Chapter 65 - Volume 4 (1/2)
“Isn’t there something you should say?”
“… Ugh, I’ll take responsibility for what’s happened.”
“Do you think just ‘taking responsibility’ for this will solve the incident?”
Rivelia berated Isaac with such enthusiasm that her face seemed to brighten up with each pa.s.sing moment. Isaac could only duck his head, gritting his teeth as he reminded himself of Krent’s face. Krent’s hasty conclusion had led to chaos spreading throughout the entire district. The entire police force and all of the North Bears and elves were deployed to calm the scrambling residents, who were running away from an imaginary curse.
The estimated costs for the initial damages totalled 700 thousand Giga. If the fire that resulted from the stampede was included, it would easily surpa.s.s 1 million Giga. And the complaints regarding emotional distress were sure to follow from residents. This was too heavy of a consequence for a single misunderstanding.
“And where do you think you’re looking? Do you not even possess the most rudimentary of manners in you?”
Rivelia shouted annoyingly as Isaac continued to avoid looking at her.
‘Hng. Please, consider my situation too.’
Isaac had tried everything to take the lens off, but it was futile. The lens did not budge, as if it was glued onto his eye. Thanks to that, Isaac could see Rivelia’s body as clear as day, but he didn’t dare look at Rivelia directly in fear that he might do something he wouldn’t be able to rectify.
But Rivelia’s continued pressure tipped Isaac over the edge. He cared not about the consequences of his next action and lifted his head up. All of Isaac’s muscles on his face melted in sheer delight the moment he saw Rivelia, and any attempt to fix his expression was impossible.
“W, what is it, Sir Isaac!”
Rivelia felt as if she’d been undressed by his eyes, and her body itched all over as if insects were crawling where Isaac was looking at. She instinctively covered herself with her arms.
“What do you mean?”
Now that the situation had come to this, Isaac decided to go all in. n.o.body seemed to notice the existence of the lens. Even the agents of Central, who came back because of the sudden ‘curse’ incident, didn’t realise that it was present during their intense interrogation of Isaac. Perhaps it was strange to think they would notice a contact lens in a world that hadn’t invented it yet.
“I mean…”
Rivelia’s face turned bright red as she tried to shout back at Isaac. She may have been a first-rank knight and a sword master with the t.i.tle of ‘Queen of the Sword,’ but she was still a woman. She didn’t have the audacity to speak such vulgar words with a straight face.
“W, whatever! Just leave!”
“Fine.”
Isaac quickly left the Mayor’s room, expressing his relief with a sigh as he closed the door behind him. He was prepared to suffer in that room for the entire day, but the lens helped him escape much quicker than antic.i.p.ated.
“Tsk, she actually does have some good points when you get down to it…”
Isaac smirked, reminding himself of Rivelia’s provocative figure. X-ray vision had always been every man’s dream, although this lens was slightly different.
“Ah! You’re making that face again!”
“… Isaac is perverted!”
Kunette and Reisha’s approach stopped when they saw Isaac’s face twist with primal instinct. It seemed they had been waiting for Isaac outside the mayor’s room as he was getting scolded.
Reisha’s shout brought Isaac back to reality, and with a couple of dry coughs, Isaac regained composure and spoke in a plain tone.
“What’s wrong, Reisha?”
“Umm, are you really okay?”
“… Isaac, you’re not sick, are you?”
Isaac smirked in response to their worried look.
“There’s no need to worry. I received a full check-up, and the results all came out fine.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
Reisha made a sigh of relief. At the end of the day, she was partly responsible for creating the chaos. She had been worried sick that Isaac was in trouble, but thankfully, he was fine.
“What do you mean it’s a relief? Do you have any idea how harshly my father scolded me…?”
Krent complained to everyone while Reisha made a bright smile, as if liberated from a heavy weight on her shoulders. Kunette stuck herself onto Isaac’s leg. Goldman, who was both Krent’s father and Guild Master of Rivolden Merchant Guild, was furious when he received news of his son being responsible for the incident that threw the entire city into chaos. He was worried that this incident would cause Isaac to turn against him completely, especially since their relations.h.i.+p was tenuous at best. Goldman made the final decision to pay for all of the damages as a way of apologizing.
“Shut it! Go away! Don’t you ever come close to me. If I could, I would rain curses upon you.”
Isaac declared his animosity, but Krent replied with a heartfelt laugh.
“Don’t you know? Merchants get cursed at wherever they go.”
“Weren’t you a knight?”
“Huh, I am a knight right now, aren’t I?”
Isaac sighed as he watched Krent question himself. Isaac would have believed the rumour that Krent had bought his t.i.tle if it weren’t for the presence of mana within his body.
Bang!
The sounds of explosions rang throughout the battlefield, the feeble screams of the soldiers m.u.f.fled in its wake. What was once a mountain of dense forest was now barren, the earth exposed by the continuous barrage of sh.e.l.ls. Leaves gently fell onto the ground as mud and dirt rained from the skies. The soldiers could only curl up and pray for a close end to the bombardment.
“Charlie Jang! Charlie Jang! f.u.c.k, pick up the signal, you son of a b.i.t.c.h!”
“P, platoon sergeant!”
“What!”
“O, over there…”
“… s.h.i.+t! That’s the OP right?”
<blockquote>
PR Note: An OP refers to an observation post, a position where soldiers can watch enemy movements and warn of approaching movement and artillery fire.
</blockquote>
“Yes.”
A sh.e.l.l landed directly on the OP. What was once a concrete bunker evaporated in the explosion, along with the platoon leader and his messengers, who would have had taken shelter inside. There was no time to be sad for the loss of comrades, for h.e.l.l was still in full swing in front of him in the form of an artillery bombardment.
-… PP … stage.
“What? This is Alpha squad! Say again!”
When the faint words made through the static, he screamed into the radio.
-… Stage 4!”
Those were the only audible words in the torrent of static, but his spine chilled as he understood its meaning.
“Sons of b.i.t.c.hes! Chemical bombs! Chemical bombs!”
As he screamed his lungs out into the radio, the soldiers around him quickly took out their gas masks.
“What are you doing, idiots! It’s stage 4!”
Perhaps the saving grace of being in the front line was they received priority for supplies. The soldiers quickly donned their protective gear and gas masks and replaced their filters.
“S, sarg!”
“Huk!”