I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

A sharp, desperate scream erupted from her gaping mouth.

“Aaaargh!!!! He- Help! N- No, kill me!!!! Kyaaaah!!”

Zeke meticulously continued the torture as if he were carrying out a simple, mundane task.

He had no idea how he would make use of this woman yet, so he stripped her naked and meticulously tormented the parts of her body hidden from view.

‘Who in their right mind would consider this the naked body of a woman?’

His cruel methods were so devoid of even a shred of lust that one might have preferred it if there were at least a hint of it.

“Heeargh!!!!! I- I- I told you everything!!! Aaaagh!!!!!”

Every time she writhed and screamed, festering burn marks and wounds crusted with blood formed on her naked body.

Duke Yohaiden and a few of his elite knights had experienced this once before, but the others had not. Their faces drained of color as they turned away from the scene.

Even those who had witnessed it before could not bear to look directly at the merciless torture.

Sedan Yohaiden gritted his teeth, forcing himself to look as his head tried to turn away.

‘Zeke Clayman, a traitor? And possibly even a member of Lost Hope? What kind of ridiculous……’

Zeke continued his torture without a change in expression, as if inflicting pain was his sole objective.

The look on his face was one that could only belong to someone who had done this countless times before.

There was an air of boredom about him that sent chills down Sedan’s spine.

‘Just how much resentment must one harbor to become like this……’

Sedan no longer harbored any doubts about Zeke Clayman.

However, there had to be a reason why he was so openly displaying his resentment without even bothering to conceal it.

‘It must mean that those bastards deserve every bit of pain he inflicts upon them.’

Sedan fought back the urge to vomit, forcing himself to keep it down as he etched the scene unfolding before him into his memory.

***

‘Ugh, I’m bored. Tsk, I need to use the medicine with this too…… It’s no fun without it…… Yohaiden’s gonna laugh his ass off if he sees me calling this torture! I have to use medicine because I can’t use metal tools!’

Zeke grumbled inwardly as he ignited a flame at his fingertips and pressed it against her armpit.

The flesh sizzled in the red-hot flames, and the savory aroma of roasting meat wafted into the air.

‘Tsk, now I’m hungry.’

The only saving grace was that the woman had readily spilled information even with this light torment.

‘Seriously, what a relief. Still…… The fact that she cracked under such light torture makes her story less credible. I have no choice but to cross-check everything she said.’

Zeke let out a small sigh and diligently moved his hands, continuing the torture.

Unaware that the torture had only been prolonged because she had caved in so quickly, Julie continued to scream.

“H-Hero! I- I told you everything! I told you everything! Why are you still— Kyaaagh!!!”

“Hmm…… How am I supposed to believe that you’re telling the truth? You talked way too easily. You have no backbone. And there was no valuable information either.”

“T- That’s all I know!!! Heeargh!!! K- Kill me! Just kill me!!!”

“I knew it, you’re just acting. You’re not going to make it easy for me, are you? Typical Lost Hope, rotten to the core and stubborn to the end.”

“You crazy demonic bastard!!! Kill me!!! Euuugh!!”

“Hearing a Demon King follower call me a demon is quite the experience. Don’t worry. You won’t die easily. Not until you tell me everything.”

“You’re insane! I told you everything, dammit!! Urgh!!”

Julie’s emerald eyes were stained with despair.

‘This man is truly insane…… ’

Regret washed over her like a tidal wave, but it was too late.

He kept demanding more information even after she had revealed everything, subjecting her to various forms of torture.

Initially, Julie had decided to take her own life when she realized that there was no way she could defeat Zeke.

When all else failed, as a devout servant of the Holy One, even taking her own life was considered an honorable act.

Besides, the power bestowed upon her by Lost Hope, [Lost Space], came with a penalty—she couldn’t escape unless she killed everyone inside except those affiliated with Lost Hope.

The fact that she couldn’t defeat him meant that she couldn’t escape from this place.

It was an ability that amplified the power of Lost Hope several folds and weakened her opponents in return, but it had no effect on him.

Just as Julie had decided to end her own life, her eyes filled with resolve, the man’s fingers moved.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Suddenly, she felt a series of taps on various parts of her body.

And with that, her body was completely paralyzed.

Trapped in her own body, her mouth and senses remained intact, forcing her to endure every agonizing moment of his casual, experimental torture.

She had always believed that she had endured enough pain and suffering in her life, but she was wrong.

Unfamiliar agony.

Unbearable torment.

Unendurable fear gripped her, tightening its hold with each passing moment.

In the end, unable to withstand it any longer, she had spilled everything, but still……

“Hmm…… Is this really all there is?”

Zeke continued his torture for a while, cross-checking the information he had extracted.

Gasp……

Gasp……

Julie no longer had the strength to scream. She hung her head, her breath rattling in her throat.

“There’s really nothing useful.”

Zeke frowned.

He had expected her to have a lot of information, considering how she had acted so high and mighty, but she was a complete dud.

This woman, Julie, was a mere fledgling, having become a bishop in the Lost Hope organization less than a month ago.

She hadn’t been trained in handling Homunculus for very long, and she had left the creation entirely to her mentor.

‘Well, that explains why she was given such a pointless mission as to approach the Guild Master of the Adventurers’ Guild. So, how can I use her…… But she’s such a terrible actress, is she even worth it?’

Zeke stared down at Julie with cold eyes, then a thought struck him, and a smirk played on his lips.

‘She was the one who killed the Guild Master. I’ll make her pay for it.’

His plans had been ruined because of her.

But if he used her, he could salvage his plans and continue as he had intended.

‘No, I can use this to hit them even harder…… I can have Soi……’

As he was organizing his thoughts……

Something changed in the eyes of the woman who had been crying, begging for her life, and pleading for death just moments ago.

‘What the……? Did she finally lose her mind from all the torture……?’

The woman suddenly straightened her shoulders and let out a low chuckle.

“Hmph, huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu…… Khehehehehehe……”

It was a terribly self-important laugh for someone who had blabbed about Lost Hope from the very beginning.

“I don’t recall messing with her head.”

Zeke frowned as he looked at her.

Julie lowered her voice ominously and muttered.

“Hehehehehe, hahahaha! Even if I die here and now! You’ll never escape this place! My death doesn’t mean the release of the power, you’ll be trapped here, killing each other…! This space is imbued with the Demon King’s power! ……Praise……revere……!”

Whack!

Zeke smacked the back of her head.

“……What was that? Well…… I’ve already extracted all the information I need from her anyway…….”

Zeke lifted the baguette above his head.

“I believe I mentioned that I tore through this space earlier. A barrier like this…… All I have to do is tap on a few weak points in the formation like this…….”

Swish.

Swish.

Swish.

Zeke’s bread danced through the air.

“And dismantling it is a piece of cake.”

The red energy that had enveloped them vanished with a fizzling sound, as if evaporating into thin air.

“……”

Realizing that even her last act of defiance had been for nothing, Julie closed her mouth again.

* * *

“Hmm?”

As the spatial barrier dissipated, the surrounding scenery came into view.

Lush greenery and a crimson sunset.

He had told Soi that he would be back soon, but the torture had taken longer than expected.

He looked at the spot where he had told her to wait, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Soi Spoon?”

He scanned the area, but there was no sign of her.

And the luggage he had left with her was also gone.

Zeke clenched his fists.

“……Those damn Lost Hope bastards…… Did they really kidnap my errand girl……?”

Just as he was gritting his teeth and searching for any traces of her……

“Oh! Instructor, you’re back!”

“Soi!?”

Zeke immediately turned towards the direction of the voice.

It was coming from a large tree, a short distance away from the clearing.

“…Soi Spoon? What are you doing up there?”

Zeke’s eyebrows twitched as he looked up.

Soi had built herself a nest up there, weaving together branches and leaves as if she planned to move in.

And with mud smeared all over her face and body, she looked like a child who had been raised in the wild.

“……You’re the one who left me alone in the middle of the forest!?”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like that!? I had to build a temporary shelter in the tree in case wild animals came after my baking ingredients! And I had to mask my scent so they wouldn’t find me!”

As she was yelling, Soi sensed something strange.

She thought she had heard someone approaching.

She tore her gaze away from Zeke and looked up.

That’s when she saw them. A huge crowd of people staring up at her.

“Uh, um…… Instructor……? W-What’s going on?”

Soi stammered, her eyes darting back and forth in confusion.

“Hmm. Now that you mention it, you have a point. Excellent work, Soi Spoon.”

Zeke gave her a slight thumbs-up.