Chapter 170
The story continues off the page
The Dare in the Back Room
Two academy girls, one lethal measure, and your slate paying for it
It wasn't difficult to procure the wood needed to repair the bridge.
With Shabel swinging her spear and Leon snapping his fingers a few times, enough lumber to repair the bridge and then some was piled up.
The repair work was much the same.
Using Leon's deranged swordsmanship, born from his belief that trees were swords, they could install the supports without entering the water.
After that, a carpenter among the passersby took charge of the work.
Following his instructions, the people laid timber across the pillars and secured it tightly with ropes and nails.
Thanks to that, the repairs progressed much faster than expected.
“Amazing. At this rate, we can finish today.”
“Damn, does even the Hero Party build bridges well…?”
The people couldn't contain their admiration at the astonishing speed of the work.
If they continued like this, it seemed they could repair the bridge before sunset.
-Boom.
That was when the ground suddenly shook.
The people working on the bridge hurriedly regained their balance.
“…What was that?”
At first, they thought a sudden surge in the current had caused it.
But Leon sensed an ominous presence beneath the surface.
“Hero.”
“Yes.”
“About why the bridge broke. They still haven't figured that out, have they?”
“From what I've heard, the bridge was built a long time ago. I suppose it couldn't withstand the current because it had grown old.”
“From where I'm standing, I think it's not because of its age, but because of that.”
“That?”
Leon pointed at a certain spot with his finger.
Shabel's gaze followed Leon's finger toward the middle of the river.
“……?”
Shabel stared blankly at the river.
Ripples spread across the peaceful surface, which soon began bubbling and boiling.
Only then did Shabel notice its presence as well.
“Everyone, get off the bridge!”
Shabel cried out urgently.
Not knowing what was happening, the people scrambled off the bridge.
The moment they reached the bank, a shadow spread across the surface of the water.
It grew larger and larger, until the middle of the river burst upward as though it had exploded.
-KABOOM!
The bridge they'd gone to so much trouble to repair was destroyed in an instant. Wooden fragments flew in every direction.
Emerging amid an enormous splash was a gigantic serpent.
It was so huge that one could mistake it for a dragon. It was the River Serpent, lord of the river.
“It's a monster!”
“Everyone, run!”
Overwhelmed by the River Serpent, the people threw down their tools and scattered in every direction.
The scene was filled with fear and screams, becoming a madhouse in an instant.
“Everyone, it's all right. We're here, so don't panic.”
Calming everyone, Shabel stepped forward with her spear in hand.
She stared intently at the River Serpent glaring at them.
“So that was what broke the bridge.”
Who would have thought a magical beast that enormous had been hiding in the river?
If they didn't deal with it here, not only would rebuilding the bridge be impossible, but the people would also remain in danger.
“Sir Esca, Ash. Evacuate the people to safety. Morian and Simon, I need your support.”
Shabel issued her orders with practiced skill.
Following her instructions, the Hero Party moved as one.
After all, these five had been working together for far more than a day or two.
Though each of them had their little flaws in everyday life, their individual abilities were more than sufficient for the Hero Party.
‘Come to think of it, there's one more member now.’
What could that person be doing in this situation? Shabel subtly glanced behind her.
“Wow, go, Hero!”
Right beside Shabel,
Leon was enthusiastically waving two branches, one in each hand.
Shabel blinked blankly at his bizarre behavior.
“……What are you doing?”
“I'd love to help you, but since someone won't let me fight, this is all I can do.”
Leon was openly mocking the no-fighting order Shabel had given him earlier.
In the past, Shabel would have been drawn into his provocation.
Because she was so rigid by nature, she often exhausted herself trying to rebut every bit of his wordplay.
But during the short time she'd spent with Leon, Shabel had developed some immunity as well.
“I never asked you to help, and I don't intend to, so stop saying strange things and stay where you are.”
“I am staying where I am.”
“I mean keep your mouth still, your mouth!”
But it seemed her immunity still wasn't strong enough to let everything slide completely.
Shabel finally lost her patience and shouted.
-GRAAAAAH!
While the two of them were bickering, the River Serpent let out a roar.
Its enormous body surged upward, cutting through the current.
When it swung its head once, the river surged like a wave and flooded the riverbank.
It looked ready to swallow everything around it in one gulp.
-Wooooong.
The black spear in Shabel's hand, Requiem, let out a strange, resonant hum.
The wind began to gather.
A soft emerald glow wrapped around the spear.
In that state, she swung the spear.
-KRAAAASH!
The wind wrapped around the spear burst out all at once.
The river came to an abrupt stop, as though it had struck an invisible wall.
A raging gale slammed into the tidal wave head-on, pushed it back against the current, and finally scattered it into pieces.
“Ooh!”
“As expected of the Hero!”
The people who had been trembling in terror moments earlier erupted into cheers as though nothing had happened.
‘That weapon really is cheating.’
Leon's gaze was fixed on Shabel's spear.
Breta Kingdom's national treasure, Requiem.
It was a magical spear imbued with mysterious power.
When it awakens upon meeting its true master, it grants the user the ‘Blessing of the Wind.’
It allows the user to freely wield the power of the wind.
That was why Shabel could subjugate Rahav.
The Blessing of the Wind made her immune to Rahav's miasma and allowed her to fly to some extent.
Shabel pulled the spear back.
The air around her twisted violently. The atmosphere was sucked toward the spearhead.
The wind that gathered there soon began spinning in a fierce, spiral vortex.
-Keeeeing!
A piercing sound tore at their eardrums.
The violently rotating storm grew sharper and sharper, like a blade, as it continued to compress.
The River Serpent must have sensed the instinctive threat as well, because it twisted its massive body and hurriedly tried to hide beneath the surface.
But Shabel was faster.
She leaned her upper body back slightly, sprang forward in one motion, and hurled the spear.
-Fwoosh!
A green flash tore through the air.
It pierced the River Serpent's torso almost simultaneously with its attempt to flee.
At the spot where the spear had passed through,
the compressed spiral backwash began rotating a beat later.
-SHRRAAAK!
A raging razor wind.
It mercilessly shredded the River Serpent's body. Scales and blood scattered in every direction.
After writhing this way and that like it was dancing, the creature collapsed into the river.
Its corpse was no longer recognizable. Bright red blood flowed away with the current.
-Whizz!
The spear that had flown through the River Serpent returned and settled neatly into its owner's hand.
Having defeated the monster without exerting much effort, Shabel turned around.
The people were staring at her with blank expressions.
As if to reassure them, Shabel gave them a faint smile.
“It's over. You can rest easy now.”
After a brief silence,
the people who had been holding their breath all erupted into cheers.
“Hooray! The Hero defeated the monster!”
“As expected of the Hero!”
Relief and excitement filled the faces that had been marred by fear.
The eyes of those who had personally witnessed the Hero's might, which they had previously heard about only through rumors, were filled with profound awe.
Shabel gave an awkward smile beneath those burdensome gazes.
“Wow, our world's most beautiful Hero! I knew you could do it!”
But the moment she heard the commotion beside her, the smile vanished from Shabel's face.
Leon was enthusiastically waving his branches. For some reason, several companions had joined him.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“I'm praising the Hero's great achievement.”
“It's embarrassing, so stop. You're making people stare.”
“What's there to be embarrassed about? It's not as though I said anything untrue.”
Leon turned his gaze toward the people.
“Everyone, isn't the Hero beautiful?”
“She's incredibly beautiful.”
“She's strong and beautiful too. That's our Hero.”
The people nodded sincerely, one after another.
Shabel's exceptional beauty was an undeniable fact wherever one went on the continent.
On top of that, she had just displayed the might to defeat a monster, making the sight truly overwhelming.
At some point, the atmosphere had turned into a gathering devoted to praising the Hero.
“……”
Shabel's face turned bright red.
Far from feeling pleased, she was simply embarrassed. She felt like digging a hole and hiding in it immediately.
“You……”
She glared at Leon through gritted teeth.
He was a shameless slacker whenever he had the chance, yet he was always so enthusiastic when it came to teasing her.
He was obviously protesting being brought along by force.
‘Did I bring him here for nothing?’
For a moment, Shabel regretted bringing Leon, but—
‘No. I can't let a man like this go free. As the Hero, this is something I have to handle.’
For the sake of world peace, she had to endure this much suffering.
Having barely held herself together with the sense of duty she'd instilled in herself, Shabel cleared her throat loudly.
Looking around, she saw that the situation was a disaster.
They had defeated the monster, but the bridge they'd painstakingly repaired was now in even worse shape than before because of the battle.
Their original goal of repairing the bridge had been pushed back to square one—or even worse.
“Everyone, the danger is gone, so let's resume work. If we don't hurry, it'll be sunset.”
“Understood!”
The people who had been murmuring among themselves looked around and began picking up the tools scattered on the ground.
Shabel approached Leon and shot him a fierce glare.
She jerked her chin.
“Go get them. Wood.”
“My arms hurt from cheering so hard. Can't I rest a little?”
“……”
“You're awfully prickly.”
Leon grumbled and casually waved a hand toward the nearby forest.
As though even snapping his fingers were too much trouble, a single careless gesture felled the nearby trees whole.
Leon gave a halfhearted nod, and the lumber piled up with a series of heavy thuds.
It was a much larger quantity than before.
“There. Happy?”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that again? I did exactly as you told me. Aren't you supposed to praise me here?”
“……You're so annoying.”
How could someone be this obnoxious?
And despite being like that, he was pointlessly talented, which made her dislike him even more.
‘I should arrange a situation soon.’
People needed to suffer in order to grow on the inside and repent for their mistakes.
She would wring every last tear out of him.