Vol 3 Chapter 69 – Yukino Saw It!【Empire War Arc】

When I woke up and looked beside me, Roy-san was gone. The spot where he had been lying was not very warm anymore, so it was clear he had gotten out of bed quite a while ago.

“Okay, time to go look for Roy-san!”

I quickly got dressed and straightened myself up. This world has makeup too, so I finished my face with a light, natural look.

When I first came to this world, I did not bother with makeup at all. I am pretty sure I was not even doing it back when I was in a party with Haruto.

I was all mixed up about everything, and I was honestly scared of how everyone else kept changing. That was probably a big part of it.

For someone like me to be putting on makeup every single day now, of course there is a reason.

It is because there is a man I like—that is probably the answer. It was always this vague, fuzzy feeling, but I only really became fully aware of it very recently.

When we were traveling by carriage, I slept alone, but whenever we stayed at an inn, he was always next to me. When we got here and he told me to start sleeping alone, my chest felt so tight I could hardly stand it, and I fought it with everything I had.

Before I knew it, my eyes kept following him around. Yeah, I am definitely gone. Totally fallen.

I have even been “accidentally” wearing a skin-tight tank top to sleep, but he is stubbornly not taking the bait.

So I figured I have to polish myself as a woman even more, and that is why I picked makeup back up again!

Anyway, after about five minutes of looking for Roy-san, I spotted Sophia-san in the hallway.

A little farther ahead of Sophia-san, Dart-san was walking.

Sophia-san was keeping a fixed distance without calling out to him… Was she tailing him?

Just as I was about to turn around so I would not get in the way, I sensed something black following just a bit behind Sophia-san.

“All right! Dart-san, Sophia-san, mysterious evil thing, and me—we’re going to play a little ‘follow-the-leader tailing parade’ game.”

The four of us kept tailing each other in a line, heading out through the courtyard and into a small grove within the manor grounds.

“Sophia-sama, would you mind telling me why you are following me?”

“So you had noticed… Then allow me to get straight to the point. What exactly did you find in the mines?”

“Just as I reported, there was nothing there. General Kingston had not set up anything in particular.”

“And since when have you been putting a ‘-sama’ on that man’s name? At the very least, you were not doing that before we left. And right now he has been reduced to a slave, so he is no noble at all.”

Ugh, I have completely lost my chance to step in here… But now that she mentions it, yeah, I have never heard Dart-san call Ganalkin-san “-sama” before.

“Your attitude toward Roy has become impossible to ignore. Do you have some sort of problem with him?”

“Roy-dono joined Stark after I did, and yet Roy is treated specially for no reason… On top of that, he suddenly speaks with Eiden-sama as an equal. And then he is even entrusted with the ‘Ignia dagger’…”

“That cannot be helped. He has the holy sword, after all.”

“I have been pulled from the front lines and treated as a scout… It is only natural that I would not feel good about it.”

Smack!

Sophia-san slapped Dart-san across the cheek. Dart-san’s lips curled into an evil smile, and seeing that sent a chill down my spine.

“I thought you might have some grand reason, but all you have are complaints that sound like a sulky child’s. You serve Eiden. A knight is supposed to cast aside personal feelings and give his life for his lord’s commands! Do not you dare drag him down over something so petty!”

“Ku ku ku… You are strong and proud and beautiful. You are always dazzling to me… Always right, strong, and graceful. Most of Stark’s members are drawn to you, I am sure. And then you… You help a single man defect to the kingdom. …It was extremely displeasing!”

Sensing something, Sophia-san quickly took distance from Dart-san. Wind began to swirl around him, tinged with black, and I could feel my Thyrsus growing more aggressive in response.

“Dart! What is that power!?”

“I must apologize, Sophia-sama. I have been lying to you. Deeper in the tunnel, along with the iron ore, there was a black stone… It gave me power and set me free!”

Dart-san floated up into the air, wrapping himself in black wind like armor. As if testing out a new sword, he used the wind to blast away a nearby tree.

He wore an enraptured expression, completely intoxicated by his own power.

“So there was Dark Matter… But you know what happened to the monsters that used it, right?”

“If used alone, it would go berserk, but thanks to a certain technique, that is being suppressed. There is nothing to worry about.”

“Do you understand that Dark Matter has been officially designated a forbidden item? If you are using it, that means—”

“Yes, there is no going back now. But I have a new place to belong. And I am going to take you there with me, Sophia-sama.”

Dart-san raised his hand toward Sophia-san and started to do something. This was my chance, while he was open! I sprinted toward him with everything I had.

“‘Blessing Breath Shield: Bash’!!”

The shield flew straight toward him and slammed right into Dart-san’s stomach.

“—Gah!”

Clutching his belly, Dart-san staggered.

“Yukino, why are you here?”

“Um, sorry! I was worried about you two and ended up tailing you…”

“It looks like we will need to have a little talk later. …For now, we deal with Dart.”

The two of us turned to face Dart-san.

“If Sophia-sama were alone, capturing her would have been easy, but with Yukino-dono joining her, I have no choice but to retreat.”

“Capture me? Just what exactly are you trying to do?”

“My, my. It seems Sophia-sama is more oblivious than I thought. I am in love with you, Sophia-sama. So I want you. And I have put quite a bit of preparation into getting you.”

“I will never fall in love with you!”

“If I take my time, I am sure I can make it work. That said… One of my plans has just been wasted.”

Dart-san began to radiate black wind over a wide area, and Sophia-san and I hid behind my shield so we would not be blown away.

“No helping it. Rather than letting him get away like this, I will just take him down with Light Spear Hasta Blitzen—ugh!?”

Right next to me, Sophia-san suddenly collapsed.

“Sophia-san!? What happened!?”

That same black something that had been tailing Sophia-san earlier was clinging to her back. I pulled a dagger with holy attribute from my Item Box and slashed it away.

“Dart-san! What did you do to Sophia-san!?”

“I did nothing. But do not worry, it is just a modified version of one of the Empire’s spells… ‘Basic Dark Magic: Paralyze.’ Its effects are not that strong. Now then, I will be taking my leave. Sophia-sama, I will never give up on you, so be prepared.”

Speaking to the unconscious Sophia-san, Dart-san slowly withdrew. He clearly meant for me to pass his message along when she woke up.

Once Dart-san fled, the black wind died down.

Sophia-san still did not wake. Her cheeks were flushed red and her breathing was rough. For now, I just had to get her back to the manor!

I hoisted Sophia-san onto my back, stumbling through the snow, and somehow managed to bring her home…