The Butler of the Villainess Has Returned

Chapter 41

Luna was flustered.

She tried to leap off the ground, but the ground she intended to step on had entirely disappeared.

It was no different from suddenly being placed in the void where the canyon began.

"...Tsk."

Luna gathered her energy.

After forming a barrier she usually used only for defense, she swung her knuckle and shattered it.

Shatter!

The moment the fragments appeared in front of her, she rotated her body and stepped on the fragments with her foot.

Bang!

Her target was the opposite cliff.

Crack.

Barely managing to embed her hand and slow her speed, she gradually descended downward.

She could have climbed back up the wall, but she decided it was better to descend.

The reason was simple.

"...Strong."

The overwhelming amount of aura and the skill used to emit it were extraordinary.

It was clear that this being was on a completely different level from the Demon God Cult she had faced so far.

Even escaping was impossible. However, choosing the battlefield was still an option.

The bottom of the towering cliff.

It was both the battlefield Luna was most familiar with and the place she most wanted to escape from.

"...Ridiculous."

She only wanted to protect her loved ones, so how had things ended up like this?

She unknowingly let out a laugh.

Luna made a determination.

If she survived this time, she would find her old friend and apologize.

Steeling her resolve, she raised her head.

Toward the night sky revealed above the cliff, she raised her right hand engraved with a pattern.

"...[Night Parade of 100 Ghosts.]"

The moon's energy, which had been fully accumulated in her body, surged toward the night sky.

It mixed with the moonlight lingering in the void and transformed into the form of an ash-gray wolf.

The Moonlight Wolf Clan had to form a contract with a spirit upon their birth.

One spirit per beastman.

Only by forming a contract with them could they use the moon's energy, and like ordinary spirit sorcerers, they could also command them.

Luna Fenrir was an exception.

When she was born, not a single spirit descended, and even now, it was the same. The spirits did not form a contract with her.

"...Form a pack."

Yet, they followed her. Not just one, but countless spirits.

The first spirit to manifest howled long toward the risen moon.

The moonlight touched by the sound seemed to ripple and then took shape, descending.

Exactly one hundred.

On the day of a full moon, she could summon up to five times that number.

Swoosh.

Summoning one hundred spirits at her side, she lowered her stance while watching the spot where the enemy would appear.

If I can't kill them, I'll die.

Come on.

Whether it's one or many, I'll tear out their throats and survive.

At the moment she finished her preparations.

"Heh, isn't that too strong?"

A man wearing a mask appeared.

Crack!

He embedded a long sword into the wall and, holding onto it, slowly descended.

Luna raised her head.

Beyond the mask, his sharp eyes, fishy smile, and the ominous laughter unique to villains were visible.

Demon God Cult.

He was someone she had to punish.

It was clear he was more dangerous than even those called High Priests among them.

He chuckled.

"Ah, don't misunderstand."

"...Misunderstand?"

"I just came to talk."

Grin.

It was an even crueler smile.

It was a chilling sensation she hadn't felt in a long time.

Luna quickly gave an order.

"...[Hunt.]"

Growl!

The one hundred wolf spirits raised their heads toward the man descending.

At that moment.

"Luna Fenrir. A defective product who couldn't form a contract with a spirit yet became the shadow of the clan."

Secrets known only to the elders of the clan flowed freely from the man's mouth.

Thud.

Finally, the man stepped onto the ground.

"Nice to meet you."

Retrieving the sword he had used to slow his descent, he slowly approached Luna.

Luna regained her composure.

Even if he possessed secret information, the fact that he was an enemy did not change.

"...Die."

As the one hundred wolves were about to leap.

"Wait!"

The man shouted firmly.

"I have something to say before that."

A red glow emanated. He slowly raised both hands.

Is he trying to use magic?

Is he trying to emit aura without a sword?

Could it be the realm of a Sword Master?

As Luna belatedly tried to give the attack order, the man acted faster.

He lay flat on the ground.

"Spare me."

The man was extremely polite.

Lying flat on the ground, he showed his palms, displaying the surrender gesture unique to beastmen.

Luna doubted her ears for a moment.

"...What?"

"I said spare me. No, please spare me."

She looked at him and thought.

'...What the hell is this?'

Luna's thoughts froze.

2.

Everything was going according to plan.

Attacking Luna or being attacked were both poor choices.

Attacking would only lead to misunderstandings, and simply defending would result in her fleeing.

What I need to do right now is only to talk.

To achieve that, I embarrassed Luna while simultaneously signaling my intent to surrender.

The operation was successful.

Thanks to the completely unexpected action, Luna froze.

"...No, what is this."

A familiar voice was heard.

Only then did I lift my head and declare.

"Luna Fenrir. I came to talk."

"...Talk?"

"Yes, talk."

After releasing my sword and placing it on the floor, I slowly stood up and faced Luna.

"You want to leave the clan, don't you?"

"...What?"

Luna's expression hardened.

It was the perfect choice of words.

I didn't miss that moment and dug deeper.

"You hate your clan, don't you?"

I don't know the detailed story.

Luna from her past life joined Moonlight because I saved her life.

Luna was dying.

Her kin, entranced by Floria of Carnal Desire, rushed to kill her, while Luna only subdued them without killing.

-...Please, get a grip!!

She cried out.

Even as she was pierced and torn apart by her kin, she couldn't bring herself to kill them.

-...You shouldn't be doing this to me!!

Subduing is harder than killing. Especially when the target is someone who has lost their reason and is charging at you.

Luna was slowly dying.

Stabbed by the dagger of a young kin, or pierced by the staff of an old man.

She endured the attacks of her kin alone, shouting for them to snap out of it.

The only fortunate thing was that the entranced ones couldn't summon spirits.

Because of that, she could stay alive until we arrived there.

-What?

When I was about to cut down those entranced by Floria, Luna shouted.

-...Don't kill them!!

...Please.

...Please don't kill them.

I nodded.

Instead of killing them, I found Floria fluttering nearby and killed her.

And then I told her the truth.

-They're already dead.

-...No.

-Don't turn away, look properly.

They were living corpses.

After being entranced by Floria and offering their hearts, they were merely moving shells.

Luna wept bitterly.

Saying she hated them so much, that she should have left them long ago, she cried without stopping.

That's how she became a member of Moonlight.

For a while, she lived only following the given orders, then belatedly began to open her heart.

At that time, she grumbled in passing.

-...Sometimes I think about this. What if the Captain had come to save me even a few days earlier? If that had happened....

Luna asked with a worn-out smile.

-...What choice would I have made?

-Well, one thing's for sure, you'd have ended up in Moonlight anyway.

-...Pfft. That sounds about right. Maybe you should've asked me that earlier too.

That's why I made the proposal.

"Come with us."

"...."

"Honestly, you're sick of seeing your clan, aren't you? Especially the Main Branch guys, you're fed up with them by now."

I asked her to leave the clan and once again become a member of Moonlight.

After a moment of silence.

Luna opened her mouth.

"...Who are you?"

"The Captain of the Secret Society Moonlight."

"...Not that, you bastard."

Over the dark circles, a sinister golden aura began to ripple.

"...What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Nonsense?

Wondering if I had misspoken, I reviewed my words, but nothing came to mind.

At that moment, when Luna reignited the fighting spirit that had calmed down.

"Yahoouuu!!"

"W-We're going to die! R-Really going to die!!"

"It's not even that high."

Reinforcements fell from the sky.

Luna clicked her tongue briefly. She disrupted the spirit of One Hundred and stepped on the ground.

Then she glared at me.

"...Watch your mouth."

"What?"

"...Don't speak recklessly about the Moon Wolf Clan, Outsider."

It was something her past life self had said.

Feeling unfair, I responded bluntly.

"Can't I at least say what I want?"

"...I remembered."

"That phrase must be in fashion."

Yuri, remembered by everyone.

It might not be so bad.

When I was lost in other thoughts, Luna warned me.

"...This is the first and last time I'll fall for your trickery. Next time, I won't let it slide."

Pabat.

Luna disappeared just like that.

Judging by the shimmering left wall of the cliff, it seemed she climbed it in an instant.

It was frustrating.

She said to come earlier, so I did. She said she would leave the clan, so I told her to do so. She even asked me to invite her to Moonlight earlier, so I did.

Yet, I only got scolded.

Letting out a sigh, I muttered.

"A woman's heart is impossible to understand."

This is why I can't date.

Letting out another sigh, I turned my body.

I approached the members who had come down late and sighed while pointing upward.

"Let's climb again."

"Weren't you recruiting for Moonlight?"

"If they hate it, what can we do? Forget it, let's just go do our thing."

"Is there something else to do?"

I nodded and replied.

"Another one will arrive soon."

"Who is coming?"

"It's a Bishop Class from the Demon God Cult."

The members' expressions hardened. Ian approached quietly, gripping his sword, and asked.

"Who is it?"

After a pause, I replied.

"Floria of Carnal Desire."

"...Hmm."

Ian asked another question.

"Is she beautiful?"

...What's with this gentleman these days, seriously?