Isekai Tensei Soudouki - Volume 2 - Chapter SS

Side Story – A Maiden’s Secret Diary

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The whole of Cornelius was in the middle of a party.

Soldiers and citizens alike were intoxicated from the bottom of their heart from the momentary peace, just for this moment.

However, Count Cornelius, aka Ignis, who magnificently repelled the large army of Haurelia Kingdom only glanced at his subordinates who were excited by their miraculous victory while he couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

A single female warrior, Maggot, trampled the headquarters of Haurelia army by herself within that storm. His mind couldn’t stop remembering her figure.

What was even more problematic was how she was a wandering mercenary.

If she was his subordinate knight or soldier, he had the option to spend time nurturing a relationship between the two of them. While a mercenary like Maggot could leave Cornelius at any time as long as there was someone who could pay her wages.

Although he didn’t intend to boast, Ignis was known as a handsome man. He was a man who had braved dangerous love many times until now.

However, it seemed that even his wiles didn’t work against her.

Actually, Ignis had tried talking with Maggot at the victory party, but he was splendidly shot down.

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「Even the moon cannot rival your beauty. The title of Silver Light truly exists only for you alone.」

「I heard that a man who got charmed by the moon will die in battle soon, you know? Just be careful so that you can live long.」

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Ignis’s smile, his sweet whispers that had brought down countless beauties, couldn’t make Maggot even glance at him.

She was also not perturbed at all by Ignis’s status as a high class noble. Her beauty was truly as radiant as the moon.

A tranquil warrior aura coldly assaulted him like a blade that was pointed toward his throat just with her standing there. But Ignis accepted it without even a twitch.

「If you are the moon, then I wish to let myself be entranced no matter the risk.」

Ignis’s heart had been charmed from a long time ago, since the moment he saw Maggot transformed into a goddess of war that night.

What was left for him was only to formally make this feeling into reality.

Don’t falter.

I understand now.

I have been polishing my skill to make women fall for me for the sake of this day!

Ignis casually reached out toward Maggot’s waist and peered passionately into Maggot’s eyes……and he stiffened in that posture.

His hand that was almost touching Maggot’s slender waist became unable to move freely, as though there was a binding there.

「That’s no good. If you’re going to touch a woman, you should pay attention to the mood a little bit more.」

He didn’t know how she did it, but it seemed Maggot was making his motor nerves briefly paralyzed.

「……That’s really rude of me. I shall spend time until the next chance arrives figuring out how to win your favor, my lady.」

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Month ○Day ×

Unbelievable!

Ignis made a pass on me at the party today!

Those were pick-up lines, right?

Was he seriously trying to woo a stubborn tomboy like me?

Well, there is no way he was serious, anyways.

But, I think it was my first time being stared at with that kind of gaze.

I didn’t expect my heart would beat so fast like that.

After all, the men who approached me until now were all beasts with their sexual desire laid bare.

──It was……a little disappointing to let him go.

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「Marry me. If I can stay together with you forever, then I don’t need any status or honor.」

A breathtakingly good-looking knight──Ignis kneeled in front of her with a bouquet of crimson roses held out.

As expected, even Maggot became speechless by this completely unexpected happening.

She had never seen or even heard of a count kneeling before a mere mercenary.

Most likely, this would never even happen again.

「──Lord count, are you sane?」

Maggot’s tone was cold and monotone, but the slight crack in her tone spoke of how shaken she was.

「Please believe me. There is nobody else but you reflected in my eyes.」

In the end, Ignis gave up using flowery lines to woo Maggot and chose to simply express his feelings sincerely.

The sharpness of his instinct for this kind of thing was to be expected from a hero of the battlefield.

In fact, Maggot was unable to hide her bewilderment from this first love confessionproposal of her life.

She was just barely putting on a calm mask, but inside her bashful heart was screaming.

(Kyaaa! Kyaaaa! I-I-I, I was proposedddddddd!)

Although there were womanizer nobles who tried to make her their mistress in the past, none of them had even proposed a marriage to her.

(Wait! Calm down! Kaa-san told me to first take a deep breath at this kind of time……)

*Suu-haa-suu-haa-suu-haa……* Maggot’s thinking was in chaos, but Ignis himself was also about to blow his fuse, so he didn’t notice it.

「You are……serious?」

Ignis who was greatly famous as a lady killer in the capital definitely sensed Maggot’s shyness and positive reaction in her words there.

His abundant experience gained from much adversity as shown by his nickname of “Cameron’s Killer of Hundred” wasn’t just for show.

Ignis grasped that this was the moment to go all in. He grasped Maggot’s hand tightly to put the pressure on her.

His movement was so natural without anything looking out of place that Maggot couldn’t even shake him off right away.

「──I love you, Maggot.」

Maggot had already fallen with this sentence.

The problem was Maggot, whose brain was completely overloaded, short-circuited, causing her to take a calm attitude instead.

「That’s not a bad pick-up line. However, if you are a man, show me that you are worthy to be loved, not with your words but with your strength!」

Maggot declared that mostly by instinct. Her contrarian nature was really something, but Ignis who wasn’t aware of that was even more impressed by her gallantness.

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Month ○Day ×

I ended up getting into a match against Ignis with marriage on the line.

To think I’ll get seriously proposed to, I never even dreamed of such a thing!

There is no lie in Ignis’s words, no matter how I look at it.

And yet, why am I unable to honestly accept it, me.

But, although I did it unconsciously, I want to praise myself for suggesting an archery match.

If I suggested a match using a spear, I’d be the winner no matter how strong Ignis is.

I have no choice except pretending to lose by a narrow margin.

But my personality will change when it comes to a match, huh……I’m uneasy.

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Her uneasiness came true.

Although Maggot wasn’t as good with the bow as she was with the spear, she could be called as first rate even when using a bow.

Ignis who had been training in more or less any kind of martial arts since he was little was also a first rate archer. The two were evenly matched.

「──Not bad.」

「I’ve learned that you really are the goddess of the battlefield……」

The two of them didn’t miss their prey even though they were mostly just firing their arrows reflexively without even taking time to aim.

Maggot’s battle instinct was lit on fire here.

If Ignis really planned to win here, he could just carefully aim so that there wouldn’t be any chance of his arrow missing.

However, from where Ignis was standing, after Maggot told him to show his strength, it was only natural for him to think that he had to surpass Maggot with a head-on battle.

He didn’t know that doing that only made Maggot’s battle instinct get fired up even more.

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Before long, the evening arrived. And yet the match of the two still hadn’t brought a clear result.

Their sight that was darkened by the evening was telling them that they had little remaining time.

As expected, when it came to night vision, both Maggot and Ignis only had average human eyes.

Maggot’s animalistic instinct caught the presence of an animal lurking inside a bush under the evening darkness.

(Got you──!)

Maggot reflexively nocked her arrow and she was about to let go with a smooth movement, but an alarm was raised somewhere in her heart.

She didn’t understand the reason, but it told her that she would regret it if she fired now.

She must not miss in order to win.

However, she must not hit the prey. She didn’t know why, but Maggot’s instinct was telling her that she shouldn’t do it.

After hesitating for even less than an instant, Maggot’s arrow just barely missed the prey.

(T-that’s……)

Ignis raised his bow in high spirits seeing Maggot miss for the first time today. But then he along with Maggot finally realized the true identity of the prey.

Two beautiful deers──from how the two were cuddling close to each other, it was clear that the two were a pair.

Ignis’s womanizer senses immediately declared a state of emergency.

That pair of deer was too beautiful to be killed. But, why did Maggot miss? She had been killing countless prey until just now without any mercy──

When Ignis realized the answer, he was convinced that he had won the bet.

Ignis’s arrow missed. Seeing that Maggot was worrying whether she should try shooting one more time, but Ignis slowly shook his head.

「Let’s stop here. I can’t bear to kill that couple. You can’t either, right, Maggot?」

「I-it’s not like I can’t kill them but, certainly it might be too boorish to kill them.」

Maggot lowered her bow while she was actually feeling her heart beating painfully fast.

However Ignis’s eyes clearly discerned that she was actually relieved.

He was puzzled how he could miss this until now.

Once he understood that Maggot was a contrarian and obstinate person, it became really easy to understand her.

「I can’t bring myself to kill that harmonious couple right now──am I correct in believing that you also share this feeling?」

「Y-y-you’re wrong you know? I’m not thinking that they’re enviable or pitiful at all……」

Ignis burst into a little chuckle at how Maggot self-destructed when cornered.

How did he fail to notice this adorable side of her…….

「──I’ll embrace and steal your lips now.」

「Eh? Eh? Wai-……!?」

「If you hate it then please kill me. I won’t resist. If it’s something from you, then I’ll accept it even if it’s death.」

It was a terrifying pick-up line.

Even Maggot couldn’t possibly kill a man whom she fell in love with.

Maggot went red until her ears and accepted Ignis’s kiss.

Their first kiss tasted a little bit of blood and sweat.

A cold part of her heart somewhere thought that this kiss suited people who reeked of blood like them.

「…………Not fair」

「Yes, I’m unfair. That’s why I won’t let you get away any longer.」

Yes, he wouldn’t let go of her forever.

He was the only man who could understand this woman, who was gallant and noble to the end, and yet more adorable than anyone.

Ignis finally placed his arm around Maggot’s slender waist and brought down the impregnable maiden.

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Month ○ Day ×

It’s like a dream.

Perhaps this is actually a dream?

Ouch……yep, it’s not a dream just like I thought.

I became Ignis’s lover.

Though as expected, I never thought we wouldn’t stop with just kissing but even getting carried away until doing ×× too.

But it was really lovelyy……Ignis’s sturdy chest, and then……that, too.

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「Mama~, what are you doing?」

「UGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

Maggot’s scream shook the whole mansion.

Maggot got panicked and flustered and hid her diary with her whole body. She then turned around to the source of the voice.

Her beloved son who had just turned three years old was there. He was astonished by his mother’s sudden shriek.

「Ba~l~dr~~! Did you see anythingg~?」

「Fuee?」

「Looks like mama needs to make your body remember to never forget knocking first before entering mama’s room……」

「What’s wrong? Mama, why are you making that scary face?」

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──And then Baldr’s days of suffering began.