Ankoku Kishi Monogatari - Chapter 56.3 - Temple of Love and Beauty

Chapter 56.3 : Temple of Love and Beauty

I wanted to stop the outburst that would surely result from these feelings building up..

I forcefully shut down the dark emotions that were overflowing inside my heart.

「Don’t worry, Shirone-sama! Allow me to punish this shitty old man!!!」

Novis swung his fist toward me.

Too slow.Although dodging his attack was a piece of cake, I purposefully let his fist hit me.

His fist collided directly with my face. Forget about pain, the impact wasn’t even enough to cause me to flinch.

And then matching the timing of his punch, I made myself fall in an unsightly manner. I remained splayed across the ground motionlessly, playing dead.

「Learn from this lesson and don’tdare to approach Shirone-sama again!!! Well then Shirone-sama, since I’ve taken care of that pest make me your attendant!!!」

Bragged Novis.

When I opened my eyes by a fraction to take a peek, Novis wore a blindingly bright smile as if he had just performed a heroic deed.

「What are you talking about…. Do you expect me to praise you after casting such baseless accusations upon Kuroki?」

Shirone’s voice trembled with anger.

The atmosphere of the room instantly changed. .

A pair of wings sprouted from Shirone’s back.

As her wings flapped, the power they emitted made the air in the room tremble.

「U-Uhm… Shirone-sama?」

Novis anxiously called out to Shirone.

It seems he realized that he just angered Shirone.

It’s been a long time since I saw Shirone this angry.

「Have you …. calmed down a little bit now?」

I saw Shirone’s hand had retracted, her fingers wrapped firmly around the pommel of her sword.

「HIIIIIIIIII!!!」

The Freedom Fighters were raising a riot.

「Please Shirone-sama!! Wait! Please don’t kill him!!!」

Kaya, who had stayed in the background until now, immediately blocked Shirone’s path.

「Calm down, Shirone-san!!!」

Kyouka was also participating in the effort to restrain her and had grabbedShirone’s arm with all her might.

「Everyone!! Please stop Shirone-sama!!!」

When one of the priests who stood beside Rena gave that order, the others moved to surround Shirone immediately.

「What are you guys waiting for?! Leave this place right now!!」

Kaya shouted to the Freedom Fighters.

All the Freedom Fighters left the hall at the speed of light. They ran as if their lives depended on it, which to be fair…it probably did. Only Novis remained, standing as still as a statue, a dumbfounded look on his face.

「Novis, what the hell are waiting for ?!Get going immediately!! Please forgive his actions today, Shirone-sama!!! I’ll make sure to thoroughly scold this idiot later!!!」

The woman called Shizufae doubled back to where Novis stood frozen and forcibly dragged him along with her as she left the hall.

Though I could only see her back from my vantage point, it was clear that Shirone was extremely pissed off.

「Are you alright, Kuroki?」

Someone called my name in a gentle l voice.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Rena had come to my side.

And then, I felt something soft on the back of my head.

「Eh? R…. Rena?」

My head was pillowed on Rena’s lap.

Though her face was hidden beneath her hood, I could almost sense her smile as she looked down upon me.

I could still hear the muffled commotion as the priests previously surrounding Rena swarmed to restrain a furious Shirone. In a big wave, they swept her far away, until all I could hear were the fading sound of footsteps.

Rena’s clear voice emanated from above me as she slowly stroked my hair.

「I’m so sorry Kuroki. All of this happened because we had to hide your identity ….」

「Don’t worry… It’s not like he can hurt me….」

As I’ve said before, Novis’ powers werent even strong enough to leave a trace. He posed no more danger than a mere pesky bug. The reason I restrained myself from attacking him in retaliation wasn’t for Rena’s sake. Rather, I was sure that once unleashed, my rage would have both as uncontrollable as the Tsunami that often hit Japanese shores. My actions weren’t really worthy of Rena’s immense gratitude.「Nevertheless, won’t you let me nurse you till you feel better ? It’s once in a blue moon that all eyes aren’t on us anyway.」

While cradled in Rena’s arms, I could feel her whole body trembling as she spoke.

Since Rena’s followers had congregated to stop Shirone’s imminent rampage, it was silent. We were in our own peaceful bubble.

My world was reduced down to Rena in that moment. The gentle floral fragrance that she emitted, the warmth of her arms and the softness of her embrace.The left side of my face was literally buried in her unbelievably soft breast.

The sensation was so divine that I admitted to myself that being hit wasn’t actually that bad. Screw that! It was so worth it. I was basically in seventh heaven at the time.

Rena’s embrace doused f the black fire that raged in my heart.

When I was peacefully surveying the rest of the group, I saw Shirone was still chasing that irritating freedom fighter before Kaya stopped her in the nick of time..

Well then, what should I do now? I began to devise a plan to help the lizardmen while enjoying the comfort of Rena’s pillowy breast.

◆Freedom Fighter Girl, Shizufae

We gathered in a nearby shop after we left Ishtar’s temple.

This bustling store was a famous restaurant managed by a former prostitute . It was popular among the women at the temple of Ishtar for its satisfying beverages, mouthwatering entrees and kitsch aesthetic.

In fact, the majority of the store employees were women, Justy among them.

The childrens raised in Ishtar’s temple were required to find work once they reached a certain age. Prostitution wasn’t their only choice, they could apprentice in any trade as long as they could support themselves.

Both Justy and her big brother, Godan were also part of the welcoming party who had gathered to greet Shirone-sama when she had just arrived. Although Justy was a beautiful and a cheerful young woman, her brother’s towering presence scared away all her suitors. Justy’s options for work were limited since she couldn’t become a harlot.Eventually, she chose to work at this restaurant, where she was currently employed.

「Hey Novis! What are you going to do now that you’ve angered Shirone-sama!?」

This table was particularly rowdy – the seated patrons were all scolding and criticising Novis’s recent actions.

It was just as Novis had said, in this immoral world, it wasn’t uncommon for people to approach powerful figures with selfish motives. Those people only cared about how they could reap the benefits available by simply staying at their side.

In fact, in the past, some people had approached Novis for that very reason.

That person forced themselves into Novis’ social circle. In the face of their forceful words, Novis was helpless, They became comrades.

That person then swaggered around, brandishing his status as a friend of the Hero of Fire to get countless perks.

At first glance, these kinds of people seemed annoying yet harmless. However, they had the potential to cause a lot of trouble. So it was only reasonable that we be cautious since we couldnt discern an individual’s motivations and character easily.

The person who got punched by Novis had a good looking face. Thus I understand why he accompanied Shirone-sama.

According to Novis’s beliefs, a majority of handsome men were scumbags. Maybe the attendant was one of them. After all, he’s someone who was trying to utilize both his proximity to the Hero of Light and Reiji-sama’s fame for his own profit. Yes, surely Novis would not punch someone without a decent explanation – the attendant must have been that kind of a person. However, that wasn’t a good enough justification for his violent behaviour..

As Novis himself sat down at the table with a blank expression he seemed like the shell of a man. It was as if his soul had already left his body. Seeing him so unresponsive to the endless wave of disapproval voiced by the others, I grew concerned despite my anger.

It seems received Shirone-sama’s killing intent was a heavy blow for him. He seemed greatly disturbed by the degree of Shirone-sama’s anger. If she wasn’t restrained, she would have killed him. That was crystal clear to everyone present on the scene.

But it would be troubling if he didn’t get a grip of himself soon.

「Hello, Novis!?」

I shook him roughly by his shoulders.

「Oh, it’s just Shizufae huh…」

「It’s not “Oh”, you idiot…. Geez, get a grip already.」

I really wanted him to start thinking already.

「Nevertheless, that’s quite an amazing display of wrath…. I mean the extent of her emotion when she unsheathed her sword was enough to shake the auditorium. As I thought, I really have to become her pupil.」

Said Novis while laughing.

What a pain in the ass, this idiot… clearly didn’t learn from his mistake.

I eyed Novis with an exasperated expression etched on my face. Novis is the epitome of narcissism. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought that he was the center of the world.

「Wait a minute, so you’re not giving up on that foolish idea of becoming her student? Reflect on your actions, You’re clearly angered Shirone-sama.」

I’ve had enough. Utterly fed up with this idiot, I didn’t mince my words.

「 What the hell are you going on about, Shizufae? I’m not giving up just yet!」

Novis raised his fist high in the air with a huge smile on his face as he shouted.

Was he still under the impression that he wasn’t in the wrong for punching that poor man? He truly was delusional if he believed Shirone-sama would accept him as her student after his outburst.

「Listen to me, Novis…seeing the way Shirone-sama reacted, I don’t think the guy you punched is just a mere attendant.」

Big sis Keyna made a good point.

Shirone-sama’s behavior after the man got punched by Novis made me believe it wasn’t a trivial matter.

There was a very real possibility that he wasn’t actually an attendant.

「But think about it. There’s no men amongst Hero of Light’s comrades, right?」

Said Godan, who was sitting with us.

After discovering he was actually Justy’s older brother, I had made an effort to get to know him better. Contrary to his intimidating aura, he had a very kind and gentle personality.

He made a very valid observation though- all the other members in the Hero of Light’s company were indeed female..

「Exactly!!! There’s no way that asshole is the Hero of Light’s comrade!! Tell us Leylia, who exactly is that bastard !?!?」

Novis interrogated Leylia-san.

「They… They never told me much about that man. He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started serving as Shirone-sama’s attendant. I heard that he’s one of Shirone-sama’s old friends though…」

Leylia-san replied while slowly shaking her head in confusion..

「Old friends huh… What’s their relationship then exactly? Perhaps they’re actually lovers?」

Madi chirped brightly, grinning ear to ear.

「No, that’s impossible, Madi. Shirone-sama is one of Reiji-sama’s lovers after all.」

I immediately shot down Madi’s guess.

I was completely positive that all the women around Reiji-sama would be his lovers..

「They might not be lovers but I have no doubt that he is a special person to Shirone-sama. I’m sure that he is a precious friend of hers. Shouldn’t you go and apologize to that man, Novis ?」

「Eh, why do I have to apologize to him, Nora-san?」

Novis asked quizzically as he tilted his head in confusion. It appeared as if he seriously believed he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Novis has always been like that from a long time ago, a selfish man who simply didn’t care about his surroundings.

I really hated this side of Novis.

He’s really kind towards girls, he’d go to any lengths and brave all kinds of dangers simply to protect a helpless maiden.

That was the reason why many girls, including Justy loved Novis.

However, I don’t think that Shirone-sama would ever fall for Novis. I mean, since she had Reiji-sama at her side, why would she even glance at Novis, whose strength paled in comparison?

「Haa, at this rate I don’t think Shirone-sama will ever teach you swordsmanship, what would you do then?」

I told him while shooting a withering glare. Absorbed in only himself as usual, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was oblivious to my death glare.

「Don’t worry Shizufae. I can’t imagine her being so angry t on the behalf of a mere attendant.In fact, that display of strength might even change her perception of me. Yes, I’m sure after witnessing my impressive strength, she’ll change her mind..」

Novis continuously rambled on, head high in the cloud.