Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆Member of the Brown Bear Mercenary; Remus

On the way back to Velos Kingdom, the warriors started making camping preparations since the sun was now setting to the west. We were marching along with them as they returned to avoid any other mishaps.

Our numbers had reduced at least by half. That’s just how severe the damage of this mission was. Both Charis and I might have already died as well if not for Shirone-sama's timely rescue.

We got lucky this time.

Finally, we arrived at the base camp of our Brown Bear Mercenary corp.

「We're back, leader.」

Upon entering the tent, I saw that almost all members of our mercenary corp were gathered inside.

「Ah, thanks for the hard work, Remus. How was the situation?」

Before we returned to the base camp, I had gone to report the situation to general Portos. Originally, it was supposed to be our leader giving the report, but I had to take his place since he was injured. General Portos would then summarize all the reports from the different groups and report it to the king of Velos Kingdom.

In the end, we couldn't solve the crux of the strange phenomenon in the forest. To begin with, that phenomenon wasn't even the work of humans. I mean, not even the Hero of Light could solve the problem.

But, as a result, the general stated that he now had a grasp on how dangerous the forest was. Thus, we are most likely going to get our remuneration.

I told our leader about that.

As Thors' warriors, clinging onto monetary rewards wasn't regarded as a good thing. But then, we did need money to survive.

We would be helpless in many situations without money.

「WELL THEN, SINCE WE'RE GOING TO GET MONEY FROM THIS MISSION, WE SHALL GO TO THE REPUBLIC OF ARIADYA AS WE PLANNED BEFORE!!」

The rest of our members erupted into loud cheers upon hearing our leader's declaration.

The Republic of Ariadya was a country located in the far west of the continent. Near it was a giant labyrinth where many powerful monsters resided. We, the Brown Bear Mercenary corps, planned to go there to challenge that labyrinth. We had already planned to go there even before we took this mission.

Or so at least on the surface.

Our real goal was to see the biggest human country in this world rather than the labyrinth.

It would also serve as a nice break after fighting for a long time.

「The biggest country in the world, eh, I'm looking forward to see it, Remus.」

Charis spoke happily.

「Yeah, and since it's a big country, I might be able to find various books over there~」

I agreed with her.

I suddenly recalled a matter related to the Republic of Ariadya. I had received an introduction letter from the Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki-sama, who told me to rely on a woman named Regena.

I mean, she wouldn't be so cruel as to throw us out on the street.

「Kufufufufu. The biggest country in the world, eh, there are probably many beauties over there.」

Torx who stood beside me suddenly let out a creepy laugh. His personality was clearly different from before. Maybe something strange had gone into his head back in the forest.

Charis quickly hid herself behind me.

It was rare seeing Charis scared of something. The most probable conclusion was that Charis, with her heightened instinct, could feel that something was wrong with Torx.

Well, Torx's attitude towards me had mellowed a lot compared to before, which saved me from a whole lot of trouble. But, I still couldn't get rid of the discomfort I had about Torx's change of attitude.

I mean, he made that creepy smile that he had never shown before as he thought about Ariadya.

He wasn't such a pervert before the start of this mission.

Charis and I looked silently at Torx.

===

◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

One night had passed after the fight against the Evil Gods. But, we had yet to return to the Eld Kingdom.

Two flying ships were flying side by side in the air. When I looked below the deck, I could see thick white clouds that looked like beautiful waves.

It was really tranquil here.

If it was a normal situation, the air would have been freezing and there would be a lack of oxygen when flying at this height. But, the air in the ships still felt as comfortable as before. There must be a special device for that installed in these ships.

「Here you go, O Beautiful Black Haired Goddess, Chiyuki-sama.」

As I enjoyed the outside scenery, a half-naked angel approached me while carrying a beverage for me.

「Wh? Ah. Thanks.」

He poured fruit liqueur into my cup after I thanked him.

He might be an angel of love who serves under the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Ishtar.

I hear that they come down to the human realm from time to time, hearing the humans wishes or blessing a couple's love.

When many couples form, the human population increases too, which indirectly contributes to humankind’s development.

After pouring the beverage for me, the angel of love left with a gentle smile on his face.

I tried my best to avoid looking at him. I mean, he is literally just one step away from being completely naked. I could see THAT jiggling around, almost to the point that I could see it coming outside of the mini apron.

That's why I tried my best to avert my gaze from him. I only cast a glance from the edge of my field of view.

Lined right in front of me were various kinds of delicious food, as a group of handsome boys, who had yet to hit puberty, sang a song for us in the background.

All of them were brought by Ishtar into this ship.

That's why the deck of Rena's flying ship had turned into a mini banquet hall right now.

I heaved a sigh.

"What the hell are you doing?" Was what I really wanted to say right now.

We were boarding Rena's flying ship and had yet to arrive to Eld Kingdom. We could actually return right away with teleportation magic, just like what the Goddess of Book and Knowledge, Totona, did a while ago; she was already back in Elios.

There were so many things that I wanted to talk about with her but she left in a hurry along with her big brother, the God of Strength and Battle, Thors. How unfortunate.

We wanted to go back immediately with teleportation magic too but, some stupid reason prevented us from doing that. It was mainly the fact that the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Ishtar, was unwilling to let go of Reiji.

The two of them were sitting side by side on a sofa brought by Ishtar. She had actually boarded Rena's flying ship instead of her own and was now stuck like glue on Reiji. Around them, Ishtar's attendants were entertaining Reiji.

That scene seemed to have annoyed Rena, resulting in her locking herself in her own room. She didn't come out from her room even after one night had passed. I guess she was really pissed off.

Well, I understand her feelings though. I mean, no woman would want to see the man they love being waited upon by other girls.

Reiji, on the other hand, looked really delighted by Rena's attitude. Well it couldn't be helped, Rena was such a beauty after all. But of course, none of us or the valkyries in this ship were happy with Reiji's attitude.

Maybe because she guessed our bad mood, Ishtar ordered her male attendants to entertain us. Rino was really delighted by that.

But, the stimulus was a little bit too strong for me. I mean, I rarely interact with other men, Nier and co were also flustered. Aside from Nao who fell asleep due to exhaustion from using her beast transformation, Shirone looked down, she didn't even try to peek at the men.

「Are you alright, Shirone-san?」

I looked at Shirone who was sitting down beside me. But, she didn't reply to my question. Wait a minute, wasn't her state rather unusual?

「HEY, SHIRONE-SAN?!!!」

I tried to shake Shirone's body.

「Eh…? What's the matter, Chiyuki-san?」

Shirone's face was really pale.

「WAIT A MINUTE! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, SHIRONE-SAN?!」

「Eh? I'm fi—」

Maybe because he noticed the unusual situation, Reiji was also looking at Shirone.

「What's matter, Shirone?! Your face is really pale you know!!!」

Reiji called out to Shirone at once.

「Eh…? Ah…」

The moment she said so, Shirone fell forward.

「SHIRONE-SAN! HANG IN THERE!!」

My voice resounded in the sky.

===

◆Goddess of Wisdom and Victory; Rena

「Thank you again for your timely rescue, Rena. To be honest, I wanted to tell you this in person, but as you can see, the girls won't leave me. That's why do forgive me for telling you this with communication magic.」

「Ah? Is that so? I don't really mind though. I don't even care if you're not thanking me, Alphos.」

Alphos thanked me via communication magic. He was being nursed back to health by the Goddess of Song, Muse, and the other women. I could hear the voices of many women in the background after all.

「Nevertheless, I never expected you to save me. I might have lost the fight against the Dark Knight, but strangely enough, I feel refreshed instead.」

Alphos spoke with a really emotional voice.

「Hah?」

What in the hell is this guy talking about? Surely, it did look like I protected him. But, I never risked my life to begin with.

「See you later in Elios, Rena.」

Alphos cut his communication after he bid his farewell. He seemed to misunderstand something but, whatever.

It seems he thought that I came to save his sorry life. In fact, that was just his own misunderstanding. In the first place, Kuroki was by no means a dangerous existence to me.

I took a closer look at Kuroki's face as he slept quietly beside me. It was a calm sleeping face. As if his expression from a while ago was a lie.

I secretly slipped away from my flying ship and came to this Sweet Castle. After tidying myself up and confirming that everyone but Kuroki and Kuna had returned to Nargol, I slipped into their master bedroom.

By the time I had arrived, Kuroki had lost half of his sanity.

Well, that was natural.

It was the side effect of forcefully suppressing such terrifying power. Rather, it was truly praiseworthy that he could endure it for so long. He persevered for my sake. No doubt about it, he must have been in pain all this time.

That's MY Kuroki for you.

Kuna and I had somehow managed to appease Kuroki, who was rampaging in a half-frenzied state due to the backlash of his own power. Honestly speaking, it was a really tough match, but I managed to persevere for Kuroki, who persevered for my sake as well.

And then, after Kuroki vented all of his overflowing vigor, he passed out. A glance at his sleeping face was enough to convince everyone that he was by no means a dangerous existence.

「Good grief. What in the hell is Alphos talking about? Kuroki will never be able to hurt me…」

I brushed Kuroki's cheek.

Kuroki loves me.

He should be crazily in love with me.

That's why Kuroki would never be able to hurt me.

The problem was, Kuroki couldn't come to my side. Though I was fully aware that he couldn't completely become mine, I honestly felt slightly disappointed.

But wait, since he couldn't come to my side, how about I make him kidnap me?

That would be really interesting.

But still, I was a Goddess of Elios. I couldn't just abandon my status. I had to show some resistance. And then, he would eventually overpower the weaker me, and kidnap me.

I chuckled on my own upon imagining such a situation.

Well then, time to go back, Nier would feel that something is off otherwise.

I got up from the bed.

「Going back already, Rena?」

When I turned around, I saw Kuna, who was sleeping on the other side of Kuroki, raising her upper-half while looking toward me.

「Yeah, Nier will feel something is off if I don't go back now, she might even forcefully break into my room.」

Though I forbade everyone from entering my room, Nier might break into my room by force if she feels that something is off with my room being too quiet. And then, she would realize that I slipped out secretly from the ship. Things would become really troublesome if that happens.

That's why I should return before it does.

Returning now should be easier without the barrier that obstructs teleportation magic.

「I see… If that's the case, I have a request for you, Rena. That hero and his party are really troublesome. I don't care about the method, but you should rein them in properly to prevent them from doing something bothersome like this incident again.」

「I know how you feel, Kuna. But, Reiji and the others are strong. Restricting their actions isn't as easy as it seems.」

I pressed the palm of my hand to my forehead. Reiji and co's strength rivaled that of the Gods. It was tough controlling their actions.

Kuna groaned upon hearing me.

「But, that woman with long black hair is dangerous. She is searching for a way to go back to their home world. We have to stop her at all cost.」

I nodded to her.

Chiyuki was looking for a way to go back to their home world by herself. And Kuna felt that was dangerous.

「Yeah. She might drag Kuroki along to return with her to their home world.」

And I definitely couldn't allow that to happen.

That's why I definitely needed to prevent Chiyuki from finding a way to return to their home world.

I looked at Kuroki's face. He showed an extremely innocent sleeping face. Yeah, his face resembled Kouki’s when he slept like this.

Kouki did resemble his father a lot.

I left him behind with a nanny, but he wouldn't cry because I left him too long right?

Yeah, I should go back immediately.

I turned around slowly and caressed Kuroki's face.

Kuroki, you'll stay in this world and live with me, FOREVER!!

AND I ABSOLUTELY WON'T LET YOU GO BACK TO YOUR HOME WORLD!!

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