Chapter 99: Where Everything Began (9)
Chapter 99: Where Everything Began (9)
The night before people flocked from the southern part of the Grand Duchy to a nameless forest,
Crunch-!
Thwack-!
Swish-!
Boom-!
“Hah....Hah...”
A woman stood in the middle of the forest, under the pale moonlight.
With each swing of her mighty swords, the dense forest turned into an open plain.
“Hah........Hah......Hah...”
The woman swung the sword, trying to cut away her shame, but now she slumped down on a tree stump.
Her disheveled purple hair was struck to her sweat-drenched face.
This woman was none other than the Rachel, the Purple Knight herself.
“Sigh...”
With a deep sigh, she lowered her head.
While the effects of alcohol were passing, her shame refused to fade away.
Rachel, the serious knight had engaged in a most embarrassing contest in front of the one she admired.
A contest filled with vulgar words.
This was undoubtedly the worst blunder a mentor-like figure could commit, in front of her student.
It was no wonder Rachel jumped through a window to escape.
For the first time in her life, she runs away.
Because the current fight was something she never experienced before, something humiliating.
She had violated not only the vow of discipline she had made as a Knight but also tarnished her purity as a woman.
“Ha. Damn it...”
With another sight, Rachel stood up.
Truthfully, she wanted to run toward the distant Eastern Continent, but her oath restrained her.
It was cruel that she couldn’t leave her Lord’s side, even after this event.
Of course, running away now would be like voluntarily retreating from the battle and admitting defeat, so her pride wouldn’t allow it.
There would be nothing more foolish than meekly giving up what she wanted to obtain.
Tap tap tap-.
Rachel dusted off her round bottom and left the forest, heading towards the lodging.
Her gait was like that of livestock heading to the slaughterhouse, and her sighs seemed to contain all the agony in the world, but Rachel trudged on towards the lodging.
“......”
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But then, a sign caught her eye.
[Velarde Tavern]
It was the place she had visited just a few hours ago.
To buy strong licour with her rival(Temporary ally).
Rachel, who had stopped in front of that sign, glanced several times in the direction of the lodging.
“......”
Despite not being found of such a strong liquor, the unfinished bottle lingered in her mind.
Rachel understood why people who had a bad day would indulge in heavy drinking, despite this act making the following day much harder.
They must be drinking heavily to soothe the hardships of the past, even for a moment, and to forget the hardships to come, even if briefly.
And to gain the courage to face adversity.
Now that her intoxication had worn off - thanks to her superior physic - Rachel had to face the cruel reality, and even if she went to the lodging, she didn’t dare to face Elden.
If she returned to the lodging like this, she might end up breaking the remaining windows and running away.
If a second escape occurred, it would be even harder to come back then.
“Right.”
Just like the shattered window, her prestige as a mentor, her virtue as a bodyguard, and her integrity as a woman were all ruined. There was nothing more to ruin.
Resigned, Rachel entered the tavern.
Then,
“Owner. Give me your strongest drink.”
She downed the throat-burning liquor one after another.
Thud!
“One more.”
“......Lass, I think you should fill your stomach with a bit of food first, otherwise you migh-“
“One more.”
Thud-!
“More.”
Thud-!
“Wun Moh!”
“...Listen, woman, you’re drunk. Better stop now, come back another day.”
“Moh-!!”
Thud-!
She was drunk.
Dead drunk.
Drunker than anyone else.
The mightiest Drunk.
The Drunken Lord.
Rachel who had gotten drunk until that point, staggered out of the tavern.
“Whut? Ish Mornng redy?”
The sky, which had been pitch-black when she entered the tavern, was now brightening with the break of dawn.
Rachel, who had been drinking all night, was able to momentarily forget about her problems, thanks to the wonders of alcohol.
Her eyes were half-closed, and her cheeks were flushed with a faint blush.
In such a current state, Rachel headed back to the lodging.
“Hmm....Hic!....Sho this....Being Drunk...Hic!....N’bad....Like it...”
Rachel grinned like a loon as she looked at the swaying scenery.
This was also a first in her life.
Since promising to live the life of a knight, she had vowed not to be swayed by things like drunkenness.
From running away for the first time in her life to binge drinking for the first time.
Perhaps thanks to being dead drunk, it felt like she was drawing a crooked line of deviation in a life that had been straight.
Thanks to the wonders of alcohol, even staring at a lamp post was a wonderful thing.
With such feelings, Rachel, who had forgotten her shame and despair, arrived at the front of the lodging.
Then she headed to the empty lot behind the lodging.
With her mind consumed by drunkenness, at the boundary between reality and dreams, Rachel didn’t know what she was doing.
But she arrived at the back, with unfocused eyes.
And there, she was able to come face to face with Elden, who had switched nursing shifts with Lumia.
“Oh? Ish Elden...”
Her tongue was twisting like a snake.
Words spilling out without a filter.
The womanly charms of her voluptuous body were unleashed.
Seeing Rachel’s disheveled appearance for the first time, Elden, who had been preparing for training, was extremely shocked.
“R-Rachel?!”
“Heh~ Yay my scudutent is smort!”
“Did you drink?”
“Buuuurp-! A little...”
Rachel made an embarrassed, yet sultry expression as she twiddled her thumbs.
While Elden was simply too shocked by witnessing such a human(?) side to his serious teacher.
Moreover.
“Can’t sit still when...Hic...My Studant ish working hard~ Lety’s fight!”
Elden’s perplexity only grew as Rachel tumbled her way towards him, asking for a spar.
Of course.
He also had to try hard to hold back his laughter.
“Teacher, I think it would be better for you to sleep first.”
“How dare you! You can’t ignore this hea...Heave...Heavenly mentor! My words are backed by the divin...Divine Providen...Providence! I must discipline this arrogant student of mine~”
Swish-!
Bam-!
“What? W-Wait a moment...!”
Elden’s amusement was short-lived.
And now, he had to suffer Rachel’s drunken blows, that lacked any sort of restrain whatsoever.
Wooosh-!
Although she clearly looked drunk, Rachel’s fists were deadly strong, each blow blowing up the cold morning breeze in the air.
Perhaps because her control of intensity had collapsed, they seemed even faster and more destructive than usual.
Moreover, once the match began, the balance of her swaying body also found its center and became stable.
Movements that had been honed and engraved throughout her life were instinctively coming out, like a habit.
So, Elden was trying his very best to stay alive, while looking for an opening to subdue Rachel.
With such powerful blows, her movements were much wider, meaning that it would be easier to find an opening.
Thanks to being drunk, the flow was also more unnatural than their usual sparring.
And so.
Whoosh-!
Smack-!
As soon as he saw an opening, he grabbed both of her wrists and tripped her outer leg while pushing her body.
It was a shallow tackle that would have been easily seen through under normal circumstances, but it was the perfect tackle for subduing a drunk person. And with that, Rachel fell backward.
Thud-!
“Owie.”
Elden bent his body to match her and got on top of Rachel’s body.
He held her wrists tightly as if he would lose them.
The so-called mounting position.
Although he had never subdued a drunkard before, he thought this was how he should subdue Rachel, whom he had sparred with for a long time.
Even if it was a slightly embarrassing position.
“Rachel? You’re very drunk right now, let’s just slow down for a bit, okay?”
After pressing the wrists he had grabbed to the ground so she couldn’t struggle, he spread his knees to fix his position.
And looking down at Rachel, he warned her with a rather serious face, but...
“Heh...”
Rachel was smiling coyly at him, letting out an excited breath.
It was hot and damp.
“.......Rachel?”
Her face seemed strangely...aroused.
Feeling like he unleashed something he shouldn’t have, Elden tried to question her with a tense face.
“Why... are you laughing?”
“It’s my first time~”
“Pardon...?”
“Being subdued...”
“What?”
Elden recalled his past experiences,
And he realized.
That it was indeed the first time he subdued her.
“But why is that?”
At the repeated question, Rachel smiled coyly again.
With a dreamy look in her eyes, filled with a subtle ecstasy.
“Hehehe~ I always wanted to give my everything to a man stronger than me...”
“What...?”
Seeing such a lewd expression on his teacher’s face, Elden’s brain froze.
“Say...Do you...Want to...Touch my breasts..?”
However, as she spoke, Rachel’s voice faded bit by bit.
Then, she simply closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Not having any idea of what she had just said.
“......”
After staring at her figure for a long time, Elden’s brain finally finished rebooting, after he heard something truly inconceivable.
**
At the same time,
In a narrow alley.
A figure was eavesdropping on something.
“Mate, listen to this, my friend told me he saw Lord Elden on the 26th Street yesterday.”
“Ah?”
“You know, the Wastrel who was eliminated from the Grand Betrothal.”
“Oh~ The guy who became a monster hunter because he couldn’t handle being eliminated? Hehehe, I heard they call him the Vampire Lord now.”
“Yeah, that guy.”
“Tsk, that’s nothing, I heard he’s making quite a name for himself. But what brings him here again?”
“No idea. But my friend told me he was walking with a hooded woman.”
“Hm? Did he find a lover or something? Which family would let their daughter be eaten by that bloodthirsty barbarian?”
“I don’t know, but he said her name when the woman almost got hit by a carriage. It was...Erenscia or something.”
“Erenscia? Hmm...That’s a rare name to hear in the north. Maybe she’s from the south?”
“Who knows? Anyway, let’s hurry up, I don’t want to be late for work again.”
A moment later.
The figure vanished into the darkness.