Chapter 19: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (8)
I thrust the sword into his body, but it felt like it stopped halfway.
I’d heard that if you aim wrong, the blade gets caught on the bone, but this felt less like bone and more like solid steel.
“Ugh…”
Is it because I don’t have any mana?
Or did I mess up because I’ve never actually stabbed a person before?
I frowned and applied more pressure, and that’s when I saw something squirming in my field of vision.
Looking closely, I saw characters that looked like script clinging to the area around the blade embedded in his body.
“There’s always something, isn’t there?”
I’d heard that some of the crazy bastards among mages carve magic circles into their own bodies to boost their physical capabilities.
This felt like the sorcery version of that.
He neutralized everyone else by laying down a field that prohibited mana, yet he used his own sorcery freely.
Doesn’t sorcery use mana?
Then what the hell powers it?
Talk about a broken, elementary-schooler-tier ability. Does the Goddess not believe in balance patches?
Well, I guess if she did, the RoFan party wouldn't have to suffer so much.
“Phew.”
I let out a short breath and put my weight into it.
The characters etched into his skin began to crawl up the sword like ants, but what could I even do about that?
“Just die already.”
If I don’t have mana, I’ll use muscle.
To keep up with Prince Ellen, I’d had to chug elixirs to the absolute limit.
And to survive the energy of those elixirs, I’d had to push my physical stats to their breaking point.
“Urgh!”
A pained groan escaped his lips as the tip of the sword slowly but surely dug deeper.
I couldn't see his face since I’d stabbed him from behind, but I doubted he could maintain that smug, relaxed expression now.
Squelch!
How much force did I put into it?
I felt the sensation of something being punctured.
Finally, I’d pierced his heart.
I’d even coated the blade with poison, so out of common courtesy, he should really just die now, sorcery or not.
“How… my name…”
Perhaps Silence understood courtesy after all, because as soon as he realized death was imminent, he asked Violet his final question.
I was the one who delivered the finishing blow, yet he was completely ignoring me.
Well, his last name is Dale, so I guess I should understand.
Truly a nation of shitty-personality Magic Spammers.
Once this is all over, you’re dead meat along with Uncle Aeryun, you Fire Spammer.
I’m going to bill you for everything, including the cost of saving your prince.
I cautiously backed away and slunk over to join Violet.
It looked like Violet had handled things, but I needed to save Daisy first.
If she dies, everything goes to hell.
“I see.”
While I poured half a potion over Daisy’s wound and trickled the other half down her throat, Silence and Violet exchanged a few words. Silence seemed to reach some sort of realization on his own.
The atmosphere felt like the moment a culprit is revealed in a detective manga.
But the content of their conversation was beyond anything I’d imagined.
Secrets that only a few in the Dale Kingdom would know.
The suffering Silence had endured because of them.
How he, a member of the royalty, had abandoned magic to learn sorcery.
The process of surviving in the Demonic Realm and returning for revenge.
He was a classic villain with a tragic backstory—the kind of scenario that would have probably traumatized the Prince of Dale if he’d heard it.
He was definitely the type of character meant to appear regularly throughout the story.
It was a real shame the recording magic tool wasn't working.
If I’d recorded all of this and sent it to the home country, Dale wouldn't have been able to act up for at least ten years.
Of course, just leaking what I’d heard here would make them watch their step, but there’s a huge difference between having evidence and not.
“My life… was nothing but regret.”
Silence looked up toward the sky.
Of course, since we were underground, all he could see was the stone ceiling.
“That is why I strove to change that regret. But I have failed from the very start.”
Maybe it’s because he’s about to die, but he feels like a changed man.
Or was he always like this and just acting before?
Dropping the lighthearted facade he’d worn when he first appeared, Silence spoke quietly.
“Still… I am glad to see the lineage of sorcery… continue like this.”
He’d been filming his own version of Jujutsu Kaisen in this fantasy world, and it seemed Violet had learned her sorcery by studying Silence’s parts in the original work.
“Therefore, this is the final test I give to you.”
“What the…”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
He breaks in during midterm season and now he’s trying to give us a test?
The professors already give exams like their class is the only one we’re taking.
And now this guy, who isn't even a professor, wants to give a test?
You unethical piece of shit.
“Hey, what the hell is this?”
Something dark red began to clump together at the tip of the sword I’d used to impale him.
It was the characters written on Silence’s body.
I watched in horror as they crawled across his skin and gathered at his heart, then I looked at Violet.
“……”
She was already half-dead and couldn't even squeeze out a voice.
Even during her conversation with Silence, she’d mostly just been mouthing words.
“Did you study for the exam?”
I asked casually, but Violet only gave a slight shake of her head.
“This girl gave up on the test too.”
Dammit, I gave up too, so I can't really talk.
Violet looked a bit indignant, but if you’re going to steal someone’s sorcery, you should have studied for the professor’s—I mean, Silence’s—extra-credit exam in advance.
There was only one thing left for me to do.
Slap.
“Hey, wake up!”
There was no point in relying on this broke-ass possessor.
As that final sorcery activated, I began to feel mana moving again, but I was already a wreck.
Besides, as someone who knew nothing about magic, I didn't see any way to deal with that sorcery even if I weren't a mess.
Slap. Slap. Slap!
So, there was only one way left.
Daisy—the protagonist of this godforsaken RoFan world, who possessed enough power to unconsciously interfere with sorcery.
“Wake up! We’re all gonna die!”
The only way was to wake up the RoFan heroine.
Slap. Slap. Slap!
“Ugh.”
After about ten slaps, a pained groan finally escaped her.
Thank God.
Violet’s gaze, which had been drifting toward me, was starting to look like the expression she had when she was trying to bury Silence.
Having just witnessed her epic battle with Silence, I was a little intimidated.
“Hey, fall down!”
I poured the cheap potion I’d been planning to use on myself onto Daisy’s face and rubbed it in while speaking to Violet.
The story said that what Daisy needed for her awakening was for Violet to be in danger.
Looking at her now, it seemed entirely possible, but…
“……”
Violet just stood there, her mouth hanging open.
“You can't move?”
She seemed to be in a state similar to dying while standing up.
She couldn't even nod anymore, just blink.
“Then, sorry.”
I lightly tapped the back of Violet’s calf with my foot.
“…!”
Violet’s eyes widened as if asking what the hell I was doing, but she couldn't move.
Thud!
As Violet face-planted onto the floor…
“Violet?”
In classic RoFan heroine fashion, Daisy opened her eyes at the perfect moment.
“Urgh! To think she fell to the enemy’s attack!”
I hurried over to the collapsed Violet and made sure Daisy, who was struggling to get up, saw her.
Blood was flowing from her entire body, especially from the large wounds on her right wrist and side.
And perhaps because she’d fallen face-first, blood was streaming from both nostrils. Even I felt a bit sorry for her.
“Ah…”
The two of them had such strong affection for each other that I could practically feel the danger of a GL Drift.
“I won't forgive you.”
It seemed the conditions for the RoFan heroine’s awakening had been met.
I’d often wondered what the descriptions of "divine light" in novels actually meant.
A light that felt exactly like that swallowed the entire space.
“The effect is certainly something.”
Even the top-grade potions prepared for royalty weren't this good.
I felt the divine light permeating my body, rapidly healing my entire frame, which had been wrecked by the doping.
“……”
The same went for Silence.
The sorcery that had been clumping together like tiny ants vanished.
Of course, the sword stuck in his heart remained.
“So this is… the power of the Saintess.”
“Truly remarkable.”
With those final whispered words, Silence’s body collapsed to the floor.
He’s dead, right?
He has a sword through his heart; it would be a bit much if she healed that too.
Feeling somewhat recovered, I cautiously approached Silence and pulled out the sword.
Blood spurted out, startling me for a second, but Silence didn't move.
I poked him a couple more times with the blade.
When there was still no reaction, I nudged the body over.
“Whoa, hey.”
I met a gaze full of lingering attachment, so I reached down and closed his eyes like they do in the movies.
They closed surprisingly easily.
By the way, that was the first time I’d ever killed a person.
Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything special.
Is it because too much has happened? Or am I just a psychopath who can't feel emotion?
No, that can't be it.
If I were a psycho, I wouldn't feel so much rage every time I saw those Golden Generation kids.
“Wake up, hurry…”
While I was standing guard over the expensive criminal to ensure a confirmation kill…
Over there, the RoFan leads were reenacting the original work, tears streaming down their faces.
“Well, it should be about time.”
Based on my experience reading webnovels, the annoying epilogue was about to begin.
Now that Silence’s death was certain, I carefully lay down near his corpse, closed my eyes, and pretended to pass out.
A moment later, as if on cue, I began to hear footsteps approaching.
“Daisy!”
The RoFan male leads arrived, bringing a whole army of reinforcements with them.
“…I’m gonna go deaf.”
“Violet!”
With the RoFan heroine’s emotional cry, the incident finally came to an end.
…Or so I thought.
Goddammit.
“Commander, I’m a patient.”
—You can still talk, can't you?
The Academy’s emergency infirmary.
As the number one contributor to Silence’s defeat, I’d been assigned a private room by the Academy.
But that turned out to be a curse.
I mean, isn't this a bit much?
Even if I’d been healed by the Saintess’s power, my overworked body was still screaming.
I was mentally exhausted and had planned to stay bedridden for at least a few days under the pretext of treatment.
But this damn Commander was demanding a mission report, saying I could still use a communication device while lying down.
This is why my loyalty to the Kingdom is…
—I need to know what you did so I can process your payment quickly.
“You should have said so from the start.”
I felt my loyalty growing along with the potential incentive.
“First off, the enemy was that Mage Slayer guy, but it turns out he was a member of the Dale royalty who’d been erased from history.”
—That is a very interesting story.
“I’ll give you a formal report once I’m back at the dormitory.”
—That would be best.
The Commander on the screen made a '0' with his fingers.
It was a double meaning: "OK," and that another zero had been added to my incentive.
“Oh, and since the opponent was who he was, I used quite a lot of equipment.”
The Commander frowned for a moment when I mentioned I’d exhausted my consumables, but the opponent seemed to be even more famous than I’d thought.
—If it was Silence, it couldn't be helped.
He said he’d easily grant me additional supplies.
I should probably squeeze the Empire and the Dale Kingdom for money too.
“Ah, and one more thing. It seems Daisy has awakened as the Saintess.”
I gave the Commander a brief report on the miracle Daisy had performed.
The formal information would reach him soon anyway, but the fact that I reported it first was what mattered.
“Things have gotten complicated.”
With this, Daisy was no longer just a low-ranking noble from a foreign land; she was the Saintess of the continent.
In terms of status alone, it was a unique situation where she was in no way inferior to Prince Ellen.
This might lead the Kingdom to approve of Prince Ellen’s relationship, but…
—That won't happen.
Fortunately, it seemed our Kingdom wasn't the type to be swayed by a title like "Saintess."
—Good work. Now, get some rest.
After a few more words, the Commander finally let me go.
Unable to overcome my mental fatigue, I passed out the moment I closed my eyes.
And then.
Slap!
I was forced to open my eyes again by a very cheerful alarm.