Episode 43
“Pleasure?”
“Yes.”
“That pleasure?”
“…What are you thinking, Hero?”
“…Huh?”
No?
The Saintess stared at me quietly, then smiled her signature smile, her eyes curving.
“You pervert~♡ Your thoughts are so wicked♡”
“…Ahem.”
…I have nothing to say.
“…So, does it include all kinds of joy?”
“Yes, even wholesome joy.”
So, depending on the user’s personality, the sword can either become a demonic blade or a holy sword.
“That’s why there’s no penalty for killing someone with the Holy Sword of Ecstasy. Some people find pleasure in killing others.”
…That’s just a psycho.
“…Are you saying Levius the Hero is like that?”
“I’m not saying Levius the Hero is like that. I’m just explaining why a hero wielding the Holy Sword of Ecstasy can kill people.”
Still, bringing this up means there’s some level of caution needed, especially since he’s the type who doesn’t even treat commoners as human.
He could kill a commoner and say, “I didn’t kill a person.”
…Thinking about it, he really does seem like a psycho.
“First, let’s agree to bring the Saintess of the Rudria Church/Order back if we find her, and then head to the Vesta Kingdom.”
“Shouldn’t we find her first?”
“No. It’s fine to look for her along the way, but we can’t deviate from our path. As I said, we don’t have much time.”
“Hmm…”
“Besides, the place where she disappeared is the Vesta Kingdom.”
“…Oh, really?”
Then we should hurry.
The Saintess tilted her head slightly and asked.
“Are you concerned about that Saintess?”
“Someone disappeared. Isn’t that natural?”
“…Hehe♡ That’s how you think, Hero.”
What, is there another problem?
“Am I being too nosy?”
“No~♡ I just think you’re admirable.”
“…What did I do?”
It’s natural to be concerned when someone disappears.
“There are plenty of people who can’t even do what’s natural.”
…Not wrong.
“Then we’re heading straight to the border?”
“Yes, we should. It’ll take about a week from Athene to reach the border area.”
“Didn’t you say earlier it would take a week to reach Poclum?”
“Is your head just for decoration~♡ That was obviously by carriage~♡ We’re walking to train you, Hero. You’ll have to walk hard for two weeks until the Regular Reporting Meeting~♡”
“…Okay.”
…Here comes the suffering again.
#
*Crackle, crackle.*
It was a night where the campfire scattered small embers around as it burned.
“…Saintess.”
“Yes~♡”
“What on earth is this!?”
“Shh~! You’ll wake the monsters~♡”
And that campfire wasn’t lit by us. The owners of the campfire were giants sleeping sprawled around, much larger than me. Though they were smaller than Ogres and a bit larger than Orcs.
These monsters were called Goliaths. They were mid-level monsters with skin as hard as stone and large builds. They’re said to be a bit stronger than Orcs.
What was surprising was that among giant-type monsters like Ogres, Orcs, and Trolls, they looked the most human-like. Except for their incredibly hard, grayish skin, they could easily be mistaken for just very large humans.
Despite their appearance, they were clearly monsters, and the Saintess explained that they were the type that caused a lot of harm to humans.
So, what are we doing?
“Now, Hero♡ I’ll wake those monsters up, and you take care of them, okay~♡”
Hunting monsters in the middle of the night…
When I asked why we had to do it at night, the Saintess said Goliaths have poor night vision. She said this time we’d fight by exploiting the monsters’ weaknesses.
That was good for me, but there were quite a few Goliaths. Four of them…
“Then I’ll be back~♡”
The Saintess walked quietly and took something out.
Is that… a bucket and a stick?
The Saintess raised the stick high and struck the bucket.
*Clang! Clang! Clangclangclang! Clang!! Clang!!!*
…Crazy woman.
Yes. The Saintess was striking the bucket to make loud noises. She wasn’t playing a gong, but she was hitting it with gusto.
At first, the Goliaths tried to ignore the noise and continue sleeping, but they eventually woke up, roaring.
“Which lunatic is making noise while we’re sleeping!?”
Forced wake-up call.
“Hehe♡ Took you long enough to wake up, you slowpokes♡”
As the Saintess giggled and laughed at the Goliaths, they looked at her with a bit of disbelief.
“…Was that noise your doing?”
“Do you really need to ask? You’re so dumb♡ Rockhead♡”
“…You crazy woman!”
She’s always been a bit crazy.
The Goliaths grabbed their giant double-edged axes and started chasing the Saintess, who ran away laughing.
…It’s like a veteran player trolling a newbie.
The Saintess had already slipped out of the Goliaths’ sight and hid in the bushes. Now it’s my turn.
The Goliaths were looking around, fuming.
“Where did that crazy woman run off to!?”
Goliaths have poor night vision. As long as I don’t make loud noises, a sneak attack should be possible now that we’re away from the campfire.
I tilted the Holy Sword to the side and dashed forward. Hearing my footsteps, the Goliaths flinched and looked around.
“Is it her!?”
“No! The footsteps are heavier! It’s another human!”
“I can’t tell where it’s coming from! Let’s get back to the campfire first….”
*Slash!*
“Gah!”
“Modrog!!!”
No matter how tough their skin is, it’s meaningless against the Holy Sword. Against monsters, it’s sharper than any other blade.
“There’s a swordsman! There’s a swordsman!”
The Goliaths, being somewhat intelligent, realized their enemy was using a sword as soon as they saw their companion’s wound. That’s better than Ogres or Trolls.
But realizing that didn’t improve their night vision. The Goliaths hurriedly tried to return to the campfire.
“I won’t let you do that.”
I dashed forward again and slashed at one Goliath’s ankle. *Splat!* Blood spurted as the giant’s massive body tilted.
“Gah! My, my ankle…!”
“Modrog!!!”
…Didn’t they call that guy Modrog earlier?
“Get back to the campfire first! We’ll all die at this rate!”
“Y-yeah!”
The remaining two Goliaths ended up approaching the campfire. Well, guess I’ll have to deal with these two now.
Before taking them on, let’s finish this one first.
I swung the Holy Sword and stabbed it deep into the Goliath’s neck. With a single groan, the Goliath’s breath stopped.
…What about those guys?
The Saint definitely told me to exploit their weaknesses in battle. But if they’re standing near the campfire like that, can I even use their poor night vision to my advantage?
The area around the campfire is so bright…
“……Ah.”
I think I know what to do.
#
After Morgog and Mordog died, the remaining two Goliaths were on high alert, axes still in hand.
They had just witnessed their comrades being taken down in an instant. Even though they were near the well-lit campfire, they couldn’t let their guard down.
“Morgog! Where did the enemy go?”
“I don’t know. I don’t hear any footsteps, so they’re either not moving or walking very quietly…”
“…Morgog! Look behind you!”
Morgog quickly turned around, only to see a sharp white sword right in front of his eyes.
*Stab!*
“Gah!”
Morgog, who had been stabbed in the right eye, swung his axe wildly, but the swordsman moved the blade to the side, tearing through Morgog’s eye socket before retreating.
“Ugh! Morzog! Where’s the enemy…?”
“M-Morgog… it’s…”
Morzog sounded troubled. The enemy had revealed themselves, but Morgog didn’t understand why Morzog wasn’t telling him their location.
“Speak up!”
“…I can’t see them.”
“What!?”
“The enemy hid in the darkness!”
Morgog scanned the area with his remaining left eye. As Morzog said, there was no sign of the enemy—at least not within the light of the campfire.
“…W-what is this…?”
Morgog realized it now. They were being manipulated by the campfire’s light. The enemy was attacking from the darkness and retreating back into it.
For other races, this might have been manageable, but Goliaths, with their notoriously poor night vision, had no way to counter this.
For the Goliaths, this situation was nothing short of a horror game—a life-threatening horror game.
“…Morzog! Watch the darkness! They could jump out from anywhere!”
“G-got it!”
Morgog covered the blood flowing from his right eye with his hand and looked around with his remaining eye. But a Goliath’s night vision was far inferior to a human’s. Staring into the darkness, he couldn’t see a thing.
*Rustle.*
“Over there!”
“Morzog! Wait…!”
Morzog charged toward the rustling sound with his axe, but as he got closer to the darkness, a sword pierced his side from the shadows.
“Morzog!!!”
Morgog, enraged, rushed toward the man who had stabbed Morzog, but the man pulled out his sword and disappeared back into the darkness.
“…T-this is insane…!”
Three of his comrades had fallen without even putting up a proper fight. Feeling the cunning of his opponent, Morgog stared into the thick darkness with fearful eyes.
But staring into the darkness didn’t give him any answers. Only fear continued to grow in his heart.
“……I-I have to run.”
Morgog made up his mind. Goliaths were large, and their strides were wide. If he ran for it, a human wouldn’t be able to catch up easily.
But how was he supposed to navigate through this darkness? They were in the middle of a forest, not on a well-paved road. Walking blindly into the unknown was madness.
“…Damn it… what do I do…?”
That’s when he heard something cutting through the air. Morgog swung his axe in a panic, hitting something hard.
“…A rock…?”
What his axe had struck was a small pebble. Morgog was still processing what had happened when he quickly turned around—only to be met with a gleaming white Holy Sword.
*Stab!!!*
This time, the Holy Sword pierced straight through Morgog’s head. Blood dripped down the blade as the last Goliath collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
“…Phew.”
Abel, the man who had wiped the sweat from his brow, raised the Holy Sword high and waved it.
“It’s over, Saint!”
Estelle, amused by the adorable sight, walked over to Abel.
“Really~♡ You’re so slow. I was almost bored to sleep~♡ You’re still such a rookie♡”
“…What do I have to defeat to not be a rookie?”
“Hmm~♡ You should at least be able to take down an Ogre without a blessing~?”
Abel looked at her with a “Is that even possible?” expression. Estelle continued.
“Hero Elfride can take down a Wyvern without a blessing.”
“…A Wyvern?”
A Wyvern. A reptilian monster resembling a dragon. Often called a “flying dragon,” it lacks forelegs and is much smaller than a dragon.
But despite its size, it’s one of the strongest high-tier monsters, rivaling even dragons.
As Estelle explained, Abel thought to himself.
‘Sounds like the Wyverns I know.’
“How much stronger is a Wyvern compared to an Ogre?”
“An Ogre is about average among high-tier monsters. A Wyvern is top-tier. Can you imagine how strong that is?”
“…I can’t even imagine.”
Estelle giggled at Abel’s response.
“Let me explain it in a way our silly hero can understand~♡”
“…Okay.”
“You’d need about four Ogres to match one Wyvern.”
Abel looked slightly shocked. Estelle couldn’t help but smile at his pure reaction.
‘Ah, so cute♥’
He looked like a child learning something for the first time. Estelle leaned in closer and whispered to Abel.
“But hey, at least you’re not total trash anymore, Hero♡”
