Chapter 74: Someone More Terrifying Than a Heretic
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Someone More Terrifying Than a Heretic
Yuria returned.
And she was injured.
“Yuria! What happened?”
“Si-on...! I’m hurt! Here, and here, and here! Look! It hurts like hell, doesn't it?”
“I mean, how can an injured person be this energetic...?”
“I don't know. I just missed you.”
With tears welling in her eyes, Yuria lunged at me.
For a moment, she clung to me just like Lady Leah usually did, but I couldn't withstand the force and ended up falling backward.
The weight class was entirely different from Lady Leah’s.
Her large breasts pressed firmly against my face, smothering me.
“Mmph!! I—I can’t... breathe...!”
“Ah, sorry. I was just so happy to see you.”
I was finally released just before I ran out of air.
If I had been pinned down any longer, I probably would have fainted.
“Anyway, Yuria. How did you get hurt? What exactly happened?”
“Well, you see...”
Yuria began to recount the events of that day.
When her party arrived at the location where they believed a Transfer Stone would be, the Kingdom Army was already lying in ambush.
Expecting adventurers from the Labyrinth City to show up, they had been lying in wait. As soon as Yuria and her party were spotted, the soldiers launched their assault.
“And the Kingdom side had quite a few soldiers who used to be adventurers.”
“Former adventurers?”
“Yeah. It looks like they built up their strength in the Labyrinth City and then enlisted in the Kingdom Army.”
“Hah, those crazy bastards.”
“Right? I don't know what kind of perks they were promised, but looking at them, most seemed to be guys who had gotten older and hit a plateau in their growth.”
“They probably went to the Kingdom because they couldn't cut it in the Labyrinth City anymore. Trash.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying. It was a gathering of rejects. But since there were so many of them and they were operating as a military unit, fighting them was absolute hell.”
Adventurers, who move in small teams, are completely different from soldiers, who move as a legion.
Since the Kingdom strategically utilized adventurers whose individual martial prowess far exceeded that of a normal person, it was understandable that they were difficult to handle, even if their levels were lower than Yuria’s.
“Turning adventurers into soldiers... that would definitely be a handful.”
“As expected, Si-on, you’re smart enough to grasp the situation immediately.”
“It’s nothing special.”
“It was seriously no joke. They attacked in formation, and then a literal rain of arrows came pouring down. Ugh.”
From what I heard, it sounded like Yuria had carved through at least a hundred of them by herself before escaping.
Men who became Kingdom soldiers because they couldn't make it big as adventurers...
I didn't know what their salary was, but they must have figured being in the Kingdom Army was much better than scraping by in the lower floors of the Labyrinth.
And with hundreds of such men swarming them, Yuria and her party eventually couldn't hold out and had to flee.
“It was too much for just us. We planned to just destroy the Transfer Stone and run once we saw the situation, but we couldn't even manage that. There were former Gold Badge adventurers standing guard near the stone. Most were old, but the fact that they had survived until that age was what bothered me.”
“I guess they joined the Kingdom Army after retiring.”
“Yeah. It seemed that way.”
An old Gold Badge adventurer.
That was a terrifying combination.
Being old meant they had that much experience, and it meant they were skilled enough to survive into their twilight years.
“Anyway, I made it back alive and well.”
“You did well. You really went through a lot.”
“Right? Hundreds of them attacked at once. I couldn't kill them all, and I got a bit hurt while escaping. They said it might leave a scar. Will I be less pretty if I have a scar?”
“No. It’ll be fine.”
“It’ll be fine, right? You won't throw me away even if I have a scar, right? You have to take responsibility and support me until the end. Right?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah. Right. Of course.”
“Good, good. I like that. That’s my Si-on. Let’s stay together forever, okay?”
For some reason, the words "stay together forever" sounded a bit ominous.
“Y-yeah, we should. We have to stay together forever.”
“Mhm. Good. Promise me.”
“I promise...”
“If you break that promise, I’ll kill you.”
“Hey! Your eyes are scary!”
“Hehe. Just kidding, just kidding.”
Yuria, who had been staring at me with a flash of madness in her eyes, suddenly smiled and hugged me as if nothing had happened.
For a second there, I was genuinely frightened.
“Did everyone who went with you make it back safely?”
“No. Three out of the seventeen died. The rest, including me, just have minor injuries.”
“Ah... those three...”
“The Guild decided to cover all the costs for this mission, so they’re getting resurrected for free. You have no idea how hard it was to bring them back before they started to rot.”
She even handled the transport of the corpses.
It seemed she had recovered all the bodies of her fallen comrades. I didn't need to see it to know how grueling that must have been.
It might have been different if they had a Subspace Pocket like I did, but carrying rotting corpses from the Kingdom back to the city while evading enemy pursuit must have been a nightmare of a task.
“The survival rate was higher than I expected. Considering the enemy numbers, it’s a miracle you got out alive. But Si-on, I saw a new friend when I got home.”
“Ah, right.”
I had purchased Olivia with Yuria, but Marin was someone I had bought on my own and settled in the house.
“So, you’re saying you needed someone to look after Olivia while you go down into the Labyrinth?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm. I see. Hey, you there.”
“Yes...! My name is Marin, ma'am!”
Marin looked visibly intimidated.
In the Labyrinth City, Yuria was quite a celebrity.
She was known as the Red-haired Sword Princess.
There was a general perception that if you crossed her, you’d be sliced to pieces.
So, it was perfectly understandable that Marin, a former adventurer, was terrified.
She was likely overwhelmed by the pressure and the gaze Yuria emitted.
Hearing about Yuria from me was one thing, but facing her in person was another matter entirely.
“Did you clean the kitchen and the bathroom?”
“Y-yes...! I did...!”
“Good job. There wasn't a speck of dust.”
“Thank you very much!”
“Where do you sleep? On the floor?”
“Ah, I sleep inside that jar over there...!”
“Really? Hmm. Okay. You didn't do anything weird with Si-on, did you?”
“Pardon...?”
“Like fooling around with Si-on while I was gone. That sort of thing.”
“N-no...! Not at all!”
“Is that so? Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, ma'am!!”
Actually, I had gotten a handjob from Marin on the first day.
But the atmosphere definitely wasn't right to mention that now. Let’s keep that day a secret.
“Anyway, I’m thinking of washing up. Want to join me?”
“Should I...?”
“Yeah. Marin, get the water heated.”
“Yes, ma'am!!”
At her invitation, I followed her into the bathroom.
“Heh. Si-on, you’ve put on more muscle since I last saw you. Oh my, look at these arms. Hihi.”
“Guaaaah!! Yuria!! Don't squeeze so hard...!!!”
“Does it hurt?”
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”
“Heh. Weak. Such a weakling. Hehet.”
Yuria laughed as she toyed with me like I was some kind of plaything.
She seemed truly happy to see me after so long.
“Si-on, tell me what happened while I was away. Olivia gave me the gist of it, but I want to hear it from you.”
“Me? Uh. Well.”
Where should I start?
Being attacked by heretics?
Or almost getting my throat slit by a monster that came up from the 6th floor?
I didn't want to worry Yuria unnecessarily.
“Olivia started learning the lute. She’s actually getting quite good at playing lately.”
“Oh, really? I’ll have to listen later. Is she going to the Bard Academy?”
“I heard the guys there drool whenever they see a woman, so I took her to the Druid Club building instead.”
“A lot of those Bard bastards are basically male prostitutes. Good call. So, nothing happened to you?”
“I...”
“I heard you were hurt. Tell me the details.”
As expected, she wasn't going to let it slide.
“Well, you see... I was attacked in the middle of the night.”
“By who?”
“Heretics...”
“Those fucking bastards. They should be ripped apart on sight. So, how badly were you hurt?”
“Well, I was unconscious for a few days. I was stabbed pretty deeply.”
“...Any missing limbs?”
“I’m fine. Nothing was cut off. And I killed one of them.”
“Good job. In a situation like that, you have to kill at least one. Otherwise, it stays with you as trauma and makes life miserable forever.”
“Right.”
Fear, after all, stems from an unbeatable opponent or the unknown.
Once you uncover the target's secrets or eliminate them with your own hands, the fear naturally dissipates.
It’s something that wouldn't happen on modern Earth, but in this world, killing in self-defense is encouraged.
Especially if the opponent is a heretic, killing them proactively is highly recommended.
“And I heard you were hurt again a few days ago. What was that? Did you get hurt in the Labyrinth? I heard there was some incident.”
“I didn't get hurt in the Labyrinth. That was also related to the heretics.”
I told her about what happened the day before yesterday.
How a monster from the 6th floor crawled into the middle of the city, and while I was stalling for time to save the Young Lady, my throat was halfway cut.
“Those heretic bastards are insane. What the hell is the Shadow Division doing?”
“The Shadow Division?”
“Yeah. They’re like the city’s security force... Hmm. Did the Spider miss a thread?”
“Who’s the Spider?”
“Just someone. An ajumma who handles silver threads. She’s amazing at catching bugs, but she keeps missing these heretics.”
“Whoa...”
A woman who handles silver threads.
Isn't that Lady Leah’s technique teacher?
That person is part of the Labyrinth City’s Shadow Division?
Just who exactly is Lady Leah learning her skills from?
On paper, she’s a thief.
But the skills she’s learning are specialized for intelligence and assassination.
No wonder her combat power had increased so noticeably. There was a reason for it.
“Anyway, that’s impressive. You held out against a Watcher. Those are real monsters that even I haven't properly fought yet.”
“It was only possible because Lady Moira sealed all its techniques with her Demon Eye. Otherwise, I would’ve been dead.”
“Even so, the fact that you could stand against it for even a moment is incredible. A Bronze Badge porter who hasn't even conquered the Underground City survived a fight with a Watcher from the 6th Floor Crystal Cave? No one would believe that story.”
“I suppose so.”
“That’s why it’s amazing. Be proud of it.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
Yuria stroked my hair.
Before she was my girlfriend, she was a senior adventurer.
She had been frequenting the Labyrinth much longer than I had, and she was already a top-tier Silver Badge adventurer when we first met.
Receiving praise from her felt incredibly good.
“Since you survived so well, I’ll wash your hair as a reward. Stay still.”
Yuria lathered my hair with soap and began massaging my scalp.
It felt like my scalp was going to tear, but it was also strangely refreshing.
“Ah, right. Yuria.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“I’m heading into the Labyrinth next week.”
“What? You just got out not long ago.”
“Well...”
I told Yuria about the heretic hunting mission.
Since she was someone I could trust with everything, there was no need to hide this expedition from her.
“You’re going with the Saintess? With Freya?”
“Yeah. Her and four more Inquisitors. Six of us are going down.”
“Be careful. Freya is a famous lunatic.”
“I mean, everyone says that. But why? What did she do for everyone to talk about her like that?”
“Was it 10 years ago, or 20? Anyway, it was a long time ago, back when the Saintess was active as an adventurer. At that time, heretics staged an uprising outside the Labyrinth City. I think it was near the Keislan Kingdom back then, too. Anyway, Freya once wiped out the entire region where the heretics were rumored to be.”
“Wiped it out?”
“Yeah. Not just the suspected heretics, but innocent people too. Over the course of two months, she turned that area into a sea of blood and eventually slaughtered every last remnant of the heretics. After that, she hung the heads of the heretics on the walls of the city managed by a Baron. It’s one of her famous incidents.”
“...”
One of her famous "incidents."
Just what kind of things had she been doing?
“Since then, Saintess Freya has been banned from leaving the city. I heard she even killed a few Keislan nobles just because they were suspected of being heretics.”
“She really is a lunatic. How is she still alive after doing something like that?”
“Probably because she killed everyone who came to assassinate her? And the Saintess definitely played a part in the suppression of the Goddess Church outside the Labyrinth City.”
She was a much more terrifying person than I had imagined.
“It’s better to think of Freya as a kind of killing machine. She’ll do anything to kill heretics, and she’s a killing machine that erases any force opposed to the Goddess Church. The Order made her that way. It’s the result of being educated like she was brainwashed since childhood.”
This is why rote, forced education is scary.
Turning an ordinary girl into a killing machine.
“A crazy battle saintess, then.”
“Her combat ability is amazing, but she also has unbelievable divine power and healing magic that can save anyone as long as they aren't dead. She’s definitely a Saintess. Though it seems the Goddess didn't look at her personality when choosing her. Still, if she’s an ally, you won't have to worry about dying easily.”
“I guess. The Saintess is scarier than the heretics.”
At this point, I was starting to fear the Saintess more than the heretics.
She was a madwoman whose eyes never smiled even when her mouth did.
It might be more accurate to see her as a murderer bound by the Goddess Church.
“Anyway, come back safely. Don't die.”
“I will.”
Yuria patted my back.
I’d be able to spend tonight with her.
I was glad Yuria had returned before I had to enter the Labyrinth.