Chapter 168

Chapter 168

I was kneeling on the floor, with Lindy beyond the crystal, Luna and Presia, and even Bear and Bunny all watching.

“Uh… how long do I have to stay like this…?”

I subtly lifted my eyes and checked the gazes of everyone looking down at me. However, Luna was blushing like a tomato, fiddling with her fingers, Presia was fiddling with her palm again, and Lindy beyond the crystal just sighed deeply.

My legs were getting numb, but that was secondary. My heels were touching my backside, so I couldn’t sit properly and was fidgeting, truly restless.

My backside, which had just calmed down after being spanked red by Presia last night, felt twice as painful now after being hit again a little while ago.

“No, more importantly, why do I have to be like this?”

-The fact that you don’t know is even more infuriating.

Lindy’s voice sounded weary.

But as I thought about it, I wondered why I had to get my backside spanked and kneel in front of everyone. Of course, it was true that I had forced Luna to take off her top without any explanation. But I had only pulled up her top to just below her chest, enough to see the imprint on her sternum. After all, they were both girls, so what’s the big deal? Of course, if two guys tried to take off each other’s tops, fists would fly, but what’s the problem between girls? Recalling my memories of hanging out with friends in the academy, this much is normal among close friends.

Besides, there wasn’t anyone else in this room besides us, and no men either. Of course, I am a man, but outwardly, I am a woman more feminine than anyone else.

Ah, Lindy knows I’m a man, so her reaction makes sense. Moreover, Lindy’s perverted behavior was completely blocked, and now I’m in this situation, so Lindy must feel wronged. But even if it sounds like an excuse, I truly acted with the pure intention of helping Luna.

“Of course, it was wrong to act without explanation, but Luna also allowed it in the end, right? Isn’t that right, Luna?”

Ultimately, the only person who could free me, who was unintentionally made the perpetrator, was Luna, who was also unintentionally made the victim. A perpetrator who never committed a crime and a victim who never suffered. A verdict that could never exist anywhere in the world.

“…Senior, you were trying to take off my clothes to show that woman the imprint magic, right?”

“That’s right! You have to show the imprint magic etched on Luna so the boss can erase it.”

See? Luna perfectly understands my intentions. Unlike the two who have a slight misunderstanding, Luna, the person involved, cleanly understood the current situation.

Since the misunderstanding towards me was completely resolved, I slowly stood up with a slightly shameless expression.

“I never gave Senior permission to show my imprint magic?”

“Huh?”

However, Luna’s voice pierced my ears, and I stopped midway through standing up, freezing in an awkward posture, and looked at Luna as if to ask what she meant.

“W-what are you talking about? You definitely said it was okay, Luna. That’s why you took your hands off.”

It was a moment when I could finally be freed from the pain, so I shouted urgently towards Luna.

“It’s fine if you don’t know. Anyway, just remember that I never gave permission to show the master-servant imprint, and I suffered emotional damage because of Senior.”

However, Luna only uttered incomprehensible words and stubbornly refused to take my side.

If neither Lindy nor Luna takes my side, then the only one left is Presia. Of course, Presia also misunderstood and spanked my backside, but if I calmly explain the situation, she will surely understand me. With our hearts connected by the bond of trust, my true feelings will surely be conveyed. I trust Presia.

“B-boss, you heard that, right? Luna definitely said it was okay. Right?”

“Silly Elysia.”

…Where did the pure and kind boss from 3 years ago go? Did only a boss who learned bad words remain?

Even the last person who would have been on my side had disappeared.

Why can’t everyone understand my true feelings? The three of them judged, and at this moment, a perpetrator who never committed a crime and a victim who never suffered were born.

Although I couldn’t resolve everyone’s misunderstanding, I believed that at least our Serena, the goddess in heaven, would understand my innocence and injustice.

Rumble, crash!

Even though the room was well soundproofed, the sound of thunder striking was clearly audible. See? The heavens are angry on my behalf.

Taking solace in the fact that there was at least one person who believed in me… no, one goddess, I meekly knelt down again.

Rumble, crash, crash!

***

-Ah, I know those guys well. They’ve been threatening our information brokers, so they’ve been a headache. Thanks to you, I can take care of them at the same time.

The imprint magic etched on Luna was easily erased with Presia’s help. Now, the master-servant imprint scroll in the assassin’s guild had become just a piece of ordinary paper. Luna hesitated, opening and closing her mouth a few times, and then confessed everything she knew about the guild she belonged to.

“Will it hurt Lindy if we take down those guys? Or are there any precautions?”

-There’s nothing like that, so you can just wipe them out. Of course, there will be assassins out there, so it’s difficult to catch them all at once, but our goal is to free Luna, so it’s fine to just destroy them enough so they don’t have time to find Luna.

In that case, it would be enough to just take the heads of the guild master and a few executives.

“Then, while we’re at it, let’s go right away. Hmm… Boss, will you wait here for a moment?”

-No! She must go with you!

“…She says so.”

I asked because I was worried about bothering Presia again, even though Luna said the guild members’ level wouldn’t take long. However, the answer came from Lindy in the crystal. Even Luna, who had been acting like a grumpy cat towards Presia since last night, silently agreed to Presia’s accompaniment.

It seemed Luna still couldn’t believe she was a free person, as she had a dazed expression. Even in the midst of the chaos, she hadn’t forgotten that Presia had helped her, which was quite commendable. When I patted her head, Luna reacted with her usual shout.

“Hmph! Senior, you who inflicted indelible wounds on my tender heart, I haven’t completely forgiven you yet! Please be kind to me!”

Yes, this is the real Luna. This vibrant demeanor is much more like Luna than her trying to look profound without saying anything.

“So, you don’t like it?”

“…It’s not that, though.”

As I asked, gently removing my hand from her head, Luna whispered in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, and grabbed my receding hand, placing it back on her head.

Smiling at Luna’s cute behavior, I then stroked her messy hair gently, as Luna had requested.

***

Although it wasn’t impossible to completely overturn an assassin’s guild if I set my mind to it, I didn’t know how many people, like Luna, were forced into becoming assassins against their will. Therefore, rather than unnecessarily escalating things, I selectively sent only the executives hidden deep within the guild to the afterlife.

Of course, neither the regular guild members nor the executives noticed our presence. Naturally, I didn’t, and Luna had also improved significantly by practicing right next to me, observing my skills closely over the past period. Moreover, Presia was leisurely following us using the stealth magic of Bunny and Bear, which even hid them from the eyes of demons.

Now, only the guild master in front of us remained.

“Tsk…! Who are you…!”

“I want to kill someone like you right now too, but unfortunately, someone else is supposed to take your life.”

Although he wasn’t the master of the Black Moon guild I belonged to, the guy in front of me was no different, so there was no way I could say anything nice. But as I said, someone else is supposed to deal with him.

“…Master.”

“You, you… Luna? Then that silver hair and appearance… Could it be the Hero?”

“You’re quick-witted. Well, that’s probably why you’re the master of the assassin’s guild.”

“W-why aren’t you stabbing that Hero girl right now! Kill her quickly! Kill her!”

Luna’s guild master, while crawling on the floor, put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and shouted towards Luna, holding it out. But Luna, now freed from the master-servant imprint, had no reason to flinch.

I was quite satisfied to see him desperately clinging to a last, futile hope, knowing that his actions were useless since Luna had brought me here in the first place.

“Master, you said that, didn’t you? No, you did, right? The goal was to kill with one blow. Otherwise, I would die.”

Luna drew her dagger, which she hadn’t used once on the way here with my help.

Then, Luna slowly brought the dagger to the guild master’s neck. She had sharpened the blade so keenly that just lightly touching it caused drops of blood to ooze from his neck and trickle down the dagger.

At this point, if she just slashed, everything would be over. However, Luna retracted the dagger she had held to the guild master’s neck.

A glimmer of false hope returned to the eyes of the terrified guild master. And at that moment.

Thwack!

“Kuaaak!”

Luna’s dagger pierced the back of the hand holding the imprint scroll and slammed into the floor.

It seems it was a good decision to bring Presia. Thanks to the barrier she erected, the guild master’s scream remained contained within the room, not leaking out at all.

By the way, screaming for such a minor pain. Even though his life was on the line, it seems he had been out of the front lines for too long.

Luna poked the master’s hand, pierced by the dagger, with her finger as if playing and opened her mouth.

“But I have no intention of killing Master with one blow.”

It didn’t matter to me, but it wouldn’t be good for Presia’s mental health to witness such a scene, so I went behind her and covered her eyes. Bear and Bunny covered Presia’s ears, which I couldn’t cover due to lack of hands.

Fortunately, Presia didn’t seem bothered and just leaned against me, standing still.

“Master, as you know, I learned not only assassination techniques but also torture techniques in this hellish place. I’ll show you the torture techniques I learned from you, so please look forward to it.”

I carefully checked my hands covering Presia’s eyes to ensure there wasn’t even a tiny gap.

***

“Congratulations on becoming a free person.”

In a restaurant in the city where we returned after finishing everything, we held a small party to celebrate her freedom. It’s strange to have a party after killing people, but celebrations are meant to be celebrated.

Unlike me, who cannot be free from past karma, Luna is now completely free. She no longer has to kill unwillingly.

“What are you going to do from now on? Do you have anything in mind?”

“What do you think would suit me, Senior?”

Luna asked me back in response to my question.

“Hmm… Let me see? If you don’t have anything in mind, how about attending Griffin Academy? Although I only attended for a year, it’s a good place.”

Since Griffin Academy is also reopening and accepting new students after its suspension, it would be a good opportunity for Luna. Although Luna has no foundation, it would be a piece of cake to ask the Emperor to admit her to the academy.

“Wow! Then Senior will become Senior again? That might be a bit tempting?”

Well, Luna will do well wherever she goes. Her skills, although specialized in assassination, are excellent, and her personality is friendly without any rough edges.

After chatting about various things and finishing our last dinner with Luna, we returned to our room.

“…Since today is the last day, I’ll make a special exception.”

I don’t know why using the large bed alone is considered an exception, but in the end, Luna and I ended up sharing a bed. As we would be parting ways tomorrow, Luna’s mouth naturally became more talkative.

Stories about the day she first targeted me, the story of how I saved her in return….

Even after talking for a long time, she still seemed to have regrets, and her eyes were closing, but her mouth wouldn’t stop talking.

However, exhausted from the many events of the day, Luna eventually fell asleep, leaving only me awake in the room.

Luna burrowing into my arms.

Now that she was free from the master-servant imprint, there was no longer any reason for her to aim for my life.

That means she no longer needed to follow me.

Since I had so many experiences with Luna, I also felt a sense of regret that she was leaving.

However, instead of mourning our parting, I secretly kissed her forehead as I had done once before, blessing her as she slept.

May her path always be filled with happiness.

***

When I woke up in the morning, Luna had already left, disappearing without a trace. Still, she could have at least said goodbye.

Feeling a void in her empty spot, I was about to wake Presia to prepare for the day when a voice woke her before I did.

“Ta-da! Senior! Look at this! I got bread from the owner!”

Luna burst through the door, shouting loudly with her hands full of bread.

“Here, here. I prepared breakfast today, so eat up quickly. I brought milk too.”

Moreover, a bottle of milk was hanging from Luna’s waist.

“What? Didn’t you leave? You don’t need to follow me anymore.”

I was utterly surprised, as I had thought she had already left. However, Luna tilted her head at my surprised reaction and asked.

“Do you dislike me following you, Senior?”

“No, it’s not that… but it’ll be dangerous…”

I will continue to hunt demons, and ultimately head to the Demon King’s castle. It would be unbearable to bring Luna along on such a journey.

However, before I could even finish answering Luna’s question, she giggled, cut me off, and chimed in.

“This is my will, Senior. While I followed others’ will until now, from now on, I will follow you with my own will! Be prepared, Senior!”

Luna declared with a confident demeanor.

Thump

“Eek!”

“Silly Luna.”

However, that confident demeanor quickly crumbled as Presia threw a pillow at her.

Seeing that, I laughed heartily and laughed again.