บท 50: Cassius Vs. The Kobold King

A peal of boisterous laughter silenced the fears of the Kobold Goliath and any others who might've gotten caught in the crossfire of their king's short temper. They heaved sighs of relief, and when their king nonchalantly waved them off without even looking their way, they immediately took their chance to skedaddle.

However, just as they were about to vacate the pungent throne room, the distinct sound of sword clangs echoed in from outside. And then, with none of them knowing better, seven High D-Rank Kobold Royal Guards crashed through the throne room doors! They blasted all the way to the steps of the Kobold King's throne, with their massive bodies and faces battered beyond recognition.

No life was left in their bloodless husks.

The Kobold King was about to dine on the small girl, wearing a disgusting look on his face, when he abruptly froze in place. Slowly, he turned his livid expression toward the source of the disturbance. Wrath washed over every fiber of his being as his slitted eyes visibly lit aflame.

"Who dares create trouble in my Royal Throne Room!? Are you wishing for death!? Even the Orcs of the East and the Lizardmen to the West know not to come here and do as they please unless they have a death wish!! So, who are you and what faction are you from—!?"

That was when the Kobold King saw the relatively short silhouette of a smoky, hooded figure. The figure held onto the gigantic head of a D+ Kobold Royal Guard, with his deathly blue eyes searching through the unfamiliar environment for something. Blood constantly leaked out of the Royal Guard's corpse and magically seeped into the surface of a terrifyingly sharp blade. This left the Kobold Royal Guard in the same shriveled-up state as the others.

As everything in the throne room was still taken aback by his out-of-the-blue appearance, Cassius finally found who he was looking for. He also saw a smaller Kobold in possession of a presence that far outweighed the rest of the scrubs in the extremely wide room.

"Are you the boss monster?" he casually asked, not caring a single bit about the venomous glares emerging among the Kobold extras. Yet, all he received in response to this silence-shattering question was a bunch of unintelligible grunting and bellowing from the three-meter Kobold.

Realizing that questioning was surely going to get him nowhere, Cassius decided to get closer and convey his intent a different way.

Fwooop!

Those in the throne room were about to go berserk and murder this brazen intruder. However, they were forced to reconsider their thoughtless actions when the human lightly tapped against the floor before somehow appearing right in front of the frightened human girl.

A deep frown formed on Cassius's partially covered face upon seeing the terrible condition of the poor girl. "Are you okay, pretty miss?" he asked, then added comically, "I seem to have gotten lost somewhere in my travels of Japan. Hah… Sometimes, I just feel so muddle-minded… But I would appreciate it if you could give me some instructions! It would be invaluable to me, yep yep."

A hoarse feminine giggle echoed through the rage-filled halls as Memphis found it difficult not to laugh. Yet, when she realized what she was doing, she quickly went to cover her mouth. Her expression was one that emulated all her troubles, as she felt like feeling an emotion that made her feel good was not meant for someone as horrible as she was. Though, to Cassius, she looked kind of like a cutely apprehensive koala or kangaroo.

He chuckled softly, which left the pitiable girl a little dazed. Memphis couldn't figure out what the mysterious man looked like due to the shadowy hood covering his face, but she could sense kindness in his voice. And it was also this understanding that led to her decisively urging him to leave. Even without being able to use her mouth because of a gag, she flailed her bound arms toward the smashed open door.

Although Cassius was a bit dense, he was not stupid. He knew precisely what she wanted him to do, but did that mean he would comply?

Cassius bobbed his head in understanding, seemingly grasping everything Memphis was trying to convey. "So what I'm getting from all this," he began. "...is that you want me to buy you some snacks once we get out of here? Hey, if that's what you want, then why don't we go a step further. Dinner for tonight is on me! But dessert is…" He leaned next to her ear, his hot breath mingling with her lobes. "Do you have any money on hand? Because we might have to go halfsies on dessert."

"Pfft!" Memphis once again cracked a muffled laugh, yet quickly piped down when she felt the suffocating pressure of the infuriated Kobold King pressing down on her.

Noticing this, Cassius's playful grin froze over as he turned his goofy expression away from the scared girl; it immediately turned terrifyingly cold.

Looking the intimidating ruler straight in the eyes, he uttered coldly, "I don't think anyone asked for your interference, bitch. Just sit back in your ugly throne; I will deal with you when I get around to it."

"!?!?" Even though the Kobold King could not understand the human language of the world they came from, it could still feel the utter disrespect oozing from the human's mouth.

"To not only barge into my throne room and completely disregard my existence, but also prance up to my possession and converse as you please!? And then to take things a step further and disrespect me right to my face!?!? You're truly courting DEATH, WORM!!!!!!"

Sensing the fury on the verge of erupting like a volcano put a deep furrow on Cassius's annoyed expression. He suddenly turned to the trembling girl, with his now warm smile shining through his shadowy mask. "Well, it looks like we'll have to continue this conversation in a bit. For now, do you mind waiting here?"