Chapter 453: Me, I’m a Pervert
Chapter 453: Me, I’m a Pervert
“I’ll take responsibility.”
He wasn’t very reliable—just a minor, the same age as her imouto, his bandaged face still carrying traces of youth upon closer look.
But this unreliable promise from an unreliable person stopped Touka dead in her tracks.
For a moment, she forgot to block his path.
She just stood there, watching helplessly as Himekoji charged like his life meant nothing toward the center of the fight.
Why? Why risk it all?
That question suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Unfathomable!
Senseless!
He was acting like a lunatic!
What was wrong with this person?
She was Rikka’s sister! She should be the one ready to give everything—not him!
As if snapping back to reality, Touka haphazardly wiped her tears away. Jaw clenched, she chased after Himekoji.
She didn’t catch up.
Maybe her eyes deceived her—Himekoji’s figure flickered strangely and vanished before her eyes. When she spotted him again, he’d already thrown himself in front of Rikka.
Arms wide open.
Right before a huge beam of light.
Just like the day before.
Everything happened too suddenly. Touka didn’t even have time to scream. Mouth agape, only pure terror showed on her face, with no sound escaping.
Yesterday, Himekoji surviving had been nothing short of a miracle.
But how could miracles happen twice?
…
“You?”
Rikka flinched, startled by the figure abruptly shielding her. Recognizing the morning bedside guardian, her brows knitted together in alarm.
“Get away! This is no place for you!”
“It’s no place for you either!”
Himekoji cut her off roughly. Since yesterday, one question had been eating at him. Now, seeing Rikka’s empty hands, he finally snapped.
“Where’s your weapon? You have one, right?!”
She’d reached for something multiple times, only to pull back each time.
She wouldn’t lose so badly with a weapon.
The Brave and the Evil Eye—neither should overwhelm the other. If one could crush, it had to be a setup error!
But after witnessing both fights, Himekoji believed Rikka was holding back.
Why? Why discard your weapon, facing death barehanded?
“Weapon?”
The word seemed to jolt Rikka. As if by instinct, an answer quietly slipped out:
“Because… people get hurt.”
“You’re the one getting hurt without your weapon!”
“No. Not… me getting hurt.”
“Then who?”
“Who… who is it again?”
Rikka murmured, eyes clouded with confusion.
…
“Yo! Hate to interrupt your chit-chat, but hurry up! I’m struggling here! Holding the beam steady and preventing damage is freaking exhausting!”
While Himekoji and Rikka obliviously talked, the lead actor—the Brave—sweated profusely, face pale as he complained.
Though he’d injured Rikka badly earlier without breaking a sweat, holding back the power just to protect Himekoji and let them talk was stretching him to his limit.
“Huh?”
Himekoji blinked, confused by the sudden break in character.
“You… you paused your finishing move at the climax?!”
“And you interrupted the climax by butting in!”
The Brave’s calm facade finally broke. Annoyance flashed across his perpetually gentle face for the first time.
“Whose fault do you think this battle turning messy is? Enough! I’m tapped out! Channeling this power this long is my limit! Move NOW!”
He wasn’t bluffing. Every muscle strained—keeping it contained this long was beyond his best.
His shout snapped Rikka back to reality—
“You need to flee! You’ll get hurt! You will!”
Memories—or maybe echoes of emotions—flooded her. Only one thing felt certain: she couldn’t let this person get hurt for her.
This feeling… was exactly like what she felt whenever she touched that umbrella.
“Watch out!”
The warning came from the Brave across the blast. He tried desperately to divert the beam, but its course barely shifted.
And because Himekoji had stalled him, the blast had charged longer than ever. Its power was terrifying—a mere touch would vaporize anyone.
“Dangerous!”
Rikka cried out this time. Frantic, she shoved against Himekoji. But her hand barely touched his not-so-broad chest before he grabbed her wrist roughly, pulling her tight against him instead.
“It’s alright. No one gets hurt,” Himekoji insisted weakly, his voice unexpectedly gentle. Nothing like the annoying pervert he usually sounded like.
“You’ll die!”
Familiar fear. Crippling fondness. Soul-crushing terror. Hot tears streamed uncontrollably from Rikka’s shimmering gold and dark crimson Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord.
Trembling violently, her small frame shook like a leaf against Himekoji’s embrace.
“That’s why it definitely won’t happen.”
Himekoji kept comforting her.
“Damage immunity isn’t an exclusive gift for the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord alone.”
“I too… have a body that won’t break.”
As those words ended, the colossal beam slammed earthward. In the next moment, it threatened to swallow Himekoji whole.
The Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord, usually unflinchingly comfortable with death, completely lost composure. Emotions teetered on the edge of total collapse.
Tears streamed down both Rikka’s golden and deep crimson eyes.
“Who are you? Who are you? Why do you… give me such strange feelings?!”
As she cried out, another scene burst into Rikka’s mind—
Almost identical. Life-and-death peril. Himekoji shielding her again. Only this time… the blinding beam was replaced by a flash of swordlight.
“So… this wasn’t the first time?”
“But why? Why save someone like me?”
“I’m the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord! Even if I live today, I’ll die tomorrow for Justice… because Justice demands it.”
Himekoji only managed to answer her first question—
“Forgive me… because me, I am a Pervert. Your Contractor… who failed to fulfill his duty.”
…