Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Holy Warrior's Tangled Reputation
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I'd pretended to be angry in front of Ravi and Elfin, but honestly, I wasn't that mad.
As an avid reader, I knew better than anyone just how much Alvis disgusted the heroines in the original Loveholic. It was only natural they'd react like that.
But if we kept going with this awkward roommate vibe, the moment some trigger came up, someone would bail on the team. And that would lead straight to the trash game ending of Holy Warrior Brayden NX.
I had to bind Ravi and Elfin to my side. To keep these two, who clearly didn't think much of me, from walking away on their own, I needed to burden their consciences.
Now that I'd shown them once that I'd been hurt, these kind-hearted girls wouldn't dare act rashly—not out of guilt, at least.
By tying their feet like this, piling on not just emotional debts but material ones too, and later bringing Lenis into the fold, I could at least avert the three of them from their tragic fates.
I was mulling this over when Ravi cautiously glanced at me and spoke up.
"Um... Alvis? You over it now?"
She apparently still thought I was mad but had grudgingly accepted their apologies.
"Yeah."
"Thanks. Anyway, about what comes next—how're we handling it? Heading back to the nearest village?"
I glanced back at the Gargoyle Cave hidden in secrecy.
The dungeon was cleared, so one might say we had no more business here...
It was a bit different from the message when I'd slain the Dark Spirit—a notice that I hadn't fully uncovered this cave's secrets.
I couldn't leave until I checked it out.
I couldn't use Eye that Pierces Truth anymore today, so all I could do was wait for the day to pass.
"Nah, I burned a ton of energy—feeling beat. It's nighttime now anyway, so let's crash here for the day. Who knows how many Gargoyles are out there, and since we cleared the dungeon, this spot's safer than outside for at least a day."
Saying that, I pulled out the tent.
Tomorrow, I'd use my ability to scour the cave one more time, then we'd bail.
That was the plan right up until I fell asleep.
And the next day...
'Tell me this shit ahead of time!'
The moment I opened my eyes, I activated the ability inside the cave and cursed inwardly at the internal cooldown notice.
I'd had a nagging feeling about spamming it yesterday, but I never imagined it'd snowball like this.
"Alvis? Something wrong? Your face looks off."
Ravi, sharp at reading expressions, snapped me out of it. I stood, heart full of annoyance.
"Nothing. Just slept weird—body feels stiff. Let's head down."
"To the city?"
"Yeah. Gotta hunt clues on who busted the barrier stone linking to this mountain's mid-levels."
Elfin's ears perked up at my words.
"People who broke the barrier stone? Got a guess who?"
"Not yet. But I know someone who might."
"Where to?"
In the vision of the past I'd seen, there were definitely guys who'd deliberately smashed that barrier stone.
I didn't know who they were or where they'd gone, but anyone slinging magic strong enough to wreck it on purpose would leave traces.
Unfortunately, neither I, Ravi, nor Elfin knew much about magic, so we couldn't analyze it on the spot. But there was a place full of people who could.
A city of capable, insane lawless folk who'd do anything for a price.
"Libertà."
Ravi and Elfin's eyes went wide at my answer.
After staring at me for a few seconds, they snapped to and yelled in unison.
"No way!"
"No!"
"Jeez, you scared me—my ears are ringing. Why the freakout?"
Both were fired up, blocking my path.
Elfin spread her arms wide to bar me, desperate to stop me from going.
"Do you even know what Libertà is like?! Pratea Kingdom washed their hands of it completely—it's a total lawless zone! I've never been, but our country's rife with its notoriety. It's packed with lunatics! Sometimes our kin enslaved there escape and tell tales—it's hell itself!"
From behind, Ravi tugged at me.
"Plenty of our Bunny Tribe escaped from there too! It's no place for humans! Every nutjob on the continent flocks there—you get your nose slit in broad daylight, that's its fame! Why do you think Pratea Kingdom built a barrier to quarantine it? No, we can't! Let's find somewhere else, okay?"
They tried desperately to dissuade me, but I knew Libertà was the only answer.
Sure, it was dangerous.
But with every scum under the sun crawling in, it meant specialists you couldn't find elsewhere were there too.
For someone like me who knew exactly where to go and who to meet once we arrived, their worries were just overblown.
"Don't sweat it. We're not staying over—just grabbing the intel and bouncing. And you're both strong, so handling yourselves there won't be an issue, right? No Libertà, no leads anywhere else. Trust me and follow."
"But..."
They still looked unconvinced.
Time for some emotional WWE again.
"Fine, you don't wanna go. Got it. I'll head to dangerous Libertà alone then. I'll forgo my share of supplies for you, chase clues on the anomaly, solo the Gargoyle sweep so you don't tire out—but if you can't even tag along, no helping it.
I'll go to Libertà alone. I've only helped you, got treated like trash in return, and now off to that deadly city alone."
"D-don't put it like that—what does that make us..."
"Aaaah! Fine, fine! We'll go together! This is why I hated owing this guy..."
Nothing beats saddling good kids with debts.
It might piss you off, but suck it up.
I'm saving you rejects Brayden passed over from your shitty futures ahead.
Whether from within the Empire or without, Holy Warrior Brayden was under massive stress amid all the chatter.
From the appointment ceremony when the goddess's light failed to grace his holy sword, he'd doubted his own worth, convinced the goddess had forsaken him—insomnia set in hard.
His lover Celine tried consoling his dejection, but it rang hollow.
'I have to prove my worth. Even if the sword won't shine, I need to be a source of comfort and reliance for the people... With my skills, if I don't deliver results, what'll they think of me? I need achievements. Ones everyone will acknowledge...'
One day, pondering what feat could earn recognition—
He heard rumors of anomalies in the Fresia Mountains and volunteered to the palace to resolve them.
Gargoyles swarming even in broad daylight—he'd purge them in the Holy Warrior's name.
Confident in his skills, Brayden set off for the Fresia Mountains the moment the palace approved.
With his lover and mighty knight Celine, a palace-assigned mage for guidance, and nearly a hundred soldiers, he used the teleport transmitter to the mountain's foothills, gripped his unlit holy sword, and pushed to the mid-levels.
The accompanying mage warned as they neared.
"We're almost at the mid-levels, Holy Warrior. Past this barrier, the Gargoyles..."
But the barrier was gone.
The mage panicked and shouted.
"Th-the barrier...? Why's the divider between mid- and low-levels vanished?!"
"Must be part of the anomaly. Let's push up."
Brayden hurried his forces onward.
Sure, Gargoyles aplenty above—but a powerhouse like him could handle any number. Plus, with eyes on him, tales would spread, washing away doubts about him as Holy Warrior.
Once in the mid-levels, the mage scanned around.
"The palace told me there's a secret Gargoyle dungeon nearby. I'll scout ahead, so you—"
Moving near the cliff, the mage's eyes bulged again as he cried out in shock.
"Th-the dungeon entrance?! How...?"
"I'll check!"
Brayden spurred his mount to the cave, then dismounted and peered inside on foot.
Celine, the guide mage, and soldiers entered too—but the cave was empty.
Brayden muttered in confusion.
"The mid-levels were supposed to be crawling with Gargoyles..."
Celine probed for presences, but nothing.
"Nothing here, Brayden. This dungeon's empty. Maybe the rumors got twisted..."
Brayden's sword-grip trembled.
A bust.
Holy Warrior Brayden and the Imperial troops were just out for a hike.
He'd planned to broadcast to the world that even without the shining sword, he was still the Holy Warrior by resolving this anomaly.
The Gargoyle surge in Fresia Mountains' mid-levels was known not just to the Empire but other nations—too solid for distortion.
So why...
Now he'd be the fool branded for dragging troops on a pointless mountain trek.
The guide mage muttered quietly, voice sunken low where none could hear.
"......What a ghostly feat. Who the hell found this place, and how?"
BAM!
His whisper drowned in the hollow roar of Brayden's frustrated, rage-filled sword cleaving the innocent cave wall.