Chapter 132
Asil had been in a sulky state lately.
It was because Arcian had not been able to come home on time, as all the inquisitors were hanging onto the matter of Crown Prince Reinhardt receiving divine punishment at the Great Temple day and night.
“I miss Daddy.”
That bad Crown Prince fellow, anyway. Why did he have to lie and receive something like divine punishment?
In fact, Asil did not know that the reason Reinhardt vomited blood was that the bead had broken.
That was because, as soon as the necklace was destroyed, Sol lost consciousness and collapsed, causing all of Asil’s attention to be focused there.
Fortunately, Sol regained consciousness shortly after collapsing.
And she said that her heart, which had been stinging occasionally, no longer hurt after the bead was broken.
‘I heard that bead was also given by the Crown Prince through Young Lord Sunrise. As expected, the Crown Prince was the worst human.’
That’s why he’s vomiting blood and all that.
Including the Fear incident seven years ago, she didn’t know why he kept bothering the Divine Beasts.
Since she once had a time when she was the boss of Monlepe, she felt a sense of unpleasant solidarity.
Soon, Aether would also be coming to participate in the Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival; surely he wouldn’t bully Aether too?
‘I’ll watch closely to make sure he can’t.’
If he tries to bully the Divine Beasts again, I’ll scold him. Asil clenched both her fists and made a firm vow.
Anyway, there was good news today for the first time in a while.
It was that the knights of Monlepe who had gone to the Beastmen’s Forest had returned to the capital.
Even now, when she closed her eyes, the image of Dylan crying because she had acted a bit fiercely came to mind.
Since she felt it was a shame they had parted after seeing each other briefly then, Asil decided to go to the Monlepe ducal house herself to see Dylan and the knights.
‘Of course, they won’t know who I am.’
Still, since it had been a long time, she intended to go and at least see their faces.
After all, they were the human knights she was closest to.
“I should go with Todori.”
“I’m going too!”
When Asil said she was going to the Monlepe ducal house, Snowa, who gets all his nerves on edge whenever Edenber is mentioned, stepped forward saying he would go as well.
“You shouldn’t be alone with the Duke of Monlepe.”
“I’m not going to see Edenber, I’m going to see the human knights.”
“But you’re going to meet the Duke of Monlepe anyway, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then the two of you will drink tea. You can’t be alone.”
“I’ll be with the three of us, including Todori.”
“Todori alone isn’t enough. And that guy is a male too.”
“Kkyuu!”
Todori narrowed his eyes as if asking if he was being mistrusted right now.
He tapped the floor with his front paws as if it were unfair to be misunderstood like this, but Snowa just snorted.
“That doesn’t make you a female.”
“Kkyu……!”
Thus, in the end, Snowa was also included in the visitor list for the Monlepe ducal house.
☆☆☆
The next day, inside the carriage heading to the Monlepe ducal house.
“…….”
Asil, dressed up cutely for once, was dozing off in her seat without even looking out the window, which she liked so much.
It was because she had lost sleep at night worrying about what clothes to wear at the thought of going to see Edenber after a long time.
As they were meeting after a while, she felt the desire to show a prettier appearance than usual.
‘Since Edenber has become much cooler than seven years ago, I want to look cooler too.’
In fact, Asil still couldn’t forget the Edenber she had seen on the battlefield.
‘The stiffened impression seemed scary, but on the other hand, it seemed cool too.’
She heard that humans grow every year, unlike beastmen, and it was true.
For Asil, who had only seen fellow beastmen at school, it was a very impressive sight.
In the end, she ended up unable to sleep because she changed and chose the clothes to show Edenber several times.
Just as they were almost reaching the Monlepe ducal house after dozing in the carriage.
Asil rubbed her eyes, woke up, and looked at Snowa.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“I keep thinking of a certain beastman.”
She was curious about what this feeling was.
She had never felt this way about any friend until now, so why did she keep being conscious of Edenber?
If she said he was a human, he would realize it was Edenber at once, so Asil asked indirectly.
“When I think of that beastman, my heart goes pit-a-patter. I want to keep being with him and talk to him. When I stay still, I feel like heat is rising in my face. Why is that? Could I have caught some kind of disease?”
“Kkyuu?!”
Todori, who was dozing on Asil’s lap, was startled and covered his mouth with his front paws.
While he looked up at Asil with wide eyes, Snowa, who was listening to Asil’s worry very seriously, placed his hand on Asil’s forehead.
“You don’t seem to have a fever right now.”
“Yes, I’m fine now.”
“Hmm…….”
As if weighing several possibilities, Snowa crossed his arms and let out a groan.
Then, he opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Did you borrow money from that beastman?”
“No.”
“Like you borrowed meat and didn’t pay it back.”
“No.”
“Have you ever fought over prey?”
“Ne……”
Asil, who was about to answer quickly, hesitated.
Thinking about it, there was a time they fought over prey.
They had competed over who would catch the boss Arc. To be precise, it wasn’t a competition, but still.
Confirming Asil’s reaction, Snowa nodded as if he understood.
“You had your prey taken by that beastman, didn’t you?”
“Heck, how did you know?!”
“As expected, that’s the cause. Because your prey was taken, you keep thinking of that beastman out of resentment and indignation. The heat is rising in your face because of anger.”
“Kkyuu!”
Todori, who was listening while holding his breath, smacked his forehead with a frustrated face.
On the other hand, Asil tilted her head.
“I wasn’t resentful or indignant, though.”
“It could be that way then. But, the more you think about it carefully, the more upset and annoyed you must have been. Your prey was taken away.”
“Hmm…….”
No matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t think that was it.
But Snowa was more of an adult than she was.
So, thinking her brother’s words must be right, she asked again.
“Then what should I do to not be like that?”
“Try challenging that beastman to a duel. And Asil, you just have to win. Shall I help you?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Who is that beastman anyway?”
“It’s a secret. I can win by myself.”
……She had said that, but a duel.
Even so, she didn’t want to duel with Edenber.
Asil slightly avoided Snowa’s gaze while pretending to nod confidently.
Well, the heart fluttering and the heat rising in the face are a bit uncomfortable, but he said it’s not a disease.
It should be fine to just go on like this.
“Kkyuu!”
“Todori, stay still. You shouldn’t dance here.”
“Kkyu!”
Todori, who was busily drawing hearts with his bottom, slapped the back of her hand, asking why she was so slow-witted.
But this time, too, Asil failed to notice.
Instead, she was startled to see Edenber, who came out to greet them, through the window.
‘He’s even cooler today!’
Asil wasn’t the only one excited at the thought of meeting the other person after a long time.
Edenber was also waiting for Asil, dressed up as much as possible.
Asil’s heart skipped a beat in an instant. Her face turned really red.
It was to the extent that Snowa, who was sitting in front, was surprised and asked.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine!”
“Is it because you thought of that beastman? Who on earth is it. I’ll go and scold him.”
“No. I won’t tell you!”
While Asil was quickly shaking her head, the carriage that arrived at the destination stopped.
The door opened, and Edenber reached out a hand to escort her.
“Hello.”
“……H-hello!”
For some reason, she even ended up stuttering because she felt shy.
Asil jumped down from the carriage without even holding Edenber’s hand.
At that, Edenber, who hesitated for a moment, soon stroked Asil’s head with an indifferent face.
It was an action that came out unconsciously because she came dressed up so cutely today.
“……!”
Surprised, Asil’s mouth fell open.
H-how can you stroke my head!
She was humanized right now, but she was originally a very scary and violent Black Dragon beastman!
Her heart skipped a beat. Heat rose slightly in her face too.
This must be that resentful heart’ her brother mentioned.
She couldn’t go around here and there in a resentful state. Such bad feelings had to be resolved quickly.
Asil quickly shouted at Edenber.
“E-Edenber!”
“Yeah?”
“I challenge you to a duel! I won’t accept a refusal!”
“…….”
☆☆☆
