Blood of the Lion (15)

1.

Silence reigned, as if time itself had stopped.

Even Eric, not one for expressive emotions, widened his eyes and gaped at the scene unfolding before him.

A Bunny girl.

He recalled a female student who once harbored feelings for him, dressing up like that and hopping around, imitating a rabbit.

He hadn’t given it much thought back then.

He remained indifferent even when she enthusiastically wiggled her plump behind in front of him.

But.

This was too much.

The pose, with both hands raised above her head in an awkward rabbit imitation.

The slight jut of her hips was stimulating the male heart.

The most provocative thing was, of course, her attire.

As if the size wasn’t right, her ample breasts spilled out over the top of the cups covering them.

“…….”

“…….”

Eric stared at the Saintess’s flesh-filled chest before lifting his gaze to confirm her face.

Her face was flushed red.

He could see that she, who seemed to know nothing of embarrassment, was embarrassed.

Eric took off his jacket.

“O-o-oi, why are you taking off your clothes, you crazy bastard!”

The Saintess shouted in dismay.

“What kind of vulgar attire is that for a Saintess.”

Eric draped the jacket over the Saintess’s shoulders.

The size difference between the two was so great that it was practically a coat on her.

The Saintess wrapped herself in the jacket, concealing her body.

“A Holy Knight was looking for you.”

With that, Eric turned and walked out.

-Thump

The attic door closed and disappeared.

Eric stood there, sighing and running a hand roughly over his face.

“……This is bad.”

A memory more vivid than when he was beaten by the Saintess was now etched into his mind. The Saintess in a Bunny girl outfit.

2.

Elia was left alone.

“……Haha.”

She stood blankly, laughing.

Of course, it wasn’t a laugh of joy.

Like someone who had lost their country overnight, she was so dumbfounded that it came out without her realizing it.

“Uwaaaaa……!!”

Elia covered her face with both hands, roaring like a beast.

Her face was burning.

She had been trying on the unfamiliar outfit out of curiosity, never imagining that someone she never expected would appear at that moment. And that person was the one she shouldn’t have been seen by the most.

“Of all people…! Of all people…!”

She had shown Eric, who seemed to harbor feelings for her, such a lowly appearance.

The thought that he might use it to comfort himself during nightly recollections made a sticky unpleasantness surge up within her.

This was the first time in her life she had felt so embarrassed.

It was even more mortifying than when she first wore women’s panties and realized she was a woman.

“It’s over… it’s over….”

Her manhood had fallen off, and now even her dignity as a Sword Saint had fallen off.

There was only one way to recover from this.

To hit Eric’s head repeatedly until he developed amnesia.

If she could just erase his memory, just his memory.

She could heal the external wounds with Divinity.

“……Would that even work?”

Elia took off the jacket and threw it on the floor.

It was just a pointless outburst of anger.

“I’m here.”

Victoria arrived with the ordered desserts.

Victoria saw Elia in the Bunny girl outfit and made a suggestive face, exclaiming, “Oh my!”

“You’re still a man at heart, after all.”

“……Want to die?”

Elia glared at Victoria, exuding murderous intent.

But it wasn’t threatening at all.

Even a hero called the great Sword Saint couldn’t be threatening in such an outfit.

“Why would you put something like this in here!”

Elia screamed.

It was a problem that an abnormal outfit was mixed in with the normal clothes, but it was also a problem that she had put it on herself.

“It seems like it got mixed in during the hasty preparations.”

“So why is something like this mixed in……!”

“I think it’s because I asked for all the clothes in the store. I never imagined there would be such a revealing outfit.”

Victoria raised the corners of her lips mischievously.

“By the way, it suits you well.”

“I’m really going to kill you?”

“Did you tie your hair yourself? It’s cute.”

“Ugh, I’m telling you, I’m really going to kill you?”

Victoria just giggled at the fierce warning.

“But why are you angry?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“You have to tell me why you’re angry so I can be careful in the future.”

“I don’t know. You’ve ruined my chances of getting married.”

“You mean getting a bride, not a groom.”

“Shut up.”

Elia felt a deep fatigue.

3.

Ron’s office, the commander of the 10th Knight Order.

Ron, lost in thought, pressed his thumbs around his eyes, feeling a deep fatigue.

He was heading to the Western Front in a few days.

A place colder than the cold of the North and hotter than the heat of the South.

A place where the stench of blood permeated, despite years of ceasefire.

He was scheduled to hold talks with the Demon Lord Army in the area closest to the Demon Realm.

The future would change depending on how the conversation was concluded there.

It was a choice between two options.

Light or darkness.

No matter which one he chose, damage would be inevitable. The only difference was when that damage would occur.

As he had told the Emperor, Ron wanted complete peace.

But that was something that could not be achieved through dialogue.

Not only were they different species, but their values were completely different.

They thought of humanity as slaves or food. Each was the absolute evil to the other. How could they narrow their values and reach a peace treaty with such beings?

It was impossible.

There was only one way.

To take the Demon King’s head.

The next Hero was not skilled enough, so he needed more time. And they had not yet gathered all the talents to form the Hero Party.

But.

Would there ever be a better opportunity to attack the Demon King than now?

Two of the Demon Lord Army’s greatest forces, the four Legion Commanders known as living disasters, were vacant.

It was safe to say that half of the Demon Lord Army’s forces had disappeared.

And while there was a shortage of talent to form the Hero Party, there were plenty of talented individuals for combat.

He could think of several pages worth of people right away.

The first person that came to his mind was her.

The Saintess.

His first impression was that she was a girl who deserved the name Saintess.

She seemed far removed from fighting.

He couldn’t believe that she, who looked like she couldn’t even hold a sword properly, was a monster who had defeated two Legion Commanders. Of course, you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance, but she looked so harmless that he couldn’t help but think that way.

“What do you think?”

Ron looked up.

“About what?”

“Do you think it’s better to seize the opportunity of the enemy’s forces being reduced by half, or to pass it up and wait for the next time?”

“It’s a difficult choice.”

The Hero, Louis, caressed the hilt of his sword.

“If it were me, I would fight. As you said, the enemy’s forces have been reduced, but the fact that they’re starting to move means that the Demon King is almost fully recovered.”

The word Demon King made his right arm throb. As if his empty right arm was still there.

“If we can end the war before he fully recovers, we should end it.”

“How is Yohan doing?”

“He’s grown while he’s been at the academy. He, who couldn’t properly control Magical power no matter how much I taught him, can now control Magical power. His swordsmanship has also improved. I heard he was taught by the Saintess at the academy.”

“The Saintess…… What do you think about giving the Holy sword to the Saintess?”

Louis was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“……If that were possible, it would be good.”

“It doesn’t react, does it?”

“It doesn’t. As you know, if someone was able to wield the Holy sword, the Holy sword would have reacted first.”

He had secretly tested it several times while they were in the carriage together.

But it didn’t react at all.

If she was the chosen one of the Holy sword, that mark would have appeared on the back of her hand.

“It’s a shame…… If it was her…… no, if it was she, she might have been able to defeat the Demon King.”

He really felt sorry for his disciple, Yohan. It was a good thing Yohan wasn’t here.

“Are you going to bring the Saintess with you this time?”

“If possible. I got permission from the Holy Nation, but her own will is important.”

“If it’s the Saintess, I think she’ll definitely say yes.”

“That would be good.”

“So when are you going to ask her?”

“His Majesty the Emperor said he would talk to her after the banquet tonight.”

Ron checked the time.

It was almost dinner time, so he got up from his seat.

“Huh?”

As he left the Knight Order building, he heard a commotion in the distance.

Ron and Louis looked towards the sound.

At that moment.

A pillar of fire-like light shot up from the distant sky and exploded.

The two immediately ran towards it.

They thought someone had invaded the Imperial Palace.

They arrived at the 4th Knight Order’s training ground.

A heavy Magical power pressed down on their shoulders, as if gravity had increased.

Dozens of Knights were gathered at the training ground. Not only the 4th Knight Order, but also other Knight Orders were mixed in.

Ron spotted a Knight from his own Knight Order and approached him to ask.

“What’s going on?”

“Commander.”

The Knight saluted as soon as he saw Ron.

“Is it an intruder?”

“No, sir. They’re sparring inside.”

“Sparring?”

What kind of sparring were they doing to use this much Magical power?

“Well… the Sword Saint and the Sword Empress….”

“The Sword Empress?”

He had heard of her.

In the world, the Saintess was also called the Sword Empress.

It wasn’t official, but it was gradually being used as if it were official.

Ron entered the training ground.

-Clang! Clang!

Sword Aura and Sword Aura collided.

The Sword Saint, called the strongest swordsman in existence, and the girl who was on par with him, the Sword Empress.

No.

Looking at that fierce atmosphere, the word Sword Demon was more fitting. And the warm Saintess he had met for the first time was nowhere to be seen in the Sword Demon’s appearance.