Acting as a Slit-Eyed Villain Perfectly

Chapter 172

Chapter 172. Crumbs (3)

Just as Yulian's sword, imbued with moonlight, was about to strike Locust's neck, another sword flew in like a flash and blocked it.

In stark contrast to the beautiful gemstone sword, this one was clean and rustic, dark-hued like ink.

Locust recognized the owner of this dark sword made from Dark Star Iron, a mineral that suppressed the flow of 'aura' as much as possible.

"Boss..."

Claude Febrance, the monster he acknowledged and the boss of the Six Fingers, known as the 'Outer Finger.'

A formidable force who appeared like a comet, killed the former boss of the Six Fingers, and seized the position.

"With the guards causing more commotion than expected, I figured something had happened. As expected," he said in an emotionless tone.

He spoke without exaggeration or emotion, as if he had anticipated such a turn of events.

It felt as if he knew that Locust would end up in this state and that 'Yulian' would appear at this place.

"I knew you'd cause trouble sooner or later..."

Claude's eyes sparkled briefly as he glanced at Yulian.

"I didn't expect to find an unexpected character here."

Crackle──!

Sparks flew as Yulian and Claude's swords collided.

Even with the resistance of 'aura' that was typical of 'Dark Star Iron', Claude's blade was gradually being worn down against the 'Moonlit Sword'.

"To think I'd meet our 'junior' here. Should I call it fate?"

Crackle.

With another burst of sparks, Claude gripped the hilt with both hands and took a step forward.

Yulian didn't miss the opportunity and stepped back just as Claude's body leaned forward, turning his blade at an angle.

As Yulian attempted to strike Claude's face with the hilt, Claude, seemingly accustomed to such close-quarters combat with the 'handle', kicked Yulian's shin and stepped back.

"Scary! Even though I have retired from 'Blind Eyes', do they teach you to respond to the commander like this?"

Claude, replacing his impassive gaze with one of discovery, chatted playfully, prompting Yulian to smile in response.

"Apologies, but a former commander isn't associated with 'Blind Eyes'. Besides..."

Swoosh.

Yulian revealed his intention to continue the fight, readying his stance without concealing his aura.

"A criminal who killed a 'Blind Eyes' member and a fellow knight dares to speak of being 'commander'?"

"Hmm."

Claude stroked his chin, reacting to the words laced with hostility.

"Do you consider them comrades? Those who drank from the nectar of 'Febrance Royalty' and allowed the roots to wither away?"

"If that was the intention of the royal family, 'Blind Eyes' would have followed it."

"Haha! You're insane! That's exactly what I like about you!"

Claude laughed heartily.

"...... Are you the leader of the Six Fingers?"

"Hmm? No, not now."

"I know the fate of the Febrance family, but I didn't expect it to end this way."

Crack.

Yulian gripped his hilt tightly.

"By eliminating you, I take it that I will mark the end of the Febrance family history?"

"Are you pleased?"

Yulian didn't respond, only offering a smile.

"However, the time isn't right yet."

"Are you planning to escape?"

"Escape? That might cause misunderstandings. My objective was already achieved from the start."

Clang──!

Once again, Yulian and Claude's swords clashed.

"Hmm...?"

Claude looked at his held sword, sensing something amiss. So did Yulian.

"... I see, you're..."

Stepping back after a bout, Claude turned his gaze to Locust.

"Release a Gold Bug."

He whispered quietly.

The 'Gold Bug' was a culmination of his years of experience in insect magic and a concentration of his accumulated mana over time.

Releasing it meant losing all his hard-earned efforts.

"Don't you want to live?"

At the whispering voice, Locust gritted his lip.

It was unbearable.

Claude had indeed claimed that "the objective was achieved."

This meant he had conducted another affair unbeknownst to him.

Of course, this amount of sacrifice was known to be necessary to escape from the monster, Yulian.

But.

"Urgh..."

Chewing on the bitterness in his mouth, Locust forced the 'root' of the implanted 'Gold Bug' in his arm into the ground.

The release of the Gold Bug.

It signified a loss of accumulated knowledge and damage to the 'mana vein'.

Seeing his right arm turn black and rot, Locust bit his lip hard.

Crackle, crackle, crackle──!

The Gold Bugs, freed from 'cultivation', began to rampage in all directions.

One Gold Bug immediately lunged at the fallen Eren, but as Yulian supported Eren and stepped back.

A light began to flicker from the distant entrance of the 'Bright Moon Pavilion'.

***

"Guards?"

The incoming lights seemed to be torches held by the guards. As the sight drew closer, Claude and Locust attempted to leave the place to escape.

Crackle─!

"Where!"

Just as they were about to run from the guards, a Gold Bug lunged at 'Eren' again.

"Tsk."

Honestly, being nice tends to lead to trouble.

To contrast with the human trash that was 'Yulian', I increased the output of the 'Moonlit Sword' and thrusted the blade at the head of the Gold Bug lunging at Eren.

Bang──!

Just like before, sparks scattered, and the jarring sound rang in my ears.

"Since it's been released, is it starting to go berserk now?"

Due to that, the size of the 2-meter-tall Gold Bug seemed to grow larger, and its intensity hardened further.

As if burning its last ember.

"Nothing else to do."

Twisting the handle, I directed my attention to the joint of its armor.

"Let's see if it's hard here too."

Lightly twisting to reposition the blade, I thrust the 'Moonlit Sword' into the Gold Bug's joint.

Thrust──!

Instead of the metallic sound of metal hitting metal, a familiar sound of penetrating flesh reached my ears.

At the same time, dark blood splattered before my eyes, but I narrowly dodged it.

Ugh, how filthy.

If it had gotten on me, this body's consciousness would raise a ruckus.

Ugh, I don't even want to imagine it.

"Hoo..."

The Gold Bug twitched a few times before ceasing all movement.

Silence descended upon the surroundings of 'Bright Moon Pavilion'.

Though the guards were approaching from the distance, there was still time.

"T'alle."

Summoning T'alle quietly, she cautiously approached me from the entrance.

"... Kuheum."

She let out a small cough hesitantly.

I was about to ask her why the 'Six Fingers' came here and the location of 'Dantes'. However, she seemed to be considering the surroundings.

Given the magnitude of the fight that occurred, both the residents of the slums and the guests of Bright Moon Pavilion were keeping a watchful eye on the place.

"Arthur, take Eren inside Bright Moon Pavilion."

"But, madame..."

"Hurry."

Arthur nodded his head in response to her sharp voice brimming with charisma.

Thinking of the appearance she would soon show me, that charismatic demeanor was laughable, to say the least.

Quickly signaling for me to follow her to a secluded spot, terale then said,

"Ah, thank you...for saving us, Sir Yulian...!"

Once eyes and ears were gone, she constantly bowed her head in gratitude.

'... Seems Arthur is aware of T'alle's true nature.'

Well, that's that and this is this.

"Why did the 'Six Fingers' come here?"

"... Because..."

"Please answer. This situation can't simply be ignored."

Perhaps due to the 'notification' I saw from 'Claude' a moment ago, I was irritable.

Upon glaring at T'alle, she swallowed nervously before opening her mouth with difficulty.

"Perhaps... it's because of a noble named 'Dantes Christo'."

"Dantes?"

The torches were drawing near. Once the guards fully arrived, hearing the story in its entirety would be difficult, so I urged her further.

"Yes, you see..."

"It'd be better to speak quickly."

Gulp.

"He might be related to the Dawn Society... is what I informed a person named Fern, a 'Blind Eyes' member."

Being a place where nobles often gathered, it was known that Bright Moon Pavilion was rife with information.

Moreover, with 'T'alle' having the ability to handle 'familiars', gathering information was likely easy for her.

'... The Dawn Society, Fern.'

Fern's presence at the exchange meeting was truly to pursue 'Dantes'.

The reason the 'Six Fingers' appeared at the exchange hall and are now here is due to.

'Dantes, you hired them.'

T'alle's words confirmed it.

That they had a close connection with the 'Six Fingers'.

"Do not disclose the connection between the Dawn Society and Dantes to anyone for the time being."

Being part of the 'Dawn Society' myself, it was only natural to keep anything related under wraps.

"Understood."

It seemed that due to this incident, she realized it was an organization not to be meddled with, regarding the 'Dawn Society'.

Truthfully, it was more about 'Dantes'.

"Thank you. For saving Eren, Sir Yulian, I..."

"Shh."

Noticing the approaching torches, I gestured for T'alle to be silent.

The guards had arrived.

"We received a report and have come to... Oh, Sir Yulian!"

Regarding the 'slums', the guards wouldn't normally bother, but they arrived astonishingly fast.

There must be a connection between the Blood Ghost Group and the 'guards'.

"The matter has been resolved."

"Has it?"

"Why were you here... Sir Yulian?"

"Recently, due to the disturbances caused by the 'Six Fingers', I was gathering information."

"Ah, I see!"

After a brief glance at the guards, I sheathed my sword.

"Should I assist in your investigation?"

"No, no! We'll handle it!"

Of course, they would.

It's likely due to the Bright Moon Pavilion's tight connection that they were promptly summoned.

They wouldn't want an interfering nuisance like me getting involved.

Moreover, my desire to leave the scene was overwhelming.

"In that case, I'll be returning."

Upon hearing that I'd disappear, the guards nodded with delighted expressions.

I started walking to the entrance of Bright Moon Pavilion.

When the torches illuminating the surroundings disappeared, and only the moonlight remained, silence took over.

'Claude Febrance.'

Once, it was a family that drew their swords to quench the nobles' backlash for loyalty to the royal family.

But that was a past tale.

The family, retaining only the emblem of the 'Febrance Royalty', walked a path of near ruin.

The true end to that almost extinguished candle in the wind was Claude Febrance, whom I witnessed earlier.

Due to that 'incident'.

But why is he with the 'Six Fingers'?

In all the hundreds, thousands of stories in my memory, not once did I find him associated with the 'Six Fingers'.

Not a single time.

He should be taking a different path due to that 'incident' he caused.

'... Where did things go awry?'

While pondering, I noticed an owl observing me from a dark tree above.

T'alle's familiar.

"Find Dantes. Report to me immediately upon discovery."

I hadn't mentioned it earlier due to the guards gathering, but relaying it through this would suffice.

The owl seemed to understand, spreading its wings and soaring toward the location of Bright Moon Pavilion.

'Haa...'

As things settled, my eyes reddened, and dizziness began to set in.

What a hassle.

Despite defeating the Red Demon and expecting nothing would happen as long as I kept the rein on Pintel...!

Though I knew life's unpredictability, nothing seemed to align with my wishes!

It's frustrating.

While 'Yulian' may enjoy wielding a sword, 'I' don't particularly enjoy combat.

'But...'

I'll have to wield the sword more.

Checking the notification that rang when I encountered Claude.

===

⇒ The Trait,〈Vessel of the Demon King〉detects anomalies.

⇒ Character, 「Claude Febrance」is a bearer of the Trait〈Vessel of the Demon King〉.

===

Unbeknownst to me, troublesome matters seem to be piling up.