Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Cassis rolled across the floor, dodging the black smoke pouring from behind.
KWAAAH!
The Demonic Beast charged at Cassis again with an otherworldly screech.
“Where is Duke Hellis?”
“Over there!”
“Gasp, he’s about to be attacked by the spider!”
Seiren flung open the door mid-flight.
Then she channelled her holy power and struck downward.
The spider-type Demonic Beast, hit directly by the lightning strike from above, burned to ashes before it could even scream.
“I’ll pull you up! Let’s descend a bit.”
As Vroom-vroom lowered its altitude, Isiel reached out her hand.
Duke Hellis, looking completely disheveled, grabbed it.
I could see another Demonic Beast charging madly behind Duke Hellis.
I immediately pulled Vroom-vroom up into the sky.
Duke Hellis climbed onto the vehicle.
“Thank you, thank you… But what about our Jane?”
“Jane escaped using an artifact.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. Thank you.”
He wearily observed the situation below.
Cassis was fighting what appeared to be a very powerful humanoid Demonic Beast, while the rest of the knights were engaging the spider-type Demonic Beasts.
Without the spiders’ interference, Cassis was handling the Demonic Beast quite nimbly.
“Is there any way we can help?”
“I’ll ask.”
I noticed Vroom-vroom’s attack power was at least ‘5’, so how could there be no way to help?
-Vroom, vroom-vroom! Vroom!! Vroom, vroooom.
“Ah, I see…”
“What did it say?”
Ignoring Isiel’s anxious question, I focused on my conversation with Vroom-vroom.
“Really?”
I asked Vroom-vroom once more to confirm.
But Vroom-vroom’s answer was firm.
-Vroom!
“Ah… I understand.”
I turned to face Isiel, Seiren, and Duke Hellis, who were all eagerly waiting for my response, with a worried expression.
“Well, the method is a bit… extreme.”
“What is it?”
“Our Vroom-vroom says… that it’s very strong.”
“Yes?”
“It says we should close all the doors and just charge straight in.”
The three of them blinked.
An awkward silence filled the car instantly.
Only the faint sounds of clashing swords and explosions from outside the windows proved we were still in the midst of battle.
“The best offense is the best defense. Vroom-vroom says it’s confident about defense.”
***
The three didn’t trust me and kept questioning me.
But since we had no better options, we decided to go ahead with the plan.
However, since there wasn’t enough room in the truck, Duke Hellis was forced to disembark.
Since dropping him on the ground might get him hunted by Demonic Beasts again, we left him on the relatively safe mansion roof.
“We’ll come back for you, so stay put and don’t cause any trouble.”
“…Never thought I’d end up on my family mansion’s roof in my lifetime.”
“Fighting!”
Then I drove Vroom-vroom back to the battlefield.
Cassis was still fighting fiercely.
‘Cassis must be strong indeed. The enemy Demonic Beast is missing an arm.’
But there was no response in the chat window.
That’s when I realized the system was down again due to the influence of those Demonic Beasts.
Thankfully, our Vroom-vroom hadn’t been unsummoned.
“Sis! Another humanoid Demonic Beast is coming from behind!”
“Aaah, this won’t do. I’ll go attack first!”
I gripped Vroom-vroom and floored the accelerator.
Indeed, the majesty of ‘Movement Speed 10, Defense 10, Attack 5’ shone through.
VROOOOOM!
“Sir Cassis! Please step back!”
At my scream, Cassis checked the truck once and rolled backward.
Then in an instant, the truck rammed into the Demonic Beast.
There was a tremendous ‘CRASH!’, but true to its ‘Ride Comfort 10’ rating, Vroom-vroom kept us all safe.
“Gasp, that Demonic Beast is dead!”
After confirming the Demonic Beast lay motionless on the ground in tatters, I turned the car toward another Demonic Beast approaching us.
“This is easier than I thought!”
Isiel, who had been looking deathly worried about what to do just moments ago, now wore a bright expression.
“Let’s get that one too!”
“Vroom-vroom! Let’s go!”
Taking out another Demonic Beast was just as quick.
With a crash, our Vroom-vroom moved forward without a single tremor, while the Demonic Beast was sent flying from the impact.
“Well, is it dead?”
“It’s not moving at all!”
“That easily?”
I carefully drove Vroom-vroom to the ground.
Once we safely landed, we jumped out of the ice cream truck.
Cassis seemed tired, using his sword as a cane to support himself.
He straightened up when he heard us coming.
Cassis’s eyes were half-dimmed.
He must be very tired.
“Who, who would use such a brute force method…!”
Ah, he’s not tired – he’s appalled.
I quietly raised my hand and said,
“That would be me.”
Cassis spoke through gritted teeth.
“That was dangerous. Even I can see how risky that was. What if you had bounced off the Demonic Beast?”
“But hey, we all got down safely!”
I proudly pointed at Vroom-vroom, which didn’t have a single scratch.
In all this chaos, our Vroom-vroom even remembered to pick up the Duke from the roof and bring him down to the ground.
Duke Hellis could be seen busy handling the situation in the background.
Vroom-vroom seemed to react shyly, but something about its demeanor didn’t look quite right.
[Irina, I’m sorry.]
[Something’s wrong with Vroom-vroom.]
[Check the status window.]
Why?
Since I was told to, I opened it.
[SYSTEM | ‘Vroom-vroom’ is a holy being of the ice cream truck clan.]
[SYSTEM | This ‘Vroom-vroom’ has directly collided with Demonic Beasts, which are antithetical to divinity.]
[SYSTEM | Miss Irina Seike’s pet, ‘Vroom-vroom’, has entered a serious status condition.]
What?
[SYSTEM | Unsummoning ‘Vroom-vroom’ for quick recovery.]
And so Vroom-vroom disappeared into smoke.
I suddenly felt guilty, seeing the whimpering ‘Vroom-vroom’ depicted in the corner of the system window.
“Irina, what about Vroom-vroom?”
Isiel asked as she approached me after tending to the wounded.
“Vroom-vroom… got hurt.”
“Oh, dear.”
“It’s been unsummoned temporarily for recovery.”
“Tell it I wish it a speedy recovery.”
The torn space remained.
Creepy eyeballs rolled around inside it, observing people.
The good news was that almost all the Demonic Beasts that had fallen to the ground had been dealt with.
The only beings they hadn’t managed to handle yet were the humanoid Demonic Beasts, and even though the knights had regrouped and were searching everywhere, they hadn’t found them yet.
“It was commanding the spider-type Demonic Beasts.”
“It definitely has intelligence.”
“So escape is possible too.”
Cassis said this as he stood up.
“Well then, Irina. Shall we head back?”
“Already?”
Isiel asked in surprise.
She seemed to mean whether it was okay not to help with the cleanup.
“The cleanup can be handled without me. As you said, it’s not really my place as a Luwin knight.”
“…It’s true that things were resolved more easily because you were here.”
Cassis shrugged and extended his hand to me.
“Shall we go back, Irina?”
He looked at my dishevelled appearance and smiled wryly.
Then he dropped his coat heavily onto my shoulders.
The heavy, long coat wrapped me in warmth.
I held the coat with one hand to keep it from slipping while placing my other hand in his.
“Then we’ll be going.”
***
Since Cassis’s sweet home transformed into ‘Lu & Cream’s’ first store, we’ve been using the Lemiere ducal family’s villa when staying in the capital.
Actually, it’s more like an unused mansion on the outskirts than a villa.
I was amazed at the Lemiere family’s wealth, being able to leave such a mansion unused, and we’re all just using a portion of the space.
Originally, we planned to rent a cheap inn, but Isiel insisted it was unacceptable for someone of ducal rank to stay at an inn from a business partner’s perspective.
“Irina.”
Well, we should just be grateful.
It might be a bit embarrassing from Cassis’s perspective, but the living conditions are much better now.
“Irina!”
“Yes?”
I had been sitting on the plush sofa since returning, repeatedly thinking ‘I should wash up,’ while my mind wandered endlessly.
I suddenly opened my eyes and looked up when Cassis called me.
Cassis was sitting on the floor right in front of me, looking up.
He had his arms crossed over his knees with his face half-buried in them, making it hard to read his expression.
Only his red eyes, which I loved, sparkled beautifully under the light.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Just… all sorts of things.”
I’m unusually thoughtful today.
Why is that?
Thoughts I wouldn’t normally have kept flashing through my mind in short bursts.
It felt like my concentration was completely shot.
Maybe that’s why, despite being terribly dirty from rolling around with Demonic Beasts in a party dress, I could barely move.
The good thing was that I wasn’t as shocked by what I’d seen today as I might have expected.
Actually, many of the scenes I witnessed today were horrific enough to cause lifelong trauma. People being eaten whole, being torn apart…
Originally, living an ordinary life, I’d rarely encountered corpses.
“Irina, don’t think about other things, just look at me.”
Cassis must have noticed I was getting lost in thought again, as he spoke with perfect timing.
I turned my gaze back to Cassis.
He must have been through the same battlefield as me, yet why was he still so handsome?
“You really worked hard today.”
“You too, Sir Cassis.”
“No, Irina really worked hard today. Just surviving without injury was admirable.”
He said this and reached out to hold my hand.
Cassis’s hand was large and warm.
“That alone was admirable, and you saved many lives too. You were brave and amazing.”
“…Yes.”
Cassis spoke in a soft, calm voice.
Somehow, hearing that voice seemed to finally calm my heart that had been anxiously beating all this time.
“The things you saw today, the things you experienced… they must have been shocking for you. Even if you don’t realize it right away.”
“…”
He was worried about me.
He seemed concerned that even though I survived safely, today’s experiences might have shocked me and could leave trauma.
“That’s why it’s important to process today properly.”
“I know from experience,” Cassis added.
“So, Irina. Though you must be very tired and exhausted, take a hot bath first. I’ve already asked them to prepare it.”
He soothed me as he stood up completely.
And his outstretched hand was so gentle that I couldn’t help but take it.