Episode 6
Monasttrel grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall.
Thud.
The impact on my back made me feel sick.
I resisted to break free from Monasttrel‘s grip, but soon realized it was futile.
No, what kind of arm strength is this…?
Or am I just that weak?
Thinking about it, both were true.
According to his status, Winter Winslet‘s Health stat was E-Rank, equivalent to ‘child-level,’ one tier below average mages.
In contrast, Monasttrel‘s race was Dragon.
Her original Strength and Health stats were likely EX-Rank, ‘mythical level,’ and even now, disguised in human form, they were probably downgraded to S-Rank, ‘peak human limit,’ which was still worlds apart from my current state.
That was why I couldn’t resist.
Monasttrel glared at me as if she wanted to devour me right then, but surprisingly, she reined in her anger quickly.
“Ha, as much as I’d like to wring your neck right here… I can’t. I’ve had my fun for now, so I guess that’s enough?”
I once heard an anecdote about a martial artist who punched a gorilla seriously, and the gorilla thought it was play and was happy.
It seemed this dragon woman considered our earlier fight to be just that.
Why did heaven create dragons and then create a Winter Winslet with an E-Rank Health stat?
While I was lamenting inwardly, Monasttrel began acting strangely.
She brought her face close to mine as if to kiss me, then moved her nose around, sniffing me here and there.
“What are you doing?”
“Hmmm, your scent hasn’t changed either. It’s not like someone used a transformation spell on you. The outer shell is definitely Winter Winslet. But why does it feel like it’s not you? So strange. My instincts are rarely wrong……”
Had this crazy woman finally figured out I was a possessor?
But based on what evidence?
“Showing mercy in the meeting, holding back earlier for fear of hurting bystanders… If it were the Winter Winslet I know, he wouldn’t bat an eye if one or two people got caught in the crossfire and died. Have you been mind-controlled or brainwashed? If so, there should be something in your eyeballs……”
Monasttrel‘s hand grabbed my head.
She finally forced my eyelids open with two fingers, and I squirmed in shock.
“Don’t move. Or I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
“You should stop.”
“Hah, as if.”
Ignoring me, Monasttrel continued muttering to herself.
“Hmm… Weird. Your eyes look fine, your mind seems intact. Then is it the soul? What do you do if there’s a problem with the soul… Should I crack your skull open?”
“I’ve already warned you.”
By now, I had gathered enough magic for a counterattack.
Before Monasttrel could pop my head open like a pot lid, it seemed I had to teach her a lesson.
[Activating the forbidden art of the Half-Dragon Katalayud – Dragon slaying Spell.]
Dragon slaying.
A forbidden magic whose existence even dragons are unaware of.
This forbidden art, obtainable by excavating the ruins of a lost magic kingdom in Judgment of Candela, was a dragon slaying spell created long ago by the half-dragon wizard Katalayud to avenge his parents.
If he was a half-dragon, one of his parents must have been a dragon. What happened to him that he created a spell to exterminate his own parent’s kin?
I was curious, the dragons were curious, and frankly, the whole world would be curious, but due to an unprecedented catastrophe in the ancient magic kingdom, all records of Katalayud were buried beneath the ruins.
All that remained was the magic.
Ultimately, isn’t the effect what matters?
As the name implies, the Dragon slaying spell is only effective against dragons, and its effect is fatal.
Ironically, in the original Judgment of Candela game, dragons barely appeared, leading players to mock why such a thing was even created… and now I get to use it?
Thump. Thump.
The aura of the dragon-killing magic originated from my heart, flowing through my blood vessels and spreading through my body.
When the flow completed one cycle, I grabbed and twisted the wrist of the hand Monasttrel had clamped on my collar.
A look of astonishment crossed Monasttrel‘s face.
“You bastard, how?”
She looked like she wanted to ask how I had overcome her strength.
But it wasn’t that my strength had increased.
It was that the target affected by the Dragon killing magic had weakened.
Soon, Monasttrel, seemingly sensing the nature of the power I was wielding, showed fear for the first time.
“Let go of this right now.”
“If you’re going to grope a strange man’s body all over, you should take responsibility.”
“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard?”
There’s nothing more rewarding than being acknowledged as a madman by a madwoman.
As I drew more power from the spell, the skin on Monasttrel‘s wrist, from where I held it to her elbow, began to peel away.
It wasn’t actually peeling; her transformation was unraveling, revealing dragon scales beneath.
Sssssss.
Monasttrel‘s fully erect scales made a strange, grating sound.
“Let go now, or I’ll kill you.”
“Shall we bet on who dies first?”
Crunch.
As if responding to my proposal, Monasttrel‘s grip seized my neck and began to choke me.
She should have been weakened by the Dragon slaying magic, but she was also fighting desperately, so I still had no way to overpower her physically.
Damn.
Was the damage reduced because she was in human form?
Or perhaps the output was insufficient because I, a human, was using a magic intended for the half-dragon Katalayud.
In the end, neither Monasttrel nor I could overwhelm the other, locked in a stalemate, engaged in a tense struggle of strength.
To an outsider, it might look like a boring standoff, but we were both soon breathing heavily and sweating.
When my eyes met Monasttrel‘s, she bluffed.
“Huff… Huff… Starting to have trouble breathing, aren’t you?”
“…You’re the one whose face is full of fear.”
Monasttrel gritted her teeth and glared at me.
Monasttrel‘s face, which would be quite beautiful if she just kept her mouth shut and didn’t act crazy, was contorted with pain and tension.
I probably had a similar expression on my face.
Maybe due to lack of oxygen, my thoughts began to slow down.
How did the fight even come to this?
“Why are you so desperate to kill me?”
“You don’t need to know. It’s my business.”
…This crazy woman.
There was no reason to fight until one of us died.
Just as the words to suggest a draw at this point rose to my throat, unexpected reinforcements arrived.
Crash!
The sound of a vase placed in the hallway falling and shattering.
“Winter… sir?”
I looked back to see a woman with a military sword at her hip, standing before the shattered porcelain.
A navy blue double-breasted jacket with white trousers. Jet-black leather boots and belt. The uniform, complete with braided gold-thread epaulets and epaulettes, was the full dress of a Royal Guard Knight.
It was Josephine.
“What is this situation?”
I wanted to answer, but my throat was being choked, and no words came out.
However, perhaps sensing I was in distress, Josephine immediately gripped her sword hilt.
That’s my fiancée.
Nice judgment.
Or so I thought…
“Is that person your colleague? You seem very close. A man and a woman, drenched in sweat, clinging to each other like that, even with me right here……”
Josephine had made a terrible misunderstanding.
I didn’t need to ask what the misunderstanding was.
Because the expression on Josephine‘s face as she looked this way was truly icy.
[Warning]
[Death Branch Point has been updated.]
Ah, life.
Winter Winslet was a villain with a 100% mortality rate.
Now, for goodness’ sake, two Death Flags were tormenting me simultaneously.
[Notification]
[This character’s Death Flag is active.]
One was Monasttrel, straining to crush my neck.
[Notification]
[This character’s Death Flag is active.]
The other was Josephine, lips trembling, hand gripping her sword hilt.
I couldn’t help but sigh at my lot.
Even if her job is a Royal Guard Knight, why does my fiancée always carry a sword every time we meet?
Sshhring.
Josephine drew her sword halfway and called my name.
“Winter?”
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“……”
Oops.
Monasttrel let me go and stepped back.
She, for her part, seemed to have misunderstood upon seeing Josephine.
“Damn. An annoying guest has arrived. Dealing with two at once is a bit bothersome.”
Monasttrel looked Josephine up and down, gauging her combat ability.
Josephine, with her S-Rank Swordsmanship talent, was the strongest swordsman in the early story of Judgment of Candela.
Monasttrel cleanly gave up the fight.
“See you next time.”
After leaving that third-rate villain line, Monasttrel flitted away, leaving behind me, Josephine, and one utterly absurd misunderstanding.
Fortunately, the scene damaged by my fight with Monasttrel and the presence of a witness allowed me to clear up Josephine‘s misunderstanding.
“I’m so sorry! I had no idea……”
Josephine bowed her head in apology repeatedly.
Stopping her from kneeling was the best I could do.
She seemed ashamed for doubting her fiancé, but even more mortified that the suspicion stemmed from her own lurid imagination.
If I left her like that, her forehead would have hit the floor, so I quickly changed the subject.
“But what brings you here?”
“Ah, that’s… I came to apologize.”
“Didn’t you just apologize a moment ago?”
At my words, Josephine‘s expression grew even more gloomy.
“I mean for yesterday’s incident, not today’s.”
At this point, I wondered if causing incidents to apologize for was her hobby, but that wasn’t something I could say out loud.
“I apologize for my overly aggressive behavior last night, for damaging your honor in front of others, and… for actually causing you physical harm!”
“Lift your head.”
“Will you… forgive me?”
Something from last night came to mind.
I happened to need Josephine‘s help with something, so it was a good time to make a request while she felt indebted.
“Let’s go for a walk first.”
We actually walked.
Without any conversation, for about 45 minutes.
Growing perplexed by this, Josephine finally, after holding back for so long, cautiously opened her mouth while watching my expression.
“Um… how far are we walking?”
“We’re almost there.”
Exiting the academy and crossing through the city, we arrived at Dintalby, located on the outskirts of the capital, Langbart.
Dintalby housed the Capital Military Police headquarters, some military facilities, and a penitentiary for housing vicious criminals.
My business was with the penitentiary.
I heard that ‘Twin Flame’ Kenneth, who had attacked me last night and lost, was imprisoned there.
I had something to ask him.
‘What grudge did you hold against me to attack me?’
Spending a day living Winter Winslet‘s life made me realize something.
There were far too many people around Winter Winslet who wanted him dead.
Countless Death Flags.
They were likely the reason Winter Winslet was a villain with a 100% mortality rate.
For Winter Winslet to survive, I first had to deal with those who held grudges against him.
How to resolve the resentment they held.
I didn’t know that yet.
But the first step was to listen and find out what had happened to them.
“Josephine, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
Josephine‘s eyes widened.
Josephine‘s primary duty as a Royal Guard Knight was protecting the royal family, and to perform this smoothly, she could wield temporary, fluid authority.
It wasn’t official power, but it was enough to pressure the soldiers and guards at the prison checkpoint.
When I explained that I wanted to borrow that power, Josephine was quite taken aback.
“Huh? You want me to help you get a private meeting with a criminal in prison?”
“Just for a very short while.”
“What do you intend to do when you meet him?”
“I need to ask him why exactly he attacked me.”
“But misusing a Royal Guard Knight’s authority for personal matters is a bit……”
To Josephine, who was showing reluctance, I didn’t say much.
“Josephine.”
I simply called her name once, then lightly pulled her by the waist.
And from a kiss-close distance, meeting her eyes.
“You’re the only one I can ask for something like this.”
The actual words didn’t really matter.
Because this fiancée, despite having world-class swordsmanship skills, had a pathetic resistance to handsome men.
“Ah… Aww. I really shouldn’t……”
Josephine shut her eyes tightly and shook her head.
And a short while later.
I was able to enter the prison.
“I’ll take all responsibility. Open it.”
My fiancée really is the best.
