Chapter 15: Let’s go home (5)

“Hmm~ This feels so good~”
“…….”

Wrapped in thick arms, the girl twitched the corners of her lips with a blissful expression.
Surd silently moved his hand.
He thought the pure-white hair beneath his palm was incredibly soft.

Looking at Lilac, Surd spoke.

“Are you satisfied now?”
“No, not yet.
A little more, please.”
“…All right.”

Surd nodded with an expression of resignation.

The moment Lapis and Lilac switched personalities, Surd had no choice but to question his own eyes.

The casual wave of her hand and the gentle tilt of her head were the same as before, but there was an unmistakable difference in her very presence.

He had even wondered whether she was merely acting, but that suspicion was quickly dispelled.
Her changed manner of speaking and increasingly brazen personality were far too genuine to dismiss as an act.

Lilac smiled brightly and bounced her feet.

“This is truly wonderful.
Cain must have wanted to be held by his father so badly to enjoy it this much.”
“Hmm?
What do you mean?”

Her head lifted.
Her pure-white pupils looked at Surd.

“I told you, didn’t I?
Cain and I have become mixed together.
What he feels, I feel, and what I feel, he feels.”
“What?”
“In other words…”

Lilac tapped her own head.

“It means this fellow Cain likes you this much.”
“Hahaha…”

Surd moved his hand gently and smiled happily.
Things had turned out differently from what he originally intended, but he didn’t mind.

“Is that so…
Is that really so?”
“Yes, that’s exactly how it is.”

Lilac suddenly tapped her ear and frowned.

“All right, I understand.
So be quiet.
You’re being terribly noisy.”
“Why?
Is something wrong?”
“Well…”

[If you keep talking nonsense, I’m really going to kill you!]

“Hmm…
It’s nothing.”

Surd tilted his head with an expression that suggested he didn’t understand.

“Come to think of it, you’re quite careless too.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t you think?”

Swoosh.

“Even if this were your son, this body belongs to an evil goddess notorious throughout the world.
Is it really wise to embrace an evil goddess so readily?”

A mocking tone filled the slender index finger pointing toward herself.
She wasn’t mocking Surd.
The target of her mockery was herself.

She understood.

She knew what kind of existence she was in the eyes of the world.
She knew what title she was called by.

‘The Calamity that cannot be forgiven…’

She didn’t particularly feel disgraced by that title.
She had done what needed to be done, and she had acted because she had been prepared to bear the consequences.

‘Well, I failed in the end, though.’

In truth, when she first approached Surd, her own feelings had come before Cain’s.

—I want to know the man called Cain’s father.
—I wonder what kind of person this human is.
—Is he on their side?
Or is he neutral?

Though this was a body she had entrusted to Cain, she had no intention of standing by and watching it be treated roughly.

‘If he were on their side, I would have to take measures all the more.’

After watching her eyes for a moment, Surd gave a small nod.

‘So that’s what this is.’

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Trust was reflected in his smile, but suspicion remained in his eyes.

‘She’s asking where I stand.’

Surd did not miss the slight ripple in her pure-white eyes.
By understanding his position, Lilac was demanding an answer from him.

‘Would you be willing to disgrace another god for Cain’s sake?’

“Hahaha…
That’s a question I can’t answer with words.”

His scarred hand gently touched the corner of her eye.

“See with those eyes.
I’ll show you with these hands.”
“…….”

Heh.

“I see.”
“Yes.”

She had not received an answer for now.
Yet as Lilac pondered the answer she had not obtained, a small sense of anticipation began to bloom within her.

“Good.
I shall look forward to seeing what path you take.”

Lilac released herself from Surd’s arms.
She sat across from him and met his eyes.
Seeing the wistful, bittersweet gesture accompanying his disappointment, Lilac let out a quiet laugh.

“Haha!
What is it?
Are you really that unhappy that I left your arms?”
“C-cough!”
“Don’t worry.
It’s almost time.”
“Almost time?”

Feeling sleepiness wash over her, Lilac let out a light yawn.
She wiped away the tears that had gathered slightly in the corners of her eyes.

“Accepting this fellow into my soul consumed a considerable amount of my mental strength.
Normally, I would have needed to do nothing but sleep for about a week, but the sweetness in my mouth woke me up.”

She cracked her neck to loosen it and lightly waved her hand.

“Yaaawn…
I suppose I should go back to sleep.
That was quite an interesting answer, Surd.”

Seeing Surd nod, Lilac’s head suddenly dropped.

Surd hurriedly reached out toward her abruptly falling head.

“Whoa!”

Surd’s hand approached her pure-white cheek.
The moment Lilac’s cheek settled into his hand—

“Hey, you bastard!
How long are you going to keep saying useless things?!”

Her head snapped upright.

“Huh…?
What?
She moved?”
“…Lapis?”
“Ah, yes.
It’s me.”

Lapis’s cheek slowly moved away, and Surd’s leg bumped against the chair.
Seeing her completely different appearance from moments ago, Surd let out a quiet, incredulous laugh.

‘Well, this certainly is an interesting situation.’

“Honestly, she really can’t control that mouth of hers.”
“Hahaha, don’t get so worked up.
I don’t mind.”

Lapis’s cheeks puffed up red.
She was squeezing them as hard as she could herself.

“Oh, really?
After pulling that sh*t, you’re going to sleep peacefully?
Well, that’s too bad.
I’m not going to let you.”

Ignoring Lilac’s shouting inside her head, she continued pulling at her cheeks.

‘Ugh…
But this hurts me too.’

Even though the pain felt as though her cheeks might tear off, her hands wouldn’t stop.
Lapis was eventually able to stop hurting herself when Surd intervened out of concern.

“Ow…
My cheeks.
Why is this body so strong?”

She felt an enormous amount of grip strength in her gently clenched hand.
Even though she was holding it as lightly as she would a spoon, the strength contained within it was comparable to that of most grown men.

“Huu…”

Her upright back rested against the back of the seat.
Recalling the sensation from moments ago, Lapis closed her eyes.
The unfamiliar restraint that somehow didn’t feel restrictive brought a slight confusion to her mind.

‘What was that feeling?’

She had not been moving according to her own will.
Yet she didn’t feel that the movements were contrary to her own wishes.

‘How strange.
It felt as though I was moving exactly the way I wanted to.’

What was it?
Why was that?

Thinking about it, Lapis opened her eyes and looked out the window.

“Hmm…”

The reddish glow of sunset settled over the lush green road.
As though marking the end of the day, the animals in the fields gradually disappeared one by one.

‘We’re definitely camping tonight.’

The sun setting beyond the ridge was truly beautiful.
She was admiring the scenery outside while watching the small peak when—

“That’s…”

She spotted something unusual among the trees on the peak.

“An arrow.”

She muttered calmly.
Hearing her murmur, Surd immediately ordered the coachman to stop.

Watching the glinting arrowhead move along with the carriage, Lapis tilted her head slightly.

‘It’s out of range.’

Were they using a Sure-Hit [必中] spell?
Or were they scouting with Eagle Eye?

‘If not…’

Rustle.

‘Could it be both?’

Mana rising from her fingertips churned violently.
The amount was minuscule, but the movement it produced was anything but.

‘Roughly fifteen people…’

Swoosh.

‘One.’

Swoosh.

‘Two.’

Slash.

‘Three…’

The mana flowing along her fingertips gauged the number of bandits targeting them.
The number increased one by one until her finger was pointing toward the twenty-second bandit.

‘They’re definitely bandits.’

But something was strange.
Were all those people mages?

‘Mages aren’t that common…’

While tilting her head at the inexplicable anomaly, the first arrow announcing the attack was fired.

Fwoooosh—

Papapapapapa!

Arrows flew toward the carriage.
Lapis narrowed her eyes and watched the traces of mana contained within them.

‘Hmm…’

There was no magic imbued in the arrows themselves.
Judging from the remnants of mana scattering through their fletching, it was clear that the arrows weren’t being used as the catalysts for the magic.
The bows themselves were.

‘Fifteen or so people are all firing the same kind of arrows…’

Lapis quickly threw open the carriage window.

Whoosh!

“They’re enchanters.”

Thwack!

An arrow flew through the open carriage window.
Lapis reached out and caught the shaft.
She looked at Surd sitting before her.

“How many?”
“Fifteen scouts.
Seven in the rear.
One of them is an enchanter.”
“I see.”

The incoming arrows grazed the horses’ manes.
The agitated horses accelerated without stopping, and Surd quickly drew his sword.

“Do you need help?”
“Should we capture them alive?”
“If possible.”

Lapis placed a foot on the carriage’s window frame.

“Then that’s fine.”

Thwack!

The moment she said that, their bodies leaped out of the carriage.

Crack!

The ground buckled beneath their shoes.
The grass covering the ground was crushed beneath their feet.
Straightening her bent back, Lapis casually loosened her wrist.

“It would be troublesome if I killed them.”
“Yes, I understand.”

Surd’s voice brushed past her ear.
Lapis turned her head and glanced at him.

“Be careful.”

Uninvited guests had suddenly appeared on what should have been a pleasant journey home.
Grateful for the chance to cool her rising excitement, Lapis slowly stepped forward.

“Well, then.”

Fwoooooosh—

“Shall we?”
“Of course.”