Your and My Asylum

***

That day was a day where I got whipped. This was because Chanmi had decided that that would be the case after school on every Tuesday and Friday.

Chanmi had decided a lot of things outside of that as well. The whipping standards, the method of whipping, the body posture one should have while whipping, etc, she had determined all of these things. Only the people who followed those standards strictly and passed Chami’s test could hold the whip.

The person who had earned the qualification to whip me on that day was the girl who would always sit behind me in class. If Chanmi was the Silver Lion Earl, then this girl’s position was somewhere between Zia and Ariya. Although she did gradually grow a habit of speaking in a cringeworthy way that would suit that position, that was something that happened later on, so at that time, she was just like an untrained Beagle.

On that day, I collapsed onto my knees after the thirty-eighth strike. It wasn’t a special score or anything. I remembered that day not because of that, but because of what the girl said to me while rubbing medicine on my back after she was done.

Did it hurt?

Of course, I couldn’t tell her that it hurt. As I was still lethargic since this was prior to Minhee transferring to our school, I had also just been whipped. The girl who sat behind me in class smiled brightly as she patted my whip-mark riddled back with an audible smack.

It’s all right, the Miss is a splendid person. She will also one day be the person to shoulder this entire country. When that day comes, the pain you’re feeling now will all be rewarded.

You probably understand why I had referred to her as an untrained Beagle. The girl who used to be seated behind me had said something completely illogical as if it were a math equation. Her tone was bright and didn’t have even a single ounce of hostility in it.

That lit a fire inside of me.

I got upset. I shouted at her and asked her how she could do such a thing. Tears streamed down my face. I cried often back then. I don’t even remember what was said, but I do remember that my tears had filled my throat so much that I could no longer speak.

I also remember the girl’s reaction.

The girl who used to sit behind me was bewildered.

Why are you upset? She said those words with an expression on her face that looked as if she truly didn’t expect this to happen. Eh, why? Why exactly? Was there anything in what I had said just now that could upset you? I consoled you. I comforted you, didn’t I? I also taught you something that you didn’t know, right? Why? Why exactly?

Aha, the girl let out a sound and appeared as if she had come to a realization. I see now. My explanation was lacking, she muttered to herself. Then, with a face and tone that appeared as if she were telling me a secret, she told me this:

The Miss actually cherishes you.

Do you still not understand? You probably don’t. You don’t seem too bright after all. Look at how you were being whipped. For example, my posture when I whipped you. Why do you think the Miss regulates this so strictly? She does these things so you don’t get hurt. So you don’t become disabled. See, you didn’t know that, right? Aren’t you seriously moved? The girl who used to sit behind me had said those words with sincerity and without any hostility whatsoever. She spoke while smiling.

Do you now get a gist of how much the Miss is acting for your sake?

There were two meanings to when I said that we had to up our preparations. One was that we had to gather information, and the other was physical preparations.

Fortunately, there was a way to deal with both of these at the same time.

Two days later, I first visited Sophna.

“Hi.”

Sophna, who was reading a book in the head vassal office, made a fed up expression.

“You are acting overly familiar.”

She didn’t have the same flat-out cold attitude as she did back when we were in the Earl’s office. It wasn’t difficult to see that her coldness wasn’t gone, but instead, it had simply been put away somewhere inside of her. Once I approached her politely and expressed my respect, I noticed that the book she was reading was written in English.

“You know how to read English?”

“Should I not?”

“I just thought it was impressive.”

“Throughout my entire life, I have familiarized myself with magic. Something like the language of another world cannot be even considered as an obstacle to my research. Rather, do you know how to read it?”

“There is nothing like dancing after all. I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished society. ‘There is nothing like dancing after all. I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished society.’ Pride and Prejudice, huh.” (TL note: This may be a bit confusing, but they’re basically quoting lines from the book, which are in English, and translating them to Korean the line after.)

I didn’t expect to see a classic masterpiece from Earth in another world. Sophna chuckled at me who was reminiscing.

“I am on the side of agreeing with the line after that. Every savage can dance. ‘Every savage can dance.’ Kuhuhu, of course, Darcy is a bastard that always uses the words that are said against the people who had said them, but there is some value in these words. The act of dancing is incapable of becoming an indicator that can discriminate between civilization and savagery.”

“What do you think that means?”

“In what way are they cruel? In that regard, Her Excellency the Silver Lion Earl is an unquestionably civilized individual.”

After saying that with a smile, Sophna put her short pipe in her mouth.

“In any case, why are you here?”

“I heard that one of the merchant groups managed by Lady Dansoomyo had arrived.”

Sophna removed her short pipe from her lips. Instead of tobacco, there was boiling herbal water in the pipe.

“Who told you?”

“Roroa.”

“I heard that the two of you have become rather friendly recently.”

I also knew that Sophna would already know, so that’s why I told her who it was. If that weren’t the case, then I wouldn’t have mentioned anything that could possibly be linked to Roroa.”

“I have something I want to talk to them about. I plan to go out for a bit, so I was wondering if you would want to come with me.”

“How interesting. Kuhuhu, for a mere squire to ask the head vassal if they could accompany them. Despite also being well aware of the fact that I disapprove of you. I am unsure if I should call you brave or tactless.”

“Probably tactless.”

“I too wish to believe that is the case. However, that would be an injustice. You were able to come out alive, were you not?”

Sophna took a single puff on her pipe.

“It would have been easier for the both of us if you were to have died.”

I stayed silent. Sophna took another puff.

Only the sound of boiling could be heard during this long pause.

“107.”

Sophna spoke.

“Can you guess what this number means?”

I kept my mouth shut.

Sophna flipped a page of her book and continued.

“You were most likely able to endure until now because of your luck, your intelligence, and your speaking ability. Let us see how far you can get with those three things. The instant those three come to an end, you will be the 108th.”

I bowed and removed myself from the room. Sophna didn’t even glance at me as I left.

I closed my eyes once I exited the office and entered the hallway.

107.

Of course, I had a guess as to what this number represented.

It was most likely the number of Koreans the Earl had killed.

I thought about the reason why Sophna had told me this. It wasn’t difficult. She most likely intended to shake my resolve. ‘How do you feel knowing that you’re serving a person who had killed 107 of your kind?’ ‘Do you believe that if it’s you, then you won’t end up like them?’ An instigation to incite anxiety within me.

Although she probably wanted to make me shrink away from the Earl.

If anything, I was told something quite good.

I opened my eyes. I then immediately went to the Silver Lion Earl.

“Earl, I have a request.”

Although the head vassal was reading a classic masterpiece, the Silver Lion Earl was playing a PS Vita. She must have been in an important moment in her game as she deliberately frowned at me.

“Hmm. I said no more pillow talk. How could you make another request when it hasn’t been that long since you’ve moved?”

“It’s related to work. I heard that one of the merchant groups supported by Lady Dansoomyo had arrived at the city. I want to meet with whoever is in charge of their group.”

The Silver Lion Earl fixed her expression.

“Tha⎯⎯⎯at’s right. All things considered, that bitch is also an executive of Fedchant after all. Although she’s just a branch manager, she’s a sponsor of a fair amount of merchant groups. Hm, are you going to go meet them yourself? Wouldn’t it be better to summon them here?”

“You’ve almost used up all of your summons, right? Furthermore, I’ve also been wanting to go outside of the castle and have a look around the city.”

I said that as I lowered my head. The Silver Lion Earl lowered her game and looked at the back of her hands.

“Hm. Well, I could also just send someone to bring them here, but okay. I understand. But will you be okay? There are people besides the Mage Tower who are after otherworlders and their knowledge, you know? There’s a reason why I haven’t sent you outside of the castle needlessly. Do you perhaps have a hobby of getting kidnapped?”

“I’ll wear sunglasses while I’m on the streets.”

“Oh.” The Silver Lion Earl nodded. “Hm. Still, it’ll be difficult to deceive the people who’re coming after you.”

“At that time, I’ll just believe that you’ll save me somehow.”

Once I declared that while bowing respectfully, the Silver Lion Earl broke out into a grin.

“All right. It’s the hero’s mission to rescue the heroine in distress after all. I just have to crush all of the daring bastards that appear and try to do something ridiculous to my possession. Then let’s say that we’ve dealt with that issue, but what about the other one? This is your first outing.”

She was asking whether my first time outside of the castle would be fun or not because I was going out to do something work-related. I decided to not refuse that concern which was very Silver Lion Earl-like in many different ways.

“That’s why I plan to walk around here and there. There’s also that escort issue you mentioned a second ago, so I’d be grateful if you let me appoint some people to accompany me. I’d also like some allowance.”

“Allowance, huh? That isn’t a problem, but, hugugugu. It’s rather cute since Mr. Yujin is asking for money. The issue is who goes with you, hm. Are you going to go out after sunset?”

“I’m not going to go out immediately. I need some time to prepare. About 2 days.”

“All right. But are you going to go out after sunset?”

“I’m going to leave Sii here.”

The Silver Lion Earl tilted her head.

I continued.

“Like how you’re also concerned, she’s weak to direct sunlight and I can’t make her push herself when her arm hasn’t completely healed yet.”

“Hah? Who said I was worried? If someone were to hear that, then they’d probably think I’m some sort of silly hmpher.” (TL note: “silly-hmpher” is basically the Korean direct translation of “Tsundere”. Someone who says ‘hmph!’ a lot and acts silly/coy)

“Are you going to use that word?”

“As I thought, this is overreaching the limits, isn’t it?” The Silver Lion Earl obediently acknowledged her mistake. “What could have the creator of this terrible term been possibly thinking about when they made it?”

“Don’t be like that. The person who made it is probably regretting it as well.”

“All riiight. In any case, I’m not a tsundere or acting coy either. But are you sure that’s okay? To leave Mikatni’s adopted daughter behind while you go out? I mean, would you be able to relax?”

“I can’t always be by her side anyway. It’s only going to be for half a day, so I doubt much will happen. I also plan to make Alshi keep her company.”

“Haanm. I guess it’s almost the end of the month as well, isn’t it? Mr. Yujin has to return to Korea for a while, so she’ll have to be by herself.”

“I’ll put my trust in you.”

“If you say something like that, then that makes me want to unnecessarily betray yooouu.”

The Silver Lion Earl giggled mischievously. I adjusted my glasses.

That must have been the right response as the Silver Lion Earl asked while grinning.

“How much do you need?”

“I still don’t know the value of money here. Just give me enough that I won’t lose face no matter where I go.”

“Hm. All right. I’ll give you a reasonable amount.”

The Silver Lion Earl put her hands behind her head with her fingers linked together and grinned. If it was a ‘reasonable amount’, then considering the Earl’s extravagant personality, I most likely won’t find myself short of money. Although there was also the possibility that she’ll mess with me and give me only a small sum, if that does happen, I’ll just have to take some from Roroa at that time.

“Is Sophna going to go with you?”

The Silver Lion Earl asked that like a passing comment.

And I.

“No.”

A slight disappointment brushed past the Earl’s face.

“Why’s that? You should have brought it up with her. That you should go together.”

“I did.”

That’s all I said in response.

Although I had gone out of my way to visit Sophna and suggested something that would obviously be refused just so that I could give this answer to the Earl, there was no need to say anything more and it was something that I shouldn’t do either.

I had to thoroughly avoid saying anything ill of Sophna or anything that could even remotely sound like criticism towards her.

The Silver Lion Earl frowned. After staying silent for a brief moment, she opened her desk drawer and took out a small pouch.

“There’s 20,000 vita in this pouch. This should be enough. Think of this as your salary for your first month.”

I smiled in return.

“So you were actually concerned about this.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re the one who kept badgering me.”

“Thanks. I’ll use it well······ Earl?”

I had called out to the Silver Lion Earl because she had grabbed the pouch.

“Should we go together?”

This request in itself⎯⎯⎯wasn’t unexpected.

“I’m bored of my work, I want to go out and get some fresh air, etc etc. I feel like I should sometimes move my hips out of bed? Something like that.”

I thought to myself.

Go outside of the castle together with the Silver Lion Earl. Wander around various places of the Water Dragon City. Although the Earl wouldn’t do anything harsh to citizens who have civil rights, the people who are unaware of that fact will give the Earl a wide berth and fear her. The misunderstanding formed by that gap will most likely cause a fuss. The fusses that happen in those various places will surely be enjoyable. I’ll be able to mediate between the two parties and resolve the misunderstandings.

I believed that that would truly be a warm scene.

I didn’t tell her this.

“Your form wouldn’t look good.”

I answered her like that.

“You’re the lord of the city. Despite that, the fact that you’re personally going to visit a group of merchants. A merchant group that’s being sponsored by your cousin at that. The fact that they’re a group of merchants that are a part of the Fedchant which you had caused some trouble with before. This doesn’t look good on the surface.”

“People will probably get noisy. Well, let them get noisy. That isn’t some major problem.”

The Silver Lion Earl grumbled. I readjusted my glasses.

“There’s a better option.”

“What is it?”

“Make them send you an invitation.”

The Silver Lion Earl wasn’t dumb. Her face didn’t relax immediately because she wasn’t.

“Hmm, yeah. There won’t be any gossip, they’ll be the ones who’ll have to spend money and be concerned about preparations, and I’ll be able to lead the conversation from a dominant position. But why would they abruptly send me an invitation?”

“I’ll make them do it.”

“Thanks, but wouldn’t that seem like I’m fishing for compliments? From guests at that. Wouldn’t that be more embarrassing?”

“It’s fine if I do it arbitrarily.”

The Silver Lion Earl appeared as if she understood.

“Aha, I see. So you’re saying that you’ll shoulder my authority and go wild.”

“Yeah. Like a mayfly that had suddenly gotten hold of an authority that’s beyond its means. Boldly, but since a letter of complaint will probably arrive instead of an invitation if I were to act too recklessly, I’ll make sure I don’t cross the line while I request for their ‘sincerity’.”

“Hmm. And when the invitation comes, I’ll have to take you along with me? So by scolding you a little in front of them, they’ll be able to save face.”

I kissed the tip of the Silver Lion Earl’s foot.

“Isn’t that the duty of a lover?”

Compared to everything else that was said until now, it seems the Silver Lion Earl liked those words the most.

“Ah hah hah ha ha. Mr. Yujin really is cuuute. Makes me really curious as to whether this crazy cuteness is actually legal or not. All right. Pushing your outing back until then should be good enough.”

“By the way, Earl. Even if I do something that may make you somewhat lose face, that was nothing more than an act, so······.”

“Okay! It’s fine. I won’t do something like cut off Mikatni’s adopted daughter’s arm again. I see that has firmly traumatized you. I’m not an idiot. The situation is different. Ah hah ha.”

Good. I got her permission. With this, I should be able to lift my ban on my bastard mode, my radius of action has somewhat increased. While I was nodding to myself, the Silver Lion Earl decided to take another step.

“Wait. If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it with certainty.”

She ripped out a single sheet of paper, scribbled something down on it, and stamped it with the seal attached to the ring that was on the middle finger of her right hand.

“This is a certificate which declares that you’re under my protection. If you have this with you when you run wild, then you should be able to go even wilder. So······.”

I was also able to take a step forward.

“Something.” I only received the pouch from her. “I’d prefer something that’s easier to identify.”

“Huu?”

“Something that’ll make people know at a single glance that I’m favored by you.”

A silence flowed by for a moment.

The Silver Lion Earl, opened her mouth after that moment had gone by.

“Did something happen?”

It seems that her guard had gone up. Nevertheless, that was a step that I could take because I already had an excuse ready.

For starters, denial.

“Nothing in particular happened.”

“No, something did happen. You obviously know what I’ll do if you make that kind of request. For a person who has constantly denied being a masochist, an incident of a proportionate scale must have occurred for your M instincts to have awakened. What happened? Do you want me to ask you for the third time?”

It was then that I bowed my head and answered her.

“Sophna told me that I was only able to survive until now because I was lucky. She said that if I’m even slightly careless, then I’ll be the 108th.”

Instead of adding my own thoughts to it, I only told her what had been said exactly.

The Silver Lion Earl put her hand on her forehead. Another somewhat lengthy silence.

“Damn grandma.”

She turned to look at me with a sigh.

“Yujin, please understand. Sophna is⎯⎯⎯a bit, senile. You know well how old people are like since you lived in Korea, right?”

I only listened. Even the act of nodding my head could be interpreted as a rash agreement.

The Silver Lion Earl shrugged.

“In any case, so you’re saying that you’ve become antsy. You need proof that’s decent enough to soothe that restlessness of yours and also help you regain your mental stability. Hm. All right. I get it. Wait A Minute.”

The Silver Lion Earl got up from her seat. She grabbed a lamp that was hanging on the wall, placed it on her desk, and removed the lid. She stared at the flames for a while before putting her hand inside of the lamp.

The flame was unable to harm the Silver Lion Earl at all.

It wasn’t even able to burn the sleeve of her coat.

But⎯⎯⎯it heated her rings.

“You brought this upon yourself, okay?”

“······I know.”

“Let’s confirm it.”

I was about to nod my head, but I ended up gulping instead.

The Silver Lion Earl took her hand out once roughly 3 minutes had passed. The rings that were heated in the flame were creating a haze. Each time she moved her small and slender fingers, the air around them wriggled like the flesh of a prisoner’s tortured body. Although it was brilliant and sensual, it was also terrifying.

“Stand up.”

I did as I was told and stood up.

“Come here.”

I approached her.

“Loosen your tie.”

I did so.

“Your collarbone.”

I revealed it.

“Here I go.”

The Silver Lion Earl brought her hand close.

Sszzzzzzzzzzt······!

“Heuk······!”

A noise that sounded as if some molten metal had splashed onto a surface. What actually occurred must have been similar to that as well. The area of the skin where the seal of the ring touched didn’t get cooked or become burned. It didn’t swell up either.

It melted, viscously, like caramel.

“Ah, u······!”

I thought that I had become accustomed to pain. In reality, that was the case.

“A-Ah······!”

However, even I couldn’t withstand it as my hands that were holding the collar of my shirt open started to tremble.

“This is troubling. You’re wriggling too much. It’ll mess up, you know? This is supposed to be proof of the favor you’re receiving, so it needs to be engraved properly. That way it’ll be pleasing to look at. If it’s like that, then wouldn’t other people also come to understand that this was done because you’re really adored by me?”

“I k-know······!”

“I know, my butt. Are you a squid? If you twist your body like that even though you’re not on top of a grill, hm, aha, yup, that’s right. You’re doing good. You’re a man. It’ll be sad if you don’t display your spirit and resolve here. Like that. Stay still, like that. Yup, don’t move······ good boy. Good boy, Mr. Yujin. You’re doing good······.”

The ring was removed from the surface of my skin once an amount of time that felt like an eternity had passed, and on that spot where the ring had been touching, there was a clear ring mark that appeared as if it would never fade away even if an eternity were to pass.

“You did well.”

The Silver Lion Earl put her hand back inside of the lamp.

“Now there’s 9 left.”

The Silver Lion Earl didn’t hurry. She took as much time as she wanted as she seared her official seals onto me. Even though I occasionally caved in under the pain and my body writhed several times, she was still able to accurately sear the seals of her rings onto me. During this process, I had to take it all in while I revealed my chest on my own accord. Although I had broken out in a cold sweat, trembled, and let out groans of pain, I was just barely able to endure it all.

Eventually, once the ‘bestowment’ had ended, I wound up falling to my knees as I had become completely exhausted. My clothes were soaked with so much of my sweat that you could probably wring the sweat out.

Just panting hurt. Each time I breathed, my rising and falling chest ached. The air that touched my skin hurt to a ridiculous degree.

The tears that had flowed out involuntarily due to the overwhelming pain went down my cheeks and soaked the seals.

“Mm.”

The Silver Lion Earl smacked her lips and hugged me. She licked my tear-drenched cheek haphazardly.

“Mhm! You did well. Ah hah ha, mhm, yup, you did good! Mr. Yujin, ah, Mr. Yujin. So cute. You’re really adorable.”

“I’m not······ adorable.”

“No. You are. It’s at a point that I want to embrace you right here and now. If Mr. Yujin weren’t a eunuch, then I probably would have done so.”

Pat pat, after patting my back audibly, the Silver Lion Earl took out a bottle of magical medicine and rubbed its contents on top of where I was branded. She then started to move her hands skillfully in order to button up my shirt. As the dying skin around the brandings began to heal, it was concealed by my shirt at the same time.

The Silver Lion Earl touched the band of my shirt with lingering fingers before tapping my cheek.

“Have a nice trip.”

I turned my head and kissed the back of her hand.

Although there was some residual heat, it wasn’t enough to burn my lips.

Once I returned to my room, the usual members were waiting for me.

“······Yujin? Your complexion is bad. Did something happen?”

It’ll probably be revealed no matter how much I try to hide it.

“The Silver Lion Earl branded me.”

“What!? What do you mean!?”

I pulled my collar down a bit. Flames erupted within Sii’s eyes.

“That girl······!”

“It’s all right.”

“But······.”

I was about to tell her that it was all right once more, but there was no need to do so. Sii had swallowed her own words by herself. She gnashed her teeth, took some deep breaths, and after calming down her red-hot complexion, Sii touched my collarbone with trembling fingers.

“It hurt, didn’t it······?”

······.

“Yes, it hurt.”

“Mm, you did well.”

Sii Garno Mikatni said the same words which her half-sister had said but with a completely different tone.

“Mm~~ you did well. You really endured well.”

I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them. I responded to Sii by kissing the tip of her hand and turned to face the others.

“Let’s have a meeting real quick.”

And then another 2 days passed.

The day of my outing had arrived. Ariya spoke.

“The preparations are complete.”

Alshi nodded as well.

“I also packed some more, money. In case you run short.”

Roroa was the last one to speak.

“Wan! That money mostly came from me, wan.”

“Quiet you. Trying to take the credit even though you, didn’t give a lot.”

“I spent a lot of money when I went around greeting people after I became the vice-captain, wan. Well, if you don’t have enough, then I can just go and get some more, wan. The guard exists for that sake.”

I answered them one by one.

“Good job. Thanks for taking care of me. Roroa, I’ll hold off on your suggestion. This isn’t a good time to pick a fight. What happened to your aspiration to protect the public order of the city by taking hold of the guard?”

“You can contribute to economic development by raking in foreign currency. Wan, the foreign currency you earn like that will flow to the bottom and stimulate the economy, wan.  For someone who came from a world where economics has developed that much, do you not know the fundamentals of consumer theory, wan?”

“I understand that you want to joke around, but I don’t have the leisure to play along when my chest is in this state. Let’s keep things moderate. If you’re all ready, then I’m going to get changed.”

Shortly after, I spoke once more.

“I’m going to get changed.”

Roroa flapped her ears.

“So what, wan?”

Ariya bowed her head at a 31.83 degrees angle.

“I’ll be at your side in order to assist you, Fair Grace.”

Alshi had an incomprehensible smile on her face.

“I heard that you filmed me getting changed several times, with that so-called hidden camera of yours.”

I decided to just get changed anyway. Even my underwear. I didn’t offer them the kindness of turning around either. Roroa gave the comment ‘Different from Ahyeon’, while Alshi commented ‘Lacks muscles’. Although I felt sorry for Ariya, whose head had burst into smoke after she was unable to figure out where to put her eyes, I definitely gave her the opportunity to look away.

Once I finished getting dressed, I turned back to Sii.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Sii spoke with a stiff face.

“Have a safe trip. ······I’ll do my part well.”

“Don’t do the impossible. Alshi, you as well.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep a good watch over her.”

Like that, after leaving Sii and Alshi behind, I left the room with Roroa and Ariya. Ariya, who was finally able to compose herself while we were walking through the hallway, made a troubled expression.

“Will they be all right?”

“Are you worried?”

“Yes, a bit. As I thought, wouldn’t it be better if I stayed behind instead of Alshi······?”

“No. You’re the eye that Sophna had attached to me. If someone is going to be at my side, then it has to be you. Even if it’s ineffective, you have to keep acting as a spy. I told you about this back then, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Fair Grace. You told me······”

“Trust in Sii and your lover. They’ll both do a good job.”

Ariya nodded her head hesitantly. Roroa flapped her ears as she stretched.

“Wan. Everyone’s all making a fuss worrying about each other, wan. How will a person without a partner live due to their loneliness?”

Ariya raised her brows sharply at a 45 degrees angle.

“Do it with Kina. Like a dog.”

In response to this spiteful remark which was both racist and making fun of her family, Roroa let out an ‘Oho!’.

“Do you want to see what’s really like a dog? Wan. Should I go into my unsheathed state and exchange fists with you?”

“How disgusting and crude. How could someone like you be the vice-captain of the guard······.”

“Likewise. If my superior in the past had a sharp eye for learning things, then he would probably still be around. Wan. Was the last name of that superior who was only good at drinking alcohol Orgit? Not only was his presence lacking because he was overshadowed by the Twelve Bullets, but he died so absurdly that I don’t remember him that well, wan.”

Ariya glared at Roroa. Roroa bared her canines as she flapped her ears.

The instant Ariya raised one of her fists and Roroa took a step back as she got ready to enter her unsheathed state, I spoke up.

“Rather than Sii and Alshi, I feel like we should be more worried about us.”

Ariya’s face became red. Roroa’s expression remained the same, but I wasn’t expecting that sort of self-reflection from her anyway.

“Ariya, you already learned this before, didn’t you? Making fun of someone else’s family will only call upon them to make fun of your family in return. Moreover, Roroa, didn’t you say you were 31 years old? Are you going to behave like that with a 17-year-old?”

“It’s a bit weird hearing that from a 19-year-old. Even more so if you consider the fact that that 19-year-old mainly licks the feet of two 16-year-old sisters.”

“The taste is different.”

“······Wan?”

“In any case.” I adjusted my glasses. “Regulate yourselves. This is my first outing, so let’s enjoy ourselves a bit. This is an order.”

Ariya and Roroa both looked up at me with complex expressions on their faces. This was also the reaction that I was aiming for. The reason I said that nonsense a second ago was to not only stop Roroa’s ridicule but to also make the two of them feel the same way and strengthen their mutual sense of solidarity.

“Fair Grace, you occasionally say some······ creepy things.”

“Wan, yeah. How did you become such a pervert at your age, wan?”

I’ll have to put up with this misunderstanding.

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go outside.”

“Are you blocking all protest since you have nothing to say, wan? Though that’s quite the advisable response, in any case, as we discussed during the meeting, will we be going to the arena first, wan?”

“Yeah. Let’s go meet Zia and Yudia.”

I answered her like that.

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Took my time with this one since New Years happened and all. Was a bit busy with family stuff and I also decided to read a book from my backlog.

On a side note, I’m really curious as to how popular this series even is. Of course, I shouldn’t compare it to the amount of attention new Dungeon Defense chapters tend to get, but there really isn’t much of a spike in views when I release a new YaMA chapter nor are there much comments. Albeit, I guess most of the comments for any of the series I translate immediately go to the Discord chat. I unno, it just seems a bit weird since I know a lot of you actually voted for me to translate this volume of YaMA next and I’ve seen a fair amount of people comment about how they’re looking forward to it.

Rant aside, I think the next chapter is the longest one of the volume, so keep that in mind.