I’ll Steal Everything and Escape - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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18.
[Kamil Beltier. If you’re going to hunt demonic beasts, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t drag any harm over here.]
[…….]
[Say something, damn it!]
Kamil Beltier. The man who was drunk on battle.
Elodie had changed a great many things in this life, but some things stayed stubbornly the same. A person’s temperament, for one, and the haunts of demonic beasts.
‘Kamil’s route shouldn’t have changed much.’
The odds that the man who was tearing through high-grade demonic beasts one after another would be nearby were…
“Kyieek?”
“Hup.”
Elodie decided to move first. Red, who had been tucked in her bag, licked the dust-caked patch on her cheek.
“Don’t worry. Big sis is never going to die.”
All she needed was someone to fight in her place, right? Her violet eyes flashed like lightning.
‘Day sixty-two of survival. The third-largest tree in the central East was definitely shattered by a sword. So he must be right here.’
Her guess turned out exactly right.
“…You’re alive.”
“Eek?”
She pressed down the Red peeking over her shoulder. Black hair, a sight she hadn’t seen in a long while. It was a relief, and yet humiliating. Both times now, she had only met him after rolling around on the ground for ages.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Behind her, trees as big as houses came crashing down one after another.
“Eek.”
She had no room or inclination for pleasantries. Elodie veered off and ran. All she could think about was fleeing while Kamil Beltier dealt with the Alkair. That was the only thought in her head, and yet…
“…What on earth is this.”
A faint sound, like air leaving a deflating balloon, reached her ears.
‘He’s laughing?’
Elodie glanced back without thinking, and her jaw dropped at what Kamil Beltier did next.
“Kiiieeeek!”
A massive shape leapt after its fleeing prey. Beltier launched himself straight at the enormous demonic beast without a shred of hesitation.
“Kiiiii!”
The Alkair. A mantis demon that swung arms as thick as grown men. Its serrated forelimbs clashed with a greatsword that looked far smaller by comparison.
Ka-ka-kak!
He’s fast. I can’t even follow his movements.
The Alkair swung its arms with the rhythm of a martial artist, yet Kamil didn’t give up a single step. His black hair whipped in the wind pressure, and then, bang, bang.
And then, on the third strike exactly, two blades decided the contest.
“Kirik!”
The Alkair’s arm, tougher than any shield, shattered with a crack. The silver blade that had pierced through its limb sliced smoothly through the green body. It took only three minutes.
‘A monster…’
Even if Monstrous Strength is part of Bloodline Magic, this is excessive. By Empire standards, a First Class beast is enough to trigger an evacuation order for an entire city.
Heavy footsteps drew nearer to Elodie, who was still gaping.
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
When she lifted her head, a pair of vivid green eyes met hers. Kamil Beltier. It was the first time she’d seen that face in fifty-eight days.
“I was, uh, running away. Some strong one got on my tail.”
I got out of the crisis, but my plan had gone a little askew.
‘I was going to slip away calmly while Kamil fought the Alkair.’
It ended too quickly. Elodie wet her dry lips and rolled her eyes.
“Thanks.”
It probably looked a bit ridiculous, but she bent her knees and offered a noble’s curtsy anyway. Kamil clearly had no intention of talking for long, either. Back when they’d last met, he had only…
[Move.]
Well, he had never cared much for other people. His violet-flower eyes curved into a round shape.
“You really are strong, aren’t you? I’m glad you were nearby.”
His bangs swayed lightly. Without warning, a blade was at her throat.
Elodie tilted her chin down slightly. The greatsword had halted just a hair’s breadth from her skin.
“…Eh, what are you doing?”
A chill crawled over her skin. The thief finally met Kamil Beltier’s gaze properly. A look unlike his usual one. Wide pupils. The man who had always kept his eyes fixed on his own path was now staring at her without blinking, and what he was staring at was…
“Ka, Kamil?”
The greatsword that had just felled the Alkair drew closer, close enough to slice through her golden strands. Then a voice fell short and clipped.
“Stand up. I challenge you to a duel.”
What?
His thin lips parted once more.
‘What is this guy talking about?’
Elodie flailed her arms and let out a panicked breath.
“Wait, wait. This is ridiculous. What is this? You know I can’t use a sword.”
Even for someone so obsessed with fighting, I never expected him to go this far.
“Yah!”
Kamil Beltier swung his blade sideways. She dropped flat to the ground to dodge it and let out a shout.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“Get up.”
Grind, went her teeth. The attacks kept coming.
‘Lunatic.’
Bang!
The greatsword slammed into a thick Ice Wall. Of course, the blade didn’t stop there. Kamil Beltier thrust his arm forward as if he’d been waiting for exactly this moment. The barrier shattered in an instant. It was an Ice Wall thick enough to hide five or six people.
“So it really is magic.”
“Hah.”
Whatever happened, the first priority was getting out of this situation. Startled, Elodie shoved Red, who was thrashing about, back into her bag.
“Squeak.”
“Are we supposed to just keep waiting?”
“Ugh!”
Her hands shot up on reflex. Mana burst from her chapped palms.
The Ice Wall cracked once, twice, three times… and kept breaking apart.
“Defense alone? You won’t survive with that.”
A cold, low voice brushed against her ear, no, wait.
‘Behind me?’
He had been in front of her just a moment ago.
Kwaaang!
“…”
White frost spread across the ground with a hiss. The mana she had just pulled out was nearly a miracle born of pure survival instinct.
‘I held out once.’
Cold sweat trickled down Elodie’s forehead. Just like the time she had blocked the charging rhinoceroses, she had wrapped herself in a barrier as thick as she could manage. Elodie Pontaine gritted her teeth inside her temporary ice shelter. At this thickness, it was hopeless.
Monstrous Strength. That was the only thing. Ice shattered one piece after another under that brute force alone, so what am I supposed to do…
“Attack.”
The voice came from beyond the Ice Wall. Its flat tone sent a surge of mana clawing up her throat. Seriously, how infuriating.
‘What did I even do!’
“Ice, annihilate the enemy before me.”
Her vision flooded red. The mana that had only ever been used to freeze things suddenly took shape in an instant. Cracks raced across the thick Ice Wall, and through the gap that opened up, a flash of black hair caught her eye.
“Hup.”
A razor-sharp Ice Spear shot through the opening.
Kakak.
The cracked Ice Wall collapsed with a rumble, and after that, everything became chaos. She threw up an Ice Wall, then went on the attack against Kamil, who was darting around like light. Her heart pounded as if it might burst.
“Hah. Haa.”
How many spears had she conjured by now? Elodie planted her feet and held her ground. Not once had she managed to graze the target that kept darting around. Her stamina and mana should both be better than before, so why still could she not keep up with his movements?
Elodie’s nose stung. Something warm trickled down from beneath her nose and over her upper lip. And then, in the next instant.
“It’s over.”
The edge of a blade touched the side of her neck. Hah. All her strength drained away. Kamil Beltier stood tall, looking down at Elodie Pontaine, like a tree so far above that it could never be reached. Elodie sank to the ground as if she had collapsed from exhaustion.
“Yeah. It’s over.”
His eyes were like a storm, strangely out of place against the green around them. Whatever had burned so vividly in them just moments ago vanished without a trace.
“Pathetic.”
What? A vein throbbed beneath her pale blonde hair. A click of the tongue reached her ears.
“Do better.”
Kamil Beltier turned away. Her shoulders, which had been watching his back in a daze, slowly began to tremble.
‘What? What is he trying to do?’
He picks a fight out of nowhere, and then calls me pathetic? Does he think it’s easy for someone who has never once used mana properly to conjure an Ice Wall and a spear?
Elodie’s fists tightened. Her lips twitched.
‘Let a Demonic Beast knock you flat on your back. Let mushrooms give you a stomachache. Let you cut your finger while cleaning your sword…’
…Maybe it was because she had wished such ill on him. Elodie Pontaine’s misfortune did not end there.
Two days later.
“Still at that level, are you?”
Three days later.
“Nibbling on nothing but grass, I see.”
And then yesterday.
“Tch.”
Ever since that day, I keep running into that bastard, strangely often! Elodie slammed the little wooden stool with a thud, fuming.
“I’ve known him for, what, a few minutes in a previous life! It’s weird that we keep bumping into each other like this!”
A light touch patted her heaving shoulder.
“Peep, peeeep.”
“Why do you always have to drop a remark on your way out? Are you trying to ruin my mood or what?”
“Peeeep.”
Scowling, Elodie hugged Red and indulged herself in the sheer pleasure of it.
“Yeah. You’re all I’ve got.”
Mom, I’ve never met anyone as crazy as him. What am I supposed to do?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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