I killed the culprit who had kidnapped the noble lady.
He wasn’t particularly a difficult opponent, but because he kept summoning small fry, I couldn’t help but worry that the noble lady might get hurt by a chimera in the middle of the chaos.
It was the same principle as in games, where underlings who endlessly summon more enemies tend to be more annoying to deal with than powerful bosses.
On top of that, there were the cries of the chimeras—no, the cries of the victims—that only I could hear.
– Kill me…
– Please… get me out of here…
– I don’t want to feel pain… aah…
So I cut them down without hesitation.
I didn’t feel particularly guilty about it. I had experienced this kind of thing before.
I believed that all human lives were precious, but lumping in scum like these with ordinary people and treating them the same way was just too revolting.
“Noble lady, are you alright?”
Now that there was no one left to interfere, I quickly approached the noble lady and checked her condition.
“H-How… how did you… find me here?”
The dress she had worn for her date was now in tatters, like a rag, and though it hadn’t been long, her face had already become terribly gaunt.
The most serious problem was her leg. The noble lady’s legs, already slender to begin with, were now swollen badly from a broken bone.
If left alone in this filthy basement any longer, there was a chance it could even become necrotic.
I lifted the noble lady, who was sprawled helplessly on the floor.
Then, I took off the coat I had been wearing and draped it over her face so that she wouldn’t have to see the outside world.
“Hkk… uh…”
“Please endure it for just a little while. There are a lot of sights out there you shouldn’t have to see.”
I calmed the noble lady, who had started to struggle when her vision was suddenly covered.
On the way here, I’d stirred things up a bit while dealing with the pests clinging to me, so the scene around us wasn’t exactly something she should be seeing in more ways than one…
Fortunately, the noble lady stopped struggling at my words. Normally, being held in this position might have made her feel embarrassed, but perhaps her fear was greater than her shame. Her trembling body that was nestled against me told me as much.
While we made our way outside, the scent of blood in the air seemed to reach the noble lady as well, as she flinched and trembled in my arms. But thankfully, she didn’t have any violent reactions.
Watching her desperately trying to bury her face deeper into my chest, as if to escape her fear, I let out a bitter smile and made my way out of the basement.
Of course, even outside, it was the same story. The ones I had taken down were lying scattered all over the place.
Not wanting to show the noble lady such a gruesome scene, I moved to a spot where the bodies wouldn’t be visible and carefully set her down.
“Ah, ah…”
“It’s alright. The bad guys who tried to kidnap you are all gone now, so you can rest easy.”
When she sensed that I was about to set her down, the noble lady hurriedly grabbed onto my shoulder.
Like a cat digging its claws in, unwilling to be separated from its owner, she clung tightly to my shoulder. I calmly tried to reassure her.
“Before coming here, I already contacted the duke’s household, so they should be in the middle of searching for you right about now. But I need to let them know that you’re here, so… would you be able to let go of me for a moment?”
“……”
– Nod.
The noble lady gave a small nod, and soon after, released her grip on me.
Up until now, I had only ever seen her strong and commanding. She even showed a cool and self-sacrificing side during the accident at the academy. Seeing her so weakened like this stirred a deep sense of pity in me.
Back then, she had chosen to protect others of her own free will, and if things had gone wrong, she always had the option of escaping herself. But now, her only means of escape, that was her magic, had been sealed away, and on top of that, she had never faced such pure, unfiltered killing intent before. It was only natural that she was gripped by fear.
After gently setting the noble lady down, I walked towards a place where the sky opened wide above.
While I was thinking about how to send a signal, I decided to just go with something simple.
I gathered a whole bunch of aura into my sword and blasted it into the sky with a bang!
Baaaaang!! Kwaaaang!! Bang, Kwaaaang!!
Contrary to what I had imagined, it didn’t make a cute sound at all, but if the duke’s knights were still in the middle of their search, they would definitely be able to sense that this surge of aura wasn’t ordinary.
On top of that, if the duke himself was someone in the realm of an archmage, he would surely realize that this aura didn’t belong to just any ordinary master and come rushing over.
After firing aura blasts into the sky like fireworks, I turned my body and walked back to the young lady.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way now.”
“Huh? Huh?! Why? Why?! Did I… did I do something wrong?! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—!”
At my words that I would be leaving, the young lady fell into a panic. She clutched at the hem of my pants and started rambling in confusion.
It seemed that after being rescued from such a hellish place, the sudden idea of me leaving had triggered her anxiety.
“Don’t worry. The people who came to rescue you are already on their way here. Um… by any chance, does the duke know how to use levitation magic?”
“Huh? Uh… if it’s my father, he should be able to use it…”
“Then it must really be the duke.”
I could feel through my aura sensing that something was flying toward this place at incredible speed.
If he even knew how to use levitation magic, then there was no doubt it had to be Duke Eus.
“Judging by what I’m sensing, it seems the duke himself is flying straight here. He should arrive in about a minute or two.”
“Ah… Father…”
“Yes. So please rest easy. There’s no good in getting more tangled up, so I’ll just be—”
“D-Don’t go!!”
When I tried to leave, the noble lady hurriedly grabbed onto me.
Her eyes were looking at me, but they were unfocused, and the way her body kept trembling suggested she was suffering from severe anxiety.
“Is… is it because I acted so rudely to you before? If that’s the reason, I’ll apologize! I was way too arrogant, wasn’t I? I didn’t mean to be like that on purpose, but without realizing it, I acted that way… I’m sorry, so please— Ahhk!”
“What are you even talking about? Get a hold of yourself.”
I gave the young lady, who was muttering nonsense like she’d lost her mind, a light flick on the forehead.
A little smack was the best cure for nonsense.
“The reason I’m leaving is simple. I’ve finished what I needed to do, and sticking around any longer would just get troublesome for me. Imagine how much more troublesome things would get if they started questioning me and found out about my abilities?”
“…But you saved me. I should at least repay you somehow—”
“What do you mean, repay? Saving someone isn’t something you put a price on. If nothing else, playing around with human life for money is something you should never do.”
The kind of people I hated most were the ones who toyed with others’ lives for their own amusement.
Even worse were those who, when their own lives were threatened, would beg for their lives without dignity.
One of my beliefs was that gambling with the misery of human life for profit was something that should never happen.
“So please, just keep it a secret that I was here. If you just say that a mysterious benefactor with a covered face came and saved you, people will probably accept that well enough. It’s not like they’ll easily find someone with skills like mine anyway.”
“…Really… will that really be enough?”
“Yes. That’ll be enough.”
It wasn’t like I was desperate for money or had some craving for fame.
Well, if I thought about my territory, I was pretty strapped for cash, but thanks to the advance payment for my love consultant work, I’d managed to take care of the immediate crisis. And honestly, demanding money from someone who had just barely survived felt less like a transaction and more like failing at being a decent human being.
“Okay… if you say so…”
The young lady looked as if she still found it hard to accept, but fortunately, it seemed she was willing to understand.
“Your leg should be healed soon by the priests. Since it’s the Duke’s family, I’m sure they have high-grade potions on hand as well, so you’ll be fine.”
“…Okay…”
“I’ll come visit you later with Pollo, too. Pollo can even peel fruit for you, you know? You can just sit back and let him feed you.”
“…Okay…”
Even bringing up Pollo didn’t seem to cheer her up. The terror she had experienced in that underground lab must still have had a hold on her.
Tap!
Pat, pat—
“Eek! Wh-What are you doing!?”
“Ah, you seemed to be having a hard time, so I thought I’d at least try to comfort you…”
“Urgh…! Just go! Hurry up and go already!”
“Ah, alright…”
Hmm… guess that didn’t work either.
Sometimes when I met the kids in the territory who seemed down, doing this would usually cheer them up right away. I guess stuff like this only works if you’re handsome.
“Well then, I’ll get going. Don’t worry, the Duke will be here soon!”
“Ah, um… wait—!”
Sensing the Duke’s presence drawing closer, I hurriedly left after offering a quick farewell.
It seemed like the young lady had tried to call out to stop me at the very end, but… well, it probably wasn’t anything important.
***
“I… didn’t even get to say thank you…”
Selene stared blankly at the spot where Mars had just disappeared.
A man who had saved her from a den of lunatics where words meant nothing.
A man who, despite holding the historic achievement of being an Aura Lord at his age, wanted to hide that fact simply because it was bothersome.
And… a man who had gently comforted her when she was trembling with fear.
Suddenly, the lingering warmth of his hand on her head flooded Selene’s face with bright red.
M-My face is burning…! Ugh, what do I do?!
Selene couldn’t get the look on Mars’ face out of her head.
When he had burst through the tightly sealed iron door of the underground lab, he had shown a look of relief the moment he saw her.
And when he saw her injured leg, he had displayed a fury so terrifying, it was as if he had become a god of vengeance in her place.
On top of that, after easily taking down the culprit, he had gently comforted her in a soft voice, continuously reassuring her trembling heart filled with fear.
For some reason, all of that made her heart pound like crazy, as if it had completely lost control.
“Seleeeeneeee!!!”
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from the distance.
“Dad?”
“Selene!! You’re safe! Are you hurt anywh—”
Duke Eus, who had flown toward her at the speed of light, landed lightly in front of her and hurriedly checked her condition before shifting his gaze to her injured leg.
“…Those bastards!!!”
Mana surged wildly in response to his emotions.
Sensing the enormous mana that instantly swept over the area, the wild animals nearby scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives.
“…Dad, I’m fine, so hurry up and just take me to a priest already. I need to get treated right away.”
“Huh? Oh, oh—right, of course.”
But at his daughter’s scolding, the raging mana vanished without a trace in an instant.
Though an intense rage burned in his chest toward those who had done this to his daughter, Duke Eus held his daughter gently in his arms, putting her well-being above those worthless scum. He was careful, worried that she might break if he wasn’t.
“Come to think of it, I passed by without thinking, but seeing you out here and looking around at the situation… it seems like everything’s already over. Did you manage to escape on your own?”
“…No. Someone else saved me.”
“Even though you hurt your leg, for someone to rescue you like this… they must be quite extraordinary. Do you happen to know who that person is?”
“…No, I don’t really know. They were wearing a mask, and their voice sounded strange. Other than the fact that they were incredibly strong, I don’t know anything else.”
“Hmm… that’s unfortunate. I would’ve liked to at least repay the benefactor who saved my daughter’s life…”
“Yeah… we should, but…”
Soon after, the knights and mages under the Duke’s command began arriving at the scene one after another. Leaving instructions to thoroughly investigate the area, the Duke departed to get his daughter treated.
As she was carried away in her father’s arms, flying through the sky, she simply continued to stare blankly at the place where Mars had disappeared. She couldn’t take her eyes off it for a long time.
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