Chapter 118 The Old Sword King And The Young Sword Demon
The contents of Chloe's storage ring were scattered all over the floor.
It seemed like there were all sorts of things inside. Finding evidence that connects to the masterminds would be tough, but seeing Chloe's frantic state, shouting and shaking her chair, it's clear that there's something. At least we can avoid wasting our time, and that's a relief.
"Alright, everyone, let's divide and search!"
"""Got it."""
As Lady Eva said, we picked up each item that had fallen on the floor, one by one, and started searching for decisive evidence that connects Chloe to the masterminds.
The first one to find something was Glen.
"Wh-what is this!?"
Just a few seconds into the search, Glen let out a shocked cry.
"Did you find something?!"
"What did you find, Ms. Glenda?!"
"......"
Glen didn't answer, remaining silent.
With a serious expression, she was observing something in her hand. We also turned our gaze to Glen's hand, wondering what it could be.
It was... a small piece of cloth.
A high-quality lace made of white thread caught our attention, and it was... underwear.
"Ahhhhhhhh! N-no, what are you holding?! Don't look, give it back!!"
"......"
Chloe shouted, while Glen remained silent.
Glen slowly, without hesitation, pressed the underwear against her face.
Snff... Haaa. Snff... Haaa.
"Ahhhhhh! W-what are you smelling?! Stop it, seriously!!"
"......"
Glen quietly removed the underwear from her face, turned to us, and with a stern expression, said in a severe tone,
"...It doesn't seem to have been used."
Silence. And then――
"""(What is this guy saying...?)"""
Our hearts became one.
Maybe it was a mistake to bring Glen to this place from the start.
"Well, everyone, let's search seriously now!"
Anyway, we took a deep breath and continued to inspect Chloe's belongings.
But, there wasn't much that caught my eye.
Glen was seriously examining the clothes, and as for the other things...
"This is...candy, right? ...You've stocked up quite a lot, haven't you?"
"Ugh, ugh, ugh...!!"
Fiona said with a slightly surprised tone, and indeed, there were an enormous amount of sweets that one person couldn't possibly finish eating alone.
"As for these staffs, they're all unique to the [Four Great Families of the Seals]...There's nothing particularly suspicious about them, I suppose."
Lady Eva examined the numerous staffs and concluded that there was no problem.
"These are teacups, tea leaves, teapots...and tools for boiling water, among other things. Other than the excessive quantity, there's nothing particularly noteworthy."
Garon examined the mountain of tea leaves in cans and the numerous tools needed to brew and drink tea. He checked the contents of each can one by one, but there didn't seem to be anything suspicious.
Does she have a hobby of brewing and drinking tea by herself?
If I were in Chloe's position, I'd tell the servant and they would brew it for me... but it's suspicious, and it doesn't seem like evidence that leads to the mastermind.
"That means we haven't checked the remaining books and this pile of papers yet."
"Hmm...the books seem to be published by Necronia Times. And these handwritten letters...are they unfinished manuscripts?"
As I and Io reached out to touch those unchecked items――
Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle!!!
The chair shook violently. When I turned around, Chloe was shouting with a fierce expression.
"DON'T, DON'T TOUCH THAT!!! IF YOU TOUCH IT, I WON'T FORGIVE YOU, I'LL CURSE YOU ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELYYYY!!!"
Of course, we ignored Chloe's joking threat and picked up the papers and books.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!?"
First, we started with the papers that seemed like they could be evidence leading to the masterminds.
Whose letters were these, anyway? Io opened one of the letters and read it aloud.
"Dear Miss Lady Rose,
I'm extremely grateful for this conversation, and I, my heart is about to burst with excitement...?
I was so moved that I decided to pick up my pen and write.
The legendary explorers' tale of love and hatred from their youth, a fierce..."
"What's wrong, Io? Hurry up and read the rest already."
"Ah, yeah...
So, the legendary explorers' tale of love and hatred from their youth, a fierce clash of desires and a rift among party members due to love and hatred, and then the deep-floor conquest of the labyrinth Helheim... After experiencing the guardian, the crimson dragon Salamander, the party collapsed, and they lost their comrades, making them realize what's truly important... And then, as they grew older, they were freed from their desires and connected heart to heart. The contrast between the first half's sensual relationships and the second half's pure relationships is amazing, and the scene where they hold hands at the end is... Well, it's not an exaggeration to say it's very lewd. The way Miss Lady Rose directly and indirectly depicts love and s*x is truly impressive..."
"""......"""
We were silent.
There's no such labyrinth as Helheim. The crimson dragon Salamander is the same. In other words, this is probably a novel based on fiction.
But it's also content that strangely stimulates my memory.
Legendary explorers? Deep-floor conquest? Crimson dragon Salamander? Party collapse, growing older...
These words remind me――no, anyone who's an explorer in Necronia would know――of the legendary explorers.
I glanced at Io's face, and he was pale, with his cheeks clenched.
"Hmm..."
I carelessly opened the other letters one by one.
I didn't read the contents much, just checking who they were addressed to.
"This letter, it seems to be addressed to Lady Rose and the like."
All the addresses on the letters were Lady Rose. In other words, it's likely that these letters are fan mail addressed to Lady Rose.
"...I see."
Io nodded, looking pale and nauseous, and sat down with his back against the wall.
The reason is unclear, but Io suddenly stopped working, so I'll continue the investigation. I haven't checked the details yet, but it's likely that there's no evidence connecting this pile of letters to the masterminds.
So, next, I'll investigate a few books.
I picked up a nearby book and looked at its cover.
"Hmm... 'The Old Sword King and the Young Sword Demon'?"
It seems to be a novel with that title. The author's name is, as expected, Lady Rose. And the publisher is Necronia Times. It's a company that's actively involved in various fields, not just newspapers and magazines, but also publishing novels.
For now, I tried to open the book and check its contents, but――――for some reason, I hesitated.
I don't know why, but I felt a creepy atmosphere from this book.
(Stupid, it's just my imagination...)
It's a book published by a major publisher, so it can't have creepy content that would be banned or burned.
I brushed off my momentary unease with a laugh and opened the book to a random page.
'――The Sword King was jealous of the Young Sword Demon's extraordinary talent.
He thought that the Young Sword Demon, who might surpass him someday, was overflowing with talent. He even felt hatred towards the Young Sword Demon. That's what he thought.
Although they were partners who founded a clan together, aiming to conquer the labyrinth, he wore a gentle mask as an elder, but in his heart, he had a dark, turbulent emotion that was never calm.
However, at that moment, when they challenged the violent dragon Salamander for the second time in their lives, the Sword King's physical decline due to age created a fatal opening.
When he saw the Young Sword Demon, who had protected him and suffered a deep wound, the Sword King's heart was thrown into turmoil.
He remembered the time he lost the man he loved.
The Sword King realized.
His feelings towards the Young Sword Demon weren't just jealousy or hatred. Rather, it was an emotion he had been trying to ignore, pretending not to notice.
――The age gap between him and the Young Sword Demon was too great.
So he desperately sealed away the thought deep in his heart.
That emotion, which was sealed away too strongly, burst out unexpectedly when the Young Sword Demon was on the brink of death."
After exerting all his strength to defeat Salamander and hurrying back to the surface, the young Sword Demon received emergency treatment with potions and intense care from the healers, barely managing to cling to life.
Now, all his deep wounds have closed, and there's not a single scar left from the battle against Salamander.
However――,
"You're covered in scars, aren't you?"
The Sword King undressed the Sword Demon, who was sleeping in the empty room, without meeting any resistance.
The Sword Demon's body, exposed without a shred of clothing, was etched with countless, gruesome scars.
Those were the scars the Sword Demon had accumulated while building up his current strength. The Sword King gently stroked those scars, which were proof of the Sword Demon's efforts. Then――,
"U... Sword... King...?"
The sleeping Sword Demon woke up.
"W-what... are you doing...?!"
The Sword Demon's face turned bright red as he realized his skin was exposed and being touched.
"You should know, Sword Demon,"
the Sword King said in a tone that brooked no argument.
He had realized it.
The murky, dark emotions hidden deep within his heart. It wasn't jealousy or hatred, but a shallow desire for the Sword Demon's young body.
On the other hand, he was certain that he also had genuine feelings of affection for this young man.
So, the Sword King would no longer suppress his true self.
He straddled the Sword Demon, who was lying on his back, and pinned down his resisting arms. Normally, the Sword Demon could easily shake off the older man, but this time, weakened by his deep wounds and treatment, he was powerless.
"H-hey, Sword King! What are you planning?!"
"Sword Demon, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. Can you understand how I felt when I thought you might die?"
"D-do you think I can understand something like that...?!"
"We're both explorers. We don't know when we'll die, so it's not like we can leave any regrets behind, right?"
"I don't understand what you're saying...!!"
"I'm saying I'll make you mine, right here, right now."
The Sword King gazed at the Sword Demon with a fierce, wolf-like expression.
The Sword Demon, realizing resistance was futile, let out a sigh and looked away, his face twisted in frustration.
"I hate you, you know that?"
"Hmph, I'll make you fall for me right away. I've got plenty of experience, after all."
The Sword King grasped the Sword Demon's wrists with one hand, crossing them over, and stretched out his other hand towards the lower half of his body.
And then――――'
"――Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!! ."
I threw the book away and vomited in the corner of the room.
"Blech... Blechhhhh...!!"
What in the world did I just read...!?
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