“Aa~ You poor thing. I’ve heard rumors in the royal capital. A goddess has appeared? A male goddess. Was that bruise on your face made by him?”
Temeraire listened to the man’s flirtatious voice and wondered what story was unfolding in this man’s head. Was the man fantasizing about him being assaulted and humiliated by the goddess? Although, it was actually it him that had humiliated, let alone assaulted the goddess. Temeraire slanted his gaze downward, suppressing his innermost thoughts.
“Yes… Erm…the goddess isn’t a kind person…” While appealing to his heartache, he uttered reproachful words about the goddess’s tyranny. As a matter of fact, what he had just said was not a lie. That person was indeed not the kindest fellow. Afterward, he stared at Lord Weldham with moistened
“Lord Weldham… I know this is impertinence of me to ask this suddenly… But, would you allow me to seek shelter here in this castle? I feel like I’ll be killed if I stay with a goddess like that person,” he clammed his voice in a choked whisper. In addition, he covered his face with his hands, as if in grief.
Temeraire thought to himself that it was a funny, theatrical gesture that was well performed. Nevertheless, his performance had a profound impact on the man in front of him. He sensed Lord Weldham approaching after bobbing his shoulders for a while. Then, Temeraire’s shoulders were gently hugged by him, along with an ostentatious warm breath blew into his ear.
“Poor Temeraire. Of course, I don’t mind… You can stay in this castle as much as you like. How could I permit a beautiful man as you become a sacrifice to that tyrannical goddess?” Lord Weldham spoke in impish tone, seemingly intoxicated by his own remark. Within the next moment, the man’s thick palms caressed Temeraire’s upper arm, causing the latter to get goosebumps. In addition, an intense smell of perfume lingered Temeraire’s nose, almost making him cough. Then, he held his breath while covering his face with the back of his hand, and responded in an unusual nasal voice, “Ah… Thank you very much. I will certainly repay you for your kindness.”
Immediately, he heard Lord Weldham muttering, ‘There’s no such thing as a favor,’ gloating with glee. Instantly, Temeraire knew that the man was probably going to demand for his body in the name of repaying the favor. The mere thought of it made him nauseous. He had already resolved that every single strand of his own hair and drop of his blood already belonged to that man. There was nothing left in him for others.
“Now, let’s treat the wound first. I’ll prepare a room for you next to mine, so that you can rest in peace,” the man’s thick lips fell on his forehead. Temeraire gave an exceptionally breathtaking smile while flinching at the sensation.
“Thank-you-very-much. You are too kind, Lord Weldham…”
⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜
Yuichiro woke up just in time. The sky that peeked through the inn’s small window had already darkened. Although he had just woken up from his deep slumber, his eyes and head felt clear as though he had bathed in freezing water. He was always like this right before a battle. Even when his body was resting, his brain was constantly working, releasing endless of adrenaline even though he didn’t demand for it.
With a swift motion, Yuichiro quickly picked up the AK47 that he kept by his side. With the gun placed on his lap, he wrapped a bandana around his head. As for boots, he had already worn them as he slept just now. As soon as he slung the AK47 over his shoulder, the door opened after a small knock. There was Goat, peeking out of the door, saying, “Let’s go.” Yuichiro nodded in response at Goat’s brief words. Finally, the three of them slipped out of the somber inn together.
The town was eerily quiet as the sky’s radiance faintly illuminated the ground. Yuichiro initially thought it was moonlight, but there was no moon, only enormous and brightly colored stars floating in the sky. They trudged along the deserted streets. There was no sign of life, possibly because no stores were open at night. Each and every house was dark and silent, as if they were empty.
“Does it really get this quiet?” Yuichiro muttered to himself, and Goat who was moving ahead of him, looked back.
“Ever since the royal capital was set on fire, a nighttime curfew has been imposed in neighboring towns.”
“Hah, that’s something what politically unstable countries do,” Yuichiro sarcastically remarked. Goat shrugged slightly in response to his sarcasm.
In the next moment, Luca abrupted with his voice from behind, “It’s to protect the people,” he said. “It’s also to keep them from fleeing,” Luca stammered, continuing briefly. In reality, the curfew was a policy designed to prevent sudden mass emigration.
They rushed through the streets until they arrived at Lord Weldham’s castle’s outer walls. There were no sentries standing outside the gate. Goat then threw three pebbles at the side entrance at the end of the castle gate. The three pebbles struck it in quick succession, and the entrance opened in seconds. It was Evelise who peered out from inside.
“Come over here.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
They then quickly entered the castle through the opened side entrance. Inside, there were two unconscious guards who were bound and gagged. Ivelisse had apparently taken care of them beforehand. The sentries’ uniforms had been removed in preparation.
“Have you located where platoon commander Marcos is?”
“Yes, sir. Platoon Commander Marcos appears to have been imprisoned in an underground cell after being captured by Lord Weldham. However, this evening, he was taken to the second residence of Lord Weldham’s first wife, Giselle-sama.”
Yuichiro raised an eyebrow at Evelise’s revelation of a new name and information. When he turned his gaze to Goat, the man opened his mouth, commenting, “Giselle-sama is the third son of Hayden family, a high-ranking noble family in Jeweld Kingdom. It is certain that the Haydens married Giselle-sama to Lord Weldham in order for them to participate in Am Abbey’s iron industry.”
The word ‘third son’ made him feel dizzy once again. ‘First wife and third son.’ Apparently, the common sense of this world didn’t apply to the common sense that Yuichiro had.
“Why would Giselle-sama be in charge of leader Marcos?” Luca muttered with suspicion. It was a question that was on everyone’s mind here. Why would the first lady of the household would bother to take a soldier whom her husband had captured to another house? They couldn’t come up with an explanation no matter how hard they tried.
Yuichiro grabbed one of the undressed sentries’ uniforms and tossed it to Evelise. He then stripped off his clothes and changed into his uniform, declaring, “We’ll split into two groups. Goat and Luca, you both go to Giselle’s villa and protect leader Marcos if he’s still alive. Evelise and I will capture Lord Weldham in the castle. Evelise, can you lead us the way inside the castle?”
“Yes, of course,” she gave a succinct response back.
When Yuichiro put on his uniform, he finally pulled the hood of his cloak-like jacket over his eyes. Evelise, too, quickly changed into her uniform without embarrassment.
“Try not to kill any soldiers if you can. If they hate me, there’ll be trouble later,” Yuichiro remarked. Goat grinned in return as if he knew what Yuichiro was talking about. Luca and Evelise on the other hand nodded without saying anything.
“Let’s go.”
He parted ways with Goat and Luca after a brief verbal exchange. Soon after, he entered the castle with Evelise’s assistance. The castle was as quiet as the town itself. They passed several soldiers in the corridors on occasion, but none of them paid attention to Yuichiro and Evelise because they were both wearing the same uniform as the soldiers. The soldiers passed by with drowsy expressions on their faces.
“They sure are slacking…,” Yuichiro grumbled to himself, then Evelise replied in a whispered voice, “Am Abbey has never been attacked by an enemy before.”
“It wouldn’t be surprising if the iron ore production regions are the number one target during the war.”
“I wonder if that’s why they sent firearms to the enemy to protect them from being targeted.”
If somebody asked him, this made sense. In a way, bribing the enemy may have been this city’s way of survival. Bribery, however, must not be tolerated during the war. Traitors must be punished. If they let them go once, the same type of people would come out one after the other. Yuichiro and Evelise both ascended the castle’s staircase to the top floor.
“This is Lord Weldham’s room,” as soon as Evelise finished saying this, they heard something fall with a thud. The noise sounded as if two people were fighting, followed by a stifled voice. It was coming from the room next door rather than the room in front of them.
“That room.”
“It’s the room where Temeraire-sama is,” Evelise spoke with a confused expression. But before she could finish her sentence, Yuichiro had already stormed his way toward the next room’s door. He kicked the door open wide without hesitation. The figure of Temeraire and the stranger flailing on the bed caught his attention right away. The stranger appeared to be a snobbish man with his hair slicked back.
“How have you been?” Yuichiro raised an unnaturally hurried voice and rushed toward the bed. Upon seeing Yuichiro, the man was studded momentarily, with his voice turned somewhat upside down, shouting, “Who the hell are you?! Don’t come in without my permission!”
From the haughty speech, Yuichiro was convinced that the man in front of him belonged to Lord Weldham. He cast a glance at Temeraire, who nodded as Lord Weldham pushed him down.
“I heard voices that seemed to be fighting with each other. What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see, you moron! Don’t get in the way of my fun, get out!!!”
The sight of the man who was bellowing like a child throwing a tantrum almost made Yuichiro laugh. With a raucous snort, Lord Weldham looked down at Temeraire below him. “He’s a hindrance, isn’t he?” the man said in a different, flirtatious tone as he ran his fingers through Temeraire’s hair. “It’s your fault for resisting. You know that don’t you? If you don’t offer me your chaste body, you’ll fall prey under the goddess.”
“I’m not pure anymore.”
“Huh?”
Yuichiro had his right arm around Lord Weldham’s neck before the man could turn around. He then strangled his neck with his right arm. Lord Weldham flopped around for a while, unable to speak, before passing out seconds later. After Yuichiro threw him on the bed, he voiced out dismissively, “Or am I the only one who’s dirty?”
“—You are beautiful.”
A wry smile blew involuntarily at Temeraire, who answered without delay. Was he saying he’s beautiful rather than dirty? Yuichiro shifted his gaze to Temeraire, slightly tilting his head.
“Is something wrong?”
“There is none.”
“It looked like you were being assaulted.”
“It’s within my expectations. I don’t care about that, let’s just tie him up quickly.”
Although he was pushed down a while ago, Temeraire moved briskly with a calm demeanor. Afterward, he summoned Evelise who had been shrewdly pointing a gun at Lord Weldham from behind the door, to help him move the man. She held the man from behind who had fallen face down on the bed and sat him down on a uselessly extravagant chair. With a piece of torn sheet, she tied the man’s arms and legs to the chair. At the end, she shoved a rolled-up piece of cloth into his mouth. After they had restrained Lord Weldham, Temeraire headed for the door installed at the back of the room. The door seemingly was leading to the next room.
“Yuichiro-sama, this way.”
As urged by Temeraire, he quickly strode to the next room.
“It seems that this is the only private room of Lord Weldham. If there is any evidence of betrayal, it is most likely in this room.” Yuichiro nodded at Temeraire’s words and began searching the room. He began by opening the drawers of the office desk, starting from the bottom. Since he couldn’t read the words in this world, he entrusted the documents to Temeraire and Evelise to inspect them.
“I don’t see anything strange in these documents,” Evelise grumbled. Temeraire, on the other hand, did not pay attention to her words and quickly skimmed through the papers.
As for Yuichiro, he shifted his gaze at the wall, and immediately felt a sense of discomfort. Silver patterns were carved into the pure white wallpaper. As he scrutinized the pattern carefully, he discovered that one of the joints in the wallpaper was slightly distorted and caught his eyes. He slowly approached the wall and lightly tapped it with his fist. A dissonance sound was heard in a particular area. Then, he traced the wallpaper with his fingertips and found a section where his fingertips had gotten caught. When he tugged on it, he found a 30-centimeter-square board that came off with a plop. There was a silver safe embedded in the wall. While he couldn’t read any of the characters in this world, he noticed a lock with some kind of letters on it. “It’s a hidden safe,” Temeraire said as he approached.
“Can you open it?”
“If you interrogate Lord Weldham, and get the combinations…”
“—Don’t bother,” Yuichiro replied with a sigh and motioned Evelise over. He brought a pillow and pressed it against the lock of the safe, “Evelise, shoot through the lock,” he ordered.
She pressed the muzzle of her bolt-action rifle on her shoulder against the pillow with a short affirmation. A dull, muffled shot rang out as Yuichiro covered one of his ears with his palm. Two more shots were fired in quick succession. The sound was absorbed by the pillow, which mimicked the gunshots as a child’s stomps instead. The feather-strewn pillow was tossed aside as soon as the smoking gun’s muzzle was released. Yuichiro loosened his mouth when he saw that the lock had been blown away. Despite the recoil, it was quite a feat to hit the same spot with a series of shots.
“Nice shots.”
Hearing Yuichiro’s praise, Evelise lowered her face as if embarrassed for a moment. When Yuichiro opened the safe’s door, which had been blown open, he discovered several documents inside that been shredded by the bullets. Putting those documents aside, he chose a bunch of others that were still readable and handed them to Temeraire. Within minutes of reading the documents, Temeraire exclaimed, “It’s a hidden ledger. It contains a list of the weapons that he supplied not only to the neighboring country of Goldar, but also to Noah-sama’s elder brothers. Ah~~ it is also written in great details the better weapons were given to the enemy, while the inferior ones were given to us, the regular army. With this much evidence, I believe this is sufficient to prove Lord Weldham’s treachery.”
Instead of shouting ‘banzai’, Yuichiro lightly raised both hands and waved them flatteringly. Temeraire’s eyes widened slightly as he observed Yuichiro’s antics, followed by a faint smile on his lips. “Then,” he continued, “all that remains is to deal with the traitor.”
“Can I just shoot him?”
“No, he must be put on trial and judged by law.”
Both Temeraire and Evelise were divided in their opinions. Temeraire threw a cold glance at Evelise. In response, her shoulders contracted as if intimidated.
“It’s up to you to choose which one,” Yuichiro interjected firmly and headed to the previous room where Lord Weldham was detained. Weldham was still tied to the chair, unconscious. As he approached the chair, Temeraire spontaneously offered Yuichiro with the vase that had been placed on the side table. The vase soon flipped over the unconscious man. In an instant, the flowers along with water in the vase, poured down on Lord Weldham’s head with great force. The man abruptly opened his eyes and gave a muffled scream, simultaneously rocking his body back and forth in attempt to escape from the water.
Evelise grabbed the back of the rattling chair from behind and brought a slim blade down on his neck at the same time. The man gasped deeply; his body paralyzed at the sight. Yuichiro tossed aside the empty vase onto the bed and stood in front of him. He peeked from under his hood, and slowly opened his lips, “Don’t move. If you resist, I’ll kill you. I’m going to take what’s stuck in this mouth now, but if you scream, I’ll kill you. If you don’t answer my questions, I’ll kill you. Is that clear?” unleashing a one-sided barrage of unavoidable threats.
Lord Weldham’s whole body stiffened as he looked up at Yuichiro, as if he were looking at a monster. Because of the water, his slicked-back hair was stuck to his brow like seaweed, making him appear quite comical. Yuichiro yanked the cloth protruding from the corner of the man’s mouth after watching him nod with his eyes. He then tossed the saliva-soaked cloth to the floor.
“…W-who are you? If you want money, you can take as much as you like,” Lord Weldham escaped a strained voice. Yuichiro, for his part, shook his head left and right and returned his attention to Temeraire. Afterward, Temeraire opened the document he was carrying in his arms, showing it off to Lord Weldham.
“It seems you have committed quite an act of treason.”
Lord Weldham’s expression changed the moment he saw the documents in Temeraire’s hands. Looking at the documents and Temeraire alternately, he exclaimed, “Te-Temeraire… Were you deceiving me?”
“Deceived?”
“You said you were assaulted by the goddess and …and asked to be sheltered.”
Unable to stand it any longer, Yuichiro gushed, “He’s not lying though. He was indeed assaulted, you know.”
“Yes, I was. You beat me mercilessly that I can still taste the blood in my mouth.”
Lord Weldham’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched the exchange between Temeraire and Yuichiro. His lips trembled as he stared at Yuichiro’s face, which was hidden behind the hood.
“The g-goddess?”
Thank you for the translation ❤️❤️❤️
“the one and only!” lolololol
thanks for the chapter!
Just gotta say, I REALLY appreciate translaters. Idk how many hours/minutes it takes to translate but I’ve been able to read some amazing books because of y’all 💕