Ch.203Traffic Control (4)

Morning dawned.

And Llewellyn twisted his body, thinking it was unusually difficult to get up.

As he twisted his body haphazardly and enjoyed the soft sensation against his skin, he let out a groan while stretching.

Soon, the owner of that softness was looking at him with eyes that were both hollow and clear—a paradoxical gaze.

“My waist hurts.”

A woman with drooping ears and an equally drooping tail.

Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were swollen. She looked as though she had been crying, which was understandable given how she had wept in the bedroom.

She lightly hit his chest with her fists in a reproachful manner, but even in that gesture, deep affection could be felt.

Llewellyn stroked the head of Isla, who wore a pendant shaped like a red fruit.

“I can’t walk.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s because you love me.”

Isla said this nonchalantly, yet with a slight grimace.

Llewellyn looked at the snow leopard tilting her head.

“You do love me, right?”

It was the kind of thing someone with dependency issues might say, but Llewellyn wasn’t worried at all.

When Llewellyn cupped her face and brought his lips close, Isla closed her eyes and accepted the kiss as if she had been waiting for it.

Llewellyn brushed his lips against hers and mingled his tongue with hers, feeling the soft moans that seemed to attest to her hoarse voice.

After sharing a sticky kiss and pulling apart, Isla was breathing heavily with her hands resting on Llewellyn’s.

At this point, no answer was needed. Isla expressed her affection by nuzzling her head against Llewellyn’s arm, and as Llewellyn watched her tail wrap around his wrist, he glanced back at the presence he felt behind him.

“Sejin, did you sleep well?”

A woman with a gentle smile, close enough that their noses almost touched.

She was his older sister and lover, and also the future mother of his child.

Llewellyn lowered his head to press his lips against those of his blood-related lover.

His sister’s kiss was still awkward, but there was satisfaction in the act itself.

The thought that no one could say anything about him freely intertwining his tongue with his beloved sister like lovers.

And because of the fact that in the Earth where he originally lived, incest would have been nothing short of a crime.

Llewellyn gave his sister a longer, deeper kiss than he had with Isla, and then released her.

His sister trembled, her face melting from her brother’s passionate deep kiss.

Llewellyn met her eyes and smiled slightly.

“No. It’s morning.”

“…Can’t we do just a little? I’ll just put the tip in.”

Isn’t that what men usually say? Llewellyn laughed in disbelief, but knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist if he gave in, he shook his head.

His sister probably knew that when she said it. Lucilla fidgeted with her legs at her brother’s cold attitude.

She clearly thought even his coldness was attractive, but Llewellyn tried hard not to pay attention to it.

It wouldn’t be good if his sister’s perception got any worse, even if that’s what she wanted.

“Carry me.”

“Alright. Let’s get dressed first.”

When Llewellyn got up, neither Lucilla nor Isla could remain still.

Lucilla and Isla immediately changed direction, took out clothes, and struggled to put them on.

“Ugh, it stings.”

“Probably because we did too much. And there’s no medicine for it.”

“At least put some saliva on it.”

“…I don’t think I could hold back if I did that. Let’s just bear with it and get dressed, okay?”

Lucilla, being a homunculus, retained no fatigue, wounds, or strain on her body.

So she took out clothes similar to what she usually wore and helped Isla get dressed.

Llewellyn watched them as he put on a long shirt and leather pants.

“It’s tight. Loosen it a bit.”

“Well, they are big.”

“Lucilla’s are big too.”

“That’s because I ate well growing up… Is this okay?”

“Yes, that’s good. Thank you.”

They helped each other dress and took care of one another, playfully touching each other’s chests.

It was similar to how they usually played cute with each other, but there was one difference.

Isla tilted her head as if to express gratitude, and their lips met—that was different from usual.

It was a light kiss, but the scene reminded him of what had happened yesterday.

Llewellyn barely managed to divert his consciousness from flowing to his lower body, and the kiss, which was a couple of steps away from being passionate, finally ended.

‘They’ve become incredibly close.’

Llewellyn thought as he put on his shirt.

Of course, the relationship between Lucilla and Isla hadn’t been particularly bad before, but it seemed like their bond had significantly improved since yesterday.

It wasn’t a bad thing. It was a good thing.

From what Llewellyn knew, even in reality, most people who maintained harems ended up in disaster or experienced hell because the relationships between the women weren’t good.

It was better for them to get along well rather than having a bad or indifferent relationship.

They could support each other when Llewellyn was away, and they could help each other with child-rearing and other matters in the future.

So if there was a problem, it wasn’t with those two but elsewhere.

“Our Sejin. Is something wrong?”

“Did you sigh?”

The two women asked in succession. Llewellyn scratched the back of his neck before confessing.

“I was wondering how to persuade Melody.”

“…Ah.”

His sister let out a sound of understanding. Llewellyn sighed again.

And there was good reason for it.

For Lorian, he just needed to deliver the message.

Valterok would actually be pleased, and Ortemilia, belonging to one of the three races lacking in morals and discipline, would act as if it wasn’t an issue.

The problem was Melody.

A sensible woman bound by ethics that existed even in this world.

And a wise woman who wouldn’t be swayed by half-hearted persuasion.

Lucilla knew this fact well.

“Can’t you just tell her?”

“Melody won’t be persuaded that easily.”

“Why?”

“Because Melody is smart and educated.”

Duel Scholar was, setting aside the issues faced during actual gameplay and looking only at the lore, among the “most difficult professions.”

It required years of training, talent, situational judgment, and combat sense.

Not only that, but Duel Scholar was the profession among bards that demanded the most “knowledge.”

It differed from the image of bards who were mostly wanderers or nomads.

One needed to study and graduate from the Duel School, which provided education at a university level, which is why Melody and other Duel Scholars rivaled or even surpassed mages in terms of knowledge.

While mages tended to lack knowledge outside of magic and their specific fields, Duel Scholars did not.

“I’m not educated enough to persuade someone learned with words.”

“What about appealing to her emotions?”

“You know that would be difficult too. Melody is…”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

Lucilla sighed as she put on her corset.

The fact that she withdrew her opinion at such a simple remark showed just how formidable Melody was.

Although she might have seemed like a pushover around Llewellyn because she was deeply infatuated with him, in reality, Melody was not that kind of person.

The collapse and destruction of the Duel School, also known as annihilation, was more due to Melody’s long-planned strategy than Lucilla’s power, which was also called extinction.

Thanks to that, the Empire could only watch as the Duel School crumbled, and even afterward, they couldn’t label the Golden Nightingale as a major criminal.

To logically persuade such a person to join a harem?

Llewellyn wasn’t confident he could do that.

“You won’t know until you try.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“I believe in Lu.”

“Even if you say that…”

“Because it’s something only Lu can do. No one else could do it.”

“That’s also true, but…”

Even Isla, who had been encouraging him, pursed her lips and gave him a look that seemed to ask what he was going to do. Llewellyn decided, unusually, to avoid the problem.

“Let’s think about it more. Sis and Isla, help me out too. Tell me if anything comes to mind.”

“Okay.”

“Yes, I’ll tell you if I think of something.”

His sister smiled brightly, and beside her, the snow leopard clenched her fist expressionlessly before climbing onto Lucilla’s back.

Llewellyn looked at the two of them and sighed.

“Then today—”

He was about to say that today they would check the migration progress, receive a report from Lie Hezedia, and take the slightly damaged black armor to the “Cradle” for repairs.

But suddenly, Llewellyn stiffened.

Similarly, Lucilla stiffened before turning her eyes toward the wall, and Isla, who was on her back, opened her eyes wide, revealing her four-hundred-eye state, and looked somewhere.

The three sensed something in their own ways.

Isla through the sixth sense she gained as her level as a transformation race increased.

Lucilla thanks to the excellent magic flowing through her demon eyes.

Llewellyn through the sense he gained from handling the divinity and anti-magic power flowing through his body.

They felt magic resonating from far to the east, beyond the nest.

It was a very familiar type of magic.

Magic that rode on melody, cut through the air, and flowed with the wind.

A Duel Scholar’s magic.

‘Melody…?’

But why magic so suddenly?

And it wasn’t an amount of magic that could be overlooked. It was a clear signal that something was happening.

Llewellyn exchanged glances with the other two and ran.

The thought that something might have happened again accelerated his body. The divinity within him spread throughout his body with each heartbeat, and Llewellyn rushed along his fate.

He had just vowed not to lose anyone else. With a determined expression, Llewellyn drew a horizontal line in the air and added a vertical line to pull out a star cluster.

A blue sword appeared, shining brilliantly.

Llewellyn was about to run to the landing area and mount Brock, who was startled while eating feed, when—

“Llewellyn?!”

Someone was already riding Brock.

Golden hair fluttered, and shock appeared beneath closed eyes.

“Melody?”

He could feel the magic. The magic that had created the spell was still fluctuating.

But standing before Melody, Llewellyn knew that the magic was created by someone other than her.

Outside the nest.

Far beyond the divine temple.

Beyond where the barrier was located, at the point where Ortemilia had casually suggested they could build a city.

That’s where it was being felt.

Not just any magic, but a Duel Scholar’s magic.

Llewellyn made eye contact with Melody and climbed onto Brock.

*

Arba frowned as she gripped her axe.

Her subordinates were scattered around her.

More precisely, they were lying on the ground, rolling about with marks of being beaten all over their bodies.

Normally, this would be the situation where she should vow revenge and step forward to swing her axe, but she couldn’t do that.

Instead, she was sweating coldly and agonizing.

Whether she should send her subordinates back to the divine temple to request reinforcements, or whether she should retreat herself.

Her honor as a knight demanded the former, but her time as the ruler of the city whispered that the latter was the rational choice.

If she fled, with her superior physical abilities as both a beast-kin and a knight, she could return before all her subordinates fell, but…

If she stayed here, it seemed like someone would either be crippled or die.

And for good reason. She was tense and sweating coldly inside her helmet.

All her subordinates had fallen with a single strike.

One attack per person.

Accurate, swift, and heavy sword strikes.

They didn’t die from being cut because the back of the blade was used, but many subordinates were groaning with broken bones.

Most seemed unable to get up due to the pain. Even warriors who had experienced all sorts of battlefields were like that.

That’s how formidable the sword strikes of that small girl were.

Of course, what captured her attention most strongly was the being standing behind her.

“How dare you look away in my presence?!”

Boom, dust rose along with the raised single-edged sword. Magic mixed with the dust swirled around the girl.

The single-edged sword had a slight curve but was thick and heavy.

It was longer than the girl’s height, and even the counterweight at the end of the hilt was as big as the girl’s hand.

A sword that would tire someone with normal strength after six swings.

A sword that would make someone with the girl’s body lose balance and fall as soon as they swung it.

Yet, this heavy greatsword had already been swung dozens of times, bringing down all of Arba’s subordinates.

It was a northern sword commonly called a “shield breaker” in the Empire.

A weapon so efficient that it was formally incorporated into the Empire’s military after the war with the North.

A sword that became popular throughout the North and the Empire after some overwhelming northern warrior first started using it.

The girl swung such a sword with her entire body.

Her right foot stepped forward. The outstretched foot was a feint.

Arba pointed the head of her axe forward and took half a step back.

The real move was with the left foot. Arba saw the waist, knee, shoulder, and thoracic vertebrae turning with the back foot as the axis.

The dust parted. The sword strike drew a straight line, leaving behind wind and light.

An attack aimed at Arba’s helmeted head.

An attack that could kill Arba if she took it unguarded, given that it was a “shield breaker.”

This meant two things.

One, that the girl was so displeased with Arba’s attitude that she found it offensive.

And two, that she was confident and had analyzed that Arba wouldn’t die even if she took the hit.

Arba reflexively swung the axe she had raised. Superhuman strength was exerted from the body of the beast-kin, who was nearly 2 meters tall, but…

CLAAAAAANG!

The exchange of attacks ended with a clear result.

Arba’s body trembled, and her posture collapsed as she couldn’t absorb the heavy attack.

Her planted foot dragged backward, and a suppressed groan escaped through her gritted teeth.

It was heavy. The girl twisted her body and swung her sword, gritting her teeth, as if even this wasn’t her full strength.

This is dangerous. I can’t block this. As this thought crossed her mind and her muscles prepared to swell, suddenly there was a sound of wind being cut.

The girl elegantly twisted her body and withdrew the sword she was about to swing. The parting dust billowed, and a blue line was drawn toward the space where the girl and Arba had retreated.

Swish, for a moment, the sound couldn’t catch up with the sword strike.

KWAAAAAAANG!

A thunderous sound erupted. The girl clicked her tongue and retreated, while Arba exhaled roughly, feeling her throbbing wrist.

The dust was split by a blue line that seemed to have been drawn from the sky.

As the halved dust cleared, a man standing in that spot revealed himself.

“Llewellyn…”

A man wearing black armor and a red cape that bore traces of fierce battles.

In his right hand was a blue light blazing like a sword.

A figure that anyone would recognize as extraordinary. The small girl in his arms seemed insignificant. Usually, that would be the case.

That’s why Arba called out to Llewellyn, ignoring the girl, but…

“You.”

A cold voice was heard.

It was the irritable voice of the girl. The Empire’s accent recited in an aristocratic manner.

Anger overlaid the irritation that had even been present in her expression.

As Arba was wondering about this sudden change…

“Me, Melody?”

Melody, who was in Llewellyn’s arms, seemed perplexed as she cut off her words. Hearing her voice, the girl shouted as if she was now certain.

“Melody!”

The girl had her dog ears, which sprouted from her almost white hair, standing straight up, and her black eyes burned with hatred.

Only then did Arba look at Melody in Llewellyn’s arms.

Although her eyes were closed, which made her emotions relatively less visible, she was clearly shocked and alarmed.

“Ma, Maya…?”

The dog beast-kin called Maya raised her sword without hesitation. The greatsword, larger than her own body, which therefore seemed bizarre.

As if she wanted to slash Melody to pieces, she growled with hatred.

She took an incredibly aggressive stance. The blade tilted largely to the upper left. A posture with her waist raised high.

Seeing this, as Llewellyn gripped the star cluster to respond…

“There’s agitation in your sword.”

A voice was heard. A powerful voice that captivated everyone present, even though no magic could be felt from it.

“That won’t do. It’s impolite.”

Before Llewellyn could put Melody down and point his sword, something moved through the thick dust and blocked the sword.

It was a sword similar to the one the girl held, but more worn and showing signs of use.

However, what made the difference more than anything was the volume of the being holding that sword.

Llewellyn involuntarily gaped, as it was the first time he had seen a “human” larger than himself.

“…Master.”

A giant with black, curly hair grown haphazardly and black eyes.

Someone who hadn’t left a single sound until he approached, but upon revealing himself, manifested with a presence so clear it was suffocating.

Even the girl who had been erupting in anger just moments ago was silenced by the giant.

It was a face that both Arba and Llewellyn couldn’t help but recognize. Even Melody, who lacked sight, did too.

As silence enveloped the space, the sky split as if it had been waiting.

Space distorted due to the action of strong anti-magic power. The clear sky momentarily darkened and twisted.

The giant had already raised his head to look at the sky.

“And it’s been a while, Valterok.”

With that, a black reaper fell from the distorted sky with pressure as if shattering space.

Amidst trees and other things being scattered by the impact, the strongest Black Knight looked at the giant who had addressed him in a friendly manner.

“Yes, it’s been 20 years.”

A stern, lowered voice. The giant smiled, raising the corner of his mouth, and Valterok muttered as if displeased.

“Sword Saint.”

Llewellyn faced the man whom every warrior on the continent admired.