Chapter 348: The Sea (1)

While he naturally couldn't be compared to Molon in that regard, Eugene also happened to be quite tall.

It wasn't simply a case of him appearing to be an ordinary person stretched lengthwise, either. Having gone through nonstop training from early childhood, Eugene's body, which had developed according to the battle style he had adhered to from his previous life, was by no means thin.

Although Gargith, who practically worshiped muscles, would criticize Eugene's body whenever they met, in Eugene's eyes, it was Gargith's stupidly large muscles that were a waste of effort. In any case, Eugene was quite proud of the physical excellence of his own body.

In other words, Eugene's body was extremely manly. Even as a jest, it would be difficult to claim that he would look good in women's clothing.

His broad shoulders, his thick chest, and his bulging forearms... though Eugene had been born with an extremely handsome face that still had some traces of childishness to it, once that face of his was covered up with the help of a wig, all that was left was a vision of pure ugliness.

Or at least, that was what Eugene wholeheartedly insisted. However, the others refused to accept Eugene's opinion. But if that was all that there was to it, then it wouldn't really matter to Eugene. No matter what Sienna, Kristina, or Anise might claim, Eugene was someone who could stick to his principles of disliking whatever it was he disliked.

However, things were different this time.

And it was all because of Ciel's request. A spiteful and nasty request, at that....

In fact, even if Eugene had refused her request, Ciel would have still kept Eugene's secret to herself. After all, it wasn't something to be spread around lightly. Even though she had threatened that she would tell her brother the truth, Ciel wasn't someone who would truly do something like that.

Eugene was also aware of this fact, but — even if that was the case — Eugene had still decided to accede to Ciel's request. It was for Ciel's sake because he wanted to make her feel better. Even if it was only by a small margin, Eugene decided to make a noble sacrifice.

Even if it meant biting his tongue.

Spells to change the color of one's hair or eyes were actually quite simple. Spells that could make someone else's senses perceive things differently also weren't a challenging field of magic if it was to only alter ordinary people's senses.

However, any spell that completely transformed a person's body in some way was very advanced magic. But for an Archwizard, it was definitely within their capabilities to reconstruct their own body and transform into a different appearance.

But Eugene hadn't reached that level just yet. Eugene could be said to have barely reached the Eighth Circle, which could be called the standard level of strength for an Archwizard, because of his Ring Flame Formula, which replaced a wizard's Circles with his Stars and amplified their power. In addition, there was also Akasha's support.

Due to this, Eugene had felt a glimmer of hope. No matter how pretty his face was after make-up, or no matter how his hair was lengthened or covered up by a wig, if such a pretty face was located above his large, bulging muscles, in the end, wouldn't that sight still be an unappealing one?

However, those hopes were dashed by Sienna. After all, she didn't need a complex spell like Polymorph that could completely change someone's race and gender for something like this.

Although, even for Sienna, it was impossible to do something like regenerate someone's severed limbs. However, if it was just some physical reconstruction to the extent of slightly reducing his height and compressing his muscles to their limits, then....

"This is...," Sienna trailed off with an audible gulp.

Even with magic, there were limits to what was physically possible, so Sienna could only make adjustments within the limits of what Eugene's body could handle. It was also impossible for her to make breasts swell up where they simply didn't exist.

However... even if it was just this much.... Sienna couldn't help but admire her own skill in magic, as well as Eugene's new looks.

His height had been reduced to about Krisitna's level. His thick muscles were also compressed to their limits. Even with that, with all of his clothes off, Eugene would still look rugged and fit, but when covered up by some clothes, the lines of his muscles couldn't be seen, so there were no problems in that regard.

"It's even... better... than I expected...," Sienna mumbled.

Eugene's sharp cheekbones and long, gray hair looked good above the pure white dress that Sienna had bought him yesterday as part of the joke.

Sienna wasn't the only one who thought so. Kristina and Anise felt their hearts pounding as they stared at Eugene with blank eyes.

How beautiful....

Their impression wasn't just from an aesthetic point of view. After all, this was the noble Eugene Lionheart. This was a side of himself that he had never shown to anyone else before in his entire life, and he was obviously embarrassed to the extent that he could barely stand it, but the fact that he would still expose himself to them like this was making the Saints' shared heart pound.

"Are we... done now?" Eugene pleaded through gritted teeth, struggling to endure his shame.

The sound of the voice that left his lips was so silvery that it even surprised him.

"I think it would be better if we changed your hair color and eye color," Ciel said as she examined Eugene's appearance with a serious expression. "We're planning on taking you with me as my maid, but wouldn't it be too obvious who you were if you retained the Lionheart characteristics? If we're going to dress you up as a woman, we should go all the way."

"Are you seriously planning on bringing me aboard the ship like this?" Eugene asked in disbelief.

"Lady Sienna and Saint Rogeris have also agreed to disguise themselves as servants in order to board the ship," Ciel countered.

"What does that have to do with this?!" Eugene burst out.

"What exactly don't you understand?" Ciel responded calmly. "This way, we should be able to completely fool our enemies."

Eugene desperately pleaded, "But we don't really need to dress me up as a woman to make them lower their guards. I could just wear a different, ordinary disguise. If that's not enough, I could just hide in a wooden barrel—"

"Didn't you promise to listen to my request?" Ciel cut him off with a sly smile.

Eugene ground his teeth as his mouth snapped shut.

Fine, it was just as Ciel had said. If Eugene disguised himself as a maid, no one should be able to see through his identity. Although there was a risk that the magic disguising him might be unraveled when they arrived at the Solgarta Sea, if it meant that they would be able to reach their destination safely and get close enough to confront Iris, it would still prove useful.

'But if I get caught before that...,' Eugene darkly thought.

They were dead.

Whoever it was, he would be sure to kill them. That was Eugene's sincere conviction. He couldn't allow this appearance of his to be seen by anyone else.

Creak.

As the door opened, time seemed to stop for Eugene. He turned to look at the opened door with an expression of horror on his face. Through the cracked-open doorway, he saw Carmen standing on the other side.

There was silence.

What on earth was this? Carmen couldn't comprehend what she was seeing right now. There was a woman in a white dress, no... this was Eugene... Eugene Lionheart. Why was he dressed like this?

"Ahem...," Carmen cleared her throat awkwardly.

She felt it would be a bad idea to ask him why he was dressed like this....

Everyone had secrets that they wanted to hide. Carmen had never expected that Eugene Lionheart, the Blood Lion, Dragon Slayer, and Hero, would have such tastes, but... Carmen possessed a flexible outlook that could accept some measure of deviancy if it was only at this level.

As such, without saying anything, Carmen decided to just take a step backward for now.

Should she leave the door open? Or should she close it shut? For a short moment, Carmen pondered that question in her mind, but not a trace of her hesitation could be seen through her expression. In the end, Carmen moved to close the door with a calm expression.

"Hold on," Eugene called out.

If he didn't manage to clarify things in time, this misunderstanding might explode in size like a rolling snowball. Racing over, Eugene quickly stuck his foot in the shrinking gap between the doorway and grabbed Carmen's wrist.

"It's... it's okay. I understand," Carmen said, trying to be understanding of Eugene's feelings.

She understands? What exactly was she understanding?

"Hey, Lady Carmen, it's not like that," Eugene quickly denied. "I'm not wearing these clothes and having my appearance altered because I wanted it. Weren't you here with us two days ago, Lady Carmen? In order to thoroughly deceive the Rakshasa Princess, I agreed—"

Carmen interrupted, "You mean that wasn't a joke? You're seriously thinking of disguising yourself as a woman?"

Eugene firmly nodded, "I need you to be clear on this, Lady Carmen, but I don't have even the slightest interest in putting on this disguise. I truly didn't want to do this, but... well... how should I put this...? I guess you could say I really had no choice but to do so.... I-if it's you, Lady Carmen, I trust you'll understand my position."

He couldn't give her even the flimsiest evidence to gain her trust, but even so, he couldn't possibly admit that he had promised to fulfill Ciel's request in exchange for keeping something a secret.

"Hmm...," Carmen couldn't ignore Eugene's plea.

Without asking too many questions, she just nodded her head. Eugene let out a sigh of relief as he released Carmen's wrist.

Only for Carmen to say, "It looks good on you."

Eugene's face crumpled at her carefully offered compliment.

* * *

Iris was having a dream.

She had already given up on counting just how many times she'd had it, but it was always the same dream.

When the dreams first started coming, they weren't as frequent as now, but the interval between them had slowly been shrinking. What had been once a week only a short while ago had become once every four days, and now she dreamt the same dream almost every day.

At first, she had suspected that Noir Giabella, that Queen of Sluts, might have been playing a trick on her. The last time they had met had been the territorial battle a few years ago. However, their relationship, no, their enmity, had yet to be severed.

Iris knew that it wasn't over yet. Even now, thinking about that defeat would cause her to grind her teeth in anger.

Thinking back to that one-on-one territorial battle... could it have even been called a battle? Even Iris herself felt that considering it to be such was an act of excessive arrogance and self-delusion. The territorial battle hadn't even been a fight. It had just been a one-sided massacre....

As such, Iris had no intention of severing this enmity. She couldn't possibly forget the grudge that was forged back then.

After losing her territory in Helmuth, Iris had arrived here to these distant seas. Once she gained enough strength here, she would one day return to Helmuth and trample all over Noir Giabella. Iris wanted to tear that filthy Night Demon to shreds with her bare hands, and if Noir still managed to survive, Iris would turn her into a receptacle for all sorts of disgusting filth and make her beg to be killed....

Noir Giabella should also be fully aware that Iris held such a deep malice towards her. That was why Iris couldn't help but have such a misunderstanding at first.

In Helmuth, Iris had been suppressed by all of the other demonfolk who lived there. This was because she stubbornly insisted on relying solely on dark elves for her subordinates. That was why, even though Iris had spent the last three hundred long years in Helmuth, she still hadn't been able to build up as much power as the other high-ranking demonfolk who had survived the war.

However, things were different here in the Southern Seas. After arriving at these Southern Seas, Iris had never once experienced failure. Instead, everything went her way — fate seemed to be smiling on Iris. It had only been two years since Iris had arrived at the Southern Seas, but the power she had accumulated over this short timespan was more than she had ever managed during her three hundred years in Helmuth.

A single word from Iris could set hundreds of pirate fleets into motion. By mobilizing such an enormous force, she had captured numerous elves who had been trying to cross the seas to enter the Rainforest.

It was all smooth sailing.

That's right, just like the literal meaning of those words, Iris seemed to be sailing smoothly into the future of her dreams.

But news of such must have somehow reached Helmuth's arrogant and filthy Queen of the Sluts. Iris had suspected that Noir may have decided it was better to impede Iris now before Iris' preparations were completed than to wait until the all-out war that was sure to break out between them. After all, it was Noir Giabella's specialty to put her victims through irresistible nightmares over and over again until their minds had completely collapsed.

'But it wasn't true.'

Her suspicions had only lasted the first few times she had the dream. After having the same dream over and over again, Iris realized that this dream wasn't a nightmare. No, in fact, Iris had known the truth from the moment that she had first experienced that dream. But at first, she still had some lingering suspicions that there might be some other scheme at foot.

However, now she no longer had any doubts.

Nightmares were painful, and as a rule, they made you want to wake up from them. The harmful nightmares used by the Night Demons would use different methods to try to wear down the mind and break the dreamer's will. But Iris' recurring dreams weren't anything like that.

Instead... they were sweet and nostalgic. She always had the same dream repeatedly, but Iris had never once thought it was boring.

"Ahhhh...," Iris sighed.

Rather than being bored, she always found herself sad and disappointed whenever the dream ended. Waking up from the dream, Iris wiped the tears in the corners of her eyes. The dried tear marks on her cheeks pulled and stretched along with her facial expressions. After rubbing her cheeks with the back of her hands a few times, Iris immersed herself in the afterglow from her dreams.

His huge back and his hand that gently embraced her own. It was hard to see because everything was covered up by a haze, but even through such a fog, she still managed to recognize the caring smile on his face. In the dream, he would then take the first step down a path, and she would follow him, trying to travel together with him.

After taking a few steps forward, in mere moments, his huge back would suddenly recede into the distance, casting a long shadow behind him that would engulf 'everyone' there. That's right, Iris wasn't alone in the dream. Everyone... everyone was looking at the same back from behind and walking forward together.

"Kamash, Sein, Oberon...," Iris murmured the names of her long-dead siblings.

A giant, a vampire, and beastman. They might all have belonged to different races, but they had definitely been siblings.

"Hah...," Iris let out another long sigh as she climbed out of bed.

It was a strange dream.

It was definitely nostalgic, as the dream brought back memories of the distant past. However, in Iris' memories, a scene like that didn't exist. Could it be that her nostalgia for the past was causing her to dream of memories that had never actually existed?

'No, that's not it.'

She didn't have any basis for it, but Iris was certain that this dream wasn't an illusion created by her longing for the past.

The 'father' walking ahead of them, leading all his children by the hand, was definitely the Demon King of Fury. The ones following him were all her siblings, as Iris remembered them.

'Father....'

Iris recalled the Demon King of Fury, who had died three hundred years ago. Even though he was a Demon King, he was always extremely kind to his children. And until the very end, Iris still hadn't been able to understand why she had been chosen as Fury's child.

This couldn't be helped because Iris had the most humble background among all of Fury's children. Kamash was the chieftain of the giants. Oberon was also the chieftain of the fallen beastfolk. Even Sein was the Lord of one of the largest vampire clans.

Iris didn't have such an impressive background. She had just been one elven ranger among many others, and there had been a considerable number of dark elves who had fallen alongside her.

However, even among those other dark elves, the Demon King of Fury had chosen Iris. The Demon King of Fury hadn't shown even a trace of hesitation when making that choice, and for the sake of strengthening his weakest daughter, he had personally given her her Demoneye.

Iris stood in front of a mirror, wearing absolutely nothing. She saw her gray skin, long, pointed ears, white hair, and red eyes reflected in the mirror.

All of these had been given to her by her father. While embracing her own body, Iris closed her eyes.

Fate had smiled upon her and transformed into a huge tailwind that had blown Iris to this place. That's right, all of this had to be fate.

Iris reopened her eyes. Within them was the Demoneye of Darkness she had received from the Demon King of Fury three hundred years ago. Black shadows writhed within the pupils of her blood-red eyes.

'Father....'

The end of the dream was always the same.

Her father, who was the farthest ahead of them all, got down onto his knees. Before she could even approach her now stationary father, the world inside the dream was submerged in water. Thanks to that, everything was drowned in the water and washed away. Her father, Iris, her other siblings, everything.

"Father, are you trying to show me something through this dream?" Iris murmured as she gently caressed her eyelid.

She remembered when she had first started having this dream.

It was when the Dragon-Demon Castle in Helmuth had fallen.

When Jagon, who had killed and devoured Oberon, had died.

It was from that moment onwards that the dreams had started.

Iris muttered to herself, "As your only surviving child... are you trying to show me how to open up a path?"

Kamash had died three hundred years ago. Sein and all of his bloodline had also died three hundred years ago. Among Fury's children, the only ones who had survived the war were Iris and Oberon, and even Oberon was eventually devoured by his own son.

Now that Oberon's son had also died, the only remaining descendant of Fury was Iris.

"If that is your will, father," Iris said as she continued to caress her blood-red eyes with her fingertips.

Then, even after having been led to the ocean for the first time in her life, Iris would make sure to sail to the end of the Southern Seas.

To that sea full of mysteries, the Solgalta Sea.

But for some unknown reason, Iris felt that this place was comfortable and welcoming as if this were her home.