Chapter 37 – The Miserable Holy Knight

Somehow, I managed to wash away the scribbles on my face. Though when I looked in the mirror, I could still see traces of the huge writing on my forehead. Well, I could still hide it with my forelocks, and the skull mask complete concealed my face anyways. This would surely disappear after a few days.

Entering the shower room after that troublesome start, I decided to wash the sand scattered on my body from yesterday’s battle.

There was a reason as to why I suddenly raised my voice. It’s because I just realized that there was shampoo here as well. I was so absorbed in cleaning the scribbles off my face that I thought they only had solid soap ready.

Back when I was still working at the Heart family residency, there was only one bar of solid soap for the employee bathroom. Shampoo with fragrance extracted from flowers were something high class and pretty hard to come by. But there was actually one here…. Speaking of which, when Myne came close to me she smelled nice and sweet, probably because she washed her hair with this shampoo.

I took the bottle filled with shampoo into my hand. Then noticed that there was something like a paper on the bottle.

Will be considered as a purchase for 1 gold upon use。

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……Oioi。So it’s not free. Well of course……it’s a luxury item after all。

「Shit」

Myne had already used it, so it’s already considered a purchase. Even if I protested about this to Myne herself, she’d simply reply that it’s to wash the scribbles off her face.

Well, everything seemed to turn for the worse after I casually drew those whiskers on Myne’s cheeks. If I could return back in time, I’d prevent that from happening with all my might.

I had received retribution both physically and financially. There was no choice but to cover my losses with the reward money from the sand golem core. I assumed that it would be quite a lot. Surely it would be enough to cover the expense of this gold coin.

I’m looking forward to it. If I have a lot of money, what will I do…? Meanwhile, let’s just eat this freshly baked bread. Also this soup with large amount of meat in it. I felt giddy just from thinking about it.

First thing first. Had I washed my face properly? I scooped a little of the flower scented shampoo. How much silver will this be… Gulp. When I was still a gate guard, I’d have to save all my money for two years just to get two silver. For a (formerly) poor person like me, using this shampoo was like jumping from a very high place.

If Greed was here, he would’ve told me to stop the unnecessary thoughts and wash my head quickly. However, while I was still deep in thought…

「Are you not done yet, hurry up. I want to leave here soon」

Whoops, it seemed that she’d grown irritated with waiting. This wasn’t something to be rushed, since I don’t know when I’d be able to feel it again. With that in mind, I washed my head. Uoooooo, this….is good. This shampoo, was too awesome! It’s really worth every single silver coin I spent for it.

When I finally got out of the bathroom all refreshed, I saw Myne had already prepared for the next trip, and now was laying on the bed.

「So slow……I got tired of waiting」

Just from being stared at by those red eyes, what is… this overwhelming sense of intimidation?

「Well, brighten up your mood a little, here, I’ll give you this」

I placed the shampoo I had purchased on Myne’s belly.

「Un, Fate is really nice. I’ll forgive you this time」 「I’m glad if you like it!　Then, is it time to go?」

Taking Greed on my hip and the bag on my back, I was about to leave the room with Myne, but,

「Whoops, I have to put this on beforehand」

I took out the skull mask and put it on. It’s been decided that I’ll walk around the city as the warrior Mukuro already. When Myne saw my appearance, she narrowed her eyes then smiled.

「You look manly」 「Eh, are you serious?　I only put this on to conceal my identity……」 「Then, let’s go. Fate」 「One more thing!　Oi, Myne!　When I wear this mask, please call me as Mukuro!」

Myne ignored me and went ahead. And here I thought you considered me as a man when I put the mask on! Listening to such an interaction, Greed laughed out loud.

『I’m glad to know that someone actually praised your appearance……Fuhahahahaha』 「Shut up」

Then why did she praise me in the first place? Good grief….this, only made me even more in doubt about whether I could really get along with Myne or not.

While I was busy worrying, Myne called me out from the first floor.

『Dokuro!　Quick!』(TL Note: Dokuro means skull) 「It’s Mukuro, not Dokuro!」

I think she’s just playing with me. When I’m about to pay for the lodging, Myne went ahead and was about to leave the lodging. I stopped her in a haste, since there was still something left to do.

「What is it?」 「Last night, I defeated the sand golem in this area. So please wait for a bit while if possible, since I have to claim the reward money first.」 「Sand golem!?　That’s the crown tier monster that caused the desert to widen……Too bad, I was planning to beat it on our way, but you beat me to it」

So Myne actually planned to go down the desert and kill the sand golem. I wonder what she would do since it was a nocturnal creature. The very thought felt disturbing I tried to ask about it, but she wasn’t willing to give an answer.

「The exchange office is over there, here I go」 「……I’m going too」

Myne strapped the black axe onto her waist and followed suit. She seemed quite disappointed with me getting ahead of her. Perhaps her Wrath skill would be strengthened from defeating monsters just like my skill. If that’s the case, missing one crown tier would really count as a huge loss. Forgive me for wanting to grow stronger. Next time, I guess I’ll bring Myne along. But before that, I’ll have to grow even stronger than now.

Arriving at the exchange office, the employee actually had waited for me.

「Welcome back, Mukuro-sama. Here is the reward for defeating the sand golem」

I held my breath when the gold was being put on the table. For real… Is this really okay? These are a lot!

Thankfully I was wearing the skull mask. Otherwise, I’d definitely show an inappropriate face upon seeing the 100 gold coins.

But 100 gold was a lot of money. I don’t even know how I would spend it all.

Let’s put it inside the bag until I come up with something.

When I looked around as I stashed the gold at the bottom of my bag, I found Myne gazed at my hand so much with desire, like a beggar waiting for alms.

「Myne, were you aiming for the reward for defeating the crown tier monster ?」 「Un, that’s right. One purpose of my journey is for collecting money. My village is poor, so I went out to hunt crown tier monsters for their bounty, so I can cover the village’s expenses.」 「I see. Want half?」 「Of course!!」

I’d still give it to you, no need to get so worked out. 50 golds was more than enough for me. When Myne received the money, she treated it like a precious item as she stashed it in her bag. Afterward, I could tell that her expression softened by a little. So it seems, she’ll grow nicer on me if I help her raise some money…..that’s one more entry for my personal ‘Myne: Instruction Manual’.

「I have received the money, shall we get going?」

We got out of the lodging facility with well-filled purse and a very pleased face. However, someone prevented us from going. There was a man standing in the middle, with golden full plate armor, and red coat. To be honest, he looked bad in it. Behind him were more than 50 Warriors. Their appearances were that of refined men.

Well, those are the flashiest sets of equipment I’ve seen so far, I think. I activated the 《Appraisal》skill

Rudolf Lanchester – lv 120 Durability: 1454000 Strength: 1698000 Magic: 1576000 Spirit: 1327000 Agility: 1495000 Ability: Holy Lance skill, Strength strengthening (Large), Magic Strengthening (Large)

Ooh! This is bad. All of his stats are more than 1 million. His appearance betrays his real prowess. This, is an actual Holy Knight.

Holy Knight Rudolf approached me, then asked with a scorn in his voice.

「Are you the warrior who has defeated the sand golem?」 「Yes, I am」

Then he looked around me with a gaze that looks like he’s about to lick me in the face. To be honest, it’s disgusting.

「I see. Well, you do look quite strong. Well done, Fukuro was it?」 「It’s Mukuro」 「Ah, right. Mukuro, you’ll be my subordinate from now on. And let me tell you, it’s not negotiable.」

Apparently, the Holy Knights of this region took notice of me for successfully killing the Sand Golem that had been evading them for years. And for that they had decided to reward me by recruiting me into their ranks.

「That’s a problem. I have places to go to..」 「What are you saying? It’s been decided that you’ll be a Holy Knight, so be reasonable and follow. Now, show me your head. I’ll carve the tattoo of this city’s residence.」

Even on the royal capital, the Holy Knight’s authority is exceptional. Even more so in this city ruled solely by them. What should I do….I hesitantly placed my palm on Greed.

These Holy Knight isn’t someone who we can talk with. That eyes look down on others very much so. Perhaps, if I really become his subordinate, it’ll more like being his pet.

The Holy Knight approached me, going closer by seconds.

「Come, be my subordinate. If you follow obediently, I’ll make your life easier.」

I really need to pull Greed out now… or so I thought, Myne already stood in between the two of us.

「That’s no good. Mukuro has prior appointment with me」

Whoops, the situation had taken a wild turn in a flash. I could tell. If the holy knight didn’t pull back here, I had a feeling that the situation will be even more ridiculous than it is already. However, the Holy Knight knew no better, and instead ridiculed Myne.

「You immature kid should just go home, sleep quietly with your mother. Then……Guaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

Aaaaa……what? It all happened in a flash。

Myne had quickly drawn the black axe she had strapped on her waist. Then, hitting the Holy Knight at his belly with the black axe, sending him flying to the sky. The Holy Knight who had more than 1 million in stats was easily flung up, breaking through the facility’s roof. The momentum didn’t wane at all, as it sent him over the city wall before he disappeared from view. Did that Holy Knight die? Well, he had a very high stats. So it’s unlikely that he died from that….right?

Myne then said to me with a refreshed face.

「We better leave before that Holy Knight returns here」 「Eh, yeah」

I wanted to smile wryly ……but I couldn’t. The Warriors that the Holy Knight had brought along escaped whilst screaming, while the onlookers were eerily quiet…..in a sense, it’s like they’ve gone and seen what hell is all about. I quietly added another entry to my personal ‘Myne: Instruction Manual’. Never treated her like a child. This was an important point, since it may cost me my life.