episode_0052

Chirp chirp chirp- Wee-oh wee-oh wee-oh- Spio spio spio~

A cheap inn in Delphi City.

In an inn room with poor soundproofing, where bird calls clearly echoed, Garett Chabrier opened his eyes to a splitting headache.

Unfamiliar air, memories of the previous night flitting about, and…

A neck line and collarbone that were pale white yet felt firmly toned, a generous embrace exuding a soft scent, and his own head neatly buried in the midst of it all.

“Uh… uh… uhh…?”

Gulp-

He swallowed once and lifted his head. A beauty, exuding the delicate feeling of something painstakingly crafted by a master artisan, was sleeping peacefully.

“Ex-excuse me…”

“Just a little longer, I want to stay like this…”

Garett, who had been about to say something, could only remain speechless.

Fiery charisma, confident spirit, and outstanding ability that made her stand out like a crane among chickens even in Leone, where talented individuals gathered.

It was only natural, in a way, that the great Princess-nim, hailed as a perfect superhuman, was speaking in a world-weary, slightly clumsy voice, even acting sweetly charming.

A moment later, Skada slowly opened her closed eyes.

Despite having been drinking until she fainted last night, there wasn’t a hint of intoxication in her eyes.

“Garett.”

“Yes, Princess-nim.”

At her quiet yet comfortable tone, so different from usual, Garett calmed his surprised and flustered heart and regained his usual composure.

“Although we spent the night like this, I have no intention of binding you because of it. I will respect whatever path you choose to take. So feel free to decide.”

Garett listened with a calm gaze and expression to these words, which could be considered unexpected coming from Skada.

Her calm and quiet voice continued.

“I drank too much, but I actually remember everything from yesterday. I even remember Ras carrying us here and dropping us off.”

Skada was implying that if she hadn’t wanted this, she could have simply put Garett to sleep and slipped away.

“Even so, I just… wanted to hold you like this, feel human warmth, and fall asleep. Whether this is love, or just a rational liking… I’m not sure about that.”

Skada hugged Garett tightly for a moment, then released him and rose.

“Naturally, I haven’t lost my purity yet. You were truly drunk and just flailed around until you fell asleep. There was no one-night stand between us, and there’s nothing to tie you down.”

Skada then gently stroked Garett’s face, but Garett shook his head.

“Why would there be nothing to tie me down? Skada Eisenstein da Sephiroth, I have already been captivated by the Imperial Princess-nim.”

With his characteristic polite and gentle smile, Garett gracefully knelt before Skada.

“It is said that a knight’s loyalty sometimes follows the call of fate and destiny. Therefore, I vow to become your most loyal and sharp spear from this day forward.”

Though it was a vow made in a cheap inn room, it was more brilliant than any oath sworn beneath a luxurious throne.

The light was so bright that Skada was able to reveal a genuine smile she had kept hidden deep in her heart for a very long time.

“Alright. I look forward to working with you. My knight, my spear… and…”

As she spoke with a somewhat solemn voice, her words trailed off slightly cutely, and Garett playfully kissed the back of her hand, cutting her off.

“The next words, just a little later… because I want to say them to you in a more romantic place.”

“…..Ahem… You’re more skilled with women than you look.”

Skada, whose face had turned red, turned her head primly, but she couldn’t hide the upward curve of her lips.

It was a youth like a Saturday morning.

*

It’s the weekend, busy, but exciting.

A weekend with nothing left to do but thoroughly torment Emma — wouldn’t that fill one with anticipation?

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about the despicable seniors who hadn’t paid at either the cafe or the bar last night.

What happened to those folks yesterday?

Skada, who had been acting completely drunk, but was actually holding onto her senses….

It was just last night that I desperately held back from yelling at her, feeling indignant, “Stop pretending to be drunk and pay the bill!”

Anyway, since I promised to help Skada, I shouldn’t ruin things just because I’m annoyed.

By now, hasn’t Skada successfully charmed Garett into becoming both her subordinate and her lover?

“Master-nim..! You’re thinking of another girl, aren’t you..!!! That’s not allowed. It’s bad when you do that while with Pisces~ Very naughty~”

As Pisces clung to me, whining, a spring-bud-like peace grew in my heart.

I playfully tapped Pisces’ plague doctor mask, then stretched my body.

Instead of spring-bud-like peace, it was time to gift hellfire to the back-alley mosses.

“Let’s go, kids.”

“Yes! Boss!!!”

As Pisces muttered and conjured dark magic for me, I transformed into Orca, the rising star of the underworld, poised to become the new power in Delphi’s back alleys.

This is a method of filling my surroundings with illusions, mixing the mimicry, one of our henchmen’s unique dark magics, with a flickering, flame-like image.

Having become Orca, a rough and ferocious, flame-like man, I once again took control of some part of Delphi’s back alleys today.

*

Dark Mage Lergo’s workshop.

Lergo, who once made a name for himself in this area through cruelty and power, was bound in a state no better than a half-corpse.

“Pisces, shall I give you a quiz? If you get the answer right, I’ll give you a shiny orb.”

“Hee hee!! What is it? I’ll guess it right away.”

Ras circled around the bound Lergo, posing a quiz.

“Guess Dark Mage Lergo’s feelings. Number 1: You no-name brats… I’ll tear you to shreds once I regain my power. Number 2: Please save me.”

Pisces thoughtfully rolled her smart head.

Concentrating with a slight frown, she soon gave her answer.

“Correct answer!! Number 3: Please… just kill me. I beg you…”

“As expected. Our minion is very clever. That’s correct, Pisces.”

“Ehehehe!!! I’m the best, right? Even more than that foolish thieving seagull woman, or… Ro-Rosalie-nim. Right??!!”

Ras thought Pisces, who had cleverly guessed the omitted option, was adorable and doted on her, and Pisces seized the opportunity to promote herself to her heart’s content.

Of course, a situation utterly unsuited to this harmonious scene was unfolding right beside them, so the workshop’s atmosphere, if viewed from a distance, would have been quite eerie.

“Pl-please… stop it now and just kill me. I beg you…”

Lergo, tied to a chair and weeping profusely, pleaded with the will to die.

‘Good. He’s completely broken now. He’ll do anything as long as it brings him peace.’

Ras, feeling the helplessness of someone whose very soul had been incinerated in Lergo’s voice, slowly approached Lergo.

“Alright. Now you’re getting the right answer. I will kill you… If you just do as I say, you can die immediately… How about it?”

“I’ll do anything. Just tell me what.”

Seeing Lergo brighten at the mention of death, Ras smiled with satisfaction and gave Lergo the final instruction of his life.

“It’s nothing much. A little later, a girl named Emma… will come. She looks unlucky. If she demands a penalty fee from you, just say, ‘Penalty fee? I can’t give you that. I don’t have a single penny to give.’”

It was a somewhat bizarre request, but Lergo dared not question it or ask for a reason.

“That’s all? Nothing more?”

“Well… if you say, ‘See you in hell, Emma Agnelli,’ like a villain making a grand exit, I’ll send you to the afterlife even faster.”

“Alright. I’ll remember… When is that girl coming?.. Hehehe… Now I can finally die…”

Lergo, laughing like a madman, was completely consumed by the Seal of Annihilation that Ras had embedded.

Ras looked at his watch.

Lergo’s workshop always opened after six PM, so customers who had used it before would visit after that time.

“She’ll probably come in about… twenty minutes, don’t you think? There’s less than an hour left, so just wait a bit, my dark mage friend.”

Ras grinned, pulled a small box from his pocket, and handed it to Pisces.

“What’s this?”

Pisces’ eyes widened as she opened the box with a “Ta-da!” sound.

“Whoa-a-ah…!!!!”

Inside the box was a necklace with a large, pitch-black black pearl, as big as Pisces’ eyes.

Pisces, who had a crow-like habit of collecting shiny things, bounced around in extreme delight.

“Thank you! Master-nim, let’s get married soon..!”

“Ugh. This kid is always so flighty. Why is marriage on your lips so much these days?”

Ras lightly indulged Pisces’ antics, but Pisces giggled, then took the necklace box and quickly sat down in front of Ras.

“Master-nim..! Please put the necklace on me quickly. They say the master is supposed to put the necklace on.”

Of course, “the necklace the master puts on” usually didn’t mean a pearl necklace like this, but Pisces was pretending to be innocent even though she knew perfectly well.

Ras skillfully and gently put the necklace around the neck of his capable subordinate.

It was nothing difficult for Ras, as he had done it many times for Semere before his regression.

“Pisces, it’s almost time for Emma to arrive, so let’s set up. Prepare the illusion magic and bring the mask.”

“Yes!!!”

Pisces answered cheerfully, then went into the room and came out with the plague doctor mask.

Ras firmly put the mask on Lergo, and at the same time, the workshop’s atmosphere transformed into a terrifying dark mage’s lair due to Pisces’ dark magic.

Finally, like a flickering mirage, Ras’s form began to change back into Orca, and Pisces transformed into a crow, settling on a perch to prepare for the show.

“Le-Lergo..!!!!! Come out now, you fraudulent bastard..!”

Unlike last time, when she was like a frightened puppy, Emma had regained her dignity and kicked open the workshop door, even spewing curses she would never normally imagine uttering.

Actors, props, setting, script…

With everything prepared in this place, a tragedy starring Emma Agnelli officially raised its curtain.

The title of the play was ‘The Woman Caught in a Black Rose Thicket.’

Director, script, and supporting actor: Ras Etgard.

Major assistance: Pisces, and Dark Mage Lergo.