Ch.102Faith and Love (3)

# Faith and Love (3)

Esmeralda’s sudden shouting made Third flinch as if frightened.

She had approached Esmeralda without any actual malice, surprisingly. From the beginning, she had no interest in the hero’s party, and she believed Esmeralda had died at the hands of the Demon Lord, Belphegor.

That’s how little she cared.

Therefore, she hadn’t come looking for Esmeralda specifically.

She had simply approached because she noticed someone with considerable strength among humans and wanted to play a prank.

“Why!!! Why is it always me! Why does everyone always do this to meeeee!”

‘What’s with this girl? She’s terrifying!’

She never had ill feelings toward humans to begin with. No, why just humans?

She simply lived by the value that anything was fine as long as it was entertaining.

Of course, this attitude had gotten her into trouble more than once.

She had played pranks on the Demon Lord too, which resulted in a severe beating and living with a leash held by Second.

Yet her impulse for pleasure never disappeared, making her mouth itch during every commander meeting.

If Belphegor hadn’t given Second a chance to save Third, she would already be in a coffin.

Of course, she knew she was causing trouble for Second.

But if she could resist her instincts, she wouldn’t have risen to the pinnacle of the Trickster race.

Tricksters were beings who grew stronger through deception.

“Ah, ahem! I am but a passing magici—”

“Die!”

‘Ack, this girl is really scary!’

Esmeralda swung her sword at Third as if in a delirium, but her mind had returned to a surprisingly calm state.

She was the hero. A being who rises from despair time and again.

The cycle was just a bit short, giving her something like bipolar disorder, but thanks to that, Esmeralda could show her opponent what true madness was.

And as her mind cleared, she could see certain things.

[Trait List]

Dagger Technique Lv. 62

Magic Lv. 20

Illusion Lv. 42

Elemental Magic Lv. 16

Deceiver of the World Lv. 4

Agile Movement Lv. 42

Stealthy Movement Lv. 23

Through her opponent’s traits, she could tell what kind of fighter she was.

And…

‘Her total estimated level is low.’

[Total Estimated Level: 652]

The fact that her total estimated level was significantly lower than her position.

From this, she could deduce one thing.

‘That trait with the grandiose name must be one that has high versatility but requires special conditions.’

The opponent’s combat power was low.

However, she possessed a joker that could overturn everything.

The trait called “Deceiver of the World.”

It was hard to be certain just from the name. But looking at the list of traits she possessed, Esmeralda could roughly understand its nature.

‘Third is an assassin. Not the kind that hides in the darkness, but one who creates commotion and hides within it.’

Just looking at her appearance made that clear.

The flamboyant jester outfit would stand out even in a crowd.

So drawing attention to herself was the goal itself.

“Hey, you know, it’s scary when you suddenly shout and then go silent like that… Do you have some mental issues?”

“Do I look so easy that I’d fall for that level of provocation?”

“No, I was actually asking sincerely… Well, whatever.”

Third avoided Esmeralda’s sword with peculiar movements before retreating far away and stretching. Her gestures and movements resembled those of a cat.

‘Her trait? Did she use it?’

Esmeralda glared at the world that was beginning to refract strangely while keeping her eyes on Third.

An illusion that changed the entire space.

A stage was being set.

“I should teach you some manners for swinging a sword at someone you just met, shouldn’t I?”

Third bowed with an exaggerated gesture under the brilliant spotlight.

“Shouldn’t you have considered that appearing like that in the middle of the night might get you stabbed?”

Esmeralda responded with a smile, sword in hand.

***

Eirene didn’t rush. Of course, she knew that if she hesitated, she would be caught by Esmeralda without accomplishing anything.

But her calculations were thorough.

“It’s about time to move.”

Take Millia, for instance.

Her scheme wouldn’t end just by leaving Millia alone.

Eventually, Esmeralda would find the collapsed Millia while pursuing the two of them.

‘And considering the hero’s tendency not to kill companions, she’ll at least provide first aid.’

Up to this point, it was the same as what Esmeralda had predicted while treating Millia’s wounds.

But Eirene had gone further and cast holy magic on Millia. Yes, a subtle and insignificant holy magic to detect when changes occurred in Millia’s body.

‘Now that Millia’s condition seems to be stabilizing, will she come looking for me?’

If Eirene had simply acted according to Esmeralda’s expectations, it would have been quite dangerous.

If Esmeralda’s departure had been later than Eirene anticipated, Millia could have died.

No matter how much Eirene calculated, it was impossible to predict exactly when Esmeralda would return and when she would pick up Eirene’s trail.

What if Millia had died in the meantime?

In that case, Esmeralda would have considered Eirene a complete enemy.

And making an enemy of Esmeralda would be quite troublesome. That’s why Eirene had left room for contingency.

‘If I don’t finish this quickly…’

So it was important to maintain a state where Millia wouldn’t die.

Since Esmeralda’s means of treating Millia would be limited to potions received from Eirene’s support, it was simple to manipulate things in advance.

“Haah…”

Having perfectly grasped the timing of Esmeralda and Millia’s encounter and how they would handle the aftermath, Eirene finished the purification bath she had been taking before meeting Lug.

Being a girl in love, she wanted to show only her beautiful side to the person she liked.

After washing off the dirt from her fight with Millia at a stream she had found earlier, Eirene headed toward the cabin.

“Oh, right. Before going in…”

Eirene looked at her wet clothes clinging to her body and blushed slightly.

Though unintentional, it was quite a provocative appearance.

‘It’s not something I want to show to others.’

Before entering the cabin.

Standing in front of the door, she deployed holy magic.

It was offensive holy magic that destroyed demons and purified demonic energy.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

“Kuaaaaaaagh!”

It was an attack aimed at Extra who was captured along with Lug.

Yes, outsiders weren’t needed for their private conversation. Since Extra seemed to have a personal connection with Lug, she wouldn’t kill him immediately, but she didn’t want to give him a chance to interrupt their conversation.

“Kieeeeeek!”

“Quack…”

After a moment, two screams rang out, and one of them completely stopped.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

“Hmm, hmm. That’s Lug’s scream. Good. The one remaining is Lug. I suppose being a hybrid makes it easier to endure?”

Eirene listened to the remaining scream as if enjoying music to confirm whose voice it was, then gently opened the cabin door.

“Hello, Lug.”

“Ah, h-hello… Saintess.”

Lug’s tongue seemed to be tied from the electrifying state of his body.

Even in this situation, he was trying to maintain composure, which suggested he still intended to deceive her.

Despite the commotion earlier in the day.

“Hehe.”

Eirene smiled innocently as usual, finding Lug’s behavior quite cute, and gracefully walked over to open the door of the cage where Lug was imprisoned.

Standing in the doorway as if blocking it, Eirene spoke to Lug with a wistful smile.

“Would you mind having a little talk?”

“A talk? What kind…?”

Lug tried hard to figure out Eirene’s intentions, considering she had attacked him and Extra with holy magic before entering the cabin.

Moreover, her position blocking the exit rather than freeing him was certainly suspicious.

Yes, this was something the usual Lug would never have imagined.

‘As expected. It seems the deity’s consciousness has returned.’

Eirene was convinced that the current Lug was different from usual.

“Well…”

Eirene looked at Lug, who was obviously wary of her, and then noticed his gaze kept drifting downward. She smiled brightly.

And it didn’t take long for that smile to transform into a lewd expression she never showed normally.

“How about a conversation… written on the body?”

Eirene tapped her lips with her index finger as she spoke, looking as if she were trying to seduce him.

She knew her current appearance was arousing Lug’s interest.

If so, there was no reason not to use it.

“B-body conversation?”

Lug swallowed dryly as he kept glancing at Eirene’s somewhat provocative appearance in her wet clothes.

Watching his reaction with interest, Eirene casually offered a second proposal.

“Or we could have an honest conversation about the things we’re hiding. Which would you prefer?”

While Eirene might have her preferences, for Lug the choice was obvious. The pervert in his lower half would reflexively choose the former.

And even the sage in his upper half wouldn’t differ.

Missing such a good opportunity would make him a fool, not a sage.

But there’s a reason why a sage is a sage. Lug almost fell for it momentarily, but slowly shifted his gaze to Eirene and the items she had brought.

“…”

Unidentified drugs and syringes.

Restraining chains and things reminiscent of torture devices.

Seeing those, Lug recalled that Eirene had proposed a conversation “written” on the body, not a “body conversation.”

“…Let’s have an honest conversation.”

“Fufu, shall we do that?”

Eirene giggled at Lug’s response and threw the items she had prepared into a corner.

Thanks to that, Lug could be certain.

‘I almost died just now!’

That he had barely passed a critical moment.