Stigma Effect

Raphlet looked back at Yuriel and himself, who were sitting on the floor, and smiled in dismay.
Yuriel, who repeatedly pleaded that he should never leave Albraka, blinked when she heard his sigh.

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The face of the ardent worshiper was a little pale when hearing his announcement to leave Albraka.
Raphlet looked at Yuriel’s face and raised only one corner of his mouth at an angle.

This is because he was worried about whether he should rejoice at Yuriel’s perfect submission, or whether he should be angry at her invisible attitude towards her lover.

In the end, he decided to be content with the fact that Yuriel, who showed such an attitude, would never leave his side, and opened his mouth.

It was still hard to know what Yuriel felt when she looked at him, but this was affection.
The kind of affection that would never leave him forever.

“Get up first.
You’re not going to keep me sitting on the floor until you get up are you?”

Yuriel couldn’t help but notice that Raphlet’s voice had a playful tone.

Yuriel raised her voice saying that there was no way and stood up.
Raphlet’s body, which earlier had not moved like a stone, rose after Yuriel.

Raphlet got up holding Yuriel’s hand, set up the chair that had fallen, and sat down again.
Pulling her slender wrist, Yuriel entered his arms without resistance.

The two barely returned to their original form.
It was the same as usual, except that Yuriel, who was relaxed when she was hugged by Raphlet, was restless.

Raphlet hadn’t answered yet.

Yuriel, who did not hear an answer, shook her back and body, then looked at Raphlet.

The expression on her face, blinking anxiously, was fragile.
When not smiling, Yuriel had a fairly weak impression.
She had a face that seemed to say she covered her ears in surprise at something like thunder.

Raphlet looked at Yuriel’s face and thought so.

Seeing her quivering eyelashes as if terrified, he felt like he needed to console her.
His gaze rested on the long, thin, trembling eyelashes.

He even wanted to see the tears.

As if to prove that it was a wise decision to go to Albraka, the desire for destruction towards Yuriel had diminished considerably.
Now, even when he sees her, it was rare for him to have a nasty urge to strangle her.

Yuriel, who was watching him, said while glancing at him.

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“You’re not going back, right?”

“… If you want it.”

He was compelled to answer.
He knew that Yuriel had a special fondness for him as Albraka’s commander.

When he answered, her anxiously trembling eyes found their place.
Yuriel sighed with a relieved face and smiled faintly.

It turned out to be a relief.

He wanted to keep himself as what Yuriel wanted.
In order to direct Yuriel’s affection towards him, Raphlet could protect someone and harm monsters, even for the rest of his life.

It was just a pity that it wasn’t in line with his nature.
Perhaps it was because of the aura of a monster that was mixed with him when he was born, but unlike his appearance, he had a belligerent personality.

It felt better to wield his sword against a person than to face a monster that died without even fighting properly.

When he was fighting, when he put a sword to the neck of a fallen knight at his feet, he had a strong sense of satisfaction.
Unfortunately, that was a thing of the past.

After transplanting the monster core, he became too strong and no one could match him.

Now, there was no act to please him other than sleeping with Yuriel.

It would be better if he could get affection by doing things that fit his nature, but it didn’t matter.
The process was not important.

It was the results that mattered.

If he had lived according to his nature, he might have been a fighting dog in the arena, rather than a paladin of Albraka.

Raphlet grabbed Yuriel’s slender wrist and stopped thinking.

Whatever his nature, he became the commander of Albraka, and Yuriel was by his side.

Raphlet was very satisfied with that fact.

＊＊＊

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In the summer, choosing the first subjugation site was heavily influenced by the Temple.
The main goal was to eradicate the monsters that have settled in the resorts of the nobles.

The knights could not hide their displeasure when they heard the place chosen as their first expedition site.

They were not private soldiers of the nobles, but those who carried swords to protect the emperor.
The first expedition of the year has many meanings.
It was an important outing.

Raphlet and Helio headed to the Temple to protest the selected subjugation site, which did not have an urgent need for monster eradication.

Yuriel saw Raphlet off and set out in search of the escaped monster.

She would soon be three months pregnant.
As the deadline that Shudmuel gave her for her departure was approaching, Yuriel was growing worried.

It was not difficult to keep one’s body healthy, but she was worried about the monster hovering around.

“What if it tries to stay here after I leave….”

Right now, Yuriel was watching out for the monster so that it doesn’t get caught, but if she leaves the place, the monster would soon be caught by the trails it left behind.

Her heart tightened at the thought of the monster that was going to be subjected to vicious experiments.
It would be imprisoned for the rest of its life like the monster in the basement she saw when she was kidnapped.

It hasn’t been long since she had been looking for the monster.
Again, the monster found Yuriel first.

It greeted Yuriel who had entered the uninhabited place and tried to run in an instant.
The fierce welcome of the monster that approached Yuriel as if it was about to attack her failed.
It was because the man who followed the monster stopped the monster, which was rushing towards Yuriel with his arm.

The man was good at grabbing the neck with one arm and grabbing the growling snout with the other.

Baraha, who had stopped the monster, looked at Yuriel and shook his head.
Receiving a light greeting, Yuriel also waved her hand.

“Baraha, did you come first?”

“I didn’t come first….
It has been around since night, so I caught him… .”

“Really? So you were taking care of it all night?”

“Yes.”

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He answered with a tired face.
Surprised by his answer, Yuriel looked carefully at his face.
Looking at Baraha’s face, a dark shade was cast under his eyes.

Perhaps he couldn’t sleep all night, so he always looked somewhat a little bit irritable with his dull face.

Yuriel grabbed the monster and lowered her body following Baraha, who was slumped in the spot.

“Why did you do that when it originally moved well inconspicuously?”

When she asked a question while swiping the growling monster’s head, the monster hid its teeth and became quiet.
When Baraha relaxed his hand, the monster opened its free mouth and licked the back of Yuriel’s hand for a long time.

It was still caught by Baraha, but there was no sign of rebellion.
Maybe it was because it had been with Baraha for a long time, so even when it saw him, the monster did not show any hostility.

Seeing the calmness like a well-trained dog made Yuriel’s heart even more stuffy.

“What is it going to do… If it doesn’t leave soon, it will be in trouble.”

It doesn’t listen to warnings, so what’s the point?

Yuriel, who was stroking its head, lowered her hand and scratched the monster’s jaw.

“You must go now.
Alright?”

The eyes and sharp teeth that looked so frightening when she first saw them were no longer threatening at all, so she was worried.

Was there anything more worrisome than wild animals that had lost their wildness?

If it was an ordinary animal, even if it was difficult, she could take responsibility for it, but the monster would be difficult for Yuriel to handle.

“There are limits to how much I can take care of you.”

As Yuriel spoke anxiously, Baraha, who had blinked his eyes slowly, frowned.

Noticing his staring gaze, Yuriel raised her head and met Baraha’s eyes.

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“Baraha, are you very tired?”

Yuriel asked, thinking that was the reason he was looking at her.
She expected that Baraha, who took care of the monster all night, would leave the monster to her and return to his room at any moment.

Without Baraha, it would be harder than usual to erase the traces of the monster, but his face looked so tired that she didn’t want to stop him.

Yuriel opened her mouth as she wanted to thank him for taking care of the monster all night, and at the same time Baraha spoke out.

“I will clean up the traces, so you go back first….”

“Are there any limitations? Why?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not difficult to take care of it, so why are there limitations?”

It seems that the reason Baraha’s eyes were wrinkled was because of something else.
Yuriel frowned upon hearing Baraha’s question.

She didn’t know that she would feel a sense of wonder at the words he spit out unintentionally.

Fortunately, she was fortunate to express this in front of Baraha rather than Raphlet.
Yuriel bit her mouth, thinking that she should pay attention to even the smallest expressions in the future.

Shudmuel told her not to tell anyone that Yuriel was going to leave Albraka.
Although they were old friends, Baraha was no exception.

Yuriel, who had shut her mouth and stopped her words, spoke as if making excuses at Baraha’s gaze who was following her tenaciously.

“… It’s subjugation soon.
You’ll be away too, and I’ll go out with you, so it’s going to be difficult to take care of it.”

It seemed plausible for a hasty excuse.
The tone of voice that started out timidly became more confident as she spoke.

As if Yuriel’s excuse had worked, Baraha frowned and tilted his head.
His face had an expression that looked like he was saying he had thought so.

Yuriel asked without giving Baraha time to ponder for a long time.

“Aren’t we supposed to find a way to get the monster out of here before subjugation?”