56 Temple of love and beauty (2/2)

Cyrone doesn't usually get angry. I saw something very unusual.

'Are you alright, Kroki?'

Someone called out to him in a small voice.

I look up from my sprawled position and see Raina close by.

And I feel something soft on the back of my head.

'Huh?　Le...... Lena?

Raina was giving herself a lap pillow.

It was like she was laughing, though she couldn't see her face under her hood.

All the priests and priest-warriors around Raina moved away to stop Syrone.

'I'm sorry, Kroki. I just made you hide your true identity and this is what happened. ......

'No, ...... nothing else hurts. ......

Novice's attack couldn't do any physical damage to herself.

And the reason he didn't fight back was not so much for Raina's sake, but because he didn't want to let his power run amok.

I didn't do enough for her to thank me.

'Still, let me take care of you. At least no one is looking at you.

Then he hugs himself.

Raina's cronies are going to Syrone. So there's no one around.

My left cheek is muffled and buried in Raina's large chest.

The softness of it is impressive.

I wonder if it's a perk of the beating I got. Let's just say woo-hoo in my mind here.

The black flames go out of my mind as Raina hugs me.

I turn my head to see that Cyrone is about to go after the freedom fighter. Kaya is holding it back.

Now, what do we do now? I want to help the Lizardmen.

That's what I thought as I enjoyed Raina's chest.

◆Sizfe, the freedom fighter girl.

After leaving the Temple of Ishtia, we gathered at a nearby restaurant.

This restaurant is owned and operated by a former prostitute. This restaurant serves snacks and tea. The restaurant is popular with the women of the Ishtia Temple.

Many of the waitresses are women, and Justy works here when she is not working at the temple.

Children raised in the Temple of Ishtia have to go out and earn their own money when they reach a certain age.

The occupation in which they work can be anything, and they don't have to be a prostitute.

However, in Justy's case, she can't be a prostitute because men won't get close to her because they are afraid of her brother, Gaudin.

That Justy, along with his brother Gaudan, had met Master Shirone with us. And now he is helping in this shop.

Hey, Novice!　Master Cyrone was pretty pissed off!　What are we going to do!

I scold Novis as we all sit down at a table that can seat a large group of people.

It reminds me of the exchange between Novis and Sirone-sama earlier.

Novis was right, sometimes strong people can be approached by people who want to use their strength to suck their sweet juices.

There have been times in the past when such people have approached Novis.

I'll take in their words and force them to become my friends. And then they dignify it by saying that I'm one of the Fire Braves.

There are people who do that even though they have no power.

And the people who do this seem to be ordinary, good people. In fact, they can't do it to someone who is rather suspicious to look at.

The person Novis hit had a pretty good face. I can understand why Sirone-sama would want to keep him on his side.

And Novis has a theory that a man with only a good face like that is a bad guy.

People who try to profit from the fame of the brave man of light-sama. It's true that the person Novis hit might be that kind of person.

But I don't think it's right to assume that.

I'm angry at Novis for thinking so, but the person in question is sitting there like his soul has been drained.

It must have been quite a shock to him that he was almost killed by Syrone-sama.

But you need to get a grip.

'Hey, Novis!

This time I shake my body.

'Oh, Siszfe or ......'

'Oh, no it's not: ....... Get a grip, already.

I really want you to get your shit together.

That was awesome, though: ....... The room was shaking. The room was shaking. I really need you to take me on as an apprentice.

Novis says with a laugh.

I didn't know you were thinking about that ....... I'm not lumpy at all. My head hurts.

This guy has been like this before.

He thinks the world works in his favor.

''Hey, haven't you given up on becoming an apprentice yet?　Obviously, Master Shirone was angry with you.

I say, bored.

'What are you talking about, Siszfe!　There's no way I'm giving up!

Novice chuckles and says with a chuckle and gingerly raises his arms and makes a fist.

He doesn't seem to feel bad about hitting me at all.

'But you know, Novis ....... It wasn't just the way things were going with Master Syrone, you know. That guy you hit, well, maybe he's not just a baggage carrier.

Sister Kayna said.

It's true that Lady Shirone was not just a matter of when she hit that man.

Maybe he's not just a baggage carrier.

''But yea. As I recall, there aren't any bastards in the company of the heroic husband of the light, are there?

Gordan says. He's with us for some reason.

He's Justy's brother, and when we met him and talked to him, he was surprisingly nice.

And Gordan was right, all of Master Rage's friends were supposed to be female. I don't think there were any men.

'Gaudin's right, man!　There are no bastards in the company of the brave men of light, I'm sure!　Mr. Leiria, who is he?

Novis asks Leiria.

'That's ....... We don't understand it either. Before we know it, he's appeared and taken on the role of Lady Syrone's squire. Apparently he's an old acquaintance of Master Silone's. ......

Ms. Leiria shakes her head and replies.

'An acquaintance, huh ...... what kind of relationship do you have? Like a lover or something?'

Maddy says with a smirk.

'No, you don't, Maddy. Sirone-sama is one of Rage-sama's lovers.'

I deny Maddy's words.

As I recall, all of the women at Lady Rage's side are supposed to be her lovers.

'Maybe they're close, if not lovers. Novis, shouldn't you be apologizing?

What, why, Mr. Nola?

Novis says with a nod of his head. He really doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with him.

This is how Novis has always been, selfish and unconcerned about his surroundings.

I don't really like these things about Novis.

Of course, Novis has some good qualities. He is very kind to pretty girls. He is willing to risk it all to protect a girl.

That's why Justy and the other girls like him.

But I don't think Syrone-sama will ever like Novis. She's stronger than Novis, and most importantly, she has Rage-sama.

''Haha, I don't think Shirone-sama will teach you the sword if you don't apologize, but what are you going to do?''

I say, looking at Novice as I glare at him. I'm sure this guy won't mind if I give him a cold look, though.

''Don't worry about it, Sisyphe. I'm not going to be that upset over a mere beating of a baggage carrier's squire. I'm sure Lord Shirone will change his mind if I show him how useful I am.

Novis says, with plenty of himself.

'I guess so: ......'

I nodded my head. Sirone-sama was angry with me with a terrific swordsmanship. Would he forgive me?

In the first place, I don't think it's okay to hit a squire.

'You want to be useful? Then why don't we go and kill the Lizardmen?

Suddenly we are approached by a voice.

I looked at the direction of the voice and saw two men sitting in a seat near where we were sitting.

I don't know what time they came. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't notice them.

It was a man with brown hair and a scar on his cheek who approached us.

He was wild and moderately cool.

I guess he is a freedom fighter from the fact that he carries a bow on his back and holds a sword at his waist.

The other one has long light blue hair and a face like a woman's.

The fact that he is holding a spear suggests that he too is a freedom fighter.

'You're Zephyr, aren't you!　What do you look like!

Suddenly Kayna's sister stands up and glares at the man with the bow.

'Yo, Kayna. It's been a while, hasn't it?

The man smiles at his sister Kayna.

The name Zephyr sounds familiar.

Zephyr, the brave man of the wind. This is a man who was a past companion of Kayna's sister.

I've heard from Kayna's sister that her womanizing is quite bad. I'm sure you'll be able to get a good feeling from what Kayna said.

You're not. You're not going to be able to get your hands on any of these things.

Speaking of which, I heard he was injured in a failed attempt to defeat the centaurs. I wonder if he's already healed?

'Geez, don't tell me that, Kayna: ......

Zephyr's face turns grim.

'Well, what's up with the women who are always around?

......

Kayna's sister asks, but Zepha turns her head away and says nothing.

”I see. I see. The centaurs have beaten you to the punch, and you're feeling pretty good about it. I'm afraid you'll have to quit looking for women for good.

Sister Kayna laughs vigorously.

Zepha looks somewhat chagrined.

Zephyr the Wind Brave and Sister Kayna must have been fellow warriors before I became a freedom fighter. They used to go into the labyrinth together. But something happened in the past, and now they don't seem to be getting along with each other.

You should not do that anymore, sister Kayna. By the way, who's with you?

I look at the person with Zephyr.

'I am Nephim, the brave of the water. Young lady, it is an honor to meet you.

Then he comes to my side and puts his knees on the ground and takes my hand.

'What?'

Nephim takes my hand, and Novis lets out a cry of surprise as Nephim takes my hand.

I've heard of Nephim the Water Brave. He's a famous freedom fighter from the inland seas of Caird in the west.

'Are you the brave master of the water, Nephim?　Did you lose to Merman, as I recall?

When I said that, Nephim said, ”Geez! He moans.

'Pfft.'

I can hear Novis laughing.

'Haha ...... you're quite a demanding young lady,'

Then Nephim pulls his hand away from me.

He's trying to look calm, but his face is pulled back.

'By the way, what the hell do the brave men of wind and water look like to us?

Gordan asks.

Does Gordan's definition of us include us? I wonder, but I shall not say anything.

'You are, I believe, Gaudin, the brave of the land?　We need your help. To slay the lizardmen.

Zephyr huffs.

'Slaying Lizardmen?　What's this all about, Zephyr?

It's that simple, Kayna. You can't keep getting beat up on your way out of here.

Zepha says in frustration.

''I see, even if you call yourself a brave man, it wouldn't look good if you keep losing.

Sister Kayna nodded and replied.

Zepha and Nephim; the two brave men failed to defeat a demon just recently.

Do they want to avenge that stigma?

'Yes, sir!　We have to redeem our stigma!

Nephim hits the table and says with all his strength.

I almost squirm when I hear it.

What will I do to redeem my stigma?

I wonder if anyone will go into it. But no one says anything.

'Yes!　Now the maiden of the sword is coming, right?　We have to take the Lizardman down by ourselves before she takes him down! Let's redeem our reputation!

Zepha says out loud, too.

Zepha is wrong too.

'Hmm, I see. I'm not going to have a chance to play an active role in the game if Sirrone-sama defeats me first. So you are in a hurry.

Sister Kayna says, scratching her butt.

'I think that misbehaving should stop because it goes against the teachings of Lady Feria.

'That's what I'm talking about, Kayna. The Ishtean priestess told me before we met that the maidens of the sword don't go to slay the lizardmen any time soon,” she said. But we're in a hurry. If I can win on my own, fine, but I don't have the stomach for it. If that's the case, we'll just have to defeat it with a coalition of four brave men.

So you want us to help you?

”That's what I'm talking about, Nobis the Fire Hero. The story goes that you were blown up by one of your fellow light heroes, right?　Then I hear you haven't been particularly active. You don't want the brave men of light to keep taking the good parts, do you?　How about you, don't you want to redeem yourself?

Zephyr looks at Novis seriously and says.

''I might want to redeem the stigma, for sure. ...... Besides, this is your chance to show Master Cyrone that I can be useful. Okay, I'll give you a hand. Let's redeem ourselves!

Novis stands up and says with all his strength.

'You'll be there, Gordant, the brave of the earth, won't you?

Zephyr asked and Gordan nodded.

'Yeah, fine. That lizardman was a problem in the Association. I'll go along with you guys to redeem your stigma.

Gaudin is wrong too.

I look around. My sister Kayna, Maddy, and Mr. Laylia are holding their heads.

Apparently, they realized the mistake just like me.

The four brave souls are all together, ”Let's redeem the stigma! And the voices are all together.

It hurts my head to hear it.

'But it's late today. We'll do it tomorrow. So everyone get enough rest today.

Zepha said and the three brave men nodded.

'That's why. Sizfe and sister Keina. Tomorrow, we're going to slay the Lizardmen!

Novice laughs and tells me.

But wait a minute.

”What ...... are we going to do?

I couldn't help but mutter that.

◆Dark Knight Kroki.

So long, Maiden of Swords. If there is anything you need, you may call upon me at any time.

A woman named Atrana walks out of the room.

She is the wife of Tormarchis, the merchant who arranged the inn.

Tormarchis seems to be an official merchant of the Temple of Raina, and his wife, Atrana, is said to frequent the temple.

I was beaten up by a brave man named Novis and carried here pretending to be unconscious.

And then Reena sent the priests away because she had a secret to tell them.

So there are six of us in this room, myself, Shirone, Kyouka, Kaya, and Raina and Regina.

The priests had some difficulty with my presence, but in front of Reena's words, it seems that I have no choice but to agree with them.

The room where I was brought in is quite large for a squire's room. The bunk could sleep two people as well.

This room was assigned to Regina. It looks like she's done a great job for herself.

'It's safe to get up now, Kroki.

Sirone says and raises his upper body.

'Fu, pretending to be a squire isn't easy either: ......

If you were gonna do that, why didn't you just call him our new companion and not the squire?

Cyrone says, sounding angry.

He still seems to be angry that he was beaten up.

Sirone seems to think about himself enough to be angry at being treated unreasonably.

But I don't think I can be one of them.

Most importantly, I don't think Rage will join me, and even if he did, he'd be isolated among them.

'If you do that, you'll stand out ....... There will be people trying to figure out who you are.

So I shake my head and answer myself.

'Er.'

Cyrone seemed unhappy with the answer.

'That's right, Sirone. Croki is pretending to be a squire for me.'

Raina says happily.

I'm actually hiding my identity for Raina's sake.

I want her to feel a little indebted to me.

If Raina gives up, I won't have to fight Rage myself.

'Hey, Kroki ....... How long have you and Raina been friends?

Cyrone asks me with zit eyes.

To be honest, I don't understand myself either.

Well, I'm sure it's thanks for coming to save Rage. I can't think of any other reason.

'For that matter, I was just talking about Lizardman earlier. ....... May I?

'I feel like I'm kind of going off topic, but ...... well, okay. What's up with the lizardman?

I need you to stop exterminating them if you can.

I'm going to cut to the chase.

'Lizardman?　Why?

'They were brought in to force us to fight in the arena ....... I don't agree with exterminating them. So why can't we just convince them to go somewhere else while we enter the labyrinth?

I say what I've been thinking.

'I see. ....... That's so typical of Kuroki. I'm relieved that nothing has changed.

For some reason, Shirone seems happy to hear herself speak.

''You're very kind, Kuroki-san, aren't you?

Kyouka laughs and looks impressed.

But Kaya next to Kyouka looks at her coldly.

'Kuroki-sama. Lizardmen are already hostile to humans. It may be good for a time, but it will attack people at some point. Are you going to help that lizardman?

Kaya was right.

Even if you evacuate the lizardmen from the labyrinth temporarily, the lizardmen will eventually attack people again. If that happens, eventually someone will exterminate the lizardmen.

'But even then, I want you to stop exterminating them: ....... Even if it's only temporary.

I catch Kaya's gaze as I say this.

In the first place, I am a dark knight. I'm not on the side of man.

That's why it shouldn't be strange to save the Lizardman.

I see. But ......

Wait, Kaya!

Suddenly Kyouka lets out a loud voice.

'Miss .......'

''Kuroki-san is the one who came to your brother's rescue. We have to put Kuroki-san's will before our own here.

Kaya, please. Do me a favor. Do Kroki a favor for him.

Syrone and Kyouka offer their help.

'If you two are so inclined, I have nothing to say to you. ...... 'I'm sorry, Kuroki-sama,'

Kaya bows to herself.

'No. ....... You're right too.

If you look at it from the standpoint of being a fellow brave man, Kaya is right.

Lizardmen are hostile to humans.

If we don't exterminate the lizardmen, someone else might be killed.

'But it is too late for today. Why don't we try to convince them tomorrow? Please join us for dinner today with Lady Sirone. Are you ready, Miss Ligena?

Kaya says to Regena, who was a step away.

'Yes, we are ready for you. We have an assortment of items for you to choose from, Master. The priests have helped me with this.'

Ligeena looks at herself and says.

'I don't think it's right to eat with the squire ....... 'All right, we'll have dinner together.'

If possible, I don't want to do anything too obvious, but Regina prepared it for me, I can't do it without a fight.

''It's been a long time since I've had dinner with Kuroki. Let's talk about all sorts of things, shall we?

Cyrone seems to be having some fun.

I think it's good to see that.

Tomorrow we'll go to the labyrinth and try to convince the lizardmen. If they are like the Lizardmen of Nargol, we should be able to talk to them.

I thought about tomorrow.

Atranaqua, the spider goddess.

There are countless others who wriggle in the darkness.

All of them are women of the Arkeny tribe, my household.

The Arcenies are a race whose only members are women. Their upper bodies are no different from human women, but their lower bodies are spiders.

They change their appearance into human beings and live in the underworld of this free city of Thessia.

Humans wouldn't expect to find so many Arcenians living here.

This reminds me of earlier.

The woman who was with the brave men of light.

There's no doubt about it, that's Raina. She hides her face, but I can tell by her presence.

I didn't expect that goddess to come to the rescue of the brave.

I'll have to report to Lavrus.

But I'll think about it.

I want to take care of Raina with my own hands.

That's right: ....... I'm sorry to tell Lavrus, but it's the right thing to do.

Now's as good a time as any to get your guardian angels out. It's an opportunity.

But as long as the maidens of the sword are around, they're hard to mess with.

And he'll be just as hard to attack while his priests are around.

But there will always be an opening. If there aren't any, then create an opening.

There should be no one else to be on guard against.

There's a human squire, but he's weak.

I heard he was struck down by a fire hero and went down easily. We won't have to be alarmed.

”Wait for me, Raina. I'll get revenge on you: ......

The thought of that brought a smile to my face.