Whoooosh!
The mont I stepped into the clearing, the wind swept past.
I brushed my hair back and instinctively turned toward the direction it ca from.
What first caught my eye was a view so refreshing it cleared the chest just to look at it.
On the left, the sky stretched wide open, an endless sea of blue.
“Welco!”
Of course, there was also a long dining table set up in the middle of the clearing, with soone at the far end waving cheerfully.
But that wasn’t important.
I wandered over to the cliffside on the left and soaked in the scenery.
“Wow… this view… amazing…”
“……”
So this was why the area had been cleared.
It sat right at the edge of a sheer drop.
The sight made my chest swell with awe.
“Huuuh…”
I drew in a deep breath.
It felt like the bright blue sky was pouring straight into my lungs, painting my chest as blue as the heavens above.
I glanced down the cliff.
The bottom wasn’t even visible.
Not quite as daunting as Mist Cliff, but fall from here, and odds were you’d never rise again.
“When did we climb this high?”
Without thinking, I had simply followed Shushruta upward, and before I knew it, we were at a height where one misstep ant certain death.
I nodded with satisfaction.
“This is the true charm of hiking.”
Then, from behind —
“Welco!”
But I was still drinking in the view, so I ignored it.
“Ah… like a painting.”
“Welco!”
Only at the third call did I finally turn, glaring at the intruder.
“Who dares disturb while I admire the scenery?”
“!”
At the end of the long table, cluttered with odds and ends, sat a girl who raised her hand high.
Her hair was a shock of bright green, braided into two pigtails.
Her age… hard to guess.
Maybe the poison had aged her beyond her looks.
There was sothing twisted about her presence.
I frowned and scolded her sternly.
“So it was you? You dare interrupt my appreciation of nature?”
“Uh… y-yes…”
She sheepishly lowered her hand, as if realizing she had done wrong.
I rewarded her newfound awareness with a thorough scolding.
“Pitiful. I was savoring the view, yet you trampled over it. Foolish girl!”
“Ah, sorry!”
She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes flicking nervously toward .
“……”
I gazed at her in silence.
She shrank into herself like a scolded child, then muttered timidly, “Welco…”
Looked like she intended to keep repeating it until I acknowledged her.
With no choice, I nodded.
“Yes, yes. I’ve arrived.”
Her hands fell away, and she smiled brightly—fresh and green as spring grass.
“Great! Sit down over there! The tea party’s about to start!”
“Fine.”
I sat across from her at the long table she indicated.
A white cloth was spread across it, with teapots, cups, and an array of cakes and cookies laid neatly atop.
As I stared at the display, the green-haired girl bead at and said,
“I’m Lynda! I love tea.”
I crossed my arms haughtily and replied coolly,
“Lynda?”
“Mm-hm!”
“Didn’t ask.”
“Mm…”
She deflated instantly.
I clinked the tea set pieces together curiously, like a boy fiddling with trinkets.
Lynda watched for a while, then tried again.
“Hey! Hey! Devil, do you like tea?”
Still inspecting the teapots, I answered, “Not sure. I like alcohol.”
“Heehee! That’s funny! You’re funny!”
Covering her mouth, she giggled uncontrollably.
I opened the lids of the teapots one by one, checking inside, and asked, “How did you know I’d co here and set all this up?”
“Mm! Just felt like you would!”
She puffed out her chest proudly.
“Didn’t I do well?”
“……”
Clink.
I set down the teapot lid and stared at the green-haired girl who greeted with such glee.
Her eyes were clearly not right.
Too much poison had driven her mad.
As I said nothing, Lynda leaned forward eagerly.
“Hey, hey! They say you killed a noble, right?”
I nodded.
“I did.”
“Waaah!” She clapped her hands, “I never dared, not with royal knights around… but you did! Amazing!”
She gazed at with eyes sparkling like a disciple beholding her idol.
It embarrassed enough that I scratched my head.
“It wasn’t much.”
“No! It’s really cool!”
I nodded solemnly.
“Well, I am cool.”
“Yes! Super cool! And super handso! I love it!”
“…What?”
Startled, I stared at her.
“You think I’m handso?”
“Uh-huh!”
“You’ve got good taste, girl.”
“Eyes red as blood! So handso! I want to lick them! Can I?”
“That… would be troubleso.”
“Oh, sorry.”
I couldn’t decide if being called handso by a lunatic was sothing to feel proud about… or sad.
‘When a madwoman calls you good-looking, what does that even an?’
As I wrestled with that thought, Lynda blurted, “Devil! I wanted to et you so badly! From the mont I heard the rumors, my head’s been full of you! And now, seeing you in person—ah, I like you even more! I like you! Oh no, should I be saying this? I like you! Ah, I said it!”
“…Yep. She’s completely mad.”
It was a sudden confession from a lunatic, yet oddly, it didn’t feel unpleasant.
“Lynda. Why did you want to et ?”
“Because! I thought maybe we could be friends.”
“Friends?”
“Mm-hm! I’ve been searching for soone to share my tea parties with!”
“Doesn’t look like you have any friends.”
“…Yeah. You’re right.”
Lynda suddenly wilted.
“No one ever stays with until the end of the tea party. They all die halfway through.”
Her words made pause in thought.
‘So this “tea party”…’
I’d suspected as much.
It wasn’t an ordinary tea party. It was a poisoned tea party.
‘Should I call it a poison-tea party? A poisoned-tea party? A tea-poison party?’
While I toyed with nas, Lynda’s eyes fixed on .
“Devil, I feel like you could enjoy the tea party with .”
Her eyes glead with an indescribable madness.
“Can we start?”
“Hold it.”
I gripped the table lined with teapots full of poison.
In my mind, a plan unfolded vividly.
I’d flip the table skyward.
The poisons would crash down on that lunatic, shattering into chaos.
In the sa instant the table blocked her view, I’d close the distance, draw my blade, and cut her in two.
Shraaak!
The table split, and so would Lynda.
‘Perfect.’
I tightened my grip, ready to overturn it.
[Wait.]
Clunk.
Instead of flipping it, I set the table back down. The teaware clattered violently, a few tumbling to the ground and shattering.
Across from , Lynda’s eyes widened in surprise.
I said brazenly, “The table was tilting. I just leveled it.”
“Oh, really?”
She blinked, then waved her hand sharply to the side.
Out of nowhere, a masked man appeared, dressed in a proper suit that oddly suited the tea party.
“You called, my lady?”
He bowed politely.
Lynda told him,
“He says the table’s uneven.”
“…That’s impossible. I checked it thoroughly—”
I roared, cutting him off.
“Silence! Do you dare bla for the broken teaware? You vile, petty, despicable villain!”
The masked man blinked in panic, looking between and Lynda.
“N-no, not at all. I swear I leveled it perfectly. Believe , Lady Lin—”
Before he could finish, sothing flashed between us.
The man clutched his throat and collapsed.
“Ggghhhkk!”
He writhed in agony, then went still.
Lynda tilted her head.
Other masked attendants appeared, dragging the corpse away without a word.
“Hm.”
I humd quietly.
That had been a needle—so fine it was barely visible. Its tip was surely coated in poison.
At a glance, I could tell her skill surpassed Jas and Jack.
If I had fought her outright, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly as my plan imagined.
Lynda pouted, looking downcast.
“Sorry… I just wanted the tea party to be perfect. But it never goes the way I hope. It makes sad…”
I consoled her in my own way.
“Shut up. I don’t care.”
Her face brightened instantly.
“Really?”
“Yes. So be quiet for a bit. I need to think.”
“Mm-hm! Tell when you’re done!”
She pressed her lips shut with her fingers, as if promising to wait patiently.
I turned inward, asking the Heavenly Demon,
‘Master. Why?’
Normally, he never interfered in fights.
Usually he just chuckled like he was watching a play.
But suddenly, he stopped .
[The tea party. Do it.]
‘What?’
[Do it.]
‘…Why?’
[Good poisons are hard to co by.]
What was he talking about now?
‘…And?’
[This is a rare chance to train toward Poison Immunity.]
“Training!”
At that word, my eyes lit up.
“Training is good.”
[Of course.]
‘But what’s Poison Immunity?’
[It ans a body untouched by ten thousand poisons—a legendary state where no toxin can kill you.]
“Oooh…”
The Heavenly Demon added loftily,
[Naturally, it is a realm I attained.]
A body impervious to all poisons…
That ant I could ignore the assassins’ toxins entirely. No fear of poisoned food.
I imagined swimming through a black ocean of venom.
My chest swelled with exhilaration.
[That girl’s tea party clearly ans drinking poison. Don’t kill her yet—drink what she offers, then kill her if you wish. It’s a high-level art. She reminds of myself in my youth.]
‘…That impressive?’
The Heavenly Demon rarely praised anyone. For him to say this ant Lynda was a true genius with poisons.
‘But… drink poison?’
[Yes.]
‘Won’t that kill ?’
[You’ll use your Qi to expel it, like driving out drunkenness.]
“Ahh.”
[Normally you’d build resistance little by little. But with my talent embedded in you, you can afford a more extre thod. Painful, yes—but survivable.]
“…That so?”
[The worse the pain, the faster the progress. So?]
The answer was obvious.
I grinned.
“Pain? To , the only pain is not becoming stronger.”
I raised my head and looked at Lynda watching expectantly.
“Let’s have a tea party.”
Her face lit up with a radiant smile.
“Yay!”
(End of Chapter)
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