Chapter 17

Linda came up to me, staring intently, her eyes sparkling as she asked.

“But, unnie… So you were really a man, huh?” She hesitated, reaching out her hand, then suddenly glanced at my chest and added, “But here… it’s really… super bouncy, huh? Did you really used to be a man and then became like this?”

My face instantly turned red. I panicked and stepped back, but Linda didn’t care at all and reached out her hand.

“Hey, Linda! Where are you putting that hand?!” I shouted, but her hand had already poked my chest.

“Wow~ It’s really squishy!” she exclaimed with a small gasp. “Is this for real…?”

“Linda!!!” I yelled, my face bright red, and I quickly swatted her hand away.

Claire, who was beside us, couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Linda, are you crazy?! You can’t just touch something like that!”

“No, I was just curious!” Linda defended herself with a pout, waving her hands. “But seriously, it’s amazing! Is this what happens when you become a Saintess, unnie?”

I swallowed my anger and glared at Linda. “Stop it, Linda. This isn’t a joke!”

But Linda still couldn’t hold back her laughter and came closer to me. Then, this time, Claire quietly approached me, tilting her head and muttering something before starting to grope my chest.

“Hmm… So only the Hero can touch this now… I guess we have another reason to save Ellie.”

“Claire!!!” I couldn’t take it anymore and flicked her forehead. “You damn brats, seriously!”

Linda also held her head, crying out, “Ouch! Why are you hitting me too! I was just curious!”

I crossed my arms and glared at both of them. “You two need to get a grip! You can’t just talk about something like this so casually!”

But the two of them still couldn’t stop laughing and smirked. Linda stroked her head and said, “But unnie, you’re really cool. It’s hard to believe you used to be a man, you’re so pretty…”

I sighed inwardly and shook my head. “Seriously, you damn brats…” But their lighthearted attitude had slightly eased my anger.

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Zion, holding his nose, looked at us. “Everyone, calm down. Let’s talk about the plan again. We don’t know when the Demon Beasts will show up again.”

I nodded and was about to respond, but I felt something strange. Behind me, Claire and Linda were hiding, exchanging suspicious glances.

“Hey, Claire,” Linda whispered in a low voice. “Right? It seems like that, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it seems like it…” Claire tilted her head and replied.

I turned my head and glared at them. “What are you two doing?”

“Oh, nothing!” Claire and Linda shook their heads simultaneously, looking innocent. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were up to something.

Then, suddenly, cold water poured down my back. “Ah! What the hell!” I screamed, shivering.

“Oops~ I accidentally spilled the water~” Linda said innocently, holding a water bottle.

“Linda!” I shouted, glaring at her. But… something was off. The cold water had completely soaked my chest area, and the thin Saintess uniform, now wet, became see-through, revealing my skin.

“……”

The room fell silent for a moment. Claire and Linda held their breath, and Zion was staring at me with wide eyes.

“Hey, Zion? What are you doing?” I asked nervously. But Zion’s face turned redder and redder, and suddenly, blood started gushing from his nose.

“Pfft—!”

Zion’s nosebleed shot up like a fountain. He covered his face, staggered, and then collapsed backward.

“Zion!” I panicked and ran to him. “Hey, are you okay?! Are you hurt?!”

But Zion was still bleeding from his nose, gasping for breath. “Sorry, comrade… You seem like a woman… No matter how I look at it, you’re not a man…”

“You… you… damn bastard!” I grabbed his collar and shook him, shouting. “Hey, you damn brat, I’m a man!!! A man!!”

“……”

The room fell silent again. Claire and Linda simultaneously inhaled, covering their mouths.

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It was a while later when Zion regained consciousness. He wiped the blood from his nose and shook his head, looking very dizzy. I crossed my arms and glared at him. Claire and Linda were giggling behind me, trying to hold back their laughter.

“Hmm…” Zion blinked and slowly got up. “Why did I… pass out?”

I sighed deeply and replied, “You should know better why you passed out. Maybe clean up those weird thoughts in your head.”

Hearing that, Zion’s face turned bright red. He coughed awkwardly and turned his head. “That was… a mistake. The situation was a bit… uh, how should I say…”

“Save the excuses.” I said firmly. “If you pull something like that again, you’ll be crying tears of blood, not just a nosebleed.”

Linda clapped her hands and laughed at that. “That’s so funny! Unnie, I’ve never seen Zion so flustered before!”

“Linda, you better watch out too.” I warned her, glaring. “If you pull another water prank, I’ll flip that bottle over your head.”

“Eek… got it!” Linda raised both hands and backed away.

Then, a commotion could be heard from outside. The voices of drunken men and a loud argument were coming through.

“What’s going on?” Claire asked, looking out the window.

“Some guys are gathered outside, fighting,” she said, holding her forehead. “They must have drunk a lot, the atmosphere doesn’t look good.”

“Of all times…” I sighed and stood up. “I guess I have to go break it up.”

Zion also got up and said, “I’ll go. I’m better at handling these kinds of things.”

“No, you stay put,” I stopped him. “You just had a nosebleed.”

But Zion shook his head and came closer to me. “No, I should go. I can handle this better.”

In the end, we decided to go out together. Claire and Linda followed us, their faces full of curiosity.

As I stepped outside, drunk uncles were grabbing each other by the collars and shouting.

“I got here first! Who do you think you are, barging in like this?”

“What? What makes you think this is your spot? This is a shared space!”

Zion stepped forward. “Everyone, you shouldn’t fight here. It’s late, and you might disturb others.”

But the uncles didn’t even pretend to listen. One of them sneered in a drunken voice, “What’s this kid doing, lecturing us? Who do you think you are, butting in?”

Another chimed in, “Yeah, kid, scram! Don’t meddle in adult business!”

I shook my head at the scene and sighed. “They’re completely wasted. Zion, no need to take it so seriously.”

But Zion replied with a serious face, “Still, this needs to be corrected.”

He approached the uncles with a firm expression and said, “If you want to fight, go somewhere else. This isn’t the place to cause trouble for others.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” one uncle staggered toward Zion. “You think you can stop me?”

Instead of answering, Zion pulled out his shield. It gleamed silver and stood firmly in place. “Don’t make me force you. It’d be best if you quietly backed off now.”

Hearing that, the other uncles started to tense up. One muttered as he stepped back, “That guy… looks like he knows how to fight.”

“Alright, alright. We give up,” one uncle raised his hands and staggered. “Let’s call it quits.”

Once the fight stopped, I tapped Zion’s shoulder and said, “Well done. But you could’ve been a bit gentler with your words.”

“If needed, you have to be firm,” Zion replied with a smile.

—

As the fight ended, the drunk uncles began to scatter one by one. We were about to head back to the inn when one uncle hesitantly stood in front of Zion.

He stumbled closer, staring intently at Zion’s shield. Then, in a slightly slurred voice, he said, “You… that shield. Are you from the kingdom’s knight order?”

Zion looked down at his shield and nodded. “Yes, this shield bears the emblem of the kingdom’s knight order. Is there a problem…?”

Hearing that, the uncle suddenly slumped down. “Ha… that’s a relief. So, someone from the Hero’s party is still active…”

“Wait a minute,” I stepped forward and asked, “What do you mean by the Hero’s party?”

The uncle looked up at us. His eyes were filled with exhaustion and despair. “Then… maybe there’s hope now. If you’re companions of the Hero, could you hear my request?”

“Your request?” Claire narrowed her eyes and asked, “If this is just drunken nonsense, we can ignore it.”

“No!” the uncle waved his hand urgently. “It’s not that. There’s a reason I’ve been searching for the Hero’s companions. Our village is in danger. Something terrible is happening…”

“Explain in detail,” Zion said firmly.

He paused for a moment, then sighed heavily and began his story. “We’re from Kalind Village in the northern part of the kingdom. It’s a small village, but we’ve always been peaceful, with little contact with demon beasts. But a few months ago, demon beasts started appearing around the village. At first, it was minor… but now, they’re growing stronger, and villagers have started going missing.”

“Missing?” I asked, surprised. “That doesn’t sound like a simple demon beast invasion.”

“Exactly!” the uncle nodded. “And most importantly… we’ve seen traces of the ancient Hero near where the demon beasts appear.”

“Traces of the ancient Hero?” Claire asked with interest. “What do you mean?”

With trembling hands, he pulled out a worn piece of paper from his pocket. It was an old map, and in the center was a noticeable mark.

“This is…” Zion narrowed his eyes as he examined the map. “A region not recorded in the kingdom’s archives. Why is this place marked?”

“The village elders said this is the site of the first Hero’s ruins,” the uncle continued in a shaky voice. “They say traces of the Hero and the Saintess remain there from an ancient battle. But now… it’s become the demon beasts’ stronghold.”

I froze at his words. “Ruins of the Hero and the Saintess… but why are demon beasts appearing there?”

“I don’t know,” he bowed his head. “But after the demon beasts appeared, villagers started disappearing one by one. Those ruins might be the cause of all this.”

“Then we’ll have to go,” Zion said decisively.

“Wait a minute,” Claire raised her hand. “This isn’t just about defeating demon beasts, is it? There might be secrets in those ruins. We might need more preparation.”

“But if the villagers are in danger, we can’t wait,” Zion countered.

Linda tilted her head and said, “But, isn’t this related to us too? When they talk about the ancient Saintess and Hero… it feels kinda heavy, you know?”

I fell into thought after hearing Linda’s words. ‘Ruins of the ancient Saintess and Hero… this wasn’t in the game’s lore. And now demon beasts? This can’t be a coincidence.’

“Alright,” I nodded. “Let’s go. We need to see for ourselves what’s happening in those ruins.”