〈 Chapter 277: Cherry Blossoms in the Summer 〉
*
While watching the holy knights engage in fierce bloodshed to satisfy their vile desires, I suddenly realized something.
[…Where has Caressy gone?]
‘Damn it, did she go and “CaRyu” again?’
The fact was, Caressy was nowhere to be found. Just a little while ago, she had been squished next to Elcia, and now she had disappeared without a trace.
On the bright side, and also not so bright side, there was one of each.
The good side was that I found Caressy quickly. She was just not beside us, but she hadn’t run off far either.
However, the not-so-good side was that I found Caressy among the group of holy knights.
In that dangerous battlefield where anal beads and dildos were flying around like sparks, Caressy was rampaging uncontrollably.
All in the pursuit of dog treats and churu.
“Get lost, you motherf*ckers!!!”
The might of Caressy sent the holy knights flying like autumn leaves.
Some holy knights tried to group together to subdue her, but the more they did, the more ferocious Caressy became.
“KYAAAH!!! KYAAAH!!! HAAAH!!!”
Now, she was fighting while grunting like a beast, with barely a coherent thought left in her head.
The holy knights who witnessed that crazed cat girl actually began to regain their sanity.
“There was no mention of the Saintess going into catgirl mode!”
“Who the hell raised that Yumi on their team?!”
“Where the hell is that bitch CaRyu? She promised to help during a crisis!”
“She went and did it again! This is why you shouldn’t keep a black cat around!”
[Caressy isn’t as weak as I thought.]
‘No way she’s acting like that for fun.’
Caressy finally knocked down the last holy knight, then immediately doused herself in the contents of a dog treat bottle, starting to suck on two churu pouches at once.
“Ah… damn, this is life…”
With a dazed look, she savored the churu while trampling over the fallen holy knights. Just looking at her expression made it seem like she was on some serious drugs.
Seeing this, we started to ponder seriously.
“Husband? What do we do with that b*tch? Castration?”
“From what I see, she’s long since crossed that river. The only thing left is the Jordan River.”
“There’s bound to be a shelter for stray animals around here, right? Do they even adopt cat girls?”
[She’ll be abandoned in no time, so don’t get your hopes up.]
‘Damn.’
Anyway, we quickly tied up the fallen holy knights, tossing them into the roaring flames to set them ablaze.
Once again, the smell of burning hair filled the air, and the unconscious knights twitched or groaned softly.
Meanwhile, Caressy, having returned from her heaven, urged us on.
“There’s no time to dawdle! We have to hurry!!!”
“Whose fault is it that we’re wasting time here, you crazy b*tch?”
“……Anyway, we need to go!”
Caressy wore a sheepish expression and began to dart ahead, but then suddenly stopped.
“Oh no…”
“Why?”
As I approached her, wondering what was up, she mumbled with a serious face.
“I’m totally out of energy.”
“Hey, you little s*it!”
As soon as I kicked Caressy, she finally started moving again.
“Who kicks a lady?!”
“The God said historically that a beatdown is a cure.”
“…Damn it.”
Though she was quite malfunctioning, once I prescribed the right “medicine,” Caressy returned to normal function.
Indeed, the God’s words were correct.
And now, I shifted my gaze back to Elcia.
“Elcia, let’s do what we talked about.”
“I’m totally going to make you pay back after this, just like I promised!”
“……I’m definitely doing birth control.”
At my words, Elcia let out a laugh that sounded ridiculous.
“Go for it.”
“Damn b*tch.”
Regardless, we set off with each of us having our own destination.
Caressy headed for the Pope.
And Ayeon and I chased after the Cardinal group.
“I’ll go to the Pope, so you guys handle the Cardinal group.”
“If you’re late because you’re busy munching treats again, you’re dead, b*tch.”
“Got it… But is there more?”
Caressy kept glancing at me with lingering regret in her eyes.
I smiled and gave her a hard head pat.
“You, you really feel an attraction for this pilfering b*tch, don’t you!!!”
“Your charm is the perfect strike, Caress.”
[……Is it okay to hit a heroine like that?]
‘She can take a hit, damn it.’
Anyway, from now on, it was a race against time.
We quickened our steps a bit more.
*
The beastmen set ablaze, bound by Elcia, were not thrashing around as wildly as when they first caught fire.
Their fur had burned off, and they were starting to acclimate to the pain from the flames.
In fact, some could even respond to Elcia’s words.
“Oh dear, everyone? Is the stimulation not enough?”
“This is nothing compared to the heat behind me!”
“In comparison to training in volcanoes and manly environments, this is just laughable! Hahaha!”
“I was gonna do some grooming, but this worked out perfectly!”
“From now on, I’m Lamzi Fire, evolved from Lamzi Thunder!”
They said these things with gleeful anticipation, waiting for Elcia to show some sign of distress or awkwardness.
However.
“Perfect timing!”
“……What?”
The beastmen’s expectations completely missed the mark.
Instead, Elcia smiled brightly, sending chills down their spines.
What on earth was she scheming now?
What else could she possibly want to do?
And, unfortunately for them, their expectations were beautifully fulfilled.
Swoosh!
“I’ll just add some firewood!”
As she said that, Elcia splashed something on the beastmen.
“AAAAAAAH!!!!!”
“You fcking btch!!!”
“Don’t you dare light my fur on fire again, you bastard!!!”
“My body is heating up! This is a physical f*cking assault!!!”
The screams of the beastmen crescendoed once again.
They writhed in agony, and one beastman looked strangely thrilled as he asked Elcia a question.
“What the hell did you mix in—?!”
Splash!
But Elcia cut off the question, dousing them with more liquid.
As if to say that questions would not be tolerated.
Still writhing in pain, the beastman shouted in anguish.
“Can’t I even ask a question!!!”
“Oh dear, asking a question! That’s not right!”
With Elcia’s words, the beastman’s frustration deepened, wondering what was wrong.
Then Elcia smiled even brighter to ease that frustration.
“Questions aren’t for asking; they’re for opening!!!”
An outrageous assertion that one could never imagine coming from a rational person.
Thus, another grand quote from Elcia was added to her collection.
On the other hand, the beastman, who was struck dumb by Elcia’s words, mumbled half-conscious.
“……I can’t tell who the real beast is anymore.”
“Then let’s continue!”
What Elcia was spraying was the very chemical concoction that Kim Shinwoo had asked to be looked into.
Luckily, it was stored in the warehouse, so it didn’t take long to find.
There was so much that mixing it took a bit longer.
Potions for healing wounds, thickening fur for beastmen, oil, narcotics, aphrodisiacs, you name it.
Everything was tossed in, except for what seemed like painkillers.
‘It definitely tasted bad!’
I’m not sure why I tasted it, but it was so disgusting that even Elcia shook her head.
This stuff could potentially harm the body later on.
But naturally, Elcia didn’t care about that.
Just then, as the beastmen showed even more fire and expressed their pain, one of them voiced a tortured question.
“How long are you going to keep this up!!!”
“Until my Coin rises!”
“……For life, then.”
Right after that, only that particular beastman got splashed with the mixture.
As Elcia continued to spray the concoction against the backdrop of the beastmen’s screams, it hadn’t been long since Kim Shinwoo left.
Without realizing it, Elcia began to mutter to herself out of loneliness.
“—It’s late, Husband.”
In her voice, a hint of longing to see him one more time crept in.
And at that moment, the swirling flames inexplicably resembled cherry blossoms.
Elcia smiled weakly, saying her next words.
“If this keeps up, I might just become a grandmother, you know?”
At her words, one of the beastmen, who was writhing in pain, suddenly sniffled.
After catching a faint scent rising in the smoke, he started to mutter to himself.
“Grandmother, god damn it, she’s already ancient.”
Unfortunately for the beastman, Elcia heard that ghost-like remark loud and clear.
In the very next moment, he had no choice but to regret what he had just said.
A vine of thorny emotions suddenly snared just that beastman, starting to wriggle him into the ground.
“Stop it!!! My dead grandmother is haunting me from across the river!”
“You should greet her after such a long time!”
“Just give me a break! I’ll do anything! Please!!!”
Elcia briefly halted her movements at the beastman’s desperate plea.
In a short moment, something crossed her mind.
And just like that, the only path for the beastman to live emerged from Elcia’s mouth.
“I’ll let you see her just this once if you all-in on Elf Coins right now!!!”
“……I’ll just go pay respects.”
Realizing that path didn’t lead to survival, the beastman quickly opted to get burned.
Even though this place was hell, that place was the true hell on earth.
Elcia didn’t speak further and just giggled as she toasted the beastmen in flames.
The beastman did not argue with Elcia anymore.
He could only endure the current pain fully.
It was summer.
From the viewpoint outside the novel.
*