Chapter 152: The Strange Village

The moment Isaac shouted, the attack began.
The assailants, thinking he had let his guard down, rushed straight for him.

But Isaac’s tachi, unlike his voice, was already aimed squarely at his foe.

SLASH!

“…!”

One of the Primeval Transcendents was thrown to the ground before he could even swing his own sword.
Isaac was slightly interested in the sword his opponent had been holding, but he did not hesitate.

He immediately prepared to swing at his next target, but the other Primeval Transcendents kept their distance, not daring to approach recklessly.

“…”

“Dammit.”

They muttered faint curses from a distance. It seemed they hadn’t expected one of their own to be taken down so quickly.

With his swords drawn, Isaac stared into the darkness.

The figures, once again hidden in the shadows of the trees, hesitated before turning to flee.

“They’re running away that easily?”

The figures spread bat-like wings under the moonlight and flew away.
The Primal Transcendent from before, the one who had called herself a ‘Blood Demon,’ suddenly came to mind.

Are they her subordinates?

He had seen them looking for Jonathan.
Perhaps their goal was something other than a direct assault, but he had no way of chasing after them now.

Sheathing his swords, he turned to check on Rianna.

“…”

“Is it over?”

The Grandmaster was there, holding Rianna’s mouth shut as she watched the scene.
She gave him a thumbs-up with a very satisfied smile.

“Your sword-drawing skills improve by the day. As your master, I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Thank you.”

“…”

“I believe this child is praising you as well, saying it was amazing.”

At the Grandmaster’s words, Rianna gave a small nod. She was genuinely impressed by how much Isaac had grown, to a degree that was incomparable to his former self.
She now understood that him cutting through her Crimson Lament and defeating her had not been a simple fluke or a stroke of luck.

“About those men just now.”

Isaac looked up at the night sky where they had disappeared.

“I believe they were subordinates of the woman called the Blood Demon, the one we saw before.”

At Isaac’s words, the Grandmaster’s expression hardened slightly.

“The Primal Transcendent, you mean?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He remembered Silverna vowing to kill the Blood Demon the next time they met, furious about her humiliating defeat.
The shame of being forcibly sent back to the Human Realm because of the Blood Demon seemed to run deep.

“From what I saw, it looked like they were checking on Rianna’s condition. As if they have something in mind.”

“Hmm, I’ve never met her, so I can’t say for sure… but it doesn’t seem like a simple attack, does it?”

“Mmph.”

“Hm? Do you have something to say?”

As soon as the Grandmaster released her hand, Rianna spoke.

“They were watching me the whole time. Just as Isaac said, it felt like they were testing me.”

“Hah, it seems they still haven’t gotten over their interest in your ex-wife.”

Isaac remained silent at the Grandmaster’s words, his expression complicated.
He turned his gaze to meet Rianna’s.

“You were so incredible, Isaac.”

“…”

“The way you swing your sword is so cool.”

The response was immediate.
Rianna’s face was red, as if she knew this wasn’t the right thing to say in this situation.

“At this rate, you’ll die from all the blood rushing to your face from blushing all day.”

The Grandmaster chuckled and patted Rianna’s head.
Rianna grew even more embarrassed, but Isaac hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Rianna, have you ever met the woman called the Blood Demon separately? I mean, when you were being held prisoner by them.”

“The Blood Demon?”

Rianna blinked, then quickly answered.

“Yes. In fact, she was the only one who spoke to me. Helix and the others never came to see me at all.”

“…”

“She was the one who managed me, and the one who ordered the attack on Evergard.”

“Not Helix?”

“No. What was strange was that whenever I talked with her, I got a weird feeling. A sort of… cloying feeling in my chest?”

It was a very crude description.
But since she was speaking whatever came to her mind, it was likely the best she could do to express it.

Isaac pressed his lips together, deep in thought—.

“So handsome.”

“Pfft!”

—but the interruptions from Rianna and the Grandmaster made him let out a sigh.

“It looks like we need to change the horses.”

The next day, around noon.
The coachman, having stopped the carriage, scratched his head in distress.

“We’ve pushed them too hard. There’s a village nearby. We should change them there.”

“We have no choice. It’s lunchtime anyway, so we can get a meal there.”

It was an inevitable consequence of pushing the horses hard to escape their pursuers.

“The coachman says we need to change horses!”

Sharen, who had been sitting beside him listening, brightly offered her attempt at a joke.

“…”

“Sharen, that’s not funny.”

Isaac’s lips remained sealed, and Rianna, due to her Vassalization, offered a sharp critique.

“Change horses… neigh! Puh-huh!”

Only one person laughed.
The Grandmaster, that is.

Clutching her stomach, the Grandmaster tried to stifle her laughter, but it kept leaking out.

“Kh-heheh! How do you even think of such things? Child, you should have been a jester, not a swordsman.”

“Hee hee.”

Pleased with the Grandmaster’s reaction, Sharen puffed out her chest with pride.

“Ah, I hate getting old.”

“What did you just say?”

Isaac’s mumble led to a brief moment where the Grandmaster’s face went stern, but in any case, the party soon arrived at the nearby village.

It was a quiet village, one could say.
Usually, places like this were populated by women, the elderly, and a few middle-aged men.
But this place was surprisingly full of young men. They ranged from youths to the middle-aged, a diverse group.

The coachman had gone to the stables, so the group entered the village intending to find a place to eat.

“…”

Sharp gazes pierced them.
It wasn’t just caution towards outsiders.
Their stares were excessively wary and filled with hostility.

“…Let me ask you something.”

The Grandmaster looked at Isaac, who was the focus of their glares.

“Have you ever seduced a woman from this village and spent the night with her?”

“What an absurd thing to say. This is my first time in this village.”

“Then why are they acting like that? They’re glaring at you as if you’ve stolen their lovers.”

“…I don’t know either.”

It was true. Their hostility was directed solely at Isaac.
While they were wary of the women, their animosity towards Isaac was on another level.

They looked ready to spit on him and tell him to get lost.

“Ahem.”

Puzzled, Isaac finally stepped forward.
Being handsome usually earned one quite a few points on a first impression.
And Isaac was a man who scored near-perfectly in that regard.

“Good day. We are just passing through and hoped to stop for a bite to eat.”

He smiled gently and greeted a man who was chewing on something in front of a tavern.

“Ptooey. Get lost.”

For the first time in his life, Isaac was turned away at the door.

“…”

“I said get lost. Didn’t you hear me? Don’t you dare wander around our village.”

“Ahem. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Isaac Logan, a Baron. You should show a noble the proper respect—”

“Cut the crap and get lost.”

A typical noble might have flown into a rage and drawn their sword at this point.
But this was Isaac.
A man whose reason always preceded his instincts.

His mind was already racing.

This village is strange. I shouldn’t provoke them. First, I need to assess the situation—.

But here, unfortunately, there was a woman whose instincts ran far ahead of her reason.

“Hongyeompaaat!”

Isaac’s expression froze as he watched the man, struck by the Crimson Essence that flew from behind him, smash through the tavern door and disappear inside.

He slowly turned his head to see Sharen blowing on the lingering Crimson Essence on her hand before grinning.

“A preemptive strike is a sure win.”

“…”

“I learned this, you know? You have to nip things like this in the bud. How dare they be so rude—.”

“Who taught you that?”

He knew the answer, but he had to ask.

“Lohengrin!”

“Right. I thought so.”

Usually, in a small village like this, the population was small, but the people were incredibly close-knit.

Which meant…

“Petri?! What are these sons of bitches—!”

“Causing a ruckus in someone else’s village?!”

…that if you hit one of them, they all came swarming out together.

The villagers poured out of the tavern.
As expected, there were many men, and the strange thing was that, unlike typical country men, they were all neat and clean.
They even looked as if they had styled themselves, with slicked-back, oily hair and clothes with coordinated color schemes.

As he was thinking how odd it was…

“Who am I?! That’s right! If you ask, it’s only right that I answer!”

SHING!

Sharen raised her greatsword high and declared with a bright smile.

“I am the second daughter of Helmont, Sharen Helmont! Surely you know the name Helmont?!”

The reputation of the Helmont name was said to make even crying children fall silent.

Red hair and a greatsword.
The moment they saw the symbols of Helmont, their faces went pale, and they began exchanging nervous glances.

“He-He-Helmont?”

“What brings such esteemed people here, m-ma’am!”

The murderous atmosphere of moments before vanished in an instant.
Next to a proud Sharen, Rianna gestured with her chin at Petri, who had just emerged from the tavern, and said.

“You.”

The usual Rianna would have let it slide for the sake of the Helmont family’s image.

“Come here, kneel, and apologize to Isaac.”

But the current Rianna could not be stopped by anyone.

Not even herself.

Just as the frigid atmosphere was settling in…

“Pfft!”

The Grandmaster suddenly burst out laughing, covering her mouth as she tried to stifle it, muttering to herself.

“The horse says ‘neigh’? Heh heh, how very witty.”

“…”

She was still laughing about that.