74 God of sleep (1/2)

Dark Knight Kroki

What is the situation with this?

Rage is right in front of me.

I'm sure I would look dumb as I suddenly appeared.

The brave man of light and I, the dark knight, have bumped into each other.

I'm not going to let him get away with it.

''Aes out.

'Are you the messenger of Cornes?'

Rage says with a wry smile.

And that's where I notice the discomfort.

Huh? Something is wrong.

'Hmm, what is it?　Do you have something on my face?

Rage, who looked at me quizzically as I didn't say anything myself, said.

'Um, do you recognize your face?'

No?　I don't know.

Rage says, sounding a little irritated.

That statement confirms it.

I couldn't remember his face: ------ ！！！！！！！！

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever shown my face properly.

It helped, but there was something untenable about it.

'What?'　What are you doing on all fours all of a sudden?

I can hear Rage say curiously.

I suppose it doesn't matter what a man's face is to Rage.

Well, I didn't want them to remember me or anything at all, so there's no problem.

It's more convenient to be treated as someone who doesn't exist.

Yeah. So, I don't care.

”Yikes!　No!　It's nothing!　No, really~!　It's nothing!

I say with an effort.

'Really? You're weird.

Rage nods his head.

I'm sorry for being so weird!

More importantly, why is Rage here?

That's when I realized that.

Apparently, Rage and the others have also noticed that Ainoe is bewitching.

If that's the case, it's probably the end for Ainoe.

And if Rage and the others are there, it will be difficult to contact them. I decide to leave here in a hurry.

''I'm just feeling a little sick!　Now, please take this to Master Ainoe!

He pressed the bouquet of flowers to Rage and forced a smile on his face.

Maybe her face was drawn up. Rage is looking at him with a surprised expression. But it doesn't matter anymore.

'Whoa?　Oh? Okay.

Rage nodded as he accepted the bouquet of flowers.

Then he himself hurried back the way he had come and left the place.

◆Silone, the maiden of the sword

There's a delicious looking cheesecake and a nice smelling tea in front of me.

''Wow~ Looks delicious. That's as good as Sahoko-san!

I look at Sahoko and praise her.

'Hehe, thank you, Sirone.'

And this tea is a mentee?

Yeah. It's Sirone's childhood friend's favorite tea.

Sahoko is right, Menty said Kroki used to drink well at Nargol.

I just don't know if he really likes this. Because there's nothing else out there, so maybe he drinks this all the time.

I'm going to look for a cup of tea that Kroki might like.

'I'm back, guys,'

Just as I was saying this, Reiji-kun came back.

'Welcome back, Mr. Rage. What was he like?

I ask Rage-kun.

'Rage-kun must have been answering the person who came to visit Mr. Ainoe.

'It's hard to answer what kind of guy he was. But I had a feeling he was a strange guy.

Rage-kun replies with a serious face.

I nod my head at that. It's rare to see him make this kind of face.

Rage always has a relaxed expression on his face.

No matter what kind of hardship he's going through, he doesn't mind getting over it. What could have happened to him?

Weird?　I'm curious.

Chiyuki asks Reigi.

'I don't know. I just haven't stopped shaking since I met him.

With that, Rage-kun held out his right hand. He was trembling a little.

''What's wrong, Mr. Rage. You look like you're frightened.''

Reno says with concern.

'Scared?　You think I'm scared?

Rage, you are looking at your right hand with an expression of disbelief.

I can't believe it either. Chiyuki, Sahoko, Reno, and Nao also look at him with a look of disbelief on their faces.

More than anything else, it seems that Reiji himself is unbelievable.

It's hard to believe that he's frightened. Who the hell is this guy who came to visit you?

Rage-kun shook his head.

'I don't know, Chiyuki. He seemed like an unimportant guy who could be anywhere.

The air is a little heavy.

”Haha, what's going on with you guys? It's just my imagination!

Nao, the mood-maker, makes a cheerful noise.

'Well, maybe it's just my imagination. ...... For that matter, Rage, what's that flower you're holding in your right hand?

Chiyuki says, looking at the flower that Reige is holding.

'Ah, so this is it,'

Then he holds a flower in his hand and puts it in front of us.

'It's a beautiful flower, Mr. Ray.'

Sahoko says, looking at the flowers.

The flower is pretty, with a light purple color.

The guy who came to visit Ainoe brought these flowers. He gave me one when he gave Ainoe a bouquet of flowers. You'll be able to get a better idea of what this flower smells like, Chiyuki.

After saying that, Reigi gives the flower to Chiyuki-san.

Chiyuki-san smells the flowers.

'Is this a mentee?'

Yeah, yeah. From the smell, it must be Menty.

We are all surprised by what Mr. Rage said.

It's because we've seen mentees as tea, but this is the first time we've seen an actual flower.

'Huh?　Isn't the mentee the flower that blooms in Nargol?

You're right, Reno. As I recall, Menty is the flower of Nargol.

Reno and Nao are right. The mentee is the flower of Nargol.

'Silone, I believe the person who brought that flower to you claimed to be a messenger for Senator Cornes, right?

I nodded at Chiyuki's words.

''That flower was brought to me by a messenger of Cornes ....... If that's the case, then it's safe to assume that Lord Cornes is related to the Demon King worshippers.

Sir Decius nodded and said.

'Yeah, and then that guy seemed to know me. Well, I'm famous, so maybe it's only natural that he knows.

Mr. Rage says with a grim face.

Perhaps he is remembering the messenger of Cornes.

It's not just a simple matter to make a face like this for Rage-kun.

The actuality of this is that there is a possibility that Cornes-dono will know that we are suspicious of Ainoe.

'Sir Decius is right. We might as well hurry up and check on Cornes. After we eat this, we'll head to Cornes' mansion.

Everyone nodded at Chiyuki's words.

◆Dancer Shenna.

Grabbing the sword that was entrusted to him by the Dark Knight earlier, he hides from a little distance and watches the theater from a distance.

Then I check my surroundings from time to time.

My body trembles at the thought that whoever did that to Marcias might attack me.

When I pulled out my sword a little, I could see the black blade. I thought I could see black flames from that black sword blade.

It's definitely a magical weapon.

This sword seems to have been made by a dark knight.

That dark knight has amazing sword skills, but it's amazing that he can also make magical weapons.

This reminds me of the morning.

The dark knight wielding a wooden sword. It seems that the dark knight forges his sword every day.

He swings his sword very slowly, taking his time to swing it once.

He continues to do that many times.

I tried to imitate it too, but just by doing it once, I started to sweat.

The dark knight says it's because I used muscles I don't normally use.

The dark knight swung his sword as if to check his movements one by one, leaving me tired.

His movements were beautiful.

The Moonlight Goddess was also imitating beside me, but this one was awkward.

That dark knight is definitely strong. And since he's going to patronize me, I shouldn't have to be afraid of anything.

I put my sword back on and look at the theater.

Then the Dark Knight comes back by himself.

Something is wrong.

''Um, what's going on?''

The Dark Knight shakes his head as I ask.

'I kind of lost my strength. ...... And I'm sorry, Shenna. You can't meet Ainoe. The brave men will be watching over you.

The Dark Knight bows to me.

'What?　Is that so?

Yeah. But I don't know how I got to Ainoe.

The Dark Knight ponders.

Why are the brave men ...... to sister Ainoe? No wait, maybe the flute I gave to my brother was a clue to the investigation into the theater company.

When I left my brother for the last time, he said he would investigate the case with the brave men.

I tell the Dark Knight about it.

'I see, flute to my brother.

'Yes, I believe that's where the play was investigated.

'Right. But that's not going to get us anywhere near the playhouse: ....... Let's see if we can't get some information on Rage and the others somehow.

The Dark Knight is troubled.

I think about it too.

My brother said he was going to investigate with the brave men. If that's the case, then maybe my brother Decius is in that theater.

I think of Marcius. There is a very dangerous man behind sister Ainoe.

Could it be that my brother is in harm's way?

If that's the case, we'll have to do something about it.

'Huh? I think we've gotten a call.

It was when I was thinking about my brother.

The Dark Knight speaks up.

'Um?　What's going on?

But the Dark Knight doesn't respond.

It's like he's having a conversation with someone who isn't here.

'I'm sorry, Shenna. I have someplace to go. Why don't you go on back? Tell Coona I'm going to the labyrinth to see Llanfeld.

The dark knight left me alone and hurriedly went away.

◆?

This place is heaven.

After all, there's plenty of good food here.

It's a far cry from the western desert where I was born and raised.

I thank the chief for inviting me here.

I walk through the mansion.

Children with their eyes covered are spinning happily.

I am happy to see them.

I love children. It makes me happy just to see them.

The children were out at night, and the sand man brought them to me.

The sand man is a follower of the God of Sleep, the son of the God of Death whom I serve.

The sand man spreads a potion called ”sand” throughout the city, giving humans happy dreams.

However, if he continued to use the sand, he would be unable to wake up from his slumber and would become a resident of the dreamland.

Then he becomes a follower of the God of Sleep.

What a hilarious story, isn't it?

I get hungry too.

All the kids are blindfolded because they don't have to open their eyes.

I enjoy watching the children playing happily.