CHAPTER 184.2: TALES OF THE DARK KNIGHT(ACT 9 EPILOGUE)

「So crue~~l. Just for a little while, Totona-chan!」

She kept whining, completely ignoring how I felt about the whole thing.

I let out a long sigh, my thoughts drifting to Kuroki.

===

◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

「Ha~h. Chiyuki-san, I didn’t get to meet Kuroki at all…」

Shirone sighed in disappointment as we returned to Eld.

Turns out, her childhood friend had already gone back to Nargol while we were busy helping those humans who’d been enslaved by goblins.

By the time we finished, the silver-haired girl was gone, too.

We were all a bit embarrassed—we hadn’t even noticed her standing right beside us.

「There there, Shirone-san. There’s always next time.」

「Yeah. There’s still next time.」

Rino chimed in to comfort her.

「I’ve said it before, haven’t I? Our paths keep crossing with Kuroki’s. It’s almost like fate.」

Kyouka added with a gentle smile, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

She must’ve been curious to meet Shirone’s childhood friend, too.

Kaya, standing quietly beside Kyouka, had the exact opposite expression—she clearly didn’t want to meet him.

Reiji probably felt the same.

He wasn’t with us now—he’d gone off to deal with monsters becoming more active around the region.

In doing so, the hero Reiji might truly become a savior of this world’s people.

「By the way, has that child come back yet? Sana’s been waiting for him.」

Sahoko spoke while gently holding Sana in her arms.

Sana was still crying softly against her chest.

「Don’t worry. According to Nier, he’s already on his way back to Eld.」

Kouki hadn’t returned yet, but he’d be here soon.

Just as we were talking about him, there was a knock at the door.

When I told them to come in, Haurena—the priestess of Rena’s temple—entered the room.

「The kidnapped child has returned.」

Kouki appeared behind her as she spoke.

「U-Uhm, I’m back…」

He stepped forward and bowed politely.

What a well-mannered boy.

Sana stopped crying the moment she saw him, reaching out her small hands toward him.

Urged by Haurena, Kouki walked over to her.

「I’m back, Sana-chan. Did you mi— Eh?」

As he greeted her, Shirone suddenly moved closer to him, standing right by his side.

She tilted her head, staring intently at his face.

「Is something wrong, Shirone-san?」

Sahoko asked, puzzled by her reaction.

Shirone leaned in closer, her eyes still fixed on Kouki.

「What’s the matter, Shirone-san?」

「…For some reason, your face looks really familiar to me.」

She murmured as she reached out and gently touched Kouki’s cheek.

Shirone hadn’t interacted with Kouki much before—this was probably the first time she’d seen him up close.

A hint of confusion lingered on her face as she studied him.

「Chiyuki-san, it’s not just Shirone-san… I feel it too. There’s something mysterious about this child.」

「Yes… Maybe that’s why the elves kidnapped him.」

Rino and Nao both joined Shirone by Kouki’s side, their curiosity piqued.

Kouki looked increasingly flustered, surrounded by three beautiful women all staring at him like that.

「Okay, girls, that’s enough. Sana’s been waiting patiently for her turn.」

Sahoko stepped in gently, breaking the moment.

Sana, still in her arms, looked like she was about to pout—clearly not happy with the delay.

「Ah, our bad! Here you go, Sana-chan! We won’t steal your Kouki-kun!」

After Shirone said that, the three of us stepped away from Kouki, finally letting him breathe.

「Look after Sana, Kouki-kun.」

「Yes, understood, Sahoko-sama.」

Just as Kouki reached out to take Sana from Sahoko’s arms, his body suddenly swayed.

「WATCH OUT!」

Shirone moved quickly, catching him before he could collapse.

「T-Thank you, Shirone-sama…」

Kouki looked up at her and bowed his head slightly, still trying to regain his balance.

「What’s wrong, Kouki-kun!? You looked like you lost all your strength!」

Sahoko pulled Sana back into her arms, concerned. Sana looked displeased, her small hands still reaching toward Kouki.

「My apologies… It’s just that my body’s felt sluggish ever since I got back…」

Kouki answered as he looked up at all of us, clearly struggling.

「Did the elves do something to your body?」

「It’s possible, Rino-san…」

I stepped closer, deep in thought.

Those elves were clearly infatuated with Kouki—who knows what they might have done to him.

He didn’t appear to have any external injuries, so healing magic probably wouldn’t help.

We needed to check his body first.

「Sorry, Kouki-kun, but could you take off your clothes for a moment? I need to check if something’s been done to you.」

「E-Eh?! Take off… my clothes…?」

Kouki's face turned bright red.

「Why are you trying to strip the poor boy, Chiyuki-san?」

Nao glared at me, clearly suspicious.

「W-What are you implying, Nao-san?! This is a proper medical examination! I’m not doing anything weird!」

I cleared my throat and knelt down beside Kouki.

「Excuse me then…」

Honestly, with a face that cute, it was no surprise the elves got obsessed.

He looked harmless to both people and animals. This was purely for medical reasons—purely.

Now then… open sesame~.

Cheerfully, I pulled down Kouki’s pants.

「Eh…?」

I let out a stunned gasp.

「Ooh!」

「Eh, what the heck!?」

「Huhm…」

Nao, Rino, and Shirone all sounded equally shocked.

「Is… is something wrong?」

「NO! LADY KYOUKA, YOU MUSTN’T LOOK! IT’S STILL TOO EARLY FOR YOU!」

Kaya rushed to block Kyouka, who had been trying to peek curiously.

「Aaaah…」

I groaned aloud.

This wasn’t small and adorable at all.

It was… like a torpedo.

Which, unfortunately, reminded me of a certain childhood friend’s “weapon of mass destruction.”

「SNAKE~!! IT’S A GIANT SNAKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!」

I screamed without thinking.

===

◆Elven Princess, Luusien

After leaving the royal capital, Arseidia, we made our way to Rena’s Temple in Eld.

There, we safely handed Kouki over to the temple’s priest.

「Uuh… Why am I only allowed to watch Kouki-sama from a distance…」

「There there, Luusien-sama. Just being able to stay near him is already a blessing.」

Tess gently comforted me.

We had to remain in this country for now.

Not that I minded living here—after all, I was still allowed to return to Arseidia from time to time.

Piara had accepted the duty with excitement and headed straight to Eld.

The real problem was that I couldn’t speak freely with Kouki.

「This is also a test, Your Highness. Besides, you're even granted permission to meet with Rena-sama from time to time.」

「I wouldn’t care if that were all… But in Oleora’s case, you really should be more careful.」

I sighed at Oleora’s words.

Still, at least we could remain close.

We would watch over Kouki’s growth here and protect him from the shadows.

Just as I was reflecting on that—a sudden scream rang out from the direction Kouki had gone.

「What was that? A snake?」

「Yes, I heard someone say something about a snake. Could it be… are the snakefolk raiding this country?!」

We immediately stood up in alarm.

「EMERGENCY! WE MUST SAVE KOUKI-SAMA!」

Without a second thought, we ran toward the source of the scream.

===

◆Dark Knight; Kuroki

I returned to the Sweet Castle to recover from the side effects of my dragon transformation.

Time passed quickly, and by the time I was done, the moon was already high in the starry night sky.

「Is something the matter, Kuroki?」

Half-naked, Rena snuggled up beside me.

Unlike Kuna, Rena seemed perfectly fine.

Kuna, on the other hand, was already dozing off in my lap.

「It’s nothing. I was just thinking how peaceful this night is.」

I replied while gazing up at the moon.

「It’s thanks to you defeating Ferion that we can enjoy this quiet night.」

「It’s thanks to the sealing magic. Without it, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.」

Ferion’s strength had been the real deal.

If the sealing magic hadn’t reactivated in time, I would’ve been overwhelmed.

「Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you held him off long enough for the seal to regain its power. So let me say this properly—thank you for protecting us.」

After saying that, Rena kissed my back.

It was embarrassing… but not unpleasant.

My battles were far from over.

The Serpent Queen Diadona wouldn’t give up so easily.

But for now, I’d allow myself to enjoy this quiet night.

I looked up at the moon, letting the peace settle in.

===

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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

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Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations

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