35 A Strange Evening

Ryuji looked at Saki and Yumiko, who seemed excited to be talking to someone from her race. He could tell by how vibrant her eyes became and her tail swaying behind her.

Yumiko's voice echoed with a newfound confidence, her words carrying a weight they hadn't before. "Saki, I'm counting on you from now on!" Her hands confidently rested on her hips, a confident pose as if she wanted to take the lead. Ryuji was more than happy to let her assume this role; a relief to see her finding her voice and smiling so brightly.

'Though if it was a male.' 

His thoughts, usually clear and focused, became a little complicated as he pictured the image and felt a surge of violent impulses. The thought of another male, especially one who might pose a threat to him or hold desires towards Yumiko, stirred a primal instinct within him.

"You don't need to worry—if I weren't in this position, I'd give you a discount!"

"Saki, can I ask you about the tattoo? Did you say it might be a curse?"

"Well... I'm not an expert on curses, but since they're magic-related, I think I may know someone who is. I'll ask them about it, okay? It might take a while because she lives in the beast kingdom and is a member of the owl tribe, and a slave can only send a letter once a month."

"Don't worry, Saki! If it costs you too much, let me know, and I'll help you send the letter somehow!" Ryuji seemed excited with the new knowledge and grasped Saki's smooth hands. He could feel a slight bit of fur around her wrists, like a silky bracelet.

Ryuji suddenly realised Yumiko had grasped his wrist and pulled his hands away. Her cheeks turned pink, her eyes narrowed, and she released a small growl from her throat, causing Saki to recoil.

"Hmph! I knew this guy could only seduce women..."

Saki didn't seem bothered by her jealousy and let out a laugh as her eyes turned to Ryuji. "Thank you, Ryuji. I'll see you soon!" she said with a wink.

"Haha, I know Saki. It's fine. We should be here tomorrow, so thanks for the help so far."

"G-Goodbye Hero Ryuji!" Saki's greeting to him seemed a little strange as she gazed down at his crotch and body, the same thing Yumiko did after every shower.

He wondered what the two spoke about while he focused on the kobold tattoo.

However, the moment Yumiko noticed her gaze, she grabbed Ryuji by the arm and pulled him away. "Come on, Ryuji, we need to go find the others!"

"Okay. Ah, Saki, next time, I'll have more questions!" His voice trailed off while the lovely wolf gazed at the pair with an envious gaze.

***

The pair now stood in the food court area of the dungeon plaza, with wooden tables and chairs, the knights at a lower quality meal, but the amount almost doubled from upstairs. It seemed keeping those who dive in the dungeon full was more important than the taste being high quality. Even the knights with D and C class armour all ate here.

Since the two still didn't appear, Ryuji and Yumiko bought an orc steak in slime gravy because of their hunger.

"Were you jealous of Saki?" Ryuji's sudden question made Yumiko choke on the orc steak and slam her cup of water down.

"What? Don't be stupid!"

"Your tail told me everything, though."

"!!!!"

Her tail slapped his arm while she turned up her nose. Ryuji had quickly learned a few things about Yumiko—one was that her ears and tail always twitched whenever she lied.

The second was when she became frustrated. Her ears folded down, and her tail went stiff. When jealous or happy, her tail would sway quickly for happiness, while jealousy was a slow, swaying motion.

"So, are you going to explain, or am I going to wait until you admit it?"

"I just didn't like you holding her hands so casually..." She spoke in a mumble, her cheeks burning and eyes downcast.

'She's so lovely!'

Ryuji's hand reached out, stroking her cheek while wiping the gravy from her cheek before sucking it off his fingertip. "Don't be so sad—sorry, I didn't know that would make you jealous."

"It's because males don't normally touch females in the beast kingdom unless... the pair are courting each other or already a pair."

"Eh, but I do the same with humans all the time, and you are fine?"

"They are humans, not beastkin!" She let out an irritated sigh as her fork clattered onto the plate. Her eyes darted around the area, watching the other couples.

"Ryuji, you won't leave me for another beastkin, right?"

"Huh? Of course not. You're my partner, aren't you?" He could feel his hand taking hers under the table, his heart quickening when she gripped back, a faint smile on her lips.

"Mm, good. I just know that being a former slave doesn't make me so appealing as a woman."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!" A sudden yell sounded from the courtyard, causing Ryuji to turn around while Yumiko's ears and tail pricked up.

****

"Can you please just let us go? She isn't interested in you." Ryo spoke, trying to diffuse the situation with the C rank guard, who seemed a little drunk and disorderly.

"Shut up, you useless tub of lard. Can't you see she's talking to a real man? Oi, hero girl, how much for the night?" The knight flashed two silver coins while touching Akari's shoulder.

'What is happening?'

Ryuji for the first time, felt a sense of discomfort. The world he felt was so clear and straightforward felt, like that murky alley back as a child when his father would fight against scum after his life.

"Go on, I bet this kid can't make you feel good anyway, right? Let's go!"

Yumiko felt annoyed—although those two acted annoying today, she realised it was the trap she had set off now.

Before she could move, Ryuji had already begun walking towards them, but she noticed his posture and movements were strange and felt a sense of dread looking directly at his back.

'Why do you guys keep forcing our hands?'

In a mixture of a trance and feeling intense rejection towards the dirt of this world, he turned his gaze away from Ryuji, lost control of his calm demeanour for the first time since he beat a teacher half to death, then almost accepted the advances of his best friend's girlfriend.

Akari could tremble because of the strength of the warrior class knight.

Her eyes traced across the room for help, but the knights looked away, eating their meal, while Ryo was useless. She knew who could have saved her if not for that stupid feeling. It made her feel overwhelmed and say such stupid things in the dungeon.

Then she heard Ryuji's voice before a sudden snap and howling of the wind.

"It's your fault."

"Pardon?"

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but I'll kill you if you ever put your filthy hands on her again." His tone was ice cold as his fist sank into the knight's chest armour, cracking the ribs as they caved inwards.

However, the power didn't stop; Ryuji's fist penetrated the cheap iron and even through his chain mail and chest. Ryuji felt a bit of resistance after the ribs had given way and pierced the flesh and heart. He pulled his fist out of the dying man's body, splattering the red liquid on the floor.

[You have Killed a Human being]

[Gained Title Murderer]

Damage dealt to humanoid and humans increased by 10%

Depending on the situation, the situation can decrease relationships with human factions.

'...'

"Were humans always this pathetically weak?"

Ryuji didn't feel any remorse or emotions.

He looked at the trembling knight, now drowning in his blood, with a sharp gaze. The knight tried to speak, but his lips only fluttered before collapsing dead.

"YOU KILLED A KNIGHT!?"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

The shout of various knights of all grades resounded while Ryuji's ice-cold gaze, now dark with red pupils, snapped towards them as he swiped his left arm, removing the Blood Drinking Great Axe from the tattoo and swinging it violently before taking a stance.

Ryuji's gaze felt terrifying. He became like a demon king who appeared in the centre of the capital!

"Do you have a problem?"

With an enormous axe over his shoulder and facing over twenty knights, there was no fear, only excitement and a huge, wicked smile on his face while covered in the blood of the deceased knight.

"Yumiko, I order you to stay out of this!"