Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Enemy's Child
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I munched on strawberries as I surveyed Nameless's room.
I'd spent the whole day swinging my sword or sharing meals and such in my own cabin, so I hadn't really had a chance to examine it closely before. This was pretty much the first time.
Especially since I'd made a few little slip-ups whenever I entered Nameless's room.
Maybe because of that, he seemed a bit reluctant to invite me in at all.
"Tch."
What a petty guy.
A few minor mistakes, and now his master had to watch her step in his own room? Nameless was seriously immature.
He gave me a puzzled look as I clicked my tongue and shook my head. For some reason, even that annoyed me, so I turned away and popped another strawberry into my mouth.
My facial muscles trembled violently as I fought to keep my lips from curling up.
Anyway, Nameless had built the room himself. Maybe because he wouldn't accept my help, it seemed a bit rougher around the edges than the cabin I'd made.
He should've bowed his head and said thanks when I offered to help, but he'd stubbornly refused.
His eyes back then had screamed that my assistance would just get in the way.
"Tch!"
I glared around the room, eyes blazing.
I was hunting for any flaw, no matter how small, to point out. That way, he'd regret turning down my help and beat his chest in remorse.
Heh heh...
Just imagining it brought a smile to my face.
But then.
Huh?
'Didn't he build this better than me?'
I couldn't find a single thing to nitpick. Even the spots that looked sloppy at first glance turned out to be masterfully finished with thin cords and such.
How the heck did he make the floor so smooth and even? Not a bump in sight.
Something was wrong here.
This kid—my disciple Heavenly Nameless, way younger than me—was a better builder?
The shocking truth hit me hard. My jaw dropped, and the strawberry I'd just put in my mouth tumbled to the floor.
Nameless tilted his head at my expression, then spoke up with a worried look.
"Master?"
"...It's nothing."
That pitying gaze hurt even more.
'It feels like something precious is getting worn down...'
To shake off the gloomy thought, I picked up the fallen strawberry and ate it.
'Sweet.'
As I was savoring my strawberries, Nameless broke the quiet atmosphere—he didn't seem all that comfortable with the silence.
I got where he was coming from.
If I were in his shoes with a strict, intimidating master sitting wordlessly nearby, I'd feel awkward too and say something, anything.
"Master, I heard a few things while I was in the village."
I quickly swallowed the strawberry in my mouth to respond.
Gulp—
"Kuh— Hack!"
"Master..?"
It got stuck in my throat from swallowing too fast. As I coughed, Nameless hurried over, poured water into my mouth, and patted my back.
Gulp gulp—
"Cough— Wheeze! I nearly died..."
"Yes... Are you okay?"
His sympathetic eyes stung a little, so I just nodded lightly and swiftly changed the subject.
"Mm, right, stories..."
Honestly, I wasn't all that interested.
He'd told me village gossip before, but...
'It was never useful.'
I couldn't recall any truly important info.
Back then, my lukewarm reaction must've put him off, because he hadn't brought up village talk since.
Was this something big?
'Eh, no harm in listening.'
It'd kill some time. I nodded as if to say, go ahead.
Nameless spoke in a light tone.
"They say a hero chosen by the Holy Sword has appeared."
"What."
But what I heard was... well, not just a little important. Hugely important.
Most fantasy stories feature a hero, sure, but not all. Even knowing this was a fantasy world, I didn't know which novel it was, so no main plot or characters. A hero showing up was premium intel for me.
'All I knew before was that it was fantasy and the Academy existed.'
Some stories call every Academy student a "hero," but judging by how Nameless emphasized it, this world probably had just one.
And a hero meant the Demon King, his sworn enemy, existed too.
'Academy and hero.'
I dredged up distant memories, piecing it together—until my head throbbed like overload.
'Still not enough info.'
I needed to hear this properly.
I planted my hands on the floor and crawled quickly toward Nameless, shoving my face close to his.
"Got any more info on this hero guy?"
For some reason, his brow furrowed like something bothered him. Jealous I was interested in someone else?
'Nah, no way.'
Probably just startled by me getting in his face without warning.
I waited patiently without a word. He finally answered in a slightly cool tone.
"...They say he's got some mental issues, apparently."
"Mental issues?"
Mental issues? It didn't compute. Hero and nutjob felt like opposites.
'Tch, not that kind of story?'
Maybe a dark, gritty one.
Still didn't make sense, so I pressed for details.
"How exactly is he messed up?"
"Right after getting chosen by the Holy Sword, he puked on the spot, from what I heard."
"...Puked? You mean vomited..?"
"Yes."
What? A frail hero who barfs the second he grabs the Holy Sword?
Nameless smirked at my dumbfounded face and continued.
"And apparently, the hero spewed some curses unfit for his station."
"...What?"
A frail delinquent hero?
'What the...'
Even for a novel character, that setup was over the top.
'Did I even read a story like that?'
This hero sounded too distinctive to forget, but nothing came to mind.
My head spun; I rubbed my brow. I swear there was a hint of amusement in Nameless's voice, but it had to be my imagination.
"Oh yeah, I think they also said he clung to some woman he'd just met and bawled his eyes out."
"..."
Is this okay?
The more Nameless talked about this hero, the less I wondered what world this was and more whether the world was okay with a hero like that.
'Isn't this doomed?'
A guy sobbing and clinging to a woman is the hero?
Nameless's lips curved higher at my contemptuous look, but he frowned again at my next question.
'Not the protagonist?'
Rare, but possible.
There was one surefire way to check.
"Hold on. What about his looks..? How's he look?"
"...Why do you ask?"
He clearly didn't want to answer, but I had to know, so I prodded.
"It's important. They say he's handsome?"
Crucial for me.
Plot consistency, right?
If he's the real hero, the protagonist of this world, there had to be some logic.
Sure, he seemed pathetic now, but maybe he'd grow into a noble, lovey-dovey pure-love type later.
Nameless pouted for a good while, clearly irked by the question.
It wouldn't look cute on any other guy, but since he was my boy, I'd call it endearing.
"I heard he's fairly handsome, but I haven't seen him myself, so I don't know details."
Hm, handsome means male. One more piece of info.
"Right... You only heard, so you wouldn't know."
Fair enough; even Nameless couldn't answer that.
'Should I meet him myself?'
Tricky dilemma.
Meeting the hero might really mess up the story.
'Though it was probably twisted already once I met Nameless.'
My head ached, so I popped in a strawberry.
Hm, still sweet.
Too painful to think about. I'd leave complicated stuff to future me.
Actually, it wasn't worth agonizing over.
With Nameless here, assuming the novel had any safeguards, that pathetic hero would eventually come looking for him someday.
He wasn't the hero, so he was probably a companion.
I could check the hero's looks then.
Probably.
Even I knew it was a bit complacent, but what could I do? Nameless wouldn't go to the Academy even if his life depended on it.
Just recently, once I learned the hero existed, I'd advised him to head there and befriend the guy, but...
He'd given the most antisocial response: no interest in getting chummy with anyone.
'Who does he take after?'
Tch tch. This hopeless disciple only worried his sky-high master.
"Sigh, fine, whatever about the hero. Anything else besides him?"
Like a childhood-friend mage or an elf forest guardian protecting the World Tree.
This world might have those cliché companions.
I asked with some expectation.
The answer exceeded it.
"You might not care, but they say they found a Saintess a few months back too."
"Yeah, ha, they found the Saintess."
If there's a hero, of course there's a Saintess.
'Why didn't I think of that sooner?'
In fantasy tradition, the Saintess is the hero's ever-common partner,
and the accursed god's favorite child, right?