168 – Decisive Battle (2)
The Lord’s castle in Rartania.
After all the day’s work was done, the five swords of Kallan gathered at the round table in the quiet Lord’s castle.
“What’s the situation?”
“…As expected, the king of Suin is still in the Suin residence because he has something to do.”
“The Tower Lord, the Blacksmith, and the Lord’s secretary are currently discussing something in the Tower Lord’s room, but we can’t hear their voices because of the magic.”
“The Hero King is sleeping.”
“Are you sure he’s really sleeping?”
“Yeah, it seems that it wasn’t a lie that he fell asleep quickly because his body hasn’t recovered yet. He fell asleep very quickly.”
Loriel nodded at the five swords’ reports and continued speaking.
“Ruin, has the upper part of the Tiinus mountain range come down to the Whetstone Mountains?”
“I went all the way out there to check, and the upper part won’t be coming down for at least another day. Well, it probably won’t come down at all. How long has it been since they left?”
As Ruin recalled the Tiinus upper part leaving just a few days ago, Loriel shook her head firmly and said,
“We need to be able to control any unexpected situations on our own.”
Instead of saying anything in response to her words, Ruin nodded a few times and said,
“Then we’re done with everything we can do externally for now.”
“Then all that’s left is-”
“Whether or not Teacher is doing well…”
At Loriel’s mumble, the five swords of Kallan looked up at the upper floor as one.
In fact, if they wanted to, they could have listened in on what was happening in the office by enhancing their hearing, but they didn’t even try.
It was forbidden to spy on Teacher in the first place, and even if Rin had spread darkness, they wouldn’t have been able to hear anything even if they had strained their hearing.
“…I hope everything goes well.”
As Loriel mumbled while looking up for a while, the others who were also looking up nodded as well.
After all, they had known since they were very young, when they had been treated unfairly and taken in by Rin, how much Rin had been waiting for the Lord of Rartania and waiting to be with him.
‘Teacher, fighting!’
Thus, Roreil ended her grumbling by clenching her fist lightly.
“…Just in case, I’ll try my best to not lose my mind till the end.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do that even if you don’t tell me to.”
After saying that, Roreil headed out of the castle to block any unexpected variables.
Karan’s Five Black watched her like that and spoke as soon as they felt Roreil’s aura disappearing into the distance.
“…Will Master do well?”
“Actually, if the Lord refuses even at this point, that’s just being stubborn.”
“…But it’s not stubbornness since we did it with Suin?”
“Let’s just say it’s mental stubbornness.”
Colin, one of Karan’s Five Black, responded to Ruin’s words, and he shrugged and spoke.
“Rather than that, did you bring that?”
“‘That’? Of course, don’t worry, I brought two more just in case. Our leader should also continue once Master finishes his task.”
Ruin nodded as if he agreed with Colin’s words.
“Is the plan going well?”
“Of course.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
Ruin and Karan’s Five Black smiled, thinking about another plan that was quietly underway.
####
“Nya, ang-”
Kim Hyun-woo stopped thinking for a moment as he looked at the cute cat, no, Rin, crying in front of him.
Of course, it wasn’t that he had stopped voluntarily.
It was just that his thoughts had stopped naturally as soon as he saw that scene.
Of course, Rin’s head, who had just done such a shameful act in front of Kim Hyun-woo, was also frozen just like Kim Hyun-woo’s.
“…”
“…”
Thus, silence fell.
Rin remained frozen, dressed in clothes that were obviously very lewd—or rather, cheap.
Kim Hyun-woo quickly started turning his brain, which hadn’t returned, as he looked at Rin like that.
…Even if he turned it quickly, it wasn’t like words would immediately pop out.
Of course, Kim Hyun-woo was well aware of what he should say in this situation.
However, separate from being aware of it, he first had to resolve whether it was right to say such things.
He knew all too well what intentions Rin had for coming into the office wearing such shameful clothing.
Furthermore, Kim Hyun-woo had already spent the first night with Merilda.
Of course, the rumor had spread, but Merilda seemed to not be talking much about it, just as she had promised Kim Hyun-woo at the time.
However, separate from that, the goal that Kim Hyun-woo had originally set from the point where he slept with Merilda had already been shattered long ago.
In other words, Kim Hyun-woo no longer needed to endure in this situation.
Even in such a situation, the reason Kim Hyun-woo was hesitating was because of just one foolish hope.
In fact, he was unable to answer because of the ridiculous hope that maybe, somehow, he could accidentally slip up to Merilda.
However, knowing that even this silence was something he absolutely should not do to Rin, who had put in so much effort, he opened his mouth while racking his brain as much as possible.
“…Well, it suits you.”
“Th-that’s ri…meow”
Kim Hyunwoo felt his face flush as he continued to speak, his voice immediately switching to a purr as he tried to speak normally like he always did.
“B-but why are you suddenly cosplaying as a cat instead of your normal clothes?”
Both Kim Hyunwoo and Rin knew that this question wasn’t really asking ‘why are you cosplaying and coming to see me?’ in a primal sense.
The two of them knew each other well enough to know that much just by looking at each other’s faces.
To Kim Hyunwoo’s question, Rin made an ‘eugh’ sound for a moment, her face reddening even more as she said,
“M-Merilda…she provoked me.”
A sense of betrayal washed over him, as if Merildarildar was saying it was true.
Even though she had clearly said she wouldn’t say anything, a sigh that wasn’t quite a sigh and a resentment that wasn’t quite a resentment crossed Kim Hyunwoo’s mind, but Rin continued to speak, separate from that.
“Sh-she said it was smaller than the size you gave her-”
“…The size I gave her?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Rin realize she had said something she shouldn’t have when she heard Kim Hyunwoo’s words, and she shut her mouth.
However, she soon seemed to instinctively realize that it was already too late, and she nodded with a face that had given up on everything, saying,
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“Th-that’s right.”
Kim Hyunwoo, who had just found out that his size had been shared among the heroes, didn’t know what kind of expression to make, but he soon spoke.
“Well, whatever. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine, but at least Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t foolish enough to get angry in this situation.
“…”
“…”
However, the ensuing silence was unavoidable.
“…”
“…”
As the silence grew heavy, Kim Hyunwoo suddenly recalled the first night he had spent with Merilda.
At least there hadn’t been a silence like this then, he thought.
Kim Hyunwoo thought about this for a moment, and soon realized that there wasn’t really any mood to this situation at all.
In fact, it was a situation in which it was impossible for a mood to develop.
From Kim Hyunwoo’s perspective, he had just been doing some paperwork when Rin had suddenly barged in and blocked all the exits before things had turned out like this.
In a situation like that, even Kim Hyunwoo, who was always flustered, had no idea how to act.
Crack-!
The sound of a glass bottle breaking rang out in front of Kim Hyunwoo, and he turned his gaze forward, soon realizing that Rin was pouring a potion from one of the glass bottles into her mouth.
And then.
“Haa-haa-”
Rin’s breathing grew ragged as she finished the potion.
“Rin, …Rin?”
Kim Hyunwoo called out to her, slightly flustered.
However, Rin didn’t respond to his words, and in an instant, she was sitting on top of Kim Hyunwoo, who had been sitting down, and her lips were overlapping his.
Churp- The two of them began to explore each other’s mouths with a sound.
Rin’s tongue moved wildly around Kim Hyunwoo’s tongue and teeth.
And even Kim Hyunwoo, who had been flustered by Rin’s sudden change in demeanor, felt his heart start to race like crazy, and he naturally grabbed Rin’s waist.
“Haa-haa-”
After a while, a short, white thread formed between their tongues before falling away.
“I’ve heard it all.”
Rin’s voice could be heard.
“What…?”
“I heard that you’d listen, if I asked you to.”
“That’s-”
Kim Hyunwoo recalled what he had said to Loriel and tried to say something, but she quietly shut his mouth by giving him another short kiss.
And then.
“There’s no need for words. Just think of it as ‘praise’ for me, who came looking to be loved by the Lord.”
Rin easily picked up on the emotions in his trembling eyes and began to tease Kim Hyunwoo without difficulty.
“It’s just a somewhat unique kind of praise, a special ‘compliment’ that can be given to a hero who loves the Lord, who wears clothes that are so very plain and unadorned.”
Kim Hyunwoo was the first to move as she finished speaking.