The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority Chapter 94

Deserted Island Attack (6)

Ian's true feelings were confusing.

Yuria was so anxious that she couldn't stand it any longer.

So she decided to ask him directly.

Ask Ian.

If he liked her.

"Um, Ian!"

"Yes?"

"You know..."

"Yes."

"So... um..."

"...?"

"U-Um...!"

But when she tried to ask, the words just wouldn't come out.

Her lips just trembled in embarrassment.

She felt like Ian liked her...

But what if it was all just a misunderstanding...?

Then... wouldn't this be a really weird question...?

Maybe Ian only saved her out of loyalty to her father.

He might even think she was full of herself or delusional.

'Why did you make such a ridiculous assumption...?'—he might find her unpleasant!

Ian might want to keep his distance from her from now on.

He wouldn't want to be next to a girl who let her imagination run wild and caused misunderstandings.

This moment could end up as a deep embarrassment, making her want to kick her blanket for years.

'U-Urgh! B-But...!'

Even if she had to take those risks—

The more dangerous it was, the more courageous Yuria became.

'Nothing can be gained without risk! Without courage, nothing is possible!'

Yuria had been raised as a swordswoman since birth.

Courage was a basic quality for a swordswoman.

Without courage, she'd be a corpse.

The only thing she'd worked hard to cultivate since she was little was her courageous heart.

'It's always the desperate one who should be brave...!'

Yes. If she didn't muster up the courage now, she might never be able to learn Ian's true feelings.

Yuria wanted to know how Ian really felt.

Ian was trying to hide it.

Then, she had to be the one to be brave.

Even if this question put distance between her and Ian—

A-ah, I won't regret it!

At least this ticklish, burning feeling in her heart might be resolved...?

'N-No...'

No...

'No!'

Honestly, saying she wouldn't mind if they grew apart was a lie.

'... I-I don't want to grow apart.'

That was what made her so afraid.

Yuria admired Ian for his shining talent, even greater than her own.

And as she and Ian shouldered the suffocating expectations of those around them together, she'd started to feel a sense of kinship with him.

She felt reassured and grateful that this extraordinary, talented boy always came to rescue her whenever she was in danger.

Whenever they talked, she always felt a strange sort of joy and a satisfying fullness in her heart.

All these feelings Ian gave her—comfort, reassurance, and those fluttering sensations—

Yuria didn't want to be separated from any of them.

Maybe, from the time she was very little, these were exactly the things that Yuria had sincerely wished and prayed for.

If possible, she wanted to get even closer.

That's why she was so eager to know his heart, and why her own was so desperate.

If she could just know Ian's true feelings... just know...

She could take another courageous step forward, too.

She could get closer to him, faster.

'So all the more...!'

She had to be brave now.

Before her older sister or brother swooped in and took Ian away while she hesitated.

'Maybe Ian honestly really does like me, you know.'

Maybe it's not just a misunderstanding after all.

And even if Ian distances himself from her because of this question—

Surely, if she did her best, there would always be a chance to rebuild her relationship with him.

That process might be a bit painful, but...

Even so, now was the moment to muster courage.

She had to gather her courage and check Ian's true feelings.

"Ian, you..."

"Yes. Please, go ahead."

"Do you l...! Li...!"

But her lips wouldn't cooperate as she wished.

"L-Li!"

"............??"

"Li—like, do you lik...!"

As Yuria struggled to force her stiff lips to part and finally open her mouth—

"Iaaaaan! Young master Iaaaan!!!"

"Wh-What!?"

Sophia's voice cut off Yuria's words from a distance.

― Rustle! Rustlerustle!

"Haah, haah! Ian! Young master Ian!"

Sophia burst through the foliage, leaning on a tree to catch her breath.

"How could you rush off all by yourself like that! That's dangerous... huh!"

Sophia met Yuria's eyes and suddenly held her breath.

"Miss Yuria!?"

"... You!"

― Rustlerustle!

Soon, Charlotte appeared through the bushes behind Sophia.

"Huff! Y-Yuria!?"

"My sister, too...!?"

Yuria blinked her large eyes and stared at Ian.

"Ian!? Were you with them all along?"

"What! Did you just call your older sister 'them'!? I told you not to talk to your sister like that, didn't I @!#%!!"

Charlotte immediately started yelling, but Yuria didn't hear a single word.

'W-What! Ian Greysel!'

Suddenly Yuria was infuriated.

'You, you clearly told me...!'

Not to lock arms with other boys, not to hold their hands.

To avoid getting close with any boys.

So up until now, she hadn't even exchanged words with other boys!

But what is he doing now!?

'He's just doing whatever he wants!?'

She could let it slide with Sophia since last time he swore they weren't in a relationship, so fine, she could make an exception...

'But now, even my big sister!? All hugging and giggling together!?'

Honestly, she was already uncomfortable with how he stuck with Sophia, but she had forced herself to endure.

Since they insisted they weren't dating, she didn't want her own jealousy to harm their close friendship—she had worked hard to think that way.

But now he was hanging out with her sister Charlotte, too?

Why were there more and more girls around him!!

Was he planning to just say Charlotte was a friend too!?

There's no such thing as being just friends between a boy and a girl!

... Hmph.

Yuria pouted and stuck out her lower lip.

"... Ian... You tr-traitor..."

"... Yes?"

"... Traitor... traitor...!"

"...???"

Ian blinked at Yuria in bewilderment.

... Sometimes Yuria's thoughts are really hard to understand.

I felt that way in my previous life, and the same was true even as I see her after growing older.

But anyway.

Now that Sophia and Charlotte have joined, and Yuria's caught her breath for a bit.

Break time was over.

It was time to rush to save Kargon.

― KWAAAAAANG!!!

Aris's enhanced energy shook the barrier again.

"Ugh...!"

Yuria frowned at the ear-splitting roar that felt like it would tear her eardrums.

"Miss Yuria. We must move, right now."

"Move? Where? Are you saying we can get outside now?"

"No."

Ian shook his head.

"First, we have to rescue young master Kargon. Only then can I guide you out of the barrier."

"... Huh? What!? What did you just say?"

Yuria's eyes and mouth opened wide.

"The demons weren't targeting only me!?"

"Yes. The demons came after both me and Lady Charlotte as well."

"Ah...! Ah!"

So that's why Charlotte was with Ian...

No! That's not what matters now!

"They're after Kargon too!?"

"Yes. We need to hurry. Every second counts. The demons are still on the move."

As Ian said this, he hoisted both Sophia and Charlotte over his shoulders.

"W-Whoa! Young master, that's ticklish! Hold here, not there!"

"... E-Excuse me, one more time, young master Ian."

The two naturally let themselves be lifted onto Ian's shoulders.

"W-What are you doing?"

It was a rather bewildering sight for Yuria.

"You said we had to move quickly, right?"

"Yes. To move as quickly as possible. Excuse me for a moment, miss Yuria."

Ian walked up behind Yuria.

"W-What are you doing!?"

Before Yuria could even turn to look, he slipped his head between her legs and hoisted her up into a piggyback position.

"W-Whaaaa!?"

Yuria clung tightly to Ian's hair, barely keeping her balance.

"W-What are you doing!? Put me down!"

"No. We're going like this."

He was sorry for Yuria, but there was no time to ask for her consent.

"Hold on tight—hair, ears, whatever you can!"

"A-Are we seriously going like this!?"

Ian now had three people hanging from him.

For most people, forget running—they'd have trouble just standing up.

"Is this for real!?"

Charlotte answered Yuria's incredulous question for her.

"Just hold on tight, Yuria! You'll see in a second!"

"What...?"

"Then, let's go!"

At Sophia and Charlotte's signal, they gripped Ian's collar tightly.

"Wh-What!?"

Swept up in the mood, Yuria clutched Ian's chest for dear life.

― BOOOOOOM!!

At the same time, Ian kicked off the ground with all his might.

"U-UAAAAAAAH!!!"

Utilizing the Extreme Point principle of the Frenzied Insight Style, Ian condensed his aura to the limit at a single point for ultra-high speed movement.

It was so fast Yuria's eyelids felt like they were flipping inside out.

Before she knew it, she found herself clutching Ian's neck tightly.

"Ugh!"

Momentarily out of breath, Ian grit his teeth and kept running.

The corners of his mouth rose a little.

Running through the forest with Yuria in a piggyback like this...

It brought back some distant memories of his past life.

* * *

At a cliffside on the deserted island—

"This thing. Every time I use it, I realize how convenient it is."

A demon with a big hooked nose was fiddling with a demon artifact, muttering to himself.

"To think it could put this many people to sleep at once."

In front of the hooked nose, more than ten men and women were sprawled out on the ground.

All had been caught by the hooked nose's sleep dark magic artifact.

Among them were Kargon, his followers, and the instructors who had stayed to protect them.

― KWAAAAAANG!!

At that moment, Aris shook the barrier again.

"Tsk...!"

The bald demon next to him winced at the ear-splitting roar that seemed like it would rip his eardrums out.

"What are you, writing your impressions!? Just collect the target already! Before we leave you behind!"

"Tch, always so impatient... Fine."

The hooked nose clicked his tongue at his impatient companion.

He walked among the fallen men and women and slung Kargon over his shoulder.

Then, looking down at the unconscious trainees and instructors on the ground, he spoke.

"What about the rest?"

The swordsmen of Hisperion could someday become a threat to the demons.

A rare chance to nip those growing sprouts in the bud.

"Should we kill them before we go?"

― KWAAAAAANG!!

"No! We don't have time for that, you idiot!"

The bald demon snapped irritably.

"Do you think the barrier will hold!? We need to get back even a second faster! Move it!"

― WHOOSH!

After spitting out his words, he dashed off into the forest.

"Tsk."

The hooked nose demon clicked his tongue with regret as he looked at the unconscious students and instructors, then quickly followed after him.

― Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

― WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

With every step, the scenery of the forest sped by.

On their way out, the demons ran into no instructors at all.

The bald demon's ability, specializing in detecting others' presence, was to thank for that.

It took them about three minutes to reach the rendezvous point where the escape portal was located.

"Why's nobody here?"

The hooked nose muttered, glancing around the meeting area.

"There's not a soul in sight?"

No leader. No other comrades.

He couldn't sense any presence either.

"Haah, damn it! We were the first to arrive!?"

The bald demon spat on the ground in frustration.

Then—

― KWAAAAAANG!!

With another powerful blow from Aris shaking the barrier—

― CRACK!!

A foreboding sound rang out from the barrier.

"W-What!?"

"N-No!"

Both demons reflexively looked up at the sky.

And what they saw was a vivid crack.

"T-The barrier!?"

"D-Damn it...!"

A bolt-like crack was splitting the barrier wide open.

The barrier was on the verge of shattering.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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