Fortunately, Holloway didn’t go, so he gently pulled me up with one hand.
What I found, caught on my foot, was a glass jar filled with paper cranes.
Paper cranes? Seems that here, they believe that folding a thousand paper cranes will grant your wish.
But a thousand seemed far short. The jar wasn’t that big.
Maybe it has ten?
[Remaining Footprints (5)
Characteristic: Someone’s precious paper cranes. The owner of the lost necklace can roughly know the location of the person who picks this up if someone finds this. The owner would be really grateful if you could find them.]
It must be Suriel’s.
It was easy to guess. Suriel had a collecting habit. He must have been docile as a child, so he must have folded and collected paper cranes.
I put this in my bag, along with my wooden sword. Having a bag was so convenient and nice.
“You’er packing it again.”
“There’s a reason for suddenly appearing.”
I made a vague excuse and wandered aimlessly in search of the Emperor. I wanted to see him before Suriel and Dilaph showed up.
They must have had unpleasant memories with the Emperor, and I didn’t want to force them to meet him.
It was the same for Holloway, yet no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t go away, so…
Should I be honest and tell him to just go away?
Since no other excuses would work, it was better to be honest.
If he was going to meet him anyway, I might as well tell him in advance.
If I hadn’t said anything, Holloway might have lost the patience and destroyed what I had to deal with.
Then I’d have to go searching for that resurrected Emperor again.
“Holloway, I have something to tell you. Very carefully.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll say it carefully.”
He nodded, urging me to continue.
“This is really hard to say, but…”
“If you’re trying to annoy me, it’s working.”
“No…”
Do you have no patience?
“Who am I going to meet?”
“The First Emperor.”
“Ding-dong… Huh?”
I blinked in surprise, and Holloway gently pinched my cheek.
“How did you know?”
“You made it obvious.”
“When, where, and how did I make it obvious?”
“Blood. To kill the Emperor, you need human blood that hasn’t been tainted by dirt.”
“You knew that?”
“Yes. We haven’t found anyone like that among those who entered here, so we’ve left him alone until now.”
The Rodrigues’ heirs also trained personally or killed assassins sent by their allied families, protecting themselves, so their blood was useless.
“Was the Emperor intentionally made like that?”
“He evolved underground on his own. Even after becoming like that, he must have wanted to cling to his life so hideously, that’s how it ended up like that.”
He really speaks as if he’s talking about someone else.
Even though his wounds couldn’t possibly have healed.
“That’s why I couldn’t kill him. I smashed his head tens of thousands of times, yet he survived.”
“Ah…”
He smiled faintly when I noticed his reaction.
“Why are you so self-conscious when it wasn’t even your fault?”
Instead of answering, I asked a random question.
“So you’re going to keep following me around?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lift a finger, then.”
“Then Sister’s fingers will fly off.”
“Is the Emperor strong?”
“Compared to you.”
“Is there anything weaker than me here?”
“Nothing.”
Then it seems that there’s not much difference.
I straightened my shoulders, bravado even more confidently.
“I actually enjoy throwing eggs at rocks.”
“So you like losing.”
“Do you know how thrilling it is to win a fight everyone says you’re losing?”
“I’ll take a look this time.”
“Look. My dependable form. I’ll make sure you never see that damned Emperor again.”
It must have been incredibly stressful to have been alive for a thousand years without being able to kill him.
If I could finally eliminate the Emperor this time, it would feel like one of his few ailing teeth had been removed.
I wish that were the case.
“Again?”
“Mmhm, again.”
“Do you really need to?”
“Then you want him to live?”
“It’s not that, but…”
It seems the actual act of killing him is complicated. I told Holloway bluntly.
“Keeping those things around you will only leave you with regret and hatred. It’s best to get rid of anything that eats away at you simply by its very existence. Time will pass, and you’ll gradually forget it.”
“Is it better to forget?”
“Of course. Especially bad memories. If they’re going to continue to hurt you, you should forget them and only the good ones remain.”
That won’t be easy in this hotel, though. Holloway pondered my words and asked again.
“What if there’s no good memories?”
“You should create good ones and cover up the bad ones. It’s not good for you to live with them while the person who actually did this has forgotten.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right.”
If I deal with and eliminate the causes one by one like this, I might discover a way to liberate the demons.
And of course, I should support them in how they should live after their escape.
If they want to destroy the world, I’ll have to vehemently dissuade them.
“I see.”
I glanced at Holloway, who seemed to be deep in thought.
Of course, at times like this thoughts never appear.
While useless things like ‘holding back a laughter’ come up so often.
Just as I was walking forward, Holloway suddenly hugged me from behind.
I shivered as he rested his chin on my head, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned into my ear and whispered.
“Then teach me more. Sister.”
“…What?”
“This kind of stuff. I haven’t learned anything.”
I just moved my lips. His strong arms wrapped around me felt strong, and I felt a strange sense of anxiety about his breathing.
“Alright?”
“Okay, so step away.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Very much.”
“Then let’s just keep going.”
“It’s uncomfortable to walk this way.”
He rested his chin on my head for a moment, seeming to ponder, then quickly scooped me up in his arms.
“Is this comfortable?”
“It’s uncomfortable. Let’s not do this.”
When I flirted, he would get serious and embarrassed.
I’d be the same way.
“Uncomfortable… you say?”
Right, no. In fact, it’s incredibly comfortable.
If we stay like this, the evil spirits will take care of themselves. Even if he can’t kill them, he can at least make them run away.
He has longer legs, so he runs faster than me.
But I had to hide my wild desires.
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“I see.”
As he said that, Holloway didn’t let me down.
Did my refusal sound like acceptance?
***
He dropped me off right in front of the Emperor.
“It’s too close.”
To the extent it’s almost burdensome.
He was the emperor, but his form was already distorted, making him difficult to recognize.
A tattered red robe embroidered with splendid gold, and an Imperial brooch, subtly different in shape from Holloway’s, hung on his chest.
And a foul odor emanated from his dark face and body, which continued to melt.
The Emperor, slowly opening and closing his mouth, simply sniffed my scent.
He then took a hesitant step back.
“My scent clung to you, that’s why. I’ve killed him so many times that he can recognize me just by smell.”
Holloway seemed overly calm as he spoke.
That must mean so much time has passed.
“Or maybe he’s just pretending.”
Either way, it wasn’t particularly good…
A pity welled up in my heart, but I tried to pretend not to notice.
“Is he different from ordinary evil spirits?”
“Yes, he is. Even my limitations aren’t applicable to the Emperor.”
The Emperor, who had initially been ready to fight him with allhe got, was tortured and killed repeatedly by Holloway. At some point, he began to tremble and run away at the mere scent of Holloway.
“Then we must hurry and take care of him before he escapes.”
“Do you want me to tell you where his heart is?”
“It’s not in the place I know?”
“Head. I told you not to help, so I’ll stay put.”
I took off my bag and entrusted it to Holloway. I told him to guard it carefully, then adjusted my grip on the spear.
“Is he strong?”
Instead of answering, he hugged me tightly from behind again.
“No touching.”
“Really? This way, my scent will spread, and the Emperor won’t be able to exert much force.”
“Hug me!”
I grabbed Holloway as he walked away and hugged him tightly. I rubbed my face against his chest.
I heard a low chuckle from above.
He held me tightly and nuzzled my face against his shoulder. Then, I pulled out of his embrace, afraid the Emperor might run away.
The Emperor took a step back, as if Holloway’s scent had clearly permeated me.
“If you delay, he’ll escape. Even if he does, he’ll be caught anyway, so he’s using his wicked brain to plan.”
This pattern seems to be the same.
Before rushing at the Emperor, I warned Holloway.
“Even if I’m in a near-death situation, don’t ever save me. Don’t even help me.”
If I can’t handle it entirely on my own, I’ll still fail the quest and die.
“Even if you’re about to lose your head?”
“Even in that situation.”
After a moment of hesitation, Holloway nodded.
“I will.”
I didn’t hesitate. I raised my spear hand high to my left and aimed for the Emperor’s neck, yet he narrowly avoided it.
With that swift movement, the Emperor suddenly came at me and swung his hand like a whip.
I couldn’t dodge, and I rolled back, slamming my back into the wall.
Bam—!
“Ugh!”
The pain pierced my spine, sending shivers down my spine.
—Grrrk!
The Emperor lunged at me without giving me time to react. I swung my spear, gripping it tightly, at him, and rolled to the side to avoid it.
Thud!
The Emperor’s fist sank into the wall.
“If that had hit me…”
“There would have been a huge hole in your body.”
You shut up.
I glanced at him with cold eyes. Holloway’s snickering laughter could be heard from behind.
So he seems to be enjoying this.
I readjusted my spear and aimed for the Emperor’s leg, trying to block his movements first.
The spear pierced the Emperor’s ankle, causing him to stumble.
—Keughaaaaah!
The Emperor, who had been screaming incomprehensibly, grabbed my head and threw me.
The incredible force lifted me into the air.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Should I catch you?”
“No…!”
“Let’s just say I’m just catching you because I’m bored.”
Then Holloway lightly snatched me up, hugged me, and placed me back in front of the Emperor.
“Now, let’s fight.”
“…”
F*ck, is this right?
“If you’re going to do it, make it hurt a lot.”
“…”
The sympathy I felt immediately swallowed the curses I was about to spit out.
You, yoouuuuu…
“Leave it to me. I’ll pay him back double.”
Although I sounded cool, he was a formidable opponent.
It was only natural, after being attacked by Holloway…
The smell had faded, and the Emperor’s movements suddenly lost their hesitation.
The flowing skin soon reached my feet, and before I could dodge, it wrapped around my ankle.
The Emperor’s teeth, leaping from the ground, bit into my waist.
“AAAKH!”
Before my flesh could be ripped off, I grabbed the Emperor’s hair, drew my dagger, and stabbed him in the eye.
—KEUGAHHH!
Blood gushed from the spot where the Emperor’s teeth had lodged as he staggered away.
“Isn’t this a really difficult quest?”
Watching the staggering emperor, I gritted my teeth and charged. This was my chance.
Unable to bear the excruciating pain in my back, I lost my balance and staggered.
Just before I fell, thanks to the enchantment granted to my spear, I straightened my posture and ran forward, thrusting my spear into the emperor’s stomach.
—Euggh… Eughhhh…
The Emperor’s stomach lurched and began absorbing the spear. Dark red skin enveloped the spear and even my arm.
“Do you want me to help you?”
“No! You can’t!”
I desperately wanted to ask for help, but I couldn’t.
Besides, what would become of me if I asked for help after saying such wonderful things?
The quest was supposed to be done on my own, and I had to escape somehow.
“Just in case.”
I heard a sly chuckle behind me.
Anyway, that bastard has a really bad personality.
I pulled the dagger from my waistband and sliced through the Emperor’s flesh.
—Keeeeeek!
The flesh wrapping his arm lost its strength and fell off with a thud.
I even cut through the flesh holding the spear with my sword, then, when it lost its strength, I pulled it back with force.
Splurrrr, black liquid flowed out from the Emperor’s pierced abdomen.
this chapter is sponsored by NoodLover (10/10)
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