Ch.91The Ascetic of Kapila (4)

# Capilla’s Ascetic (4)

“Hmm……”

Lug was enjoying sunbathing after quietly leaving the room when Five asked for more time to think.

Eventually, she would agree.

That’s just her nature. After all, she was once a hero.

Heroes are those who forge new paths. Those who challenge the impossible.

Yes, the holy sword is what provides proof to those born with such destiny.

That’s why Five will eventually choose to take on the challenge.

Even though she died once, she was still a hero.

Even without a holy sword, she hasn’t lost her qualities as a hero.

The holy sword is merely a symbol.

“Nice weather……”

Yes, eventually the day will come when Lug stands before the Demon Lord, when Five agrees to cooperate and a new party is formed.

It’s been frustrating to infiltrate the hero’s party while hiding his strength and intelligence. Moreover, moving in a different direction from the hero’s party would be beneficial for the success of the plan.

‘This is the ideal arrangement.’

Lug’s perfect plan.

In some ways, it could be said that he’s helping the hero’s party.

Of course, Lug would prefer if the hero and Demon Lord could resolve things through dialogue.

Heroes appear when the world faces a crisis.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s because of the Demon Lord. Sometimes it’s due to disasters or human-made problems.

And above all, cases where a hero’s individual power takes precedence are fewer than one might think.

A hero isn’t an overwhelming powerhouse, but rather a focal point that unites the world.

Therefore, judgment ability is more important than anything else. What he realized after their first encounter was that physically defeating the Demon Lord was impossible.

And Lug believes that Esmeralda possesses sufficient qualities as a hero. He thinks she could find a different approach rather than simply defeating the Demon Lord.

“Hey.”

At that moment, Five, who had kicked Lug out so she could change clothes, finally emerged from the cabin.

She was dressed in relatively ordinary attire. Anyone who saw her would think she was just a regular person walking down the street.

That was the effect created by the clothes Extra had chosen, not Lug.

Lug found it somewhat disappointing.

“It suits you well.”

“What do you mean it suits me.”

Five didn’t bat an eye at Lug’s blatant compliment.

She had already seen at the magic tower that Lug was a womanizing bastard.

Considering the madness shown by the Saintess and the Mage, one should be cautious around Lug’s behavior. If it were just one person, they might be the strange one, but when multiple crazy women appear simultaneously around him, it means there’s something wrong with him.

“Have you sorted out your thoughts?”

“No, I need to observe you a bit more before deciding.”

“Would you like to spar with me? Fighting me wouldn’t be a particularly pleasant experience though.”

“No, that’s fine. I just want to confirm if you’re trustworthy. As you know, given my past, I don’t intend to let just anyone stand behind me.”

“So you want to get to know me slowly. That’s fine. We’re in the getting-to-know-each-other stage.”

“……”

Five clicked her tongue at Lug’s slick demeanor. What kind of lunatics would follow such a guy? Did he drug them or something?

Five glared at him as if looking at something obscene, then said:

“By the way, where is this place?”

Five had been thinking all along that she was trapped in an isolated prison.

But when she actually came outside, far from being an isolated prison, she could see a quiet village nearby.

“Well……”

“If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.”

The one who interrupted Lug’s answer was none other than Extra.

It seemed he had returned after leaving the cabin saying he had business to attend to after giving Five clothes to change into.

He was still frowning deeply, just as when he left.

“Did you finish your business?”

“Yes.”

With those words, Extra put down groceries.

It looked like he had obtained them from the nearby village.

“Mouths… With another big eater joining us, we’ll need this much. Right, Lug?”

“Having a good appetite is a good thing. I find it charming.”

“……”

Five, who was actually being complimented, made a face as if she’d bitten into a bug.

What did these crazy bastards think of someone who could finally eat after starving for months? It’s not like she normally devoured such massive quantities.

It was just that at the time, it was directly related to survival, so she needed to replenish her energy as quickly as possible, like throwing logs onto a fire.

‘Of course I can eat… no, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. Can’t I just eat?’

While Five was secretly feeling offended, Lug and Extra continued their banter.

“What don’t you like about her?”

“…The unnaturalness of her face?”

“If you’re going to judge her appearance too, doesn’t that make you even worse?”

Eventually, as usual, Extra waved his hand dismissively and ended the conversation with Lug.

“Lug? Can I ask you one thing? If I join hands with you, do I have to go around with this damn bastard too?”

Five asked in a locked voice, as if she had been patient for a long time.

“Well, that’s generally how it would work.”

“Do you think I’d tolerate that?”

The atmosphere grew rapidly chilly.

The feeling that everything would soon be resolved smoothly disappeared, replaced by an intolerable anger floating calmly.

“See? I told you this would happen, Lug. You said you’d handle the persuasion, so figure it out yourself.”

Extra shrugged as if he’d been expecting this.

He knew this would happen.

From the beginning, what he did to Five was equivalent to touching her sore spot. Hadn’t he acted similarly to someone who had been betrayed and killed by her former comrades?

From Five’s perspective, he could only be seen as a traitor.

Although it wasn’t intentional, he had even kept her confined in this place, which was like recreating the end of her moment as a human.

“I said from the beginning that we should have negotiated with her life as collateral.”

Extra is indeed a traitor.

He has no intention of denying it.

What wouldn’t one do to survive?

It’s also true that he deliberately did what Five would hate the most.

That’s how he was able to provoke her rage and exploit it. Yes, because he knew what she hated most.

He essentially did something terrible to Five in order to win.

Would she want to be with someone like that?

From Extra’s perspective, it was absolutely impossible.

That’s why he thought they should have negotiated for her cooperation with her life as collateral before releasing her.

Well, a mere verbal oath would be meaningless, but…

‘Since that crazy woman hates lies, that was barely something we could rely on…’

He thought that Five, having been betrayed by her former comrades, would hate lies even more.

But this is the result. Lug released Five without any precautions, let her enjoy all sorts of luxuries, and only then made his proposal.

And with a traitor by his side, no less.

So how exactly does Lug plan to persuade Five?

Does he even have a way to mediate between the two?

“Well, give me some time. I need to think about how to persuade both of you. Until then, please refrain from fighting and drawing attention.”

“No, what have you been thinking about all this time, you bastard!”

Extra grabbed Lug’s collar with an urgent expression.

Five’s gaze, looking as if she might burn him alive at any moment, was truly terrifying.

“…Fine. You did release me without any tricks, so I’ll be patient for now. But you’d better prepare a way to persuade me before we leave this village.”

“Don’t worry, Commander. I have a perfect plan.”

“Yeah, I’m not expecting much.”

Five mocked Lug’s confidence and sat down beside him.

Perhaps because sunbathing looked so comfortable.

Yes, since she too was once human, she couldn’t help but welcome the sun of the human realm.

“Oh, and don’t call me Commander or Five anymore. Didn’t you say I was fired from my position as the 5th Legion Commander? Someone else will probably use that name now.”

“That won’t be the case. They’ll leave the position vacant rather than promoting Six through Twelve all at once, which would make it confusing to call them by name.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Demons basically don’t call others by their names.

That’s why they feel awkward about the act of calling names itself.

It was Belphegor who started calling people by numbers because it was bothersome. There’s no need to be fixated on the numbers themselves now, so there probably won’t be any changes to the legion commander positions or names for the time being.

“Well, call me Garnet from now on. Five… I’ve hated that name from the beginning. All those demon bastards have weird names, don’t they?”

“For someone saying that, you were the one who gave Lieutenant Extra his name, from what I understand, Comman… Garnet.”

“I’m half-demon too, you know.”

“Actually, not a single drop of demon blood flows in you.”

“What do I know? You’re lucky to be so demon-like. What kind of name is Lug anyway?”

“Isn’t it ordinary? It’s a name you could find anywhere.”

“That’s… true.”

Somehow, there was a sense of familiarity between the two. Watching them, Extra felt fear.

Not fear toward Five who had been threatening to burn him alive. Fear toward Lug who was sitting side by side with Five, chatting away.

‘What the hell is with this guy? What did he do in that short time?’

No, how did he manage to get that close already?

Extra recalled the reason why Lug had tried to leave the hero’s party.

Then he shuddered as a possible future crossed his mind.

“Gasp?!”

This bastard. He’s no ordinary man.