Something blue hovered over Kyle’s sword blade for a moment as if he heard the cry in my heart.
And seeing the troll approaching and lifting the stone axe, he suddenly disappeared.
“……!”
My eyes widened as I looked ahead in surprise.
The troll stood still, holding the axe. And like magic, Kyle was back where he was.
I couldn’t figure out what happened.
But a few seconds later, the troll collapsed to the ground.
I was startled and covered my mouth.
It was bizarre to see it falling to the ground as if its whole body had been cut into pieces instead of having its neck cut off.
Steam was rising on the blade of the sword Kyle was holding.
Only his horse was watching this scene casually.
I got goosebumps rather than being disgusted.
[Monde, the God of Art, frowns]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, runs around with joy]
All of a sudden, I could sense his status quo as the Sword Master.
The troll, which turned into a chunk of meat and looked like a slime, probably didn’t realize what happened until the moment it died.
His ghastly murderous aura still made his red eyes shine sharply.
“…Are you afraid of me?”
I soon heard his voice.
I looked into his eyes.
His red eyes, staring at the place where the troll died, were filled with monotonous fatigue.
A talent that even cutting down something like that became trivial. What life did he lead until he turned out that way?
“The lieutenants gave me advice. Save your smile while slaughtering. Strange rumours about me circulate among the knights.”
“……”
“After that, I completely hardened my expression. Sometimes I don’t know what kind of face I’m making.”
Shiing, Kyle slowly put the sword into the scabbard.
“…I’m not afraid of Your Highness.”
I told him after thinking it over. Then I saw him wriggle his eyebrows.
“You seem braver than I imagined.”
His self-help voice was calm, but his eyes somehow looked lonely.
Is there anyone who dares to approach Kyle with his sword drawn?
I couldn’t understand his solitude and responsibility, but I suddenly had an idea for something to say,
“I wouldn’t want to meet you if you were an enemy, but if you were an ally, you’d be the most trusted person.”
I gathered my courage and continued to speak a little more.
He slowly turned to me.
“…An ally, you say.”
“You protected me just now. With that dreadful sword.”
It was a massive troll. If that axe blade had struck me, I would have died instantly.
“…So don’t treat yourself like some kind of monster. A real monster means something like that.”
I pointed at the troll for a minute, then I screamed and turned away.
‘Even when I look at it again, it’s terrible.’
Hearing my foolish advice, he cast a long, mysterious glance at the troll.
“Oh. I, of course, agree with the lieutenants’ advice. I’m afraid if you smile while holding a sword, it will appear in my dream.”
His brows furrowed slightly at my unnecessarily added remark, and a deep smile appeared on his lips.
“The words you use become increasingly rude as time passes.”
“I believe in your promise that you will guarantee my life.”
Shortly after, he shook his head as if stunned. His lips were pressed together in a deep smile that had never been seen before.
After a while.
As anticipated, we had to take up a challenge.
“The horse ran away, so there’s only one way.”
[Monde, the God of Art, boos Kyle, accusing him of playing an obvious trick]
[Odyssey, the God of Love, supports this typical cliché]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, exhales through their nose]
I put away the flickering chat windows of the gods in front of me and pondered for a moment.
Alberto’s horse ran away. Kyle’s horse is the only one left, and we have to ride for another hour or so.
Are there any optimal alternatives?
“Let’s wait for a while and borrow a horse from a passerby…”
“So you mean extortion. That’s not bad either.”
“N-not that.”
Borrowing another person’s horse in a place where monsters like trolls roam is the same as telling them to die.
‘I’m not particularly conscientious myself, but I’m tired of making enemies with someone.’
Eventually, when I ran out of options, I asked him in desperation,
“But wouldn’t two people riding one horse be too heavy?”
He reached out to the horse and said, roughly touching its neck,
“Liza is a well-trained warhorse. She won’t get tired of carrying that much weight.”
“That’s a relief.”
I was afraid it would be heavy, but it was fortunate. It was also my first time on horseback with another person.
“Didn’t you say you’d take more rest?”
As he asked, his brows furrowed.
“I don’t feel good enough to keep watching that for much longer.”
I glanced at the troll’s body. It wasn’t even a corpse… it was something far worse.
“It’s certainly not a pleasant sight.”
I could hear laughter in his voice.
In fact, his movements remained unbelievable. I quickly realized how important it was not to turn the tip of his sword into an enemy.
“Hold my hand.”
Soon after, he mounted his magnificent horse and held out his hand.
The saddle was in a wide form, so I thought I could ride it in front of him without difficulty.
I reached my hand out to him hesitantly. He took my hand in his and pulled me up; his strength was surprisingly strong, even though I was already aware of it due to his broad shoulders and nice body.
I put my arms around him without thinking.
“……”
One hand on his waist and the other on his thigh.
The moment I turned my head to look at him, as I barely succeeded in balancing myself, I noticed that his eyebrows had hardened.
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence fell between us.
I tried to regain my composure, but my voice shook,
“I think I need to turn my legs a bit.”
Now that I was sitting with both legs in one direction and my upper body holding him, I’d have to turn one leg into a riding position to maintain a stable posture. He then parted his lips.
Somehow, a low and dangerous voice flowed out,
“I want you to move your hands first.”
“Oh.”
“Left hand.”
Only then did I slightly lower my head and look at my left hand holding his thigh. And as soon as I discovered what I was clinging to, my mind went blank.
…What have I done?
If there was a rewind button, I’d want to go back to before I got on the horse.
As a result, my left hand was clutching his very bad part.
“I-I’m sorry.”
I’m not a stutterer, but I was stuttering like crazy in this situation.
I stiffened as I slowly removed my hand from it.
“……”
His close breath felt particularly stimulating.
Kyle’s red eyes, which had just smashed a troll, were sternly pointing at me.
With a gaze that led me to believe I could be the next victim after the troll.
“I thought it was your thigh.”
Both my legs were pointing in the same direction, and only my upper body was rotated unnaturally, indicating that I had misidentified the location.
“Because it’s so hard.”
In this embarrassing situation, I came up with an excuse, but I soon realised it was a slip of the tongue.
His brows furrowed.
“No, it’s too thick.”
Oh, this isn’t it either.
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, blushes and admires his grandeur]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, picks up the whip and measures his thing, no, his thighs]
[Monde, the God of Art, sighs and acknowledges Kyle’s triumph]
The window in front of me shimmered, and a party took place in the oracle.
[Odyssey, the God of Love, publishes a poem titled ‘Love is in the Thighs’]
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, redefines his thighs]
They’re excited. Excited.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, says that his is biologically inflexible…]
I desperately terminated the oracle, which was becoming increasingly obsolete. Then I turned around and sat with my back facing him.
The gaze on the back of my head and the sensation on my hand that still remained were driving me insane.
“…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”
In embarrassing situations, I realised it was better to keep my words to myself.
For a while, there was no response from behind.
As I wiggled my fingertips in the deafening silence, I heard his voice, which seemed a little angry,
“Okay.”
Even before I could respond, I could feel his firm upper body pressing against my back.
“If it was intentional…”
The horse sprang from the ground with a loud sound.
“Today’s hunt would have ended here.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist to prevent me from falling and began to run his horse. Its movement was more dynamic and rough than Alberto’s horse.
His hard chest slammed against my back every time the horse hit the ground. Kyle frowned, but he remained silent for a long time after that.