Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Let's Wash Up First
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The demon wasn't as aggressive as I'd feared.
Even with Helen by my side, if it had been, I would've been torn to shreds long ago.
I realized it when I swung my sword at the extending tentacle.
Clang! My blade bounced off with a sharp ring, sparks flying.
Even wrapped in lightning, it didn't land a proper hit. Instead, the recoil from my swing made my arm go numb, nearly causing me to drop the sword.
I hastily pulled my sword back and raised it sheath and all.
If I couldn't cut it anyway, this seemed better.
Meanwhile, Helen gripped her slender rapier in one hand, her other resting on her hip, and with light thrusts alone, she burst the tentacles that I couldn't even scratch.
But despite those casual movements, it wasn't easy—her brow furrowed slightly.
"Among the demons I've seen, this one's strong enough to rank in the top ten. But looks like it doesn't have any special abilities after all."
"Huh...?"
"Listen up. Since I'm teaching you, this is your first lesson."
Helen's voice was low and steady, but the tension from moments ago was gone, her face back to its usual sly grin.
"Demons are strong, right? You know that."
"Yeah, terrifyingly so."
"But if it was just raw strength, do you think they'd be such a problem?"
"Huh...?"
Helen lightly pierced an incoming tentacle and shook the gunk off her blade.
The filth that hit the wall sizzled as it melted, and only then did I realize her sword was no ordinary weapon.
"There are plenty of gold-rank adventurers stronger than me, and the royal knights or city mages are about on par in terms of strength. Humans are way stronger than you think. We fear demons not just because they're strong."
Graaaaaah!
The demon screamed.
It had countless tentacles, each tough enough that I couldn't dent them, yet they burst so pathetically under Helen's strikes.
Each burst scattered acid that melted the walls, and a few drops hit my clothes, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning leather.
I could tell the demon felt pain from its shrieks, but it still clutched the broken doll to its chest, refusing to move from its spot.
It might sound odd for a demon, but its sorrow seemed greater than its pain or rage.
"Demons all have unique abilities that affect people deeply—that's why we fear them. For example, a demon that shows you what you want to see lures people in and devours them, absorbing their knowledge."
Using that knowledge, it changes its form and repeats the process, preying on more people.
Helen continued as she thrust and slashed again.
Not a single move defended her body—every one was purely offensive.
I was too unskilled to track her sword with my eyes, catching only fleeting glimpses.
And of all the strikes I could see, not one would I be able to block.
"Ucha—some demons whisper what you want to hear. They usually pair up symbiotically with the vision ones."
"...That's."
"Right, the demons behind the gifts you gave Shan and Marcel. Their power isn't that impressive, but they're nasty."
Helen shook off her blade again and lowered into a stance.
"That's why people fear and guard against demons."
Like drawing a bowstring, her rapier hand pulled back.
A menacing, invisible aura emerged.
My skin prickled—it was unseen but undeniably real.
"A demon with just brute strength and low intelligence like this? No threat at all."
Her words were firm, and the ferocious aura converged to a point at her sword tip.
Glowing a deep crimson, it was unmistakably murderous intent, but more destructive than anything I'd ever sensed.
Sensing the threat, perhaps.
The demon finally lashed out with dozens of tentacles, but it was too late—Helen smirked mockingly.
"I got spooked at first since it was a new demon—thought it might have some weird ability. No? Then just die!"
Like releasing a bowstring, her sword shot forward, the crimson trail lagging just behind.
In an instant, a long crimson line stretched out, and the demon's body shattered into pieces.
And one second later.
A deafening roar echoed through the entire sewer.
The demon's fragments scattered, cracking the walls deeply.
Its blood poured out, melting the sewer floor with a vile stench that no thin cloth could block.
"...Whew, let's get out of here."
"...Yeah."
"What's wrong?"
"Is this really over?"
For a roll of 16, it was too easy.
It was an enemy I couldn't touch, and Helen did everything—I contributed nothing—but the dice account for those factors.
I'd experienced it multiple times before, so I knew.
And besides.
No reward had come.
It was silent, as if the mission wasn't complete.
Only one conclusion possible.
Helen seemed to think the same, clicking her tongue.
"No way it's over. That doll—it was controlling the demon. Smashing it didn't feel right; it wasn't the real body."
It's not finished.
That means the protagonist of dice 16 isn't the demon we just defeated—it's the doll's true form.
Hand feel, huh...
"You can tell by the hand feel?"
"...At my level, my senses are hyper-sensitive. I can distinguish fake from real, lies from truth."
Of course, she added that detecting lies relies on pupil dilation, voice tremors, and fidgety behavior—clear limitations.
"Anyway, this isn't the end. Since we missed the real body, something similar could happen again soon."
"Isn't it still dangerous then?"
"It got hunted once, so it'll lay low for a while. Even a big shot wouldn't act so blatantly in a capital full of gold-ranks. Get caught a few more times, and it'd get tracked down. It'll be cautious."
"And meanwhile, we leave the capital?"
"Exactly. To be blunt, I'm the weakest gold-rank, and the capital has multiples. They won't miss one like me."
It made sense, but I worried about Shan and Marcel staying behind.
But that worry didn't last.
If I left far away, at least the capital would be safer for a while.
The doll had said as much.
Something about similar beings attracting each other.
I wasn't sure how to interpret it, but for now, I took it to mean my presence here caused more frequent incidents, drawing me in.
So if I left the capital, fewer events would happen, making those two safer.
What I really needed to worry about wasn't them—it was myself.
I'd already met two characters.
A saint and a demon worshipper.
Both were leagues beyond me.
Only I was floundering here.
Realizing that.
If it was just one saint, it might've been fine.
I could've dismissed her as a special case, separate from me.
But two or more changes everything.
One dud out of two isn't weird, but one out of three is.
Even accounting for support differences and traits, I was falling far behind, spiking my alertness to the max.
Timeline-wise, I should be the first character, yet this gap bred resentment and inferiority, my lack of talent a muddy self-loathing dragging me down.
The reason to grow stronger crystallized.
Not just from inferiority.
The situation forced one suspicion.
The saint and this demon worshipper.
Neither showed hostility toward me—yet.
I know Rie hates me.
Not just dislikes—intense loathing.
But the saint seemed autonomous-deficient, and the worshipper guiltless about murder.
If Rie ordered them to kill me, they'd hunt me down—reluctantly or without a second thought.
I didn't want to die like that.
It'd be too unfair.
To avoid it, I had to grow stronger.
Not just to survive, but to kill whatever made me this way—I needed power.
"Helen."
"Yeah?"
"I want to get stronger."
"I'll help you."
Her immediate, unwavering response felt genuine, inspiring trust.
Our first meeting wasn't pleasant, but she was exactly who I needed now.
Truth be told, denying my heart wavered would be a lie.
Even now.
Life here was satisfying enough; I didn't want to abandon it for hardship.
Not weakness—anyone would feel this.
But reality wouldn't let me indulge that natural reluctance.
People can't always do what they want; sometimes they must grit their teeth through what they hate.
I knew this was that time.
"We'll travel with silver badges again, right?"
"Yeah, pretty girls like us wandering without plates? What kinda trouble you think we'd attract?"
"...Fair point."
Goblins weren't an issue anymore, but the world had worse than goblins.
"But Helen, even if someone came at you, it'd be no problem, right?"
"I'd mince 'em and feed 'em to the fish, so no problem. But it's a hassle."
Ah, that kinda thing.
Yeah, definitely.
Just flashing silver changed treatment and avoided needless fights.
Starting a journey without earning it would be foolish.
"Anyway, let's go—the stench is numbing my nose. For proof of subjugation..."
Helen grumbled, picking up a relatively intact tentacle from the demon's shattered corpse.
"This should do."
"Yeah..."
We didn't catch the culprit, but we finished the job, so it should suffice.
At least I wouldn't get arrested and executed in my place.
The moment I thought that, the notification sounded.
Dice 16 unresolved.
But dice 11 was acknowledged as complete.
Villain F ▶ Removed
I opened my status window for the first time in ages.
Villain was gone.
And.
Fame has increased!
Fame had risen.
For such a high dice roll, the gains felt modest.
Probably low contribution.
Still, shedding that thorny issue eased my mind with a sigh of relief.
As we exited the sewer, the people waiting outside spotted us, wrinkling their noses and pinching them shut.
"...Should we wash up first?"
The most urgent matter was clearly washing our bodies and laundry.