The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory-Chapter 71Vol 2.

* * *

Wow.

I was the one who told him to do it, but the impact was tremendous.

A man the size of a mountain looked at me and spoke politely—it made the whole situation feel downright bizarre.

Even Sogno, who had been glaring with suspicion until the very end, now looked completely stunned.

The young priest whose lungs I had healed even had his mouth hanging open.

‘Feels like... I might need to go even further with this.’

In the end, I imagined Cecil and made my expression even more arrogant. Then, crossing my arms, I delivered the kind of line Cecil would’ve said.

“Kiss the top of my foot and call me ‘Master.’”

Zahid, who had been staring at me with a look of amusement, slowly knelt.

He lowered himself and wrapped his large hands around my foot.

His long fingers gently swept over the dip at my ankle and the curve of my bone.

Just as it started to feel strange, he pressed a kiss to the top of my foot.

‘What the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ hell is this?’

Outwardly, he made it seem like a solemn kiss, but I could feel his tongue slowly tracing across the top of my foot.

Being in front of all these people made it strangely nerve-wracking, and I felt my back stiffen involuntarily.

‘That’s not what I meant when I told you to kiss it...’

I barely managed to suppress the sound that almost escaped and forced strength into my curling toes.

Zahid didn’t forget to press his lips down firmly, sucking just enough to leave a mark.

After lifting his lips from my foot, he stayed on his knees, looked straight into my eyes, and said:

“What’s next, Master?”

His voice had become husky before I even realized it.

In those eyes—meant only for me—there was a quiet mix of anticipation and mischief.

“Command me as you please. I’ll gladly obey.”

At those words, the young priest and a few lower-ranking holy knights let out murmurs of awe.

Apparently, Zahid Dyfenril was said to be extremely prideful, and now people were whispering that the brainwashing must be exceptionally powerful.

“I met a relative from the Grand Temple recently. He ranted that Sir Payton was the most arrogant bastard he’d ever seen. What a shame he isn’t here to witness this. I heard Zahid wouldn’t even bow his head in front of Lord Yuta.”

“I heard something similar. That he’s so insolent he doesn’t even show proper respect to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

I had to keep riding this wave of momentum.

I patted Fire and changed the topic.

“You know the High Priest desires the Divine Beast, right? Since we finally succeeded in brainwashing him in this sacred place, we must return to the Grand Temple in the Empire immediately.”

Sogno continued to stare at Zahid—still kneeling before me—with a look of shock.

I shrugged and continued.

“Please arrange the fastest method possible. If we get caught in the civil war, it’ll be a headache. I’d prefer to travel along an outer canal, if possible.”

As I added that with a troubled expression, the young priest behind Sogno quickly spoke up.

“Ah! We anchored the boat we arrived on at the lower stream of the ‘Sanctuary of Memory.’ You can take that!”

Sogno, who had been dazed until now, finally seemed to snap back to reality and furrowed his brows. Meanwhile, the young priest’s eyes sparkled as he said:

“Would it be alright if I accompanied you on your journey? Thanks to Lady Cecil, I’ve recovered, and I’d like to repay even a fraction of your grace!”

“No.”

Sogno, who had finally put away his weapon, crushed the young priest’s dream on the spot.

“I’ll attend personally. Zahid Dyfenril is a dangerous man.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

I lifted my chin and cut in right after Sogno’s words.

“I want to get out of this damn cave as soon as possible.”

Then I looked down at Zahid and gave him a command.

“Carry me. I can’t walk.”

“Yes, Master.”

Zahid obediently lifted me into his arms. It was the same position I had complained about earlier for being uncomfortable.

“Hmm...”

Sogno frowned as he watched our rather affectionate posture. I smiled faintly and said:

“I like men with good bodies.”

“...Ah.”

“You said you’d personally escort me, right? You look like you’re in great shape. Let’s discuss the scope of your escort duties later.”

At that, Sogno’s face turned bright red as if he’d been insulted. He seemed flustered and couldn’t say a word.

‘Sinning like a villain to a villain makes me a villain too...’

Inwardly, I offered a prayer of repentance for the wildly inappropriate sexual harassment.

With Zahid, me, and Fire at the center, the group of holy knights surrounded us and began to move through the cave.

‘If we’d been at the front, it would’ve been easier to bolt...’

Maybe Aietar had sent Sogno here for a reason—his caution was extreme.

Sure, they’d slacked off enough to miss our intrusion, but still...

‘But honestly, I probably would’ve gotten lax too after years of nothing happening.’

Just as we reached the mouth of the cave, the passage widened and the formation began to scatter.

Zahid and I met eyes and nodded to each other.

“Well then...”

Zahid tossed me straight into Fire’s arms. At the same time, Athena—hidden in my bag—shot into the air.

“Uwooooong!”

<So stuffy!>

The thin stream of water flowing through the cave suddenly surged, splashing up and clogging the priests’ noses, mouths, and eyes.

“Gah—! Cough! Cough!”

It wasn’t an attack the priests couldn’t neutralize quickly.

But it was more than enough time for me to escape riding Fire.

I’d never expected this charade to last long anyway.

Once they left this cave and contacted other branches of the Temple, it was only a matter of time before our true identities were exposed.

My initial goal had been to escape this cave without Zahid getting hurt, even if we were outnumbered.

“Hey, sorry about the sexual harassment!”

I shouted behind me.

“I actually wanted to take it back! I mean, I look at bodies, but I care about faces too!”

Zahid, who was running up behind on foot, muttered, “Was that really the time to be saying something like that?”

I shouted even farther ahead.

“And you, kid! You’ve already repaid your debt plenty, so don’t feel like you owe me anymore!”

Behind us, the group of holy knights began to give chase rapidly.

“Stop right there!”

“It’s a trap! Stop!”

Their pursuit skills were, frankly, impressive.

Zahid rummaged in his robes and hurled something at them.

In an instant—boom!—a thick white smoke billowed into the air, obscuring their vision.

“You bastard!”

Sogno was the first to cut through the smoke, hurling curses at Zahid.

As Zahid caught up and leapt onto Fire, I yelled back in response to the insult:

“Could you correct that? He almost became a bastard—but I stopped that from happening!”

“Woof! Woof!”

<Not a dog!>

Once Zahid was on, Fire burst into full speed.

On land, Fire was absurdly fast—like a beast possessed.

Just like that, we jumped onto the boat that had been anchored at the lower stream.

Since it was built for over twenty people, the vessel was quite large. The emblem of the Temple was emblazoned prominently on its side.

Several swift-footed holy knights, including Sogno, were in pursuit. But we had another Divine Beast.

As soon as I was on board, I shouted:

“Let’s go, Athena!”

Athena flapped her wings with purpose, unwilling to lose to Fire. And with that, the waters began to part before us at that unbelievable, incredible speed.

“It’s a Temple ship, so we should be able to cross the border immediately. Let’s go before they get a chance to report anything!”

Normally, Temple ships were allowed entry for volunteer work. That gave them unrestricted passage through conflict zones.

The border wasn’t far from here. If we reached the Empire before the Temple reported to the Itaa Kingdom’s border administration, we’d be safe.

Once we were inside the Empire, we could abandon the ship and ride Fire again. That meant we’d be free from pursuit afterward too.