Episode 335. Scarlet Light (2)

“Rebecca-ssi!”

“Lady! The magic circle!”

The centaur, covered in wounds all over its body, knelt from Irene and Isaac’s attack, and Rebecca deployed the magic circle she had prepared.

“Subdue him!”

[Kuh, keu-eup… Ah, aah….]

Rebecca cast a Rune barrier from the centaur’s heart.

A tiny dot grew and turned into a sphere, and the expanding magic power swept through the centaur’s entire body, passing through its form.

The resulting creation was a Rune barrier adorned with unpleasant clumps of black magical energy.

Rebecca gathered the black magical energy clinging to the barrier in the air and compressed it into spheres.

Just as she had freed herself from mind control, she had completely separated Maestro’s magical energy from the centaur’s body.

[What is this? Keu-euk, my body….]

Before the mind-controlled centaur could regain its senses, Rebecca cast the Rune barrier again, enveloping the centaur’s body.

[Wait. Human, my mind control is gone! Now….]

“Subdue him! Everyone assist!”

The centaur tried to convey its intentions.

Maestro’s mind control has been broken.

I have no reason to fight you.

Let’s talk this out slowly.

However, Rebecca ignored the centaur’s words and manipulated the magic forcefully.

It was necessary to subdue him while his strength hadn’t returned after the mind control was broken.

Because being freed from mind control meant he could escape at any moment.

If I didn’t subdue him so forcefully, I couldn’t convince the other pursuit teams.

After all, it’s a fact that he harmed countless humans, even if it wasn’t his own will.

“Make more magic ropes!”

“Still not enough! Bind his entire body!”

[Human! Human…! I had no intention of harming you….]

The centaur was thus bound entirely and trapped within the barrier.

• After the centaur’s subjugation.

Isaac, Irene, and Rebecca rushed towards Lee Hoyeon.

“Wait a moment.”

“Alice? When did you get here….”

“Hoyeon told me not to let anyone approach.”

Alice blocked people’s approach in front of Lee Hoyeon’s barrier.

Although she was surprised to see the woman who had suddenly turned into a necklace, Lee Hoyeon had asked her to stop people, so she had to prevent them from approaching for now.

“… What is that flow of magical energy?”

“W-Wait a moment! If you get closer….”

“I know. I won’t enter the barrier. Alice-yang.”

“Ah….”

Rebecca looked past Alice’s worried gaze towards Lee Hoyeon inside the Rune barrier.

A Rune barrier heavily infused with magic to isolate it from the outside space.

Inside, magic that slows down time filled the space.

“Instead of controlling the Rune barrier, he filled it with magic… slowing it down. No, did he stop it?”

It’s magic that makes no sense even in theory.

But Lee Hoyeon was doing it.

He was even using healing magic simultaneously, making it impossible to even grasp how much magical energy he was controlling at once.

As Rebecca was surprised, Isaac also noticed Lee Hoyeon’s magic.

“He can use healing magic… And it’s like the magic has stopped… Ha.”

Unbelievable talent.

Talent so enviable even to himself, known as the Emperor of the Night, stirred the primal instincts of the old lion.

He wondered if his daughter’s wedding might be sooner than expected.

‘By the way, what’s their relationship?’

Isaac glanced at Rebecca.

She looked at Lee Hoyeon with worried eyes, yet seemed inspired, as if discovering new magic.

However, Isaac had heard Rebecca’s words right before the centaur’s attack struck Lee Hoyeon.

‘She definitely… called him ‘Dad’.’

It was a frantic combat situation, but he heard it clearly.

‘Dad?’

Could he possibly have a daughter at that age?

No, that daughter seems too old for that….

“Guild Master! What should we do about the centaur?!”

“You guys take care of the injured! The team leaders will handle the centaur.”

Isaac, giving a cursory answer to the guild member’s question, approached Lee Hoyeon, who was dissolving the barrier, and swallowed hard.

‘Could he have lied about his age and gotten into the academy illicitly…? No, the academy isn’t that lax….’

Isaac, the Guild Master of the Information Guild, pondered Lee Hoyeon’s identity once more.

• Iris Guild Headquarters.

After the operation ended, the pursuit team dispersed, and only the main members remained to decide the centaur’s fate.

“Team Leader 1, putting him underground would be best, right?”

“Or we could hand him over to the French government.”

“Hmm, that feels a bit unsatisfactory. Plus, we wouldn’t be able to extract any information.”

“I agree, putting him underground seems like the best option.”

The centaur, whose entire body was bound like a mummy by magic ropes, stood still as if resigned to rebellion.

Since I requested time from Isaac to speak with the centaur alone on the way back from the operation, he’ll probably arrange it soon.

“Scarlet, are you okay?”

“… Yes.”

• Scout! You’re alive! I believed in you!

Pat pat.

I gently stroked Liliana, who was trembling with joy, and turned my head slightly.

Scarlet, being carried on my back, had her eyes tightly shut as if embarrassed.

Her body had fully recovered, but she claimed she couldn’t move due to the strong shock.

Given Scarlet’s personality, she wouldn’t endure the embarrassment of being carried if she didn’t mean it, so she must be sincere.

“Still can’t move?”

“… Yes. Embarrassingly so.”

“It’s okay. It can happen.”

Scarlet is an elite member of the Iris Guild, also part of the pursuit team.

She must have undergone training for pain tolerance, so just how severe must the pain have been for someone like Scarlet to feel shock?

The agony of her back skin melting away completely and her insides burning.

I can hardly imagine it.

Still, fortunately, everyone knows Scarlet saved me, so no one said anything about me carrying her.

The medical team arrived shortly after my treatment finished, but Scarlet had explicitly stated she didn’t want to be hospitalized.

“Hoyeon-ah.”

Just then, Alice’s voice came from beside me.

“Ah, Alice. Have they decided what to do with the centaur?”

“Yeah. They decided to put him underground.”

That’s convenient, after all. Easy for me to visit, too.

“And Dad wants to know if it’s okay for him to talk to the centaur today, what do you think?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Okay. I’ll tell him then….”

Alice chewed her lip, looking at my necklace.

But she glanced sideways at Scarlet, who was on my back, and closed her mouth.

She seems to be holding back because of Scarlet.

Actually, Scarlet knows everything.

“… I’ll explain that earlier thing later.”

“Okay. I definitely will. Thank you so much.”

Geez. This is giving me a headache, figuring out what to do.

I didn’t expect Liliana to be discovered.

• Sorry… for coming out.

Sigh.

What can you do? Maybe it’s not so bad, actually. It’s an opportunity to talk about the Underworld.

Things never go my way anyway.

Alice left after telling Scarlet to take good care of herself and returned to Isaac.

“Did you get caught doing something else by Miss Alice?”

“Ah. You don’t know. Liliana was discovered.”

“… What on earth did you do?”

“Tell me about it. Sigh.”

Liliana popped out in shock when Scarlet got hurt, but since it was all to save me, I have nothing to say.

“They seem about to move the centaur soon. I wonder how they plan to get that huge body underground.”

“The Iris Guild has its own magic for that.”

“There’s nothing this place doesn’t have.”

Click-clack-

The familiar sound of heels.

I saw Rebecca approaching this way after finishing the discussion about the centaur’s treatment.

I spoke to Rebecca first.

“Rebecca-ssi. You worked hard.”

“No, no. The baby’s daddy worked hard. Ah, I’ll head back first, okay?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Rebecca also had a very tough day today.

Every time someone tried to probe my identity, she covered for me.

She also played a significant role in capturing the centaur.

“Yeah. Come to think of it… since we captured the centaur alive, all the important tasks are resolved, right?”

“Mm, they are?”

“Hehehe….”

Rebecca met my eyes with a sly smile.

“… That’s scary.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Seeing good genes just makes me smile. Heh heh. That barrier earlier was so cool. There’s even something for me to learn. It’ll have a good influence on my baby, too.”

“… You flatter me.”

Right. The time has finally come.

I can’t put it off any longer.

If you can’t avoid it, you have to enjoy it.

I replied to Rebecca with a smile.

“Let’s talk slowly first. I won’t run away.”

“Okay, okay. Ah, is the baby’s daddy’s girlfriend taking good care of herself too?”

“… Thank you.”

Rebecca waved casually and left.

Well, it’s a happy thing to have women asking for sex, after all.

“The number of women around you is increasing.”

“….”

Sharp words like thorns came from Scarlet, who was on my back.

Honestly, I’m a little scared too.

Is it okay to just keep increasing the number of women like this?

Lucy, Lumi, Nam Daeun, Baek Ahyoung, Moon Surin, Alice, Irene, Liliana, Im Sol, Rebecca, Scarlet.

‘Wait, 11 people?’

I even counted the women I haven’t ‘conquered’ yet, but this is too many.

The quest giver, or maybe the God of Betting, disappeared without giving any hints.

I’m doing this because they said I get points for conquering more women, but this could go on forever.

• It’s okay. Strong men should have many women!

“Right. I think so too.”

As expected, I can communicate well with a succubus.

I cursed the Underworld so much, but I might have to move there.

“… Strange people.”

Scarlet shook her head, watching our conversation.

Come to think of it, I had something to say to Scarlet.

“Scarlet.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“… It was nothing.”

“I’m so grateful and sorry, I don’t know what to do.”

How can I express this feeling in words?

I never expected it would turn out like this, even when I first offered the Underworld contract to Scarlet, who was tailing me.

Not only did we become deeply involved, but she even saved my life.

“It’s fine. It’s already in the past.”

“I’ll definitely repay you later. Scarlet. No, Scarlet Light.”

“… You only use the full name on important occasions.”

“Oh really? Like when?”

“Well, like in official settings or at weddings.”

“Hmm….”

“Don’t say anything weird. Absolutely not!”

“Okay, okay.”

I wanted to tease her about not denying Rebecca’s words, but maybe I’ll let it slide for now.

“Lee Hoyeon.”

“Ah, Guild Master!”

Isaac, who had apparently moved the centaur underground, approached me.

“You worked hard on the operation. Ah, Scarlet. You worked hard too.”

“Thank you, Guild Master. I apologize for not greeting you earlier.”

“Not at all. Your courage was remarkable. Right. Lee Hoyeon. Alice must have told you, but the centaur has been placed in the Iris Guild’s detention room. The magic seal is strongly active, so you can visit anytime.”

“Thank you. I’ll definitely go see him today.”

The fact that the guild had a detention room bothered me slightly, but I let it slide.

I should use what’s beneficial to me.

“Right. And uh. Rebecca…. Hmm, never mind. You worked hard today.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Isaac muttered something like ‘No way…’ and left.

Since Rebecca’s name came up, perhaps I frowned slightly, ready to firmly reject him if he made a move again.

I hope he didn’t take it the wrong way.

“Let’s head back to the lodging first.”

“You should go see the centaur.”

“I need to get you settled down first.”

“… Thank you.”

I headed towards the lodging, still carrying Scarlet on my back.