Chapter 87

Thud, thud.

Belmont gulped as he watched Ariel slowly approaching. His heart pounded, and his lips trembled.

‘Damn, I should’ve run away.’

Belmont felt regret.

If he had just run away without stealing Ragnarok, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

His greed had brought this upon him.

Meanwhile, Ariel approached the cart and began examining Ragnarok.

Her fingers gently traced the blade of the sword.

“Hey, that’s dangerous.”

At that moment, Belmont’s two mercenary companions spoke to Ariel.

“Don’t touch that sword.”

“Yeah, it’s incredibly heavy. You might get hurt, so go play somewhere else.”

The two mercenaries seemed concerned for Ariel, but Belmont was more worried about them.

Dangerous? Who’s the most dangerous one here right now?

If Ariel wanted to, she could easily turn their heads into dust.

Then, Ariel suddenly grabbed the hilt of Ragnarok.

“Hey! I told you not to touch it!”

“Ehehe!”

The two mercenaries scolded Ariel with stern faces.

“You’re really going to hurt yourself if you keep this up…”

But that didn’t last long.

When Ariel effortlessly lifted Ragnarok, the two mercenaries’ jaws dropped, and they blinked in disbelief.

They were speechless, as if their brains had short-circuited.

Belmont was also surprised to see Ariel lift Ragnarok so easily.

But not as much as the two mercenaries.

He had somewhat expected it. That Ariel would lift the sword.

‘…I didn’t think she’d do it so easily, though.’

Even though the three mercenaries couldn’t even drag the heavy sword on a cart, Ariel held it with a relaxed expression.

Her face didn’t change at all, as if she were holding a feather.

“Haha…”

Belmont quickly spoke up.

“Uh, the repairs went well, right? You were sleeping so soundly at the dessert shop that I didn’t want to wake you, so I brought the sword for you. My comrades here were helping me with it.”

Belmont smoothly lied.

He was using quick thinking for survival.

Belmont was impressed with his own lie. For something he came up with on the spot, it was pretty convincing.

If the other person were an experienced adult like Belmont, it might have worked, but Ariel was just a naive little elf.

If he could use her childlike innocence, maybe he could get out of this situation…

“Liar!”

But then, a girl in a shabby robe next to Ariel, Revena, shouted.

“You’re lying! You’re lying right now!”

“……”

Belmont’s face twisted.

Of all people, it had to be that girl.

“What basis do you have to spout such nonsense?”

Belmont glared at the girl with a menacing expression.

“You dirty little brat, if you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll…”

Belmont suddenly stopped.

He felt a gaze from beside him.

Ariel had slung Ragnarok over her shoulder and was staring straight at Belmont.

“……”

Belmont bit his lip.

This was dangerous. Things could get messy because of that brat.

He had to shut her mouth somehow…

“Belmont, what’s going on here?”

Then, a voice came from beside him.

“We agreed to sell that sword and split a thousand gold each, right?”

“Right. But now it seems like it’s not your sword.”

“Sigh…”

Belmont wiped his face and let out a deep sigh.

It seemed like lying wasn’t going to work. These clueless mercenary companions of his had no sense of the situation.

They had always been used by Belmont, but this time, their stupidity was holding him back.

“……”

Belmont subtly checked the situation.

Since things had come to this, he needed to take a more drastic approach.

Swish!

He quickly moved, drawing a sword from one of his comrades’ waists.

He lunged forward, grabbing Revena by the shoulder and pressing the sword against her neck.

“Ahhh!”

Revena screamed in shock, and the other mercenaries stared at Belmont with wide eyes.

“Wha, Belmont!”

“What are you doing!”

“Shut up!”

Belmont turned his gaze to Ariel.

“You better stay still, elf. If you try anything, I’ll cut this brat’s throat. You don’t want that, do you?”

“……”

Ariel stood still, not moving.

One corner of Belmont’s mouth twitched.

Even though they had only met less than a day ago, Belmont had already figured out Ariel’s personality.

The Ariel he knew would never let Revena die.

“Keke, hand over your magic items. The ones filled with gold coins. If you don’t give them to me right now, this brat’s life is over.”

*

“……”

To Ariel, Belmont’s lie was quite clumsy.

That he had come to retrieve Ragnarok for her while she was asleep.

It was much more plausible that he had tried to steal Ragnarok and had the bad luck of running into her.

So even without Revena and Belmont’s mercenary companions’ words, Ariel wouldn’t have believed Belmont anyway.

“Hand them over now, those magic items! Do you want to see this brat die?!”

Belmont shouted, his eyes wide.

Ariel stared at him intently and said,

“You should’ve just run away.”

“…What?”

Belmont frowned.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“If you had run away, I wouldn’t have chased you.”

“…What are you talking about! I clearly warned you! If you don’t hand over your magic items right now, this brat dies. Got it? I have nothing left to lose!”

Did he really have nothing left to lose?

Ariel thought so as she took a step toward Belmont.

She didn’t have any particular affection for Belmont.

But the memories of wearing masks together at the Black Market, visiting the grumpy dwarf’s armory, and going to Delight lingered in a corner of Ariel’s mind.

“You could’ve just run away.”

Ariel kept walking, and Belmont gradually lost his composure.

“Wh, why are you saying that now! Don’t come any closer! I’ll really kill her! You think I won’t?!”

Belmont didn’t like the look in Ariel’s eyes as she stared at him.

Ariel’s gaze was as calm as ever, but at this moment, it seemed to carry a hint of loneliness.

Being stared at like that made Belmont feel unbearably uncomfortable.

“You, you brought this upon yourself!”

Belmont finally tried to slash Revena’s throat with the sword in his hand.

But.

“……!”

His arm wouldn’t move.

Not just his arm, but his entire body was immobilized, as if gripped by something.

‘Telekinesis Magic!’

He couldn’t even open his mouth or blink.

The only thing Belmont could control was his thoughts.

‘Wh, how is this possible…!’

He knew Ariel could use Telekinesis Magic. She had used it in a duel before.

But in Belmont’s understanding, using Telekinesis Magic to this extent was impossible.

At most, it could be used to choke someone in combat, but completely immobilizing someone’s entire body? He had never heard of such a thing.

A moment later, Belmont’s arm, which had been holding Revena, dropped.

Of course, it wasn’t by Belmont’s will. It was due to Ariel’s Telekinesis Magic.

“Haa, haa…”

Revena staggered, gasping for breath, and Ariel approached to support her.

“Ah, Ariel…”

Revena was in a state of shock. It was the first time someone had threatened her life, let alone held a sword to her neck.

And above all, having fully faced Belmont’s malice, Revena was too shaken to steady herself.

Tears streamed down her face, and her entire body trembled.

“Ariel…”

“Let’s go.”

Ariel supported Revena and began to walk away.

Even then, Belmont stood still like a scarecrow.

Of course, internally, he was screaming at Ariel.

‘Where do you think you’re going! Hand over the magic items! At least give me the gold coins before you go!!’

Whether she heard Belmont’s cries or not, Ariel and Revena’s figures grew further and further away.

A moment later, Ariel and Revena stopped at the end of the street.

And Ariel glanced back at Belmont.

Though the distance was considerable, Ariel’s gaze still carried that lonely air.

‘Why do you keep…’

Belmont felt a surge of emotion rising within him.

‘Why do you keep looking at me like that! Huh?! Who do you think you are to look at me like that! I’m Belmont, the Spin Slasher, known even among mercenaries…!’

At that moment, Belmont’s eyes widened.

Because his sword-wielding arm was moving on its own.

The tip of the sword pointed at his own throat and began to push in, as if he were committing suicide.

“Ahh! Belmont! What are you doing?”

“You, you’re trying to…!”

The other mercenaries grabbed Belmont’s arm in shock, but it was no use.

“Stop, Belmont!”

Belmont’s arm was under strong external control, and neither his own strength nor his comrades’ could resist it.

Belmont desperately screamed internally.

‘No, no, save me! Save me!!’

And the next moment.

The sword in Belmont’s hand pierced his own throat.

*

Ariel supported Revena as they moved to a quiet alley.

There was an old sewer there, and a worn-out mat someone had left behind.

Ariel carefully sat Revena down on the mat.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

At Ariel’s monotone voice, Revena nodded, but she was still gasping for breath and trembling.

She hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.

“Th, thank you, Ariel.”

Revena hugged Ariel as she spoke.

“For helping me.”

Ariel quietly patted Revena’s back.

Gradually, Revena’s trembling began to subside as she calmed down.

“Ariel, did you kill that man earlier?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so…”

Revena slowly nodded.

While being supported by Ariel and walking away, she had felt the malice emanating from Belmont suddenly disappear.

That clearly meant death.

“……”

A quiet stillness settled around them.

Ariel rhythmically patted Revena’s back, and Revena quietly caught her breath.

After a while, Revena spoke.

“Ariel, my name is Revena. I thought it would be good to tell you.”

Ariel nodded.

Revena.

Since she had told her, Ariel decided to remember it.

Revena’s breathing gradually slowed, and soon turned into soft snores.

Then, the arms that had been hugging Ariel went limp.

She had fallen asleep.

Ariel carefully laid Revena down on her lap, and Revena began to sleep, using Ariel’s lap as a pillow.

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