Chapter 69
After an hour-long search.
As was somewhat expected, no result. Cadel patted his throbbing thigh and looked around. They were currently in a small forest adjacent to Baskin Village. They'd used Lydon's sense of smell to find a place where the scent of the demon was just a little stronger.
“It would have been so much easier if I had used wings. Does Cadel enjoy hardship?”
Lydon, who was walking carefree with his fingers laced behind his head, asked.
“Would you enjoy that?”
It was tempting to fly in comfort, but Cadel couldn't let a little convenience get in the way of his work. Shaking his head, he rebuked Lydon.
“What do you think the reason for changing your appearance with such an artifact is? It's too early to proudly spread your wings in the human world. You'll be an unnecessary target.”
“I don't think anyone is watching.”
“It's the same even if no one is watching. Aren't we looking for the demon right now? If we openly fly in the sky, he'll find us first there.”
“Wow, so meticulous!”
Cadel was not sure if Lydon was being complimentary or sarcastic. The smirk on Lydon’s face made him feel uncomfortable. With a quick click of his tongue, Cadel followed Lydon as he stalked off.
So far, no leads had been found, but Cadel was confident that the culprit wasn't far from the village. If he was hiding somewhere, it was only a matter of time before he was found.
‘In the game, monsters are summoned as soon as you cast the skill [Ally Multiplication], but in reality, it takes a lot of time. There's no need to stay nearby all the while, so the demon will be hiding from any possible collision.’
It was likely that the demon was recharging his drained mana, ruling out even the possibility of a light fight. He must be cautious, as Cadel had sensed since he heard about the fall of the Baskin Village.
‘That's the trickiest personality to deal with.’
People who were overconfident in their abilities were easier to deal with. He had the advantage of being able to respond relatively calmly.
However, it was different from the type that carefully identified one's limitations and pursued the best course of action. Even if Cadel had mastered the strategies of most of his enemies, his opponent was still a demon that was difficult to deal with. It was too much to handle, even with the number of counterattacks in his mind.
‘In the end, the winner is the one who can keep their composure until the very end. Don't panic, because I know all of the opponent's skills.’
Comforting himself, Cadel clenched his fist solemnly. And at that moment, Lydon, who had been walking ahead without saying much for a while, turned around quickly.
“Cadel!”
“……Uh?”
“My nose hurts.”
“Your nose hurts?”
Lydon looked up as he stumbled toward Cadel with his offhand remark. Touching the tip of his nose and grinning, Lydon was the most adorable boy he had ever seen. For a moment, he was speechless at the sight of Lydon’s angelic face. After regaining his composure, Cadel looked at Lydon's gently outstretched nose and spoke.
“There are no wounds.”
“No wounds, but I've been smelling the disgusting smell of the demon the whole time. It wouldn't be a surprise if my nose rots right now.”
“Just hold on until you find that demon.”
“Haha, you're kidding, right?”
Cadel was half joking and half serious. He was sorry he had overworked Lydon's nose, but he didn't intend to stop the search.
Cadel hesitated for a moment, then looked around as if he had no choice.
“Shall we take a little break then?”
“I don't need a break. Rather than that…….”
Blurring his words, Lydon suddenly stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Cadel's neck. As Cadel bent down following the gentle pull, Lydon's face came right in front of him. Red eyes twinkled mischievously in the thinly curved eyes.
“Give me a kiss.”
“Ki…… What?”
“I think I'd feel better if you kissed me. Hurry.”
Kiss. Did such a useless word even exist in this world?
As Cadel stiffened and looked away from Lydon, Lydon lifted his chin and pursed his lips. It was a cute gesture that would melt even the ten-thousand-year ice. Cadel thought as he captured that fox-like expression intact in his eyes.
‘I forgot. This game identity.’
He was busy fighting tooth and nail, and for a moment he forgot. That this world he lived in was inside a ‘female-oriented’ game.
He tried his best not to raise a flag somehow with Van, and it was normal to quarrel with Lumen. Except for the early days, there had hardly been any sudden events like this. But Lydon was his new subordinate.
‘Should I…… do this……?’
Cadel was in an uncharacteristic dilemma. His old self would have punched Lydon for his bullshit.
‘As favorability increases, so does loyalty, right?’
Currently, he had found a compromise to some extent. In a proper way, it was necessary to play the female-oriented side of the game. The default loyalty of the new knights to join from now on would not be as high as Van, and to increase their loyalty, it would be much easier to fulfill these simple requests than to put on a fancy commander's appearance.
‘Besides, right now Lydon is just like a cute little brother…….’
It was like kissing a little brother, and it was not that awkward. If it was the original body of over 190cm, he would have been quite hesitant, but Lydon, who was hugging his neck and looking up with such a cute expression……. What was it? It was like looking at a relative's little brother who was a child actor.
Quickly making up his mind, Cadel cautiously raised his hand. With that hesitant touch, he swept his fingers through Lydon's fluffy hair, his lips brushing against the exposed forehead, making a small sound.
The kiss ended as quickly as it had begun. Lydon's face, blinking dazedly, came into Cadel's vision as he pulled back. The arms that were pulling Cadel slid down.
Cadel, who had been combing the back of his hair with a shy expression, cleared his throat.
“Satisfied? I did it, so stop talking nonsense and find the demon quickly.”
Let's forget the body. Forget the body.
Cadel, who had done his best to erase Lydon's body from his memory, looked away. At the same time, a welcome system window popped up.
「Knight ‘Lydon’ ’s favorability has increased by 5.」
「Current favorability: 47/100」
It tickled him to the core to know that his painstakingly executed skinship session had done its job. Cadel rubbed his forearms together and shook his head, a smirking Lydon clinging to his side.
“I didn't think you'd actually do it. I thought Cadell would tell me to get lost! Ahaha!”
He almost did. If it was in the past, he would have shoved Lydon. As Cadel was silently scratching his cheek, a playful voice reached his ear.
“I'll look forward to the proper one next time.”
He couldn't stand this. Cadel, fed up with it, pushed the closely attached Lydon roughly. Lydon's muffled laughter drifted between them as he was pushed back.
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