Episode 10
—
“This is troublesome.”
“What is?”
When I woke up in the morning, the Saint was reading a piece of paper. Next to her was a torn envelope. It seemed like a letter from the Church.
“Whoa, when did you wake up? Even if you’re invisible, you should at least try to exist a little~♡”
“…Anyway, what’s that?”
“A summons for the Heroes.”
“Huh?”
Didn’t we all just gather not too long ago?
“Why are they calling us?”
“A Leviathan-Class Monster has appeared near Habsburg City. They’re calling us to subjugate it.”
Habsburg? Did they just name a place after some real-life noble family?
“But if it’s a Leviathan-Class Monster, isn’t that the same kind Elfride defeated?”
“That’s right. It’s a monster that even a bug-like Hero like you couldn’t scratch♡”
“…So we’re not going, right?”
“Of course not. What would you do there except die? Though it would be funny if you just dropped dead out of nowhere♡”
Well, that’s a relief. I’m still struggling with low-level monsters, so how am I supposed to handle a Leviathan-Class Monster?
“Can I sleep a bit more then?”
“No. The sun’s already up, and you’re still trying to sleep? You’re beyond saving~♡”
“…I’ll get up.”
I thought today would just be another day of taking requests and hunting monsters. But as I got up, I was reminded once again that life doesn’t go as planned.
—
“F*ck.”
“Bad word.”
Why do you get to swear but tell me not to?
Right now, the Saint and I were heading to Habsburg City. She had clearly sent a letter refusing the request, but since Levius was too far away, Elfride and I had to go ahead and deal with it. We got a reply telling us to hurry.
After reading the reply, the Saint sighed deeply and said to me:
– Just stay still when we get there, Hero. With your bug-like skills, you’d just end up dead~♡
I hate to admit it, but yeah, there’s no way I can handle that kind of monster with my current strength. I’ll just think of it as going to admire Elfride’s pretty face.
“Hero.”
“Yes, Saint.”
“Even though you’re a Hero, you can’t just do nothing in battle, right?”
“You just told me to do nothing earlier?”
The Saint smirked at me and said:
“Of course, you can’t do anything against a Leviathan-Class Monster, but you should at least handle the low-level monsters that appear with it. You’re not saying you can’t even do that, are you~?”
“Leviathan-Class Monsters don’t appear alone?”
“Of course not. Monsters usually have weaker monsters as subordinates. A Leviathan-Class Monster would probably have mid-level monsters with it.”
Oh, so I won’t just be standing around like an idiot.
“But can I handle that many monsters?”
“This time, I’ll fight too. I can’t leave everything to a weakling like you♡”
“Oh, you’re fighting too?”
“And I’ll give you a Blessing.”
…A Blessing?
For a moment, my mind went blank.
F*ck, you could’ve been buffing me this whole time? Why didn’t you use it sooner, you b*tch! I wanted to say that, but I held back and rephrased it as politely as possible.
“…You’ve never done that before.”
“That’s because you’re so weak that even with a Blessing, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“…Hmm.”
I guess I can’t argue with that.
“But today’s a real battle, so of course I’ll give you a Blessing.”
“Understood.”
“I’m glad even a goldfish brain like you can understand♡”
Haha.
“There it is.”
The Saint pointed ahead with her slender finger. Following her gaze, I saw a massive fortress.
This place, Habsburg City, had a distinctly medieval vibe. But it seemed so peaceful—are we sure a Leviathan-Class Monster appeared here?
“Hero.”
“Yes?”
“From now on, we’ll be meeting Count Baterk, the lord of Habsburg City. We need to gather information about the monster.”
“Got it.”
So?
“You remember the etiquette required when meeting nobles, right? You didn’t forget already, did you~?”
“…I remember.”
“Just stick to that, and I’ll handle the rest.”
I nodded, and the Saint flashed her usual smug smile.
Why are you smiling like that again? Ugh, fine, you’re pretty, so I’ll let it slide.
—
When we arrived at Count Baterk’s mansion, the Count rushed out barefoot to greet us.
“Welcome, Hero!”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Count Baterk.”
“The honor is mine! Please, come in.”
Being a Hero has its perks. Even the lord of a city like this treats you with respect.
Count Baterk led us to the parlor. His mansion was impressively large and spacious. As I looked around in awe, the Saint giggled.
“Hero, you look like a primitive seeing civilization for the first time~♡”
“…Shut up.”
It’s not like I’ve ever seen a mansion like this before.
As we entered the parlor, I noticed someone was already there. A woman with golden hair and blue eyes, radiating the aura of a heroine.
“Elfride!”
“Hm, Abel. You’re here.”
It was the Hero Elfride. Today, she wasn’t alone. Beside her was a silver-haired woman dressed neatly in a nun’s habit.
I realized she was the Saint who traveled with Elfride, someone I hadn’t seen before. My first thought upon seeing her was:
‘She’s… impressive.’
To put it politely, her Holy Power reserves were enormous.
“Hero.”
“Yes?”
The Saint was glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
“What exactly are you looking at? Are you really a pervert?”
“…Sorry.”
“Hopeless.”
Her words had a sharper edge than usual…
“Abel, don’t just stand there. Sit down.”
“Ah, right.”
I sat on the couch across from Elfride. The Saint plopped down beside me.
…I feel like she’s been radiating dissatisfaction with every move since a while ago.
“Elfride, is the person next to you the Saint?”
“Yes, she’s the Saint who travels with me.”
The silver-haired Saint looked at me with black eyes that reminded me of a Korean. She bowed her head and introduced herself.
“I am Cynthia, a humble servant of the Goddess Lunaria.”
Lunaria? The name gives off the vibe of a moon goddess. Now that I think about it, her nun’s habit was pitch black, and her cross wasn’t silver but gold.
“You serve the Moon Goddess?”
“That’s right.”
“Got it.”
“Ah, come to think of it, didn’t our saintess serve the Sun Goddess?”
Glancing at the saintess, she was looking at Cynthia with eyes that clearly showed she wasn’t too fond of her. Guess they don’t get along.
“Well, the sun and the moon are opposites, so it’s only natural they don’t get along. It’s practically a rule.”
“Saintess.”
“Yes, Hero.”
“Do you not get along with the saintess of the Lunaria Church?”
“…The Church itself doesn’t get along, but I just met her today. It’s not even about getting along or not.”
“Really?”
Then why the death glare?
“Abel.”
At that moment, Elfride called me.
“Yes?”
“How long has it been since you became a Hero?”
“Hmm… A little over a month?”
“Then it’s still too early for you to face a Leviathan-Class Monster. You probably haven’t even awakened the Holy Sword’s consciousness yet.”
What the—? She just read me like a book.
“You must know that too, but since you’ve come this far…”
Oh no, she caught me trying to take the bus!!!
“Indeed, you’re a proper Hero.”
“…Huh?”
“Even if your skills are lacking, you came here to save people, didn’t you?”
“Ah…”
I just came because they told me to. But Elfride was giving me this look, full of expectations. Like, *a lot*.
I couldn’t bear to disappoint her, so I nodded.
“…Of course.”
“Good attitude.”
Glancing at the saintess, she was giggling like something was hilarious.
Damn it, stop laughing.
“My apologies, I was delayed by some urgent matters.”
After guiding us to the reception room, Count Baterk finally arrived late.
He brought a knight with him. Judging by the dazzling armor, he must be the captain.
“This is Sir Ruin, who leads the Baterk family’s knight order. Sir Ruin, greet the Heroes.”
“It’s an honor to meet the saviors. I am Ruin, the captain of the Baterk Knights.”
Count Baterk sat down, and Sir Ruin stood beside him. The Count spoke to us.
“Sir Ruin will give you a detailed report on the monsters that have appeared. I hope the information we’ve gathered will be of help to you.”
“Let’s hear it.”
As Elfride spoke, Sir Ruin cleared his throat and began.
“The Leviathan-Class Monster is located east of Habsburg City. It’s currently about 2km away, but it’s steadily approaching the city.”
“What’s its form?”
“It’s a floating type.”
Floating type?
The saintess whispered to me quietly.
“It means a monster that floats in the air, Hero.”
“Ah, I got that… But Leviathan-Class Monsters all look different, huh?”
“Exactly. For high-level monsters and above, they’re ranked by danger level, not form. You really don’t know anything, do you~♡”
“…You seem to know a lot, Saintess.”
“It’s basic knowledge~. You’re just a rookie Hero, after all♡”
How am I supposed to know when I just got here?
“I see.”
Elfride nodded seriously.
“I’ll handle the monster myself.”
“Wow, thank you, Elfride!”
“Abel.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but I need you to deal with the other monsters under its command.”
What’s there to be sorry about? I’ll just follow the bus driver’s orders.
“Got it.”
“Cynthia, let’s go.”
“Yes, Elfride.”
#
Facing the Leviathan-Class Monster felt like my common sense was being shattered.
When I heard it was a floating type, I imagined something like a jellyfish monster floating in the sky.
But what I saw was…
“…Is that the Leviathan-Class Monster?”
“Yes. Don’t even think about getting close to it. You’d be like an ant compared to it♡ It’d crush you like a bug~♡”
“…I don’t even want to go near it.”
There was a demon soaring majestically through the sky. Its massive red wings flapped as its multiple small eyes stared down at people.
It looked like a human knight, holding a giant spear in one hand, completely different from any monster I’d seen before.
And below it, lower-level monsters were swarming.
‘…It feels like a monster army.’
Now I understand why people were so shocked when they heard someone had defeated a Leviathan-Class Monster at the regular reporting meeting.
“Don’t be too nervous, Abel.”
Elfride spoke to me reassuringly from behind.
“As a rookie Hero, I won’t push you too hard. I’ll handle that thing, so just focus on dealing with the other monsters.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay, Elfride?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve taken down Leviathan-Class Monsters a few times before.”
“…You’re amazing.”
Just looking at it, I could tell. This monster was on a completely different level from anything I’d faced before. The Nol Chieftain that almost killed me was nothing compared to this.
Elfride, who had defeated such monsters multiple times, was awe-inspiring. She drew her long rapier and went to face the monster.
…Wait.
“Saintess.”
“Yes, rookie trash Hero♡”
…Why did she add another insult? Anyway, I have a different question.
“You said you could defeat a Leviathan-Class Monster too, right?”
“Of course.”
“…Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you about something like this, Hero?”
No, she hasn’t. She might talk trash, but she’s never lied during serious conversations.
“You can really defeat that monster???”
“Obviously~. I’m not a useless rookie like you♡ You’ll have to get to that level someday too.”
“…I guess so.”
But you’re a saintess, not a Hero. Usually, saintesses support Heroes, they’re not this strong, right?
“If you don’t believe me, I can show you… But since I’ve been beaten to it this time, I’ll show you next time~♥”
“…….”
…I think it’s going to take a while before I get strong enough to get my revenge.
