Rogue Villain-Chapter 413: Guess
Eventually, after comforting each other and themselves, Ackster and Wilma ended their hug.
Wilma’s cheeks assumed a rosy hue as she realized how tightly she had hugged the handsome beast that was Ackster.
"I-is it alright if I call you Ackster until you decide on a name?"
"Yeah."
"..."
"I...—"
"I’m sure the Guild is waiting for a report. Go ahead."
Since things got awkward, and Wilma didn’t know what to say to either continue the conversation or how to take her leave, Ackster helped her and gave her an out so that she could gather her thoughts in peace.
"Yes."
Wilma nodded with a little more exaggeration than necessary.
"It also seems like the others want to talk to me before I go back to sleep."
Wilma waved goodbye as Ackster sent her back to the ground and brought up the next person.
Since it didn’t seem like Mara or Karandiel had anything urgent to talk about, Ackster ferried Mastrax up. The old dragon looked like he could barely stand waiting another moment.
As soon as he was in front of Ackster, Mastrax looked around, trying to be sneaky and failing horrendously. There wasn’t even anyone around them that warranted him glancing around like a thief in a bad movie.
"...You got the good stuff?"
Ackster sighed.
With a nod, he conjured a lump of Ichor.
"Exercise moderation."
"Oh, I’m gonna exercise, alright."
Mastrax grabbed the Ichor with fervent eyes before skipping off to the horizon, where he picked up the Tortoise King.
Ackster sighed again.
’Next up....’
Shanshi seemed to have a lot on his mind, so Ackster raised him up.
"You’ve had quite the fierce look in your eyes a while now, Shanshi."
Shanshi stiffened for a moment and controlled his expression so that he was no longer glaring at Ackster, who was not only his contract-bound superior but also one of the few beings of Millmeria that could permanently kill him and end his existence.
"..."
Shanshi wanted to say something. But he wasn’t sure whether it would get him killed or not, so he couldn’t help but hesitate. He respected Ackster too much despite the latter being a brat still wet behind his ears. The time Ackster had lived couldn’t compare to the time Shanshi had spent with his eyes closed from blinking. That was how much older Shanshi was.
But Shanshi wasn’t ashamed of being weaker than Ackster. It only annoyed him.
"You can say what’s on your mind."
"Without being afraid that you’ll beat me up?"
Ackster nodded.
"As long as you aren’t unnecessarily rude, I won’t beat you up."
"I have a feeling that’s a very subjective condition."
"Take it or leave it."
Shanshi sighed. After a while, he nodded.
"Alright. That’s exactly what I want to talk about, anyway. Why are you so...—"
"Handsome? Awesome? Superior?"
"Mean to me?"
"Oh no, is poor little Shanshi’s feelings hurt? Do you need mommy to comfort you? Do you have your snuggie?"
"That’s what I’m talking about! What kind of way is that to treat your precious subordinate?! Without me, you would have failed and died back then!"
Ackster shrugged.
"I would have died if the weather had been different. You don’t make a convincing case."
"Argh!"
Shanshi groaned in frustration and tugged on his hair.
"Seriously, man! Why are you like this toward me and only me?! Even Anatol, who doubted your precious connection with Mio got let off with nothing but a warning! Is it because she’s got nice tits?! Is that it?! In that case, I can transform myself into a woman, too!"
Ackster frowned and held up a hand.
"That’s not necessary. And it had nothing to do with gender. In case you haven’t noticed, Kargas is a dude. So is Mastrax."
"Then why?!"
Ackster shrugged with nonchalance.
"Dunno. Guess."
"How am I supposed to guess that when you’ve been treating me like a stain on your shoe from the very beginning?!"
Ackster tilted his head.
"Why do you care in the first place?"
"Urgh, because I’m stuck with you for the foreseeable future. It’s fine when you’re sleeping. But if you’re going to treat me like shit at every chance you get, I want to at least know why!"
Ackster nodded.
"I see. I’ll give you a hint. It has something to do with our fight."
"Our fight?"
"Yeah."
"But you won."
"So?"
"And didn’t Kargas almost kill you during your first encounter with him?"
"He got closer than you did."
"What the fuck? Why am I getting all the shit, then?"
Ackster shrugged.
"Guess."
"How?"
"Don’t you remember the fight?"
"Sure I do! You provoked me into accepting that stupid deal. Then, I beat the crap out of you— Is that it? Are you holding a grudge because I smacked you around a little? Come one, man! You can’t do that! A few bruises is only natural when fighting, especially on our level. Are you that petty?"
Ackster shook his head.
"You’re close, but it’s not because you beat me up."
"Then what?"
The corners of Ackster’s lips rose as he locked eyes with Shanshi. However, his eyes were ice cold, contrary to the smile on Ackster’s face.
"My arms, you fucker."
"What about them?"
Shanshi felt the atmosphere freeze up around him, but he still didn’t understand what Ackster was getting at. His arms were fine, weren’t they? They grew back like weeds during the fight and now, Shanshi probably couldn’t tear them off even once even if he went all out.
"Do you know how many times you tore them off?"
"No...?"
"Fucker. How many beings do you think have gone unscathed after touching my arms?"
"Man, I have no idea! How am I supposed to know that?!"
"The answer is none, you fucking bastard. What kind of limp-brained bastard tears off my arms and gets away with it? No one, that’s who."
"Wha—"
"Shut the fuck up. Do you know how fucking annoying it is to lose your arm every time you fight a bitch or motherfucker?"
Shanshi shook his fear-filled head slowly.
"Exactly. Be grateful I don’t kill you where you stand, you soft-kneed sea cucumber."
Shanshi nodded hastily.
"Yes! Thank you very much, man!"
Ackster let Shanshi run off like the scaredy-cat the vampire ancestor turned out to be. He massaged his shoulder while bringing Mara and Karandiel up.
He really didn’t like losing his arms.
