Ch.108[Chapter 108] Misunderstanding VS Hime

“Ughhhh…”

Having finally grasped the entire situation, Unryu Hime curled up at the table with her head in her hands.

Her fox ears and tail, which had been hidden, suddenly popped out, but Hime was too busy regretting her past actions to notice.

“It looks more natural than before?”

“Indeed. The liveliness has increased by 28.7%.”

Remi and Code Back Zero were surprised by the sudden appearance of fox ears and tail, but soon remembered seeing them during the parallel world event and couldn’t help but admire their mysterious liveliness.

In reality, these were actual side effects from various overlapping incidents, but Remi and Code Back Zero, being thoroughly scientific types, couldn’t understand such emotional matters.

They simply thought it was an impressively lifelike “fake”—a skin—and never considered it might be real.

While Remi and Code Back Zero were evaluating the fox ears and tail, Hime continued to shudder with embarrassment.

If Remi was right, she had misunderstood everything.

And it was she herself who had expanded and twisted that misunderstanding.

“Come to think of it, I never even had a proper conversation…”

This was the first time Hime had disliked her habit of just thinking to herself and agonizing internally.

Her fox ears drooped dejectedly.

It was fortunate they were outside.

If they had been at home, she would have kicked everything in sight, and not a single blanket would have remained intact.

Hime was about to sink into her own world again in her hunched position… but stopped herself.

She raised her head.

Now was not the time for internal suffering.

Hime already knew that if she didn’t sort out the situation, it would only grow worse.

What she needed to do now was take action.

She needed to apologize to Sir Dominic immediately and explain her behavior.

And she should also apologize to Sir Dominic’s genin… no, his subordinate.

It was only natural since she had caused them both harm due to her misunderstanding.

Unlike her usual self, Hime’s behavior had become proactive.

This was, in fact, a characteristic of the ninja village she belonged to.

A culture where everyone seemed to live quietly, but when they caused offense, they bowed deeper than anyone else.

As a member of the ninja village, Hime acted on matters of etiquette regardless of her personality.

Like an introverted child who doesn’t want to go to an amusement park but, once taken there, enjoys it more than anyone else.

The example might be a bit strange, but that was exactly Hime’s state.

However, a problem arose here.

“Um… how should I clear up this misunderstanding…?”

This kind of situation was a first for Hime, and being flustered by the unfamiliar circumstances, her thoughts had come to a halt.

“Maybe… I should bring the sharpest knife… to apologize through ritual disembowelment…”

Hime was currently malfunctioning.

Seeing Hime in such a serious state, Remi offered some orthodox advice.

“Well… I think you should start with an apology? If you’re too extreme, he might actually dislike it…”

“You’re right, aren’t you? Oh, what should I do? What should I do?”

There were several reasons why Hime was malfunctioning, but one of them was that her interest in Sir Dominic, which had been fading, had suddenly reignited with full force.

And her feelings for Sir Dominic—what Hime would call “love”—had grown just as much.

Too great a love is no different from too great a trauma.

Probably.

“Alright. I need to go apologize right now.”

Agreeing with Remi’s words, Hime stood up abruptly and began striding away.

From her demeanor, it seemed she was heading straight to Sir Dominic.

Remi tried to stop her.

“Hime, are you going to see my brother right now?”

“Yes. The sooner the apology, the better.”

“Looking like that?”

Remi pointed out Hime’s current state.

In truth, Hime was a mess.

Her black military uniform had lost its sharp lines and was disheveled, and her cheeks bore red marks from lying face-down on the desk.

With makeup ruined from drinking and hair in complete disarray, Hime’s appearance was a total disaster.

“…I should go home first to tidy myself up.”

Hime seemed to realize this as she regained her composure.

Apologizing in such a state would only have negative effects.

As soon as she regained her composure, the fox ears and tail that had appeared on Hime vanished.

“You should organize your thoughts as well as your appearance. My brother is a bit slow, so he won’t understand if you ramble.”

Whether Sir Dominic was really like that or not, Remi somehow felt like cheering on this clumsy kunoichi.

That’s why she offered what she thought was useful advice.

“Thank you.”

Hime straightened her collar and began to walk away.

She would tidy herself up, both physically and mentally, then go to Sir Dominic to apologize.

And… if possible, she was even thinking of confessing her feelings.

Just seventeen steps to the entrance of the shop.

Hime had already fallen into her own world, swimming in a sea of fantasies.

Until someone stopped her.

Just as she was wondering in her mind whether ten children would be better or eleven.

“Excuse me, customer?”

The bartender called out to Hime as she was about to open the door and leave.

“Yes?”

Hime turned her head toward the bartender.

Why was the bartender calling her?

And soon she understood the reason.

“Please pay your bill before leaving.”

That’s right.

Brigadier General Joseph, who had come with Hime, had left without paying his share, true to his secret society nature.

Hime realized this and put her hand to her forehead.

Then she took out her wallet from her pocket and paid the bill.

…

Late afternoon.

Even though Alice had already gone home, Sir Dominic was still training hard.

Normally, he would have finished training with Alice in the morning and moved on to other tasks, but today his mind was troubled.

To calm the mind, one must exhaust the body.

This was a principle that every Feralant knight held.

Usually passed down from senior knights to juniors.

“Hmm.”

Sir Dominic’s shield missed the scarecrow.

Having swung his shield for hours without rest, it was no wonder he missed.

But Sir Dominic was lost in thought about something else.

Yes.

What happened today.

Because of the incident involving Hime, Sir Dominic was troubled like this, and he was immersing himself in training to shake off his worries.

Sir Dominic removed his shield and placed it next to the scarecrow.

His white T-shirt that read ‘This is not a T-shirt’ was soaked with sweat.

The muscle pain he had felt in the morning had long disappeared due to continuous movement.

Sir Dominic sat on a rock by the flower bed next to the scarecrow and took a moment to catch the breeze.

The natural wind flowing from the forest cooled his hot body.

“Phew.”

After a brief rest, Sir Dominic stood up.

He strapped the shield back onto his arm and stood in front of the scarecrow.

How deep must his troubles be?

And how confused must he be to push himself this hard?

Ordinary people couldn’t understand.

Sir Dominic swung his shield again.

This time, he used the lower part of the shield to strike the head, neck, chest, abdomen, arms, shins, and insteps in succession.

Each of these would normally be fatal areas, but in Gacharland’s damage system, critical hits only occurred probabilistically, with no additional damage for targeting these specific areas.

Yet there was a reason Sir Dominic persistently targeted these seemingly vulnerable spots.

Sir Dominic was a warrior who instinctively knew how to exploit human psychology.

He instinctively knew which areas to attack to make people “fear.”

The areas he was targeting now might register as normal attacks in Gacharland, but for those on the receiving end, they could cause a split-second of stiffening—making them the best crowd control techniques.

Of course, this was Sir Dominic’s signature move, not recorded by the system.

In fact, thanks to such seemingly minor details, people who used Sir Dominic’s card found it strangely easy to operate.

Sir Dominic raised his sword.

In truth, Sir Dominic wasn’t skilled with a sword.

He had the title of Sword Master, but in Feralant, the Sword Master title was more like a medal given by the state for killing a certain number of demons.

It didn’t matter how well one used a sword; the title was given simply for slaying demons with a sword.

Even with Sir Dominic’s unrefined swordsmanship, befitting his serf origins, he could receive the Sword Master title.

But Sir Dominic wasn’t fooled by titles.

He knew well that his swordsmanship lacked foundation.

That’s why he learned to use a shield instead.

At least for surviving on the battlefield, nothing was better than a shield.

If he could survive at the front with a shield, other knights would handle the remaining enemies.

Having realized this efficient division of labor, Sir Dominic began replacing his shield once a day.

The shields couldn’t withstand his intense training.

“Those were the days,” Sir Dominic thought with a faint smile as he looked at his sword.

Suddenly, fatigue began to set in.

I should shower and change clothes. Better end today’s training here, thought Sir Dominic as he straightened the slightly tilted scarecrow and entered the house.

Not yet knowing that Hime would come looking for him.