Taming The Villainesses

Episode 359.2

(EP-359.2) #4

359 – Protagonist #4

I didn’t know how best to explain this to Marmar. So, as I hesitated for a moment, she started talking on her own.

━So we just decided to cheer for whoever we wanted to!

‘I see.’

━By the way, Gargar’s acting a little weird today.

━Gargar?

The imp who always growled grrr like a beast came to mind.

Mad Imp Gargar. Her condition was always strange, so it wasn’t surprising. But if Marmar was going out of her way to bring it up, then there had to be something to it.

━Not sure! But she seems really scared for some reason! She ran off during the preliminaries earlier, so if you run into her, please take care of her!

Did she have a nightmare?

I remembered how Bael had been wary about something during the preliminary round earlier. Gargar might be crazy, but her senses were as sharp as a wild animal’s.

If someone like her was scared of something and Bael was also on edge… Was there a connection? Or was I just overthinking?

━Ah! Group A’s match is starting! I need to go sell peanuts and squid, so I’ll hang up now!

Ttuk.

That was the end of Marmar’s story. It seemed she was working part-time selling snacks to the spectators.

With the donations pouring into the Imp Sisterhood, she really didn’t need to worry about money anymore. So why was she working so hard?

Because she was diligent?

Or maybe she was still haunted by the trauma of being so poor she had to live in an abandoned shack. She had valued the importance of labor ever since we first met.

Waaaah—!

Just then, a loud roar shook the colosseum. The crystal in front of me, set up in the waiting room, showed two people locked in a duel.

Group A’s match was between a swordsman and another swordsman. It was a textbook pairing, nothing unusual on the surface. But what stood out was how completely different their styles were.

In the red corner was a young, dashing man using a nodachi and iaijutsu. With his black hair tied back, he looked like he was from the North.

His opponent in the blue corner was a handsome man wielding a bizarre sword.

He had long, ash-gray hair and wore black leather. The purplish blade of his sword had a chain wrapped around the end of the hilt, which was then wrapped around his right arm, creating a quite impressive look.

His unorthodox style uses the chain to swing the sword or launch it like a harpoon. This being parried by the fast blade of the other swordsman was quite a spectacle to watch.

At the same time, I felt tense.

In a real battle between swordsmen, even a slight graze can inflict a fatal blow and scatter blood.

I felt tense just watching through the crystal, not to mention the ones seeing it in person. I suddenly wondered if it was really okay to let Aira see this.

Even if Aira was much more stable these days, was it right to let her watch stimulating fights? It was a concern I’d had ever since the martial festival was announced, and I still didn’t have an answer.

━Kreung…!

While the two clashed intensely through the crystal, Bael inside me suddenly swelled and raised her guard. It was the same as when I suddenly felt uncomfortable during the preliminary round earlier.

The emotions felt by the being that had made a room in my heart reached me with perfect clarity.

Discomfort. Fear. Impatience. I couldn’t say for sure, but seeing Bael this wary, it seemed that one of them had stepped on Bael’s web of wariness.

‘Who’s making you this angry?’

━Hioooong…

‘You don’t know either?’

It hadn’t been that long since I’d invited Bael into my heart, but—

I trusted Bael, the spider of my heart, as much as I trusted my own hands and feet. There must be a good reason for her vigilance.

Perhaps something I hadn’t expected was going to happen in this martial festival. Thus, I too increased my alertness.

━Hioooong…!

Just then, perhaps feeling moved from being trusted, I felt the paper spider stir more actively within my heart.

Was this what it felt like to bond with an animal? If Bael had a physical body, I’d have reached out and patted her head. And since I needed to gather my mana anyway, I stretched my hand out into the air.

Magic was the materialization of inner imagination and emotions based on certain rules. If so, it shouldn't be difficult to materialize Bael.

“Come.”

When I gathered mana into my palm, a spider made of black paper began to appear from my hand. It turned out better than I expected.

“Bael, I’m going to release you for a bit. I want you to go see for yourself what it is that’s making you so afraid and come back to tell me.”

━Hioooong…

“It’s alright. I can win matches like this without you. Now go on.”

When I reached out into the air again, the paper spider dropped to the floor and slipped into my shadow. A part of my heart that had been full now felt a little hollow, but it was manageable.

Beneath the surface of this martial festival—

Even below this arena, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, I could faintly sense that something unexpected was happening.

Did Aira plan this?

Or…

“……”

I couldn’t be sure right now, but since I’d sent Bael out, it was only a matter of time before I found out. Worrying about it now would just be a waste of energy.

For now, I should meditate and organize my mana and energy.

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

━Um, number 1432, Mr. Angmar. Group G’s match. It’s time to start getting ready.

Was it already that time?

I gathered my things and stood up.

Edit by: faker