Chapter 91: Let Me Out of Here!

Sure enough, the face of a young, pretty elf is suddenly inserted into the hole.

“Hello?? Little light?? Do not fear the Vanquisher, my blade only stains itself with the blood of the wicked and perverted!”

Jiaoying slips into the shadows quietly.

Solomon wants to tell her goodbye, but he knows that the moment to do so has passed.

They lock eyes one final time before she fades from view, and he turns away.

“You’re really attached to that Vanquisher name, huh, Nila…?”

When Solomon steps into the light, Nila’s face starts to light up. “Friend Solomon, it is you! The others couldn’t figure out…” Nila’s face suddenly sours. “Why are you naked!?”

Solomon blinks as he looks down at himself.

When turning into a minotaur last night, he didn’t have time to remove his clothes beforehand.

His pants burst apart like water balloons, and his boots became scraps of leather.

“…I had to change. It was an emergency.”

“Oh. Your horny-headed form.”

“…You can just say minotaur.”

“What’s wrong with my description?”

Three familiar golden faces insert their heads into the hole alongside Nila.

Andros and Virgil immediately cover their sister’s eyes, but not before she got a peek at Solomon’s uncovered form.

“…Now I know where all of the mass from your brain was redistributed to. You would make for quite an excellent party favor at one of my women-only events. Provided you can keep your mouth closed.”

“Canari!” Virgil snaps.

“What?! He’s the last of his people. Exotic. My friends would find him delightful.”

Vergil holds his head in annoyance. “My siblings and their love of whores… I wonder if you will both supersede our father in populating our realm.”

Andros and Canari both look offended. Their brother doesn’t seem to care very much at all.

“Spare the family spat until you can find me some damn pants, please…” Solomon sighs.

“Ooh! I know what to do! Be right back, captain!”

Nila quickly gets up and runs off. The excitement she displayed upon leaving made Solomon incredibly nervous, but it is already too late to recall her.

While he waits for her to come back, he is left in the care of the unflappable, curious siblings.

“How did you get in that hole?”

“Where did you run off to last night?”

“Did you hear that creature?? Did you fight it? That’s the reason this place looks even more like shit, isn’t it?”

Solomon opens his mouth to speak.

“Sister, don’t be stupid, there’s no way he fought something capable of toppling a mountain and is completely unscarred.” Andros rolls his eyes.

Canari rakes her eyes over Solomon before sighing. “…I suppose that is a fair assessment.”

“So did you see what made that noise?” Vergil’s eyes have an unusual sparkle. “It sounded most fearsome…”

Solomon blinks slowly, considering everything before he speaks.

His eyes unconsciously dart back to the darkness, where he knows Jiaoying hides.

“…It was a giant.” He lies.

Canari instantly shudders in fear. “S-Speak honestly! There is no giant that produces a sound like the one we heard!”

“Did you see it?” Solomon questions.

“No, there was an avalanche, and we got caved in; we had to tunnel our way out!”

“Then how can you call me a liar? I told you, it was a giant.”

Solomon gestures to the cave around him. “Do you think that I just came and jumped down here because I wanted to? I was hiding from that thing.”

Andros muses over the idea. “I suppose… that makes sense. I don’t know why else you would choose to dwell in such a foul-smelling crater. It stinks of urine.”

In that moment, Solomon was glad his skin was dark. There was no way in hell he would have been able to hide the red on his ears if he were pale.

In the darkness, Jiaoying wants to curl up into a ball and die.

“I GOT ITTT!!!”

The siblings look up as Nila returns. Judging by the look on their faces, Solomon knew that he wasn’t going to like what she was bringing.

Sure enough, when Nila pokes her head over the hole, she is holding a green orc by it’s leg.

“Here, you can wear this guy’s clothes! He will not need them in the afterlife!”

Nila rips off the orc’s fur kilt and drops it into the hole.

“Detestable!” Canari hisses. “Must you have brought that corpse back over here!?”

“Yes! I wanted to show my kill to my companions!” Nila beams with pride.

“I am most certainly not your companion!”

“That is fine! I was not referring to you, as I find you most unpleasant.”

“You knife-eared cur!”

Suddenly, there is a gust of wind, and Solomon rises out of the pit.

The tornado at his feet slowly peters out, and he takes his first steps above ground.

Solomon claps Nila on the shoulder. “Thank you, my friend. And I’m sure your fight was very impressive.”

“Yes! I…” Slowly, Nila looks at her shoulder where Solomon’s hand rests. “…Your palm is sort of sticky.”

“….”

Solomon had to take everything that had happened this night all the way to his grave.

–

After washing off, Solomon took one last look at the hole where Jiaoying hid before departing with the rest of the group.

Barefoot, he walked across the sharp, broken rocks created by Fury during her battle with Gorgon.

Andros was the only one who seemed bothered by it.

“Is that not uncomfortable?”

Solomon was so deep in thought that he barely heard him. “Ah, it’s… fine. We just need to get out of here, and then I’ll worry about personal comforts.”

“On that, we agree.” Virgil kicks a rock near him in annoyance. The sun rising once more has made their journey doubly difficult.

“…We can’t keep doing this.” Canari stopped walking. “We have miles of travel ahead of us, and it’s going to be insufferable!”

Suddenly, she whirled on her heels and turned to face Solomon. “You. Turn into a whole bull and carry me.”

“Only if I can also drop you when and where I feel like it.”

“You dog! I extended a massive privilege to you, and you turn around and spit on me as if you’re too good for the task!”

A flash of irritation showed up on Solomon’s face. His voice booms. “Contrary to what you believe, everyone in the world does not live to do what you demand of them!”

Solomon had never yelled at Canari before. The moment it finally happened, she was just as shocked as anyone.

Of course, she responded to his fire with a tremendous wrath of her own.

“It would be their privilege to serve a princess of Eirbaine! I am-”

Solomon took a step towards Canari, his eyes glowing an unusually dark orange. “A spoiled child subsisting on the coattails of her father, but to what end!? Empires rise and fall every day! What would you do, what would you be if your last name suddenly meant nothing?!”

The canyon shakes with the sound of Solomon’s voice.

Canari’s words are all caught in her throat. Her body trembles with visible anger.

Solomon blinks, and it is as if the spell over him has come undone.

His anger fades, but the aftermath does not.

For some reason, when he looks at Canari now, she seems much younger than she did just a day ago.

The agitated tears in her eyes only further drive that point home.

He rubs the back of his neck as he drops his gaze.

“…Apologies, I-”

“You’re on your own.”

Canari stalks off without screaming or cursing.

Her brothers follow, calling after her and attempting to calm her down.

Only Nila remains at his side, and Solomon cannot stomach the idea of facing her.

“…Fuck.”

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