Chapter 283: Silence before a storm (6)

"...?"

Claymore took a step back, looking at the brown-haired heroine with confusion.

"Is she now?"

Mary glanced back at the red-haired villainess and then back at the petite girl in front of her.

"What happened to you killing the avatars of sin? You did a complete mess out of the lord Wrath back in their territory."

Mary furrowed her brows and asked.

"Claymore is a completely different case."

Cranberry shook her head and waved her hand dismissively.

"The difference being...?"

Mary raised her brow and asked.

"The difference is that she is my friend and I don't want to kill her. So could you give that up?"

Cranberry gritted her teeth and her glare got noticeably colder once her failure with dealing with the avatar of wrath was mentioned.

"...sure..."

Mary sighed but ended up nodding.

But instead of stepping away, she just got closer to Arion and wrapped herself around his muscular arm.

"But don't try to take him away from me, lady Lust!"

She added, continuing glaring at the confused girl in a white dress.

"Umm... I wasn't intending to...?"

Claymore raised her hands and waved them around in denial.

"Marlene, what got into you?"

Mary's behavior was odd enough to even earn Zombie's confused question.

"Nothing..."

Mary glanced at him and pouted, hugging Arion's arm a bit tighter.

"...it's just that in those dreams about the game that I had, whenever Claymore appeared as a girl it was because she wanted to mess up heroine's relationship with a capture target - even though she was a capture target on her own!"

But only a second later, the heroine ended up folding up and ended up confessing what was bothering her.

"...ha...?"

Cranberry gasped, wide-eyed, and turned towards the petite girl.

"Umm... could it be that I never mentioned my role before?"

Claymore blushed and lowered her head just a bit.

"Love-blessed disruptor / capture target."

She blushed even harder and looked to the side fidgeting awkwardly.

"But I assure you that I do not intend on disrupting anything! I swear!"

But then she raised her head and hurriedly assured the red-haired girl.

"Haa... yeah. I know. Relax."

Cranberry smiled and smiled reassuringly to the trembling girl.

"Mary, it really is alright. Claymore doesn't intend on going around seducing people left and right today - she wishes to find her bodyguard that she sent out on a reckless mission in the heat of a moment."

The red-haired girl turned to the brown-haired heroine and assured her too.

"Oh. Alright."

Mary stared at Cranberry for a dozen seconds before giving up and stopping to cling so hard onto the tanned young man's arm.

"Maybe I can help then. As long as that bodyguard was someone important in the game, their mission could have shown us as an event that I've dreamt about."

Mary sighed and looked at Claymore without her previous suspicion and even did her best to give her a friendly smile.

"...umm..."

That was probably the reason why Claymore started fidgeting and nervously backing off.

"...? Claymore?"

Cranberry raised her brow, looking at the petite girl with confusion.

"Oh, that's right. You haven't even told us about who you ordered them to kill, right? So?"

Zombie nodded in realization and asked.

"Whoa! Wait! You ordered your bodyguard to kill someone?!"

Mary flinched and looked at the avatar of lust in disbelief.

"..."

Claymore stared down at her feet in embarrassment and then slowly raised her trembling hand, and pointed her index finger at the heroine.

"..."

"..."

"..."

For a moment, the room became so silent that they could easily hear the sound of the fabric of Claymore's dress rustling as she fidgeted more and more under the pressure of the heavy silence.

"That's it. That settles it. I'm definitely not coming into contact with any other capture target, Arion, after this party we are going to run away far into the mountains up north and live out our days in seclusion where no one will be able to find us."

Mary crossed her arms and turned away furiously, showing her back to the dispirited Claymore.

"Haa... now I understand why you looked so relieved when you saw Mary here, all fine and well. If bodyguards of the nobility could get away with murder, this world would certainly look a whole lot different."

Cranberry sighed and began massaging her forehead.

"Hey! I am your follower, right?! Could I get some more sympathy here?! She just confessed that she sent someone after my life! That's not something that can be forgiven that easily, you know?!"

Mary stomped her foot and complained to the red-haired villainess.

"Oh? So now you are Cranberry's follower? Nice!"

Zombie raised his brows in surprise but then he smiled and clapped his hands together.

"...hmph...!"

Mary pouted and looked away, angry that she dropped her guard in the spur of a moment.

"Say, Claymore. Do you remember seeing Mary or Arion in your vision?"

Cranberry asked pointing at the brown-haired heroine and then at her tanned companion.

"Hmm..."

The petite girl furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes, looking at the pair.

"No... no, I don't think so..."

She tilted her head and denied in the end after some reflection.

"Good. Zombie's answer actually looks better and better with each new fact. It might not be so bad."

Cranberry nodded and smirked triumphantly.

"Eh? And what is this about?"

Mary flinched and shook her head at the red-haired villainess.

"I'll explain to you later."

Cranberry shrugged her shoulders dismissively and turned to back to Claymore.

"See? Since I would most likely be there, I'll be also able to heal Zombie's wounds when necessary - even if he turns into a wild monster, as long as I heal him he should get back to normal in no time. We won't let Kopia die."

The red-haired villainess smiled and put her hand on Claymore's shoulder with reassurance.

"Ah...! Then! Then I will try extra hard to keep you safe!"

Claymore puffed out her chest and declared.

"Ha? So you weren't going to give your all before? I see how it is."

Cranberry crossed her arms and scoffed at the avatar of lust.

"That's not what I've meant!"

Claymore hurriedly shook her head and denied what she just said.

"Ha ha! Don't worry. I know. Now. It's high time to start getting ready, don't you think, Zombie?"

Cranberry laughed and shook her hand, showing that she didn't mean anything serious before, and looked back at her undead.

"Sure."

Zombie shrugged his shoulders and nodded with agreement.