WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: nemui
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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈
Vol. 4 Ch. 4: I Came to Enjoy Some Adult Fun...
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Cecily, riding on Theo's back, told them about her circumstances in fits and starts.
One day, she had happened to meet a girl named Lily who looked very much like her. She had sung Lily's songs, been happy when people praised her, and found herself taking the stage again and again.
"I know I'm nothing but a lump of vanity, possessed by a demon that craves approval..."
"You don't have to put yourself down that much..."
As Cecily spoke as though confessing her sins, Theo looked at a loss. Hugo, walking beside them, nodded along with the face of someone who understood perfectly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. If you're gonna do something in front of people, you wanna stand out the most, right? If it's a choir, the person with the solo part is definitely the coolest, right?"
"Ahhh, God... I'm the same kind as him! I'm the same kind as him!"
Cecily collapsed into tears on Theo's back. Hugo looked offended, but Theo understood exactly how she felt.
After all, Hugo was the sort of guy who proclaimed with his entire body, "I'm really feeling myself! I'm on a roll!" at every opportunity. Theo did not want to be grouped together with him either.
Before long, when they returned near the information broker's hideout, Theo lowered Cecily from his back.
Cecily looked completely dejected as she hung her head.
"Will you... tell my sister and the others about me?"
Theo was troubled by Cecily's quiet question.
He had no intention of spreading word about Cecily. If anything, Theo and the others would be in trouble if anyone mentioned that they were here.
The Gray Knights were currently on a top-secret mission to quietly eliminate two Termea that had escaped from the research institute.
It would be bad if the Papal See or the Holy Knight Order found out. And Cecily was the younger sister of a Holy Maiden. She was on the Papal See's side.
The best course was to send her home before she could question them further. Having decided that, Theo spoke.
"We won't tell anyone. Right, Hugo?"
"Ehhhhh, I wonderrrrr..."
"Hugo!"
Hugo wore an especially lecherous expression, his lower lip curled back. His ulterior motives were obvious.
When Theo scolded him, Hugo forcibly threw an arm around Theo's shoulders and whispered.
"We should make her feel indebted to us, then get her to keep quiet about meeting us too."
"I don't like threatening people like that. That's not what a knight does."
Theo said it firmly, and for some reason Hugo pouted like he was sulking.
"...What? That way, you wouldn't have to use your Oblivion."
Theo was honestly surprised. Hugo was right. Using the power of 〈Designated Oblivion〉 on Cecily to make her forget meeting the Gray Knights here today would be the quickest and surest option.
But in exchange, Cecily would forget Theo.
Hugo had been considerate, trying to ensure Theo would not have to use the power of 〈Oblivion〉 whenever possible.
As Theo fell silent, Cecily hesitantly asked another question.
"Come to think of it, why are you here? Gray Knights need permission to go out, don't they?"
That struck a sore spot.
Theo, who was bad at lying, let his eyes wander. Hugo kept his arm around Theo's shoulders and answered with a smug grin.
"Well, y'see, a senior invited us out for some adult fun to blow off steam. Right, Theo?"
An involuntary "Ehhh..." escaped Theo's mouth.
Could Hugo not have come up with a more respectable excuse? Hugo quietly insulted Theo for looking displeased.
"You're supposed to go along with it. You really have no tact."
"I don't want people to think Gray Knights are poorly behaved. That goes against chivalry."
"If that makes us fail the mission, then what's the point?"
Theo groaned as he wrestled with himself.
This was for the mission. It would be putting the cart before the horse if he neglected his duty because he worried about how others saw him. This was the time to suppress his personal feelings for the sake of his work.
Theo suppressed all of his personal feelings, and his emotions along with them.
"...That's right... Just like Hugo said... I came to enjoy some adult fun..."
Cecily said to Hugo with a straight face.
"He looks like he's about to die. Is he all right?"
"He's a kid. He's just excited about adult fun. Hey, Theo, don't get so worked up that you have a nosebleed."
"As if I would!!"
Just as Theo shouted, someone called, "Lily!" and ran into the narrow alley where they stood.
It was a black-haired girl around Cecily's age. Unlike Cecily, she wore her hair down rather than in twin tails, but her features closely resembled Cecily's.
The black-haired girl sharply raised her brows and shielded Cecily behind her back.
"What do you want with our songstress? If you've done anything to her, you won't get away with it."
"Lily, it's not like that. These people..."
So this was the real Lily. They looked especially alike when Lily wore such a strong expression.
Trying to look as sincere as possible, Theo set his face and spoke.
"She was being taken away by some thugs, so we were keeping her safe. Please take her somewhere secure... Also, we can tell you where the thugs are operating, so it would help if you reported them."
Lily turned to Cecily, whom she was shielding behind her, and asked, "Is that true?"
Cecily nodded.
"It's true. They aren't bad people."
Good. It looked as though the matter would be settled without too much trouble.
Just as Theo breathed a sigh of relief, a voice called from overhead.
"Theo, run!"
It was Carla's voice. The instant he looked up, something black fell from above.
A reddish-black mass darker than the night itself. A Termea.
"'Curse Armament Manifestation, Be Thou a Knight.'"
Curse Armament Manifestation took a little time to activate, but that time could be shortened by focusing on a single thing.
Right now, Cecily and Lily were here. They needed protection. In that case, what they needed most was a shield that could protect everyone.
Theo raised a reddish-black shield before him and deflected the Blood Tail's strike.
* * *
A little earlier.
Gray Knight Hulk stepped into information broker Dog's hideout and flared his nostrils. Checking scents was practically a habit for him.
This hideout always smelled of several herbs.
However, there was no "bad" scent among them. Hulk despised his fellows who carried such scents, so that alone made Dog trustworthy.
"Hey, Hulk. Don't bring weird ones to my place. Errington nobles are insufferable."
Dog sat on a wooden bench, smoking.
The "weird one" Dog meant was probably Theo.
Theo was someone people found difficult to remember. Yet Dog could recognize and remember Theo. That was what it meant.
That was why Dog could live as an information broker.
"He grew up in Legato. Apparently, he used to be a miner's apprentice in Worg."
"Cut the crap. With that face, he's obviously some rich young lord from a good family."
Honestly, Hulk agreed.
Theo looked more like an Errington noble than someone from Legato. If he had not borne the curse of 〈Oblivion〉, he would surely have drawn plenty of attention.
But Hulk had no desire to make idle conversation, so he promptly ended the subject.
"Theo is a Gray Knight. And we're currently working as Gray Knights. Do you have anything else to say?"
Dog clicked his tongue beneath his bushy beard, but immediately assumed the expression of an information broker.
"So, what information are you looking for?"
"You know. The Adcock Research Institute."
Dog hunched his thin back and laughed through his nose.
"Now that's a problem. There are too many possibilities. No matter how much you dig into that place, more dirt comes out."
"Two Termea escaped from there."
"Can't say I know anything about that. The city's peaceful so far. Either they're hiding somewhere, or they ran far away."
I see. Dog truly had no leads. Then there was the other matter.
Hulk pushed a banknote toward Dog and asked in a low voice.
"What is the Adcock Research Institute researching behind the scenes?"
Dog smiled with dark eyes. It was a sneer aimed at those in power.
"...The institute funded by the highest authority is cutting up an Immortal Mad Walker. Think about it for a moment and you'll figure it out."
Carla, the Immortal Mad Walker, provided the Adcock Research Institute with parts of her own body whenever she cut them off during combat missions.
Officially, this was so they could examine a Mad Walker's Curse Progression and resistance.
But the real reason was different. JJ had sensed that, which was why he had Hulk confirm it through an information broker.
Dog pressed his cigarette into an ashtray as he spoke.
"I've heard there were powerful people in the past who did some pretty vile things. Things that make taking a scalpel to discarded body parts look cute."
Carla was mocked as the Gray Knights' Slashing Doll because her emotions rarely showed on her face.
How many horrific experiences had she endured to this day? The thought alone made Hulk nauseous.
Just as Hulk began to speak, the door was pounded hard.
"Boss Hulk! It's a Termea! A Termea appeared!"
It was Hugo's voice. Hulk placed a hand on the sword at his waist.
"I've got work to do."
"Yeah, make sure none of the damage reaches this place."
Hulk shrugged at Dog, who waved one hand lazily.
"I wouldn't count on that. This time, the strongest destruction fiend, Cherry Beauty, is here."
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