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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Ruby
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Cloney captured the scene in her golden eyes.
The sight of Yuma instantly slaying three top-tier vampires.
She had followed Yuma, who suddenly left the inn without a word, sensing that something was definitely wrong.
If something was happening, she had intended to help Yuma somehow.
But she couldn’t.
“…Nothing.”
The aura emanating from the three vampires was too fierce.
It was a level of magical power that could kill someone like her with a single gesture.
Yet before Yuma, they were literally moths burning their own wings and disappearing voluntarily.
Yuma effortlessly deflected all their attacks imbued with tremendous force.
The vampires’ lives were crushed by their own attacks.
“…I don’t want to.”
Yuma was already too brilliant of an existence.
An existence so radiant that it didn’t even need a small lantern like herself.
A desire more intense than any moment she had experienced so far welled up from within. The desire to become stronger.
“I don’t want to be discarded.”
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Tears welled up in the eyes of Hestia, the cat-folk swordswoman.
“Waaahh! Please spare me!”
Yuma observed Hestia closely with
She was a prodigy.
On a completely different level from Yuma himself.
Yuma’s mouth slowly opened.
“I won’t kill you. Be quiet.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
Hestia stopped crying with a hiccup.
“You’re really not going to murder me?”
“If I don’t, are you going to spread rumors all over town with that mouth of yours?”
Hestia shook her head vigorously at Yuma’s words.
“Absolutely not! I’ll keep quiet to my grave!”
“Alright.”
Yuma nodded halfheartedly.
‘Anyway.’
Rumors would spread all over town anyway.
Even if the cat-folk swordswoman in front of him didn’t spread them.
Someone must have observed his battle just now.
That’s what Yuma thought.
He had become quite a notable existence in this world.
And the three vampires he just killed were also big shots.
“I’m going.”
Yuma slowly moved his feet.
He was a bit curious about why this cat-folk, Hestia, was wandering around, both at the inn earlier and now.
But more urgent than that was the need to rest his body, which was steeped in this terrible fatigue.
Thump!
But Hestia stood in front of Yuma once again.
“H-help me!”
Yuma furrowed his fine brows.
“With what?”
“My sister disappeared. W-well, not my real sister, but a sister I travel with. She suddenly disappeared one morning!”
Yuma sighed and said:
“Slowly, tell me the details.”
Hestia’s eyes widened.
“…I-it might sound crazy, but I think a dragon kidnapped her, that sister! And it seems true that missing person cases have suddenly increased in the Count’s territory since last year.”
“A dragon?”
“Y-yes! Cat-folk have better instincts than others. Especially when it comes to smelling other races except humans. No matter how I look at it, there’s a dragon in this Count’s territory.”
Dragon.
Yuma took a moment to organize his thoughts.
“I-I’m not crazy! Well, not a crazy cat girl!”
“Be quiet.”
“Okay!”
Yuma wasn’t judging the red-haired cat-folk girl, Hestia, in front of him as crazy.
The setting that cat-folk are exceptionally good at smelling other races was also in ‘Loop Blood’, after all.
Hestia, unable to hold back any longer, spilled out the words that had risen to her throat.
“My theory is that Count Rubelt seems to have some connection with the dragon. It feels like he’s controlling the town through his knights to prevent any talk of disappearances!”
Yuma recalled something at Hestia’s words.
‘Come to think of it.’
How would a normal count have welcomed him?
It was awkward to say with his own mouth, but objectively speaking, he had become quite a big shot in this world.
If it were a normal count, wouldn’t he have invited him to the count’s castle from the first day, instead of guiding him to an inn?
He would be desperate to get close to him.
Even if he were a noble of the 1st Prince Schwarze’s faction, he would try to get close to him.
There was nothing wrong with paving another path in case of emergencies.
‘It’s a hypothesis with enough potential.’
Whether it was a dragon or disappearances or whatever, it seemed certain that Count Rubelt was hiding something.
If a dragon existed within Count Rubelt’s territory, it was worth finding out.
Dragons were likely to know quite a lot.
Information about things that Yuma himself needed to know.
And information about the ‘Blue-haired Sword Saint’.
Even if it knew just one of the two, it wouldn’t be a bad result.
Yuma stared at Hestia.
“Come back tomorrow morning. In front of the inn. I’ll help you find out whether there’s a dragon or not.”
“…Really?”
Hestia gulped.
“Yes, really.”
“But, I’m only interested in the dragon. Whether you can find your sister in the process or not is your responsibility.”
“Okay.”
Hestia nodded vigorously.
It was something she couldn’t dare to question Count Rubelt directly about.
But the man in front of her seemed like he could do it.
If they dug into this situation, they would surely find her sister.
Hestia felt such certainty.
“Then, I just need to go to the front of the inn tomorrow morning, right?”
“Yes.”
“W-wait! Can you tell me your name…?”
Hestia asked boldly, but was strangely intimidated.
“Yuma.”
“…Yuma! I’m Hestia!”
Hestia, her green eyes shining, boldly extended her right hand.
Yuma listlessly accepted the handshake request.
After ending the conversation with Hestia like that, Yuma slowly walked towards the inn, dragging his fatigue-ridden body.
Of course, to Hestia’s eyes, he only appeared as a monster walking gracefully and elegantly even after finishing such an incredible battle.
Yuma opened the door of the inn.
He saw a familiar face on the first floor.
It was Cloney.
“Why are you out here?”
Cloney’s two golden eyes stared directly at Yuma.
“…You went out and didn’t come back, so I was worried.”
“If it were a big deal, I would have said something before leaving. You could have just rested well. Let’s go in.”
Cloney bowed her head deeply.
She felt self-deprecating after seeing Yuma, who referred to dealing with top-tier vampires of that level as not even a ‘big deal’.
‘A small-scale kingdom would have trembled at the mere presence of those three.’
She couldn’t help but feel self-deprecating when she saw Yuma talking about fighting a force that could make a country tremble as if it were nothing.
“…Why am I so useless? To you, Yuma-nim. To the Princess.”
Yuma stared at Cloney.
“Originally, everyone thinks they look terrible at times. And those who don’t avoid it but face it directly are bound to see the light someday.”
It wasn’t consolation.
It was closer to a theory, since he was saying this to someone with the growth potential of an 8th Circle Archmage.
Cloney stared at Yuma with wide round eyes.
“Did you also have times when you were terrible, Yuma-nim?”
“Even now, things aren’t that great.”
Cloney burst into laughter.
No matter how she heard it, it sounded like excessive modesty.
As Cloney opened the door of the inn room and entered, she felt that way especially today.
She felt like she wanted to shake off all the complicated emotions in her heart.
So instead of going to her own room, she stared at Yuma.
“Have you ever been bothered by the fact that I’m a witch’s daughter?”
Yuma stared at Cloney again. Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“No.”
Really, no.
The witches in “Loop Blood” all had their own stories.
Stories that made them become witches.
Of course, he had killed them all without mercy, but still.
“And whether your mother was a witch or not, it doesn’t matter.”
More importantly, the reason was this.
“Cloney, you are just you.”
Would it make sense for someone who seemed to be the protagonist of this world to be held back by such issues?
That was Yuma’s thought behind his words.
“So don’t think unnecessary thoughts and go to sleep.”
Cloney smiled with her eyes at Yuma’s words and said softly.
“…Yes, Yuma-nim.”
And then she went into the room.
Cloney lay down on the bed.
For the first time in a very long time, she recalled her mother’s voice.
The voice she had forgotten for a long time because she wanted to forget it.
“-Cloney,. No matter what happens from now on you just need to live as yourself. Understand?”
That kind voice.
That kind embrace.
Perhaps because it was so kind, it had been too painful when she became alone.
That night, Cloney was able to fall into the deepest sleep she had had in recent times.
A very clear sleep without any nightmares or dreams.
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Yuma came out in front of the inn.
“…”
He saw a cat-folk girl dozing off, leaning against a tree.
More precisely, a cat-folk girl who had hidden her cat ears with a robe.
Yuma tapped Hestia’s shoulder.
Hestia’s eyes flew open. And there was annoyance in her eyes.
“Sheesh! Who is it!”
Eyes wide open.
Those eyes took in the figure of a man with ash-gray hair and clear blue eyes.
“…Good morning indeed! Isn’t it, Yuma-nim!”
The annoyance in her eyes had already melted away.
‘A perfect example of quick mood changes.’
She controlled her anger very well.
He didn’t find it unpleasant. It was quite cute, after all.
“Don’t use honorifics unnecessarily. We’re going to the guard station first. Lead the way.”
“O-okay! Yuma!”
Hestia, nodding her head vigorously, stood up energetically from her spot.
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