Show Me Your Stats! - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“Nngh, no…”

Had this stimulated Janus’s appetite? Ayra thought he had gotten a bit stuffy and dry because of their previous actions–perhaps that was the cause behind the nosebleed. The mage didn’t want to relive the taste of the bloody kiss.

Contrary to his expectations, Janus didn’t rush in and instead stepped back. His eyes were still glowing red with excitement, but, for some reason, the mercenary’s interest seemed to be slightly broken.

Ayra was puzzled as he watched Janus slowly fumble around, touching and caressing the mage’s body. Then, after wrapping his chilly neck with his hot hand, the mercenary clicked his tongue, “Tsk. Are you cold?”

Janus stared at the blood leaking through the gaps between the mage’s fingers that blocked his nose and mouth. It wasn’t until he heard the question that Ayra realized his body was shivering due to the cold. He had decided to go outside for some fresh air, but he had unexpectedly spent a long time outside. With the residual heat of pleasure disappearing, his body trembled emphatically. 

Ayra stuttered, “Y-Yeah, it’s a little…cold…”

“It’s on the warm side, though. Is your body a bit fragile?”

Of course, his body had less than 1,000 hit points, but hearing such words from someone with 9,999,999 HP made Ayra feel emotional. Ayra took out a handkerchief from his inventory space and covered his nose and mouth.

Looking closely at the mage’s pale complexion, Janus asked, “Do you have some chronic illness?”

“No–I just tend to have nosebleeds when I’m tired.”

‘How could he say I have an illness just because of a nosebleed…? I’m just a little tired,’ Ayra thought.

Contrary to the intense claims of thrusting until the other faints, Janus held Ayra in his arms and kept the mage warm until his nosebleed subsided. The mercenary’s body temperature was so tender and warm that it made the bridge of Ayra’s nose twitch for some reason. As the nosebleed subsided, Ayra remembered what Janus had said.

‘It’s the first time since I’ve ever wanted to see someone so much.’

Ayra knew that the mercenary probably meant that he felt a sudden desire to see him after a lusty, wet dream…but those words made Ayra’s heart itch for no reason. The mage desperately tried to suppress his affection and feelings for Janus, but it was futile. It was truly difficult to prevent oneself from liking someone.

“You’ll return to Solar soon, right?” Janus asked.

“Yeah. Since I’ve finished with my work…”

“Then, shall we go back together?” Janus asked as he took the drenched handkerchief from Ayra and wiped the young lord’s face. After wiping his face thoroughly, wiping away any blood stains, Janus folded the cloth and wiped his hands clean as well.

Ayra went blank at the tenderness; greed suddenly welled up within him. ‘…Should I suggest that he should hang around in my territory a little longer?’ 

The mercenary came to find a lover, and now that it’s been almost ten years, he’s about to leave Solar. Ayra harbored hope that maybe he could become the very lover Janus was seeking. Even if he wasn’t the fated lover Janus was searching for, perhaps, with effort, the young lord could become a familiar and comfortable partner. Although the affection rating was only at four for now, if they continued spending time together like this, maybe one day Janus could feel the same.

Such greed made his mind chaotic. Even though he knew that these desires could lead to ruin, he couldn’t help it. After hesitating, Ayra opened his mouth; as if Janus could read that internal turmoil, Janus released his hold on the young lord and spoke first, “You left your outer robe at the entrance, right? Here–Let’s first go to a nearby inn and warm up.”

Ayra nodded at him, swallowing the words that threatened to pop out. It was indeed quite cold. The young lord had no doubt that a mountain of work was waiting for him, and it would be a huge issue if he caught a cold. If Ayra fell ill, the governor would collapse due to overwork.

Ayra stayed still as he watched Janus’s back grow distant. He continued to wait with his arms folded as he anxiously waited for the mercenary’s return. For some reason, it seemed like Janus was taking longer to come back.

“Can he still not find my clothes?” As Ayra mumbled, he heard the sound of footsteps. The young lord raised his head and looked at the entrance of the alley, but he could not see Janus. At that moment, Pebble popped up before his eyes and floated out a notification window.

“…Huh?” Ayra frowned; the alert popped up and disappeared in such a short time. Pebble, which had both hands extended, opened its mouth in a triangle shape, before becoming calm. The word, ‘Alert’ which was hovering around its body, had also faded.

“Wasn’t there an emergency notice just now?”

As if to say, ‘Did I ever say anything?’ the spirit floated along; Ayra pulled the spirit into his arms, pulling at both ends, while interrogating it. The spirit manifested a floating heart while avoiding the Mage’s gaze. Ayra definitely thought… it said something like ‘Behind you!’…

Goosebumps ran up Ayra’s spine as he looked back, tense. The first thing he saw was a gleaming blade shining in the dark.

“……!”

He was too late! Ayra hurriedly pulled up a shield from the ground, but the blade would be faster and reach his neck first. 

However, before the blade could cut Ayra’s throat, a scream burst forth from his attacker. “Aaargh!!”

With a clatter, the attacker dropped the sword and stepped back while clutching his wrist. Blood flowed profusely from a hole in that wrist. Once again, something flew at the person’s ankle; this time, however, no scream echoed out…The attacker’s mouth was blocked.

“Hush. Let’s be quiet, Mishio. If you scream here, people will get riled for no reason.” Janus said softly as he lifted Mishio up. It was then that Ayra realized who his almost-murderer was.

Mishio, whose nose and mouth were blocked simultaneously by one gigantic hand, hit and scratched Janus’s arm. However, even as his forearm bled, Janus did not budge one inch.

“Here, your outerwear. Wear it before you catch a cold.” Janus, after methodically smashing his opponent’s wrists and ankles one by one, held out the Mage’s outer robe with a casual expression on his face. 

Ayra, puzzled, lifted the defensive magic he had half-casted and took the proffered robe instinctively. Although his safety was assured thanks to Janus, Ayra didn’t forget to secretly thank Pebble for the early alert. 

Artificial sweat dripped down Pebble as it gently manifested Mishio’s stat window.

As Ayra looked at the attacker’s stat window, Janus said in a gentle tone, “If you’re too cold, go on ahead.”

“No, I’ll go with you.” Ayra replied quickly as he slipped on the thick robe. Even while heavily injured, Mishio’s HP was over 20,000? Considering how Nilma Argan’s escorting knights had around 20,000 HP, the man must be quite capable.

Ayra’s eyes shook as he followed behind Janus’s back and felt his collar. When the mage tried to fasten his clothes, he discovered that two buttons had disappeared.

‘…No way, he used those buttons to attack Mishio…?’

This monster of a man, who had effortlessly penetrated human flesh with buttons as if they were bullets, continued to drag Mishio while holding onto the man’s face. The mercenary’s movements were as light as if he were carrying a stuffed animal. As they walked through the labyrinthine alleyways, Janus walked relentlessly. During this journey, Mishio initially resisted frantically but eventually succumbed to the other’s greater strength, slumping lifelessly.

At last, their feet stopped at a small, dreary, vacant lot situated among nearly-collapsed old houses. Thugs and homeless residents who were loitering around, flirting with each other or using the ground as makeshift beds, glanced at Mishio being dragged in, bleeding, and hastily fled, fearing that they might get caught up in this situation. This place was an area with little to no security presence. Not only were there no people willing to help when someone screamed, but people would quietly lock their doors instead.

“Now, why don’t you tell me why you tried to kill my lover,” Janus said.

Mishio, whose face was pale after bleeding profusely, trembled. Clutching at the holes in his wrists and ankles, he clasped his mouth firmly shut. When Janus pulled out the old sword hanging from his waist, his face turned off-white.

“You know this well, don’t you? I don’t interrogate for long.”

Ayra, who quietly watched the two from a few steps back, suddenly gave Janus a curious glance. Sure, maybe the mercenary wouldn’t be visibly angry at the person that tried to kill his lover–after all, Janus only had an affection rating of 4 for the mage. However, Ayra found it hard to understand that the man wasn’t agitated at the betrayal of an old friend.

Right now, Janus’s actions almost seemed like an obligation: someone had attacked his lover and now he needed to enact retribution.

Because he was caught at the scene, Mishio couldn’t even make excuses, “Janus, please let me off just this once. I’m your friend. We were good friends for five years.”

“Yeah, we’re friends. That’s why I’ve gone easy on you until now.” With a smile plastered on his face, Janus stabbed Mishio’s knees. In contrast to the playfun actions, Mishio tried to retreat with a pained scream. Then, all signs of amusement disappeared from Janus’s mouth; his red eyes gleamed with cold energy.

Mishio had clearly noticed the change as well. Rigid with fear, Mishio pleaded with the mercenary, “I…I had no money.”

“Huh? With your skills, you’d make a lot of money just by hunting a few monsters.” Janus said dryly, looking down, unimpressed, at the bloody hand that was desperately clinging onto the hem of his pants.

“I.. I wasted it gambling, and I n-need money… I saw earlier that your lover had earned a lot, so…almost unwittingly, I…”

That was a lie. The sword that flew without hesitation, back in that dark alley, was accompanied by the flashing eyes of someone that clearly wasn’t trying to commit a robbery. At that moment, Ayra truly felt the man had intended to kill him.

He was an assassin, not a mugger.