Chapter 64: Well, good luck to him!
All this time, Eiros had always wondered how Erness managed to keep passing as human in this world. Worth remembering, being of the spirit race, there was a clear reason Eiros called them ghosts.
That was because, in order to sustain their human form, they needed to consume a specific kind of energy drawn from human negative emotion. Fundamentally, that was also a unique trait of theirs, something that let them grow stronger entirely outside the stigmata system.
You could say it was a unique power all their own, standing entirely apart, as the spirit race.
And today, the question of exactly how Erness kept up her human form finally got answered.
"Arrrggghhh...! Mercy! Please, I’m begging you, I-I won’t do it again...!"
Deep in that dark alley, Eiros could barely make anything out. All he could really see was Erness’s pupils, glowing with a pale white light, swirling with faded gray mist.
He didn’t need any light at all to know Erness was probably smiling wide right now, just from the way her pupils curved.
"Ah~ come on... why’re you acting like this, mister? Didn’t you agree to play with me? Hehe~"
That genuinely sounded dangerous. Eiros was even scared Erness might actually kill Glenn back there, but he didn’t have the nerve to step in. Besides, wasn’t Erness smart enough not to kill someone right out here in the open?
So he just waited it out, standing guard over that narrow alley entrance, ignoring the anguished screams coming from that hulking man.
’Well, good luck to him!’
Eiros closed his eyes and pretended he couldn’t hear a thing.
A few minutes later, Eiros finally heard Erness’s footsteps approaching, so quiet they were nearly silent.
"Darling, sorry to keep you waiting. Did you enjoy the show?"
Eiros was about to turn around when Erness suddenly lunged at him, hugging him from behind.
A little startled, Eiros smiled awkwardly, glancing at Erness, who peeked out beside him with a sweet expression, though there was fresh blood visible on her flushed cheek.
"...Zero out of ten, I’m not a fan of violent scenes. Is that guy even still alive....?"
"Hmmm," Hearing that, Erness pouted a little as she hugged Eiros even tighter. "Same goes for you, zero out of ten! Can’t believe you just stood there watching while someone tried to touch me! You should’ve helped."
Even though Erness never actually answered his last question, there wasn’t much Eiros could do about it, so he just let out a small laugh.
"...How am I supposed to help you when you’re stronger than me anyway?"
"But you’re also stronger than that bald mister. You could’ve just beaten him up, couldn’t you?"
Well, that much was true—there was no way an ordinary human like Glenn could stand a chance against a stigmata user whose body had been forged with Soul Stones.
Not wanting to answer that, Eiros just gave a small cough.
"So, should we get going now?"
"Ah, right!" Remembering her purpose, Erness let go of Eiros and grabbed the package she’d set down nearby earlier. Then she turned back, walking up to Eiros and hugging his arm tightly. "Alright, let’s go."
Eiros wiped his face for a moment, then nodded, stepping forward alongside Erness to leave the narrow alley behind, but—
"Ah! Knew it! Thought I might’ve misheard, but... just as I figured, my ears really are sharp."
Suddenly, two men appeared in front of them. Eiros remembered clearly that both of them looked like they’d been drinking with Glenn earlier.
Both were bald and muscular, their faces looking more or less identical too. Maybe they were actually a set of triplets?
"You two...! What did you do to my little brother?!"
Yeah, seemed like it, then.
Eiros felt a light pinch beside him, glancing down slightly to find Erness watching him with a sweet smile and a mischievous look in her eyes.
"You’re going to handle this one for me this time, right?"
Meaning, stop those two bald men without Erness having to step in herself.
It was a hassle, sure, but oh well—since it was Erness’s request, he figured he might as well just do it.
Eiros didn’t want Erness to end up doing something crazy just because he’d refused her request. So, as expected, Eiros let out a sigh and shifted his body slightly to the side.
’...Way too slow.’
He’d already noticed it from the start, back while talking with Erness, that the man claiming to be the eldest brother was charging straight at him, fist swinging.
That was exactly why he shifted his body aside, gently pulling Erness, who was still holding onto him, along with him.
Whoosh—!!
A light gust of wind swept past Eiros’s hair, ruffling it slightly.
"You two! I’m gonna kill you right here!"
The man then scrambled around, grabbing a fairly large chunk of wood before charging at Eiros again.
’Compared to what I’ve already fought, these guys really are nothing. Their movements are slow, their stances are full of openings. I don’t even need soul essence to deal with them.’
Crash—!!
Bam—!!
Eiros felt the wood slam into his arm. His hand went numb, but that was about it. At the same time, the man claiming to be the third brother lifted his leg and kicked out toward Erness.
That was also ridiculously easy. Eiros raised his arm and blocked the kick by simply catching the man’s leg with his hand.
The eldest brother looked stunned.
"W-what?! W-why didn’t you...!?"
But in a fight, Eiros wasn’t the type to waste time talking. He lifted his leg and, with a sideways kick, slammed it straight into the eldest brother’s stomach.
Boom—!!
"Ugah...?! Hoegh...!"
The man’s body flew backward, slamming into the wall of a building, all the air knocked out of him as he curled up in pain on the ground.
"L-let go! Let go of my leg, you bastard! How dare you, do you even know that the eldest brother is actually the boss of a mafia—"
Eiros wasn’t listening. He spun his body again, letting Erness lean against the wall while his own body pressed slightly against her. Right after, he lifted the man’s entire body off the ground for a moment, then, in one swift motion, slammed him straight into the ground.
"Agh...!"
A pained groan rang out miserably.
At the same time, Eiros heard Erness’s voice whisper close beside him.
"Nine points."
***
After leaving that dark alley behind, Eiros and Erness finally made it out to a bright, bustling street in the city of Clathria, full of pedestrians.
It was still fairly early in the morning, so the sunlight wasn’t too harsh yet. Once they reached the orphanage, called Celeste Orphanage, the two of them were immediately greeted by small children playing in the yard, fenced in behind the orphanage’s gate.
A perfectly ordinary, wholesome sight for an orphanage full of kids.
As Erness dragged Eiros inside, they were instantly swarmed by children approaching them with intense curiosity.
"Waah, Sis Erness is back again!"
"Sis Erness! Who’d you come with? Who’s he? Is he your boyfriend?!"
"H-huh?! No way! Sis Erness would never date someone uglier than her! Her boyfriend’s gotta be way more handsome!"
"B-but Sis Erness is holding his hand?"
Listening to that endless chatter genuinely took a lot of energy. Especially seeing just how well the kids seemed to already know Erness.
Did that mean Erness actually came here pretty often?
He had no idea, but watching Erness respond to them, gentle and cheerful as always...
Seemed like it was probably exactly that.
"Hey! What’s your name, mister?"
"What’s your name? What’s your name? Are you Sis Erness’s boyfriend?!"
Eiros smiled awkwardly. Right then, two kids were tugging at his hands, swinging them back and forth, while one of them patted down his clothes as if trying to find something interesting hidden in Eiros’s pockets.
’Does Erness really come play with these ridiculously energetic kids often?’
That was genuinely news to him.
Answering their questions reluctantly, Eiros also kept glancing around the playground now and then, and before he knew it, his gaze landed on a child sitting alone in the distance.
The small kid sat by himself, wearing a pair of thick glasses, drawing something using a swing seat as a makeshift desk.
Curious, Eiros stared at the kid for a fair while, before he finally heard a child’s voice calling out to him.
"Mister Eiros! You’re not allowed to look at him, and don’t talk to him either."
"....?"
"He’s a cursed kid! You’ll get cursed if you go near him."
***