## Chapter 230 – Training (4)
Ryu, having heard Clara’s entire story, reacted with disbelief. He disliked Orca, that was true, but he acknowledged her strength. Clara’s claim that she had defeated Orca as if dealing with a child was something he wouldn’t have readily believed in the past, before experiencing her power.
“Orca came to see me often after that. She’d bring some strange technique every time, which always caught me off guard.”
It was revenge for Orca, seeking to repay her humiliating defeat, but Clara smiled faintly, as if it was a pleasant memory for her. Clara stood up and offered her hand to Ryu.
Taking her hand, Ryu rose, dusted off his clothes, and looked back at Clara. His eyes were already burning with determination. Orca had never given up challenging Clara, despite suffering numerous defeats.
Orca was probably still getting stronger even now. In order for him, who was already starting behind, to catch up with her, he had no choice but to make a desperate effort. Clara seemed to read his expression, smiling contentedly before opening her mouth with a blank face.
“Well, now that we’ve talked, shall we continue?”
“Yes.”
Of course, simply making up his mind didn’t instantly change his skills. If that were possible, everyone would have a higher rank.
Only after being beaten to within an inch of his life did he finally see the end of the day. Unlike Ryu, who was battered and bruised all over, Clara looked perfectly fine, not even a drop of sweat on her brow, as she spoke casually.
“Shall we go down now?”
“S-sure.”
Clara stared at Ryu, who was staggering with weak legs, and then spoke.
“Hmm… but since the training was hard, you should be comfortable now.”
“Huh?”
No sooner had she spoken than Ryu felt his body lift into the air. Was the training not over yet? Was she telling him not to let his guard down? He squeezed his eyes shut at the familiar feeling of fear, but felt no pain.
Clara had grabbed Ryu under his armpits and lifted him high, giving him a piggyback ride. Ryu cautiously opened his eyes, his mouth agape at the sight that unfolded at a height he wasn’t used to. The glittering stars seemed within reach, the lights of the village spread out before him, and the sound of insects chirping filled his ears.
“How is it? Pretty, isn’t it?”
Ryu nodded, then swayed slightly at the unfamiliar height, and naturally grabbed Clara’s horns. It was definitely a more stable position than before. He felt a slight amusement at the feeling of controlling her from above.
As he grabbed her horns, the memory from before seemed to resurface. As if feeling the same thing, Clara blushed and muttered.
“…Don’t get any weird ideas, okay?”
It was impossible.
Ryu’s angry member was already poking Clara in the back of the head. A bit of self-reproach clung to his mind, as if a good atmosphere had been buried by lust.
After that, they barely made it back to the mansion in awkward silence, without exchanging a word. Charlotte and Aser had already returned. Aser, hearing the sound of the door opening, greeted them at the entrance with a happy expression.
“You’re back? You’re a little lat…?”
Aser’s expression turned to astonishment as he examined Ryu’s condition. He didn’t even notice that he was getting a piggyback ride.
His clothes, and even his face, were a mess of dirt and blood. Aser stammered as he stroked Ryu’s cheek.
“Why… why are you in this state?”
Charlotte also seemed at a loss for words at the sight of his miserable appearance.
Ryu knew that it would be better for him to speak directly than for Clara to open her mouth in this situation. Clara carefully put Ryu down, and Ryu barely managed to open his mouth, as if to say he was okay.
“W-well, I just did some special training with Clara-nim in the mountains.”
“Special training?”
Ryu nodded, then looked straight into Aser’s eyes.
“I want to become stronger than I am now, so I can stand proudly by Aser-nim’s side. So I asked Clara-nim for help.”
Aser looked like he couldn’t understand. He had intended to keep him by his side and love him forever, even if he didn’t do that.
“You don’t have to walk such a difficult path….”
Charlotte stopped Aser’s mouth. She thought he was out of his mind to try to pour cold water on Ryu, who was working hard with a will. Charlotte whispered in Aser’s ear.
“Ryu is working hard for us, and you should be praising him… isn’t it a bit much to pour cold water on him?”
Only then did Aser nod and understand Ryu’s feelings a little better. Charlotte approached Ryu, stroked his hair, and smiled.
“That’s admirable. What about me?”
“O-of course I thought about Charlotte-nim too.”
Charlotte saw Ryu avoiding her eyes and opened her mouth mischievously.
“Really? Sounds like a lie?”
In fact, he hadn’t thought about it. He had never seen Charlotte defeated by anyone other than Rowen. Deep down, Ryu thought Charlotte was much stronger than Aser.
Charlotte chuckled at Ryu’s inability to answer and his cute, stammering appearance. Did she already know everything? Or did she simply want to see Ryu’s cute, hesitant appearance?
Charlotte wiped the dirt from Ryu’s cheek and asked.
“Shall we take a bath together for old time’s sake?”
Hearing those words, Aser interjected.
“M-me too!”
“Your Majesty just came out of the bath.”
Charlotte smiled at the retreating Aser and asked Clara, who was next to her.
“Clara-nim, what are you going to do?”
“I can wash later. I have something to talk about with Aser, too.”
Aser tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“With me?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte wrapped her arm around Ryu’s shoulder and headed for the bathroom.
“Well, let’s leave these two and go wash up, shall we?”
Aser blankly watched Ryu, who had disappeared, being dragged away by Charlotte. He wanted to be in that place too, but he had no justification. More than anything, Clara had said she had something to say to him, didn’t she? Aser slumped onto the sofa, leaned back, and asked.
“So? What’s wrong?”
“Um… did something happen between Ryu and Orca?”
Aser’s body stiffened the moment he heard Clara’s question. That horrific memory, which could not be described in words, stirred Aser’s mind again.
The feeling of his hair standing on end the moment he heard the question, the day Orca, who had just been an old friend, became someone close to an enemy. As if it were an unwritten rule, there was no mention of the incident itself, but he had never forgotten it for a day.
Whenever he remembered Ryu’s miserable appearance after being forcibly taken by Orca while declaring defeat, he was seized with the urge to cut Orca’s body in half. Of course, considering the old friendship he had built with her in his childhood, he had a complicated feeling that he couldn’t do that right away.
Of course, Ryu was now having many relationships with other women, but the meaning of consensual intimacy and rape was completely different.
His clenched fist trembled, and blood flowed from his tightly bitten lip. Clara, seeing Aser’s unusual reaction, looked worried and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.
“Aser, I sincerely want to help you guys.”
Clara was one of the people he could trust. She was tight-lipped and a Demon King who was trusted by everyone else. Aser began to tell Clara the story that Ryu had hidden from her.
Her expression, which had been smiling, crying, or listening with interest when she heard Ryu’s story, hardened grimly. Well, it wasn’t a story that was good to hear. After hearing the whole story, Clara sighed deeply and muttered.
“Orca did such a thing….”
“Sorry, it’s not a good story, is it?”
“No, thank you for telling me even though it was hard.”
Aser got up, stretched, and asked in a deliberately bright voice to change the subject.
“So, what was the special training you did with Ryu?”
“That? It’s nothing much. I just fought with him all day.”
“Huh?”
Aser was sure he had misheard and asked again.
“What did you say the special training was?”
Clara, unaware of Aser’s feelings, recalled the time she had spent with Ryu and said with a bright laugh.
“I fought with him. Ryu is stronger than I thought. I think he’ll become a reliable man in a little while.”
Aser staggered on the spot and leaned back on the sofa. He felt like he was going to faint if he let his guard down for a moment. He couldn’t believe that Ryu, whom he had cherished and cared for so much, had fought with the Demon King.
Clara looked at Aser with a puzzled look, then clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.
“Ah, I should wash up too. Hehe, I wonder if I can wash with Ryu if I go in now?”
Clara hummed and headed to the bathroom where Charlotte and Ryu were waiting, leaving the shocked Aser alone. Aser, who had lost his justification for showering first and entering the bathroom, simply stared blankly into space.
