Ankoku Kishi Monogatari - Chapter 56.4 - Temple of Love and Beauty

Chapter 56.4 : Temple of Love and Beauty

「I wonder….」

I was puzzled, tilting my head in confusion. I mulled over it momentarily, furrowing my brows in deep thought. I mean, Shirone-sama seemed ready to kill him on the spot.
Most importantly, I didn’t think that his actions could be excused even if the one he hurt was in fact, a mere attendant.

「Want to be acknowledged, huh? Shall we start by eliminating the lizardmen??」

A mysterious voice suddenly interjected.
Upon turning towards the source of the voice, I saw two men sitting on the bench next to us.
When had they even arrived? Apparently, I was engrossed in the conversation to the extent that I didn’t even notice the arrival of a third party.
The deep, melodic voice belonged to a tall man with chai colored hair. The scar spanning one side of his cheek only added a plus to the energetic wild atmosphere around him.
Judging from the bow on his back and the sword strapped to his waist, he was probably a freedom fighter from a distant land. His companion was an androgynous man with a shock of sky blue hair. He also had a spear strapped to his back, they were most likely companions, I guessed.

「Well, look who the cat dragged in. What did you imply just now, Zefa? 」

Big Sis Keyna drawled as she abruptly stood up, glaring at him all the while.

「Sup, it’s been a while, hasn’t it Keyna?」

The man beamed as he turned to address her.
Hmm…Zefa. Somehow the name rang a bell.
Wait, Zefa…as in the Hero of wind, that Zefa? He was big sis Keyna’s former partner.
Big sis Keyna always complained about his wandering eye. Apparently, he was a known casanova and philanderer, to the point that he was seen with a new woman every week. Basically, Keyna had nothing good to say about him.

「Sup’, my foot. How’s your condition? I heard that you got your ass kicked by centaurs.」

Come to think of it, I had heard that he was badly injured in his recent attempt to subjugate the centaurs. Had he really healed already ?

「Oh please, spare me. Don’t remind me of that, Keyna…」
Zefa immediately turned somber upon hearing big sis Keyna’s words..
「Come to think of it, what happened to those women who were frolicking after you 24/7?」
「……」

Upon her continued pursuit of an answer, Zefa averted his gaze, unwilling to respond to her question.

「I see… BWAHAHAHAHA, SO THEY LEFT YOU AFTER YOU LOST TO THOSE CENTAURS! SERVES YOU RIGHT!! For once in your life, learn from your mistakes and wise up. Stop toying with women’s hearts.」

Big Sis Kenya was cackling like a witch.
Zefa seemed to be annoyed by her laugh.
Looks like they didn’t patch up completely, it was definitely a far cry compared to how their relationship used to be. Zefa and big sis Keyna used to be comrades in arms before they became freedom fighters. They worked together like a well oiled machine, years of experience allowing them to move in unison. They used to enter the depths of the labyrinth together. It was almost legendary, hushed whispers of their stories were spoken of among the new recruits.

「Don’t tease him anymore, big sis Keyna. And this gentleman over here is?」

I snuck a brief glance at the man sitting alongside Zefa.

「I’m the Hero of Water, Nephim. It’s a honor to meet you, mademoiselle.」

After completing his greeting, he gracefully kneeled on one knee and took my hand.

「WHA!?」

Novis let out a surprised squeak as Nephim gently took my hand.
The Hero of water, Nephim. I’ve heard about him before. He used to be a famous freedom fighter in the inlet, west of Seird.

「You’re the Hero of Water, Nephim-sama? Is it really true that you were defeated by mermen?」

When I asked him that, Nephim suddenly let out a frustrated groan.

「Kekek..」

Novis, I can hea~r you snickering, you know?

「Hahaha… You really are merciless, mademoiselle.」

Nephim’s voice had lost all its brightness as he let my hand slip away from his lax grasp. His laugh seemed artificial and his smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

「So…what business do the Heroes of Water and Wind have with us??」

A booming voice echoed across the room as we all swiveled to look at Godan, who was leaning against the frame of the door. A wary expression was evident from the downturn of his mouth and the furrow of his brow.
So I asked myself. “Us…meaning our party too?”

「You’re Godan right? The Hero of Earth? Please help us exterminate the lizardmen.」

Zefa asked mirthfully, breaking into a chuckle after uttering his statement.

「Exterminating the lizardmen? What exactly are you getting at, Zefa?」
「It’s simple, Keyna. From what I’ve seen, it’s clear as day that things won’t end here.」

Zefa paced back and forth, frustration radiating from his every movement as if it was too much to be contained within himself.

「I get it, of course it wouldn’t look good if a person awarded the title of ‘hero’ was defeated so easily.」

Big sis Keyna vocalized as she slowly nodded her head in understanding.
Zera and Nephim had fallen out of public favor as quickly as a shooting star. They were regarded as incompetent failures by the general populace after their recent failed mission, in which they couldn’t manage to subjugate the centaurs.
So they wanted to clear their name?

「Yes! We have to regain our lost honour!!」

Nephim punctuated his statement when his fist slammed the surface of the desk with all his might.
My hand faltered upon hearing his confident proclamation..
Regain their honor? How the hell are they going to do that?
I assumed that someone would rebut this ridiculous idea. Yet, to my surprise, no one interjected and Zefa continued explaining his foolhardy idea.

「That’s right!! I heard that the Sword Maiden just came to this city, right? Let’s beat those lizardmen before her to restore our honor!!」

Zefa declared enthusiastically. In his hopes to regain his honor, he seemed a bit mistaken.

「Oh, I see now. You’re in a hurry since you’re afraid that you’ll lose your chance if Shirone-sama exterminates those lizardmen before you.」

Big sis Keyna mused while scratching her butt.
Her unwomanly action bothered me. She went against Faeria-sama’s teachings so nonchalantly.

「Exactly, Keyna. Before coming here, I heard from Ishtar’s shrine maiden that the Sword Maiden would be coming here to immediately exterminate the lizardmen herself. Although I’m confident that I can handle them on my own, it wouldn’t hurt to have back up. That’s why I think the four of us heroes should work together.」
「Is that why you guys were asking for our help?」
「Correct, Novis. I heard that you want to get the approval of the Sword Maiden, Shirone-sama? Your status as the Hero of Fire clearly isn’t enough, you need to actually show your strength. You need to make more effort to get her respect. Join our subjugation effort. We can’t let the Hero of Light always steal the spotlight and outshine us right? We’re also powerful heroes in our own right. Well, what do you think, isn’t it a fitting way to restore your honor?」

Zefa’s speech was eloquent and appealed to both Novis’s ego and jealousy.

「 Definitely. I also want to regain my honor and reestablish my position. This kind of chance to demonstrate my usefulness to Shirone-sama only comes around once in a blue moon. I’m in, let me join you guys!」

In his haste, Novis rose from his seat so quickly that it nearly toppled over. Zefa’s idea seemed to have brought about a renewed sense of vigour within him.

「Hero of earth, Godan, you’ll join our mission too, right?」

Godan nodded immediately.

「Great. Those lizardmen are really starting to become a problem for the association. Anyway I can help them, it is fine by me. Let me join your mission.」

Godan was led astray too.
I looked around. Big sis Keyna, Madi and Leylia showed varying degrees of frustration on their faces. Big sis Keyna was gritting her teeth, trying not to curse while Madi just pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed resignedly. Leylia rubbed at her temples tiredly. We were long suffering from such hare-brained schemes. So much so that none of us were shocked upon viewing the recent chain of events. We were disappointed but not surprised.

The four heroes then yelled. 「FOR HONOR!!」
I could feel a headache begin to take root as they cheered.

「We’ll continue the meeting tomorrow. After all, it’s quite late now. Everyone should rest well and we’ll reconvene here again in the morning. Alright?」

The three other heroes nodded as they agreed with Zefa’s decision.

「It’s been decided then. Shizufae, big sis Keyna, let’s go exterminate those lizardmen tomorrow!!」

Novis chirped happily, a bright smile on his face as he looked over at Keyna and I.
Wait a minute…

「Us…too?」

Unbidden, the words came tumbling out of my mouth before I unleashed a string of curses under my breath. Well, I guess someone had to keep this idiot and his new found friends alive somehow.

◆Dark Knight Kuroki

「We will leave then, Sword Maiden. Don’t hesitate to call for us if you need anything.」

The woman named Atlan took her leave, closing the door with a slight thud..
Atlan was actually Tormalkis’s wife- the one who had prepared for our stay at this inn. Since Tormalkis was the purveyor of Rena’s temple, Atlan had unfettered access to the temple.

After I fell “unconscious” due to Novis’s assault, I was brought to this place. The room that had been prepared for me exceeded my expectations. It was more spacious than a normal attendant’s lodging. I shifted slightly on the sizable double bed. Regena was the one who had prepared this room for me.. It seemed she did the best she could, for my sake.
Rena hurriedly chased away her shrine maiden since she wanted to discuss something. The shrine maiden clearly disapproved of my presence but was rendered speechless against Rena’s unyielding order. The five of them -Shirone, Kaya, Kyouka, Rena and Regena gathered around where I lay in bed in a semicircle formation.

「You can open your eyes, Kuroki, It’s safe.」
I pulled myself up effortlessly when I heard Shirone’s words. My head lolled back as I sighed, leaning casually against the sturdy, oak headboard.
「Being attendant sure is hard….」
「In that case, don’t disguise yourself. Especially as an attendant, of all things. We can just just tell him that you’re a new comrade and recently joined our group.」

Shirone exclaimed with fire in her voice.
It seemed that she was still agitated regarding the day’s events. She was angry on my behalf, for receiving such terrible, unjustified treatment.

I observed her attitude detachedly- I had never regarded Shirone or any of the other members of her company as my comrades. At the end of the day, it was Reiji’s opinion that ruled supreme. I had a nagging feeling that Reiji wouldn’t accept me. Instead of being treated as a comrade and a part of the group, I would most likely end up being an outcast as the party followed Reiji’s example.