Chapter 112: An Eye for an Eye

I thought it would be better not to waste time on this kind of thing.

So I decided to meet with Lidelle the day after Miroslav told me about it.
But I didn’t feel obliged to go to the guild myself, so I just told her to come at the time I specified if she had something to say.

Then, right at the specified time, Lidelle came in wearing the guild uniform.
She seemed to have been working at the guild until the last minute.

Miroslav escorted Lidelle to my room.
I let only Lidelle into the room, and had Miroslav stand guard at the door.
There shouldn’t be anyone in the house who would eavesdrop on us, but it was possible that the conversation would be heard unintentionally, and if the kids barged in in the middle of the talk, there would be no tension or anything.

Lidelle, who faced me one-on-one in my private room, not the guest room, where the bed was placed, was visibly pale.

At first, I thought Lidelle was scared of what was going to happen, but when I looked closely, I saw a strong light flashing in her eyes.
It looked like the eyes of someone who had made up their mind.

Then I realized that the reason for her pale complexion was simply fatigue.
She was proud of working for Ishka, and she must have been running around without sleeping or eating.

I was the one who invited her, so I thought I should offer her a chair, but before I could open my mouth, Lidelle moved ahead of me.

She bowed her head.
Not a slight nod, but a deep one, bending her waist at a ninety-degree angle.

In that position, Lidelle spoke in a stiff voice.

“I would like to thank you for listening to my request, Dragon Slayer.”

“Oh, I heard that the guild was mainly calling me Fake Dragon Slayer.”

As I threw a sarcastic remark at her from the start, Lidelle’s shoulders trembled slightly.

I couldn’t see her face because she was bowing her head, but somehow, I imagined the receptionist’s face with her lips tightly pursed.

“Ah… I was planning to apologize for that later.”

“Hmph.
Well, I don’t care whether I’m a slayer or a liar.
If you want to apologize, let’s hear it.”

As I said that and urged her to sit down, Lidelle sat on the sofa with a tense expression.

Even in that slight movement, I could sense a strong wariness towards me.
No, this was more than wariness, it was fear or dread.

This receptionist seemed to think I was a man-eater or something.

How rude of her – I wanted to be indignant, but that was exactly the case.

When I thought about it calmly, Lidelle had witnessed the power of Gozu and his men, and also the power of me who repelled them.
She probably added her experience and information as a guild staff member and came up with the correct answer.

Should I praise her for her keen eye or laugh sarcastically? As I made such a face, Lidelle, who was already pale, turned even paler.
Her cheeks were almost earthy, and I was worried that she might collapse.

Well, for Lidelle, she might want to collapse rather than face me.

Lidelle knew how I treated the former members of the “Falcon Sword”, such as Lunamaria and Miroslav.

If she asked me to stop retaliating against the guild, it was obvious what I would demand in return.
For the sake of her beloved master, she would offer herself to the one she despised – even a brave receptionist would not be able to stay calm.

I looked at Lidelle and curled my lips.

If this were someone else, I would crack a joke to distract them, but I didn’t feel like being considerate to Lidelle.

As we faced each other like this, I remembered the day I was expelled from the guild as if it were yesterday.
The receptionist who looked at me with disdain, now turned pale, shivered, and begged for forgiveness.

This must be what they mean by getting a load off one’s chest.
I let out a small chuckle in my throat.

After that, what Lidelle said was almost the same as what I heard from Miroslav yesterday.

The only difference was that Lidelle was not the originator of the name “Fake Dragon Slayer”.

Lidelle had reported the incident of the day the Hydra appeared to Elgart properly, and she also judged that it was possible for me to defeat the Hydra with my current strength.

Rather, Lidelle seemed to be trying hard to stop the spread of bad rumors about me.
If the bad reputation of me spread among the guild and the adventurers, it would only increase my hostility towards the guild.

Lidelle wanted to avoid making me an enemy at all costs, and she tried to counteract the bad rumors somehow, but she failed.
It must have been that the doubts, jealousy, and envy towards me were worse than Lidelle’s efforts.

Just a little while ago, a low-ranking adventurer who had been scorned as a “Parasite” was now praised as a “Dragon Slayer”, so I could understand why such a reaction occurred.

Besides, behind the scenes of Lidelle’s efforts, there must have been a magician who secretly worked to spread a bad reputation.

The reason why the magician took that action was probably because she wanted to create an excuse for me to blame the guild.
It would temporarily tarnish me, but she judged that she could get a bigger result in return.

That judgment was proven correct by the fact that Lidelle was in front of me now.
In other words, the magician had predicted today’s situation from a very early stage.

She spread a bad reputation and cornered others, and guided them in the direction she wanted – a splendid trick that showed the skill of the magician.
It was very similar to the way she spread the name of “Parasite” to me, but this must be just a coincidence.
Hehehe.

…Oops, I accidentally let out something dark.

I shook my head lightly to clear away the sediment of my emotions, and looked at Lidelle again.
She looked like a prisoner waiting for her verdict – no, waiting for her execution.
She seemed much smaller than when she was at the reception counter.

“To put it bluntly, I have no intention of stopping my revenge against the guild.
I might consider it if you insist, but you know what I’ll demand in that case, right?”

I pointed at the bed with my chin, and Lidelle closed her eyes tightly before nodding slowly.

“…I’m prepared.”

“For the sake of the master you adore, huh.
That’s admirable.”

I had no hesitation in smearing mud on her admirable determination.

I thought so as I directed a crawling gaze at her chest and waist.
She was a receptionist who wore the plain guild uniform neatly and properly.
Her colleagues, such as Parfait, would loosen their chest area or increase their exposure of their arms and legs to attract the adventurers’ eyes, but Lidelle didn’t do such things.

Even so, the twin hills of her chest that pushed up the clothes were attractive enough, and her waist was so thin that I could wrap my arms around it.
Her slender and long limbs gave a sense of feminine softness.
Especially her thin and long fingers seemed to be very useful for various things.

If I could get this woman, I wouldn’t mind giving up my revenge on the guild.
I thought so very naturally.

However, there was a process to go through before that.
I decided to mention it.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
It’s a section of the imperial law, but do you know it?”

As I asked that, Lidelle, who had closed her eyes and endured my lustful gaze, raised her face with a puzzled look.

“Yes, I know, but…”

“This is a law that affirms revenge at the same time as it forbids excessive revenge.
It’s fine for a person who has had their eye gouged out to gouge out the eye of the other person.
But it’s not allowed to cut off the other person’s limbs or take their life.
I’m not a legalist, but I think this idea is reasonable.”

I don’t think the “Falcon Sword” who tried to kill me and the guild who covered up the crime of the “Falcon Sword” are equally guilty.

If I had thought they were equally guilty, I would have killed Elgart quickly and kidnapped Lidelle.
That’s why I devised a way to “pick a fight with the guild peacefully” because I didn’t think so.

The retaliation against the guild is to take away their influence as an organization.
No matter who the guild master is, I will take them to a state where they can never touch me again.

Along the way, there were some unexpected events, but the current situation is almost as I wanted.
The guild can’t touch me, who is a dragon knight, and who is connected to the Dragnaut Duke family and the slave trader union.
On the other hand, the guild has greatly reduced its influence by letting go of me, a talented person.

Elgart and Lidelle, who thought they were doing it for the guild and cut me off, ended up inviting the decline of the guild with their own hands.
It’s more than enough as a retaliation for the two who care about Ishka and the guild.

I continued to talk about such things.

Lidelle listened silently for a while, but eventually squeezed out a trembling voice as if she couldn’t stand it.

“So, what are you trying to say? If you intend to torture me…”

“There’s no need for you to go out of your way to stop me with your body, I’m telling you that my revenge will be over soon.
I have no intention of joining forces with the guild master of the capital city, Sergey or whatever, to bring down Ergart.”

“Is that… true?”

“Yeah.
The only thing you can stop me with your body is the last step – the apology of the “Falcon Sword”.”

If that would be a fatal blow to Ergart, it would be worth it for Lidelle to offer herself to me.

But if that’s not the case, Lidelle’s actions would be very wasteful.
If she let me do what I want one more time, my revenge on the adventurer guild will be complete.
At least, I have no intention of doing anything to the guild from my side.

As I was thinking about that, Lidelle asked me with a puzzled look on her face.

“Why did you tell me that? You could have just slept with me without saying anything.”

“That would have been smarter, but I just wanted to be consistent.”

“You said an eye for an eye, right? Is that the same thing you did to Corona?”

Lidelle mentioned the name of the signboard girl of the “Blue Bird Inn”.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“That wasn’t even revenge.
When I was kicked out of the inn, I was told to come back with enough money to pay a tip, so I just paid them a tip as they said.
Including the past nuisance fee.”

It was not my responsibility that the father and daughter were frightened and anxious by reading too much into the meaning of the repeated large tips.
I also knew that as my reputation grew, they were terrified of what kind of retaliation they would face, but I had no obligation or duty to relieve their anxiety.
It was just that simple.

Lidelle, who had finished listening to the story, asked as if to confirm.

“So, if I withdraw my offer, you’ll let me go, right?”

“That’s what I’m saying.
Of course, I don’t mind if you change your mind and take off your clothes right here, but what will you do?”

I asked the question that I knew the answer to, and waited for Lidelle’s reply.

A little later.

Miroslav, who had escorted Lidelle outside, came back and opened her mouth timidly.

“…Master, was that acceptable?”

“It’s fine.
If there’s trouble in the guild now, the city’s functions won’t be maintained.
That’s a problem for us too.
Besides, I don’t want someone who’s been prepared for us as if to say, ‘come and embrace me’.”

As I glared at her, Miroslav trembled and deeply bowed her head, reminding me of Lidelle earlier.

“I apologize! I went too far!”

“Actions speak louder than words.
Show me your sincerity through your actions.
Unfortunately, all the time I had set aside for Lidelle after this has now gone to waste.”

I didn’t tell her specifically what to do, but Miroslav seemed to have guessed my intention.

With her cheeks dyed crimson, the red-haired magician reached for the belt of her clothes…