Taming the Evil Saintess

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Black Water Elgore was currently very angry.

Before him stood his sworn enemy, no, his eternal nemesis.

Hero Elliot. He had deceived himself. It wasn’t just deception; it was ridicule.

“No, I don’t even know what you’re accusing me of.”

“Do you not remember?!”

With a roar, Elgore raised his fist. As he clenched it, the space around him warped. It was a marvel achieved solely through pure physical strength, devoid of mana or magic.

“On that day, on that island! Didn’t you deceive me?!”

“Deceived you?”

The island where Elgore and Hero Elliot’s party encountered each other was near the Northern Sea.

That island was the place where the Black Dragon’s eggs distorted space and time.

And at that moment, Elgore had worked hand-in-hand with the unfortunate human warriors who were also adrift to solve the island’s puzzles together.

At least, that’s what he thought.

However….

“If I had known you were the Hero, I wouldn’t have treated you so kindly! I would have sliced you in half on the spot!”

“….”

“I revealed my name and origin, yet you mocked me without revealing yours! You used me!”

That was Elgore’s true grievance.

Of course, there was lingering resentment over the Hell Duke Derabilice’s furious oppression of Elgore, and guilt over not recognizing the Hero’s party before him, but….

“You’re the bad one!”

Anyway, the deceiver was the bad one.

Although Elgore might be a bit dim, being foolish was not a crime, was it?

Genuinely believing that, Elgore shouted, and Elliot scratched the back of his neck and replied.

“Let’s think this through slowly.”

He pointed to his armor.

“Am I obliged to tell you who I am?”

“I revealed my origins back then!”

“That was something you blurted out without thinking. Just because you revealed something on your own, it doesn’t mean we have to reveal our identities. Very few people act so recklessly in front of a Demon King’s army officer.”

“…Is that so?”

“Exactly. Humans are like that.”

Elgore tilted his head.

Certainly, the refugees in Eastern Port would often wet themselves or drop to their knees begging for their lives upon seeing him.

Did they all introduce themselves?

No, they didn’t.

“And additionally, you said it yourself. Seeing as you would have been sliced in half if I told you that I was the Hero, do you think anyone would reveal their identity after hearing that? Honestly, even demons wouldn’t do that.”

“…Uh, um.”

“Do you not understand?”

“I don’t.”

“Sigh.”

With a hand on his forehead, Elliot continued.

“Moreover, you had the audacity to treat me like a brother! When did I ever call you ‘brother’?”

“…Cough, cough.”

“Right. With your memory, you wouldn’t remember that. But let me enlighten you: I have never called you brother even once. We never agreed to a sibling relationship in the first place. Furthermore, under imperial law….”

Elgore licked his parched lips.

“Wait, wait!”

Finally, Elgore raised one hand and shouted.

“Let’s skip the complicated talk. Summarize it in one line.”

“Fine. I’ll summarize it.”

Elliot grinned as he spoke.

“The deceived one is the fool.”

“You bastard!”

In the end, he was just saying that Elgore was being mocked.

*

“…Is that bumbling idiot really a Demon King’s army officer?”

Nearby, Ophelia quivered an eyelid. It seemed her back, which had been weak in the morning, had recovered thanks to Holy Magic.

Anyway, she glared at the foolish imbecile named Elgore while stamping her foot in anger and said.

“Black Water Elgore, he is the worst idiot I have ever encountered.”

“Ophelia, there’s no need to voice your inner thoughts out loud.”

“How can such a stupid person become a Demon King’s officer? Are the others like him too?”

“No, he’s especially a fool.”

It’s a problem because he’s strong for being a fool.

Watching the rampaging Elgore, I sighed.

He seemed like he might charge at me at any moment, so I pulled Ophelia to the side. But she grabbed my hand and placed it on her chest. A soft touch. Simultaneously, I felt the pounding of her heartbeat in my palm.

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“Right now, even if my expression doesn’t show it, I’m super tense, you know?”

“….”

“I look like a wife sending her husband off to war. Isn’t that super embarrassing? Don’t you think everyone feels that way?”

At those words, I wanted to check Emily Barried’s reaction, who could be said to be the representative of ‘everyone,’ but Ophelia kicked my shins.

“Hey, don’t roll your eyes. It just makes it more embarrassing.”

“Uh, um.”

Ophelia directed her sparkling green eyes toward me, putting on a very angry expression.

“You better not think of making me a widow.”

“Making you a widow or whatever….”

“Swear it.”

“…I swear.”

As if satisfied with that, Ophelia released my hand, which she had placed on her chest.

No, thinking she released it was only a moment. Ophelia pulled my elbow, drew me closer, and pressed her lips against mine.

The scent of wildflowers suddenly engulfed me. It was a sudden kiss. How long did it last? After that, Ophelia let go of my hand and stepped back, moving away in a bit of a fluster.

By the way, Emily was jumping around as if she had just kissed someone herself.

Meanwhile, Elgore…

“You bastards! Now you’re talking about love in front of me… There’s a limit to the mockery!”

I couldn’t deny it; Ophelia’s actions had fanned the flames.

Confirming that Ophelia was safely at a distance, I turned my body to ask.

“Elgore. Are you angry?”

“Ah! Of course, I’m angry! I’ll tear you all apart right now!”

“Sure, sure. Being angry is good, but first, listen to my story.”

I drew my Holy Sword and pointed it at Elgore. Then, I shouted loudly enough for the demon race on the castle walls of Eastern Port to hear.

“I, Elliot, challenge Demon King’s army officer Elgore to a duel!”

“…Duel?”

Elgore tilted his head, but once he realized that this meant a fight, a smile spread across his face.

“Hey, Hero. Are you saying you want to face me one-on-one?”

“Exactly.”

“Alright, bring it on! I’ll go first!”

“No, wait.”

It was as if I was trying to command a puppy, and Elgore almost froze in that stance.

“Let’s confirm the conditions first.”

“Conditions?”

“Yeah. We can’t have you getting wronged like last time.”

Calmly coaxing Elgore, I reminded him of several conditions.

“First, if you lose, your pirate crew will all become our prisoners. Every single one of them. Conversely, if I lose, you can do as you please. Got it?”

“Hmm. A winner-takes-all scenario! Now that’s a warrior’s fight!”

Seeing Elgore nod vigorously, I raised my second finger.

“Second, this fight is just between you and me. No one else can interfere.”

“Hmm!”

Elgore nodded loudly, apparently satisfied with that too.

“Lastly, let’s leave the artifact out of this.”

“What?”

Elgore glanced down at the necklace on his chest and then looked at me.

“You mean that? The artifact that suppresses the magical phenomena around us. That was given to you by the Hell Duke, right?”

“Correct. This was given to me by Lord Derabilice….”

“If I win, those words become my brother’s words.”

What nonsense logic.

Elgore’s eyes narrowed, clearly disapproving of this, but….

“Humans use mana, right? From your point of view, fighting with an artifact that prevents magic use would, honestly, be unfair?”

“…Um.”

“Since this is a rare duel, shouldn’t we fight fairly?”

“That’s….”

That makes sense.

It’s appealing.

The reason Elgore hesitated was likely more due to the guilt of discarding the artifact given to him by the Hell Duke than the conflict of fearing death if he loses. The voices of his subordinates behind him continuously stoked that feeling.

So I hit the nail on the head.

“If you fight without that artifact, I’ll probably lose.”

The effects of bloodline, mark, and gears would remain, but I wouldn’t be able to utilize mana for physical enhancement or sword energy.

That would be extremely detrimental.

“And you’d become a murderer, killing an opponent who couldn’t exert their full power. A potential worthy rival.”

I had cared for precious Ophelia for a good six years.

In that sense, this hulking fool Elgore in front of me was a much easier opponent to deal with than Ophelia.

After a while of silence, Elgore finally spoke to me.

“If I fight without this artifact, can you satisfy me?”

“Hah. What a pointless question.”

I infused mana into my Holy Sword.

Holding the magnificent Holy Sword ablaze with brilliance high above, I declared,

“Satisfaction or whatnot, just prepare to die by my hand, you pathetic fool.”

….

The simplest word to describe Elgore is “fool,” but more accurately, he should be termed as a strong, fighting-loving fool.

And my provocation worked quite effectively on him.

“Fine. From now on, you shall be my brother.”

Elgore grinned. Then, almost like a gorilla, he pounded his chest and smashed the expensive artifact given to him by Hell Duke Derabilice with his own hands.

“I will kill my brother!”

As Ophelia said, the greatest idiot, Elgore roared.