Chapter 81 – Just A Good Woman
In the outskirts of Roizen, in the open gra.s.slands.
The two hundred slave soldiers were challenging me.
With “Warrior’s Eyes” that can only be wielded by people who have experienced many battles, they grouped and attacked me.
I fought back using Eleanor. Hikari was still hanging on my waist.
『They have become quite useful now』
「I think so too, if it’s like this, I can take them to battlefields」
While chatting with Eleanor, I counterattacked with the thought of training them.
It’s a mock battle after all, so I fought while holding back to not let them get severe injuries.
「Retreat once!」
When one of the slave soldiers shouted that, all of them started to fall back.
「Ohh」
I was slightly moved.
Their formation while falling back was surprisingly orderly.
『They’re quite trained』
「I think so too」
『You want to do a pursuit attack? It’s also interesting how their rear guard fairs』
“Alright”ーーwhen I nodded like that, I felt a pressure from the side.
I held Eleanor and stopped the one who was closing in.
*Kakiーn!*, the sharp sword sounds echoes.
It was the appearance of a woman holding a large sword.
「Agnes huh」
「The only one who can call me that is Nee-san」
Showing an angry expression, Agnes pushes me to a sword lock.
Looking over her shoulder, there was Io and the clerical clothed woman, Julia.
Io’s party, an orthodox party of a swordsman, magician, and priest.
After the slave soldiers, the three challenged me.
「UUOOOOOO!!」
「Just brute strength?」
「ーー!! There’s no way right!」
Agnes reddened her face.
She shifted her blade, and this time, she slashed horizontally using the centrifugal force with the large swords.
The sound of the swords clashing, and an impact greater than earlier.
It was an impact that made Eleanor slightly shake.
「You’re good」
「Don’t look down on me!」
Agnes slashed consecutively. Behind her, Julia supported her, and Io started to cast her spell.
Io’s party’s standard strategy. While Agnes was blocking the enemy, Julia heightens her magic powers to support, and Io would deal the finishing blow.
It’s a good orthodox strategy, I can easily imagine its high results.
And furthermore, that’s not all, while chanting, Io’s eyes were shining.
“She’s aiming for something”, I thought. Thinking of her intention, I started to look forward to it.
The sounds of the swords clashing continued, I waited for that. And finally.
「Agnes!」
Julia shouted. Agnes who was fighting me used the recoil of exchanging swords to greatly fall back.
And with almost no pauseーーIo’s magic flew.
The lightning magic fell from the sky, a hundred lightning strikes fell consecutively.
Io’s great magic, her finishing magic.
I held Eleanor, and endured it.
I couldn’t escape with no damage, but the damage isn’t that much.
It’s damage that I could endure knowing that it would come.
The one hundred strikes fell, and my smoke raised from my body.
Well then, what’s next after this magicーー.
「Onee-sama! Now!」
「Yes! Kakeru-san! Here I come!」
Julia’s body shined, and that light goes to Io.
Soon after, Io released a magic.
「Guu!」
I felt it to the core of my body. The pain, heat, and numbness ran through me.
The consecutive blows came, a hundred lightning strikes, it’s the second one!
I didn’t think that the great magic that requires a long chant would come consecutively, so the magic hits my body without me being on guard.
The damage came to my body directly.
「We did it, we really did it. As expected of Nee-san」
「That’s the price of underestimating Onee-sama」
Agnes and Julia celebrated.
「Fuu〜……」
I let out the breath I held in my lungs.
Even if it’s me, I still received quite some damage.
「Bluffing isn’t good for you, you know, receiving Nee-san’s Lightning Hundredーー」
「That’s right, the two of them directly hit, soーー」
I sprinted off, kicking the ground.
First, I closed in to Agnes, I grabbed her who wasn’t able to even react, and threw her towards Julia.
The two of them were blown away together.
This time, I closed in to Io. I placed Eleanor’s edge to her throat, and make a formal checkmate.
「As expected of Kakeru-san」
Io laughed wryly.
「It was quite effective」
「I thought that I had a chance though」
「If it’s anyone other than me, you would have a lot」
「Then, how about this?」
「Whatーーku!」
I was shot by magic from the side. The magic hits me off guard.
I mean, it’s magic?! Who is it!
I held Eleanor and looked to the side, and in there, there was the ghost maid pair, Tania and Peggy.
The two who were floating in the air released their magic one next to the other.
I blocked them using Eleanor, and slashed.
And while I was doing that, Agnes recovered, and slashes to me with her large sword.
And furthermore, as if they were waiting just for that, the 200 slave soldiers joined the fray.
Slave soldiers, Io’s party, maid ghosts.
They all attacked me at once.
「This is great, it’s starting to get fun. Hikari」
『Un!』
I drew Hikari answering, and dual wield with Eleanor.
I clad myself with the dark aura coming out from the Demon Sword.
It’s fun.
Io’s party, the ghosts’ magic, the slave soldiers’ attacks.
It’s fun fighting against them.
I got a little serious.
I broke through Agnes’ guard and stopped Io’s incantation, trampled the slave soldiers, and erased the ghosts’ magic using the Demon Sword’s aura.
I fought them with Eleanor and Hikari.
All of them were defeated, and when the attacks finally calmed downーーthat flew.
「You finally came」
I grinned, and countered with Eleanor.
The sharp sword sound was deafening.
Two blows with one slash.
The one who closed in was Nana who was clad in a platinum armor.
「I guessed you’d come」
「I will attack will all of my strength」
Nana who gained the new powers of 100% additional attack.
From how the events progressed, I guessed that she’d come.
The Demon Sword and her long sword clashes. Both of them had additional attacks, and double the times of the clashing swords, the sword sounds echoes through.
The slave soldiers, Io’s party, and maid ghosts.
All of them were watching from the side.
「You’re strong, Nana. You’d gotten stronger than before」
「I trained for the sake of Aruji!」
「Come more」
「Fu!」
Flashes full of her willーーthree consecutive slash.
Three lights appeared in front of me, and the six blows numbed my hand that holds Eleanor.
「Haaaaaa!!」
And after that, I started to lose leeway to think, this time, six consecutive attacks followed.
Twelve bows, I couldn’t help but use Hikari to parry.
「You’re good」
「Grat.i.tude!」
「How about this!」
I got a little serious, I thought that if it’s Nana.
I clashed with the six consecutive slashes that came by using Eleanor to attack with the same speed, and slashed using Hikari.
*Zaku!*
The small Demon Sword touched Nana’s skinーーbut there wasn’t any reaction.
I was sure that I cut her, but there was no reaction at all. What does thisーー.
「ーーMelissa!」
I couldn’t help to let out a voice. Behind Nana, I saw there the appearance of the Immortal Saintess.
Melissa was in a pose of praying with her hands together, and there was blood spurting out from her body, the same place where Nana was cut.
This is unexpected, this is completely unexpected.
I couldn’t expect at all that Nana and Melissa would join forces.
It was too unexpected thatーー
「Haha」
I laughed out.
I kicked the ground and jumped back.
I looked at the women in front of me.
Nana.
Melissa.
Io and her party.
Maid ghosts.
Slave soldiers.
The women’s eyes were shining all the same.
They were eyes that were aiming for something, after all this.
This battle, it was a fight to measure their strengthーーand they have eyes that show that they are seriously thinking of defeating me.
「Haha」
I laughed again, it’s so fun I can’t help myself.
『Otou-san, he looks happy』
『Men are idiots after all. They’d be like that with good women in front of them』
『Onee-chans, all of them are good women?』
『Hmph. You can tell just looking at this guy’s att.i.tude right?』
Eleanor and Hikari chatted inside my head.
I completely agree.
「All of you are good women」
I charged towards Nana who was in the spearhead, and towards the women.
Holding back, I’m done with that.
I wanted to know, how good women they are.
I returned advanced to the mansion.
It was a fierce battle, and I really feel fierce as well.
The density of the battle was completely different; this heightened feeling exceeds what I felt at the time when I defeated the Red Dragon.
And with that heightened feelings, I came to Althea’s room.
「Althea」
「What is it?」
I reached out my hand.
With just that, Althea understood.
She took out her hand from her cloak, and held my hand.
All of the vigor from my body felt like it was being absorbed. The wrinkly hand became rejuvenated.
Great Sage Althea. A woman who becomes youthful with a thousand people’s vigor, or the vigor by myself.
And finally, she stopped absorbing the vigor, and showed her face.
I was surprised.
「Althea?」
「What is it」
「That appearance」
The Althea in front of me is very beautiful.
When I first met her, I thought of her as a matchless beauty.
But the Althea right in front of me was more than that.
She was more beautiful than the time I thought of her as a matchless beauty.
「……this is my prime」
「Prime?」
「Yes. I have become rejuvenated up until now, but it was 80% of my prime. The amount of vigor was enough, but the quality wasn’t so it was only up to 80%」
「The quality was enough now, that’s what you’re saying」
「Yes……what happened?」
Althea stared at me, and asked.
「There were good women」
「Is that so」
With only that, Althea had a convinced expression.
「And so」
She said that, and stared at me furthermore.
Her eyes were asking what was next.
I wanted Althea.
Up until now, I was only giving her vigor to become rejuvenated, but I couldn’t feel anything anymore after that.
My vigor was completely sucked away.
But, right nowーーI still can do it.
I carried Althea to an embrace.
I took her from the room while carrying her like a princess, and went to my room.
I placed her on top of the bed, and stared straight at her.
「Althea. Tell me your name. I only know you as Althea」
I wanted to know the name of the woman that I was going to make as mine.
「I am Althea, just Althea」
「Althea……」
「I am “just” Althea」
Staring at her for a while, I said.
「No, up until now, you were the Great Sage Althea. But here, from now on」
I stared straight at her eyes, and kissed her.
「I will, make you just Althea」
「Un……」
She nodded, and Althea slowly closed her eyes.
Today is full of surprises, up to the end, I was surprised.
Althea, it was the first time.