Chapter 22.2

Chapter 22.2

The girl feels an inexpressible stirring in her heart and swings her sword.

"Haaaa!"

Again, the figure in front of her narrowly parries her blow, not with full force, but with the intent to kill. This further damages her self-esteem.

Why....!?

Ako Murasaki is upset, despairing, and furious at the sight before her for the first time, though she seems to be calm at first glance.

(So much for a mere servant...? It's impossible...!!)

Surely, it is necessary to hold back and stop just a little so as not to kill the opponent, and even if there is a difference in gender between men and women, a difference in age, a difference in the distance between a spear and a sword... the fact that this is happening right now is beyond the scope of Murasaki's understanding.

It was supposed to be nothing more than a sideshow. Normally, after just a few swings, the opponent would have thrown up his hands and said he surrendered. But...!

(Impossible... Impossible... Impossible... Impossible!)

Yes, it should be impossible. At least it was for Murasaki. There was such a clear difference in power between her and the servant. It is the difference of spiritual power.

No matter how much of a disadvantage other factors may be, power solves everything. So much so that her family, the youngest of them, was certainly the weakest among the family members, but she was still an extraordinary human being.

Her slashes were parried? Once or twice it could be dismissed as a coincidence, but three or four times it was inevitable. And it meant that her swordsmanship was being read. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Don't... you dare!"

The girl screams with rage. At the same time, she releases another level of power. Within a second, the number of slashes she delivered increased to five, and the speed of her footsteps exceeded the speed of sound. A medium youkai could have been able killed in less than ten minutes with such a violent movement...!

"What...!?"

But the servant in front of her did not intend to take the storm of blades seriously. At the next moment, he must have strengthened his legs to the maximum extent with his spiritual power and kicked a large amount of dirt and gravel under his feet toward her. The dirt and the gravel became gravel, blocking her vision and attacking her. But...

"This is the least I can do...!!!"

With a single horizontal stroke of the sword, the wind pressure alone blows away all the dirt and gravel. The field of vision opens up. Ahead of her is a man wearing a mask and a samue (comfortable jacket and pant suits that originated with Zen monks), breathing heavily, taking advantage of a momentary lapse of distance to get away from her.

"What is the matter!? Even though you are a servant and my cousin is paying attention to you, is that the extent of your power...!!?"

The girl screams with hostility and hatred in her voice as she holds up her sword. She is frustrated by the sight of the man in front of her.

She has always hated this man. The first she had heard about him was from a rumor that her respected cousin had found a favorite among the lowly servants, who were only there to make up the numbers of the men in charge of miscellaneous work.

The fact that her quick-tempered, whimsical cousin liked him... that alone made Murasaki feel jealous. It was even more so when her cousin gave him a gift and taught him a technique. After all, ordinary exorcists don't pay that much attention to their servants.

Even so, she was able to endure it as long as they lived far away from each other and didn't see each other often. But...

"Annoying...!!!"

The daughter of the Ako clan spat out, her face growing stern as if her self-respect had been hurt.

Yes, it's this man's fault. It's all the fault of this one man... Murasaki grits her teeth.

Murasaki, who had traveled to the capital with her father and others, had asked to visit her cousin in the capital many times when she learned of her cousin's visit a few months later. Normally, her cousin would not have refused to accept a visit from a relative, but... the result was that she was denied access for many months. Well, technically, she was entertained, but it was only for formality, and she could hardly even see her cousin, who was the main purpose of her visit.

Then one day, on her way home, she was treated in the same way again, without seeing the intended person, and as she was getting ready to go home, she saw something. She saw her cousin who was talking merrily in the garden.

It was the first time for her to see such a figure, who was full of joy, anger, sadness, and sorrow to the other person who was standing beside her...

She felt a pain in her head. At the same time, irritation, jealousy, and envy were growing... Murasaki herself was surprised to feel the such passion when she saw the man for the 'first time'.

Today, on this day, would have been the first time in years that she had seen him. She was really uncomfortable with that man who was always waiting in the corner of the room. Even during the conversation, she could not help but be distracted by him. And when the man finally left the room with a cup of hot water in his hand, she was relieved, but her cousin said to her.

'You don't like him?'

Her shoulders shook as if she could see right through the words, and the word 'him' shocked Murasaki. Not 'that' but 'him'...?

She tried to deny it as soon as possible, but her peach-haired relative interrupted her with a boast.

'It doesn't matter. I indeed pay too much attention to him for a servant. Well, I don't care what you and others around you think, though...'

Just before the sword struck the servant's skull, it was stopped by a hand as white as a white fish. A voice like the tinkling of a bell rings out, and Murasaki suddenly comes to her senses. Then her eyes widen at the situation before her.

"C-Cousin (Itoko-sama)......."

Murasaki's face turns pale as blood trickles down to the ground from the palm that gripped the blade of the sword. Her cousin looked in the direction of the servant and opened her mouth.

"It was an interesting show in its own way, but... too bad we're out of time."

"...no, if the princess hadn't stopped it, I would have lost. Murasaki-sama has won."

"I know you're as stubborn as a gutter rat. Don't be so modest."

Dismissing the words of the servant, Kizuki Aoi looks at the servants and guards who have gathered at the commotion, and most of all at the head of the Oumi family who is running toward them in surprise. Then they take one look at the yard that has been ravaged by the short but intense 'battle' and sighs softly.

"Leave the rest to me. Tomobe, you go back to your room with that fox. ...And Murasaki, you should go home for now."

"Ah... But..."

"Go home."

The way she said it made Murasaki shiver. At the same time, she felt a sense of déjà vu. It was as if they had had a similar conversation in the past...

"...what are you doing? You better get on with it."

But there was no time to think about it. Murasaki had no choice but to quickly obey her beloved cousin's words. Aoi took a glance at Murasaki's back as she left the place with an expression of no room to spare, and slowly narrowed her eyes.

"Princess, about this matter..."

"I told you I'm well aware of it, remember? I'm the one who initiated it, and I'll clean up the mess. You don't need to worry about this, okay?"

"No. I don't care, but it's not going to be good news for you. I hope you'll take care of that too."

Aoi said troublesomely, but she stopped moving for a moment when the servant unexpectedly pointed out. Then she turns her head toward the servant and her mouth is twisted weirdly.

"Worried about others instead of yourself? You've grown up so much, haven't you?"

Aoi is aware of the stinging tone of her own words. However, at her word, the servant still says the following.

"I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use the word technique on your cousin just to pass the time."

"......"

Aoi stares at her favorite for a moment with a fierce gaze. But... she immediately opens the fan in her hand and covers her mouth.

"Go away. This is an order."

"...I understand. But first..."

The servant grabs Aoi's palm and wraps a cloth around the shallow cut made by the sword to stop the bleeding. Then, after saying that she should be treated again later, the servant bowed reverently and left the room.

"......you always look so good to everyone. You end up being jealous.."

Aoi muttered to herself, staring at the simple stopping of the bleeding on her palm. Then she understands that her comment comes from the whirling jealousy in her heart, and she becomes even more grumpy. Although she is aware that everything is going as she expected, she is still angry.

"But it's a weakness of love, isn't it? It can't be helped."

There is not a single element of affection or consideration in him toward her, and he should have made it so, but... it can't be helped. She had intended for him to be just a growth spurt, but her plan has changed course. However...

"Just powder him or touch him, but don't get involved."

"I am generous, but I am not indiscreet..." Kizuki Aoi declared inwardly, smiling at the head of the Oumi family as she approached him with trepidation.

...It was an empty smile, a socially empty smile...

A little follow-up to the previous chapter

Q: Can such a deceptive and depressing game really sell?

A: It's a quality game based on a flame sale, and it probably got a lot of criticism at first, but in the end, it was accepted because it's an interesting depressing game.