Chapter 338: Punch the Terrifying Honey Man!
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"Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm."
At midnight, just as the date changed and 'Dawn Day' began.
The woman was walking home through the back alleys of the royal capital, humming happily with a cigarette in her mouth.
This woman, with heavy makeup and revealing clothes, works at a bar.
It's the kind of place that's usually open until sunrise.
She also usually works until morning.
But, on this 'Dawn Day'.
She has a date planned with her beloved man.
That's why she begged the owner to let her leave early.
As a price for that, she had to endure an embarrassing event of being cheered on by other staff and customers with shouts of "Good luck!", which made her blush bright red.
The man she's meeting is quiet and doesn't talk much...... but he has a gentle and enveloping personality.
He's a sincere man who properly sees her inner self, despite her flashy appearance that often leads to prejudice.
They didn't have a good impression of each other when they first met...... but now they are completely in love.
And she sensed that the man would probably try to take their relationship to the next level on this date.
It's been a while since they started dating, and he's been secretly preparing something to give to her.
He's really bad at hiding things, so she easily saw through his actions, but she wouldn't do anything as insensitive as pointing it out.
What is he trying to do?
There's no need to even guess.
Surely.
A proposal.
A marriage proposal.
"Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm!"
She was in a dreamy state, floating on air.
She was enveloped in happiness.
"............?"
But, however, here.
She suddenly stopped walking.
Under the dim streetlight in the back alley.
She had spotted...... a suspicious man standing alone.
It was a middle-aged man, wearing a robe that looked like rags, gaunt and emaciated.
The man was holding a bucket filled with a thick, viscous liquid, muttering something incomprehensible.
(Creepy.)
Instinctively sensing the man's danger, the woman tried to pass by him while keeping her distance, walking along the edge of the road.
But, at that moment.
The man, who had been muttering while staring at the cobblestones, suddenly looked up.
He made eye contact with her.
And with a creepy, strained expression.
......He grinned.
"Hiih!?"
Feeling fear, the woman immediately started running to escape.
But however!
"Wind, blow strongly and push her down! [Wind Push]!"
"Ah!?"
It was impossible.
Because the woman was hit by a magic spell cast by the suspicious man, and collapsed on the spot.
That magic spell is a low-powered non-lethal attack spell, but even so, it's not something you should cast on an ordinary woman!
It's a cruel act!
"Gufu, gufufu...... You're a good-looking woman for a commoner."
The suspicious man approached the woman slowly, holding the bucket.
With his eyes shining brightly and drool dripping from his mouth, he was clearly not in his right mind.
"Hih...... Hiiiih!"
The woman struggled to get up and run away, but fear paralyzed her, her body trembling, and she couldn't move properly!
One step, two steps.
As the man approached, the smell of alcohol emanating from his body intensified...... along with a sweet smell.
This sweet smell is the smell of honey.
The bucket the man is holding is filled with a large amount of honey.
"The royal capital will be destroyed anyway...... Everyone will die...... Hey, woman...... I'll make you my last woman. The king's woman! It's an honor!!"
The honey man shouted something incomprehensible and laughed lewdly!
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The woman screamed in terror!
Mocking her, the honey man approached!
They were already less than a meter apart.
The honey man shifted the bucket of honey he was holding to one hand, exhaled a boozy breath, and reached out to the woman with a creepy grin.
It was a desperate situation.
(Someone...... someone, help me!!)
Trembling in fear, the woman wished for that from the bottom of her heart!
......It was at that moment!!
Thud......!
That was the first sound she heard.
And what she saw was a small girl leaping towards the honey man with tremendous force and punching him hard in the cheek.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!
That was the next sound she heard.
She hurriedly turned her head towards the direction of the sound, and realized it was the impact sound of the honey man being blown away by the girl's punch and crashing headfirst into the stone wall of the back alley.
Spin, spin, spin.
The bucket of honey the honey man was holding flew through the air belatedly.
Splash.
It hit the man, who was embedded in the stone wall with only his lower body sticking out, covering his backside with honey!
"............!"
Here, the woman returned her gaze to the front.
Standing in front of her now is a black-haired, black-eyed girl.
(Ah......)
The woman recognized the girl.
This girl is the one who was playing flower shop in this back alley before.
But her impression is quite different from when she last saw her.
Before, she was dressed as a cute town girl in a skirt and apron.
Now, she's different.
She's currently clad in a slender, jet-black, spiky armor-like garment, with occasional flashes of rusty red.
And she's emitting something like a jet-black haze from her entire body, like steam.
I have to thank her.
I have to thank her.
The woman thought that, but...... fear choked her words.
Her mouth just moved silently.
And...... while this was happening, the situation changed.
Flash!
Flash, flash!!
Suddenly, from the direction of the main street...... the First Plaza.
An extraordinary amount of dazzling purple light was emitted!
"............"
The black-haired, black-eyed girl looked towards the light, pondered for a moment......
And with a single leap.
She effortlessly jumped onto the roof of a building, and started running towards the First Plaza, leaping from roof to roof.
"Ah......"
The girl's figure quickly disappeared from sight.
Finally, the woman let out a voice.
At that moment, the words that came to her mind.
It was the nickname of a hero that everyone in this country knows.
Black hair, black eyes.
Never spoken of openly.
That hero's name is.
""Grim Reaper"......!"
Of course, there's no way that girl is the Grim Reaper.
But however, those words.
Unintentionally slipped out of her mouth.
That's how much she couldn't help but associate her with the Grim Reaper.
The girl's figure was frightening, intimidating.
And...... dignified, valiant.
The woman's murmur...... reached no one.
It was swallowed by the quiet darkness of the back alley, and disappeared.