Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Chapter 5 - Lilia #3
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The blonde woman slowly rose to her feet, pressing her temples as if suffering from a hangover, and looked around.
“Wh-where is this...?”
“Are you feeling a bit better?”
As Karen approached the bed and asked, the blonde woman furrowed her brow and nodded.
“Yes... Where exactly is this... Kyaa!”
Mid-sentence, she let out a scream, flailing in terror before tumbling right off the bed.
But whether she wasn’t hurt or her fear outweighed the pain, she clutched her head with both hands and cried out.
“P-please, spare me! Spare me!”
Startled by the clear overreaction, Karen and Max quickly turned to the man standing opposite her—Luther, that is.
[Their eyes are asking what on earth happened to provoke such a reaction.]
From Luther’s perspective, it was actually quite unfair.
He had truly just saved the woman, and she had fainted from her own shock.
She was likely panicking now as she recalled what had happened right before she passed out.
“No, what I mean is...”
As Luther recounted the events with the blonde woman again, Karen nodded as if she understood, then approached her and said,
“Did you hear that just now?”
Luther’s story.
The blonde woman, huddled under the bed, flinched at Karen’s question before giving a small nod.
Karen smiled gently, as if soothing a child.
“Hmm... I understand how you feel, at least.”
Her trusted escorts had suddenly turned into bandits threatening to assault her—how terrified she must have been.
“But as you just heard, Luther here is the one who saved you. If he hadn’t been there... you know what would have happened, right?”
If Luther hadn’t intervened.
If that situation had continued.
At Karen’s supposition, the blonde woman squeezed her eyes shut before nodding.
It was something she didn’t even want to imagine, but the outcome was obvious as day.
“Good. Then you know what needs to be done now.”
With that, Karen stepped back from the bed and crossed her arms.
The blonde woman swallowed dryly at Karen’s actions, then stood and bowed her head to Luther.
“Th-thank you for saving me. Truly, thank you.”
“Sure.”
As Luther casually accepted her thanks, the blonde woman let out a sigh of relief.
Luther watched her for a moment before glancing at Karen.
He had accepted the thanks, but it seemed better to let Karen lead the conversation.
Karen nodded and asked the woman again.
“For starters... what’s your name? I’m Karen. This is Max. And the one who saved you, as I mentioned, is Luther.”
“L-Lilia.”
Answering in a small voice, the woman awkwardly stood, fidgeting with her fingers as she continued.
“I’m an enchanter... I was passing through on my way to Venus City.”
She was spilling out unsolicited details in such an awkward manner.
Given her profession as an enchanter, she seemed like someone who had been holed up in a lab, buried in research.
‘Wait, an enchanter?’
Mages specialized in enchantments and equipment crafting.
And the name Lilia.
‘Could she be that Lilia?’
Item descriptions in Dragon Hunter Origin and Dragon Hunter 3 often included various lore, and Lilia was a name that appeared frequently in both.
‘Something like “works of the genius enchanter who died young...” right?’
To be honest, he didn’t remember exactly.
He wasn’t enough of a lore nerd to scrutinize item descriptions.
But if the woman before him was indeed that Lilia...
‘Was she originally fated to die here?’
Of course, even without Luther’s intervention, she might have survived somehow.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that she wouldn’t have.
‘If she really is that Lilia, and fated to die here... then I’ve changed the future.’
Lilia, who was supposed to die, lived.
What consequences would this event bring?
Luther thought of the “butterfly effect,” where a small incident could lead to unimaginable outcomes, but he quickly regained his composure.
‘For now... saving her isn’t a bad thing.’
His goal was to upend the story of Dragon Hunter Origin anyway.
Moreover, a genius enchanter would benefit humanity more alive and researching than dead young.
[Master, what are you thinking about so deeply?]
“Hm, you.”
[M-Master?]
Tempted to tease Integra further as she sounded flustered, Luther held back—this wasn’t the time.
Turning his gaze forward, he saw Karen and Lilia now sitting side by side on the bed, chatting away, mostly Lilia talking.
[To sum up, she was heading to Venus City for the first time traveling alone, got lost and ended up in the frontier, panicked, and hired adventurers as guides and escorts.]
[She picked the red-haired ones because they were the handsomest of the adventurers in the village.]
[As expected, she seems quite naive about the world.]
Luther agreed.
Karen apparently did too, making a dumbfounded face at the part about choosing them for their looks.
But she quickly composed herself, pondered briefly, then turned to Luther.
“Luther, Venus City is on our way too. Mind if Lilia travels with us?”
She couldn’t just leave her like putting a child by the water’s edge.
At Karen’s words, Lilia looked up with pleading eyes, begging him.
Receiving gazes from two beauties, Luther nodded immediately.
“Sure.”
[Master, at least pretend to think about it.]
“This is after some thought.”
It wasn’t a detour, and their destinations aligned— no reason to refuse.
Since he’d saved her life, escorting her until she was truly safe seemed best.
With Luther’s permission, Lilia sighed in relief.
Her eyes were even tearing up—she was genuinely reassured.
Karen squeezed Lilia’s hand reassuringly and said,
“Then rest up. We’ll go out and buy some things.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Got it. And...”
Trailing off, Lilia turned to Luther and bowed again.
“I’m sorry for misunderstanding. And thank you again for saving me.”
“Sure.”
As Luther replied briskly, Lilia bit her lip, fidgeted with her fingers, and said,
“And...”
“And?”
“You’re... handsome.”
Mumbling with a flushed face, Lilia covered her face in embarrassment, leaving Luther flustered.
Or rather—
[Master, your mouth is curving up too much.]
[Master’s heart rate per minute is unnecessarily high.]
[Handsome out of nowhere—what a weird girl.]
Luther couldn’t help smiling at Integra’s less affectionate tone than usual.
Integra’s reaction aside, Lilia’s words felt good, plain and simple.
A beauty—no, a shy beauty—calling him handsome? Who wouldn’t feel good?
He managed to straighten his face somewhat, but anyone could tell he looked pleased.
Karen, who had watched the whole scene silently, pursed her lips briefly before smiling faintly and saying,
“Luther.”
“Yeah?”
“I... think you’re handsome too.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly at the end—not as much as Lilia’s, but clearly embarrassed.
[Master, don’t grin like an idiot.]
[I said you were handsome first.]
[Don’t fall for such obvious flattery.]
[Master?]
Luther nodded, covering his mouth as Integra’s words poured out like a machine gun.
The atmosphere had turned weird out of nowhere—and it was embarrassing in various ways—but it felt good, undeniably.
“Ahem.”
Still, he needed to calm down.
Lilia’s quirky personality meant she’d said it without much thought, and Karen saw him as some saintly figure.
Integra was Integra, too.
‘Right, let’s stay calm.’
Composing himself with a deep breath, Luther avoided looking at Lilia still hiding her face or Karen blushing shyly, and turned to Max instead.
Max flinched momentarily before saying awkwardly,
“I-I think Luther’s...”
“Stop there. Just stop.”
He didn’t want this good mood to get weird.
At Luther’s interruption, Max shut his mouth, and Karen burst into giggles.
“Anyway, it’s decided—let’s hurry. I’ll wait outside.”
Giggling again, Karen left first, and Luther and Max quickly packed their things, leaving a few words for Lilia still shyly on the bed.
“We’ll be right back.”
“Rest up.”
“Y-yes...”
Hearing Lilia’s demure reply, Luther and Max stepped out before the mood could turn strange again.
* * *
The pioneer village was larger than expected.
True to a hub for adventurers hunting monsters and small wyrmlings in the Primordial Forest, it had not just leather shops processing wyrmling byproducts but also specialized gear stores and a large smithy.
[Master, people’s reactions to Jogres byproducts are intriguing.]
[They show respect, envy, fear toward Master—various emotions.]
Luther smiled faintly at Integra’s words.
Strongwyrm Jogres.
Among the wyrmlings in the Primordial Forest, it was one of the top threats.
‘No wonder it’s called an early-game wall.’
Guys like the redhead or baldie they’d met wouldn’t catch it even with dozens banding together.
‘Someone like Balian from the village chief’s place could with a party.’
But only with proper prep and numbers.
Luther’s group was just three—including the slender girl Karen by looks.
No wonder they were shocked seeing them haul Jogres parts.
[Someone’s saying you scavenged the corpse.]
[I’ll remember the face and voice.]
Luther chuckled at Integra’s sweetly angry tone, patted his wrist drone reassuringly, and headed home.
That night.
After dinner with the group using market-bought food, Luther settled into what he assumed was the baldie’s room—no stray hairs on the floor or bed.
No springs, but stuffed with straw, it made for a decent bed.
[Master, I’ve summarized our journey through the Primordial Forest so far.]
[Current destination: Venus City.]
[Outputting augmented reality video via HUD.]
As Integra finished, a large holographic map appeared before Luther’s eyes.
The market-bought map, combined with collected data and rendered in 3D.
Integra drew a red line from Primordial Forest to Venus City, then appeared as her palm-sized maid self on Luther’s chest.
[Walking as we are, it’ll take about six days to Venus City.]
[To primary waypoint Anus Village: two days.]
Luther nodded at Integra’s explanation, closing his eyes to think.
After reaching Venus City for the next fragment.
Unknowing why he’d entered Dragon Hunter Origin’s world, his most realistic goal was stopping Helcanes’s kin—the secret society Hecatoncheires—that would bring promised doom.
‘I’ll have to tell Integra someday.’
After Venus City and securing the fragment.
He’d share plans for what came next.
‘I’ve got a rough idea already.’
Actively intervene in the main story to twist Dragon Hunter Origin from the start.
Fortunately, the western region where he was now was the stage for the first arc, “Western Chapter.”
If he didn’t dawdle, he could reach the starting point, the Gleston Count’s household, before the main story began.
[Master, time to sleep?]
At Integra’s voice, Luther broke his thoughts and opened his eyes.
“Not yet.”
[Then, about other intel gathered today.]
“The bandits?”
[Yes.]
The culprits ruining security around the Primordial Forest and vicinity.
[Market intel suggests a mounted bandit gang riding small wyrmlings.]
They raid villages, loot, and burn.
Despite numbers, they’re elusive, sticking to remote areas beyond military reach—over five villages hit defenseless already.
[The leader seems quite skilled. Rumors always mention the bandit chief’s superhuman strength and martial prowess.]
Fast and immensely strong.
Rips limbs barehanded, shatters skulls with fists.
Waving her hands like a bear, Integra flashed her signature sultry smile.
[Protagonist’s party arrives at a frontier village plagued by bandit raids.]
[By cliché, bandits attack the village next.]
“Yeah.”
Luther nodded absently—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sharp bell tolls rang outside, followed by screams.
“Kyaa!”
“Bandits! It’s the bandits!”
“Sp-spare me!”
Not just screams.
The view outside turned red.
Fire somewhere, clearly.
[M-Master. Ever heard “words become seeds”?]
Integra sounded uncharacteristically flustered, and Luther sprang up without replying.