Chapter 7
A dark, damp dungeon passage.
Unidentifiable mounds of dirt dotted the uneven passage, and blue flames flickered faintly all around them.
The three walked in silence.
Lydia led the way, followed by Arti with a backpack on. Aria walked gloomily beside him.
“….”
“….”
“….”
No monsters had appeared to block their path for an hour. If not for the eerie scenery and the occasional sounds, it could have been mistaken for an ordinary cave.
-Groooan—
-Heh heh heh….
-Haaaah….
The low wails and laments of vengeful spirits.
But no one paid any attention to the sounds.
“….”
“Hup….”
Lydia kept looking around, searching for something, while Arti was wholly absorbed in practicing how to maintain “Accelerated Healing” even when his concentration was broken.
“….”
Aria turned her head slightly to look at Arti.
“….”
“Hah, huff…!”
His breathing kept faltering, and he walked with an awkward, lurching gait. Even putting the best possible spin on it, he looked like he was in pain.
Seeing him like that, Aria grew worried.
‘Could the princess’s pet sword training (?) be so harsh that it’s putting too much strain on the Hero’s body…?’
A little time had passed, and the sense of exclusion that had been creeping darkly into her heart had faded somewhat. Once those muddy feelings had settled, her motivation returned.
Aria spoke to Arti.
“Hero.”
“Hup…! Oh, yes?”
Arti turned around with a hissing exhalation.
Aria held out her hand to him.
“If it’s too much for you, we can take turns carrying the backpack. I don’t feel entirely comfortable making you carry ‘all’ the luggage for ‘all’ three of us… It seems ‘too harsh.’”
There was a very… very slight note of complaint about the princess in her words.
But Arti waved a hand.
“Oh, it’s fine. This is all part of my training.”
“Training…?”
“You know, the way I was concentrating earlier. If I activate the mana in my body like that, my muscles loosen up and the fatigue goes away. I heard that if I keep practicing, someday I’ll be able to maintain it completely unconsciously.”
“?”
Aria tilted her head. She knew nothing about the way knights trained to wield mana.
To satisfy the saintess’s curiosity, Arti steadied his breathing again.
“Hup—!”
“….”
Then.
A faint trickle of mana escaped his body with a “hiss.” At the same time, Arti’s muscles twitched and his energy returned.
“!”
Aria watched in amazement.
“That’s incredible! Are you already wielding mana like the members of the knight orders? You must have worked very hard in your Swordsmanship Department classes, Hero.”
“I-is that so? Haha.”
“You achieved this by learning at the academy, instead of coming here with prior training like the others. That’s truly impressive.”
“Thank you. I really have been working hard.”
“So that’s what you’ve been repeating all this time.”
“Yes, that’s right. Whenever I lose focus, I start over.”
“Ah! I’m sorry. Then I must have interrupted your concentration by talking to you….”
“What? No! Not at all! You actually gave me a chance to start my breathing over from the beginning, Saintess.”
“Really?”
Arti smiled brightly.
“Those who wield a sword live to protect people. I have to practice so I can do it even among other people.”
“That sounds… just like the mindset of a priest.”
“Does it? Haha! Perhaps it’s only natural, since both swordsmen and priests work for the sake of others.”
“…I feel the same way.”
Aria gradually began to feel at ease. She was also relieved to see that he was truly walking the same path.
‘The Hero is so kindhearted and diligent…. What a relief. If I’m with someone like him….’
But that feeling didn’t last long.
Arti looked ahead with a thoughtful expression. Lydia was walking at the front.
“But…. I could never have done it alone.”
“….”
“I still can’t be sure this is the right path…. But at least I don’t want to waste the lessons she’s taught me.”
Arti looked at Aria and grinned.
“…For a commoner, even one opportunity like this means a great deal.”
“….”
Aria spoke with a dark expression.
“…I see.”
To me, too,
the chance to be with you means so much….
But.
She couldn’t say it.
“….”
Aria clenched her empty hand and followed them.
*
They walked through the dim passage for several hours.
The undead monsters still hadn’t appeared. But amid the dirt and rocks, strange things began to show up.
Crimson herbs and moss had begun growing thickly over some of the mounds of dirt and stones. Their ominous color made it look as if blood had been smeared over the earth and rocks.
At last, Lydia found what she’d been searching for.
‘…Red herbs and moss. They’ve finally appeared. In the game, they showed up after passing through a couple of maps, more or less…. I didn’t expect it to take this long. It’s disconcerting how easily my game knowledge can lead me astray when everything is depicted differently. Still, at least we didn’t come all this way for nothing.’
Then she stopped the group.
“…Hold on.”
“!”
“!”
Arti hurriedly extended his right hand, where the Sacred Sword “Dannan” rested, and looked around. For someone who couldn’t keep the Sacred Sword manifested for long, it was important to react quickly.
“Is it a monster, Lydia?!”
“No.”
“?”
Lydia pointed to the red herbs and moss.
“Arti, gather these and put them in the pouch in your backpack.”
“Yes!”
“But there is something you need to be careful about.”
“…Yes?”
As someone from the countryside, Arti had no hesitation about gathering herbs and was just reaching for the red plants. He turned to look at Lydia.
Lydia explained.
“These plants are mutations that have absorbed a dense aura of the dead over a long period. They grow naturally in areas inhabited by powerful monsters. They’re valuable enough to be used as ingredients for potent potions.”
“Ooh…! They must be worth a lot, then?”
“They are. But there’s a reason the instructors and assistants who passed through here didn’t collect them. These red herbs and moss are like concentrated masses of powerful necrotic energy. In short, the living will lose their vitality if they touch them.”
“…!”
“Ordinary people might even die from brushing against them.”
“…?!”
Arti hurriedly backed away from the red herbs and moss.
“Th-then… we should just leave them here….”
“No. Arti, you can gather them.”
“I can?”
“The essence of the Sacred Sword ‘Dannan’ is healing and purification. As its wielder, you possess some of that power, too.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Arti, you can touch these plants without any problem. In fact, the necrotic energy in them will gradually be neutralized while you hold them. That means we can sell them to an herbalist for a very high price without going through the tedious purification process.”
“Th-then can I neutralize poison now, too…?!”
Lydia shook her head.
“No. Poison is simply a substance that causes a harmful reaction in the body. It’s different from a curse or necrotic energy that the Sacred Sword can purify. So poison can still kill you.”
“…!”
“Never casually eat or drink anything given to you by a stranger. …Especially someone you love.”
“…I see. Understood.”
“….”
After answering, Arti carefully began gathering the herbs.
Watching him, Lydia sighed inwardly.
‘…I did slip in a tip on how to avoid the village merchant NTR event. But I wonder if Arti will really remember it. Since he’s already on Aria’s route, those disgusting events might come around even sooner.’
Thinking that,
Lydia glanced at Aria.
Aria had been following along in a daze. But it was clear from her face that she was dejected.
“….”
“…?”
Lydia felt a hint of suspicion.
‘Why does she look so down? Arti and Aria seemed to be getting along from their very first meeting, so I hadn’t interfered and had just watched….’
She was about to quietly ask Arti if the two of them had argued.
But just then,
the blue flames floating around them flickered for a moment.
Whoosh—!
It was an almost imperceptible change.
“…!”
Arti and Aria didn’t notice, but Lydia had a sudden premonition. This was definitely a bad sign.
She didn’t know when it would happen, but—
‘…We might end up facing something unexpected. In the game, once you chose a route, the dungeon proceeded safely. But does reality not allow for that kind of breathing room?’
“….”
Lydia quietly placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.
“….”
She wasn’t certain enough to warn them yet.
And since this was a beginner dungeon,
the chances of anything truly extraordinary happening were slim….
But she had brought them here.
Lydia had a duty to protect them.
*
Aria was watching Lydia and Arti.
Just.
Watching them.
“….”
Those two had been talking for a while… When Arti felt something wrong as he gathered the herbs, Lydia calmly stopped him.
“L-Lydia. My hands are tingling a little.”
“Stop. Your purification ability seems to have reached its limit. This is enough, so stop now.”
“Hmm… I wonder how much this amount is worth?”
“I couldn’t say. I’m no merchant, so I can’t calculate it exactly. But what you’re carrying now would probably earn you as much as two months’ work at the academy’s Alchemy Guild.”
“Two months’ pay—?! Then how many Kingdom-style specialty steaks from the academy shopping district could I eat…?! Or how many snacks could I buy at the Holy Theocracy’s shop?!”
“…Everything comes back to food with you, doesn’t it?”
“Then I should gather a little more…!”
“Did I not tell you to stop?”
In this place,
was there any reason Aria needed to be here?
The thought crossed her mind.
“….”
The princess knew everything.
How to handle the Sacred Sword, how to grow stronger, how to survive, how to make money, how to avoid danger….
Aside from the things about the Sacred Sword,
they were all things Aria didn’t know.
“….”
Honestly,
becoming the princess’s “pet sword”…
seemed like it would help the Hero grow stronger and survive.
‘Besides, Her Highness is strict and harsh, but she doesn’t seem evil….’
Even now, the princess was stopping the Hero from overexerting himself just to make money. If she were evil, she’d be exploiting him for profit.
“….”
Aria started to take a step back.
‘Yes, this is probably for the best….’
At that moment,
Arti looked at Aria and called out.
“Saintess!”
“…!”
At that one word,
Aria stopped walking.
“….”
Arti spoke earnestly.
“Could you help me? It’d be such a waste to leave all these herbs and moss behind…! Lydia keeps telling me no, but it really would be a waste!”
Lydia looked at Arti and sighed.
“Phew….”
“….”
Aria walked over to Arti.
Arti held red moss and herbs in both hands, trembling and wearing an expression that said he’d die of regret if he left them behind. Beneath him, there was still as much left as he held in his hands.
“If we take all the moss here, the three of us can eat tons of delicious food!”
“The three of us…?”
“Yes!”
Arti said it as if it were obvious.
“You’re in our party too, Saintess. Once we finish this class quickly, we should go eat something delicious at the shopping district outside the academy! Food tastes so much better when you’re skipping Instructor Zach’s training to eat it.”
“…!”
Aria’s eyes went wide.
A natural smile spread across her face.
“…I see.”
Aria took Arti’s hand and recited the lowest-ranking prayer among the sacred incantations: “Purification.” A gentle, golden light glimmered as a soothing energy flowed out.
“…If you help me purify them like this, it’ll make your ability even more effective, Hero.”
“Oh! My hands are tingling much less now!”
Arti beamed as he swept up the herbs and moss again, continuing until his hands began to tingle. He was able to gather twice as much as before.
As he put the purified herbs into his backpack, he said,
“So that’s how important a party is…! On my own, I might have missed out on all this money—no, these herbs. Next time we go into a dungeon, I’ll make sure to find a priest for the party.”
“…I’ll come with you, too.”
“Oh? Really?! You promise?”
“Yes.”
Aria smiled brightly.
“….”
Lydia watched them for a moment, then gave a small nod.
‘…Something happened, but it seems they worked it out emotionally. That’s good enough.’
Then she took the lead at the front of the party once more.
*
They hurried along the eerie but peaceful path.
After taking out their sleeping bags and resting for the night, they continued on—and encountered a gigantic skeleton.
The skeleton, easily three meters tall, rode a horse with nothing but its hide left. That ominous being raised a spear brimming with ghostly blue flames.
[Gwoooar—!!]
Then small skeletons and cage-like structures rose from the ground. It was a sight straight out of a graveyard.
-Rooooar—!
Clatter
Clatter
Aria and Arti caught their breath at the sight.
“A skeletal rider?! It gathers the souls of the living!”
“How can this be?!”
Lydia clicked her tongue softly.
Had they arrived too quickly,
before the instructors’ group had finished clearing the way to the exit?
‘…The skeletal rider is an early-game undead boss. Arti, who has mastered the Sacred Sword’s basic skills, should be just barely capable of handling it alone. I can deal with any dangerous attacks myself. But this unexpected situation….’
The knight heroine—Mave—and the rest of her party lay helpless inside the cages. Their eyes were rolled back, whites showing… Anyone could see they were on the verge of being wiped out, their souls stolen.
‘Damn it! With Arti—who was too weak and became deadweight in the original—out of the picture, Mave’s party must have made faster progress. The problem was that Mave’s group had turned into an awkwardly strong party…!’
And of all things,
they had run into an abnormal boss at the crossroads by the exit before the instructors’ group could arrive to meet them.
“…Tch, things have gotten out of sync.”