Chapter 7
Seeing a clear path forward sparked a surprising surge of motivation. By now, the hideous appearance of the Head Pitchers had also become quite familiar.
As time passed, the rain of arrows thinned, and the number of remaining monsters visibly dwindled. Cadel slowly stood up. It would be best to finish them off while they were still disoriented.
Cadel looked back at Ron and Babil to relay his simple strategy. But before he could even open his mouth, he spotted Babil’s blood-soaked shoulder.
Because he had shut out all external senses while preparing his spell, Cadel hadn’t heard a single scream. He furrowed his brow, staring at the gruesome wound.
“When did you get this? If we don’t stop the bleeding fast, you’ll collapse before we can even fight. Do you have any cloth or bandages to bind it?”
“What? You’re asking when I got this?!”
It was a wound he’d sustained while holding out without a single barrier during Cadel’s agonizingly long spellcasting. If the barrier had just been left up in the first place, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this!
Even though he knew Cadel’s magic had turned the tide of the battle, the excruciating pain demanded someone to blame. Just as Babil was about to snap back, his gaze instinctively shifted. Standing right behind Cadel was Van, glaring with a murderous look in his eyes.
He radiated killing intent, as if to say, If you dare raise your voice at the Captain, I’ll smash your other shoulder too. His survival instinct, strong enough to swallow his resentment whole, forced Babil to take a milder tone.
“…I don’t. Taking off my breastplate right now would be suicide, and I can’t exactly unpack my bags in the middle of a monster den.”
“Damn. The situation is urgent, but let’s stop the bleeding first. You’ll have a hard time clearing out the remaining monsters in that state. Hold on.”
Asking them to wait a moment, Cadel bent down and grabbed the hem of his robe. As a mage who rarely engaged in hand-to-hand combat, he wore a long robe instead of armor. Tearing off a bit of the hem wouldn’t cost him his life.
But before Cadel could even pull on the fabric, Van lightly pushed his arm away, stopping him.
“There’s no need for that, Captain. I have some.”
“…Isn’t that the cloth you wrap around your greatsword?”
“It’s no more precious than the clothes you wear, Captain.”
Smiling at Cadel, Van took the long blue cloth and approached Babil. In stark contrast to the face he showed Cadel, an icy chill settled over his features.
He roughly snatched Babil, who was instinctively shrinking back, and tightly wound the cloth around his gouged shoulder. He wrapped it so forcefully and clumsily that Babil opened his mouth wide, ready to scream, but Van’s next words forced him to shove his fist into his own mouth instead.
“Try drawing the Captain’s attention one more time. I’ll gladly teach you that blending into the background… is far better than disappearing completely.”
* * *
Even with the magic exhausted, the spreading embers did not easily die down.
With Van taking the lead, Cadel’s party systematically began taking down the disoriented Head Pitchers. Van’s Sword Aura, its power undiminished despite the long battle, struck down with fierce momentum. Cadel’s Fireball sniped the heads of the Head Pitchers approaching from afar, and Ron and Babil immediately cut down any monsters that slipped through the cracks.
Van’s Sword Aura didn’t just kill monsters, but also scattered the thick fog. Thanks to that, their field of vision became significantly clearer than before.
At this rate, we can wipe them all out before the day is over.
Cadel thought, calmly assessing the situation. A deep sense of relief washed over him as the battle progressed much more smoothly than expected.
Right. I was just too scared. Even in a game, they don’t give you an unbeatable trial for the first quest. You can usually clear a tutorial in your sleep, right? This shouldn’t be any different.
He had been unnecessarily tense due to the system’s warning that he would “lose Van Herdos.” Of course, he had been intimidated by the appearance of monsters he was seeing for the first time… but didn’t everything become familiar with time? The Head Pitchers were still creepy, but he no longer felt the kind of terror that would leave him in tears.
Cadel launched a fireball at a staggering head pitcher and gauged his remaining mana. He had created a Flame Barrier, prepared Fire Demon’s Arrow, and used Fireball in between. The mana left in his body was now less than a tenth of what he’d started with.
It looks like the monsters are mostly cleared out, so I really need to conserve my strength now. As my mana drains, it feels like my stamina is sapping away with it.
Slowly crossing the Smog Plains as they cleared out the monsters, they soon arrived at the fence on the opposite side. Ron, who ran to the fence first, urgently fumbled along it. After pressing himself against it and feeling around for a long time, he cried out in dismay.
“Damn it, there’s no exit on this side! I thought we were finally getting out of here! Should we… dig a hole?”
“There are probably still monsters left. It’s best we don’t leave until we’ve dealt with them completely.”
Ron hesitated at Cadel’s words. He wanted nothing more than to run out right then and there and celebrate surviving, but he was still a mercenary. With gold coins right in front of him, he didn’t want to lose his hard-earned pay over a sloppy finish. The injured Babil seemed to share that greed, approaching the hesitant Ron to whisper quietly.
“Hey, since most of the monsters are taken care of anyway, let’s just quietly follow those two. Honestly, haven’t they done all the work so far? They might toss us aside later so they don’t have to share the credit, so let’s just hold out a little longer while they’re handling things.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Ron reluctantly nodded. Thus, they decided to backtrack toward the entrance they’d originally come through, clearing out the remaining monsters along the way.
Cadel moved forward, struggling to avoid stepping on the monster corpses scattered around them. The charred, blackened heads looked like they might spring back to life and pounce at any moment, making him flinch with every other step.
Beside him, Van spoke up cautiously.
“I’m sorry, Captain.”
“Huh…? For what?”
“Because of my incompetence, you had to use more strength than necessary, Captain. If it had been any other monster, I could have handled them all by myself…”
Muttering, “If only they had blood,” Van looked ready to slaughter a living person right then and there just to coat his sword in it. Before his knight could commit such a horrific atrocity, Cadel hastily cut him off.
“Don’t talk like that. You just did your best in a disadvantageous fight. So instead of moping, focus on making sure we get paid.”
“Captain…”
I wish he’d just take the hint and drop that sinister look. Feeling a subtle sense of anxiety, Cadel glanced back at Van. Instead, he saw Van’s lips twitching into a shy smile.
…What’s with him?
No sooner had the question crossed his mind than a system window popped up in front of his eyes.
[Knight Van Herdos’s Affinity has increased by 3.]
[Current Affinity: 73/100]
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
His affinity suddenly went up? What did I even do?
Cadel’s pupils shook. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t recall doing anything to raise his affinity, yet Van had suddenly gotten into a good mood all on his own.
What the hell? Why did it jump by 3 on its own? What happens if his affinity suddenly maxes out at this rate?
Of course, higher affinity was better for loyalty than lower affinity… but this was an otome game.
He had heard rumors that maxing out affinity unlocked a special event, but he had never looked into it himself. After all, he was just an ordinary male player who cared more about combat than the story.
A cold sweat broke out, one that hadn’t even appeared in the heat of battle. He felt like he would do anything to shake off this creeping anxiety.
…I should just keep my mouth shut for now.
Meanwhile, Ron and Babil, trailing behind the two, were having a conversation with a completely different atmosphere.
“Say, Babil. Doesn’t it feel like wiping out these monsters went faster than expected? Sure, those two are incredibly skilled… but to think so many mercenaries died without solving something that ended this easily. It’s unbelievable.”
“Hmph, no matter how exceptional a mercenary is, it’s hard to beat one great mage. You saw it too, didn’t you? That incredible area-of-effect magic. We mercenaries can only swing our swords, so the efficiency just doesn’t compare. Mages aren’t highly valued for nothing.”
“Even so…”
“Besides, his tactical sense is nothing to scoff at either. It hurts my pride to admit it, but when we were panicking, that mage made a split-second judgment.”
“…I suppose.”
“The Red Scale Mercenaries, was it? I don’t know how many members they have, but it’s only a matter of time before they make a name for themselves.”
Van’s vicious personality aside, Babil held them in high regard. In truth, if those two hadn’t joined them, it was obvious what would have happened to him and Ron.
They spent a long while clearing out the remaining monsters, each harboring their own thoughts and motives.
Feigning an expressionless face to hide his exhaustion, Cadel looked back at the party.
“It seems all the monsters stationed in the Smog Plains have been dealt with. For a perfect finish, we should probably stay here until morning, but we don’t need to be the ones to confirm the commission’s completion. Let’s head back.”
“Finally!”
Ron and Babil’s faces brightened astonishingly. They heaved sighs of relief, rejoicing to their hearts’ content that the hellish sweep operation was finally over. Cadel was also glad to have made it past such a massive hurdle. However, with his stamina practically at rock bottom, he didn’t have the energy to cheer, settling for a quiet smile instead.
How long has it even been since I possessed this body, and I’m already doing hard labor all day long? I need to gather some knights fast so I can just sit back and relax.
If he could gather at least two or three of them, his workload would decrease significantly. He could just issue some rough commands while they’d quickly and easily handle the fighting on their own.
As he lightly rubbed his fatigue-heavy eyes, Van noticed his condition and shot him a worried look.
“Captain, are you alright? You look exhausted.”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Let’s head back right away and collect our commission fee from the Young Lord. We need to get a good room so you can get some proper rest.”
“It’s still the middle of the night. Even if we head back now, the sun will barely be up by the time we arrive. We’d just get turned away at the door.”
“But…”
Cadel waved a dismissive hand at the persistent Van.
“Being tired for one day won’t kill me.”
“…Understood. But if it gets to be too much, just say the word, Captain. I’ll carry you on my back!”
He wouldn’t let Van carry him even if he died and came back to life. Flashing a forced smile, Cadel silently swore on it.
