Chapter 33: Purity and Shamelessness

After the Light of the Primordial—the Great Will—shattered following the collapse of the artificial gods, later known as the Apostles, the Goddess of Wisdom, Nymel, located the primary fragment of the Great Will, "Karoso." She then splintered herself into several avatars to scatter across the universe in search of the remaining fragments.

The continent of Arad was naturally one of the targets, and especially after the Apostles were transferred there, it had quietly become a location of immense importance.

"Sigh, Lady Nymel is too anxious. Never mind the rest of the universe; even the continent of Arad alone is difficult to explore entirely. Some places are nothing but death traps."

Leading Mello by the hand back to the camp, Tana introduced her: "Mello, she’s an Elven Knight, though not from the Grand Flores here. You could say she’s my junior..."

"Welcome, welcome! The rain outside is so heavy, you must have caught a chill. Hurry and change your clothes." Seria enthusiastically produced a set of garments, feeling a great sense of affinity for a fellow elf.

"Pin this guy down and don't let him lift his head. Mello needs to change."

"Understood!"

Heiat gestured that it was no problem, her other hand applying extra pressure to keep him pinned.

"Wow!"

"Oh my goodness~"

"How can she be so proud!"

Exclamations erupted one after another; even Pinosia and Seria couldn't help themselves, while Heiat applied even more force in her amazement.

Yelin rolled his eyes. Fortunately, the ground beneath was soft grass, or he would have been pressed until his head cracked open.

"Um, Sister Seria, thank you for the clothes."

Mello blushed, adjusting the collar. It was a bit tight and didn't fit perfectly. As she wiped her hair dry, that single, wobbly ahoge stood right back up...

"I nearly suffocated."

Yelin gasped for air, his face flushed, covered in grass juice and mud.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Ye—"

"He's a shameless scoundrel. You must be careful," Heiat cautioned solemnly.

"No, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to ask, is the Grand Flores doing alright?"

Facing his burning gaze, Mello nodded. "It's alright."

"And your friends?"

"Huh? My friends? I saw a ladybug by the roadside, and Mikao is my good friend too. The flowers and the grass—they’re all doing just fine!"

Yelin tapped his forehead in frustration. The girl seemed ditzy, but she was actually very cautious and clearly sharp-witted, deliberately steering away from his questions. It was, however, quite unexpected that Mello knew Tana.

A round table made of woven vines was set with various desserts, beef jerky, milk, and fruit juice, welcoming the new guest.

"Mello, what do you usually eat?"

Klarah asked casually, though her gaze kept drifting toward the table. Could that have something to do with her physique?

"I just eat regular meals, sometimes with a bit of dessert. Mikao eats about the same as I do."

The unicorn known as Mikao accepted a donut from Tana with total composure, crunching loudly and scattering crumbs everywhere.

"Your horse isn't a picky eater. That's not bad."

Yelin held out a piece of beef jerky to Mikao and smiled. "Want some?"

*Hisss!*

To his surprise, Mikao jerked his head forward, looking at the jerky with disdain and what seemed to be a hint of anger toward him.

"You guy, are you crazy?"

He dodged the attack, breaking into a cold sweat. The creature had a horn on its head; if that had connected, he would have been skewered through and through.

*Hisss!*

Steam puffed from Mikao's nostrils as he aimed his horn at Yelin’s chest and charged!

"Block!"

"Damn you! I just made a joke about you being a horse, is that really worth this?"

Yelin couldn't understand why the unicorn was acting so insane. It ate his donuts and drank his juice, yet wanted to run him through?

"Mikao, don't..."

Mello started to rise to soothe the beast, but Tana pressed her shoulder, gesturing for her to sit back down. She shook her head slightly and whispered, "Don't mind him. Let them fight for a bit."

"Hey, hey, Mello! Your horse... no, your unicorn, did it eat something bad? Do something!"

To his surprise, the others didn't react at all, continuing to eat and drink as if they hadn't seen a thing.

"A bunch of heartless people. Hah, I don't believe I can't handle a single horse!"

He couldn't resist a verbal jab, changing Mikao's classification from unicorn back to horse. He drew a pale yellow light saber, took a stance outside the rain shelter, and glared at Mikao as his energy began to rise.

The heavens seemed to take pity on them, the torrential downpour slowing to a drizzle, though the mud had already splattered their feet and hooves.

[Dim Fluorescent Saber]: (Common) (Light Saber) (Usable at LV18)
Physical Attack +138
Magic Attack +133
Accuracy -1%
Note: If a light saber loses its light, is it still of any use?

No matter how his equipment improved, this lowest-tier, poorest-quality light saber had always occupied a slot in his warehouse.

"Come on, you smelly horse!"

Mikao didn't back down; he pushed off with his hooves and lunged with a rocket headbutt.

The fight raged on one side, while on the other, the group continued to enjoy their desserts, milk, and juice as elegantly as if they were at a noble's afternoon tea.

Only Mello was in a flustered panic, her face full of anxiety. "Um, Sister Tana, Mikao is very strong, but he's usually very gentle. What's wrong with him today? He's never like this."

"Don't worry, it's fine." Seria reached out to stroke her head, tempted to touch that wobbly ahoge.

"He's a man without morals, and unicorns are spiritual creatures that love purity," Heiat said, slowly eating a donut. "Your Mikao's intuition must have told him this guy isn't a good person, so he's trying to drive him away."

"He's not a good person? Then why are you all with him?"

"Uh..."

Heiat froze, silently reflecting. Was he a good person? Impossible. If he were a good person, wouldn't everyone else be a saint? Was he a bad person? That didn't seem right either; he was just a bit handsy.

Suddenly, Tana chimed in, "Instead of worrying about whether he'll get hurt, you should worry about whether he'll corrupt your Mikao."

"After all, it's just a sparring match, not a fight to the death. There's a saying: you don't make friends without first exchanging blows."

"That shouldn't... be the case, right?"

Mello blinked, stunned. Could a human and a unicorn reach an understanding? Mikao never let anyone touch him.

*Huh?* Where was Mikao? And why had that man disappeared, too?

A strange sense of worry began to grow.