Ch.301Following NPC. (4)

“Eek!! I thought you had changed as a person!!!”

“Yes, I have changed. I will protect you lot. Even if it involves a bit of violence or injury, I will protect you. That was the promise, that was the oath.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!! Your words and actions are completely different?!! To begin with, you never said anything about hurting anyone!!”

I’m not the weak me who just sweats profusely under the pressure of her magical power like before! But this is really…!!!

“Now. Go to sleep.”

As the Chancellor flicks her finger, a wind spell flies toward me at tremendous speed. Naturally, I had no intention of just taking the hit, and when I dodge it…

-CRASH!!!

“What the hell?! Are you insane?!! Forget a week, I’ll be in eternal rest!!!”

“I told you. When dealing with you lot, some injuries are unavoidable. And there’s no need to worry, I’ll completely heal you while you’re unconscious.”

Some injuries?! The wall just got ripped apart?! I’m not Jack or Gor, if I get hit by something like that, I’ll be torn to shreds!!!

-Tap tap!!

“Where do you…!”

“Mac!! Block her!!!”

“Yes!!”

-Swish!

As I jump through the wall the Chancellor tore apart, Mac swings his sword at the Chancellor who was trying to stop me. And then.

“Y-Your Highness?!! This is the fourth floor…!!!”

“Don’t kill him!! He’s my drinking buddy and the savior of my life!!!”

“Tch!!”

Dolph shouts in concern for me, and the Chancellor, who was about to blast Mac away with magic for interfering, clicks her tongue briefly and just swings her staff to push him away… oh my. She slammed him into the wall. But since I’m the “savior of his life,” she’s going easy on him? She really has changed as a person.

I immediately jump down, kick off the opposite building, and throw myself onto the roof of another building while picturing Jack in my mind. I can’t shake off that monster of a Chancellor just by running on the ground!

“This is absurd. So you’ve reached the level where you can imitate my man in that short time.”

“Ugh?!!”

I was definitely inside the building, but hearing a voice right behind me, I spin around with a kick, only to feel like I’ve hit an incredibly solid wall. And I can’t help but swallow hard when I see those deep purple eyes, much darker than Ira’s, like a cloudy night sky, looking down at me with amusement.

“I see. Your physical abilities have improved considerably. You’re definitely stronger than before.”

-Snap!

“Kyaah?!!”

The Chancellor, who created a wind spell at my feet where I had left an opening after kicking her magic barrier, sends me flying into the air. Looking up at me from the rooftop, she points her staff at me again. No way, right?

“You’ve certainly grown, but in that state, you won’t be able to dodge. Now sleep.”

“Eek?!!”

The same sphere of wind rapidly rushes toward me and I…

-BANG!! BANG!!

“Hooh.”

I pull out my gun from my waist, shoot to cancel out the magic, and use the recoil from another shot to quickly land on the ground.

“The power of that gun has increased too. How interesting, it feels like it contains something other than magical power. How did that happen?”

“Blehhh!! I’m not telling you!!”

After sticking my tongue out with all my might at the middle-aged woman who tilted her head curiously with a relaxed demeanor, I immediately turn around and run away. Anyway, if I want to convince the Chancellor, my only option is to defeat her here first. But this is the middle of the city with many people. I can’t easily increase the power of my attacks, nor can I make my running strength any stronger than it is now. If I did, buildings would collapse every time I fire a shot or take a step!

“Pfft. In that way, you’re still such a child.”

“Shut up!! You’re like a child too, you know?!”

“Yes, when dealing with disobedient children, I have no choice but to act like a child myself.”

“Huh?!!”

Hearing the Chancellor’s voice behind me again, this time instead of turning around, I do a forward roll. Ah, come to think of it, she has teleportation!

“Huhu. This is the first game of tag with you since that day.”

“Back then your opponent was Ray?! Besides, you were flying leisurely back then!!!”

“Yes, precisely, that child interfered with me, and you all ran away. But the fact remains that I was the one chasing you that day. And…”

-RUMBLE!!!

“Wh-what?!!”

As if with a nostalgic, joyful voice, a huge fireball begins to form in the sky. W-wait a minute!! This is the middle of the city…!!!

“That day was in the middle of Naty’s city, today it’s the middle of a city that’s ‘merely enemy territory.’ Do you think there are restrictions on me using my full power?”

“W-wait!! The people here…!!!”

“The opposition faction? So what, I told you. I would kill you once. That I would protect you with that.”

I’ve already cast illusion magic around us. I probably appear as a masked unknown magician. The Chancellor raised the corner of her mouth and continued, saying if some other citizens get hurt along with you here, it would increase the antipathy toward the pro-faction. This is insane!!

-Click.

“It would have been better to surrender and just go to sleep.”

“Bullshit!!”

As I point my gun at the sphere she created, she drops the sun-like fireball without hesitation. I want to believe she’s not really doing this to massacre the surrounding people, but I also think she really doesn’t care if someone gets hurt!!

“Just a quarter, just a quarter…!!”

– BOOM!!!!

Recalling the blue light I shot at the Saint that day, the one that collapsed the Marquis’s castle, I fire my gun with power. A slightly thinner beam than that day penetrates the fireball and vaporizes it. Great! I blocked i…?!!

“Not bad. So it was you who created that beam of light that night? Then, how about this.”

“Please tell me you’re joking. If all those fall, everyone around will die.”

Five more sun-like fireballs appear instantly without delay after the one she just dropped, and I laugh in despair. Really, she was holding back a lot when dealing with us? Hey, Chancellor. Can’t you please go easy on me?

“Kuk kuk! Naive assistant! Surrender. Then, I’ll replace all but one with illusions.”

“…Why keep one?”

“Because I need the fact that the magician who killed you used an attack of this magnitude. Of course, don’t worry. If you surrender, I’ll properly put up barriers for the humans around.”

Well, some buildings might be blown away though. After saying that, the Chancellor smiles truly kindly like a parent. She is clearly acting that way out of genuine concern to ‘save me.’ Even my one and only blood relative, my father, has never smiled at me with such worry. But…

“Haah, I’ve never fired at full power before. I wonder what will happen…”

“Let me tell you, even if the power of that beam just now were to double, I have confidence in blocking and avoiding it. And I have confidence in creating this attack again. It’s a meaningless resistance, I’m saying.”

“…Haha. But I can’t help it. Even if it’s meaningless, I want to stay here.”

“I see. Then, I’ll hear your next tantrum in Naty.”

“Aww~ Wouldn’t it be nice if you listened now?”

“…I correct myself. I won’t listen in Naty either.”

Kuk! That was my killer aegyo, but the Chancellor’s gaze changed from a warm parental perspective to a cold adult one. Damn, is it not working because she’s a woman too?!

I point my gun at the five fireballs that have started to slowly fall. Full power, full power. Hmm, I wonder how much will be loaded? More than that, I wonder what my full power shot would be like? It demolished a castle in one shot. I should aim at the sky as much as possible, right? For now, should I refrain from targeting the Chancellor? While simultaneously considering various concerns, I raised my gun as diagonally as possible, and toward the fireballs…

“What are you doing right now?”

-BOOM!!!

“Ugh?!!”

“Kyaah?!!”

I was still in the process of charging power when suddenly a familiar voice rang out, and the Chancellor disappeared in the explosion of the fireballs. W-wait!! This is a rooftop?! My posture!! I’m fa-falling?!! Ugh, curl up…!!!

“Uwaaaaah?!!”

-Tap tap tap tap! Grab!

Before I could even properly scream, someone let out a thick scream and ran to catch me as I was falling head first toward the ground. Wow, I really thought I was going to die…!!!

“Huff! Huff! M-my lord!! Are you alright?!”

“Huff! Huff! M-Mac?! Yes. Thank you for catching m…”

-Whoosh!

“Kyah?!”

-Grab!!!

I was definitely being held by the dirt-covered Mac, but suddenly feeling like I was released, I let out another shrill scream, only to be pulled into another pair of arms as if being sucked in. Seriously, starting with the fall from the fourth floor, how many times am I going to fall?!

“What’s this? Who are you to hold another man’s woman like that? Tch. If you hadn’t rushed over, I would have caught her myself.”

“Huh?”

“U-um? M-my lord?! W-who are you…?!!”

The strong arms and chest firmly holding my waist and thighs, as if absolutely refusing to let go, as if asking why I was taken away, have a familiar scent that I’ve nestled into before. Wait, could it be? That voice…

“…J-Jack?”

“And you too. Why are you feeling comfortable in another man’s arms when I’m here? Is this infidelity? Cheating? Don’t tell me you decided to switch partners?”

Looking up at the blunt voice directed at me, which unlike before seems to be dripping with jealousy, I see the face of the man I love, genuinely frowning.

“Ja…?!!”

-Smooch.

“Hah?!!”

“I know I’ve been away for a while, and yes, the number of women has increased a bit, and I know I lack conscience, but I don’t like the sudden partner switch. Even if the royal guard gentleman is handsome.”

“R-royal guard? Me?! N-no! More importantly, my lord’s forehead…!!”

“J-just now…!! K-kiss! Forehead…!! Kiss…?!!”

Jack, who suddenly pulled my face and planted a kiss on my forehead, continues speaking while looking at me with truly anxious eyes.

“Um, maybe. Even after seeing my face, do you still want to kill your father and stuff? Do you still want to destroy the Empire and all that? C-could you maybe not feel that way if I give you a few more kisses? Or is that royal guard the problem?”

“…Gulp! Th-that! Suddenly I do feel like killing Father~? And m-maybe blowing up the Empire~? Those thoughts are starting to come up…?!!”

It was obvious without much thought that Jack was under some strange misunderstanding that there was something between Mac and me. But when I let my head calculate on its own and conclude that this is the right approach, Jack immediately pulls my face and presses his lips against mine.

Ah. Jackpot♡