A cliche garbage noble appeared!
I've been living with Seol-ah's family for 2 weeks now. After having been sealed for 50 bill- ah, no. 10,000 years, 2 weeks pass really slowly. But, I really can't believe 50 billion years in there is only 10,000 here... it was so painful being in there. I was driven insane again. It was painful. But... at least I got out now. And I'm leading quite a peaceful life. But I have a feeling this time won't last for long... just my intuition.
I just returned to the guild and got my pay for the day. After that first payment I made to the Yoos, they told me to save any money I make for myself from now. After getting my money, I went outside the guild started walking home. I could just teleport there right away, but walking back isn't so bad either. Hm? Seol-ah? What is she doing here?
[Neo! You were still here!]
[What are you doing here, young miss?]
[I just thought I would come pick you up! Hehe...]
[It's dangerous for a child to walk around alone at this time of the day.]
[Aaah! You just called me a child!]
Seol-ah pouts and crosses her arms.
[I'm 16, you know? I'm not a kid!]
16.... to me, that's quite literally just a kid.
[Let's go back.]
[Okay!]
Seol-ah and I walk side by side. Hm? Seol-ah is pulling at my sleeve... is there something she wants?
[Seol-ah? What is it?]
She's looking down at the floor shyly but she won't let go of my sleeve. She's like a child. Her lips are slightly parted, as if she wants to say something, but purses again right away.
Seol-ah lets go of my sleeve and starts walking again.
[No, it's nothing!]
.... what was that about? Match my pace to hers and walk beside her. We continue for a while until we hear the sound of a carriage.
[Hm? Wow, Neo! Look at that! It's a carriage! I wonder if there's a noble in there.... or maybe it's just their servant?]
Uh-oh. In my memory, nobles were the lowest of all the humans. Not all of them, but low nobles were truly scum. I remember them beating me for fun and watch others assault me.
I should get out of here... wait, no. People here don't necessarily hate me, do they? I'm not a rumored demon child right now... there's no reason for a noble to stop because of someone like me-
The carriage halts right beside us. Damn it. That noble is going to do something bothersome. Should I just killed him? I haven't killed anyone yet because I haven't had a reason to, but I won't hesitate to do so if given a reason.
The carriage opens and a young boy comes out. He looks like he's in his early 20s. A blonde haired boy with sharp fangs and a smug, arrogant expression. Ah, it's one of those annoying nobles that I hate.
[You.]
Hm? His eyes aren't on me. It's on Seol-ah. Why is he looking at Seol-ah? I'm used to getting tortured by nobles, but Seol-ah won't be able to handle it. I can't let this guy endanger her. Seol-ah... is my acquaintance. One of the rare people who can make me experience new things. Hm... it's weird when it put it that way. I don't know how to explain it..
[Y-yes?!]
Seol-ah stands straight and puts her hands straight down beside her. She looks nervous. The noble pushes me out of the way and stands in front of Seol-ah. He sneers in a disgusting manner.
[You. You look fine. What's your name and how old are you?]
Seol-ah, don't give him your na-
[Yoo Seol-ah, 16 years old, young master!]
.... she did the one thing she shouldn't have... now he can keep coming back to harass her.
[Hm? 16 years old? You're pretty beautiful. Seol-ah, why don't you become my wife? I'll be kind and make you the first wife of Rowan Dorgont!]
[...eh?]
.... what? Is this boy serious? I can tell he doesn't love her... well, I might be wrong. I don't know what love is, after all. But this boy... I can tell that he's just going to use her for her body. I'm not going to let that happen. Unless Seo-ah herself wishes to marry him.
Seol-ah's face flushes and bit. I guess being proposed to all of a sudden was embarassing. But she clears her throat and replies.
[I'm sorry, young master. I'm afraid I can't do that. I....]
She pauses for a moment, as if she's not sure of what she's saying.
[I like someone else.]
[Tch.]
The noble boy clicks his tongue. He looks irritated.
[You dare to reject my generous offer? Do you think you have the right to refuse? I'm greater than you. You're worthless. All you have is a pretty face and a nice body. You're nothing more than that.]
.... that sounds very familiar. I heard something alone those lines a lot of times when I was young. I was already used to insults by then, but I wonder if Seol-ah is fine?
[You're just a peasant. You don't get to decide. If I tell you to be my wife, then you should just obediently follow my orders, you slut. You know what? Since you made my mood foul, I'll take you in as a concubine. After all, I can get a lot more women like you. All you have is a lewd body. Such a body shouldn't be wasted out here souring everyone's eyes and be spent rightfully to serve me.]
That boy... does he not know where to stop? He doesn't even know what Seol-ah is like, and he's calling her a slut right off the bat because of her looks. Did he not learn etiquette as a noble? Pathetic.
Seol-ah starts trembling. She's looking down at the floor... and she's crying.
[Oh? You're crying now just because I've told you the truth? If you get it, just submit to me and be my personal-]
PAKK!!!
BOOOM!!
I punch the boy's face. The boy gets flung back and crashes into his carriage.
[Kuhak!!]
He's bleeding. I made a noble bleeding. But I don't care. He gave me a reason to do so. Oh? The boy fainted. What was his name? Rowan Dorgont? What a garbage family. He's as low as the nobles who tormented me.
Seol-ah covers her mouth and looks at me with shock. Her eyes are wide open. There are still drops of tears in her eyes.
[Y-you!! How dare you hit young master Rowan!]
Hah. A guard. One guard isn't enough to stop me. I'll kill you a-
When I was about to disintegrate them by condensing my shadow and using it's as a limited ranged blackhole. But... I thought back to the day my aggressors made me kill someone. My first blood. I was trapped in a room with a man who desperately begged for his life. But they tweaked my brain with some magic that kept echoing a painful voice ordering me to kill him. Back then, I still had some degree of human morals and emotions. I knew more than anyone else how painful dying could be. But I killed him. My first kill. I threw up a lot afterwards, but they forced in another person into the same room. Not 5 minutes after having made to kill someone against my will, I had to kill another person. They just kept sending more people for me to kill. Where do they get so many people from? What do they take their lives for...? Because of those people... who made me suffer... my feelings of pain started to numb when I killed someone. After around 10,000 kills, I didn't even feel that bothered killing anyone anymore. But.... those bastards even implanted fake memories in me to make it more painful when I killed someone. They wanted me to be the perfect human that feels no pain whatsoever, be it physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. They planted fake memories of me bonding with those people... right before I killed them. Before I could stop, I had already killed them. They already died. And I already had memories of spending time with them. It was painful. I even doubt the days I spend with Seol-ah. They might be fake. Though I am mentally immune to nearly all attacks, there can still be some higher being that might be able to pull it off. But... even so, I don't want to make Seol-ah suffer. I don't want her to witness someone die.
I calm down and cover my eyes with my hand. Oh? There's a few more guards in the carriage. They came out. I'll just scare them away. You're all lucky Seol-ah was next to me.
I look at them through the gaps in my fingers. I release a bit of my bloodlust. At my release, the guards suddenly fall to their knees. They're trembling and pissing their pants. Well, I guess that's to be expected. With this much murderous intent, it would feel like they're looking at a demon king raising their blade at them.
[Get out of my sight. If I see any of you again, I'll kill you.]
Ah. They already fainted. I can see bubbles on their mouth. Haah... I'm in a foul mood. I didn't know I still had the capability to feel this disturbed. And especially for someone else's sake. This is the first time I felt anything for someone else's sake.
I turn around and turn Seol-ah away from the fainted guards.
[Young miss. Let's go home.]
[O-okay....]
There's still some tears in her eyes that look like they're about to overflow. I really don't know what to do in this situation... I've never cared for anyone before. Ah, I know. What would I have wanted when I was insulted for the first time? Let's relive the moment. "Go away, you filthy monster! Nobody wants you around here! You're just a freaky demon's child!" Hm... I remember crying that day. I still had tears glands back then, after all. And then... I sat down alone in a dark corner of an alleyway until the people who performed experiments on me captured me again. Hm... if it weren't the me back then... maybe... that's what I would have wanted.
I put my hand on Seol-ah's back and rub her back gently.
[Young miss. What that boy said isn't true. You're not what he described you to be. So, don't cry.]
Seol-ah's tears overflow from her eyes and now she starts sobbing. Huh? Did I make her cry more? I guess my understanding of people is really lacking... after all, people only cry when they're sad.
[I'm sorry. It looks like I made you cry more.]
Seol-ah starts sobbing even harder. She grabs my collar and buries her face into my chest.
I guess I'll just wait for her to calm down. I don't think she'll calm down for a while...
I wrap an arm around her and put my hand on her head and softly pat it. I wait for her to calm down.
[Hic... Hic....]
Hiccups after crying? Geez, Seol-ah. You sure let out a lot of tears today. Is this how a normal person would react if they were insulted horribly? It might just be that Seol-ah is more vulnerable to those kinds of things. But it's fine. Even though no one did so for me, I told Seol-ah that those insults don't define her. I'm not sure if that would help people feel better, but I'm only doing the best I can.
Seol-ah stops crying but she stays in position. And then she let's go of my collars and wraps her arms around me. Is this a huge? That's a first.
[Neo... sniff.... thank you.]
[.....]
Seol-ah lets go of me and looks up at me with a gentle smile. I can see traces of her tears on her eyes and cheeks.
[You're really cool, Neo.]
.... is that a compliment? I don't really feel that happy... I guess compliments don't do much for me at this point.
[Is that so?]
Seol-ah smiles. She nods her head.
[Yes, really.]
[... I see.]
Seol-ah seems to have cheered up. We start walking back to our home. It's already sundown. We should get home and rest. Especially Seol-ah, since she seems a bit tired.
--------------------
What did Neo do? He looked at the guards scarily and they all fainted. Can he really make such a scary expression?
I feel my chest tightening. I can still feel tears. I'm still hurt because of what the young master said. He's never seen me before... and those are the things he says. Do I give off that kind of impression? Do I have a shameless body? I want to cry again...
Neo turns me away from the guards.
[Young miss. Let's go home.]
[O-okay....]
We walk home. I'm trying to hold back my tears. I don't want to completely break down in front of Neo... geez, I'm such a crybaby. What will I do if my parents pass away later on?
All of a sudden, I feel Neo's rough, calloused hands on my back. He rubs my back very gently yet firmly.
[Young miss. What that boy said isn't true. You're not who he described you to be. So, don't cry.]
!!!..... aww... Neo... if you say that right now, I can't hold it back anymore...!
I bury my face in my hands and started crying. I try not to make too much noise, at least.
[I'm sorry. It looks like I made you cry more.]
That's not true, Neo... well, it is... but you're helping me.
I grab Neo's collar and bury my face in his chest. I don't know why I'm doing this. Maybe it's because my voice will be muffled and I can cry a bit louder?
I sob more. And then some more. I don't know when I'll stop. What young master said... it really hurt. If what he said was true, and lot of people would be looking at me shamelessly or disgustedly. But... Neo told me it's not true. He tried to cheer me up. It made me happy.
Neo starts patting my head and embracing me. He's being so gentle... I don't know when, but at some point, my tears became one of happiness. I shed a few more tears out of happiness in his embrace. Ah... I can smell his scent. It's so.... uniquely him.
I finally stopped crying. But I don't want to leave his arms. I let go of his collar and wrap my arms around him. Oh dear, what am I even doing...? My ears turn a but red, but... other than that, there's no signs that I'm flustered by his embrace. Probably.
[Neo... sniff.... thank you.]
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Author's Note
Just in case anybody is misunderstanding, she's just sniffling because she was crying, she's not sniffing his scent.
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[....]
I let go of Neo. I look up at him.
[You're really cool, Neo.]
[Is that so?]
Yes, it is so. You look really emotionless and cold. Maybe you might be cold to others. But to me, you're... warm and gentle. Even though your face doesn't show any expressions... even though you look stoic and alone... you still try to cheer me up. You're amazing.
[Yes, really.]
[... I see.]
Hehe. That's such a Neo-esque answer.
I giggle a bit. I think I'm feeling a lot better now thanks to Neo. I walk ahead of him towards home, and he follows after me.
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Rowan Dorgont was taken back to his mansion once the guards came to. He was given emergency treatment, but he's still in critical condition. The young Dorgont woke up a few minutes ago and remembered what happened.
[That.... that SAVAGE!!! He dared to raise his fist against me?! ME?! The audacity! I need to teach him his place. I'm going to get back at him. I'll kill him! Grrr....]
Rowan mutters spitefully under his breath. His breathing is uneven. His face is badly damaged. He has a patch of bandages on his left cheeks. His left eye is swollen. He looks like a comical cartoon character who was just hit by a 100 ton hammer.
[I won't just take my soldiers... I'll even take that relic from our family treasury! Haha, yes... I'm sure there was a relic that made me invisible to any enemy. With that, I can personally beat up that savage barbarian. He dare laid his hand on my beautiful face... I'll make him pay...!]