Chapter 64 – Variables (3)

“Phew… luckily, no one followed us.”

Charlotte dropped the tightly bound bundle she had been carrying into the corner of the room with a thud.

The journey to this safe house had been long and exhausting.

Thanks to Charlotte’s theatrics, reminiscent of a spy movie, the 20-minute walk had taken over 40 minutes.

At first, she had mentioned how tiring it was to move around due to her high status, and I had thought, Wow, that makes sense, and cautiously followed her lead.

But it wasn’t like that at all.

Along the way, she suddenly stopped and claimed we were being followed, insisting we had to check it out in person, even though I offered to use my perception to verify it.

Her response? “That’s cheating. You have to check these things in person for the romance of it.” Then, without warning, she leaped onto a nearby rooftop.

So, I extended my perception, only to find her standing on the roof, smoking and chuckling to herself… I realized the truth.

It wasn’t because of her status or any real threat. She was just… bored.

My childhood innocence… gone.

“Ugh… this is so stressful,” Rubia sighed next to me as she gently laid Hephaestus down.

“Y-you did well, Rubia…” I patted her sweat-drenched back in sympathy.

“Yes… Noah, you did well too.”

“Seriously, why did you insist on carrying her when I said I would?” Charlotte asked, her voice dripping with mock concern.

“Because I knew your filthy hands would grope Hephaestus.”

The smile Rubia had given me just moments ago vanished as she glared at Charlotte, her expression turning fierce like that of a demon.

“You’ve got it all wrong. My hands slipped, that’s all. I’m no pervert, you know.”

No matter how you look at it, she was definitely a pervert, but I kept quiet.

I wasn’t about to nod in agreement and risk being accused of insulting the royal family…

Charlotte’s got more power and money than Rubia…

But Rubia, unlike me, didn’t hold back.

“The whole world knows you’re a pervert.”

“Hey… Rubia, that’s royal slander—”

“Yeah? Go ahead, arrest me.”

Rubia held her wrists out as if waiting for handcuffs.

“Hah… You weren’t like this when you were younger. What happened, Rubia?”

Charlotte sighed and shook her head as she placed a hand on her forehead.

Younger…? So they knew each other from way back?

“We’ve only known each other for two years… ‘younger’ my foot…” Rubia shuddered in genuine irritation, pulling me into a swift embrace. She leaned in close to my ear and whispered in a sweet voice.

“Noah. Punish her.”

“Wh-what…? N-no, I can’t…”

“It’s fine. No witnesses, no crime.”

“W-what are you saying?! Even if no one saw it, you can’t just kill someone…!”

I shook my head frantically, pushing Rubia away. Her face contorted slightly in disappointment.

Charlotte, sinking into the couch, grimaced as well.

“Noah… it’s wrong to kill innocent people, but those who deserve it can be killed.”

“W-what…?”

“They’re not people, they’re beasts. It’s okay.”

…Did she just call the princess a beast? I mean, judging by her behavior, she’s a little… but still, that’s going too far!

“Hey, enough of this. Noah, go take a shower. You reek too much for me to stay near you.”

Wha—reek?!

“What’s with that face? Isn’t it obvious? Think about where you were just a moment ago. Of course, you’d stink.”

“Uh… but Rubia already did something to keep the smell away…”

She had cleaned the blood off me with water and used her divine power to eliminate the stench…

I lifted my arm and sniffed.

All I could smell was a faint peachy scent.

“See… there’s no sme—ah… yeah.”

I wanted to shout that I didn’t smell, but Charlotte’s posture and expression were so intimidating that I just quietly hid behind Rubia and muttered softly.

“Oh? You’re really going to ignore what the princess said?”

Charlotte sprang to her feet.

“U-ugh…”

I pressed myself even closer to Rubia’s back.

This time, Rubia gently pushed me away.

“Noah smells fine to me, but it’s probably best if you wash up anyway.”

“R-really…?”

“Heh heh… yes. You did kill a lot of monsters by yourself, after all. Washing up will help you relax too.”

“Exactly. Plus, we’ve got hot water here, so it’ll be easy.”

With both Charlotte and Rubia pushing me, I nodded reluctantly.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to wash up.

But… the thing is… my… my underwear…

After showering, it’s only natural to want fresh, clean underwear, right…?

Also, uh…

The bandages wrapped around my chest are barely holding together, and if I take them off, there’s no turning back!

Even though my body is… well, not much to look at, it’s still a problem…

“O-okay…”

I nodded quietly and stepped away from Rubia.

If I’m careful, I can keep everything covered…

I stood quietly in front of the bathroom door.

Calmly.

Silently.

Both Rubia and Charlotte tilted their heads as they watched me.

And then.

Rubia let out a small giggle.

“Pffft… Noah, sorry, but it’s probably best if you wash alone today. I’ll stand guard because I think Charlotte might try to peek.”

“Ah…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Charlotte swept her hair back roughly and lit a cigarette.

“I wouldn’t sneak a peek. I’d just look openly.”

Proud of herself, she lit the cigarette and exhaled the smoke, looking quite pleased.

“…See? That’s why you should wash alone today.”

“Uhm… okay. Got it.”

I stood there for a few seconds, wiggling in place before finally heading into the bathroom.

Hmm…

I don’t know why, but I kind of wanted to shower with Rubia today.

Just a little.

Ah… a missed opportunity…

***

Shhhhh—

The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom as Charlotte sank into the couch.

“Ssss—Phew…”

Her blonde hair shimmered as it swayed behind the smoky haze of the cigarette.

“Mana cigarettes… You’re still suffering the aftereffects of ‘that incident’?”

“Partially, yeah. But I’m also addicted at this point. Heh…” Charlotte gave a bitter laugh, shaking her head.

“If you need help, just ask. I’ll do what I can.”

“Then how about you let me feel you up?”

“Screw off.”

“Heh… Charlotte is sad now…”

“So, what brings you to Ursphere?”

Charlotte scratched the back of her head, looking a bit embarrassed after I ignored her comment.

“Hmm, some righteous, big-breasted beauty was terrified of scorpions and asked for help. The job got handed to me, so I had no choice but to take it.”

She grinned mischievously as she blew out more smoke.

“…What?”

Back when I met Jure in Roholon, I had used her unique ability to link with me, and I had asked for reinforcements for this incident.

She said she’d send five reinforcements, but Charlotte was one of them?

“I heard you were acquainted, but did Jure really pass my request on to you?”

“Yup. I had some business in Karahan anyway, so the timing worked out. I got to see some big boobs and some small boobs. It’s great. I’m so turned on, I might explode right here.”

Grinding my teeth, I ignored her vulgar remarks and pressed on.

“Jure said she’d send five people. Where are the others?”

“They got sent home.”

As I continued to ignore her crude jokes, Charlotte gave me a look of mild surprise, then laughed and continued.

“Heh… No one could have predicted this outcome. Besides, the reinforcements were expecting 300 Red Scorpions, not just 30. I imagine they’ll be quite baffled.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Jure had told me Red Scorpion had around 300 members in total.

But we had only encountered about 30.

“So… where are the rest of them…?”

“They’re dead.”

“…What?”

“They’re all dead. The rest of them.”

Charlotte straightened up from the couch.

“I heard this just a little while ago, but it seems Kalt passed through here.”

“Kalt…? The Black Knight Kalt?”

“Yeah. The guy who disappeared recently.”

The Black Knight, Kalt.

He had once been the captain of the royal knights, but after reaching the rank of master, he had slaughtered his entire unit and vanished.

But… why would Kalt be at Red Scorpion?

“Heh… yeah. I made the same face when I heard the news. It makes no sense, does it?”

“…None at all.”

“Exactly… No one knows why he suddenly reappeared. Even if those people deserved to die, did he really have to go that far?”

Charlotte threw the burnt mana cigarette into the ashtray and ran a hand through her hair.

“But… do you know who his next target is likely to be?”

Charlotte’s gaze shifted toward Hephaestus.

“No way…”

“Yuria.”

Puzzle pieces began falling into place as countless questions filled my mind.

“So… that’s how Red Scorpion knew about Eliximona…”

“Exactly. They were probably planning to kill this girl to lure Yuria. You know that artifact Yuria gave her? That stone? She has it too, right?”

“Ah… the artifact Yuria made for her?”

“Yeah. The one that lets you know if they’re still alive. They were probably going to use it to draw Yuria out.”

“Which means…”

Charlotte growled as she lit a new mana cigarette.

“Right. Kalt, that bastard. He’s definitely in Ursphere.”

Just as Charlotte finished speaking.

The bundle she had thrown in the corner twitched.

The last survivor of Red Scorpion, Mariel, was waking up.

“Perfect timing.”

“Yeah. Once Hephaestus wakes up, take Noah outside.”

I spoke quietly, trying to suppress the growing heat in my chest.

“Then we’ll begin the interrogation.”