Chapter 56: Dungeon Practice (6)
Chapter 56: Dungeon Practice (6)
Helena approached, her golden hair fluttering and her eyes, equally brilliant gold, sparkling as she spoke.
“Brother.”
“Oh, yes. What is it, Priestess?”
“Do you happen to know how to fight?”
“???”
What was this? Was she picking a fight?
The Helena I knew was the very picture of an ideal cleric—so much so that she was considered a candidate for Saintess of the Church of Righteous Light.
You know the type.
Those people who are always bright, kind, and happily help those around them, leading them to become better versions of themselves.
Though I’d never been religious in my life back on Earth, she was the kind of devout priest I could actually respect.
Helena felt exactly like that.
Well, of course, as an individual, she had her clumsy moments and felt like a normal girl her age, but…
Either way, she wasn't the type to suddenly come up and say, "Hey, you think you're tough?"
…Unless her opponent was a cultist.
Righteous Light was the god most hostile toward evil gods among all the Good Gods.
Because of that, even the usually gentle followers of the Church of Light would start foaming at the mouth and screaming about a holy war the moment they encountered anyone related to an evil god—meaning cultists or monsters.
When my thoughts reached that point, I shook my head in terror.
“It’s a misunderstanding! Priestess! I’m not a cultist! If anything, I’m on the side that hates them!”
“Huh? That’s not what I… Ahem. Is that so? Could you tell me just how much you hate those wicked things?”
Helena tilted her head before clearing her throat and asking.
Was she about to say something like, 'A cultist… talking back?!'
However, the fact that she was giving me a chance to defend myself meant she wasn't entirely certain yet.
I had no idea where this misunderstanding even came from, but regardless, I shouted with all the sincerity I could muster.
“There are many evil gods in this world, but every single one of them is a son of a bitch!”
“Ooh…!”
“And their lackeys, the cultists and monsters, are all total pieces of shit!”
“Exactly! But in what way, specifically…?”
Helena pressed for more details, her eyes sparkling even more than before.
It felt as if she were telling me to keep talking.
Helena wasn't originally such a violent character… How did I end up under this kind of suspicion?
Wait, is it because of Carla?
Carla’s father was executed after being framed as a cultist.
Did she see me hanging around his daughter and think, 'Wait, are you one too?'
…I didn't think the Church of Righteous Light was that crazy.
Anyway, since I seemed to be under suspicion, I had to clear this up first.
Recalling my memories from the latter half of H&A, I continued.
“I actually fought cultists of the Confused Unity recently.”
“What?! Really?! Where was this?”
Helena’s gaze turned cold in an instant.
Her eyes were filled with a madness that seemed to declare she would run there right now and smash everything to pieces if I just gave her the location.
Scary…
“Th-they’re gone now! The Gepp City Guards and I wiped them all out! In the process, I cleared a dungeon with my slave and even personally killed a Bishop of the Confused Unity!”
“Wow!”
Helena beamed as brightly as a child, as if she hadn't just been glaring daggers a second ago.
“Those bastards actually built a hideout in the sewers of a city where innocent citizens live! They were aiming for an undiscovered dungeon there! I’ve never seen such insidious scumbags!”
“Cultists always take root in the dark corners of humanity. Even the Sun, which shines upon all things equally, has no light to spare for them…!”
“Exactly, exactly! But the shocking part starts now. To break the dungeon’s seal, they secretly kidnapped people and performed human sacrifices with their flesh…”
To drive the final nail in the coffin, I described everything I had seen in the Gepp City underground in vivid detail.
The pools of rotting blood, the human slaughterhouse stained red, the altar made of bone and flesh, and the human meat skewers they sold as if they were normal street food.
With every word I spoke, Helena grew indignant or offered short moments of silence to mourn the victims, nodding along with me.
It felt like her suspicion toward me had largely dissipated.
…Vincent, who was watching from the side, looked back and forth between Helena and me as if he were looking at madmen, but I decided to ignore that.
“The Evil God is a son of a bitch! Cultists and monsters are pieces of shit!”
“And when you see a suspicious person?”
“I should report them to the nearest church or the guards!”
“But when you see a confirmed cultist or monster?”
“Rip them apart and kill them!”
So please, just let me live!
Did my desperate will get through to her?
“Praise be to the Lord! Brother, you truly are a wonderful person!”
“I suppose I am.”
The misunderstanding is cleared up now, right?
When I looked at her with a gaze that asked if she still doubted me, Helena avoided my eyes as if embarrassed.
“U-um… actually, I never doubted you, Brother.”
“Then what you said at the beginning was…?”
“I-it was a slip of the tongue because I was in a hurry, I’m ashamed to say.”
“…Pardon?”
“I felt my Lord’s grace emanating from you. But since you didn't seem to be someone who had received a formal baptism, I assumed the Lord must have been deeply impressed by your deeds in striking down the wicked.”
“Ah, wait a second. Could it be?”
Come to think of it, I currently had the Trait: Sun God's Blessing [C].
Since the Sun God was the God of Righteous Light, there was no way Helena, his priestess, wouldn't recognize it.
…So I completely barked up the wrong tree?
As I blinked blankly, Helena nodded with a flushed face.
“Yes… I simply wanted to hear your tales of valor, but I phrased it poorly and caused you unnecessary worry.”
Helena took a pious stance, clasping both hands in front of her chest.
“Even after I realized the misunderstanding, I was enjoying your story so much that I couldn't bring myself to clarify things midway. I am sorry.”
She then gave a deep bow of apology.
Sway.
It was a posture that naturally emphasized the pouches filled with love, forgiveness, mercy… and other good things.
Entranced, I nodded without realizing it.
“No, well… it happens.”
It wasn't like I suffered any actual damage.
More importantly, I’d received an apology, and it was better to end things here gracefully rather than nitpicking and dragging out the argument.
“Anyway, shall we introduce ourselves properly? I don't think we’ve even exchanged names yet.”
“Thank you for your generous forgiveness! Then I shall go first. Ahem.”
Helena cleared her throat lightly and began.
“My name is Helena. As you’ve likely guessed, I am a priestess of Righteous Light. I can use all basic Divine Arts, so please let me know whenever you need healing or blessings.”
I could finally call her Helena instead of 'Priestess.'
Honestly, pretending I didn't know her name when I did was a bit of a chore.
“So you are Lady Helena. Then I’ll go next. My name is Yandel. I can use most basic lower-grade elemental magic, and I can also use Shield. Oh, and…”
Slide.
I pulled the Shining Lion Dagger from my inventory and showed it to them.
“I also know how to handle a dagger. Of course, I’m not at the level of a knight, so please just think of it as being able to respond slightly in an emergency.”
“Gasp! Th-that… isn't that a divine object of our Lord?!”
“It’s a grace I received as a reward for clearing that Gepp City dungeon I mentioned earlier. It seems the one who sealed that place was the Lord of Righteous Light… Ah, it was also this dagger that struck down the Bishop of the Confused Unity.”
“The Lord will surely be pleased by your struggles, Brother Yandel. No, He is already pleased and has bestowed His blessing upon you. It is truly a beautiful thing.”
Helena looked deeply moved, her expression full of genuine emotion.
It felt a bit unsettling that she was so happy about me killing someone… but cultists weren't human, so it was fine, right?
We were about to exchange more pleasantries while nodding at each other, but then—
“…Can I say something now?”
Vincent, who had been doing nothing but sighing nearby, cut in.
“Ah! M-my apologies, Brother. I got too excited over the divine object…”
“I know there was no ill intent. I don't plan to blame you, so calm down. You’ve been far too restless for a while now.”
His tone was strangely overbearing.
But considering his family, it was a level of arrogance that was understandable.
“My name is Vincent Grenadin. I primarily use my family’s secret Grenadin Swordsmanship, and I am at the intermediate level of an Aura User. My swordsmanship specializes in offense, so I may be lacking in defense… I’ll leave that part to you two.”
The House of Marquis Grenadin.
Part of the Levantine Empire, they were a fairly famous family among martial houses.
Having grown up in such a place, it was only natural that his arrogant speech and behavior were ingrained.
He was just a bit stiff with his words; he wasn't a bad guy, so there was nothing to worry about regarding his character.
However, there was one fatal flaw.
“I shall be at the very front fighting the enemy, so leave the vanguard to me!”
Vincent declared confidently, thumping his chest.
The guy had combat jitters.
Since this was his first real battle, he probably didn't even know it himself yet.
Still, this was a practice dungeon where only the lowest-grade monsters appeared, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
After the introductions, we briefly discussed positions and trap detection methods.
When our turn finally came, we threw ourselves into the dungeon entrance together.
And then.
“Aaargh! Save me! The horns… the hoooorns!”
“Don't cling to me, it’s gross! You’re interfering with my magic!”
“Lord! Today, I send up another piece of shit whose only mistake was being born!”
A priestess going berserk in the front.
A swordsman hiding behind a mage.
And me, frantically firing off magic in every direction.
…I expected it to be a total mess, but I didn't think it would be this bad!