Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Ch. 5 .｡.:✧ Jill Diner (3) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Rookie! What are you doing!”
“Ah, it’s alright. He saved me from falling into the hole.”
“Really? Who on earth dug a hole in a place like this…”
The people who had rushed over in surprise let out sighs of relief.
Around the time the Saintess was smiling awkwardly and explaining the situation,
I stood there frozen on the spot for a long while.
‘Ah, dirty? Commoner stench?’
Something was wrong.
Jill Diner had been dedicating herself, doing countless acts of service for the poor.
For such a Jill to grimace at the person who saved her, muttering that he was dirty to his face?
It was a serious character breakdown.
Something was wrong.
Naturally, that conclusion emerged.
Fortunately, at the crucial moment, the Saintess’s face was hidden behind my back so others couldn’t see.
“Wow, rookie. Do you have some kind of crisis detection sensor?”
“Hehe. Thank you for saving me. What’s your name?”
“It’s Yoo-jin.”
“Thank you, Yoo-jin. I almost got hurt. And about what just happened. If you tell anyone else, you’re dead.”
“…”
Jill grasped my dirty hand with a gentle smile and quietly whispered in my ear.
Even while doing so, Jill maintained the image of a benevolent Saintess that anyone could see.
If I were to say here that Jill grimaced at me, calling me dirty, and threatened me, I would be instantly admitted to a mental hospital.
That’s how much Jill’s image and her lines just now didn’t match.
‘This crazy system…’
It was obvious whose prank this was.
It was probably a setting that arose due to the system’s correction again.
Even while I was writing Jill’s lines myself, I had doubts wondering if such a perfect superhuman could really exist in the world.
I thought the lines were hypocritical more than once or twice.
Moreover, all of the Saintess’s close associates, including her bodyguards and escort knights, were nobles without exception, despite claiming not to discriminate based on status.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a contradiction with a hole in its plausibility, but none of the game users ever questioned this.
However, the corrections added in the process of transplanting the game into reality seemed hell-bent on making all the plausibility fit together.
The somewhat hypocritical-seeming lines and smiles, and the fact that her associates were suspiciously all nobles – all of it could be clearly explained with the single setting that the Saintess was actually a hypocrite putting on an act.
‘No, my heroine!!!’
It didn’t even particularly conflict with the existing settings.
According to what was stated in the setting collection, the Saintess “advocated” for the abolition of the status system.
In fact, it wouldn’t be a contradiction to add the setting that she was just advocating it in words, while actually thinking the abolition of status was a load of BS in her heart.
That’s right. Saintess Jill Diner was disgusted by commoners, only outwardly loving them to gain their support.
This was seriously messed up.
No matter how much it’s said that characters with flaws are more popular than perfect characters, a shitty flaw like being a hypocrite wasn’t necessary, was it?
‘If it’s like this, doesn’t it mean I can’t even become her bodyguard?’
If it was true that Jill hated commoners, the possibility of me being selected as a bodyguard approached 0.
Even the protagonist in the game, despite being looked down on for having an adventurer background, was still of noble birth.
In Jill’s eyes, the difference between the game protagonist and me would be like the difference between a human wearing a shabby beggar’s outfit and a monkey in a neat suit.
It was bleak.
I thought conquering her would be a piece of cake since I knew every little detail of Jill’s personality, tastes, and habits.
At this rate, I might be blocked from even approaching her in the first place.
“I’ll get going now. Everyone, enjoy your meal.”
“Take care, Saintess!”
Jill got back on the carriage, receiving 90-degree bows from the workers.
If it wasn’t a mistake, she definitely gave me a wink right before the door closed.
It was probably another warning.
Forget about what happened earlier.
If I let it slip, she would kill me.
One might doubt what power a Saintess has to be able to kill someone.
But considering the influence of the Saintess’s words, it would be no problem for her to socially kill a commoner.
“Balancing it like this…”
My teeth ground together.
It seemed conquering Jill Diner would have to be a long-term project.
There was a lot to prepare.
…
“Haaaah…”
A deep sigh filled the tournament venue.
In the empty venue, Jill supported her throbbing head as she looked over the pile of resumes.
“They’re all kind of meh.”
The tournament was held over a total of two days.
In fact, calling it a tournament, all they did was receive resumes in advance and conduct short interviews and swordsmanship demonstrations.
The judging time per person didn’t exceed 10 minutes, but it still took this long.
Around 200 people had gathered.
So many people flocked to the selection tournament that some even rushed over from other countries.
However, among them, there was no one who caught Jill’s fancy.
“There was exactly one person. Someone who gave me a feeling.”
There was one person.
Someone who made her think, ‘Ah, it’s this person’.
The man who submitted his resume before anyone else and snatched up the first interview opportunity.
The moment Jill saw that man, she failed to control her expression.
“Greetings, Saintess. My name is Yoo-jin.”
“Ah…”
Yoo-jin.
The dirty worker who had dared to grab Jill with his filthy hand a few days ago at the construction site, making her expression distort.
She almost failed to recognize him.
Because Yoo-jin had appeared with a clean face, wearing chain armor covering his entire body.
Affluent-looking attire, overflowing composure, excellent manners.
After probing a few times, it seemed his education level was high as well.
With these conditions, he would be hard to find even among nobles.
There was no need to make him draw his sword.
What the Saintess needed right now was a good-looking bodyguard knight who would help with image-making, not top-notch skills.
If his skills were seriously bad to the point of being unacceptable, she could personally train him.
If there were secret techniques passed down in her family for generations, it wouldn’t be impossible to turn him into an expert on par with a knight.
“You’re rejected…”
But Jill had to grit her teeth and fail Yoo-jin.
Now that he had seen her shame, she couldn’t keep that man close to her.
If worst came to worst, she would have to slander and destroy him, but having one’s own bodyguard knight socially buried was not a good look.
“I understand. Farewell, Saintess.”
He left the tournament venue without a word, without asking why he was rejected or making any protest.
Let alone trying to blackmail using her shame, he didn’t even mention what happened that time.
As if he had no regrets at all.
It was such a clean giving up that one might doubt if he was really the person who had waited in Hameln, where there was nothing, since 4 weeks ago.
After he left, Jill faced countless applicants, but she couldn’t erase Yoo-jin from her mind no matter what.
There were many experts who displayed swordsmanship superior to Yoo-jin’s.
There were also several nobles with decent backgrounds.
Originally, she might have chosen one of them as her bodyguard knight.
But whenever she recalled Yoo-jin, whom she had rejected on the first day, in first place…
“You’re rejected.”
“You fail.”
“Unfortunately, you’re rejected.”
None of them caught Jill’s eye.
If she were to choose a bodyguard knight, it had to be a man with better visuals than Yoo-jin no matter what.
But how was she supposed to find such a man in this Hameln where there was nothing?
She had missed a valuable opportunity.
All because she failed to hide her expression back then out of surprise…
“Even if I dislike commoners, it’s not like I dislike smart and polite commoners…”
To think that dirty worker would turn out to be such a decent person.
She must have left a bad impression on that man.
That man would live the rest of his life having solidified his perception of the Saintess.
Because of her momentary mistake.
Jill covered her face with both hands and shuddered in shame.
“Saintess. The grand cathedral has been completed. They’re requesting a consecration ceremony.”
“Tell them I’ll be there soon…”
Even if her heart was troubled, she had to do what needed to be done.
Jill pulled herself together and stood up.
She could find a bodyguard knight later.
In the end, a bodyguard knight was just for show anyway.
The guards were enough for escort here in Hameln.
“You’re here already! Please come inside. Everyone is waiting.”
“…?”
The moment she arrived, a priest rushed over to greet Jill.
Everyone was waiting.
She always finished consecration ceremonies in a rush, just sprinkling holy water and infusing mana into the foundation alone as the Saintess.
But since it was the completion of the grand cathedral, perhaps quite a few people had gathered to watch the ceremony this time.
It seemed she couldn’t finish this ceremony in a slapdash manner.
Jill followed the priest, inwardly grumbling as she walked down the wide corridor.
“It’s quite dark inside.”
“The lighting hasn’t been installed yet.”
The place she arrived at after passing through the dark corridor was none other than the ossuary inside the cathedral.
Judging by the people gathered and seated with hoods pulled over, it seemed they planned to hold the ceremony here.
The choice of location was a bit strange, but Jill stood in the center without much suspicion and prepared for the consecration ceremony.
However, whenever she glanced at the audience sitting still without moving a muscle, Jill couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable chill.
“Father, what is your name?”
“Pardon? Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I was curious which priest you work under…”
Just then, one tall man among the audience abruptly stood up and headed toward a corner.
And then he opened the coffin lid on the floor, revealing the inside of the coffin that could barely fit one person.
No one cast a strange glance at that eerie act.
Jill wasn’t naive enough to fail to notice what kind of situation this was even now.
“Well, well. You’re quite quick-witted.”
“…”
The audience slowly rose to their feet, taking out the daggers hidden in their clothes and revealing their true colors.
As expected, it was an assassination attempt by the anti-Saintess faction.
She had known for a while about the existence of the faction that denied Jill, saying a living Saintess cannot exist.
But she never thought they would actually try to get rid of her like this.
“If you also believe in God, you’ll know this isn’t right.”
“…”
Jill stepped back, startled and trembling, but the way out was already blocked.
The soldiers she had brought as escorts were all waiting outside.
If she screamed for help, she would die.
If she stayed put, she would die.
No matter what, the only conclusion was that she would die.
In this hopeless situation with no answer,
“Ask your heart. If what you’re doing is truly right.”
“…”
She kept asking questions that obviously wouldn’t be answered.
She knew mere naive persuasion like this wouldn’t make them stop.
She was just desperately trying to buy time.
Because Jill was still waiting for a hero to appear from somewhere and save her.
“Ugh.”
The tall man who had opened the coffin lid strode over and grabbed Jill’s wrist.
Ah, I’m going to die.
I’m going to go inside that coffin.
Around the time her head was paralyzed with such thoughts, for some reason, the rough grip on her wrist felt familiar.
“Saintess, I need your cooperation.”
“What…?”
The man lifted his hood, revealing his face.
The face revealed from inside was very familiar.
The face that had been tormenting Jill, refusing to leave her mind since the moment she saw it yesterday.
It was Yoo-jin.
“What’s with that guy? Why is he suddenly acting like that?”
“Listen carefully, Saintess. From now on, you have to trust me completely. And you have to rely on me. Only then can you live. Do you understand?”
“Hey! That guy isn’t on our side!”
Thud.
The assassins who quickly sensed something was off and stamped the ground rushed at Yoo-jin.
Even with daggers swarming in from all directions, Yoo-jin’s eyes remained unwavering and resolute.
Jill, meeting those eyes, grasped Yoo-jin’s hand.
If he came out like this, she had no choice but to trust him.
His arms looked pathetically scrawny and unreliable, but she had no choice but to rely on him.
Right now, he was Jill’s guardian knight.
Kwang!
“Wh-what?!”
“They suddenly disappeared!”
The assassins’ daggers sliced through empty air.
Jill held her head, feeling dizzy from the sudden change in her field of vision.
And then, right after that,
Jill realized Yoo-jin had stepped back while holding her in his arms.
It was something that happened in the blink of an eye.
“Yoo-jin…?”
His condition was strange.
She thought he was a weakling who could barely hold a one-handed sword despite just looking decent.
But right now, he was lightly supporting Jill with muscles that had swelled up to the point of bursting.
The spirit Yoo-jin was currently exuding was clearly not his usual.
At that moment, Yoo-jin sensed the changes in his own body and thought,
[Trait ‘Guardian Knight’ activates.]
[Stats]
[Strength: 9(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Stamina: 7(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Mana: 12(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Agility: 18(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Luck: 14(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
This trait is cheat-level bullshit.
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