Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage
Character page: Here
Merry Christmas all!
-Rinkage
Chapter 133 – I tried to persuade my friend
“Wait, wait, what do you mean by that?” [Youki]
“…I’m not listening to you!” [Raven]
Raven’s sword clashed against my wind-enhanced fist. As I deflected his sword, the whole scenario seemed weirder by the second. Something felt wrong.
“Hey, let’s stop for a second. We’re definitely not on the same page here!” [Youki]
“…I have a reason to fight.” [Raven]
“I’m telling you to wait because that reason doesn’t make sense!” [Youki]
Despite my desperate attempts to reason with him, he completely ignored me, and the fight went on.
I’m not just going to take a beating like this. I should go all out, defeat Raven, and then have a proper conversation…
“Whoa!?” [Youki]
Lost in thought, I momentarily let Raven’s sword push me back. I quickly put some distance between us and regained my stance.
“Phew…!” [Youki]
However, before I could even catch my breath, he closed the gap in an instant. It wasn’t just physical enhancement, he seemed to be using refined techniques as well. With precise and efficient movements, he applied his sword techniques against me. Wait a minute, why are we fighting so seriously like this? And why does he seem stronger than when we met at the Demon Lord’s castle?
“I’m telling you to wait!” [Youki]
I was getting frustrated, so I unleashed a mid-level wind spell, Strike Wind, sending blasts of wind crashing into Raven from all directions. If I could restrict his movements, he would probably calm down. Nevertheless, the outcome wasn’t what I expected. The spell ‘Strike Wind’ closed in on Raven, but he cleanly nullified it with a spinning slash. The current Raven might have been stronger than Yuuga as I had put quite a bit of magic power into that attack. Upon seeing the obstacles vanish, Raven dashed straight at me with his sword.
“Enough already!” [Youki]
I increased the level of my physical enhancement, circled behind Raven, and struck him in the back, causing him to roll across the ground spectacularly. But when I noticed that he was still gripping his sword, a sense of unease flashed through me. True enough, he got up again as if nothing had happened.
How on earth am I supposed to resolve this? Am I going to have to beat him until he passes out? If I do that, there’s no telling what kind of trouble will follow. All right, I’ll try to find out what happened while fighting him.
“What happened with Happiness… huh!” [Youki]
I parried Raven’s sword and questioned him.
“…I heard everything.” [Raven]
Raven still had his sword in his hand, but he began to talk. I needed to be careful with my response. This seemed like the kind of situation where the fight could recommence at any moment.
“You… did something to Happiness!” [Raven]
“Stop saying it like that! It makes it sound like I did something awful to her.” [Youki]
“You actually did, didn’t you?” [Raven]
“Well, I didn’t have a choice! If she was going to live in Minerva, I had to clip off her feathers. Besides, without that, you might never have met Happiness in the first place.” [Youki]
“…Even so, I can’t back down.” [Raven]
“Why not!?” [Youki]
What was driving Raven this far!? Well, it was obviously because of Happiness.
“Happiness’s decision must not have been an easy one. Even though she was afraid I might reject her, she trusted me enough to confess her feelings. I want to answer her feelings.” [Raven]
“So that means you’re going to cut me down!?” [Youki]
“…Don’t worry. I understand your point too, Youki. I’ll use the dull side of the blade.” [Raven]
“That sword of yours doesn’t have a dull side!” [Youki]
Raven’s sword was a double-edged blade. It wasn’t like a katana. If he swung it, I’d be seriously cut down.
“…I’ll call Cecilia right away, so you’ll be fine.” [Raven]
“Don’t screw with me!” [Youki]
Like hell I’m going to let him cut me down so easily. If that’s how he wants to play, I’ll go all out too.
I made sure no one was around before transforming back into my demon form. This was the first time I had faced Raven in this form ever since the battle at the Demon Lord’s castle.
“…So, this is your true power, Youki.” [Raven]
“The ‘Youki’ you knew has never shown his true power before.” [Youki]
At this point, he should be able to understand the overwhelming difference in power. I was probably not playing fair, but I really wanted him to sheathe his sword. If he could do that, I would take my time to listen to what he had to say about Happiness.
“…It seems I can’t win against you.” [Raven]
That’s the commander of the knight for you. He knew when to back down from an unwinnable fight. It was a relief that Raven was reasonable.
“Then…” [Youki]
“But even so, I won’t sheath my sword!” [Raven]
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” [Youki]
How much resentment did he hold against me? It appeared as if he harbored real animosity towards me. Was it okay to wield a sword with such twisted emotions?
“…I made a promise. I’d land one hit on you, Youki.” [Raven]
“That bastard!” [Youki]
He had made such a dangerous request right after becoming her boyfriend?! Not to mention, my opponent would be Raven, the commander of the knight, no less. To be precise, a lovestruck commander of knights filled with the power of love.
This makes me look like the bad guy, doesn’t it?
“Raven, listen. This is just Happiness being playful. It’s her usual thing. It’s not something to take this seriously.” [Youki]
“…Is that so?” [Raven]
“At the very least, even though we’re in a secluded spot, it’s not something that warrants a flashy fight like this.” [Youki]
“But…” [Raven]
“Besides, back then, Cecilia really chewed me out over it. She said something like, ‘You don’t mess with a girl’s body’. But, if you’re still not satisfied, I’ll take one punch from you.” [Youki]
I was starting to understand what it meant for a boyfriend to be worried about his girlfriend. So, a single punch was probably nothing I couldn’t handle. I could cast healing magic on myself right away.
Raven silently nodded at my suggestion and finally sheathed his sword. Seeing that he had agreed, I braced myself for the punch.
“…Youki, hold out your hand.” [Raven]
“Huh, like this?” [Youki]
When I did as Raven instructed, his clenched fist lightly touched me. Was this the punch?
“…Let’s go. That’s the end of it.” [Raven]
“I see.” [Youki]
I decided to end my demon mode and walked alongside Raven. He seemed to be satisfied after that ‘punch’, so it was a relief.
“Well then.” [Youki]
As usual, I dealt with the now-unneeded horns and wings by getting rid of them. Upon hearing the sounds of my horns snapping off and my wings being torn off, Raven grimaced.
“…Doesn’t that hurt?” [Raven]
“It hurts like hell.” [Youki]
It would definitely hurt when you had to forcibly break and tear off parts of your own body.
“…Happiness.” [Raven]
“Wait, wait, wait! She’s not like me. For her, it’s more like maintenance.” [Youki]
I wasn’t sure if plucking out her feathers could be called maintenance for harpies, but I had to reassure him somehow.
“…Is that really true?” [Raven]
“Yeah, that’s right. Come on, let’s head back. I’m sure Happiness is waiting for you when you get home anyway.” [Youki]
“…She’s not waiting. I’m going back to the knight’s dormitory.” [Raven]
“Oh, right. My bad. I jumped to a few conclusions. I thought you two were already living together, with Happiness cooking and waiting for you to come home.” [Youki]
“…!?”
Raven choked heavily. I wondered what kind of things he imagined. The confession only happened recently, so it was still pretty fresh. It was probably my fault for bringing it up, but… really?
“Sounds like a happy future.” [Youki]
This time, he hit me on the head, for real. His face was bright red, so he must’ve been fantasizing about something.
“…Don’t tease me, or I’ll get mad.” [Raven]
“You already hit me, though.” [Youki]
I walked while rubbing the spot where I had been hit. I was probably teasing him slightly too much, or he might have gotten mad because I hit the nail on the head.
“…When we get to the knight’s dorm, I want to hear all about it.” [Raven]
“Got it. You’ve probably heard them from Happiness, but I’ll tell you my side of the story too.” [Youki]
At this point, I could trust Raven. Despite everything, he was my first real friend. It wasn’t like I was looking for someone to cooperate with, but it would be good to have more people who knew about our situation. I decided to explain to him more about my true identity, and how things ended up this way.
As I followed Raven, I mentally organized what I needed to say until I heard a familiar voice calling out.
“…Welcome back.”
It seemed that we had reached the knight’s dorm as Happiness was waiting right at the entrance. When I teased Raven about it earlier, it was only a joke. I never expected that Happiness actually waited for him. Even Raven seemed to be stunned by this as he froze in place. Then, once he snapped out of it, he took Happiness’s hand and started walking in a different direction.
“…Change of plans. We’re heading to your inn, Youki.” [Raven]
“Got it. Oh, Happiness-” [Youki]
“…What?” [Happiness]
Normally, it would be the usual routine for me to tease her while she warned me about messing around, but at the moment, I had more appropriate words to say to her.
“…I’m glad for you.” [Youki]
“…Yeah.” [Happiness]
It must have been unexpected for her as she looked surprised, then blushed and lowered her gaze. Raven avoided making eye contact with me, looking embarrassed as well. His hands remained tightly clasped with hers, and he showed no sign of saying anything.
What’s with this overwhelming couple vibe? Won’t it make me feel like a third wheel? I might need to rethink my plan.
For the time being, the three of us – an adorable couple, and a single guy – gathered in my room. Since we would be discussing sensitive matters, I took every precaution to ensure we would not be overheard.
“…So, what’s with this seating arrangement?” [Youki]
They were both seated, facing me, but held an unusually formal posture.
“Well, we started dating, so we figured we should follow the ritual when we are informing you formally…” [Raven]
“What role am I supposed to play here!?” [Youki]
It was funny how life could change so drastically in just one day. A moment ago, a sword was pointed at me when one of them threatened to cut me down, and, in the next, that very same couple was seated in my room formally telling me about their relationship. It was shaping up to be a busy day. Did I really have the authority to be here?
“…I did ask you for advice and all.” [Raven]
“…Captain, family…” [Happiness]
“Now that you mention it, Duke did say something like that. Well, I guess we’re not total strangers… So, where should we start? Or rather, how did you two… end up together?” [Youki]
I knew it was probably not the best thing to ask, but I couldn’t help being curious. Upon hearing my question, the two of them blushed, seemingly caught off guard. They seemed to be blushing continuously since a while ago. Happiness suddenly buried her face into Raven’s shoulder, probably remembering something. Was she hiding her face because she was embarrassed? It could also be that she was being affectionate.
Jealousy can be a scary thing.
“…It started the other day when Duke took me to the forest. That’s when it all began.” [Raven]
Raven began recounting the events of that day.
RinkageTranslation 
Thank you!
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