I’m Hunting My Enemy - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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7. Hiring Mercenaries (2)

Displeasure gradually appeared on Ryuie’s previously smiling face.

Convinced that Glem had no intention of running over to embrace her, Ryuie slowly lowered her arms and crossed them.

“What am I supposed to do about this?”

“What?”

“You’re telling me to go out alone into hunting grounds full of monsters? That’s quite territorial of you.”

“Is that really the issue here?”

“It’s an even bigger issue.”

Ryuie pointed out.

“You just killed the last witness who may or may not know the Crown Prince’s whereabouts.”

“…This can no longer be called human.”

“So you’re just changing the wording to say you killed the last monster?”

Glem glared fiercely at Ryuie. Ryuie did the same back.

“If you give me some useful testimony even now, I won’t hold you accountable for your crimes.”

You know something, don’t you? Ryuie shot that look at him repeatedly. Glem deflected all her gazes with an iron-wall expression and only asked his own questions.

“Why are you looking for the Crown Prince now of all times? Did the Emperor die or something?”

“If that were the case, there’d be no need for me to come personally.”

Ryuie spoke majestically.

“I am Ryuie Greatone, engaged to Yosua Albenheim, the Crown Prince of this nation, and promised to become the future Empress and next Duke. And right now, I’m enthusiastically on a hunting trip to destroy my future with my own hands.”

“…What?”

“To put it more simply, she intends to break off the engagement.”

Bendam stepped in to interpret for Glem, who wasn’t accustomed to Ryuie’s way of expressing herself.

“For our young lady to safely escape from her engagement vows, she needs His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…Why break off the engagement with the Crown Prince.”

Glem was unexpectedly quite shaken. Even mercenaries, it seems, can’t help but be affected by overwhelming status.

“Is the Empress position not enough for the heir of a Duke?”

“That’s not why.”

Ryuie replied with displeasure.

“At this rate, I’ll never get to experience romance even once!”

“…What on earth does that mean?”

“Bendam!”

As soon as the question fell, Ryuie snapped her fingers. Bendam, who had turned deathly pale, offered weak resistance.

“Are we doing this again?”

“Yes.”

“You should consider it an honor, Bendam.”

Catsy interjected with an envious tone, but Bendam didn’t look pleased at all.

“Can’t we use Catsy who wants to do it so badly?”

“She’s too intense, making her unsuitable as an example.”

“Haah…”

Reluctantly approaching, Bendam squeezed his eyes shut and extended one hand toward Ryuie.

His trembling arm looked terribly frightened.

While Glem watched blankly, Ryuie also extended her hand in the same direction and continued her explanation.

“As you know, engagement and marriage are sacred unions protected by Rkultu, so one must not dare to cheat or do anything indecent. If one tries to attempt it.”

Ryuie moved her hand that had been suspended in mid-air and attempted to interlock fingers with Bendam.

Then, with a tremendous crackling sound, black lightning shot out.

“Eek!”

“This is what happens.”

Bendam hastily pulled his hand away and jumped around frantically while shaking his arm. With smoke rising slightly, something had definitely gotten burned.

“Please try more gently! Aah.”

“There’s a priest, you know.”

“It’s harder to ask the priest for help with such minor burns!”

“If you can’t even speak about something so trivial, you might as well endure it.”

At this moment, Glem’s expression was exactly like Marco’s. His jaw had dropped open.

“Rkultu’s protective vow works like that? Just from an engagement?”

“That’s right.”

Glem’s expression became even more bizarre.

“Even just holding hands?”

“Yeah. Hugging, kissing, caressing, even just trying to hold hands—all of it.”

At this point, the ferocity that had been suppressed on Ryuie’s face suddenly surged up.

“None of it works.”

“Huh.”

“Poor our young lady.”

Catsy pretended to wipe away tears.

“Having only admired forbidden fruit her whole life, how her heart must have burned.”

“That’s impossible.”

Glem retorted with a dumbfounded face.

“I’ve met people who made engagement vows too, but I’ve never once heard of anything like that happening.”

“You just saw it with your own eyes.”

“No, but then how do you make contact with every person you meet in life?”

“The activation condition for the vow is impure thoughts. Impure thoughts. It’s designed to activate when you harbor indecent feelings toward someone.”

Bendam corrected while blowing on his hand.

“Unfortunately, our young lady has rather broad tastes. Now that desire has overwhelmed reason, even the slightest attraction immediately puts someone beyond reach.”

“You’re reading my unconscious instincts that even I don’t know? Such is the mysterious power of Rkultu.”

Hearing Ryuie’s words, Glem was greatly shocked. Unable to close his mouth, he looked at Bendam briefly, too flabbergasted.

‘Then does that mean the Duke’s daughter finds him attractive too?’

After all, the vow had activated.

Though somewhat frail-looking, Bendam was reasonably young and had decent features. His shoulders sagged with fatigue and his eyes held a cynical glint, but still.

In any case, he looked nothing like himself.

Moreover, the woman named Catsy standing beside him was definitely included in the confirmed curse activation targets.

Of course, she was beautiful and slender, but she clearly reeked of a trained assassin.

Unless one had a taste for rolling around with a sharp blade pressed to their throat, why would anyone choose such a person?

Ryuie’s range of tastes seemed truly incredibly broad.

Suddenly, Glem began to seriously suffer over why he needed to know such stories.

Though he had quite a few memories he wanted to forget in life, Ryuie had set a record by joining their ranks with just 30 minutes of conversation.

Glem ran his hands through his hair and muttered.

“…How did you come to mistakenly think the Crown Prince was here?”

“Some very suspicious rumors reached us.”

Glem found this strange. The people here were extremely closed off. Nothing that happened here had ever spread to the outside world. There was a reason why so many people had no choice but to just live here despite being attacked by monsters.

But rumors about the Crown Prince, which weren’t even certain, reached the capital before the monsters that weren’t even being subjugated? Was that possible? Unless someone with different intentions was involved.

‘Damn it.’

Now even Glem felt he needed to go see the swamp. He was properly entangled.

Though he had no intention whatsoever of taking Ryuie along.

‘Telling her to just go back from here wouldn’t work anyway.’

Though it had been a brief encounter, Glem had almost completely figured out Ryuie’s personality.

The type who does more of what you tell them not to do.

In that case, it would be better to monitor her right beside him rather than let her enter the swamp alone.

“If you just find the ring, will you go back?”

“For now.”

Sensing that Glem’s attitude had softened, Ryuie also answered much more lightly.

“I could guide you to the swamp.”

“Oh, so compliant like this?”

“Instead, I’ll have to receive payment in whatever I want.”

“Fine, as much as you want. I can promise you anything.”

Without even knowing what he might demand, Ryuie boldly agreed. Glem gave a cold smile and sheathed his sword again. Then he naturally joined Ryuie’s group.

“What couldn’t the great Ducal House give? Just one thing is enough.”

“Ah. Hard to say right now?”

“Very.”

“Then tell me when it’s over. It’s a deal, right?”

Glem and Ryuie quickly reached an agreement.

Ryuie’s party, naturally accepting him, no longer paid attention to Glem and went about their respective tasks.

“It’s a demon I’ve never seen before in my life.”

“And parasitic types are rare too.”

“Investigate it thoroughly.”

The priests who saw the demon entangled with the corpse rarely displayed such vigorous curiosity.

All demons are servants of Rkultu. As fellow servants of Rkultu, demons were always subjects of the priests’ research. They were also subjects for experimentation for better treatment. Though that became the reason people kept their distance from priests.

Ryuie looked toward Glem rather than the expert priests.

“Since you agreed to cooperate, shall we dig up a bit more of what you know?”

“It’s a demon I’ve never seen before either.”

“Then how did you respond so quickly?”

Glem seemed to contemplate whether to answer for a moment, then replied with his head lowered.

“This area is under a curse.”

“A curse?”

“You’d better go back even now. If you don’t want to get caught in unnecessary trouble.”

“I don’t know if what you’re saying is true, but.”

Ryuie stopped talking mid-conversation and looked in another direction.

“The warning’s a bit late.”

“What?”

“It’s an attack!”

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