Chapter 290 : Moon Shadow

"W-what's this? Siri, what's wrong with your hair? No, what's wrong with your eyes?"

My hands trembled.

Sometimes, when you go through a big ordeal or exert a lot of mental energy, your hair turns white.

But since this girl's hair was originally white, did it turn black in reverse?

Was her eyes part of that process too?

No, I've never heard of someone's eye color changing.

Did Hope curse her for running away from his embrace?

Or did something happen while I was asleep?

All sorts of thoughts came to mind.

I held her cheeks and looked at her eyes alternately.

Her white and black pupils looked at me.

"Ah, this."

Siri answered, with her plump cheeks held by me.

"I got power from Ketel, and this happened."

"What?"

Siri mumbled and tried to explain.

"I said, I got power from Ketel, and this happened."

I held Siri's cheeks and turned her head from side to side, asking.

"Are you okay? You're not sick anywhere?"

Siri giggled.

"No, I'm fine. I'm not sick at all."

Shushuruta, who was watching from the side, clicked her tongue.

"Let her go and talk."

"Ah."

Only then did I let go of Siri's cheeks.

And then I carefully examined Siri's appearance again.

Her right eye was black like Shushuruta's, and her left eye was white as before.

Her hair, as black as night, took up about two-thirds of her hair, including her bangs.

No, if it was going to turn black, it should have all turned black.

Why did it stop turning black, making me worry?

"Why did it stop turning black?"

"I don't know the reason either."

Siri raised her left hand.

She muttered a prayer about the sun and light.

And a pure white light burst from her left hand.

"...Huh?"

It was the power I had felt from Lasol.

Divine power.

The clear power of the midday sun god, Hope.

This time, she raised her right hand and muttered a prayer about the night and darkness.

Then, a black darkness flowed out from her right hand, as if it were spreading in the air.

"...?"

I blinked with a confused face.

Siri, as if enjoying my reaction, smiled and.

"I can borrow the power of both light and darkness, day and night. Hope and Ketel."

"What?"

Confusion came.

I had never heard of such a case.

To use the power of day and night at the same time?

"Master. What is this?"

[Why are you asking me? That's the logic of your world.]

"No, but still..."

[There are always exceptions. Can't you also handle the power of fire and ice at the same time? Others were also shocked, saying it was impossible. This girl must be similar.]

"Hmm."

Siri extinguished the light and darkness at the same time, and then, covering her mouth, she smiled bashfully.

"Big Brother, will you call me the Saint of Chaos?"

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know either. It just happened."

"..."

I don't know for sure, but it seems the two gods are very fond of Siri.

"How is it? I also have black hair like you now, Big Brother! And my eyes are black too! Although it's only one side."

I looked at the girl who was flipping her black hair in front of me.

The saint who doesn't believe, Sirila.

Like her nickname, she originally didn't believe in God.

And she, who had broken her long disbelief, had accepted a god.

Thinking that it was because of me, I felt sorry and grateful.

Many words rose to my throat, and then went back down.

It was not like me to take out all the words in my heart one by one.

So I just smiled and said this.

"...It's cool."

"Am I cool?"

"Yes. Black suits you well too."

"Hehe, really?"

Siri smiled brightly.

Yes, that's it.

I wanted to see that smile.

I thought I would die of longing.

To be honest, it was not an easy task.

To come to another country and cause a ruckus, and to defeat the strongest hero in the empire.

But, since the reward was so satisfying.

I have no complaints.

'That's enough.'

I talked with Siri, who was smiling brightly, as if she were so happy.

"Then the saint who doesn't believe is goodbye now?"

"Yes."

"You'll need a new nickname."

"Give me one! I'll go around saying the one you gave me."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Then... how about the half-and-half saint?"

"...Half-and-half saint?"

"You don't like it? Hmm... then the two-timing saint. Since you believe in both Hope and Ketel."

"Uh... hmm... that's not wrong."

"Or the spotted cow saint. Since your hair is spotted."

"..."

I heard a chuckling sound and looked to the side.

Shushuruta was trying to hold back her laughter, looking out the window.

What, what is it.

* * *

"Are you up?"

"I'm up."

"No broken bones?"

"Who am I?"

"Who are you?"

"I am the invincible Ashuban of the Half-Sword."

"Is that so?"

"That's right."

"Then come out. Take over."

"..."

Rattle, rattle—

I sat in the driver's seat and let out a big yawn.

The peaceful scenery made the past few days, which had gone by in a frenzy, feel like a lie.

The wind that tickled my hair, the sight of the trees moving backwards, the blue sky, the horse that was snorting and walking.

I enjoyed the leisure and fell into thought for a moment.

Naturally, the fierce battle with the hero came to mind.

I closed my eyes, feeling the blowing wind, and replayed the fight.

'...Hmm.'

Thinking about it again, it was dizzying.

Lasol under the midday sun was truly a lawless person.

Now that I think about it, I wonder how I won.

If it weren't for Siri, wouldn't I have been beaten up by Lasol and dragged to the papacy by now?

'Come to think of it.'

There was a secret technique that I had to name.

A secret technique that had flashed in my mind while fighting Lasol.

It seems I'm strong in actual combat.

Since I create a secret technique every time I fight.

'From now on, I'll have to periodically find strong guys and beat them up.'

The third Moonflower Sword, Moonlit Ice Man, was actually a secret technique I had devised before.

When I had reached the tenth form of the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art and had finally achieved great success.

When my understanding of its mystery had deepened and I was finally able to mix it with other martial arts.

It was the first thing I had created by mixing ice art and moonlight.

I had also gone out on a moonlit night when everyone was asleep and practiced it several times.

The conception was my part, but the naming was reviewed by the Heavenly Demon.

Naturally, since it was a secret technique of a higher level, the consumption of inner energy and mental power was not small.

And on top of that, I had forced myself to produce the Snow Branch Blue Flame, so it was a wonder I hadn't collapsed on the spot.

Pat, pat.

I lightly patted myself, who had worked hard.

'Good job, me.'

It would be nice if my master would praise me like this.

The Heavenly Demon just yawned and cast his fishing rod into the lake.

"..."

Since he was a man who was stingy with praise, it was a relief if I didn't get a scolding.

No news is good news.

The secret technique I had newly developed while fighting Lasol was a stealth technique that hid my body in the darkness.

When I had sent the frozen flower petals at Lasol with the Moonlit Ice Man.

When Lasol was busy being chased by the flower petals.

I had hidden in the darkness and quietly approached her from behind.

Lasol had not noticed my approach, and she had given up one of her wings to my Snow Branch Blue Flame.

The method was simple.

I made the black Night Sky seep out from my whole body, and just like I wrapped my whole body with the Snow White Ice Curtain, I wrapped my whole body with the Night Sky as if forming a very thin film.

So, it was as if I were wearing clothes made of black darkness.

Thanks to practicing the Snow White Ice Curtain often, it was not difficult.

It was as if I had used the Night Sky instead of the ice art.

And so, I melted into the darkness.

The Night Sky was originally a martial art modeled after the night sky.

What more can I say, since the name itself means night sky.

The Night Sky that wrapped around my whole body completely concealed my sound and presence.

Of course, since they couldn't detect my energy, which was different from mana, that was a given.

Since even Lasol, one of the Eight Sword Masters, had not noticed it, it was worthy of being called the ultimate stealth technique.

I raised my left hand and thinly wrapped it with the Night Sky.

"Hmm."

I'll correct myself.

It's the ultimate stealth technique, limited to the night.

In the daytime, it was black, so it stood out even more.

[So, the name?]

The Heavenly Demon asked indifferently, casting his fishing rod.

"The name is... the darkness hidden on the dark side of the moon. Darkness of the Moon..."

[Moon Shadow.]

"What does that mean?"

[It means the shadow of the moon.]

"Hmm."

And so, my ultimate stealth technique (limited to the night) became Moon Shadow.

"Good."

Now that I've named the secret technique.

Let's rest a bit.

Since I had overexerted myself fighting the hero.

Now was the time to rest.

I leaned back against the backrest.

I fell into thought, looking at the fluffy clouds that were floating in the sky like feathers.

A productive thought about who to beat up next naturally came to mind.

First, I recalled the proud members of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps one by one.

The Shadowless Phantom Thief, Shushuruta.

The Madwoman, Linda.

The Worst Magical Beast, the Nine-Tailed Fox.

The Golden Martial Artist, Schmidt.

The Disaster Calling Spirit Master, Hudmilla.

The Ace, Mary.

The Phantom Thief, Dofang.

The Two Faced Demonic Swordsman, Hartz, Sorrow.

The Debauched Knight, Lyle.

The Spotted Saint, Sirila.

Let's just put Guston of the Greatsword and the Red Witch, Scarlet, as honorary members.

At first, I wondered when I would gather them all.

But as I went around kicking their butts, I had gathered almost all of these troublemakers.

'Is there only one left now?'

The crybaby, Viola.

I don't know where this girl went either.

I had asked the other guys once, but I couldn't find any trace of her.

'Did she really go and hide in some mountain?'

I wonder if there was anyone in Sherwood who wasn't strange.

But Viola had a peculiar side to her.

To introduce one of them, Viola was a fanatical hat collector.

Dozens of different kinds of hats were displayed in her room.

And she herself never took off her hat from her head.

She didn't even take off her hat when she slept, so what more can I say?

Did she get a fatal disease if she didn't wear a hat?

Was the hat actually her main body?

I had almost died a few times trying to take off her hat out of curiosity.

She would chase me with her eyes rolled back.

I smiled fondly at the thought.

'Those were good days.'

The Heavenly Demon muttered, holding his fishing rod.

[Is almost dying a good memory?]

"Life is not boring if there is a crisis."

[Yes, it must be nice that it's not boring.]

"Are you bored, Master?"

[Not really. A little peace and quiet is not bad sometimes.]

I closed my eyes slightly and hummed a tune.

Just then, the carriage door opened, and our spotted saint came out.

She peeked her head out and then grabbed the roof with both arms.

"Heut-cha!"

Her legs shot up into the sky.

And she spun around and landed on the roof.

I clapped.

"10 points. 10 points."

Siri crawled on the roof.

"Big Brother, what are you doing?"

"Contemplating."

"Is it fun?"

"Not bad."

"Talk to me."

"That's not bad either. Did you come out because you were bored?"

"I was bored, and. Big Brother Lyle kept clearing his throat and giving me hints."

"Hints?"

"Yes. I don't know what it was, but it seemed he had something to say to Big Sister Shushu."

"...That persistent bastard."

Hadn't he given up yet?

Seeing that Shushuruta kept avoiding him, he should have given up.

That guy was really something.

"Amazing. Perverts are truly scary."

"Big Brother. How have you been all this time? Tell me everything without leaving anything out!"

"Hmm... where should I start?"

"From the beginning!"

A carriage that was rattling along.

The faint scent of flowers spreading as if spring had come.

A fresh wind.

A blue sky.

A lake in my heart with a fishing rod cast.

Siri, lying on her stomach on the roof of the carriage, tapping her feet.

"In the beginning, a cute girl named Joy was picking wild strawberries."

The exciting adventure story of the Red-Eyed Devil began.