Fixing That Rotten Mind and Surviving
Estelle stepped out of the bathroom, wiping the last drops of water from her skin. She glanced around the room, her expression slightly puzzled. It seemed she had forgotten to bring a towel.
She cracked the bathroom door open a fraction and called out softly.
“Abel? I’m sorry, but can you get me a towel...?”
“Here you go.”
“Eek?!”
Estelle jumped at the unexpected voice. But the moment she recognized it, she let out a relieved sigh.
“...You startled me. When did you wake up?”
“Just a moment ago. I needed to wash up, so hurry out.”
The person who handed her the towel was Celine. Estelle took it with a grateful nod and dried her hair before stepping out.
“Huh? Where’s Abel?”
“He said he’d step out to wash and prepare. He’ll be right back.”
“I see.”
Estelle nodded with understanding and walked past Celine. But Celine suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.
“...Saint-nim, what’s this?”
“What?”
“This on your neck.”
“My neck?”
Even though she couldn’t see it herself, Celine narrowed her eyes and stared at the spot. The dark hickey mark left by Abel on the back of Estelle’s neck.
When Celine had stayed awake last night, no such mark had been visible. Yet it had suddenly appeared in the morning.
“What kind of kiss mark is this?”
“A-a kiss mark?”
“What do you mean?”
Estelle remembered what had happened while Celine was asleep and felt her cheeks burn. Abel must have left a thick kiss mark on her neck at that time.
“You mean... he did it while you were sleeping...?”
“W-what are you talking about?! I-I didn’t do anything like that!”
“Then what is this?”
“W-well... maybe it was left last night...?”
“There wasn’t anything like that when the Saint was with you yesterday?”
“How would you know that? Maybe you just didn’t see it!”
“No, I saw it clearly.”
Celine narrowed her eyes and stared back at Estelle, who tried to glance away.
“...You lewd Saint.”
“W-what did you just say?”
“You seduced the Hero while I was asleep, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t seduce anyone!”
“As I thought.”
Estelle’s denial only confirmed that she had secretly had relations with Abel. Realizing she had walked right into a trap, she lowered her head with a soft “...eh.”
Eventually, Estelle admitted it herself while protesting.
“What’s wrong with doing it separately with Abel?! You did it twice in the mountains, right?!”
“That has nothing to do with it! We agreed to fair competition...!”
“I-I don’t know!”
“What don’t you know?! You lewd Saint!”
“W-what lewd?! Who are you calling lewd, you prude Saint?!”
While the two tsundere girls continued to bicker, a knock sounded at the door. Estelle was still in her robe, and Celine had barely thrown on her nightgown. Neither wanted to be the first to answer.
They exchanged a quick glance, then Estelle answered without opening the door.
“Yes? Who is it?”
“S-Saint-nim! It’s an emergency. The Hero, Lord Abel...!”
The moment Abel’s name was mentioned, Estelle and Celine exchanged startled glances.
#
“With the neck?”
On the training ground, I asked. Levius, standing opposite me, sneered.
“The neck? That’s kids’ stuff. We should do it with the sword, don’t you think?”
...This bastard is talking like he can beat me with a neck shot.
“...Fine, then that’s how it is.”
I didn’t care. Estelle had said the Holy Sword would lose its edge only when I inflicted a fatal wound on another person. So I just had to avoid it.
When I drew the Holy Sword, Levius let out a mocking laugh.
“You really want to prove your point with that? I like the spirit.”
“Skip the fake compliments. You too.”
“You’re so confident after just a few successful fights.”
Levius drew a pair of daggers from his waist. One was the Holy Sword of Joy, the other the relic of the Ludria Church.
Obviously the other side could swing without restraint, while I wouldn’t be able to cut him. There was a penalty, but I was confident.
Back when Estelle explained the heroes’ power levels to me, her description of Levius had been:
“Level to defeat an Ogre without blessings.”
That had once been beyond my reach, but no longer. I had even defeated a Dragon without blessings.
Levius gripped his daggers and took his stance. That lazy expression and arrogant smile. The following words were obvious.
“I won’t give you the first move, Hero. Come at me.”
As expected, he underestimated me. Had he forgotten that hesitation was the deadliest mistake in battle? That was why elitist nobles like him couldn’t be trusted.
“You’ll regret it.”
“Regret? What confident nonsense. I’ll show you the difference in experience.”
...At this point, the experience gap probably no longer mattered. I had only faced high-risk monsters lately.
“Fine. Your choice.”
I gripped the Holy Sword in one hand and lowered my knee and waist. I was ready to explode forward at any second. When I tensed, every muscle in my body tightened.
“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath, pushed off the ground, and charged.
But something felt off. My body felt faster than before. Yeah, just like after I received Estelle’s blessing—suddenly faster.
The proof was that Levius hadn’t reacted quickly enough to my approach. He reacted too late, giving me plenty of time to land a hit. I brought the flat of the Holy Sword down on his shoulder.
Thud!
“Ghk!”
Levius swung his daggers viciously, but I had already taken the hit and pulled back. His blades sliced through empty air as I retreated and watched him.
“You bastard...!”
“You should learn to be more careful.”
I don’t know why, but I felt a little faster now.
Levius ground his teeth loudly enough for me to hear. Had they broken?
“...If you wish to die, I’ll grant it, commoner.”
This time Levius moved first. As a sword-wielding Hero, his agility was impressive. Still...
“...Slower than a monster.”
Clang!
Levius suddenly appeared from the left, eyes wide with panic. His dagger swung toward me, but the Holy Sword blocked it. Panic always creates openings. I didn’t miss it.
Crack!
I smashed my fist into his jaw. The blow landed perfectly, and the force snapped Levius’s head to the side.
“Kgh...!”
Honestly, I could have hit harder, but I pulled back. The bastard was swinging daggers with real killing intent, so I had allowed the one blow.
“Ghk....”
Levius clutched his jaw and glared at me. He looked like he wanted to devour me.
“By the way, you never said how to win.”
“...If I become unable to fight, that counts as victory!”
Levius shouted that and charged again. He had clearly been rattled by the earlier hit, yet the Hero title kept him from showing weakness. He rushed forward.
“...Still using conditions that favor him.”
Disgusting bastard.
I swung the Holy Sword hard at the charging Levius. Of course he knew I couldn’t cut him. But instinct kicks in. When a blade suddenly appears before your eyes, you instinctively block it.
I exploited that, and Levius fell for it beautifully. He didn’t use both daggers, but blocked my swing with one and tried to stab me with the other. I caught his wrist and stopped it.
“...!”
His strength wasn’t that great. Better than a normal person, but still weaker than me.
I tried to twist his wrist, but Levius slipped his dagger and raked my forearm.
It wasn’t deep, but the skin was sliced and a little blood appeared. It stung a bit, yet I didn’t release his wrist and twisted it sideways instead.
Crack.
His right arm twisted, and Levius screamed.
“Kiiiieeeek!!!”
...Was that too much?
His wrist was broken, so he dropped the Holy Sword and clutched his injured hand while groaning.
“Ghk... ugh....”
...Must have hurt a lot.
If someone saw it, they’d think I had stabbed him in the gut. Heroes are too dramatic... lacking patience.
“Hey, cut the drama.”
“Y-you... damn... kgh, commoner... aaaaah...!”
Levius still glared at me fiercely. Seeing that look, any trace of sympathy vanished.
“...I’m the idiot for even worrying about him for a second.”
Just end it already. He wanted me to make him unable to fight, didn’t he? I raised the Holy Sword and pointed the flat side at Levius.
“...W-what are you...”
“You’re going to lose.”
“Wh-what... kgh!”
Thud, thud! Thud!
I beat Levius mercilessly with the flat of the sword. One spot could be fatal, so I alternated places. Levius curled up and tried to protect his head.
...I wasn’t going to hit his head anyway. It was better for him to hunch so I could hit the right spot.
I targeted his thighs, calves, shins, back, wings, and shoulders—places that would only bruise even if hit. I hammered him until the dust rose.
While Levius refused to surrender and I kept beating him, a familiar voice came from outside the training ground.
“Ah, Abel!!”
The voice calling my name carried worry. I turned and saw her.
“Estelle?”
Estelle looked at me with eyes full of confusion. Celine stood beside her.
“Hero-nim! Please stop!”
“...Don’t misunderstand. This is a mutual agreement duel...”
“Kyaaah, Levius?!”
“L-Levius!”
Behind Celine appeared two more women. Natalie and Sonia, Levius’s companions. They rushed over to the beaten Levius in panic.
Natalie threw herself over Levius and looked at me.
“I-I’ll take the beating instead!”
...Wait, I think I misunderstood something.
Sonia looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“P-please stop...!”
“...W-what? Are you misunderstanding something?”
“Waaah, misunderstanding? Beating someone like this and then calling it a misunderstanding...?”
...Why are you crying?
I sheathed the Holy Sword. But Sonia kept sobbing and Natalie stared at me with eyes full of fear.
...Why did I feel like I was the bad guy? I shouted at Levius out of frustration.
“Hey! Say something! We agreed to fight!”
“Ghk....”
“Stop with the drama!”
“Stop! I already got beaten! How much more do you want?!”
Natalie shouted while trying to shield Levius.
...Damn, she keeps painting me as the villain.
I couldn’t stand it. I pointed at Levius and shouted back.
“No! This bastard started the fight and lost! What are you talking about?!”
“...What?”
Natalie’s eyes widened, and Sonia, still crying, looked at me with wide eyes.
“You were the one who proposed this duel, and Levius is the one who set the condition that the loser must be left unable to fight!”
“...Huh?”
“Abel.”
Angry, Estelle and Celine approached. Estelle stared at me directly and asked.
“Why were you fighting?”
Her calm tone made my anger subside a little.
“This bastard started the argument with weird stuff. Then he proposed the duel. We agreed to fight until one couldn’t continue. I accepted.”
And this bastard tried to cut me for real during the duel. I showed her the wound on my arm.
“See this? This bastard used the fact that he could beat me to try and kill me for real. Everything was rigged in his favor, yet I got hit and he’s claiming misunderstanding...”
“Abel, first...”
Estelle gently grabbed my arm and poured divine power into it.
“Let me treat it first.”
“...Mm.”
...Why did I show it?
The small wound made Estelle and Celine react strongly. When they saw the blood, Celine jumped in surprise, and Estelle rushed to treat it.
Celine glared at Natalie and Sonia and said.
“Why are you misunderstanding and blaming the Hero for being bad?”
“No... it was a misunderstanding...”
Natalie apologized in a slightly guilty voice, but she had no choice.
A stranger might have thought the same, but... that attitude toward me bothered me. Our Celine is amazing! What else do I need to say!
“So it was a misunderstanding?”
“...Sorry.”
“...I’m so sorry.”
Natalie and Sonia bowed to me. Yeah, they could misunderstand. I accepted the apologies.
After extracting the apologies, Celine looked coldly at Levius.
“...Levius, you should stop acting dramatic and get up. You’re at most bruised, aren’t you?”
“Ghk... my... wrist... can’t move?!”
“See a priest and it’ll be fixed in no time. Or you’ll have the new Saint by then.”
Celine’s remark made Natalie hesitate.
“...Not yet.”
“...What?”
“After you left, I went to the Ludria and Celes churches... both responded indifferently.”
Levius really had a bad reputation. The recent events in Vesta Kingdom must have hurt him badly.
“Then go to the palace doctor. While you’re at it, have the Hero check your other bruises too.”
“Ghk, Celine... stop being so arrogant and treat me already!”
...This bastard still hasn’t learned. Celine acts like she owns the guy.
I stepped forward, but Celine stopped me with a glare.
“Why me?”
“What...?”
Celine was no longer cowed. The girl who used to stand trembling beside Levius was gone.
Celine looked Levius straight in the eye.
“You still seem to have some misunderstanding. I’m no longer your companion. I thought you were trying to drag the Hero into an argument, so I was lending a hand?”
It was the first time I saw Celine address Levius without using the title “Hero.” She had grown a backbone.
Celine turned and left first. She clearly no longer wanted to share the same space as Levius.
I looked down at Levius and muttered.
“Fix your rotten brain and live.”
With that, I turned to Estelle. The divine power had already finished the treatment, yet she was still gently stroking the wound.
“Estelle, it’s all fixed, right? Let’s go.”
“Abel, you go first. I...”
Estelle stared down at Levius with a fierce gaze.
“...I have a few things to say.”
“...Won’t you beat him?”
“I won’t. I’m not the violent monkey like you♡”
...Monkey? Well, compared to chimpanzee, it sounds a little cuter.
“...Then I’ll go ahead.”
“Yes~♡”
#
Abel left first. The remaining Estelle glared at Levius. Levius flinched as if he didn’t belong, and Natalie and Sonia looked at him with confusion.
Estelle smiled sweetly at the terrified Levius.
“Levius. You have something to say to me, don’t you?”
---