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Man. woman. Leash.
Unlike modern humans who might hear the three words above and have a little bit of a lascivious delusion.
For those who live in an era where the culture of buying and selling human beings exists in the background, the act of tying a leash around a human being's neck, depending on the circumstances, can have a profound weight that cannot be taken lightly.
The sad narrative of a lover sent off to battle, captured by an enemy nation, and unfortunately reduced to slavery is a conventional tragedy that third-rate novelists can't get enough of, and it's the perfect seasoning to spice up the drama.
Hence.
''It's a kidnapping!''
Downa, the most voracious reader of the group and a keen observer of the various cultures of the islands, let out an uncharacteristically gleeful shriek at the sight of his former companion being dragged off somewhere with a rope around his neck.
''I've heard in passing of late that high-ranking priests and nuns in the Holy See have been known to sneak in sex slaves for sexual gratification, and he must have been forced into service after failing to win the favor of the higher-ups, having been caught in some sort of weakness!''
Such a rambling logic, spoken with a head full of fever.
But.
A ridiculous accusation. The only one who could argue against Downa's emotional theory, which was nothing more or less than that, was Apis, who, unfortunately, was at odds with her.
''It hasn't even been concluded yet! You're not even a virgin of the right age, and there's no way in hell you're going to fuck a man who's long past his prime! Calm down! Think before you speak!''
''Calm down? How can I calm down? I don't even know if my colleague has been taken as a slave! Apis, I knew you were a bloodless and tearless elf, but I never thought it would be this bad! I'm disappointed!''
''What, you asshole! You think that just because it comes out of your mouth, it's a horse!''
Apis, who was trying to remain calm on the outside, was actually quite embarrassed.
He was well aware that the idea that clerics should observe premarital chastity was an anachronism, a vice of the olden times, had been gaining popularity amongst the people in recent years.
She had also heard rumors that a young cleric named Lovell Wright had announced his marriage to a whopping seventeen fiancées, and that the idea of clerics being chaste was an old wives' tale, even by the standards of the people.
She, too, was not entirely immune from the battle against the ominous suspicions that seemed to bubble up like water in a hollowed-out ship.
Still, Apis had to maintain at least some semblance of her usual composure, which was a mere shadow of its former self.
''Warrior, what do you think!''
''De, you idiot, what are you doing, talking to a warrior!''
''Let him go, Apis! You can read the warrior's views on the current situation at ----.''
Bam!
Just then. The gruesome sight in front of her eyes left Dauna speechless.
''Whoa----. ''Hoooo----.''
Standing on the battlefield, he majestically drew his halberd, a weapon that he rarely even touched, except when he was routinely grooming his weapon, and seemed to be controlling the evil emotions within him with his breath.
A volcano ready to spew lava at any moment. I felt like I was looking at a dragon about to unleash a red flame that would consume everything.
Even the act of inhaling and exhaling was a warning from instinct, not reason, that one should be cautious.
''Yo----. Hero----.''
''Brave----. Calm down. Put that sword down first----.''
The rich flesh that the warrior exuded every moment was of such an unprecedented concentration that the unfortunate fact that the crystal ball, which would have been a useful clue to tracing the priest's whereabouts, had been shattered by her spirits took a back seat.
Even Apis and Dauna, who had been together for years and had endured all sorts of hardships and adversity, had never seen a warrior show emotion so openly before.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they had never imagined it.
Always smiling and scattering goodness around him, he was a figment of the imagination, a fanciful figure that the creator had combed out of all the wrong emotions. A kind-hearted human being who never hated anyone, and was never hated by anyone.
This was the nature of a warrior, from what she had seen, heard, felt, and experienced.
''Hut! Sin, I'm sorry!''
The warrior, who had hastily sheathed his sword, as if he couldn't believe he'd unwittingly drawn it, stammered out a hasty apology.
His unsteady gait and familiar tone of voice confirmed that the being before them was indeed the warrior they knew, and they let out the breath they'd been holding in, relieved by the calmer air around them.
"Now, you must be mistaken, right?
It was a monumental moment when Apis and Downa's intentions were in perfect sync.
''The mask, if you could remove it.''
I wasn't mistaken.
Apis, who was gripped by an eerie sense of foreboding, swallowed hard and regained her consciousness, and Downa, who casually hugged her with one arm, seemed to be no different.
''The smell. It smelled like a priest. Although the smell was very slightly different from the one I was used to, and the thick perfume that mixed in halfway through made me lose track of what I was looking for. ''That he was with you, Sister, even for a moment. I don't know anything else, but of that I can be certain.''
His tone was firm, calm.
It was a way of speaking that completely contradicted Zagoro's own thesis that a warrior should always be bright and cheerful and reassuring to those around him.
No one in the room could excuse him for such absurd behavior.
''Hey. Yongsha.
Calm down----.''
But at that moment, Apis grabbed the warrior's shoulder.
Originally, Apis had planned to send the warrior alone to Chuno to retrieve the missing party member. It was for this moment that she had revised her original plan, realizing that the entire party must work together to find him as soon as possible.
Ever since the day they all witnessed the sight of the party member they thought was missing being dragged away by a nun on a leash.
The warrior's behavior seemed unnatural.
Of course, it was unlikely, but it was Apis's judgment that in the unlikely event that the warrior was about to make a bad decision, there should be more than one person to restrain her.
And it was a judgment that proved to be quite accurate.
Apis. Downa. Big Tim.
Other than the three of them working together to fight to the death.
There was no realistic way to stop the current warrior, at least not within this system.
''It's okay, Apis, don't worry, I'm extremely calm right now!'' ''That's right----.''
The warrior responded to Apis's concern with a gentle smile, but Apis couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was missing from that smile. ''We are currently searching for a certain unscrupulous character who has been treating his former comrades like objects!''
As the warrior ranted and raved, the temperature in the room somehow gradually decreased.
As a result, the nun sitting across from him grew stiffer and stiffer, like a pane of frosted glass. Her fists clenched.
Gaze darting downward. Her breathing quickening. The whole sequence of behaviors was like watching a condemned criminal's sullen face.
''The figure was about a foot taller than me, with light blue hair! Appears to be in her early twenties! A very cold-looking nun!''
''----''
Heart pounding.
Someone's heartbeat, echoing like a bad performance in the murderously silent room, gradually intensified in that ballroom.
''I'm not exactly suspecting you, Sister, because it's bad form to suspect others without hard evidence, but I can't help but suspect that your body is currently harboring my old colleague, and I'd like you to prove your innocence by removing that mask!'' ''That's right----.
I see----.''
''Oh, by the way, this is a warning, not a request!''
The nun's trembling lips uttered the words with difficulty, and the figure of the warrior who delivered the final blow with an unblemished smile might have seemed peaceful from a distance.
To those who were within striking distance, it was strange not to notice that she was now stammering, barely suppressing the nameless impulse boiling inside her chest.
''Very well----. If that's the case, I don't mind----. As long as I can prove my innocence by showing you my nakedness----.''
''Thank you for your cooperation!''
Talcak.
With that, the nun slowly brought her shaking hands up to her face.
Apis and Downa exchanged puzzled glances. 'What? You're naked, aren't you? I thought you'd try to pull away, or beg and plead for forgiveness. Was she in despair, or was she truly innocent?
'I don't think there's anything wrong with the warrior's touch. The fact that he's so confident even though he's terrified.
Something's not right.''
And with that, the nun scrambled to remove the mask that hid her expression.
''Are you satisfied with this?''
The air around her instantly froze, as the gazes that had naturally converged on her face twisted in horror, large and small. From beyond the mask, there was no sign of the unscrupulous montage of the culprit they had been searching for.
Or, more accurately, the upper half of the nun's face was devoid of any intact parts that could be recognized as human.
The only recognizable part of the nun's face was the top of her head, which was covered in horrific burn marks.
The only part of her that was recognizable was the top of her face, which was covered in horrible burn marks.
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