Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Chapter 304

As the four of them chatted and laughed, an entire First-Class Danger Beast somehow disappeared into their stomachs.

Esdeath ate the most by far, to the point that even Kiriya had to admit defeat.

"Mm, that was incredible."

Esdeath rubbed her now-rounded stomach with a blissful expression.

"That might actually be the best food I’ve eaten in my entire life."

Hearing that, Jeanne suddenly realized there was something they still knew almost nothing about.

"Come to think of it, we never asked. Esdeath, where is your home? What about your family?"

Ryuu continued staring into the campfire, but her pointed ears had already perked up.

"Me? I’m the daughter of the chief of the Partas Clan. We specialize in hunting Danger Beasts."

Esdeath spoke calmly, as though recounting someone else’s story.

"My mother and the other women were eaten by an Ultra-Class Danger Beast when I was very young. As for my father and the rest of the tribe... northern tribes invaded two years ago and killed all of them."

"..."

Ryuu’s head snapped around.

Much of the wariness she had held toward Esdeath melted away in that instant.

’She... hasn’t had an easy life either.’

Jeanne felt as though a hand had suddenly clenched around her heart.

She almost wanted to slap herself.

’Why did I have to ask something like that?’

"I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have brought it up."

Jeanne’s guilt was written all over her face.

"What for? It isn’t something I need to hide."

Esdeath was far more unconcerned about it than Jeanne herself.

She waved her hand dismissively.

"In this world, weakness is the only real sin. My father used to say the same thing. In the end, the reason they were killed was simply because they weren’t strong enough."

Her expression remained perfectly composed.

"If you want to survive, you have to become strong. I’ve held onto that belief ever since, constantly training myself, constantly becoming stronger. That’s how I’ve survived until now."

Looking at Esdeath, Jeanne only felt more sympathy for her.

At the same time, several things that had puzzled her finally made sense.

Why could Esdeath wander freely across this endless frozen wilderness all by herself?

Why had she been able to declare, without the slightest hesitation, that someone she wanted should become her possession?

There was a reason behind all of it.

Her father had spent years teaching her that survival belonged to the strong and that the weak being devoured by the strong was simply the natural order of the world.

Then came the destruction of her family, followed by the merciless struggle for survival in the northern wilderness.

Together, those experiences had forged the girl’s heart into something cold, hard, and extraordinarily strong.

What Jeanne could understand, Ryuu naturally understood as well.

Her gaze toward Esdeath softened noticeably.

"Heh. What are those looks supposed to mean?"

Esdeath noticed the way the two women were staring at her and scoffed.

"Are you pitying me? Save it. I, Esdeath, am not some pathetic little girl begging people to care about me."

"..."

The warmth that had just risen inside Ryuu immediately froze solid.

’Never mind. I still really want to hit her.’

Jeanne merely smiled gently, completely unbothered by Esdeath’s words.

She had already made up her mind about the girl.

"Don’t mind them. They’re only worried about you."

Kiriya smiled and reached over to rub Esdeath’s head.

"You’re one of our companions now. Isn’t it only natural for companions to care about each other?"

Her hair was surprisingly soft and silky beneath his fingers.

Honestly, it felt great.

"...!"

Feeling the warmth of his hand atop her head, Esdeath’s normally icy expression instantly melted.

A breathtaking blush spread across her face.

"Then... Master, are you worried about me too?"

"Can you stop calling me Master? Just use my name."

Kiriya hurriedly corrected her after sensing the unreadable looks Ryuu and Jeanne were giving him.

"You still haven’t answered my question, Master."

Esdeath leaned closer until her face was directly in front of his, her cool blue eyes staring straight into his.

Her soft breath brushed across his skin, making Kiriya’s heart itch.

"What question?"

He turned his face aside somewhat unnaturally.

"Were you worried about me?"

Esdeath leaned even closer.

Barely a centimeter remained between their faces.

The sight of her soft pink lips—and the glimpses offered by the loose T-shirt she wore—made Kiriya’s thoughts momentarily wander.

"Of course."

He nodded.

"You’re our companion now."

"...That makes me happy."

Esdeath’s smile bloomed as brilliantly as a summer flower.

She wrapped both hands tightly around Kiriya’s and spoke in a clear, cheerful voice.

"If Master cared about me a little more, I’d be even happier."

"I already told you to stop calling me Master."

Kiriya sighed helplessly.

"With your personality, doesn’t saying that feel weird?"

"No. It’s a reminder."

Esdeath’s expression became unusually serious.

"I’m using it to make sure I never forget today’s defeat. I need to keep pushing myself, keep becoming stronger, until the day I finally turn everything around and become the master instead."

Kiriya fell silent.

"..."

Well, damn.

She was really treating this like an oath of revenge carved into her soul.

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

Kiriya waved a hand helplessly.

There was no point forcing someone who refused to change her mind.

Besides...

Having the future super-sadistic general call him Master was admittedly pretty damn satisfying.

"Then we should build somewhere to camp next."

Esdeath held out a hand.

"Give me your sword."

"What for?"

Kiriya looked at her in surprise.

"To dig a cave."

Esdeath answered as though it were obvious.

"In weather this cold, a cave is warmer. I’m good at this."

"Look at you, already volunteering to work."

Kiriya praised her first, then shook his head.

"But there’s no need to go through all that trouble. I’ll handle it."

Under Esdeath’s puzzled gaze, Kiriya formed hand seals and slapped both palms against the ground.

"Wood Release: Four Bedrooms and a Living Room Jutsu."

A wooden house immediately rose from the ground against the mountainside.

To account for the brutal cold, Kiriya deliberately made the walls thicker and the windows smaller.

He also added several ventilation openings while preserving as much insulation as possible.

All things considered, he had thought it through rather carefully.

"Whoa..."

Esdeath walked inside and immediately noticed how different the warmth within the house felt compared with the freezing wilderness outside.

"Master, you’re amazing. I didn’t know you could do something like this too."

She looked around happily.

"Great. Now I never have to worry about sleeping badly whenever I camp outside."

"Hahaha. There’s a lot I can do."

Kiriya lifted his chin proudly.

"Someone’s getting awfully full of himself."

Ryuu glanced over at him and quietly commented to Jeanne.

"Well, well. Having a warm house to sleep in is definitely nice."

Jeanne hurriedly smoothed things over before turning toward Esdeath.

"Esdeath, which room do you want?"

Esdeath immediately looked toward Kiriya.

"Master, which room are you choosing?"

"Me?"

Kiriya casually pointed toward one of the rooms near the outside.

"I’ll take that one."

"Mm. Then I’ll take that one too."

Esdeath nodded and promptly hugged Kiriya’s arm, preparing to follow him inside.

"What?!"

Ryuu and Jeanne reacted simultaneously.

They immediately stepped in front of the pair.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I said."

Esdeath looked perfectly innocent.

"A servant is supposed to sleep near her master too, isn’t she?"

"Huh?! We already told you we don’t consider you some kind of servant!"

Jeanne was beginning to lose her composure.

"But I already said I belong to him."

Esdeath looked directly at Kiriya, bold as ever.

"So if Master wants anything from me, he only has to say so."

Kiriya hesitated.

"..."

Ordinarily, he was hardly the indecisive type.

If the two of them had been alone, he probably would not have spent much time overthinking things.

Unfortunately, Jeanne and Ryuu were standing right there.

He still had to consider how they felt.

"Ahem. We came here to train."

Under Ryuu’s increasingly lethal stare, Kiriya immediately adopted a thoroughly righteous expression.

"There’s no need to worry about anything else."

"That’s fine."

Esdeath refused to retreat.

"We can just sleep next to each other. Nothing else has to happen."

"No. That would somehow be even more exhausting."

Kiriya rejected the proposal immediately.

Did she seriously think he was made of stone?

Being able to see and touch something while still having to behave himself would only make sleeping harder.

The four continued arguing for quite a while—or, more accurately, Esdeath single-handedly fought a verbal war against Jeanne and Ryuu.

In the end, neither side could defeat the other, so they settled on a compromise.

All three girls would share one room.

To prevent a certain blue-haired girl from attempting a midnight raid, Jeanne and Ryuu claimed the spots nearest the door while Esdeath was placed farthest inside.

Kiriya, meanwhile, was assigned a completely separate room some distance away.

Kiriya naturally breathed a sigh of relief.

Esdeath was dissatisfied, but since Kiriya himself had agreed to the arrangement, there was little she could say.

And with that, the matter of sleeping arrangements was finally settled.