Episode 19
After making sure the girl had a hearty meal of stew, the Saintess began to ask her questions.
“Could you tell me your name, age, and where you lived?”
Suddenly, a full-on interrogation. When I asked why, the Saintess responded as if it were obvious.
“We need to send her back, don’t we? You didn’t even think of that, dummy♡”
“…Ah.”
“Idiot♡”
…Haha, damn. Even with the girl right in front of her, she’s not hiding her true nature. Is she just going to go all out now?
The girl looked a bit flustered, glancing between me and the Saintess, before answering the Saintess’s question.
“…My name is Chloe. I’m sixteen years old.”
Huh? Only a year younger than me?
But Chloe looked incredibly youthful. She was even shorter than the Saintess, probably not even 150 cm.
Shouldn’t a girl be fully grown by sixteen?
Hmm… Oh, I see!
Short stature, cute youthful looks, and undeniable flat chest.
Yep, she’s the classic loli character you’d find in any fantasy story.
…Wait, is this a fantasy story? Didn’t the author used to write dark fantasy? How did it end up like this…?
“What were you doing before you turned into a monster?”
“I was attending a magic academy in the Minerva Kingdom.”
Oh? So she’s a mage.
“Public or private?”
“Public. It’s in Athene, the capital of the Minerva Kingdom.”
“So you were a student at the Royal Magic Academy?”
“Yes.”
Wow. Isn’t the Royal Academy a big deal?
“Chloe, you’re an elite~.”
“N-no, not really… And please, just call me Chloe. You saved me, after all…”
“If that’s what you prefer, I’ll call you that. But you should be a bit prouder, you know? The Royal Magic Academy of the Minerva Kingdom is a place people from other countries dream of studying at. I hear the competition is fierce.”
“Well… I got in through a special admission for commoners.”
“That’s still impressive.”
The Saintess smiled gently at Chloe.
…Wish she’d smile at me like that too.
“So you’re from the Minerva Kingdom. Where did you live?”
“I lived in the dormitory. I have a hometown, but after enrolling in the academy, I stayed in the dorm.”
“That’s strange. How did you end up swallowing a Transformational Stone? If you were living inside the academy, there’s no way something like that could’ve happened.”
“…I don’t really remember. Something happened, but I can’t recall what…”
Did she lose her memory when she turned into a monster? I’m not sure.
“I see. Thanks for the information. I’ll provide this to the Solaria Church so we can send Chloe back to where she belongs.”
“…Thank you so much!”
Chloe kept expressing her gratitude.
By the way, the way she was meowing earlier wasn’t her usual speech pattern—it must’ve been because she was a monster.
…I thought it was just her character quirk.
“By the way, are you two the Saintess and the Hero?”
“Ah… yes, that’s right. How did you know?”
The Saintess isn’t even wearing her priestly robes right now, and as for me… how could anyone tell I’m the Hero just by looking?
“I heard you calling her Saintess earlier…”
Ah, right. That’s true.
“…And you brought me back from being a monster to a human. Only the Saintess can perform such miracles.”
“Ah, I see.”
That makes sense. If you see someone with a sword traveling with the Saintess, you’d naturally assume they’re the Hero.
“But Saintess, how will you take Chloe back?”
“We’ll stop by a Church branch. Based on Chloe’s personal information, the Church will ensure she gets back safely. It’s easier to cross borders under the Church’s protection.”
“Then we’ll need to head to a Church branch. Where’s the closest one?”
The Saintess thought for a moment before answering.
“Do you remember Lancaster City, which I mentioned before?”
“Yes.”
“Your memory’s better than a goldfish’s~♡ Lancaster City is the closest in terms of distance.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Lancaster City… I wonder what kind of place it is.
“So we’ll be traveling with Chloe for a while?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Nice!!! I’ll have to deal with less of her annoying comments for a while.
With genuine joy, I welcomed our new temporary companion, Chloe.
“Chloe, let’s get along well for the time being!”
“Ah… yes! I’ll try not to be a burden.”
“A burden? Don’t worry about that~!”
Just having you around will reduce the amount of annoying comments, so don’t worry about being a burden. It’s a blessing. I should be thanking you.
But at that time, I didn’t realize that the Saintess doesn’t mind revealing her true nature when she’s comfortable.
#
As we left the village, we only said goodbye to Oz, wishing him well, and departed Daisy Village.
We could’ve collected the reward, but since it was the hometown of this body, I wanted to do it for free. The Saintess didn’t object to my decision.
“On the way to Lancaster City, we’ll fight monsters like before.”
“…You’re doing that again?”
“We won’t be able to take requests for a while. To improve your pathetic skills, Hero, you need constant practice~♡”
She’s not wrong, but the situation’s a bit different now. Chloe’s here.
When I asked if it was okay, the Saintess said it was fine.
“Hero, you just need to protect her properly, right? You’re not some useless trash who can’t even do that, are you~♡”
Even with Chloe here, she’s still like this. It seems the Saintess doesn’t bother hiding her true nature when she’s around people she’s comfortable with… Damn.
“Hero, what are you doing?”
Chloe looked confused after hearing the Saintess’s words.
“Ah… you’ll see. It’s easier to understand by watching than by explaining.”
“??”
Seeing Chloe’s puzzled expression reminded me of my cousin’s nephew I used to take care of. The kid’s face overlapped with hers, and it was cute.
“…Hero, your gaze is weird. You’re not already planning to lay your dark hands on Chloe, are you?”
“What’s weird about my gaze…? You make it sound like I’m some pervert.”
“You’re not far from it, though~♡”
Haha, damn her.
After walking for about an hour, the Saintess looked toward the forest and said to me,
“Hero, today we’re going to hunt Lizardmen~.”
“Lizardmen?”
The lizard-like humanoid monsters, right?
“They’re humanoid monsters that look like lizards. They’re classified as low-level monsters, but they’re among the strongest of the low-level ones, so you can’t let your guard down.”
“I see.”
“But don’t get too scared~♡”
The Saintess left the main road and entered the forest. Chloe looked confused, but since I was used to it, I followed the Saintess with Chloe in tow.
“Wait here, Hero. I’ll be back.”
“…Okay.”
After the Saintess left, Chloe and I were left alone in the forest. An awkward atmosphere settled in. It’s only natural since we just met, but the problem was I had nothing to say.
“…The Saintess is from the Solaria Church, right?”
Thankfully, Chloe broke the ice first. I responded enthusiastically.
“That’s right. Despite how she acts, she’s the Saintess of the Solaria Church, haha.”
What kind of Saintess goes around cursing like that?
“I’m actually a follower of the Rudria Church.”
“Rudria… you mean the Goddess of Wind, right?”
“Yes. My family has always worshipped the Goddess Rudria, so I naturally followed. But being saved by the Saintess of Solaria… it’s a bit confusing. The one who saved me wasn’t the Goddess Rudria, but the Saintess, a servant of the Goddess Solaria.”
“…Hmm.”
I’m not really into religious talk. I’m not the type to believe in gods. But still…
One thing is for sure.
“Whether Chloe trusts anyone or not, it doesn’t matter if she’s grateful to the person who saved her. The goddess wouldn’t say anything about that. I don’t think you need to suddenly start worrying about faith over something like that.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
I must have said it well, right? I don’t really know much about this religious stuff…
“Kyaaa~♡”
At that moment, the Saint was running towards us from afar.
“…What is she carrying?”
The Saint, running hard, was dragging a wild boar leg with one hand. It was a wild boar that had just died, blood dripping from it.
“Hero~! The Lizardmen are chasing me, saying they’ll capture me and use me as a host~!!! Please save me~♡”
“Kieek! This crazy human! Give us our prey back!!!”
“If you don’t give it back, we’ll roast and eat you, kieek!!!”
…Why do they keep stealing food since last time? They say even dogs don’t bother you when you’re eating.
“Sigh.”
I drew the Holy Sword. I could see Chloe flinch at the sight.
Chloe, this is really light, so no need to be surprised…
The Saint ran up behind me as usual and hid behind my back.
“Hero, don’t just stand there like a dummy, show off your flea-like skills and defeat the Lizardmen~♡”
“…Alright. Flea Hero, moving out~!”
When I responded playfully, the Saint giggled.
Is it fun, you brat? Is it fun… sigh.
“Kieek! Human! Give us that wild boar back!”
“…Is wild boar meat tasty?”
“Why are you asking the obvious! It’s a bit tough if you just roast it, but with proper cooking, it’s delicious… why am I even explaining this, kieek!”
Then I’ll eat it.
“The wild boar is mine.”
“Kieek! There’s another crazy human here!!”
“We can’t reason with them, kieek! We have to kill them to get it back! Fight, brothers!!”
The Lizardmen the Saint brought were twelve in number. That’s quite a lot.
Plus, they all had spears, so their reach was longer than mine with the sword. I’ll have to keep that in mind during the fight.
“Hero~ If you’re so weak that you might lose, I’ll clean up after you, so don’t worry and fight~♡ It’s okay if you lose~♡”
“…I’m not going to lose!?”
This damn brat. She’s really getting on my nerves.
Plus, it’s not just the Saint here now, Chloe is here too. Chloe will be looking at me with the eyes of a normal person watching a hero.
If I can’t even beat some low-level monsters, I’ll lose face as a hero.
“Kieek! Attack!!”
The Lizardmen all charged at once. Seeing how well they cooperated, it seems they usually hunt like this.
Half of the Lizardmen stabbed at me from all sides. No wonder they’re considered the strongest among low-level monsters; their speed was much faster than Nols or forest wolves.
…But now I can see it.
Clang!
“Kiek!? The human dodged it!”
I learned something from fighting Trolls. You don’t need to aim for the monster’s weak spot right away. Gradually wearing them down is also a way to win.
Swish!
I stepped back and cut off the Lizardman’s spear handle. Since their spears had longer reach than my Holy Sword, I decided to disarm them first.
The six Lizardmen who tried to stab me lost their spear handles. The disarmed Lizardmen pulled out their claws and started thrashing around.
“Kieek!!”
The Lizardmen without weapons now had shorter reach than me. Cutting off their forelegs wasn’t too hard.
Splat!
Blood spurted into the air. Three Lizardmen lost their forelegs, and I quickly dodged the coordinated attacks of the others.
Clang!
A spear stabbed into my side. But the blade was stopped by my sturdy armor, and I wasn’t hurt.
“…Phew.”
If I hadn’t changed my equipment, I might have had a serious wound on my side.
Without stopping, I swung the Holy Sword. I beheaded the Lizardman who aimed for my side and dodged the incoming spear with a slight sidestep.
“Kiek! This human…!”
…They say they’re among the strongest low-level monsters. But they’re easier than I thought.
Maybe it’s because I fought a Troll last time, but their attacks seem much slower compared to that.
I cut down another Lizardman and immediately beheaded two more who charged at me without spears.
Swish!
“…Five left now?”
#
“…As expected of the Hero. Even with a difference in strength, fighting against multiple opponents is tough, but you handle the battle so calmly.”
Watching Abel fight, Chloe couldn’t help but admire him. And Estelle, watching Abel fight, unconsciously smiled with satisfaction.
‘Our Hero is really getting stronger quickly♥’
Already confident in Abel’s victory, Estelle was thinking about what to hunt next when Chloe asked.
“Hero Abel, you haven’t been a hero for long, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But you already seem so accustomed to fighting.”
“I’ve been training hard~.”
At the word “training,” Chloe blinked. Estelle pointed to Abel, who was still fighting, and said to Chloe.
“He’s been fighting like that without any blessings. Starting from weak monsters and gradually moving up. That’s why his skills have improved so much.”
“…That’s impressive dedication.”
Slash!
Abel’s Holy Sword cut down the last Lizardman. After the battle, Abel was covered in blood, but not a single drop was his own.
Without a single wound, Abel turned around and shouted to the Saint.
“Saint, did you see? I told you I’d win!”
Watching Abel speak confidently, Estelle couldn’t help but smile.
‘So cute♥’
“Hero~♡ It took you an hour to defeat the Lizardmen. Are you really getting self-satisfied over something like this~?”
“…An hour has passed?”
“Yes~♡ Looking at your speed, you still have a long way to go to get stronger~. Slowpoke♡ Weakling♡”
“…Sigh.”
Abel felt a bit disappointed at the thought of still having a long way to go. But it was clear that he had grown.
It’s not just about whipping; sometimes you need to give a carrot to keep the horse from getting tired. The Saint, with a gentle smile, said to Abel.
“But you’ve improved a lot, Hero. You’ve been working hard~♥”
Abel’s eyes widened slightly. He scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed by Estelle’s praise.
‘Seeing him so happy, it’s just too cute~♥’
Abel sheathed his Holy Sword and walked over to Estelle, asking again.
“…Did I really improve?”
“Yes~♡”
“…I see.”
Abel let out a deep sigh of relief. Seeing this, Estelle was slightly surprised. It showed that he had been worrying about his own strength.
“Hero♡”
“Yes?”
“You’re still a weakling now, but someday you’ll become stronger than me~♥”
Seeing Estelle’s teasing smile, Abel thought to himself.
‘…Is she making fun of me?’
