Chapter 44: Requitas, the Lawless Zone (4)

Chapter 44: Requitas, the Lawless Zone (4)

[Saintess, Reverse Harem is Impure! Excerpt from Volume 3, Page 208]

A gray arc traced through the air.

The eerie blade sliced through the void, leaving behind a distorted afterimage, like rain-soaked glass where the blade had passed.

Cut grass blades fluttered in the wind.

Isha’s sword strikes were so swift that they were nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, yet they made no sound.

The sounds that humans naturally make—the heartbeat, the blood flow, the air splitting with movement—were conspicuously absent in her.

Because of this, Isha’s sword seemed almost formless.

Since the battle began, everything felt surreal, as if in a dream.

Her presence was so faint and indistinct that her position kept slipping away. Even when my neck was nearly severed in an instant, I didn’t realize it until it was too late.

Isha’s figure vanished from sight again. Where would she be next? Behind me? Above? Or perhaps below? My mind and senses couldn’t keep up.

The shadow’s blade struck at us once more.

* * *

At a glance, she seemed a few years younger than Sirien.

Isha was a girl with striking gray hair and vivid green eyes.

Her first impression, if you could call it that, reminded me of a small, skittish animal like a squirrel.

Given that she was the daughter of the guild master, I had expected a fierce, feline-like appearance, but instead, she exuded a gentle and calm aura.

“Hiik...”

The girl shrank back.

Was it because she had been saved just before death? The moment our eyes met, her anxiety surged.

Well, it was a natural reaction. Anyone could panic when they were on the brink of death.

And even more so for a young girl.

I tried to speak in the calmest voice possible, hoping not to startle her further.

“You’re badly hurt. What’s your name?”

Ah, I should have softened my tone more.

It was a mistake. Lately, the only people I had encountered, aside from Sirien, were rough folks, so my usual manner of speaking slipped out.

But perhaps it wasn’t entirely ineffective? The girl with the gray hair slowly revealed her name.

It was the first time I heard the name of a character who would play a significant role in the original story.

“Isha... My name is Isha.”

“Isha? Are you the Isha of the Crescent Moon?”

“I... I didn’t hear you well, but yes, my name is Isha.”

In the original work, Isha held the position of a mid-level boss.

She was known as Isha of the Crescent Moon, the head of the assassin’s guild operating in the heart of the empire.

It was later revealed that she was the silent blade of Razen.

Though she appeared early on and died, she was the villain who came closest to killing the heroine.

In fact, one of the heroine’s reverse harem members, ‘Dershian,’ was pushed to the brink of death by Isha.

At that time, the heroine, Elise, had no means to counter Isha.

In short, she drove both the heroine and the male lead into a corner simultaneously.

The problem was, Isha wasn’t the protagonist of this novel.

If Elise, the heroine, died, the novel would end right there.

So the author didn’t allow Isha to win.

The author chose to make Isha a sacrificial lamb for Dershian’s awakening episode.

In the final moments, Dershian awakened his power and struck down Isha.

From that day forward, Dershian became known as the Sword Saint, and he held Isha in such high regard that he measured every strong opponent against her.

“Let’s start by treating your wounds. One of my companions is on their way over.”

“Do you have any reason to help me?”

“This bed is spacious and big. I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve seen one like this.”

“Really? It seems about the same size as the one I used when I was a child.”

For Sirien, these indulgences seemed to evoke a sense of nostalgia rather than novelty.

It wasn’t like she was experiencing them for the first time; rather, it was as if she was encountering something similar to what she once had.

Still, it didn’t seem likely that Sirien would become lost in this city.

“Hmm, but this pillow isn’t great. It looked fine, but the material isn’t quite right.”

“Do you like the rest?”

“Well, overall, the aesthetic is lacking. It feels like they just plastered everything together without understanding what’s truly beautiful.”

As the young lady of duke house and the saintess of Hibras, the standards of the grand duchess were far too high for a mere inn in Requitas to captivate her.

While I sat on the edge of the bed, Sirien ate grapes beside me, commenting on how nice it was to have such delicious fruit. Her delicate lips curved into a rounded shape.

Smiling softly, Sirien then moved closer to me, leaning against my back.

“Want to try one?”

Her words were phrased as a question, but as usual, Sirien didn’t really care about my opinion.

Her soft fingers brought a grape to my lips.

It was placed in my mouth before I could respond.

She’d always liked sharing snacks like this, so it wasn’t anything new.

But what followed was a little unexpected.

Familiar arms wrapped around me from behind, and it felt as if Sirien’s breath brushed against my back, as though she had buried her face there.

“Why this all of a sudden?”

“Just felt like it. Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s not.”

“I’d prefer if you said I could do as I please at times like this.”

“You can do as you please.”

With a playful yet gentle tone, Sirien chuckled at my response. It was a genuine, unrestrained laugh, the kind she often made back at the castle. Hearing it again was pleasant.

“So, give me a piggyback ride.”

“What?”

“You carried that girl, Isha, so easily. Do you not want to carry me?”

“She was injured, and you’re the one who put her to sleep.”

“So, are you saying no?”

“No, ma’am. Please, climb aboard, Lady Grand Duchess.”

As I got down from the bed and prepared myself, I soon felt her weight settle on my back.

Sirien seemed satisfied, resting her cheek against my shoulder.

When was the last time I gave her a piggyback ride? It was probably on a rainy day, when we were returning to the cave in the sanctuary’s forest.

Compared to then, Sirien had grown a bit taller.

Perhaps her heartbeat had grown louder too, as the steady thumping seemed to reach my ears.

Her warmth, however, remained the same, radiating softly against me.

As I carried her, Sirien’s fingers idly traced circles on my shoulder, her voice lowering as she spoke.

“I just remembered something from when I was little. When I couldn’t sleep, the nursemaid would carry me like this and sing me a lullaby.”

“Do you want me to sing you one too?”

“No, that’s okay. But could you just stay like this for a little longer? At least until I fall asleep.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. After all... you’re still mine. You’re my knight.”

What a thing to say, as if it were anything new.

And so, I continued to carry Sirien around the room until she drifted off to sleep.

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