Make stronger."
I chuckled involuntarily. That was exactly the type of request I expected to have from her and there was no need for to decline.
Besides, I had the best sword art ready for her. She was a fiery fighter. It would suit her the best.
"Sure," I said as I extended my hand. She reached forward and took my hand after a montary hesitation.
Because she wouldn't just be taking my hand. She would also be giving hers.
**************
'Oi.' I said.
[What?]
'Why is there no quest completion?' I asked. The quest was to have Asmara. Didn't that count as having her on my side?
[Is she blushing like a high school girl at the sight of you?]
'What the hell's that supposed to an?' I asked. All the quest said was to make Asmara a mber of my team.
[No]
[The quest asked you to make Asmara your fiancée]
[Is she your fiancée?]
'Isn't that the sa thing?' I asked.
[…]
[Why don't you try groping her and find out?]
[If she gets angry at you, she isn't in love with you]
[If she blushes, then maybe the quest is complete]
'Maybe. Seriously?' I asked. As much as I would have loved to grope Asmara, she wouldn't be happy in the slightest.
I already had a good piece of my mind just for staring at her.
Anyway, it seed like finishing this quest wasn't going to be so easy.
This wasn't a scenario where I could keep all the girls apart and act like nothing was going on between us. In other words, a secret relationship.
It wasn't possible in the first place because girls had a keen sense of this stuff. And even if I tried, Asmara wouldn't like to keep it a secret.
So no matter what I did…
[You're screwed]
A relative term, but yes. I was screwed.
As much as I would like to level up, the risks associated with the girls were a little too much. I avoided death from my relationship with Sophien, and Sophien was almost the casual type.
Asmara doesn't seem to be that type. If anything, she seed like the commitnt type.
I was very badly screwed.
"When will you teach ?" Asmara asked expectantly.
"As soon as we get out of this test. We will begin your grueso training." I said as we made our way to the army rendezvous point.
"What is it called?" Asmara asked.
'Divine demon sword art.' But I couldn't say that. The word demon was a dead giveaway.
"The sword of the angel." I lied as I told her the na of my primary sword art.
Not like she was going to find out anyway.
"Is it an imperial sword technique? You know I cannot learn it unless I'm part of the imperial family." Asmara said worriedly.
Now normally a girl would blush at the ntion of such a thing but she was worried. That spoke volus of what kind of a sword maniac she was.
"It's not imperial swordsmanship," I replied.
"Then what is it?" She asked.
"It's my own devised sword art," I replied.
"Doesn't it belong to the imperial family then?" She asked.
"Why would it?" I asked back.
"You belong to the imperial family after all." She answered.
"No. It doesn't. No one other than you has ever seen it before." I replied.
"Is it the one you used to kill the orc back then?" She asked.
[She has a keen eye]
No kidding. The pressure I was emitting back then was enough to knock the bonkers out of them but she still managed to get a glimpse of it. I just hope she didn't hear the na of the sword art.
"You will do great. I'm sure of it." I said to reassure her.
"What is the rank of this technique?" She asked.
Well, that was a tough one. I was pretty sure my sword art would be undefeatable but she wouldn't believe it if I were to tell her that even the sword art of Eric, the strongest apostle was no match for mine.
But if I say that, I will only sound like I was bragging. It was good to let her not know about it and just experience it herself.
"It's very good in ranking. Though what it will be like only depends on you." I said to which she nodded and asked the next question on her list, "Can I teach it to my family?
"No," I replied.
"All right." She replied.
It didn't seem like she was much interested in the fact about teaching her family that sword art.
Well, it was sowhat forbidden to teach your family's sword arts to strangers or anyone out of the family.
No one would do that and the fact that I was willing to teach her a sword art that not even the imperial family knew of ant two things.
I valued her too much or I was just going to teach her sothing third-rate and get this over with.
However, the forr would be assud by her while she would reject the latter.
The reason was simple. She had seen it. Had she not seen the power of the 'Divine demon sword art', she would have doubted as well but for now, she didn't.
As we arrived by the hill past which was the stationed army of the holy nation, she asked one last question, "Where does that bring us?"
I stopped and turned to look at her.
Finally, there was a slight, slightest of the slightest, blush on her face.
Now, how do I answer that one?
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