Episode 17
“How long are we staying in Habsburg?”
“Until your adventurer rank goes up a bit. You’re not planning to stay a lame D-rank forever, are you~?”
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
It’s already been two weeks since we arrived in Habsburg after receiving the summons. During that time, we’ve been staying at the inn and constantly going in and out of the Adventurer’s Guild to take on requests.
Thanks to that, we’ve saved up quite a bit of money. I even heard that even after buying new equipment, we still have plenty of funds left.
But now that D-rank requests are a piece of cake, isn’t it about time to move up to C-rank?
“High Priestess, what’s with that outfit?”
“I bought it last time. Did you forget already? Your memory’s worse than a goldfish, Hero~♡ Dummy♡ Idiot♡”
“…Did I really buy that?”
The High Priestess had lost her priestly robes to a slime, so she was wearing casual clothes now.
Honestly, she looks good in anything, but this outfit has way too many frills. It’s practically gothic Lolita.
“What? Am I too cute for you to handle~♡?”
“I never said that…”
“But don’t get any ideas~. I’m the High Priestess, after all~♡”
Listen to yourself.
“Are we going to the guild today?”
“Of course. You’ll probably rank up after just one or two more requests.”
“Oh, really?”
“You need achievements to rank up. You’re almost there.”
The High Priestess said that and then suddenly stared at me.
“?”
“But Hero, did you forget something?”
“What?”
“Your wish. Why haven’t you mentioned it?”
Wish?
“You mean when you took care of that Heavy Rat for me?”
“…You’re not seriously saying that was your wish, are you?”
The High Priestess’s gaze turned icy. It was so cold it sent shivers down my spine.
Damn, why’s she so scary? Did I do something wrong?
Suddenly, I remembered the look in her eyes when we talked about wishes last time.
…That was pretty terrifying.
“…Well, High Priestess.”
“Yes~♡”
“From now on, don’t call me lame or trash.”
“…That’s it?”
Huh?
The High Priestess’s voice was cold. I glanced at her, and her gaze was still icy.
Damn, what’s her problem? What does she want me to say?
The High Priestess let out a deep sigh, then smiled slyly and spoke.
“Something you’ve been desperately wishing for~♡ Or something you can’t normally ask for♡ Don’t you have anything like that~?”
I desperately wish for that. But if I say it, her gaze might get even colder.
“…No, not really.”
I can’t think of anything. Hearing my answer, the High Priestess let out another deep sigh for some reason.
“…Being naive isn’t so bad at times like this.”
“…Huh?”
What’s naive about me?
The High Priestess plopped down next to me and rested her chin on her finger.
What’s this? She’s doing something oddly cute.
“Hero, are you a virgin?”
“…What’s with you all of a sudden?”
Haha, she’s really gone off the deep end.
“Or do you like men?”
“What are you even saying?”
“What do you think when you see me?”
“…Huh?”
What kind of random question is that? I was too stunned to answer, so the High Priestess pointed at her own face.
“Am I not pretty?”
“Pretty?…Yeah, you’re pretty.”
She’s a pain in the ass, but it’s true that she’s pretty.
“But you don’t wish for anything?”
“…What’s it to you?”
“…Hero, I’m just asking out of curiosity.”
“Yeah?”
The High Priestess’s eyes curved into a smile, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
“Hero, are you a viiiirgin~?”
“…Huh?”
Virgin. In other words, she’s asking if I’m a virgin. I felt like my soul was leaving my body.
Are you calling me a virgin? Damn, at my age, am I still a…virgin?
Come to think of it, this body is only seventeen.
Would the original owner of this body, a country boy, have had any experience at seventeen?
…Wait, why am I even thinking about this? Why’s the High Priestess asking me this? And she’s acting like she’s not a virgin herself.
“You haven’t had any experience either, High Priestess.”
“I’m a member of the Church~. But judging by your reaction, Hero…”
The High Priestess smirked arrogantly.
“You’re a virgin♡”
“…I’m only seventeen.”
“Seventeen is an adult~♡”
Huh? Really?
Come to think of it, in medieval times, the age of adulthood was much younger than it is now. I heard that in medieval Europe, boys were considered adults at fourteen.
“Pfft♡ A virgin♡ Not even a priest and still a virgin♡ Kyahaha♡”
…Damn. Now I’m just a laughingstock.
“…Don’t call me a virgin.”
“You act like one, so~♡”
Haha, damn her.
I got so mad that I slammed the bed and leaned in close. Then I spoke as if I was about to devour her.
“So, should I just pounce on you right here, High Priestess?”
“…Hng…♥”
“…?”
…Why’s she reacting like that?
“…I-I have no choice but to obey if that’s what the Hero wants~♥ If that’s your wish~♡ Being pounced on by such a perverted Hero, how awful~♡”
…Why does she seem to be enjoying this? Am I imagining it?
We were sitting next to each other, but the High Priestess was much shorter than me, so even sitting, there was a height difference. She was looking up at me, and her amber eyes were trembling slightly.
Her slightly flushed cheeks and strange gaze. The atmosphere was getting weird, so I quickly changed the subject.
“…Just kidding. Let’s go.”
No matter how she looked at me from behind, I quickly opened the door and left.
“…Phew.”
…I don’t get her.
#
The High Priestess and I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild. It was a bit awkward the whole way, so we walked in silence.
“Abel! There you are!”
“…?”
Why’s Monkey Man here?
Monkey Man, who I assume is a friend of the body I’ve possessed, was in the guild lobby. He greeted me like he knew me, then greeted the High Priestess too.
“Oh, High Priestess! Hello!”
“Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of the Hero?”
The High Priestess answered with a gentle smile and voice. She only acts like this in front of others.
“Yes! I’m Oz!”
Oh, so your name’s Oz? Finally, I know.
But it’s a more normal name than I expected. I thought it’d be something like Monkeyus the Second.
“So, Oz, what brings you here?”
“Ah, I came to ask for a favor.”
“A favor?”
The High Priestess’s brow furrowed.
“Yeah, monsters have appeared near our village.”
“…Huh?”
…Monsters appeared near the village? But how is he here in one piece?
“But how are you fine?”
“Ah, well. This might sound weird, but the monsters aren’t doing anything.”
“What?”
Oz shrugged.
“I’m not sure either. It’s true that a monster appeared, but it didn’t do anything. I thought about provoking it first, but it seemed like I’d get hurt, so the village chief told me not to mess with it.”
“…Saint, does this kind of situation happen?”
“I’m not sure.”
Even the Saint doesn’t know? What if the Monster Encyclopedia doesn’t know either?
“I think we need to see it for ourselves.”
“Oh, so you’ll come then?”
The Saint asked me.
“What will you do, Hero?”
“I get to decide?”
“Of course~♡”
Hmm…
“Let’s go. I’m curious about a monster even the Saint doesn’t know.”
“With the way you’re talking, you’d think I’m some kind of encyclopedia.”
No?
“Thank you, Saint! Thanks, Abel!”
When I said we’d go to the village, Oz kept expressing his gratitude. His personality seems pretty good.
“But how did you get to Habsburg?”
“I used the money the village chief gathered to take a carriage. It was lucky I didn’t run into any monsters or bandits on the way.”
“…I see.”
People in this era have such hardships.
“Saint, we need to hurry, so should we take a carriage too?”
“We should.”
Finally, I get to ride a carriage. I’ve been transported into a medieval setting, but I’ve never ridden a carriage until now?
What will it feel like? I’m a bit excited.
#
*Clunk.*
*Thud!*
“Ouch.”
“Pfft♡ Hero, your head must hurt~♡ You might turn into a fool like this~♡”
“……”
I hate carriages.
Carriages are way more uncomfortable than I thought. It makes sense, though, since the roads aren’t paved and the horses are pulling it, so the bumping is inevitable.
The problem is, I’m the tallest among the three of us, so every time it bumps, I hit my head on the carriage ceiling. It feels like I’ve been doing this for over three hours. I wonder if I’ll get a bump on my head.
“…Oz, how much longer?”
“We’ll be there soon. Why don’t you scoot forward a bit?”
“I should.”
Thanks to that, I stopped hitting my head on the ceiling, but now I look ridiculous, sitting with my stomach sticking out.
The Saint whispered to me quietly.
“Hero, you look like an old man~♡”
…Damn, what can I do?
“We’re almost there!”
“Oh.”
Hearing Oz’s words, I looked out the window and saw a familiar landscape.
It’s not my hometown, but the village where the original owner of this body lived, Daisy Village. Judging by the name, there must be a lot of daisies blooming here.
“Thank you. Take care.”
“Thanks for using our service.”
We finally arrived at the village. I touched my head to see if I had a bump.
“It’s fine.”
“What’s fine?”
“I was worried I might have a bump.”
The Saint giggled.
“Sometimes the Hero worries about the strangest things~♡”
“…Do I?”
Following Oz and bringing the Saint into the village, Oz led us straight ahead.
“Where are we going?”
“We should greet the village chief first. It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
“Can’t we just go see the monster right away?”
It’s a hassle, and I don’t have any memories of this village. If the village chief says something, I’m not confident I can respond.
“Hmm, you want to? We can greet him after dealing with the monster.”
Oz surprisingly agreed to my request easily. This guy, he’s pretty flexible.
“I’ll take you there right away.”
Following Oz, we passed through the central road of the village and climbed up a hill.
“Do you remember this place, Abel?”
“…Huh?”
“We used to come here often when we were kids.”
I don’t know.
“…Yeah, we did.”
I pretended to know, but I have no idea where this is.
Oz thought only the Saint didn’t know this place, so he kindly explained it to her.
“Once you pass this hill, there’s a big field of daisies.”
“So that’s why the village is called Daisy Village.”
“Right. Abel, Anya, and I used to come here often to play.”
“…Who’s Anya?”
Yeah, who’s Anya?
“Anais. She used to live in this village but left four years ago. She wanted to become a mage or something. I wonder how she’s doing now.”
“Hmm… From the name, she sounds like a woman. Right?”
“Yes.”
I had a childhood friend who was a girl?
“Abel, do you remember?”
“…It’s a bit hazy.”
It’s been four years since I last saw her, so this should be fine.
“Wow, that’s harsh. Anya really liked you.”
“…What?”
“Why are you acting like you didn’t know? Did you really not know?”
Oz added, calling me a funny guy, and hurried us along.
“…I see.”
“…Saint?”
Your voice sounds a bit scary.
“So the Hero had a ‘female’ childhood friend who liked him~.”
I… I don’t know anything about that, Saint. I don’t even know who I am!
“…Saint? Your eyes look scary.”
“Me~? What did I do~?”
“……”
But to like someone who’s been compared to a goblin, that girl must have had unique tastes.
…Was it because there were only monkeys and goblins around, so she had to choose one?
“We’re here. See over there?”
Oz pointed ahead. Where his hand was pointing, there was a huge cat.
“…A cat?”
“It’s a Cheshire Cat.”
A Cheshire Cat? Like the one from Alice in Wonderland?
“As you can see, it’s a monster in the form of a cat. It’s tricky to catch because of its ability to create illusions.”
“Illusions?”
“Right now, we can’t tell if what we’re seeing is its real body or an illusion. We’ll have to get closer to find out.”
“So it’s definitely a monster? But why isn’t it attacking?”
I heard monsters are generally aggressive towards humans. The Saint also shook her head, unsure about that part.
“I don’t know. Should we approach it?”
“Is that okay?”
“Even if we fall for the Cheshire Cat’s illusion, I’ll break it, so don’t worry.”
Hearing the Saint say that makes me feel reassured.
I told Oz to wait here, and the Saint and I approached the Cheshire Cat.
Up close, it’s huge. The cat is bigger than a person. The Cheshire Cat noticed us approaching and turned its head. The reaction that followed was something neither the Saint nor I expected.
“Meow? Humans! Nice to meet you, meow!”
