Chapter 35 The Cruel Plan
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Hiroya’s POV)
”…I heard you…”
The girls who just finished bathing appear, and Kazumi is standing with her arms crossed, glaring.
”There’s no room for carelessness. …Guys are really…”
No, I properly stopped it, okay? Ms. Liz.
”Well, just stay away from those guys. Got it? You don’t even need to talk to them. If they do anything next time, I’ll knock them out.”
Liz tells the other 3. She really looks like a teacher in charge.
* * *
When we returned to the carriage, it seemed like there was still some time before we would leave, and the coachmen and merchants were drinking tea.
”Oh, welcome back. We’ll be leaving shortly.”
One of the coachmen stands up to greet us.
”Got it. We’ll get on the carriage now.”
Just as I was about to get on, we were surrounded by the ‘Peeping Four’ guards.
”What do you want? Can you move aside?”
Liz steps forward confidently.
The men just stare at Liz, Kazumi, Rena, and Martina without saying anything.
Liz started to say something again, but before she could, she turned away and went back to her horse.
”What was that…?”
Kazumi shivered a little, feeling uneasy.
(It feels totally different from before… It really is creepy.)
I thought they were a brighter group.
”Well, since they’re the kind of people who spy, it’s better not to pay them any attention.”
Rena took Martina’s hand and led her into the carriage.
I also decided that I should be careful around those guys.
* * *
(Third Person Perspective)
”Did you check?”
Behind the cargo carriage, the leader incubus looked around at the other incubi.
”Yeah.”
”Uh-huh.”
”Yep.”
”But, out of the 4, 2 are kids and one is a girl, and that ‘kid’…”
The leader incubus frowned. These high-ranking demons (incubi) had read ‘their deep consciousness’ when they surrounded the target earlier.
Incubi are demons skilled in mental magic. For these high-ranking ones, reading their crushes’ thoughts is probably easy.
”To seduce a woman, borrowing the appearance of ‘the person they like’ is the quickest way. I love lovey-dovey s*x.”
The fighter incubus said with a smile.
”I like that method too… but having the real person around is a hassle.”
The tank incubus glared at the guest carriage with annoyance.
”My target, the ‘rebellious girl,’ has a guy who isn’t here, so that’s good.”
The leader incubus laughed.
”Really? I thought I saw another guy behind that one…”
”I thought so too… I felt like I saw a boy who looked like the others.”
The fighter incubus and tank incubus tilted their heads.
”Either way… we need to get rid of the kid first.”
The leader incubus patted the tank incubus on the shoulder and said,
”What’s the matter?”
Fighter incubus asked, noticing that the spear-wielder incubus had fallen silent.
”No… it’s just that my intended target’s beloved was also that boy… I can’t be wrong about that…”
”Is there something that’s caught your attention?”
Tank incubus also looked at the spear-wielder incubus curiously.
”…There seemed to be a seal on his heart, as if some kind of magic was cast upon it. Hmm, let’s unlock it before we attack… it might lead to some enjoyable play.”
The spear-wielder incubus, who had been deep in thought, grinned lewdly.
”The three of you should start by eliminating that boy. I don’t plan to take his form. I don’t know what will happen once the seal is broken, but I prefer to force myself upon them and corrupt their bodies and souls with lust.”
”I see. Then we’ll change our plan. The three of us will kill the boy. You can force yourself upon the voluptuous woman… tonight we’ll put our plan into action.”
The leader incubus summarized their plan.
”…Once the voluptuous woman is alone at night, I’ll lure the boy and take care of him. In the meantime, the two of you can cast a lust spell on the carriage. Make it a slow-acting one so that it takes effect gradually. After we kill the boy, we can each enjoy our targets.”
Fighter incubus and Tank incubus nodded at the leader incubus’s words.
”You can do as you please with the voluptuous woman once she’s alone.”
”Yeah, I can’t wait to trample all over that soft body with all my might.”
The spear-wielder incubus licked his lips eagerly.
Thus, the incubi’s ‘cruel plan’ began to unfold.
* * *
(Hiroya’s POV)
That day, having completed their journey ahead of schedule, we decided to camp to give the drivers, who had been taking turns driving the carriage, a much-needed rest.
Sitting around the campfire, we finally get to enjoy a warm meal. The guards seem to be eating separately at a distance.
Even though it’s just dried meat and bread, a hot meal is definitely better. Thanks to Liz’s little twist, we also have some soup, so the merchants and drivers are all happy.
The merchant offered us some alcohol, but of course, I, Kazumi, Rena, and Martina can’t drink it. Instead, they gave us some special tea leaves they got from the elf village.
Kazumi boiled water and made the tea, which tasted like what you’d call ‘green tea.’ It was really smooth and delicious.
”Making good tea is a skill for female employees, you know.”
Kazumi said something that only I and Rena wouldn’t understand. She’s still that clumsy girl who sometimes says silly things.
Liz was sipping the alcohol the merchant offered, just tasting it. I could tell she really wanted to drink more, but she seemed aware of her role as ‘our guardian.’ Good job, Liz.
* * *
Eventually, it was time to wrap things up, and the leader of the guards came over and said,
”We’ll take turns keeping watch.”
Then he went back to their campfire.
We also got ready to sleep and climbed into the wagon.
While I was preparing to sleep on the bench seat, I noticed Martina was missing.
”Hey? Where’s Martina?”
”…She said she’s going to the bathroom.”
Kazumi told me in a quiet voice. Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked something so nosy…
”With those peeping guys around. I’ll go look for her. She’s probably just a little into the woods, right?”
If a girl is hiding to go to the bathroom, that’s the only place she could be.
I stepped out of the bench seat and got off the wagon. The moment I did, I felt a dizzy spell and stumbled a bit.
(What… is this?)
For a moment, I felt like the scenery around me was distorted, but no, it was the same view as before. After getting off the carriage, I stepped forward toward my destination.
(This is strange…)
No matter how far I walked, I couldn’t reach the forest. I could see it right in front of me.
It felt like I had been walking for quite a while, but I wasn’t getting any closer to the forest. Why didn’t I even feel that was odd?
Just as I was about to turn back, I sensed a killing intent from behind and jumped back.
”Well, well. Kid, you managed to dodge that.”
I rolled forward and looked back at where I had been. The leader of the guards… or rather, something that used to be him was standing there.
It looked like the leader, but its strange form clearly showed it was ‘not him.’
The face resembled the leader’s, but it had long claws extending from its fingers and legs that seemed to have multiple joints. A long tail was slamming against the ground.
”Who are you… Did you put me under some illusion…?”
The dizziness I felt when I got off the carriage. If I was already caught in an illusion back then, it made sense that I got lost on the way to the forest.
”Oh… for a kid, you have sharp instincts. That’s right. I pulled you away from the carriage to take care of you… Huh!”
As soon as it said that, the creature kicked the ground and closed the distance in an instant.
(Those long legs… they have a lot of spring to them.)
”Physical Boost.”
I slashed at the claws coming down toward my face with my drawn Ōwakizashi.
With a slight resistance, the claws were severed and scattered.
(The resistance was light… the sharpness has increased…?)
”To easily cut our demon claws… who are you?”
The creature that called itself a demon glared at me. Its left hand, which it had raised in front of me, began to stretch its fingers and eventually returned to its original claw form.
(So this guy has regeneration ability too… This is troublesome…)
I sheathed my Ōwakizashi and slowly changed my position. First, I aimed for his legs to stop his quick movements.
”Well, it doesn’t matter who you are. From here on, I’ll go all out!”
As soon as I said that, he jumped at me with both hands open.
Claws attacked from both sides. I carefully watched for the moment those claws would grab my neck, then I sank my body down to dodge and slashed with my Ōwakizashi.
Just like before, I felt a light resistance as I cut off both claws. With a quick follow-up, I slashed diagonally at the demon’s right leg.
(It felt lighter than before!)
Despite that light feeling, the demon’s right leg was cut off and flew away dramatically.
What can I say… it cuts really well.
I sheathed my Ōwakizashi, lowered the hilt, and tilted my grip slightly downward. I was ready to slash the demon’s body upward in a reverse diagonal cut with my next strike.
”W-What… my leg isn’t regenerating…?”
I could feel the demon’s shock. It seemed like it was balancing well on one leg with its long tail.
”Kid… I won’t hold back next time!”
Once again, the demon extended its claws, and the one in front of me split into multiple copies, eventually surrounding me.
(Is there a killing intent…?)
I sensed the killing intent to locate the real body. The main body, not even trying to hide its murderous aura, revealed its exact position to me.
(…I’ll finish this next time)
Soon, I felt a clear increase in killing intent from one direction, and the demons all jumped at me at once.
(So obvious)
Ignoring everything around me, I jumped up and slashed upward at the demon attacking from below.
Just like before, I swung my Ōwakizashi with a light resistance.
”Grrrrrrrr!”
With a scream of death, the body of the demon was split in 2 and fell. I sheathed my Ōwakizashi and landed.
Looking at the demon’s corpse, it soon faded like burnt charcoal… and then scattered in the wind.
”NOOOOOOOOOO!”
I heard a voice that sounded like Martina’s scream right after that.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.