Chapter 20
Siwoo became a hero.
The goddess Aria appeared in his dream, gave him the holy sword, and asked him to defeat the Demon King and save humanity.
Siwoo felt hollow at a request no different from threatening him by holding humanity hostage, but he accepted because it meant he could be with Sophia.
The holy sword Siwoo received from Goddess Aria, the ‘Sword of the Goddess Aria,’ was an EX-rank artifact that helped the hero grow, could freely change its appearance, and could conceal its form at any time.
Moreover, the power inherent in the holy sword became the swordsmanship mentor Siwoo needed.
When Siwoo drew the holy sword and trained as usual, even the sensation of cutting through the air felt different. His posture corrected itself naturally, and he instinctively learned when and how to exert his strength.
‘So this is… the holy sword.’
While Siwoo was getting accustomed to the holy sword’s power, Sophia and Deokbae came looking for him.
“So you really are the hero? Oh, is that the holy sword?”
“Hehe… Siwoo! They say I’m a saintess!”
Siwoo sensed the same power in them as in himself. Then he realized that it was the divine power bestowed by the goddess Aria.
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“I’m sorry, Sophia.”
After they talked, just before they left for the tavern to meet Sophia’s parents, Siwoo hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and apologized to Sophia.
“…Marta’s guards?”
Siwoo confessed that Marta would be recruiting guards in a few months and that he had been training to apply for a position there.
He said that, as someone from a rural village with no backing, he needed overwhelming skill to qualify for the city guard. He apologized for not paying enough attention to Sophia and asked her forgiveness.
“Hey, if that’s what it was, you could’ve at least told us. Then we could’ve cheered you on—or at least not gotten in your way.”
At Deokbae’s incredulous words, Siwoo had nothing to say.
He was about to make the excuse that he hadn’t been able to bring himself to say anything because he couldn’t bear to see Sophia disappointed if he failed, but instead, he simply bowed his head in silence.
Even he felt ashamed of how weak that sounded.
“So that’s what it was… But it’s okay!”
Though Sophia said it was okay with her usual bright expression, Siwoo’s chest felt tight.
He knew how much Sophia had suffered while he was absorbed in his training.
“So, um… Sophia, there’s something I want to talk to you about, just the two of us…”
Feeling that he couldn’t let things continue this way, Siwoo tried to tell her something else he had been hiding.
That he had intended to propose to Sophia after passing the test.
But Deokbae noticed what he was about to do, sent Sophia to the tavern first, and then advised Siwoo.
“Hey, you moron! Are you seriously planning to confess right here? Huh? You want to get rejected on the spot?”
“S-Sophia and I love each other!”
“Hey! Who in this village doesn’t know that? But now isn’t the time. Do you even know who Sophia’s angry with right now? And instead of thinking about making it up to her, you’re going to confess first?”
“……”
“You’re going to make her lose what little affection she has left for you, moron.”
Siwoo couldn’t deny it.
Deokbae comforted him, saying he would help during the journey, so for now, Siwoo should focus on soothing Sophia.
“Thank you, hyung.”
“If you’re grateful, then treat her well from now on, moron.”
After finishing their conversation, the two walked to the tavern, where Sophia’s parents, the village chief, and the other village elders were waiting for them.
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The goddess hadn’t appeared only in the dreams of the three of them.
Apparently, she had appeared in the dreams of every villager and told them that the three of them had to work for humanity, so they should help them leave on their journey without any worries.
Following the goddess’s words, the villagers contributed money to help the three of them, prepared travel funds, various medicines, and emergency rations, and waited for them.
The village chief slapped Siwoo on the back and cheered him on, saying that he could do it, while Sophia’s parents burst into tears, hugged Sophia, and told her not to get hurt and to stay healthy.
Deokbae awkwardly watched them, sighed, and opened his mouth.
“We’re not leaving just yet, you know?”
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A month had already passed since Siwoo awakened as a hero, Sophia as a saintess, and I as a paladin.
Siwoo wanted to leave immediately, but I refused. When I told him that we needed at least some preparation, if only for Sophia’s sake, he readily agreed.
That “minimum” preparation turned out to involve quite a lot.
First, it was important to know the limits of the powers we had received from the goddess.
We tested everything in advance, one thing at a time: how many times Sophia could use ‘Heal,’ how powerful the blinding effect of my shield was, and how far Siwoo’s holy sword could transform.
We also had to get used to cutting flesh and seeing blood.
We would have to kill monsters in the future, and there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t have to do the same to people, so we helped out at a slaughterhouse to steel our minds.
We also had to memorize the ingredients and medicinal herbs that could be found in the wild.
‘Heal’ was not invincible, and Sophia was not a goddess. Since we had no idea how or when circumstances might change, this information was practically essential.
Besides that, we made various preparations, such as listening to the village watch captain talk about other villages and cities, studying the route to Marta with a map, and training with Siwoo.
Of course, I also spent happy time with Sophia, succumbed to Auntie’s seduction, got caught, and had apology sex.
In any case, by the time we had finished all our preparations, a month had passed, and the day our adventure would begin had finally drawn near.
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“Deokbae! Take good care of Sophie!”
“Don’t worry, sir! I’ll take good care of Sophie, so you should worry about the tavern after I’m gone more than about Sophie.”
“Aaaaaah…!”
It was called a tavern, but most of the customers actually came to eat my cooking, so I figured it would take quite a hit once I left.
Still, it hadn’t been on the verge of collapse before I came, so they would manage somehow.
“Deokbae… I’ll be so sad when you leave like this…”
Auntie hugged me with a sultry expression and groped my buttocks.
Just as I was trying to remove Auntie’s hand before Sophia caught us, Auntie whispered in my ear.
“I’ll raise your child to be healthy, so you have to come back alive, okay?”
“…Huh?”
“Hehe… I wonder if it’ll be a girl or a boy?”
“……”
I felt like I had heard something, but I couldn’t quite remember what.
By the time I came to my senses, we had already finished saying our goodbyes and left the village together.
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Our destination was Marta, where Siwoo had planned to become a guard.
We planned to register as adventurers there, grow stronger, and then leave for a larger city.
Since the genre was ‘classic hero story,’ I figured we would follow the formula: hunt goblins or orcs near the city, then perhaps defeat a mid-boss like an ogre or troll before moving on.
It took roughly a week to walk from Minamo to Marta, but we planned to stop briefly at Doje Village along the way, so the journey would take about two extra days.
The village chief of Doje Village was the one who had told Siwoo about the guards in Marta. Since he said he knew the city well, we planned to get some information before entering it.
“Oppaaa… How much longer do we have to walk?”
“You should assume we’re walking all day today.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“You should assume we’re walking all day tomorrow too.”
“Uuuuuugh… I’m tiredd!”
“…Sorry, Sophie. I’m sorry, Deokbae hyung.”
Just an hour ago, we had been riding in a carriage.
The village chief had given us a small carriage so we could travel comfortably to Marta, and Siwoo and I had taken turns driving it.
But when it was Siwoo’s turn, his lack of driving experience caused an accident, and the carriage was destroyed.
I had been in the middle of kissing Sophia when we heard a crash, and the carriage tipped onto its side.
After hurriedly pulling my hand out of her pussy and helping Sophia out of the carriage, we found that the horses had already run away.
Since then, we had been walking endlessly like this.
“Can’t be helped. Here, climb on my back.”
“Hmph…! You mean it? Hehe.”
When I offered my back to the constantly whining Sophia, she happily laughed and climbed onto it.
I felt Sophia’s soft breasts against my back. She deliberately pressed herself closer to me and rubbed her breasts against me.
“…I caused the accident, so I’ll carry her instead.”
“No. What if a monster appears? I’m fine, so lead the way.”
“That’s right! Even Siwoo can’t fight while carrying me.”
“…All right.”
Rejected by Sophia, Siwoo resumed walking with a slightly dispirited air. I followed behind him, massaging Sophia’s buttocks as she rode on my back.
Sophia secretly licked my ear while Siwoo wasn’t looking, then kissed my neck.
Very slowly
Quietly, so no sound would be made
Softly, yet wetly
The sensation of her tongue caressing me nearly made me hard.
“Haa… lick…”
Sophia also seemed aroused, panting softly, but fortunately, Siwoo didn’t notice.
After walking for another two hours, the sun went down, and darkness fell.
We prepared our campsite and made do with simple dry rations.
Sophia pestered me because she wanted to eat the packed lunches in our inventory, but I thought it would be a waste to take them out now.
Instead of the packed lunches, I took out the tent and set it up.
When the tent appeared with the push of a single button, Sophia and Siwoo marveled at how amazing the goddess was.
The tent was designed for three or four people, so all three of us fit inside without much trouble.
Siwoo must have been tired from worrying about the carriage, because he fell asleep as soon as he entered the tent.
…No, actually, I had put sleeping pills in Siwoo’s food.
No matter how much of a hero he was, he couldn’t beat modern chemistry.
When Siwoo didn’t wake up no matter how many times I called him, Sophia began to surreptitiously take off her clothes.
Then she stripped naked, lay down beside Siwoo, and spread her legs.
Sophia boldly placed one leg on top of Siwoo.