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n6. Until two discordant roses become an ensemble (4)

n“You pair of cockroaches.”

nAs the wrinkled lips opened and the words flowed out, I made an absurd face.

nWhat did he just say now?

n“Huh, while I haven’t seen you, your language has improved?”

n“I have learned.”

nI have felt it after going through as many as 8 spirits, exorcism, and repatriation, but the spirits went through a similar adaptation process after possessing this place.

nThere were spirits who adapted well here, and there were spirits who could not even pronounce the words of this place properly over time.

nBefore, that spirit definitely belonged to the latter.

nHowever, after a few days of not seeing him, his language appeared to be at a high level now

n“I saw it in a little square box. They called men and women like you, cockroaches.”

nThe spirit said while stroking his chin proudly. His way of speaking sounded unpleasant to me.

nAfter all, the spirit that had made me suffer for a week could not look good no matter what he did.

nSo far, spirits have come from various dimensions, but as far as I know, the dimension to which that spirit has passed has similar martial arts to that world.

nIn fact, he moved well while talking about lightening the body or something.

nI turned my head and looked at Ricdorian.

n“Hey. Pudding, is that your tone? It’s very similar to your initial way of talking.”

nTo be precise, I looked at the sword and talked to it, and soon I heard a hissing sound in my head.

n– Do, do not compare! This body didn’t do that, Nyan!

n“Huh, I heard that frogs can’t remember its tadpole days. Have you forgotten about it?”

n– I didn’t! It wasn’t like that, Nyan!

n“I corrected you a lot. I’m disappointed.”

nWhile talking with Pudding, the old man moved quickly.

nBam!

n“Where are you going?”

nHowever, the old man’s movements were soon blocked by a deep blue wall. The translucent blue wall surrounded the old man and us.

nIt was laid out before the old man arrived here.

n“How much trouble did I have to put this on?”

n“Kuh, khhmm.”

n“I would have cried if I hadn’t been able to use it.”

nI narrowed my eyes as the old man averted his gaze with a flustered face.

n“Uncle, you’re not listening to people’s words with your heart. Are you really smart?”

n“Depending on your needs, sometimes you have to make decisions in order to survive….”

n“It’s nonsense philosophy. If that belief moves as needed, where is that belief now?”

nThe old man’s shoulders trembled at the casually thrown words. Meanwhile, Ricdorian’s hand grabbed my shoulder.

n“…… You can’t cry, Iana.”

nRian said with a very serious expression, so I was taken aback for a moment. Then nodded in bewilderment.

n“I’m not crying.”

nDid I almost cry? Rian seemed to be very concerned about me, so I gathered my expression again.

nI smiled and reached out and stroked his cheek.

n“You’re so nice. You pay attention to every passing word.”

n“I’m not nice.”

nRicdorian slightly lowered his head and put it down for me to stroke. Then he smiled a little.

n“Rose, I’m only tamed by your hand holding the reins.”

nI agreed with a similarly small laugh.

n“I guess so.”

nHe is a beast that has been tamed only by me in the world, and the more I spend with him, the more I feel it. I think this is a very happy thing.

nAs I have an exclusive desire and obsession that I didn’t know about myself, my heart grows bigger and bigger.

n“Okay then, let’s end small talk here. Shall we do our thing?”

n“Yes.”

nI turned my head and stared at the old man who was struggling to sneak out.

n“Come on, old man. No. Is that a man inside? Anyway, let’s get you home now.”

nThe old man was struggling until the very end. However, some of my last seven spirits were like this one, so I easily subdued him.

nIt wasn’t a difficult opponent to deal with unless he ran away like in the first place.

nLike the previous process, Ricdorian steadfastly subdued the old man, and a huge ‘door’ opened under the old man’s body.

nThe blue energy created a strong wind. The door, like a beast’s mouth, only took in spirits, and finally silence fell in the clearing.

nI let out a breath, brushing my hair, which was tousled with the wind.

n“Finally the eighth is over.”

nWhere the door and the giant circle disappeared, only the body of the fallen old man and…… a strong scent of roses left.

nRicdorian, who returned the sword form back to Pudding before I knew it, strode forward. He leaned over and kissed my cheek lightly.

nIt just came to my mind, but if Ricdorian wasn’t here, this series of processes would be quite, no. it would be really hard.

nThe spirits weren’t always quiet, so I needed someone to subdue them while I opened the door.

nIt wasn’t difficult for me to subdue them, but I couldn’t do it at the same time as opening the door.

nI hugged the man that was like asking ‘Did I do well?’, and patted him on the back.

n“Well done.”

n“Then will you hold me?”

n“Where?”

nA low laugh echoed in my ears.

n“In bed.”

nI burst into laughter at Ricdorian’s bold words.

n“Not bad.”

nToday too, I fell asleep around the time I saw the morning stars. It wasn’t bad in many ways. Especially on days when I can send one spirit back and rest in peace for a few days.

nNow there are only two left.

nI expected this process to be easy, albeit cumbersome.

nJust like the previous process.

nBut this was a mistake.

nNo. It didn’t take long before I realized it was a very, very big mistake.

n***

nBang!

nThe ground shook violently with an earth-shaking roar. Dirt and stones fall under.

nThe cracked ground, like a spider’s web, looked precarious as if it would collapse at any moment.

n“Haa, haa.”

nI let out a rough breath that I hadn’t breathed in a while and raised my head.

nA huge sword was stuck in the place where I was a moment ago.

nIf I had moved just a little bit later, I would have been cut by that sharp greatsword.

n– Hu, human. Do something, Nyan! If this…….

nPudding’s pitiful cries echoed in my head. I wanted to answer, but I didn’t have the time.

nBecause the sword flew back to me.

nIt would be nice if I could get that sword off. It seemed far-fetched to get that sword out when it was tied tightly to the hand with the stem of a rose.

nThe man finally raised his sword again, tilting his head loosely and looking at me.

nUnder the clear moonlight, the man who aimed his sword at me smiled beautifully.

nThose eyes were absolutely vivid.

n“Rian.”

nHearing my call, Ricdorian’s smile deepened. While wielding the sword.

nI thought while avoiding the sword.

n…… How do I bring him back to his senses?

nLooking back at where things went wrong in my head. I had to go back an hour before Ricdorian became strange.

nTo the time when the God-given mission was accomplished, the notice was just around the corner.

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