A Scent He Liked

"Te-Teacher..."

Cain felt Roxy's rather exposed back. To be honest, it was somewhat thin. He wondered if she had been eating properly. His face reddened slightly; Roxy was currently carrying him on her back.

He could clearly recover enough to walk normally after resting for a few minutes, but his master's back felt warm and dependable. It was just a little bony.

As Cain thought this, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. This feeling was quite nice. Even with the Undying Devil Race Bloodline, taking down three Three-Headed Red Dragons in one go had left his tightly strung mind somewhat exhausted.

"Roxy! How is Cain!?" Zoldat hurried over to Roxy and Cain, followed by Bruce and a large group of adventurers.

"He's fine. He just has multiple fractures. I used intermediate healing magic on him, so his life isn't in danger."

Seeing Cain wave at them from Roxy's back and give them a faint smile, Zoldat and the many adventurers who had rushed over finally let out heavy sighs of relief.

"Ah, you're incredible, Cain!"

"As expected of the Sword God from Sword God's Holy Land! You took down three Red Dragons in one stroke!"

Listening to the praise from the surrounding adventurers, Cain scratched his cheek.

"I only killed three Red Dragons. The main reason was everyone's good coordination. Otherwise, I wouldn't really have had much of a chance."

Cain genuinely believed that. The Red Dragon had been distracted by the barrage of magic, scattering most of its attention, and had failed to judge the threat he posed beneath that ice spike.

Without all that magical interference, the Red Dragon would probably have quickly put distance between itself and the ice spike carrying him. At that point, all he could have done was give it the middle finger and watch it fly away.

He had to admit, flying Red Dragons were truly crafty.

"Stop being modest. This time, we have your miraculous swordsmanship to thank. That was the Blade of Light, right? Don't be stingy with an ultimate technique like that. Give us a few pointers."

"It's not as miraculous as you make it sound... It was merely a slash a person could make."

Cain rubbed the shoulder Zoldat had slapped so hard that it now ached, then spoke seriously.

"Well, if you really want to learn it, it's not impossible." Cain glanced at Roxy, who was carrying him, cleared his throat twice, and imitated his master's solemn tone.

"Pay more."

The surrounding adventurers froze for a moment, then burst into cheerful laughter.

Cain felt that no one was treating him like a patient—or rather, an injured man—at all. He and Teacher Roxy, who had pursed her lips and flushed adorably, were tossed into the air by dozens of adventurers, caught, and then tossed up again.

They kept cheering things like, "Long live the Sword God!" and "Long live the Sword God's master!"

On the way back, Zoldat kept looking at him and Teacher Roxy with that gossiping expression. Of course, he wasn't a lolicon! Probably not...

Actually, in a one-on-one or one-on-two fight, Cain felt that dragon-type monsters like Red Dragons were manageable. As long as they were within the range of his Blade of Light, there was not much difference. They were nowhere near as formidable as his master, the Sword God Gall. After all, Cain had started by using the long-range Blade of Light ultimate technique to cut off one Red Dragon's head.

Flying Red Dragons were different from Red Dragons that had fallen to the ground, though. They flew too high for him to reach.

But...

Cain pursed his lips and watched Teacher Roxy's back as she carried him into the streets of Magic City, surrounded by a crowd of adventurers.

"Cough, cough, Teacher Roxy, I'm really fine, so could you put me down...?"

The Sword God of Sword God's Holy Land was being carried around like this. I had my pride too...

Cain smiled helplessly and tried to climb down from Roxy's back.

"Don't move around. Injured people should rest properly." Meeting Roxy's serious azure eyes, Cain pursed his lips awkwardly, turned his face slightly away, and scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"B-But my injuries are already healed..."

"Please let this useless teacher do what little she can for her student. I don't like owing people favors."

Roxy pursed her lips as she spoke. Cain smiled helplessly. He did not think Teacher Roxy owed him anything; if anything, the magic Roxy had taught him had saved his life.

At that moment, Zoldat patted Cain's shoulder as he sat on Roxy's back.

Cain turned around and saw Zoldat grinning brilliantly—so brilliantly that it was a little disgusting.

Hadn't this guy said those Red Dragons were stragglers, the kind that crawled on the ground? Why were they flying in the sky?! And there were three of them in a group! For such false intelligence, he really ought to be fined twenty Asura Gold Coins.

"Hey, Cain, Roxy was really worried about you just now. The moment she saw you in trouble, she was the first to rush toward you."

Cain felt Teacher Roxy's small body stiffen slightly beneath him before returning to normal.

"So what are you trying to say? I really feel like sparring with you in Sword God Style right now."

Cain narrowed his eyes at Zoldat, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly with a placating smile.

"Didn't you say your information was accurate? How did they turn out to be S-rank Red Dragons? If they had really been stragglers, we wouldn't have had such a miserable fight."

"Ah, that... I'm angry too. Those damned noble lords—I really want to tear their heads off and use them as balls. If not for you this time, who knows how many casualties we would have suffered."

"This absolutely cannot be allowed to pass!"

Cain curled his lip as he watched Zoldat angrily kick away a stone by his feet.

"That's your problem. I killed the Red Dragons, so please pay my master and me what we are owed."

"Of course! Even if we have to sell everything we own, we'll make up your commission fee!"

Hey, don't make it sound like you can't even afford food...

"What? From the sound of it, those noble lords aren't willing to pay?"

Zoldat shook his head.

"They should pay properly. It's just that those perverted nobles probably won't pay anything beyond what the commission originally covered."

"I see..."

Cain narrowed his eyes, but then a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He gently rested his head against Roxy's shoulder, letting his thoughts slow.

"Th-Then you can't smell me."

"Huh? Teacher Roxy, do I look like that kind of pervert...?" Cain's mouth twitched. He truly just wanted to rest. He wasn't a lolicon. Well, probably not.

"N-No, that's not what I meant. I probably smell, don't I...?"

Roxy pursed her lips. She had done a great deal of running during the Red Dragon subjugation, and her clothes were now soaked with sweat. She probably had a strange smell.

Roxy did not know that Cain swung his sword every day in Sword God's Holy Land. He was practically immune to the smell of sweat. Instead, Cain rather liked the faint, simple scent of earth that clung to Roxy.

Cain merely breathed normally, and that faint, unadorned scent soothed his tense nerves. Only the most practical and simple people carried such a scent. He liked that presence; it was comforting and dependable.

If he had been a vampire, he would definitely have wanted to drink Teacher Roxy's blood.