“This necklace is a treasure that I value more than my life. Of course I don’t feel bad when you say you’ll protect it. You’ve got potential for a male. Hee-hee-hee-hee!!! I suppose this means my spectacularly ladylike ways have even attracted a lowly being like you!!!”
“Precisely! Thank you! I will seriously do my best! Please use me as your shield!”
“Hee-hee-hee-hee!! Good, good, very good, I say!”
I knew it! Ophelia was the best!!!
I was moved to tears by the intense encounter with her yuri ship—when I heard a high-pitched scream and the sounds of battle approaching, sensed rage and confusion, and smelled a mixture of blood and iron.
So it’s begun.
My moonlit blade was automatically unsheathed below my hand.
“Ophelia, get behind me—”
“That scream. It’s a sign of great evil!!! Let’s go, servant! It’s time to show the courage and grace of the Margelines! I’m coming to your aid before it’s too late!” she called out.
Ophelia turned around before I had time to stop her, and she took off, running into the ship’s interior. I chased after her in a hurry—
“Drop your weapon.”
A cult member had captured Ophelia and was holding a blade against her neck.
“E-eeep… H-help me…!”
This was unreal… She was captured only seconds after diving inside to save the day…! I—I wasn’t sure I was a match for the opponent… O-Ophelia…just how far are you going to go…??
“I’ll only warn you twice, and this is the second and last warning. Drop your weapon.”
“H-help… I don’t want to die…!”
“Okay, okay, I’m dropping my weapon. Don’t point a knife at the girl who’s crying with a runny nose. Geez.”
I tossed Masamune Kuki, hooked my finger on the trigger—the enhanced projection—and jumped the cult member, who froze in shock.
I ran and threw my console with an underhand move.
“Ngh?!”
It hit the cult member’s wrist and made her lose her hold of her blade.
Bending backward to dodge the console that came flying at her, the cult member let go of Ophelia and backed away.
I caught Ophelia, then rotated and released the knife in my sock. The defensive move the cult member took wasn’t fast enough, and I delivered a kick between her arms and whacked her in the gut.
“Ngh!!!”
As stomach acid leaked from the corner of her mouth, I smashed my heel against her head as she crouched in pain and caught Masamune Kuki.
An attack from behind came simultaneously.
“Hey, hey, are you working as a group…? Dear guests, do you have permission to come aboard?”
Having heard the commotion, more clan members showed up.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… I quickly grasped their numbers, holding Ophelia, who had almost fainted.
“Y-you bastard…!!!”
No matter how much strength they put into their arms, it’s useless if they don’t use their feet and legs.
Blades clashed.
The clan members desperately tried to beat me to the ground, turning bright red as they put force into their strikes.
Now what should I do?
The cult member group consisted of girls around the same age armed with mass-produced double-bladed claymores. They must have already pulled the triggers on their physical enhancement since it didn’t look like they were having problems with the weight of the devices.
The first one that fell at my feet was unconscious. The second one that attacked me from behind wasn’t much better, either.
Based on what I knew of the original game, the clan members involved in this attack event were supposed to be the Black Cats, the lowest class among my enemies. I didn’t expect them to defeat me, but it wasn’t a good idea to take on this number carrying the always defeated and never victorious Ophelia.
We were now in the center of a trendy café.
As we stared at each other, the chairs and tables between us, gauging each other’s strength, I thought this might be a bit of a hassle. Maybe I should make a run for it.
“Ngh.”
I suddenly relaxed and dodged my opponents’ claymores.
“Huh…?! H-hey… Hey…!!!”
Leaving the swords that dropped forward as they were, I pushed one of my enemies on the back with my foot as she lost her balance.
After making sure she’d fallen, I respectfully picked up Ophelia in my arms.
“Excuse me, I’m going to borrow your legs.”
“Eeep!!!”
Holding the precious rich daughter in my arms—and running a magic line along her legs—I bounced off the floor and took off running.
“H-he’s getting away! Go after him!”
The clan members went into a frenzy and chased after us.
“We’re going to slide, slide, slide! And jump, jump!”
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
The view we saw became a bunch of horizontal lines as we flew at lightning speed, and the floor material scattered with a flourish after we stomped all over it. I slid and leaped over tables, dodging shots from behind, and eventually, the pool-slash-hot-tub came into view.
“Ophelia. Are you amphibious?!”
“Huh?! What in the world do you mean—? (Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!)”
Without waiting for a reply, I jumped into the pool-slash-hot-tub.
A tremendous amount of bubbles filled my vision, and the warm and pleasant water enveloped my body.
I held Ophelia’s head down and dragged her underwater, then waited for a few dozen seconds, staring at the water’s surface above as I waited for the right time, and—
“(Gasp!!!)”
I pulled my head out of the water.
I guess our pursuers didn’t expect us to jump into the water.
All signs of them had disappeared, and I heard footsteps coming from another direction and moving away.
“I was looking forward to my first time in the pool-slash-hot-tub…but why did it have to be like this…? Hey, Ophelia? Are you okay? It looks like we’re in the clear now—”
Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as she floated to the surface, asleep with a peaceful look on her face.
“Sh-she’s dead…”