Chapter 54: Chapter 51: Vermin
Now, now, I don't really want to spend too much time dealing with this small fry. Let's finish this quickly.
Mister octopus—I don't mean to be rude, but you're just a random obstacle meant to sit in front of the boss room. I'm gonna cut you in pieces, cook you, and turn you into a nice plate of takoyaki! Wait. Can I even make takoyaki in this world?
In Japan, you could just buy takoyaki mix at the supermarket. Here, I'd need to make the batter from scratch using flour... Not to mention flour itself was hard to come by...
Whatever, I'll destroy him first and sweat the small stuff later.
Random dudette—or rather, the octopus—clicked her tongue.
The octopus must've noticed I was starting to get serious, because he hid behind the girl's back. He maneuvered his tentacles to put the students he'd dragged along, including Eterna, in front of them. Hey! That's not fair!
Actually, he was using the six students he had caught—as well as random dudette—to protect himself from all sides. He would only be able to use two of his eight tentacles to fight, but he could count on a circular meat shield protecting him from all 360 degrees. He'd even used a student to cover the top of his head!
Meat shields can be a bit annoying to handle, but that won't help you, you know? I have a hundred ways to deal with that.
"Don't move, Ellize! If you take a single step, they're dead meat. Slowly put your hands behind your back."
I walked right past the octopus while he was threatening me with the most cliché lines ever and got behind him. I was using the very strategy I'd used in the past to trick my knights. In the octopus's eyes, I was helplessly following his orders, unable to disobey for fear the hostages would be hurt. Needless to say, that Ellize was nothing but a trick of the light.
The archmonster's human wall wasn't exactly airproof, so I fired ice magic through the gaps.
To survive on land, the octopus needed to continuously use water magic to create a bubble around himself. If I could simply freeze that water, it would be game over for him. It only took one second before the hostages were released. I canceled my illusion and my stealth mode. It probably looked like I'd teleported to Layla.
"L-Lady Ellize, what in the world...?"
"I didn't want the hostages to get hurt, so I had to cheat a little," I said.
I wanted to keep my cards hidden, so I didn't explain the details to Layla. Never reveal your tricks!
I hadn't planned for any of this to happen, but I was pretty happy that the octopus had willingly left the basement. That left me with one less thing to worry about when I'd send Verner and the others to the witch. They wouldn't have to face the mini-boss on top of the final boss.
It was about time I worried about random dudette, uh... What was her name again? Isabel? No. Elizabeth, maybe?
Whatever, it doesn't matter.
She was sitting on the floor, befuddled. I held out my hand in front of her.
"It must have been hard for you... Are you all right?" I asked.
Her face wasn't really my type, but if she copied everything I did, she was probably a fan of mine. You should always be nice to your fans.
Random dudette grabbed my hand with both of hers, and after staring at my palm for a couple of seconds, she started rubbing it.
Huh? What do you want? I don't have any treats for you.
"Ah, your hand is so white and soft... Your fingers are so pretty and delicate..."
For some reason, the girl was literally panting as she rubbed my hand all over. Then, she stood up and embraced me. She started touching my hair, my waist...everything.
"Ah, thank you. Thank you so much... I was waiting for someone to save me that whole time, but my voice wouldn't come out. I would never have done that otherwise. As the saint, how could I ever pretend to be the witch? That's insane."
Huh? What's she on about?
I supposed that's what Layla had meant when she'd told me that this girl liked to role-play as the saint. To be honest, I was a little impressed. She'd only narrowly escaped death, and she was already reprising her role.
"Your hair is so soft, and your waist is tiny... Ah, so that's what the saint is like, huh? Why? Why aren't I you? I should have been the one born with this hair, this face, and this body... So why? You've heard my voice, right? That means you must know I'm the real saint, right? You get it, right?"
Ooookay? It was my first time meeting someone like her. The only thing I "got" right now was that she was absolutely insane. Maybe I shouldn't have saved her...
I'd relied on that same pattern of pretending to hear someone's voice too many times. Sometimes, you'd meet people who reinterpreted and twisted your words until they fit their narrative. That'll teach me to speak without thinking."You should give everything to me... Your hair, your nails, your face, your body...give them all to me! I want to be the saint too. It's fine, isn't it? You don't mind, right? I'm sure you don't! I'm the saint, so it's only natural that—"
I was wondering what to do with the weird girl patting me all over when Layla grabbed her head and pulled her off me. She threw her to the ground like she was handling a full garbage bag.
"That's enough, vermin!"
Aren't you going a bit overboard, Scotterbrain? That girl's a noble lady from a great house, isn't she? Scotterbrain's from an even more influential family, so I guess she has no reason to care about that, huh? No, wait! That doesn't change the fact that she just manhandled a teenage girl!
"Not only have you disrespected Lady Ellize countless times, but now you're also assaulting her?! I won't let this slide any longer. You're guilty of lèse-majesté! I'll dole out your punishment and make your filthy head roll on the floor myself!"
Random dudette was sitting on the floor and staring at Layla blankly as if she didn't understand what was going on.
Layla unsheathed her blade and thrust it at the girl.
Random dudette seemed to snap out of it. She crawled back and exclaimed, "Ah, w-wait! P-Please, Layla, could you calm down? Y-You're my knight, the leader of my guard! You really can't do something like that! Can you please recall all those times we fought side by side... Pretty please? Remember how we stood up for the weak together!"
Random dudette had suddenly decided to speak politely, even throwing in a "please" or two. Is she imitating me? I'd never whine like a little girl and say "pretty please," though.
In fact, the only reason I was so polite all the time was because I didn't want to speak like a girl, but also felt weird talking like a man with that face. The easiest way to get out of this predicament was to keep a professional and neutral tone at all times. My manner of talking was a compromise of sorts.
"Shut up..." Layla growled with her teeth gritted. She was beyond herself with rage.
Random dudette squealed.
Whoa. I've never seen Layla so mad.
I almost couldn't believe Layla was making such a face. She looked like someone who'd just found a gigantic cockroach crawling at their feet. Her face was a strange mix of visceral anger and disgust which only that sort of vermin could provoke. Her eyes were so cold, they looked like they could burn a hole through the girl. Ice burns are the worst, they say."I'm done," Layla said. "I can't take it anymore. Her grating voice is unbearable. I'll cut her head off and get this over with."
Uh-oh. Layla's snapped.
If Layla killed random dudette now without a trial, she'd be the guilty one. You couldn't just off nobles without even bringing them to trial. Layla's noble background wouldn't help her either.
I lightly tapped her shoulder to get her to calm down. "Please calm down, Layla."
Stay, Scotterbrain. C'mon, chill.
"Please don't stop me, Lady Ellize. I need to get rid of that thing."
"That thing"? Is she not even human to you anymore?
Seriously, I'd never seen Layla in such a state. I supposed she'd been like that when she'd rebelled and confronted Ellize—the real one—in the game, but I'd never witnessed it in this world.
What should I do to get her to calm down?
I couldn't let her kill random dudette; she'd lose her position. I had to stop her. Oh, and I probably needed to heal the wounds Layla had already inflicted on that girl when she'd shoved her down. No matter how crazy she was, that girl was still the daughter of a count.
I used healing magic on random dudette, but for some reason, Eterna's surroundings started glowing.
Huh? I didn't send any magic that way, though. Hang on, what the hell is that? There's more and more mana flying around Eterna. If that keeps up, everyone on this rooftop—except me, since I can protect myself with magic—will be blown away!
I created a shield to block the wild mana erupting from Eterna and carefully observed her to figure out what was going on.
Eterna—who was surrounded by a blinding light—slowly got up and looked at me. White magic particles were twirling around her, and her hair was swaying gently despite the lack of wind.
Image here:
The octopus had vanished without a trace, destroyed by her mana.
Hey! I wanted to make takoyaki out of him...
At any rate, I finally understood what was happening. The others probably had no clue what was going on, but I could feel Eterna's power. She had at least...one six-hundredth of my power. No normal human could achieve that.
Yep... My girl's just awakened as the saint. But why now? I don't get it...
I wouldn't be able to pretend to be the saint for much longer now that Eterna had awakened. Imma need to think of a good excuse.
◇
Even though someone asked for help, they wouldn't necessarily feel grateful to the person who'd stepped in to rescue them. People were quick to seek help when they were in danger, but as soon as they felt safe again, they'd quickly forget about their benefactor. There were plenty of people who behaved like that in this world as well.
As Layla looked at the vermin in front of her eyes—the girl named Elizabeth—she couldn't help but think about what Ellize had said. She'd heard Elizabeth calling for help; that was most certainly true. After all, Ellize had already come to King Aiz's rescue in a similar fashion in the past.
The previous saints didn't have such powers, but Ellize wasn't just any saint. She was known as the greatest in history. It wouldn't be all that strange for her to have a few more abilities.
However, not everyone was like King Aiz. People wouldn't necessarily change their ways and feel indebted to their savior. Some people were rotten to the core, and they didn't understand what gratitude even meant.
And yet, Ellize surely wouldn't change. She'd continue to extend a helping hand to everyone who needed her. After all, Ellize didn't help people out of self-interest. Even if her goodwill was trampled on, she would simply smile and continue to help.
Ellize didn't seem to blindly believe that nobody would ever betray her, however. If anything, it was the reverse. She knew full well that she would be betrayed and trampled on, but she didn't seem to mind.
Her master was so noble and pure...that Layla couldn't forgive the filthy vermin that tried to dirty her. These lowlifes couldn't be allowed to sully Ellize.
And so, Layla was ready to go against her master's order this time and cut down this disgusting vermin with her own two hands. However, Ellize stopped her with a light tap on her shoulder.
"Please calm down, Layla."
"Please don't stop me, Lady Ellize. I need to get rid of that thing."
Ellize silently shook her head. Layla couldn't see any anger on her face. She wasn't the slightest bit mad even though she'd been disrespected. As always, all she wanted to do was to protect others. As always, Ellize unconditionally loved everyone.
Ellize didn't hesitate to raise her hand and use healing magic on Elizabeth, just as she always did.
Ah... Her benevolence knows no bounds...
Layla forced herself to return her sword to its sheath.
She knew that Ellize didn't need her protection. She was strong enough to protect herself—and everyone else, for that matter—all on her own. The issue was that she never seemed to focus on her own security. That was why Layla had sworn to herself that she'd always do everything in her power to protect Ellize.
She'd betrayed her master once, but Ellize had forgiven her. She'd even gone as far as to gift her a weapon. Layla needed to repay that debt. The least she could do was shield her master from the dirtiness of the world.
But Layla had put her sword away too quickly. The archmonster was frozen solid, and the foolish girl had finally quieted down. Layla had assumed that everything was over. All they needed to do, she'd thought, was take care of the hostages.
However, one of the hostages in question suddenly started emitting light. Ellize had reacted quickly enough to block her magic, but the parts of the rooftop she hadn't managed to protect were filled with a bright light. The frozen archmonster had also been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
There was now a gaping hole in the rooftop, and Layla couldn't help but shiver at the mighty mana filling the air.
It didn't make any sense. There was no way a student could use a spell capable of ridding the world of an archmonster in a single blow. Layla herself was incapable of such a feat.
Only the saint could do something like that, but Ellize was the saint. She'd performed hundreds of great feats that only a saint could achieve, and hundreds more that the rest hadn't been able to. In fact, she'd achieved more than all of the other saints combined.
And yet, it was Eterna who slowly got up, surrounded by a divine light. There was no mistaking the glow—Eterna was a saint.
As far as Layla knew, two saints had never been born in the same generation...but that unprecedented, unbelievable event was happening right in front of Layla's eyes.
(2.5k word count)
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