Chapter 32: Empire in mess

“Hey, that black-haired person with 'Iris of the White Blade'…!”

“Ah, they fought against the monsters…!”

“They apparently defeated dozens of Black Mage group members!”

――Third day since the attack.
After being kicked out of the clinic, I walked around the town with Iris-san and thought from the bottom of my heart, ‘Oh no, this is baddddd! I'm getting way too much attentionnnnnn!?’.

Yes, wherever I go, people who know of my exploits stare at me intensely.
But this is no good.
This level of attention is really bad.
They evaluate me highly as a “skilled person,” but that's no good!

‘I'm just an ordinary person.
I'm just a weakling who has trained my body a bit.
I can only fight strong opponents because I'm being controlled by 'Demon Sword Muramasa'.’

I remind myself of this fact.
When I was prepared to die, I tried to fight recklessly, but I'm just an amateur.
And so, if I become a knight in the future, my evaluation will surely be high, which will be a big problem for me.

Everyone will surely say, “Kurou-kun, you're strong, so go hunt down dangerous criminals and monsters!”

‘No, no, no! I might die from that!’

It was dangerous this time.
I was forced to fight many battles in a row, and I almost died for real.
And as a result, I played the role of an executioner in front of the Kuroud, saying, “I'll die coolly before I lose!”

‘Sigh…
I'm also being considered as someone who can overcome the control of Magical Armament, a 'Legendary Conqueror'.
But I'm not that strong…I'm still desperately restraining Muramasa.…’

While feeling sad, I re-grip the handle.
As expected, Muramasa-kun seems to not be completely hungry after slaying hundreds of bad guys and monsters (sometimes making strange sounds like 'Ehehehe…Gokun!' as if it's savoring souls…!?).

However, the fuel efficiency of this thing is terrible.
It's already making a racket and entering a fussy operational state.
I have to desperately hold back my sword, or else it might come out.

Oh no, my hands are tired and trembling…
‘Ah, why am I going through such a tough situation…’ I was feeling pessimistic like that when suddenly a white, beautiful hand was placed on my shaking hand.

“Kurou-kun, you're really kind.” Before I knew it, Iris-san who was walking beside me was looking at me with an understanding expression.
What, what!?

“By looking at your sad expression and slightly trembling hands, I can tell that you regret not being able to save all the people.
You were regretting it, weren't you?”

“Ah…
(No, that's not it!)”

Ah, so that's what she thought! Well, of course it's better to save everyone, but it was impossible once such a large group of terrorist attacked the city.
Someone was bound to die!

Besides, it's strange that the criminals didn't come from the foreign land but from the peaceful inland.
Well, I guess that's a common thought, so the gatekeepers probably let them through without much scrutiny.

“Kurou-kun, you'll be told many things by Hypno from now on, but let me tell you one thing beforehand.
――The Lemuria Empire is facing a great crisis now.”

Ah, that's right.
Other three cities must have been attacked too.
Information hasn't spread yet, but one or two might have fallen.
And if other cities were invaded from the inland too, the theory of the imperial capital being safe is already falling apart.

It might become a discussion of who let the criminals in and why they didn't notice their existence until now.

“So, you know…” Iris-san became serious and determined, then she said to me, “We'll be separated for work for a while, but let me answer you first.
――Kurou-kun, I love you too…!”

Huh!?

Suddenly, she dropped the bombshell.
And I was left

 

dumbfounded for a while…!

 

――The people around me buzzed with excitement.
That’s right! They all went in uproar because Iris-san called it a reply to my confession and told me that she loves me!

‘Wait, hold on a second…oh, right, when we were shopping together, I had told her that I love her as my “mentor.”’

Even though I had accidentally left out the “as a mentor” part, she should still understand from their previous conversations and the context of our relationship.
In other words, Iris also loves me as her “disciple.”

‘Phew…for a moment there, I thought she meant it romantically…but of course not.
I had only called her a “pure white flower” when we first met;

I haven’t said anything that can make her fall for me in just a few days.
Unless I have been doing something to tickle her fancy without realizing it…which I wouldn't know anything about.’

“Iris…to say that in front of all these people like that…” I felt uncomfortable with all the eyes on him.

Despite her stern expression, I know her face is getting hot.
Why would Iris say that here of all places? And she left out the “as a disciple” part too.

People might misunderstand!

In response to my embarrassment, Iris blushed but also grinned mischievously.
“You said it in public too, didn't you? So it's just a little revenge, Kurou-kun.”

“Wha――?!”

Oh, that's what she meant.
She said it in public on purpose and left out part of the wording just to make me misunderstand.
She did it all on purpose.

Wow, Iris is such a little devil.
I had thought she was an angel, but she's both light and darkness combined, making her even more amazing.

“Alright, let's go see Hypno.
We should hurry.”

“Yeah.”

Together with Iris, who looked pleased with herself, we headed towards the Knight Order's branch.
Thus, the two of us, the close mentor and disciple, walked through the streets of Salem together.

◆◇◆

Due to the attack, the knight order branch had almost completely been destroyed.
As a result, a nearby building was rented out and Iris and I were to meet Hypno in one of its rooms.

We sat on cheap chairs and gathered around a desk with three of us.

“Now, let's talk…
wait, why does Iris have such a happy expression?” Hypno remarked, confused as he (?) observed the strongest female knight.

“Hmph, it's just your imagination, Hypno.”

It was true that Iris looked like she could have flowers blooming around her.
In contrast, Hypno appeared to be worn out.
Though not as much as when we first met him, he seemed to have little energy left.

And this guy was beaten up by the female swordsman named Karen, too, right? Is he okay?

“You must have been hurt in the fight with Karen, are you okay?”

“Oh, Kurou-kun, no need to worry.
You saved me before I received any serious injuries from the fight,” Hypno reassured me.
“Speaking of which, you must be in pain as well, despite saving me.
I'm sorry about that.”

Suddenly, Hypno started apologizing.
I wondered what had gotten into him.

“I told the doctor that if you were able to move, to come and see us right away,” Hypno continued.

Oh, that's why I was kicked out so quickly.
I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't abandon a just-awakened patient just because of some noisy visitors.

“Well then, Kurou-kun.
Let me tell you about the current situation of our Empire,” Hypno said in a formal tone.
“But first, let me preface that we should not inform the citizens yet.”

And then he revealed the truth, “All cities surrounding the mainland except for Salem have been destroyed by 'Vampurgis.' And now, even the safe zones within our country are being infiltrated by monsters.”