Ankoku Kishi Monogatari - Chapter 56.2 - Temple of Love and Beauty

Chapter 56.2 : Temple of Love and Beauty

With Kyouka standing in front of us, the rest were standing beside Shirone and Kaya. Whereas, both Rena and I were standing even further away from the gaze of both the combat priest and the priest of Rena temple.

Although Rena looked truly ethereal, all she needed to do to make it seem as if Kyouka was the group’s leader was to stay in the back of the formation herself.

「 Since our preparation is complete, when would we be able to explore the labyrinth, Leylia-san?」

Asked Shirone.

「That’s….」

It seemed that the woman named Leylia was having a hard time answering that question. She looked nervous, unconsciously worrying her lip between her teeth.

「What’s the matter?」

「The truth is… parts of the labyrinth’s surface are currently occupied by lizardmen.」

「Lizardmen? I’ve heard it was occupied by cockatrice before?」

「Yes…the truth is…」

Leylia hesitantly explained the situation.

Originally, portions of the surface area of the labyrinth served as the habitat of the cockatrices. Unfortunately, they almost went extinct after Reiji and his company had hunted them during the previous expedition. Their numbers were never able to recover properly after that ordeal. Thus, that place was now occupied by the lizardmen who had escaped from the arena.

The Lizardmen originally lived in the Quiche river and attacked the boats that passed by. They were the culprits of many sunken ships, sending sailors to their watery graves. But that didn’t mean that they remained only in the depths of the river. Apparently, they’ve chosen the surface of the labyrinth as their home on land.

These Lizardmen were attacking the humans who entered the labyrinth.

It seemed as if the freedom fighters were also having a hard time defeating them.

「If I’m not wrong, lizardman is that huge human-like reptile, right?」

「Yes, milady. They’re a species of large bi-pedal lizards. It appears that some superior members of the species have evolved and have developed a pair of wings that allow them to fly. However, the lizardman in their story didn’t seem to be one of the superior kind.」

Just as Kaya had said, the lizardman was a demi-human that was a disturbing cross breed between human and lizard.

Lizardmen lived in the wetlands, south of Nargol.

Additionally, one of the Eight Demon Generals is a High-Lizardman, the superior species of lizardmen.

High-Lizardman had a pair of large,scaly dragon-like wings that let them roam the skies freely.

They were also warriors equipped with extremely high intelligence.

Thinking about the High-Lizardman made me recall the Dragon Demon General, Liburm.

As a High-Lizardman, he was totally reverent towards the dragons.

That might be the reason why he paid such respect to me when he saw that I rode Glorious, my partner.

Upon Reiji and his company’s arrival at the Demon KIng’s palace, Liburm was tasked with protecting the palace along with Zepyrus. But then, he didn’t get the chance to fight Reiji at that time since I had already defeated Reiji in front of Demon King’s palace.

「Lizardman huh…. Well both Kaya and I shouldn’t have a problem facing them. Let’s go out to the labyrinth and crush them all.」

Shirone said nonchalantly..

Indeed, defeating the lizardmen was a piece of cake for Shirone and company.

But…

「Please wait a minute, Shirone-sama…. Can you wait before attacking those Lizardman?」

I called out to Shirone in a small voice, aware of my current menial position as their attendant.

Shirone and co were looking in my direction when I voiced my request..

Sadness was etched on Shirone’s face when she saw me bowed deep before her.

「What exactly is the matter, Kuroki? We have to hurry to save Reiji kun!」

Shirone impatiently asked me. Clearly, she didn’t have any doubt that exterminating those lizardmen was the right thing to do.

However, my train of thought ran in the exact opposite direction, I couldn’t help but question whether it was okay for us to kill those lizardmen?

I couldn’t deny that this world was entirely ruled by one law : survival of the fittest.

I couldn’t stop a wolf from eating sheep, it was their instinct, inherently part of their nature. In the same way, I could and would not stop humans from exterminating dangerous demons that threatened their survival.

Again, I stopped, sensing a slight discrepancy in this matter.

Why did those lizardmen make a nest on the labyrinth’s surface anyway?

After all, this area wasn’t supposed to be a suitable habitat for the Lizardmen.

The lizardmen were caught and brought to fight in the arena to provide entertainment for the humans. They weren’t caught in a battle for survival, so why would they be doing all this?

They were apparently attacking every human they came across after their escape from the arena. That’s what would prompt Reiji or Shirone as people who had sworn to protect humankind, to exterminate the entirety of the lizardmen without even considering the root cause of the situation.

They would attack regardless of the reason that prompted this turn of events since they believed that was the right thing to do.

I’m different from them however, I’m a Dark Knight. Perhaps since I was summoned to this world by Modes, I find it hard to ally with the humans.

Moreover, there was also the matter regarding the Demon Dragon General, Liburm. Thus, I couldn’t just blindly agree with the idea of exterminating the lizardman.

Most importantly, it’s not like we have to exterminate all of the lizardmen in order to save the hero. Rather, we only need to move them to a different place while we enter the labyrinth.

「No…. We can’t be so reckless, blindly charging into our enemy’s territory. The better option would be to check the surrounding areas first. 」

I mused under my breath.

「Eh…. But, Reiji-kun is….」

「Stop for a second, Shirone!.You might just end up in the same situation if you rush in like this. Let’s make a plan and proceed carefully.」

From behind me, Rena pitched in too.

「Shirone-sama, Re-… I mean Grand Saint-sama is right. Who will go to save Reiji-sama if we’re caught by our enemy too? Also, this city has a map of the labyrinth . Maybe we should check the surrounding area of the labyrinth, just to be sure.」

Kaya also shared the same opinion as Rena and I.

Rena’s identity was disguised as the Grand Saint since she came incognito.

「Hmm… I understand.I’ll wait for a while….」

Outnumbered, Shirone reluctantly agreed thanks to Rena’s and Kaya’s opposition.

Based on the impatient, rhythmic staccato of her foot tapping the floor, I was sure that she was ready to rush into the labyrinth at a moment’s notice.

Before, Kaya was the one who stopped her from doing such dangerous things.

Even so, I had never heard any rumors of Shirone going through a dangerous experience either here or back in our world. So someone must have been acting as a foil for her impulsiveness. I wonder, who was the one who curbed her rashness when she travelled with Reiji and his company ?

「Uhm! Sword Maiden, Shirone-sama! Please hear my wish!!」

Suddenly, from within the crowd, a freedom fighter raised his voice.

It was a red haired young man whose age didn’t seem that different from my own..

「Hey, Novis!! You should choose the right moment to say something like that!!」

The girl on his right side elbowed him in the gut sharply, trying to stop him. She failed. Deftly, he caught her arm, quickly addressing her before continuing on with his request.

「Be quiet, Shizufae!! Shirone-sama, please make me your disciple!!!」

The man called Novis bowed to Shirone.

The rest of us were rendered simply speechless by this unexpected development.

「 Novis-san, this is not the time for this ! You should’ve requested that of Shirone-sama after we rescued Reiji-sama and co!! My apologies, Shirone-sama. Let me introduce the both of you properly. This man is the Hero of Fire, Novis. It seems he feels some sort of rivalry after witnessing the splendid way Reiji-sama had fought. Anyhow, he’s an impressive hero, that’s why…」

Leylia bowed to Shirone.

「After seeing Reiji-kun, huh. Well, I guess it can’t be helped.」

Shirone agreed happily. Well, I guess any girl would be proud and happy if the man that they’re in love with was praised this much. Although a great deal of men despised Reiji, not all men hated him. In fact, he had amassed a sort of a fanclub,now the target of admiration of many men who wished to become both as strong as him and as popular with women.

Could it be that this Hero of Fire called Novis was also that kind of man?

「Will you teach me then!!?」

Novis was looking at Shirone with a gleaming, greedy look in his eyes.

「Uhm…. I’m actually unsuited to teaching others. That’s why… Sorry.」

Shirone bowed to Novis.

She was right about her teaching skills. Despite her talent in the art of swordcraft, teaching someone was another challenge altogether. Shirone didn’t seem to have either the patience to the communication skills required to teach well.

「Then.. allow me to become your attendant!! I’ll do everything you need, from cooking to cleaning!!」

Novis bowed to Shirone again.

I see, he probably wanted to get close to Shirone by becoming her attendant in order to convince her to teach him.

He was like an annoying fly buzzing around, it seemed as if he had no intention of backing down.

「Sorry. I’m not in the need for an attendant at the moment.」

Shirone was smiling wryly at Novis.

「T-Then, you can fire that pipsqueak and made me your attendant!!!」

Novis suddenly spun on his heel and pointed a finger at me.

I was extremely surprised when he suddenly pointed at me.

「You…. What are you…..?」

Shirone also looked shocked by the sudden turn of events.

「Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem to be that strong or have any special skills other than carrying around Shirone-sama’s luggage. That’s why I’m more useful and fit to serve her than a weakling like you!!」

Said Novis, full of self confidence.

「Wait a minute, Novis…..!!」

The woman who stood beside Novis was now stopping him.

She was a woman with majestic long hair. Her appearance resembled that of the shrine maiden of Ishtar’s temple.

「Shut up, Shizufae!!! I want to become stronger!! That’s why I’ll do everything I can for her to teach me swordcraft!!!」

Shoving her aside, Novis forced his way towards me.

「Oi, Old man!! Let me to take your place as her attendant!!」

Novis called me “Old man”. My hand twitched at my side, I was almost ready to teach this brat a lesson.

Hic… Did I really look that old with adding just a few smudges of dirt on my face that I used for this attendendance disguise ?

「My bad, you weak old man!! Unlike the likes of you, I want to become stronger!!」

Then, he tightly grasped my collar.

「What the….?」

「In the end, you only became her attendant to curry favor with the hero of light, right ?! That much is crystal clear. I mean, you didn’t even bring a sword with you!!!」

Honestly, I was burning with vitriol inside me, there was so much I wanted to retort back in this situation. It was nothing less than a miracle that I was able to hold my tongue.

To begin with, it isn’t as if I wanted to follow Shirone and her company. I didn’t want to help them in the first place but they forced me to come along.

Why the hell is the guy accusing me of all this out of the blue ?!?!

My heart felt heavy and a dark emotion threatened to overtake my heart.

「Stop right there!! What do you think you’re doing to Kuroki!!!」

「Shirone-sama!! Unfortunately, I’m too familiar with such people.I’ve seen too many of these kinds of people!! This guy is the kind of guy who will do everything to curry favor with powerful people. His sole ambition is to use their authority for his own gain!!」

Novis was loud and adamant, forcing Shirone to accept his impromptu, made up reasoning..

Do I…. really make that kind of impression?After hearing his opinion about how I appeared to others, I was astounded.

Somehow, I managed to keep this murky dark feeling reined in and locked in my chest. My throat felt tight, as if the effort of holding back the emotion was suffocating me.

That was so close.

It felt like the shackles of my emotion, my self control had snapped due to that strange tea Kuna made for me.

In this case, it was more like an explosion of wrath rather than lust.

「P-… -Please… Stop」

I stuttered pitifully, my voice beseeching as I called out to the both of them.