CH 12

After treating my injuries, Iris was breathing heavily as if she had put in a lot of effort. She was holding her chest, looking like she was in a grave pain.

"Are you okay, Iris? If it's too hard for you, you should lie down and take some rest. Otherwise should I give you a lap pillow?"

"A lap pillow? No way! If you do that, my breathing will get even more erratic!"

"Why...?"

"Well, some things are just not good, you know? I mean, not necessarily forever, but for now, let's just say it's not a good idea for now. How about we save it for another time... Wait, forget about the lap pillow! Look in front of you, Kurou-kun! That's the 'Berlin Wall'!"

As they passed through the thicket, there was a translucent wall that spread out horizontally. It was an amazing sight, like the aurora borealis.

"A thousand years ago, there was an entity that separated and divided the people of Berlin with a wall. Due to the influence of magic, the remains of that fallen wall acquired the ability to create a conceptual barrier by simply scattering it to the ground as dust," Iris explained.

"I see. So that's how that long wall was formed…"

Woahh... I had no idea because I've hardly ever left my hometown. It's difficult to even go to the neighboring village because of the monsters, so my knowledge is limited.

However, its really mesmerizing that once fallen historical wall could be of use to form such a long magical barrier.

"Well, thanks to that wall, the monsters from outside cannot approach the capital anymore... but to be honest, it's not very good for the overall citizens," Iris said, suddenly frowning.

"I was also a village girl from outside, you know. While the number of monsters from the outside has decreased in recent years, they still come out in droves."

"Compared to that, the 'safe zone' around the capital is too peaceful. There is so much mental abundance that people can even discriminate against others."

"What?"

Discriminating against people? What do you mean?

"Well, it's like this: those who don't face any danger to their lives have the luxury of pursuing their studies, fashion or other enjoyments. As a result, people from the colonies outside the barrier who don't have that luxury and can't afford to be interested in those things are called 'barbarians' and looked down upon."

"That's terrible…"

Kaaah, don't you dare call me a barbarian! I'm cursed with the Demon Sword, you know?! I'll slice you up without even lifting a finger, you bastard!

... Oh, I guess that's already beyond barbaric, huh? Yeah…

"Well, be prepared, Kurou-kun. Not everyone, but there are those who will look down on you....Especially a junior colleague of mine, she's a terrible one. I don’t know what her problem, but she always comes at me to have a quarrel."

"What did you say?"

Hey hey hey, I won't let anyone disrespect the angle like Iris! Who is that bastard!?

Kurou got angry without realizing it and when his emotions showed on his face, Iris smiled and said, "Are you angry for my sake?"

Of course. I owe you so much and you are an important benefactor too, after all.

"Hehe, I'm happy, but don't worry about it. She’s from a noble family, so dealing with her properly would be troublesome. ... Anyway, Kurou-kun…"

Iris suddenly became fidgety looking rather cute and kept glancing at my clothes with an incredible speed.

"We're about to arrive in the town at the forefront of the spiritual barrier. Make sure you wear your coat properly."

Oh, I just finished having her apply the potion to me, and I was still in a state of wearing only a white shirt, with a few buttons undone, looking disheveled. This won't do, I need to tidy up my appearance now.

"I'm sorry, Iris. I'm still in this unsightly state."

"Oh no, rather than unsightly, it's more like Ehhhh- wait, no, no, no! Cough, anyway, you should avoid dressing like that in public!"

"Yeah, I won't show this kind of unbecoming appearance to anyone other than you, Iris."

"Ehhh?" Iris blushed again. "You won't show it to anyone other than me? That means... Huh? That, um...?" She muttered like a soliloquy.

My statement that came from my heart seemed to have made her very happy as a "teacher".

Although we have only met for a short time, I trust her completely. I won't try to act tough and will rely on her more and more as a "disciple." And...

"――Iris. Just as I showed you my weakness, please confide in me when your heart is weak. Though I am powerless, I want to support you (as your

disciple)."

"Honyaaaaaaaah!?" When I conveyed my feelings while taking my hand, my master let out another strange cry. She’s really a shy person.

"Now then, Iris. We'll be arriving in the town soon, but what should we do from there... huh?"

It was then that I noticed something coming towards us from ahead. The sound of pounding footsteps echoed, accompanied by a large cloud of dust.

A human figure was rapidly approaching us at a super-fast speed.

"What the hell is that...?"

I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the other direction avoiding Iris, who was still bewildered.

Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a petite girl dressed in the same white military uniform as Iris (Looking closely, her skirt was short and her shoulders were exposed in a strangely sexy design), so she too must be a magic knight.

She was a stunningly beautiful girl with silver hair and red eyes, but her eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and her expression was like that of a demon!

What is she? Is she really human?

"You bastardddd!" The girl screamed in a voice that was almost like a roaring beast.

She glared at me, holding a purple shining short sword. Is she aiming for me!?

"Purple Grudge Wind Blade―Fragaraha, bless me with the wind's protection!"

In the next moment, the girl transformed into the embodiment of a sickle-weasel. She released wind from her back and raced towards the carriage at breakneck speed, leaping towards me.

"Dieeeeeeee!" She stepped on the unicorn's head and rushed towards me. By the time I realized it, she had already entered the carriage, and evasion was now impossible.

‘What? Am I going to die here? Without even understanding why!?’

My thoughts accelerate beyond limits in the face of death. Countless words of "why" raced through my mind. And who is this person?

Don’t tell me… did I hurt this girl without even knowing myself? And now she is trying to kill me?

I thought this, but there was no time to even ask the questions. The silver-haired girl's blade was about to pierce my stomach...!

(Ugyaaaahhhh, am I going to dieeee!?)

And so, as I was about to scream in fear, something happened.

――Negative emotions, immense feelings, my soul―!

A demonic voice echoed through my chest. And then, I transformed into a murderer.

"Kyaaa!?"

By the time she realized it, I had twisted the hand of the girl holding the short sword. Then, with one hand grabbing her collar, I pulled her down in the carriage.

"Anhh!?" The girl moaned, but my body showed no mercy. Finally, I put one knee on her chest and drew the sword from my waist with my other hand.

Then, just as I was about to swing the blade down on the white neck of the girl...

‘Stop it, you idiot Muramasa!’

I put all my strength into my arm! Then, just as the blade was about to pierce the girl's throat, it somehow stopped.

Phew, that was close. Maybe it was because Muramasa was still digesting Minotaur's soul, but it seemed like ‘he’ wasn't really trying to control me at the moment. Thanks to that, I didn't have to kill her. Safe.

"H-hi, hi, hiii...!"

The girl started trembling a moment later. She must have realized she was about to be killed, and tears fell from both of her eyes.

Hey, hey, hey, I'm the one who wants to cry here! Honestly, I almost wet myself. But I'm in front of Master Iris, so I'll ‘interrogate’ her with a determined face.

"Who are you? Why did you try to kill me?"

"Eek!"

The silver-haired girl didn't answer. She just opened her beautiful eyes wide and trembled her throat. And even though I myself had barely managed to keep my composure, I sensed a strange smell in my nose.

Sniff~ Sniff... What’s this pungent smell...?

"Kurou-kun... please release her," Iris said there.

She patted my shoulder. After making sure that I was uninjured, she breathed a sigh of relief and praised me, "Your martial arts earlier were amazing. You must have trained well."

Well, it's actually thanks to Muramasa's power, though.

"Now then..." Iris took the short sword that the girl had and said, "――Vita. What on earth were you trying to do with this...!?"

"Eekkk!"

Iris glared at the girl with a scary look that I had never seen before...! Wait, Iris is really furious!

"......Iris, who is this girl...?"

"Ah, her name is Vita von Camblor. She's the annoyingly terrible junior colleague I was talking about just a moment ago."

―Note: Iris is 27, while Kurou is 17 yrs old.