This woman!
She was much stronger than I imagined.
Or was it simply because I was too inexperienced? Did my lack of practical combat experience make the skill gap between us even more pronounced?
After all, if it was just about physical stats... having gained some understanding of my new body, I didn't believe I was inferior to her. In fact, I might even be significantly stronger.
But now was not the time to dwell on power levels.
"You're the one who's a fraud!" I shouted, pointing an accusing finger.
"Huh? What did you say?!" Carol blinked, taken aback.
"What? Didn't you hear me clearly? Since you're deaf, I'll say it again..."
I took a deep breath.
"You're the real fraud! As an experienced man, I can tell you with certainty: the more serious and rigid a girl acts, the more likely she is to be unreliable in a crisis!"
"You!"
Faced with my deliberately provocative tone, Carol's face instantly turned bright red.
In the next moment, she raised her longsword, taking a combat stance.
"Oh! So you resort to violence when you can't win an argument?" I scoffed. "If Miss Thearesia knew that her personal bodyguard—her close friend—had killed an innocent person out of rage..."
"Shut up!"
"Shut up? You think you can just tell me to shut up? Who do you think you are? No one in this world can shut me up except my wife."
So...
"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Carol swung her sword.
Shing!
A lock of white hair drifted slowly to the ground.
"..."
I looked at the strands of hair falling in front of my face. Then I looked at the woman whose expression was already quite terrifying.
I knew I had really angered her.
But so what if I pissed her off?
"I really will cut you down!" she hissed.
Her eyes revealed genuine murderous intent. This aura was completely different from before—more intense than when we first met.
"Cut me down?" I asked.
"This is a gathering place for Witch Cultists," she said coldly. "If one more corpse appears here, no one will investigate."
"Fine, fine. You win."
I raised my hands in surrender without hesitation.
That's right. It was a tactical compromise. You have to understand... without a proxy heart nearby, I couldn't use Lion's Heart for more than five seconds. Fighting a Sword Saint-tier opponent with a time limit was suicide.
Besides, the person who truly made me compromise wasn't Carol. It was Thearesia.
Although I didn't sense her presence, who knew if she was nearby?
"Phew~" Carol let out a soft breath, lowering her sword slightly.
But just as the anger in her eyes subsided, she seemed to realize something. Her eyes widened.
'Wait... that guy! He just said only his wife could shut him up...'
And she had just shut him up.
Not only was she teased by this person, but she was also verbally tricked into a marriage flag!
A flame surged within her.
'Seriously! I really want to kill this guy right now!'
"Calm down! Stay calm, don't let anger cloud your judgment," she muttered to herself.
As Thearesia's personal bodyguard, she couldn't act recklessly. Her actions reflected on her Lady.
She forcibly calmed her impulse and sheathed the longsword.
"Why are you here?" Carol asked, her voice serious as she stared at me.
If I couldn't give a reasonable answer, she would make me regret being born.
"I was secretly escorting my wives back to their parents' homes," I replied honestly.
"Eh?! Escorting your wives? Could you be the one from the rumors...?"
"What rumor?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"N-nothing..."
Carol immediately turned her face away, her cheeks flushing.
The rumor circulating in the taverns went something like this: A wealthy patriarch was unable to satisfy his harem, to the point that a dozen of them packed up and ran away.
She didn't dare say it out loud. And she certainly didn't dare use it to mock me. Practice makes perfect—she had already lost several verbal battles against me. If she brought this up, I'd probably roast her to death.
"Yeah."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. Although I didn't know exactly what she was thinking, it was obvious this woman suddenly chickened out.
"Then why are you here all of a sudden, woman?" I countered.
"Some bad news has been circulating in the city since yesterday. In order to prevent our citizens and merchants from being attacked by bandits, I volunteered to sweep the main roads."
"That's really true... you can't judge a book by its cover. You're actually a good person."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Nothing."
I ignored Carol and turned my head to look at the devastated forest.
My depression returned.
'That woman is such a busybody! Are we destined to clash?'
Damn it! Even if she wanted to do good, couldn't she check the timing? Even a few hours later would have been fine!
At least let my "actors" demonstrate some value before they died. Now everyone had gone to hell for nothing, and my plan to scare the wives was ruined.
"By the way, where is Thearesia?" I asked casually. "As her personal bodyguard, didn't she come with you?"
Carol stiffened.
"What do you want to do?" she demanded. "I'm warning you, if you dare to make a move on the Young Lady, you'll be sorry."
"Don't worry, I'm just asking. I don't have any ulterior motives."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hmph..."
She stared at me thoughtfully for a long while. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but all she saw in mine was chaos.
"Didn't I just say that?" she sighed. "I volunteered to wipe out the bandits. Why would the Young Lady come on a bloody mission like this?"
"Oh! So she didn't come along?"
My tone shifted instantly. The politeness vanished.
"What!?" Carol bristled. "You want to fight?!"
She was very displeased by the sudden change in my attitude. Her eyes turned as sharp as knives.
"No, no, no," I waved my hands. "You've seen my skills. I can handle ordinary people, but how could I possibly fight against Miss Carol, who has exceptional swordsmanship?"
"Can't you be normal for once..." Carol groaned, looking uncomfortable.
Anyone would feel weird hearing their enemy suddenly start flattering them. Even a fool would sense a trap.
"Normal? Okay... since you want to hear something more normal..."
I grinned, my expression twisting into pure provocation.
"You idiot! Go ahead and try to beat me! But I warn you... if we ever end up in bed, I'll beat you until you're begging for mercy! If I don't make you cry, I'm not a real man!"
"..."
"Phew," she muttered. "That's much more normal."
Then, her eyes snapped open. The strangeness disappeared, replaced by pure, unadulterated rage.
"I'LL FIGHT YOU TO THE DEATH!"
She drew her sword again, swinging it fiercely.
"Killing you is out of the question, but I'm going to break your third leg! You'll be calling me 'Grandma' by the time I'm done!"
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