NOVEL NEXT Chapter 320: Chapter 40. One Sin of Envy is Enough, Really
[Arc5] - 40. One Sin of Envy is Enough, Really
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"Ban, what are you doing? I haven't even had a proper conversation with Elaine yet."
"Once I revive Elaine, you'll have all the time in the world to talk to her. Besides, that might just be an illusion."
"Liar! You should be able to feel it—she's definitely Elaine! You just want to hog all the time to talk to her!"
"Exactly, that's exactly what I want."
Cyd could hear Ban and King arguing from afar, and the usual back-and-forth where King gets completely played by Ban actually put him at ease. Even though he had already seen the whole process through a mirror, seeing the actual result settled his heart completely.
Meliodas, true to form, stood by cheerfully with his arms crossed, watching Ban and King, acting as though he was just the team's mascot as long as Cyd was around.
"Vice-Captain~" Ban called out, lengthening his tone dramatically, "What about this so-called 'kindhearted' guy here? Just now, King nearly made sushi out of me."
"That's what you get for provoking King. You should actually thank me for persuading him to get to know you over these years, or you'd have been turned into stone by now."
"Yeah, you should be grateful to the Vice-Captain," King said, puffing up his chest proudly, as if finally finding his support. "Otherwise, being made into sushi would be the least of your worries. I'm the Fairy King, after all—handling an immortal human would be a piece of cake."
"Tch." Ban turned his head away, retorting, "What's there to be proud of for a Fairy King without wings?"
"Then our next task is to get King's wings to appear," Meliodas said, rubbing his chin and looking over at Cyd. "All-powerful Cyd, let's have you come up with a way to make King sprout his wings."
"Am I some kind of wish-granting genie? Even if you begged, 'Oh, Lord Cyd, I beg you,' I wouldn't be able to help. Aren't fairies supposed to grow wings from birth, anyway?"
Cyd shrugged.
"My personal opinion is just to wait and see. I believe in King. He'll spread his beautiful wings when the Seven Deadly Sins truly need his strength."
"Vice-Captain..." King looked at Cyd, tears in his eyes, only to choke on his own saliva at Cyd's next remark.
"Of course, he might also spread them for Diane."
"What are you saying, Vice-Captain! I, Fairy King Harlequin, am not someone who'd forget duty for beauty… But Diane is my companion, so I guess that wouldn't be an issue."
"Speaking of Diane, that girl doesn't seem to be doing too well either," Jenna, feeling ignored with her disrupted trials, raised her hand.
"Not at all."
Everyone gathered around the mirror, where they saw Diane getting a thorough beating.
"So, the trial you arranged is to beat us up?" Ban, who had previously been pummeled to a pulp, raised his hand in protest. "If you have a grudge against the Captain, just beat him up instead, why don't you?"
Bam! Ban crumpled to the ground in a strange shape.
Meliodas let his fist explain the consequences of badmouthing him.
"It was the girl's own choice. I asked if she wanted to learn to dance or fight, and she didn't hesitate to pick combat." Jenna spread her hands innocently.
"Hmm… Actually, I do know the Giant King a bit. He once told me that the strength of Giants comes not from themselves but from the earth. Even Druids can't fully obtain that power." Meliodas, in his more knowledgeable mood, nodded thoughtfully.
"Looks like things aren't going too well for Escanor and Gowther either… oh, correction, just one of them," Merlin said, changing her tone because of that man, shining like the sun.
"A trial with no opponents? How boring." Escanor crossed his arms, head raised arrogantly.
"The sun sets? Who decided that?"
"I did."
Clap clap clap clap! Everyone clapped in sync, because if they didn't, Escanor would have felt quite awkward.
"Didn't Bartra give us a sacred weapon specifically to help Escanor when the sun sets?" Meliodas pointed at a weapon lying off to the side—a highly ornate axe resembling a ceremonial item, Escanor's sacred weapon.
Rhitta, the sacred weapon named after the Maiden of the Sun, is more than a weapon; it helps stabilize Escanor's wild strength, capable of both charging and discharging power.
"But isn't Gowther's situation quite severe?" King pointed at the mirror, where Gowther stood as still as a statue. "Nothing's happening."
"Druids design trials based on one's heart and magical power, but Gowther…." Jenna tilted her head, seemingly unable to find the words before gesturing to Merlin. "You explain it."
Merlin shrugged, pulling another paper from her chest and handing it to Cyd. He could feel the sudden rise in temperature behind him as he took it.
"Escanor, I'm not doing anything strange."
"Of course. I have complete faith in the Vice-Captain." Escanor wasn't lying, yet he stood just behind Cyd, his eyes practically shooting lasers.
Perhaps due to Escanor's solar-powered magic, Cyd's Apollo's Blessing responded to the "sun" magic nearby, meaning that standing near Escanor put him into a state of solar recharge. In turn, Escanor could enjoy a brief daytime phase by standing near Cyd.
"Let's see… because…"
Pah! Cyd crushed the paper into a ball.
"My stomach hurts. Merlin, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"This was a special request from His Majesty. Although, I'll admit, I was curious about how you'd handle it." Merlin smiled mysteriously and then dragged Meliodas into the conversation without hesitation.
"The Captain knows Gowther's true identity, too."
"Ridiculous. Merlin, I don't know anything." Meliodas crossed his arms and distanced himself from Merlin confidently, only for her to lean in and whisper a name in his ear.
Whatever Merlin said, Cyd didn't know, but the rising temperature behind him had Lady Dragon shrinking into his clothes.
Escanor, I understand you're young and impatient, but we only need one sin of envy.
Seeing the string of expressions transform across Meliodas's youthful face, Cyd realized things were about to go wrong.
Looking at Meliodas's circle of friends, not a single one seemed ordinary.
"Ah, I just remembered something urgent! Elizabeth's diaper still needs changing!"
"Meliodas, Elizabeth hasn't needed diapers for five years, and that was never your responsibility." Cyd gripped Meliodas's shoulder, smiling in a way that didn't reach his eyes. "Now, spill it—what's Gowther's true identity?"
"He isn't human; he's a doll."
"Hmm, fair enough. At this point, I'd be more surprised if any of the Seven Deadly Sins were actually normal humans."
"Right, no big deal. Actually, Gowther is the former holder of the Commandment of Selflessness among the Ten Commandments."
"Yeah, this issue… is massive! That's on a whole other level."