Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: They Say the Hero from the Rumors Has a Mental Illness
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-Heavenly Nameless
I occasionally come down from the mountain where I live with my Master and head to the nearby village.
That said, "nearby" is a bit of a stretch—the distance from the mountain where my Master resides to the village is roughly a five-day journey one way if you run without stopping.
No matter how much training I've undergone under my Master's guidance, it takes a considerable amount of time, so I can only make the trip at just the right opportunity.
Today seems to be one of those rare timings when I can visit the village.
My Master begins each day with mana breathing.
In my Master's presence, however, it's referred to not as the Mana Breathing Method, but as Internal Energy Circulation.
If I slip up and call it the Mana Breathing Method in front of her, she'll immediately snap, "Out with it! It's not the Mana Breathing Method—it's Internal Energy Circulation!"
But what can I do? Even after studying under her for so long, the term "Mana Breathing Method" is still more familiar to me.
It's my Master who's unusual to begin with. What even is Internal Energy Circulation?
It's not like I've lived a long life, but that's the first time I've heard such a term.
In any case, as her disciple who has received her teachings, I also start my days with mana breathing.
But my Master sometimes enters a trance-like state, forgoing sleep entirely and continuing her mana breathing for days on end.
Back when I knew nothing, there was a time when she didn't return to the cabin until nightfall, and I mistakenly thought she'd abandoned me, sobbing my heart out for days.
Two weeks later, she returned to the cabin as casually as ever and asked me, "Why were you crying?"—leaving her flustered instead.
When I tearfully told her—snot and drool streaming down my face as I clung to her—that I'd thought she'd abandoned me after not seeing her for days,
only then did she realize she'd been gone for so long. After that, she instructed me to come to the mountain peak if she ever disappeared for an extended period.
After that incident, as the seasons passed and the cold weather thawed with flowers blooming,
my Master once again failed to return to the cabin late into the night, so I took the meal I'd prepared for her and headed to the mountain peak as instructed.
The scenery I witnessed that day still lingers in a corner of my memory, tickling my heart.
It was truly a beautiful sight.
My Master sat cross-legged atop a towering rock, her back to the moonlight,
her form so reminiscent of a fairy-tale scene from the stories my mother used to read that I lost myself gazing at her.
Her hips floated in midair, not touching the rock,
and unlike her usual mana breathing sessions where she enveloped herself in a deep crimson aura, a halo of iridescent colors shone brilliantly above her head.
Her pupils had vanished, her gaze fixed vacantly into the void as if staring at something unknowable,
and from her lips flowed words so rapid I couldn't comprehend them, yet they rang not as ear-piercing noise but as a beautiful melody.
How long did I stand there entranced? Eventually, I gathered my things and descended back to the cabin.
Instinctively, I knew not to disturb her in that state.
What etched itself into my heart that day wasn't the profound awe I'd felt upon first meeting my Master.
It was something softer, rounder—not rigid and angular.
I opened my eyes. Recalling that beautiful memory was joyful, but it wouldn't directly aid my goals.
It reaffirmed my purpose, but I'd never forgotten it even for a moment. Now was the time to handle tasks for my Master.
The reason I visit the village is simple.
First, to make my Master's life a little more comfortable,
and second, to gather information by eavesdropping on conversations in the bustling village.
Last time—about five months ago—I heard rumors of an oracle descending and a Saintess being found, but I didn't tell my Master.
There was a reason for that.
A Saintess and a Hero exist only one per generation—meaning no generation has ever lacked one or the other.
So, finding the Saintess wasn't significant enough for me to report directly to my Master.
I circulated mana through my body and hastened my steps toward the village.
'I hope I find some useful information this time.'
I wanted to bring back something that would truly help my Master.
Upon arriving at the village, I headed straight for the Adventurers' Guild.
Not to take on any requests,
but because it was the only place around to exchange monster parts for money.
'It's also a good spot to naturally overhear conversations.'
I tuned my ears to the surrounding chatter as I made my way to the exchange counter.
The place where my Master and I live is one of the so-called Seven Great Demonic Realms.
Common sense dictates that if it weren't a Demonic Realm where my Master resides, she would've encountered people countless times over her long years—doesn't that make sense?
'Though my Master herself seems oblivious to that fact.'
That said, since it's a Demonic Realm, it's teeming with all sorts of monsters,
most of which steer clear of our cabin due to my Master's presence.
Every now and then, though, monsters so dim-witted they don't even sense her aura wander down to the cabin.
No matter how stupid they are, they're still Demonic Realm beasts,
and while my Master may not realize it, I've been collecting their corpses whenever they appear and selling them on village trips—so she actually has quite a bit of money.
Arriving at the exchange counter deep within the Adventurers' Guild, a burly man greeted me.
"You're back?"
He glanced at the monster corpses slung over my shoulder and grimaced.
"Tch, Demonic Realm monsters again? You're one tough bastard."
"Just exchange them for cash."
I handed over the corpses, and as he inspected them, his expression turned to one of exasperation.
"How do you process them so cleanly every time...?"
Midway through checking one, he tossed me a pouch of coins.
"No need to check the rest?"
I eyed him suspiciously, but he waved me off dismissively.
"They're obviously top quality. You don't wanna linger here any longer than necessary, right? It'll be the right amount—just go."
"...Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah. Cut the polite crap—it doesn't suit you. Just scram."
I tucked the coin pouch into my clothes and left.
Typically, when my Master enters that trance for Internal Energy Circulation, she stays that way for about two weeks on average.
Given the distance between the village and the mountain, to return to the cabin before she wakes, I need to stay here just one night and depart at dawn.
That's why I could never buy the things she always nagged me to get,
but today, it looks like I can.
Normally, by the time the monster exchange wrapped up, the sun would be setting, forcing me straight to the tavern,
but it finished quicker than expected.
Thanks to that, I had a bit of extra time.
With this much time...
'I can buy those strawberries my Master loves.'
Imagining her goofy—no, her beaming smile as she eats them made my lips curl up involuntarily.
A great start to the trip.
After setting aside enough cheap lodging and tavern money, I bought strawberries, filling that big pouch to the brim with them.
'This should be plenty.'
I carefully stowed the strawberry pouch in my room at the inn and headed to the tavern.
The sun was starting to set.
The tavern was as rowdy as ever,
since most adventurers finishing requests from all over flock here.
The conversations showed no sign of dying down,
and no one lowered their voices out of consideration.
Glasses clinked everywhere, followed by hearty male laughter.
Sitting alone in this atmosphere might seem out of place,
but they don't approach me.
If I'm just quietly nursing my drink, they assume I've had a rough time on a request and figure there's no gain in bothering me.
I focused my ears on their talks amid the din.
"A toast to returning safely today!"
"Hey! Another beer here!"
"Ahaha! So what happened next?!"
I ignored the pointless banter.
What I needed was info useful to my Master—not their hardships or daily lives.
As I downed one drink, then two, a female adventurer's voice caught my ear.
"Hey, Lucy, you hear about that? The Hero chosen by the Holy Sword this time."
Hero?
'A Hero has appeared.'
Worth listening closely.
"Yeah, yeah, he was handsome, right? But what about the Hero?"
A female adventurer at a nearby table slammed it with her palm as she spoke up.
"I hear he's a bit off in the head!"
"What? Why?!"
The response didn't come from her, but from a bald adventurer across the way.
"Ah! This Hero's unusual—he skipped the Academy and went straight into his pilgrimage."
"What? Isn't a Hero just a greenhorn at that point? What gives him the confidence?"
Indeed, most Heroes haven't seen real combat before being chosen by the Holy Sword.
The bald adventurer shook his head and slammed his glass down.
"No, they say he's the greatest Hero ever—he unleashed sword aura the moment he gripped the blade."
"Eek... really? That's insane talent. But isn't that a good thing? Why's it weird?"
The bald man covered half his mouth with his hand but bellowed anyway.
"When he met the Saintess, he burst into tears! Our poor Saintess didn't know what to do."
"What happened? Were they acquaintances?"
"Nah! It was their first meeting as Hero and Saintess!"
The original woman chimed in.
"And get this—right after being chosen by the Holy Sword and grasping it, he grimaced, vomited, and spewed curses!"
"What? That's new to me. What'd he say?"
"Something like... 'That bastard will eventually...' I forget! Can't recall!"
The greatest talent in history, but mentally unstable...
Looks like I have some info worth telling my Master.
Plus, a generation with both Hero and Saintess appearing together? Nothing but ominous thoughts come to mind.