Chapter 186

“Gwah…!” Rosalie immediately crumples, vomiting violently onto the ground. And yet, Seiya raises his sword into the air to strike her once more. Unable to watch, I rush over and spread my arms out in front of her. “Wait, wait, wait! She’s a woman, you know?! Hold back a little!” “Rosalie is going to be my shield until I fight the Dragon Lord, so I can’t go easy on her. She has to get stronger if she’s going to wear down the Dragon Lord and his minions as much as possible for me.” “Your shield?! Excuse me?!” “I—I don’t mind…” Rosalie struggles back to her feet while using her wooden sword for support. “This is what I wanted…! Keep going!” She is hit with a wooden sword until her arms and legs are swollen and red. She then takes another merciless blow to the head, causing fresh blood to stain her white hair. Seiya used to excessively beat Cerceus during their training, and Cerceus once had his revenge and pulverized Seiya, but it was never this brutal. Right as I realize I can’t watch this anymore, I suddenly hear a small, trembling voice by my side. “Whoa! What is he doing?! Is he torturing her…?” Before I even realize it, Cerceus is standing by my side with a face as pale as can be. “You think so, too, right?!” “He’s treating her much worse than he ever treated me. I get that she’s just an illusion, but I can’t believe he could do something so cruel to a woman. What a monster.” “Y-yeah, or a Demon Lord or something… Wait. Cerceus, what’s that in your hands?” Cerceus is carrying a large barrel filled to the brim with water. “Seiya told me to fetch him a barrel of water. Training’s going to make him thirsty, you know?” “He’s not a horse. Is he really going to drink all that?” Seiya looks down at Rosalie as she groans in agony before passing out. Her body couldn’t take any more. Seiya then marches over to Cerceus, snatches the barrel from him, and dumps the water on Rosalie’s head. “Wake up. There’s no time to sleep.” Eek?! So that’s what the water was for?! What kind of training is this?! I rush over to Rosalie to stop the abuse, but the soaked princess’s face is brimming with motivation. “I appreciate it! I am fully conscious now! Ah, there’s nothing like a cold drink of water to liven you up! That really hit the spot!” “You ‘appreciate’ it?! You didn’t even drink any, so I’m pretty sure it didn’t hit any ‘spots’!” “Let’s…keep going!” She ends up getting knocked unconscious for a third time, and this time she is completely out. No amount of water gets her to even budge. “Seiya! You’ve gone too far this time!” “How many times do I have to repeat myself? She’s just an illusion. Don’t worry about her.” “But she’s out cold! She can’t take any more!” “Hmph. Then use your healing magic and fix her. We can start training again when she’s awake.” Seiya then briskly walks off somewhere. I lay Rosalie’s head in my lap and cast a healing spell on her. The merciless attacks have left countless bruises on her face and body. “Did he really have to go this far?” “What he’s doing makes sense, though. Seiya’s planning on using Rosalie as a shield while he fights, right? He probably made her take off her armor so he could raise her Defense through giving her body a good beating.” “He still went too far.” I chat with Cerceus while healing Rosalie until she eventually opens her good eye. “You need not worry about me. Nothing would make me happier than to be a part of the Dragon Lord’s demise, no matter what the cost. Besides, this training is saving me from mental anguish. Only during our training can I forget about the foolish actions I took.” Rosalie sacrificed her own townspeople to a demon for over a decade, and it’s clear she considers this an unforgivable sin. “The Hero is a thoughtful man. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even knew how I was feeling.” “I—I don’t know about that.” I just think Seiya doesn’t view her as a person. Regardless, Rosalie is very optimistic about her training with him. All of a sudden, I notice that Rosalie’s eyepatch has slid off her eye, exposing an old scar. A single slash, perhaps from a sword. “Hey, Rosalie? I think I can heal that eye for you if you want.” “I appreciate the thought, but it isn’t possible. Not even the highest-level healers could fix it.” “…! W-wait. Does that mean your eye was—?!” “Yes, the Dragon Lord robbed me of this eye.” She sends a piercing gaze into the sky as she fixes her eyepatch. “The Dragon Lord likes to torture his victims before killing them. After slicing through this eye with Igzasion, he immediately tortured my father, the emperor, to death…laughing all the while.” “M-Mash laughed while…?!” I can’t even finish my sentence. Rosalie slowly continues her story with a serious tone: “I understand that you all have come from another world, and I somewhat understand what’s going on now, so let me just say this: The Dragon Lord, Mash Dragonight, is a ruthless monster. You should probably think of him as a completely different person rather than the boy you once knew,” suggests Rosalie while she sits up and tries to get back to her feet. “I must make it through the Hero’s training and become an unbreakable shield so we can defeat that monster!” “Rosalie! Your wounds still haven’t completely healed yet! You should rest a—” “No, I’m fine. I would rather continue training.” “What?! You seriously want to keep doing that?!” “I am fine with whatever the Hero wishes to do with me. Simply being by his side warms my heart. Yes… I must have—” All of a sudden, Seiya comes walking over, cutting Rosalie off midsentence. “You’re awake. Very well. Let’s continue.” “Okay!” And just like that, they begin their rigorous training once again. Despite how brutal it may seem, Rosalie almost appears as if she is enjoying herself. Every time she is hit and bruised, her cheeks turn pink. “More! Give me that long sword of yours! Yes! Yesss! Ahhhnnn!” “Is it just me, or is this getting weird?!” The Hero continues his harsh training while Rosalie gazes at him with rapture, and I begin to grow very worried for more reasons than one.