episode_0091

“Is that person really a pervert? Acting all high and mighty just because they’re a Mir Ryuin? How can they do such vulgar, obscene, and disgraceful things? Even if that’s the case, going into the next house and eavesdropping like that… it’s truly disgusting as a human being.”

Mei Luina, who was focusing all her attention on the sound coming through the wall, looked at Mir Ryuin with genuine contempt.

“To think that person is ranked 2nd in the world hero rankings, if Mir Ryuin’s behavior like this were to be known to the public, how much would the hero’s reputation plummet… as a saint, I truly fear…”

Click. Squeak.

[Ah, washing with cold water really clears my mind.]

“Wow! It’s the wet hair Stei! Completely soaked Stei!”

Click click click click click!

Just moments ago, Mei Luina was sincerely criticizing Mir Ryuin while looking down on her, but as soon as she heard the sound of the bathroom door that Stei had entered opening, she used the camera she was holding to continuously capture his vulnerable appearance.

“Wow… Stei with water droplets falling from the tips of his hair that hasn’t dried yet… you’re so sexy…♥ With just this photo, I can spend tonight without feeling lonely… Ah.”

Mei Luina, who was engrossed in Stei’s actions after washing up, expressing her vulgar, obscene, and disgraceful desires, could only close her mouth when she made eye contact with Mir Ryuin in the next house.

※

“…”

“…”

In Mei Luina’s house across from Stei’s, despite there being two people inside, not a single sound of ants crawling could be heard.

A dreadful silence brought about by two S-rank Awakeners.

Mir Ryuin was the first to break the silence.

“It’s not proper to invite a guest and just leave them sitting there, is it? You know well that I dislike wasting time.”

A voice that sounded stern to anyone, devoid of any good emotions.

Although it was too dry to be considered a voice directed towards a comrade with whom he had risked his life to conquer an EX-rank gate, it was unavoidable.

“Even if I don’t waste your time, you’re going to eavesdrop on Stei like a perverted stalker, aren’t you?”

“What, what did you say?”

Before being called by Mei Luina, Mir Ryuin had been enjoying the real-time sound of Stei bathing obscenely like a pervert by pressing his ear against the wall in Stei’s adjacent house.

Caught masturbating in the room, it was no different from being caught by a colleague, so it was natural for Mir Ryuin’s voice towards Mei Luina to be irritating.

“Hmph, well, at least I’m better than you, right? I didn’t record anything. I didn’t even use magic. I just briefly listened to the sound coming from the next door out of curiosity. I didn’t blatantly spy like you did.”

“Kuh, Kuh?!”

And despite Mei Luina’s words, she had no right to criticize her, calling her a perverted stalker.

“Well, at least I didn’t invade Stei’s adjacent house! I didn’t slyly and sneakily take over Stei’s adjacent house without saying a word!”

“Whether it’s the next door or the front door, it’s all the same, isn’t it? And at least I didn’t spy. Socially speaking, you’re the one who would receive more criticism than me.”

“Mir Ryu-in is just another stalker! It’s meaningless to nitpick about someone who hasn’t even taken a step outside of their own territory coming this far. What would the reaction be if the fact that Mir Ryu-in is acting like this became known to the public? It’s obvious even without looking!”

Both of them were criminals who would be caught a hundred times over if reported, so arguing and bickering would only result in getting dirtier in each other’s eyes.

However, the actions that exposed each other’s true intentions were too vulgar compared to their social status, so their argument only intensified without any sign of stopping.

“Hah, it’s probably better than Saintess Mei Luina falling head over heels for a man and engaging in surveillance.”

“Eek… I-I’m not head over heels! I’m not at that point yet! Mir Ryu-in is the one who’s head over heels! If you come all the way here abandoning your beloved magic research…”

“What? I’m head over heels for Saintess? What are you talking about? I’m just giving a chance to the regretful Saintess by temporarily settling in a nearby place. It’s not like I’m head over heels for anyone. Mir Ryu-in wouldn’t do that, right?”

Even at this point, Mei Luina and Mir Ryu-in continued to assert their pride without revealing their true intentions.

“There’s no way that’s true?”

“Well, I just… I came here because I’m a very rational person. As a magician who needs to be precise. When I made a contract with Saintess, I couldn’t do anything, so I agreed for the time being, but it was an unfair contract, right? Three people are receiving treatment, but the contract was only paying you.”

The one who first asserted his pride and came this far to explain the reason was Mir Ryu-in.

“In simple terms, I received treatment from Saintess, but Saintess didn’t receive anything from me. And I’m not the type of person who can accept that. So I came to pay for the treatment. How about that? Is that explanation enough?”

“W-Well, it makes sense.”

Mir Ryu-in’s words were certainly convincing enough for anyone who heard them.

She was an S-rank Awakened, one of the world’s greatest heroes who saved the world, and the wealthiest Awakened.

“Alright, the words I said will be convincing to anyone who hears them. Even Mei Luina, who is in the same position as me, will have to agree when I speak like this. Phew, defense was successful, so now it’s time for me to attack?”

Therefore, Mir Ryu-in had a strong enough argument that not accepting only receiving was unacceptable, and the speaker himself knew this fact, so the successful defense was satisfying.

And now that the defense was over, it was Mir Ryu-in’s turn to attack.

Mir Ryu-in had firmly decided to thoroughly humiliate Mei Luina if she showed any weakness and opened her mouth even a little, as she opened her mouth towards her.

“Well, now it’s time to hear your side of the story, right? Mei Luina, why did you crawl all the way here?”

Using an aggressive expression like ‘crawl in,’ a phrase that would provoke anyone who heard it.

“C-Crawl in… you say?”

“Yeah, crawled in, right? Bringing that big camera, isn’t that saying it all?”

“Ugh…!”

Mei Luina, who usually wore a poker face and never showed her true intentions enough to be evaluated, for some reason, couldn’t just let Mir Ryu-in’s words slide.

“······So you’ve finally shown up. Making excuses about being sure of your intentions and shamelessly coming here. Just admit that you came because you wanted to see Stay too!”

For Mir Ryuin, May Luina was the most threatening opponent, as she had received treatment from Stay just like her.

But directly accusing Mir Ryuin of lying and saying, ‘Don’t lie! You came here because you wanted to see Stay too!’ left no room for rebuttal, and now May Luina had to answer Mir Ryuin’s question.

There was no room for attack, only a desperate need for a flawless defense.

“Well, why don’t you try teasing that sharp tongue of yours, May Luina.”

“Ugh… what should I do? I want to say that I also came to repay my debt to Stay like Mir Ryuin, but the camera cannon is too decisive. I got caught in the act of taking pictures of Stay! If I get caught, I’ll be teased until I die of embarrassment…”

If there was even a slight gap in May Luina’s excuse, she would be mercilessly torn apart in this situation where protecting her pride was crucial. Mir Ryuin smirked slyly.

“What’s wrong? Can’t answer? Are you really stalking Stay…?”

Just as Mir Ryuin was about to confirm her victory with the silence that was practically a surrender.

“Well, shall we head to work? Come to think of it, I need to find a part-time job too. How should I post a job listing?”

“Huh?!”

“Huh?!”

The sound of Stay muttering to himself and the sound of him getting ready for work reached the ears of the two.

“······Do we have to listen to the answer right now?”

“······Ahem, I’ll listen next time.”

Of course, for the two of them, arguing and bickering and everything else was less important than stalking Stay.