Hunger

Laura Crown was lost in thought.

Until a moment ago, Aiden Starfive had seemed like a demon incarnate.

Even when Lydia Straw dragged her over, people had been shouting “traitor” and his name back and forth.

As if fleeing from the traitor—and from Aiden Starfive.

But,

"..."

Laura recalled what Lydia Straw had said.

Not going outside for the sake of the people.

It was the sort of mindset only someone in a lofty position could have.

Had all of this been for the sake of saving so many people?

If so, was that why this man had gone ahead, radiating such a menacing aura—

As Laura thought, Aiden Starfive tossed something to her.

A coin bounced with a clink before landing in her hand.

Then, without another word, he continued walking.

Just as she'd asked, Aiden Starfive had tossed her a coin.

Maybe he really was a good guy after all?

Thinking that, Laura Crown followed him.

"Normally, hiring me costs about 30 gold..."

"..."

The moment she said that, Aiden Starfive glared at Laura, radiating a menacing aura.

"...but I'll let it slide this time."

Maybe he wasn't such a good guy after all.

*

What? I was going to pay her, so why'd she suddenly back down?

Did I look like a beggar who didn't even have ten gold?

Well, it meant I got to save my money, so I didn't mind.

As befitted a scion of a noble house, it turned out I had quite a bit of money on hand.

Apparently, ordinary commoners spent about five to seven gold a day.

Come to think of it, she was confidently asking for a week's worth of a commoner's expenses? She had no conscience at all.

As I walked along, thinking that,

"..."

A foul smell stabbed at my nostrils.

As if on cue, all three of us covered our noses.

No, I couldn't cover mine.

[Intimidation is active!]

[Those under Intimidation don't cover their noses just because something smells!]

You've got to be kidding me.

Then at least make me immune to the smell. What kind of nonsense is this?

Thanks to that, the other two covered their noses, while I alone marched forward with a confident expression, silently fighting the urge to retch.

"With a smell this bad, I guess we came to the right place."

"L-Lord Aiden Starfive really is something else. You're perfectly fine!"

Laura murmured calmly, while Lydia gazed at me with shining eyes.

No, I'm about to lose it too. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

With every step, the smell grew worse. Now everyone seemed too disgusted to speak, and we kept silent.

"We're almost there."

Laura Crown murmured, fiddling with a coin.

"Then I'll support you too."

Lydia's eyes widened as she raised her hand, a faint glow spilling from it.

Uh, no. Don't.

"You, woman."

"Yes?"

"Don't use holy power carelessly."

"Ah, yes...!"

At my words, Lydia Straw hurriedly extinguished her holy power.

Lydia Straw mustn't use holy power.

I thought about her.

By the time the protagonist arrived, Lydia Straw had already been in a very precarious state of mind.

Sometimes she smiled like a saint and helped others; other times she acted like a demon, indifferent to other people's feelings.

Unless you did something special in the game, she usually either flew into a rage or grew depressed.

As I remembered it, she only showed this kind, gentle side when she was in a very good mood or mentally stable.

Anyway, I had a reason for telling Lydia not to use holy power.

Lydia Straw's negative trait was <Intense Emotions>.

In other words, whenever she used an ability, her emotions would sometimes flare up and she'd do something crazy.

The problem was that it could happen at any time.

If she suddenly got depressed, she might refuse treatment. If she got too happy, she might heal someone who didn't even need it.

In the end, I had to manage her mood. If that were easy, people wouldn't call Lydia a crazy bitch.

She was a classic high-risk, high-reward character.

The risk was that the game could go completely off the rails.

What on earth had happened in the year after Aiden died?

No. Why should I worry about the bomb?

I should be worrying about the bomb I'm carrying around.

"You are not to use holy power. Ever."

"I'm fine—"

"Shut up."

I cut off whatever else Lydia was about to say.

"Don't act up when you can't even manage yourself."

Lydia opened her mouth, then closed it again before slowly nodding.

"...Yes, understood."

Good. One bomb contained.

I turned my gaze to Laura.

She was looking at me with a strange expression.

What now?

-Rumble...

The floor shook with a sound like thunder.

Thunder and a shaking floor?

My mind raced.

If this place was a stomach, there was only one thing that sound could be.

"Everyone, get out of the way—"

Before I could finish,

-Krrrrash!

A torrent of liquid came rushing from ahead at tremendous speed.

Stomach acid.

"Ghk...!"

Laura pulled out her coins, then dropped them, while Lydia stared at the wave of stomach acid in front of us.

I need to use Swift Slash right now—

As I put weight on my ankle, a dull pain throbbed through it, and a status window appeared.

[Debuff: Sprain]

[Your ankle is bothering you. Techniques that use your legs and ankles will put additional strain on it.]

Hadn't the injury from the last training exercise healed yet?

Even after drinking a potion in my room, the debuff had only eased this much. And now this...

Would I make it in time?

As I thought that,

"Ngh...!"

A white barrier spread out in front of us,

-Boom!

and the enormous wave of stomach acid slammed into it.

"I-I'm all right!"

Lydia Straw stood in front of us, eyes wide and both hands outstretched.

"I can... hold it...!"

Her eyes began turning pitch-black.

It was proof that she was using her Stigma.

After I'd told her so firmly not to use holy power, too.

"Ugh... ...H-hic...!"

Then, as a backlash, Lydia suddenly started to cry.

Using her Stigma was making her emotions run high.

Right now... sadness?

No, this wasn't the time for that.

I stepped forward, quickly gathering my thoughts.

Swift Slash wouldn't work.

Then...

"Move."

"Yes?"

I raised my sword.

Cursed Swordsmanship didn't have many skills.

Instead, they were simple. All I had to do was put some strength into them.

The result was devastatingly powerful, and my body took a bit of a beating.

I took a deep breath.

A simple stance, sword raised over my head.

A stance for one thing only: bringing the blade down.

"Drop the barrier when I give the signal."

"Hic, b-but..."

"Are you talking back?"

"N-no..."

Lydia nodded and raised her hands.

I took another deep breath.

All right.

"Drop it."

"Yes!"

Her eyes returned to normal, and the barrier vanished. The wave of stomach acid, as tall as a house, began rushing toward us again.

Cold sweat ran down my face.

I was scared to death.

I wanted to use Empowered Strike, but I couldn't right now.

But my body faced the wave head-on without so much as a tremor, as if the threat in front of me meant nothing at all.

-Shaaah!

Watching the stomach acid pour toward me, I brought my sword down from above.

If Swift Slash was a technique that used the strength of my legs, this one used the strength of my upper body.

A technique that prioritized power over speed.

Iaijutsu.

With a light sound, my sword sliced through the air,

-Krrrsh!

a sharp, tearing whoosh rang out,

-Bang!

and the wave of stomach acid split in two.

*

It was a miracle.

That was the only way Lydia Straw could describe it.

She knew that.

They said powerful holy knights could cut through waves and waterfalls with their swords.

The holy knight she'd seen had smashed a boulder with a single swing of his mace.

But she'd never heard of a mere student cutting through a wave or waterfall with a single strike.

-Shaaah!

The split wave of stomach acid swept past the three of them.

Before long, a foul smell filled the air.

But no one had been hurt.

She raised her gaze to look at the man.

"...Hoo."

He took a deep breath and lowered his arm,

"..."

then pressed his lips together slightly.

He looked as if he were in pain—or perhaps dissatisfied with what he'd done.

Lydia instinctively ran over to heal him,

"Don't come."

but his low voice stopped her in her tracks.

Then the man pulled out a potion and drank it.

Was her holy power not enough?

As Lydia was about to look down at her own hand,

"W-What is this..."

Laura Crown's bewildered voice sounded behind her as Lydia wondered.

When Lydia was little, the fairy tales her parents read to her were always much the same.

Someone who always appeared to save people when the world was in danger.

Sometimes a knight, sometimes a priest, sometimes a thief.

But they were always called the same thing by everyone else.

"...A hero."

Lydia Straw murmured in a small voice.

*

A status window appeared before my eyes:

[Debuff: Muscle Damage gained.]

[Muscle Damage: Your muscles are injured. Proper treatment is required. Continuing to move while ignoring the injury may cause permanent damage, so please be careful.]

I frowned, clutching my aching arm.

I couldn't heal it with holy power either. This was driving me insane.

With a trembling arm, I barely managed to lift the potion and pour it into my mouth.

[Debuff: Muscle Damage is slightly alleviated.]

The potion didn't do much, either.

Did Cursed Swordsmanship have this kind of effect in the game?

No, that wasn't the important thing right now.

I tossed the empty potion bottle aside and looked around.

I had to find a high-grade potion. There was hardly any stock available, though.

Environmental bosses always unleashed their strongest attack when a threat got closest to them.

In other words, our approach just now had made the environmental boss feel most threatened.

And.

"..."

-Thump, thump!

Right in front of me, I found a heart pulsing away.

Beside it lay a group of students.

Had they been dragged here?

I checked their condition out of the corner of my eye.

Their clothes were somewhat melted, and they had burn marks all over from the stomach acid, but they were all still alive.

<I'm hungry... I'm hungry...>

<Mom, I'm hungry...>

The heart kept babbling incessantly.

[Hunger strikes!]

[But you endured it with your formidable mental fortitude!]

[An even greater hunger strikes!]

[But you endured it with your formidable mental fortitude!]

[A hunger beyond human endurance strikes!]

[But you endured it with your formidable mental fortitude!]

"...Found it."

I drew my sword and spoke.

This was what I'd been saving Empowered Strike for.

For a moment, I thought I felt the heart tremble.