episode_0095

A little later.

Pisces, Lea, and I were somehow walking amicably together down the back alley.

Lea carried one of the knocked-out, messed-up men in each hand, while I carried the rest.

At first, I was dumbfounded with surprise at Lea, who had instantly pierced through my Nine Heavens Extinguishing Flame Art and seen through my true identity.

“Ras! You don’t need to be so embarrassed just because your trick was exposed. My ‘eyes’ are a bit special, so I can see through all illusions. Heh heh!”

Lea explained her perceptive ability to a slightly dejected me, and I was able to escape from a great disappointment.

Indeed… Rosalie had also mentioned that thanks to her powerful divine power, illusionary or mystical attacks didn’t work well on her, so it wasn’t too surprising that Lea could see through illusions.

Afterward, Lea whined loudly that she had caught three people but only had two hands, so it was too difficult to carry them all by herself. Thus, I decided to help her just until we were out of the alley.

Anyway, we also had to get out of the back alley and continue enjoying our date.

In any case, chores like carrying goods or luggage should naturally be assigned to subordinates…

“Hehehe..! Pisces isn’t just a mere subordinate anymore…! She’s Owner-nim’s girlfriend and truly the official partner..! So, she’s a complete princess!”

Pisces, elevated from subordinate to lover, shook her head with a pathetic voice even before I could give her a task, saying, “Pisces wants to be a princess…” and so, I ended up taking on the role of the porter.

She pretended to be pitiful and looked around cautiously, but the moment I said, “Alright, be a princess,” she became so triumphant and overjoyed… Honestly, as annoying as it was, it was incredibly cute.

Asking her to work was half a joke anyway, and I was going to do it myself regardless, but was she really that happy that I canceled it?

Perhaps being ‘treated’ was a rare and precious experience she hadn’t encountered many times in her life, which is why she seemed so happy even with such a small gesture from me, her favorite person.

Lea, too, seemed to find the swaggering Pisces cute, as she had been beaming with smiles since earlier.

“Hey. Your girlfriend is really cute. But your abilities are amazing, aren’t they? You have all types of girls you’re dating. A mature Noona, a demure classmate, and even a super cute younger girl… So you’re not just good at fighting, huh?”

But Lea’s voice was so loud that Pisces, who was happily swaggering next to her, heard everything she said!

What’s more, I’m not even in that kind of relationship with Marisa yet, so what is she seeing that makes her keep insisting Marisa is my lover?

She claims to be with the Emperor, but didn’t the Emperor mention anything about his prospective daughter-in-law?

Where did the girl who was flustered by Rosalie’s declaration of being my lover go? It was quite strange how she was now so firmly asserting my relationship with Marisa, as if saying, ‘No~ my words are right~’.

“The mature Noona must be Rosalie Unnie, and there’s no super cute younger girl besides me, is there? But a demure classmate… Ugh!!!! Marisa!! As expected, my hunch was right. There was no friendship at all. The ones who offer to help are the scariest!!”

Based on Lea’s words, Pisces skillfully guessed the women each description pointed to, and then, realizing that ‘demure classmate’ referred to Marisa, she let out a sigh as if she had expected it.

Meanwhile, completely omitting Irha from the list of suspicious targets was truly typical of Pisces, who lived by the principle of might makes right [a concept where only the strong are deemed worthy of respect].

By the way… Marisa had given Pisces dating advice or counsel, huh.

They had probably only met a couple of times at most, but thinking that they had chatted amicably about me, just like girls their age, even during such a short time, was somewhat amusing.

If Irha had also joined the conversation, then three incredibly cute beings would have gathered to talk about me, so I should definitely be happy about this.

Just imagining the three of them gathered together, chattering away intimately, was a sight that naturally warmed my heart.

Hearing such stories, Marisa was clearly just a normal girl her age, not some legendary creature like a noble fairy that lives only on dew.

To the extent that I couldn’t understand why other kids kept their distance and found it difficult to approach her, considering she was just a girl who would occasionally be a bit dry or eat asparagus mayonnaise bread.

I gently stroked Pisces’ head, who was cutely grinding her teeth, and appeased her. Instantly mollified, Pisces soon made her usual happy sound.

♩♪♬~

And so, Pisces began to hum a tune, quietly enjoying my touch, while Lea glanced sideways at the sight, finding it cute.

I casually tossed a question at the girl I genuinely liked quite a bit.

“But why are you so excited about other people’s relationships?”

Hearing my question, Lea shrugged and answered.

“Because the sect is incredibly boring. Those idiotic fanatics… ‘Heavenly God-nim~ Heavenly God-nim~’ all day long, as if someone believes them. Ptooey! And they don’t even proselytize… They just make us fight like crazy… Everything from top to bottom is idiotic, but the most idiotic thing is forbidding relationships. Who are they to forbid it?”

As she spoke about the sect, Lea’s voice and tone suddenly became very scathing.

It seemed this tempestuous teenager, who was only nineteen years old—meaning a year younger than our cute Pisces—had a lot of pent-up frustration due to the sect’s bizarre doctrines.

Well, I mostly agreed with what Lea was grumbling about, so I didn’t particularly argue or refute her.

Sephiroth’s Heavenly God Sect.

Unlike its grand name, which suggested a massive religious force befitting a great empire, it was a bizarre religion that wasn’t even the state religion and had almost no ordinary believers…

Of course, Rosalie, who held the considerably high title of High Priest in that religion, is my lover, but honestly, strange is strange.

However, the Heavenly God Sect was also the only religion among the various religions in the empire that received ‘direct’ support and backing from the Imperial Family.

It had a lofty and free nature, not forcing its faith on ordinary people, including through proselytization, and not even requiring the faith of the Imperial Family members who supported them.

So, what was the reason this shabby Heavenly God Sect, with its weak religious characteristics, was the only religion treated with respect by the Imperial Family? A good example that clearly showed the reason was none other than Rosalie and Lea.

In other words, the Heavenly God Sect received support from the Imperial Family not in the realm of religion, but in the military realm.

The sect members were incredibly powerful warriors who diligently believed in and followed their bizarre religion among themselves… So, it would be more accurate to view them as a mercenary group bound within the category of a religion.

These strange individuals had strict internal rules but didn’t proselytize, and despite appearing indifferent to imperial affairs, they voluntarily went to various battlefields to help the nation.

No… From the start, most of their doctrine was ‘Let us achieve national protection by endlessly training a powerful body and the even stronger divine power of the Heavenly God.’ That says it all.

Despite being religious fanatics, their loyalty to the Imperial Family and the Emperor was abnormally high, truly an inexplicably bizarre religion.

Naturally, from the Imperial Family’s perspective, they couldn’t help but greatly favor these excellent and loyal warriors, and Heavenly God Sect priests always received VIP treatment at the Imperial Palace.

That’s why the priests of the Heavenly God Sect are often called by the strange moniker, ‘the Imperial Family’s steadfast and strong friends’… just like themselves.

People like Rosalie or Lea, who don’t even care about the Emperor or the Imperial Family, are actually quite rare by the sect’s standards… In a word, they are mavericks.

Lea, seemingly with much pent-up frustration, continued to grumble.

“Ah…! How annoying. They send me off to some dying old man to properly learn swordsmanship just a while ago. I truly suffered terribly because of it, you know? But then, thanks to you, interesting things are happening. You’re a truly fascinating guy, Ras.”

“How much have we even seen of each other for you to talk so familiarly… Are we childhood friends who used to ride bamboo stilts together?”

“Oh~ Why are you being so standoffish? We amicably exchanged punches and kicks… You even gave my face a full-force punch! We had a good time, didn’t we~?”

Why was it that seeing Lea act so affectionately towards me, as if we were childhood friends, made me idly think of what happened before my regression?

She and I had fought to the death, risking our lives, and back then, she truly enjoyed fighting.

And even back then, she treated me familiarly, just like now… somehow as if I were an old friend.

Of course, while she was friendly, the killing intent she directed at me couldn’t have been more genuine….

In this life, I likely won’t have reason to attack Sephiroth, so if I cultivate our relationship well from now on, could we truly become friends?

Friends… friends, huh….

Just a few more blocks, and we’ll be saying goodbye to the back alley.

But the word ‘friend’ suddenly appearing kept making me feel a sense of regret.

Somehow, it felt like there was something much better than just saying ‘Goodbye then!’ and going our separate ways today…

Suddenly, a good idea flashed through my mind.

Aren’t the ordinary Heavenly God Sect priests called ‘the Imperial Family’s steadfast and strong friends’?

Then what about Lea?

“Hey, Lea.”

“Hmm??”

“Do you know that the Heavenly God Sect priests are called ‘the Imperial Family’s steadfast and strong friends’?”

“Ugh. Honestly, finding the guy who came up with that nickname and killing him is one of my wishes. Do you know who it is?”

As expected, Lea held both the Imperial Family and their own religion in disdain.

Perhaps it was just that she was part of it… so it couldn’t naturally become a part of her life, or there was some other complex reason.

“No, well… I don’t know. But I think it’s a completely idiotic nickname. I don’t even understand why a religious group wags its tail at the Imperial Family like that in the first place.”

“Right? Ugh… You really get it… My devout heart is bursting because these religious believers have no dignity, just yelling, ‘Loyalty to His Imperial Majesty!’”

As she spoke ill of them with a satisfied voice, I quickly tacked on my proposition.

“Then, how about being Ras Etgard’s friend? I actually run an organization in the back alley. My side job is being a back alley organization boss, you see.”

“Hmm?? Why would an academy student do something like that?”

“Hey, it’s all practical experience. You got beaten up by me last time, remember? That’s all thanks to me getting stronger by moving from back alley to back alley in Sephir and Delphi. In the dirtiest, most despicable battlegrounds in the world, that is.”

As I was talking, smart Pisces, looking slightly perceptive, chimed in to support my words.

“Owner-nim is truly a rough man. He annihilated twenty-eight back alley organizations in Sephir alone..! And he’s already taken down eighteen here.”

A suitable exaggeration, a display that would surely capture the attention of Lea, who dearly loved to fight.

As expected, our strategist is a clever one who understands perfectly even when spoken to poorly [an idiom meaning to have excellent comprehension].

“Ohh… yes, honestly, it was truly surprising that there was someone my age who could beat me in a ‘fight.’ But that was because of the back alley influence, huh.”

“So, you should come and experience the back alley influence too. There are a lot of diverse fighting techniques and methods going around. Come on… so, why don’t we change direction and go see our organization? We can have a cup of coffee too. You said we had a good time, didn’t you? Thinking about it, I had quite a fun time on Friday too.”

“Hmm..! Should we?? Hehehe… So you were pretending you didn’t like it, but you actually enjoyed it, didn’t you? Alright….”

Honestly, back alley fights aren’t that omnipotent.

As for my past self, my talent wasn’t as outstanding as Lea’s, and more than anything, due to my psychological state at the time, I needed to burn and smash things, so the back alley arena was a good place. But would it be useful even for this girl who is already half-complete?

In any case, Lea, her interest piqued, forgot her business about having to return to the Emperor quickly and excitedly followed us.

And so… our organization in Delphi successfully recruited a top-tier hitman with incredible skill.

Pisces’ ‘Today’s Fortune’ from the morning, specifically the part about ‘picking up gold,’ must have meant recruiting Lea Iorca into our organization.

First, her golden hair was even brighter and prettier than gold, and her skill level was difficult to convert into money. Plus, she was so naive… no, incredibly pure and kind, so…

“Hey! What’s the point of friends if you’re talking about salary? I might be a bit rough around the edges, but I don’t take money from friends to help them. Instead, just grant me a small favor later.”

She had made an incredible offer: to work as a hitman ‘without pay’.

The ‘small favor’ part made me feel a bit uneasy, but thinking, ‘How big could it possibly be?’, I readily accepted her offer.

Because Lea was so full of loyalty, I completely incinerated all the bad impressions I had held of her for the past few days, burning them away in flames.

This girl is now part of our organization family… so even if there are parts I don’t quite like, I should understand with a generous family heart.

“Lea Iorca is now a member of our organization family. This is Pisces. My top subordinate.”

Wanting to sound folksy, I concluded the introduction and appointment ceremony briefly in the Empire’s southeastern dialect, and thus, Lea Iorca’s recruitment concluded smoothly and quickly.

While amicably drinking coffee, Lea suddenly seemed to remember something and asked me a question.

“Ah, but what’s your organization’s name, Ras?”

“The Killer Whale That Swallowed a Rose. So here, I use the name Orca instead of Ras. It means ‘killer whale’ in the old language of Kashmir, you see.”

For reference, the Black Rose Vine changed its name after moving into Delphi.

I don’t remember why I chose ‘killer whale,’ but I probably just made it up casually because I was drawn to it at the time.

“Orca? Heh heh. I’m Iorca. Maybe we’re a match made in heaven in this surprising way?”

I hadn’t chosen my alias while thinking of Lea, but somehow, a rather plausible connection had formed, making me feel strange.

“Ugh… Her eye-smile is a bit bewitching, and it already feels like something is off… Is this really right?! But it’s always good to have someone who looks that strong by your side…!”

Meanwhile, Pisces glanced cautiously at Lea and grumbled boldly, but she deliberately slurred her words, so I couldn’t properly understand.

As always, her grumbling probably wasn’t anything significant.

In any case, to actually recruit a Hero… recruiting such a prominent figure was a first in my life.

Perhaps because of the regression, I could feel that my negotiation skills as the boss had also dramatically improved.

***

“Heheh..! I finally managed to subtly get close to him.”

After eating a simple dinner with Ras and Pisces and parting ways with them, Lea was moving the captured observers by making them float in the air using levitation magic.

Her earlier whining about her hands being full and finding it difficult was, in fact, just a meaningless tantrum to her.

She had tried her best to spend more time with Ras, but somehow, it went beyond that, and she suddenly found herself joining an organization where Ras was the boss.

The sweet bodily scent and magic she felt from Ras, almost like an aphrodisiac… that was why she had tried to stay with him for so long.

Lea was extremely curious about the true nature of that unidentified scent and the magic that stimulated and filled her with satisfaction.

“Clearly… the scent and feeling were very similar. What I felt from Rosalie Berhart, I felt from Ras as well. Sigh… When I smell that, I feel like a cat that’s smelled catnip fruit [an idiom for feeling incredibly stimulated and happy]. What exactly are Ras and Rosalie? Why do they both, as a couple, make me feel so good?”

Lea somehow felt that if she continued to fight alongside Ras like this, she might find the answers to her life by following the intoxicating scent emanating from him.

The basis for this was her beast-like keen, remarkably accurate intuition, which manifested almost like premonition.

As a bonus, she thought it was truly killing two birds with one stone, since she could cling to Rosalie, who seemed to be in a quite serious relationship with Ras, whenever the opportunity arose.

Ras Etgard… A man who was truly absurdly strong considering his age, an incredible man who already had three considerably beautiful lovers at a young age, and Orca, the boss of the Delphi back alley organization.

Ras, unique and special in every aspect, without a single weak point, was increasingly becoming the top subject of interest in Lea’s heart.

“Who I am, where I came from… I have no idea about my personal history, but before I knew it, I’ll be an adult next year… It’s not right to live a life so devoid of self-identity at this age. Since no one properly answers me about my past, it’s best if I search for it myself.”

Nineteen is the age where one is encouraged to actively try anything on their own.

Lea Iorca made the most proactive choice in her life to find the answers to her own existence, which no one would give her even when asked.

Without anyone’s consent, supervision, or orders… she entered Ras Etgard’s organization and became his comrade.

It was the kind of action that the Lea from before the regression would have gasped and loved.

Because making a strong person a comrade is, in itself, a wise and helpful thing to do at any point in life.

Stepping out of the alley and looking at the sky, she noticed that darkness had already settled, signaling that night was almost complete.

Seeing the pitch-black sky, Lea felt as if she had forgotten something. She tilted her head, then suddenly remembered what she had forgotten.

“Oops…! Come to think of it, I forgot about the old Emperor…!!!”

Realizing that the Emperor might be waiting for her, she quickly pulled out her communication magic tool.

And sure enough….

[When are you coming…?] [When will you return…?] [Why aren’t you replying…?]

Seeing the short, exhausted-looking messages like these, Lea couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

“If I reply, ‘I’m… coming to meet you now…!’ I’ll probably get scolded, won’t I? It’d be better to just tell the old man to come here instead. Heh heh.”

Lea sent a reply to the Emperor revealing her location, then waited for him in a slightly secluded spot.

The scent emanating from Ras, that is, the scent originating from ‘Succubus’s Tears,’ completely filled her mind, so the waiting time wasn’t boring at all.

“I think I’ll have a good dream if I fall asleep tonight. I should hurry and finish what I need to do and go to bed.”

Being this hungry for sleep was truly a rare occurrence for Lea.