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Join the ServerExecuting three commands in rapid succession, I donned my armor and entered a five-second state of instantaneous acceleration.
From the outermost edge of the onlookers, I leaped directly to Vinya’s side. My feet carved two deep indentations into the ground upon landing, and I seized the hand that was about to touch her.
The instantaneous acceleration immediately deactivated, even though five seconds had not yet passed.
Command [005], ‘Prism’s’ auxiliary function, stores commands at zero cost. It forces the cancellation of the previously entered command and seamlessly integrates the next one, which, in this instance, was [200] for strength enhancement.
While this appeared to be a form of cheating, it could not be used consecutively. Moreover, the two commands—the one being forcibly canceled and the one being integrated—had to share the same consumption cost.
Both [240] instantaneous acceleration and [200] strength enhancement consumed four units.
Admittedly, this temporary body, dubbed ‘Mori,’ was quite effective, but its consumption rate was exorbitant. Four units per command meant that dealing with this fellow, Walter, required chaining three commands in a row.
‘When was the last time I used three commands consecutively?’ I mused.
However, the opponent was a Holy Knight. Though his demeanor was far from pleasant, his strength was undeniable. Using three commands in a row hardly seemed excessive.
“You… what was th—”
Walter, despite being a Holy Knight, was startled to see a hulking figure suddenly appear before him and, without warning, seize his hand. He was completely unprepared.
As a Holy Knight, one-on-one duels typically adhered to certain courtesies, emphasizing fairness and justice. Regrettably, I was no knight, and I had no patience for such cumbersome and pointless rituals.
“Pay attention.”
“You’re saying—wahhhhhh—”
With only that brief warning, no superfluous words, and without waiting for him to finish speaking, I leveraged my enhanced arm strength, swung him forcefully, and hurled Walter skyward.
“Ahhh…”
His cries gradually faded into the distance, eventually vanishing into the azure sky.
Unlike Vinya’s attack, the entire process—from my acceleration stopping to his being thrown—lasted at most two seconds, and without any warning. Even if he were a Holy Knight, he would have been unable to react to such a swift toss.
Nevertheless, two seconds should have been sufficient for him to react, at least to pull his hand free, rather than staring at me in a daze.
Such a performance was clearly subpar for a Holy Knight. Angela was still watching, and I surmised she would undoubtedly give him a severe dressing-down upon their return.
I hoped he would learn his lesson this time. For a Holy Knight, this was truly humiliating; there could be no next time.
I watched him disappear into the sky, silently praying he wouldn’t perish from the fall and wishing his potentially dislocated arm a swift recovery. Then, I turned to Vinya.
“What… what just happened?”
Vinya remained in a daze, slowly turning her face towards me.
“…Noth—”
“When did this person appear?!”
“You’re kidding, right? He defeated Walter with one hand?!”
“Amazing! He actually defeated a Holy Knight!”
“No, no, this was just a sneak attack. I think those two are cheating.”
“What exactly is going on?”
Just as I was about to ask if she was alright, the surrounding crowd erupted into commotion, their exclamations of awe interspersed with skepticism and disdain.
“…”
Vinya cast a glance at the crowd before lowering her head. I sensed a hint of regret in her posture, though I couldn’t discern its exact cause.
“…Don’t move.”
Ignoring her emotional state for the moment, I reached out and gripped her frozen arm. Applying just the right amount of force, I twisted with a snap.
*Pop!*
The solid ice shattered instantly. Although it was a magical construct, sufficient force could still crush it. Crucially, Vinya’s arm remained unharmed.
It had been too long since I’d used this ability. Fortunately, I hadn’t twisted Vinya’s arm off.
“…”
Vinya continued to stare at me blankly, sheathing her swords before letting her arms fall limply to her sides.
I knelt down, grasped her frozen feet, and squeezed firmly. The ice broke smoothly, and Walter’s magic was successfully dispelled.
“Eh…”
Staggering a few steps, Vinya collapsed into my embrace. I steadied her, and only after she was firmly on her feet did I release my grip.
“Thank you…”
“…Are you alright?”
“Yes… I’m fine…”
Hearing her assurance, I felt relieved. Without another word, I immediately turned and departed.
“Mr. Mori!”
As expected, she attempted to stop me, but I did not pause. As I approached the crowd, the onlookers parted, though most had already dispersed. I strode directly towards Angela.
“Please wait!” Vinya caught up to me. “Why did you help me?”
“…”
“Attacking a Holy Knight is a serious crime! Do you understand?!”
“…”
I offered no reply. Instead, I halted, turned, and fixed her with a glare. She recoiled two steps, seemingly intimidated by my silent intensity.
A few people had lingered to watch us, but seeing me glare at Vinya (though they couldn’t see my face), they seemed to grow fearful and departed one by one. Soon, only Vinya and I remained in the square, with Angela standing some distance away.
Angela remained where she was, her hand gripping her sword hilt, utterly silent.
“…What exactly do you want to say?” Vinya asked, her voice tinged with impatience.
“…Your mother.”
“My mother?”
“Consider the consequences.”
With those two terse sentences, I turned and walked away. I passed by Angela without exchanging glances, continuing straight ahead.
Vinya did not pursue me, and I wondered if she had understood my words.
On the surface, my statement meant, ‘Don’t cause trouble for your mother.’ Yet, ultimately, it stemmed from my own personal feelings.
Regardless of the reasons or who was initially at fault, I simply couldn’t stand by and watch my sister be bullied.
If a scandal erupted—something like ‘Princess Vinya defeated by a Holy Knight in front of commoners and forced into an engagement’—my mother and I would undoubtedly be infuriated.
As for Angela, had I not intervened, she would have drawn her sword. I merely beat her to it, sparing that Holy Knight some psychological damage in exchange for severe internal and external injuries.
I was confident Angela would have scared Walter half to death.
In any case, this is where we part ways. Perhaps… this will be our last meeting.
I would certainly be reluctant to leave Vinya. As for Angela… even if she didn’t acknowledge me, she was family by obligation. Parting like this would not sit well with me.
Nonetheless… this is how it must be. After all, there’s another important person waiting for me at home.
***
Finding a secluded spot where I was absolutely certain no one would discover me, I immediately reverted to my ‘Ken’ form and hurried back to Emma’s mansion.
“You’re back, Ken.”
The one who greeted me was not a maid or the butler, nor were it the two children, but Sister Lily.
It was already noon. Was she still here? Didn’t she need to return to attend to Mother and the others? Or perhaps, as Vinya’s personal guard, she was on a short break since Vinya was out with Angela? It felt plausible.
Regardless, I was delighted to see Sister Lily again, as it meant I could properly say goodbye before leaving, unlike earlier when I couldn’t drop my disguise and offer a farewell. I regretted having acted so coldly from the very beginning.
However, I could only bid farewell to Sister Lily as Ken now. It was better than nothing.
“Yes, I’m back.” Seeing Sister Lily’s smile, I returned it with my own.
“…!”
Yet, for some reason, she suddenly stared at me without a word, a look of pleasant surprise on her face.
‘I… I don’t think I said anything strange, did I?’
“Um… Miss Lily? Is something wrong?”
“…Eh? Ah… no, I just suddenly remembered something. My apologies.”
“No, please don’t mind it. I was surprised too; I thought you would have left today.”
“It’s fine to take a couple of days off. I’ve been working for nearly a hundred years; I wanted to find some time to rest.”
“A… hundred years…”
For Sister Lily, this was perfectly normal, but hearing her say it firsthand still felt astounding.
“Oh, by the way, where are the two children?”
“Ah, they’re still playing inside, but…”
“But?”
Sister Lily seemed to find it difficult to speak.
“Because this mansion is so large, Emma and Nina started playing hide-and-seek. But we still haven’t found Nina, and we don’t know where she’s hidden, so everyone is quite worried.”
“Ah… I see…”
‘Bella had already taken her to the Blue Lake Forest, so of course they wouldn’t find her.’
‘Does that mean Bella hasn’t returned yet? Could it be… No, that shouldn’t be the case. After all, it’s the Demon King and the Demon King’s daughter; what could possibly happen?’
“I’m truly sorry, we should have looked after her better.”
“It’s fine. Children, you know, they love to play. It’s common for them to get carried away.”
“But Clara and Sheen have searched the entire mansion and haven’t found her. Perhaps… she went outside.”
“Outside, huh…”
Come to think of it, I had forgotten something very important. I was certain Clara was an excellent maid, and by extension, the butler Sheen should also be outstanding. For them, having every corner of a large house memorized should be a basic requirement.
If that were the case, it wasn’t surprising that they could be 100% sure ‘Nina isn’t in the house’ and would suspect she had left.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Nina is definitely still in the house; you should be able to find her if you search a few more times.”
“But we’ve already searched several times and haven’t found her. Are you really sure she hasn’t left?”
“Absolutely not. That child is very obedient. She promised me she wouldn’t run off, so she definitely wouldn’t leave.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have everyone search again.”
“No need. Leave it to me from now on. I’m quite good at finding my daughter.”
“Then let’s search together. We’re very worried about her too.”
“Alright then… I appreciate your trouble.”
Though I said that, I didn’t have much confidence in being the first to find Nina. I only hoped she was currently hiding in some obscure corner and wouldn’t be seen returning from outside by anyone else.
It seemed I needed to find time to have a serious talk with that foolish Demon King, Bella.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Looking For My Child's Father is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Looking For My Child's Father
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