TSPGD 06

Chapter 6

I need to hurry and get to the middle section.

I couldn’t think of any way to get there safely in the middle of all this chaos.

My heart kept growing weaker, so I repeatedly told myself that I had to survive no matter what.

I’m absolutely not going to die!

I comforted myself without even thinking about some kind of bad ending.

“There should be some intact carriages among the ones that left earlier. Let’s just make it that far.”

It seemed that only our carriage, which had been the very last one, had been attacked.

“First, we need to get far away from here.”

Huuup. I took a deep breath and ran.

Of course, my speed was probably nothing more than a fast walk for other people, but I ran with every ounce of strength I had.

Haaaaaa!

I couldn’t even make a loud sound as I ran like crazy.

Forward, forward, oooon!

I even ran along the mountain slope so that I wouldn’t be noticed, and my stamina was draining at a rate that felt like the last day of a long holiday.

“Huff. Huff.”

I panted heavily and cautiously looked around.

There was that robed pervert in the middle of the group of bandits.

Watching him rampage around in his fluttering black robe like some noble crane, I applauded him inwardly.

Amazing. It’s a little unfortunate that someone with skills like that is a pervert.

After my brief assessment, I started running again.

However, before long, my lungs felt as though they were about to burst, so I had no choice but to slow down.

“Haaah. Huuugh.”

I desperately gulped in breath after breath while, out of habit, checking the scene of the sword fight.

“Huh?”

The few bandits who had still been around only a few minutes ago had completely disappeared.

I stopped my heaving breath for a moment and looked around.

Where did they all—

I couldn’t finish the thought.

The bandits who had been alive only moments ago were now all sprawled across the ground.

“……”

It was just as I was wondering what on earth had happened that a low, heavy voice came from behind me.

“Sugar.”

“……”

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

Because of the unfamiliar name I’d hastily made up, I slowly turned my head.

“I told you to hide in the carriage. Why did you come out?”

Was I really close enough to him for him to say something like that?

I was pondering this as I turned my entire body around.

And then I almost screamed when I came face-to-face with him.

“Gasp.”

His long sword, covered in blood, gleamed ominously.

G-gore.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, the robed pervert suddenly raised his sword and flicked it sharply, shaking the drops of blood from the blade.

“……”

Honestly, I was terrified.

I wanted to close my eyes because I was so scared, but my body had frozen and wouldn’t move as I wanted it to.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He approached me.

Even then, I couldn’t move a muscle.

“I have something to ask you.”

Afraid that he’d kill me if he had to ask twice, I nodded.

“Your name is Sugar, right?”

“……”

“You were quite talkative earlier. Why aren’t you answering now?”

I wanted to say, Would you be able to talk in a situation like this? But since he himself was speaking perfectly well, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“……”

“Haa… I don’t know why you suddenly decided to shut your mouth.”

Click.

He adjusted his grip on his sword, and the sound of metal shifting rang out.

My heart seemed to jolt in rhythm with the sound.

“……Well, never mind. Let’s move somewhere else first. This isn’t a place to talk.”

The man, who was thoroughly tense, held out his hand to me.

I could only stare down at his hand, which was covered in bright red blood.

I saw his brow furrow slightly at my sluggish reaction.

Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to move recklessly.

“Haa… Are you planning to stay here? Animals will come after they smell the blood.”

“……”

When I still didn’t move, the man sighed and abruptly turned around.

I flinched just from the sudden movement.

“Stay here if you want and get eaten.”

When the robed pervert acted as though he was really going to leave me behind, I finally realized my mistake.

“I-I’ll go!”

“……”

The words came out on their own because it genuinely seemed like he was going to leave without me.

Fortunately, once I managed to start speaking, I was able to talk again.

“B-but I was on my way to the North.”

“We were in the same carriage, so naturally I was also on my way to the North.”

“It’s the Grand Duchy of Brüllhardt, right?”

“……Yes.”

As I watched him nod, countless thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant.

“You’re not going to kill me, right?”

“If I intended to kill you, I would have done it already. Why would you ask something like that?”

“You left me alone at the inn, too…… and on the street…….”

The man gave a faint chuckle at my words and shrugged.

“If you feel bad about that, answer the questions I ask.”

“I-I don’t feel bad! Why should I? You’re the one who did something wrong!”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Everything that had happened between us so far had been his fault, not mine!

So I decided to stand my ground.

“You’re saying it was my fault?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll protect you while we travel to the North. In return, answer the questions I ask.”

“……I’ll think about it.”

In truth, there was nothing to think about.

That man had single-handedly defeated all those bandits, and if I wanted to reach the North safely, I needed to cling to someone with that level of strength.

For the moment, I completely forgot that the robed pervert was a pervert and tried to look on the bright side.

Let’s cooperate.

I grabbed the hem of the robed pervert’s cloak.

Then, making sure not to stammer, I said,

“Okay. Let’s go to the North together. I’ll cooperate with you.”

Given my situation, I should have been parasitically clinging to him like a leech rather than calling it cooperation, but I couldn’t bring myself to swallow my pride in front of the pervert.

“Well, cooperation sounds good. I’m Yure.”

This time, I grabbed the hand he held out to me.

“I’m Sugar.”

Grip.

The moment I took his hand, he tightened his grip, startling me.

But that wasn’t the end of it. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Ah, yes.”

My legs gave out, and I almost fell from the force with which he pulled me.

Perhaps Yure found that troublesome, because he grabbed me around the torso and lifted me up effortlessly.

It feels like I’m lying on a tube floating in the ocean.

Being suspended in midair was uncomfortable, but I thought it would be difficult to walk if he didn’t carry me, so I stayed quiet.

But seriously, how strong does a person have to be to carry me while running?

Not only that, he’d just defeated who-knew-how-many bandits all by himself.

He must have expended an incredible amount of energy……

I was impressed by the man’s abilities, while simultaneously reminding myself not to get cocky, and gave an awkward smile.

Grin.

“……Why are you smiling?”

“……”

Yure, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenly asked how he’d noticed me smiling.

Can’t I even smile?

Despite the frightening atmosphere, his words sounded as though he was concerned about me.

“Are you tired?”

I briefly considered politely saying no to his question, but decided to answer honestly.

“Hmm. Actually, yes.”

I’d been comfortable until a moment ago, but the ribs Yure was gripping were starting to hurt.

“Then let’s rest here.”

He listened to me more readily than I’d expected.

And I decided to accept his kindness.

“Yes. Thank you.”

We took a short rest a little distance away from the scene of slaughter.

This was a forest that at least felt somewhat peaceful.

Instead of the smell of blood, I breathed in the refreshing scent of the forest and tried to recover as quickly as possible.

Hooah. Hooah. Deep breaths.

As the pleasant fragrance cleared my head a little, I felt my strength gradually returning.

That made me curious about what Yure had wanted to ask me.

“Um. Sir Yure, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?”

At my words, Yure, who had been leaning against the trunk of a tree, straightened up.

Then he strode toward me on his long legs and looked down at me intently.

“Hmm. Would you take off some of your clothes?”

“……What?”

His words reminded me once again that Yure was a pervert.

“I said, take off some of your clothes.”

“What kind of crazy…… You want me to take off my clothes?”

“Yes.”

I was dumbfounded by how utterly shameless Yure was.

Ah. Of course. A pervert is a pervert no matter what he does.

Then I remembered something I’d heard before.

Wasn’t there a saying that perverts freak out when they meet another pervert?

For some reason, that saying suddenly seemed very credible, so I crossed my arms, shifted my weight onto one leg, and raised my chin.

“Is taking off your clothes really that difficult?”

“Then you take yours off first.”

“If I take mine off, will you take yours off too?”

This man is seriously insane.

There was no way I could back down now.

“Fine. If you take yours off first, I’ll take mine off too.”

“Fine.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Yure casually took off his robe, then swiftly pulled off the shirt underneath.

“……”

His physique was truly…… a work of art.

Maybe it was because he lived in the North?

His milky-white skin, sculpted muscles, enormous rib cage, and body covered in numerous small scars made him the very definition of a rugged man.

I’ve never seen muscles packed so densely across someone’s back before.

I’d only ever seen something like that through a monitor, so seeing it in person made me feel as though my eyes were about to pop out.

“Wow……”

Without realizing it, I stared openly at his body, completely entranced.

Yure slightly hunched his upper body.

“Ahem. Now you take yours off too.”

“……Yes. Fine.”

I untied the strings of the robe I’d been proudly keeping fastened.

Thump.

The sound of my robe hitting the ground somehow made the situation feel even more tense.

“……”

“……”

Our gazes collided in the air.

He stared at me, and I stared back at him.

After we continued staring at each other, Yure swallowed and finally spoke.

“……Take it off.”

“I did.”

“What?”

“You told me to take off my clothes, but you never said I had to take everything off. Look. I took off my robe, so I’ve taken off my clothes.”

Crack.

At my words, Yure seized both my arms.

It hurt so much that I thought my arms were about to break.

“A-ah, that hurts…….”

I struggled and, at the same time, grabbed his arms tightly and pushed against him with all my strength.

And then it happened.

Yure suddenly released his strength and collapsed directly onto me.

“Graaagh?”

I’d been struggling while he held me just moments ago, but now the large man came crashing down on top of me, sending me tumbling backward.

“Argh!”

Thud.

If the ground hadn’t been soft earth, I might have cracked my head open.

Either way, it hurt like hell.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

I was furious enough to see red, so I repeatedly punched him.

Strangely enough, even though I was the one hitting him, my own hands hurt.

“……”

Yure didn’t respond at all, as though he’d actually passed out.

“What the hell? Did he really faint?”