Even Heroes Are No Exception

Eli slammed her hands on the reception desk and spoke up. Her ahoge was twitching nonstop like crazy. She wore a pouty expression as she waited for the receptionist's response.

"H-Hero... ma'am...?"

"Yeah, we're here to register as heroes."

"Ah, uh...! P-Please wait just a moment!"

The girl with red hair tied in twintails and freckles dotting her face hurriedly dashed to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back. There was a clatter of chaos, and soon enough, she returned clutching a blue crystal orb.

"H-Here! Please place your hand on this!"

"Whoa, a crystal orb. Been a while since I've seen one..."

"What's that?"

Eli answered Kairan's question.

"It's a crystal orb—technically a Unique Ability measurement device, but everyone just calls it that. It gauges the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unique ability the user possesses. Just put your hand on it."

Listening to Eli, Kairan placed her hand atop the crystal orb. A cold sensation crawled across her skin, as if it were scanning her entire body.

The orb's energy swept through Kairan's body before flowing back inside. With a flash of light, a deafening racket erupted from the orb.

"Urgh! Is this normal?!"

"Gahhh...! N-No, not usually this intense! Is it EX Rank?!"

Eli plugged her ears as she yelled back at Kairan's shout. Hearing it was EX Rank—the same off-the-charts grade as her own—piqued Kairan's interest, and she stared at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠orb. The hellish noise gradually died down, and faint letters began to materialize on its surface.

"Lemme see... Uh... Huh...? What the...?"

"What's wrong?"

"N-No... Why's it showing this...?"

The receptionist trembled as she stared at the letters on the orb. Her eyes darted wildly between Kairan and Eli. Eli frowned at her behavior and pressed again.

"What happened?"

"N-Nothing... The results are just a bit... weird..."

"What do you mean, weird? Hand it over. Let me read it."

"W-Wait, no...!"

Ignoring the receptionist's protests, Eli snatched the orb and read the inscription aloud. Her expression shifted from annoyance to sheer shock.

"Holy shit."

"The saintess can swear?"

"What kinda fantasy you got about saintesses? Anyway, this is insane. Totally nuts."

Eli tore her eyes from the orb and slowly opened her mouth.

"First off, two abilities. Both EX Rank."

"You can have two unique abilities?"

"Rare, but it happens. The founding hero supposedly had over ten on record, and the northern hero right now has two as well. Hers are just A and B Rank, though..."

The saintess took a deep breath and explained the effects.

"First one: Hero's Holy Sword. Treats any weapon you hold as a holy sword. Pretty much indestructible, stays sharp, gives you basic sword knowledge, and bonus damage against monsters or the demon army."

"Whoa..."

"Second: Light Mana. Mana with a light attribute. For reference, one of the things Lumiel oversees is light."

Finishing her explanation, Eli turned to the receptionist.

"Gimme a quest. Anything with subjugation?"

"S-Subjugation... quest?"

"Yeah, gotta test out these powers right now."

"N-No way...!"

The receptionist shuddered as she refused. Stunned by the unexpected denial, Eli gawked at her.

"Why... not?"

"B-Because Hero Kairan just registered! Newbie adventurers can't take subjugation quests until they've cleared five requests...!"

"We're heroes?"

"E-Even heroes have no exceptions!"

Eli blankly turned to Kairan at the receptionist's words.

"That's what she says."

"What kinda bullshit is that...?"

Kairan sighed heavily and addressed the receptionist.

"Fine, what quests can I take right now?"

"Uh... yes, there's one from Loren. Find her missing black cat..."

"...Gimme that one."

"Here's the quest sheet. Find the cat, bring it to Loren, get her sign-off for completion."

The receptionist steadied her breathing and handed over the sheet. It had a photo of the cat to find, the reward, client's name, a blank for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the assignee, and a signature spot for completion. She scribbled Kairan and Eli's names in the assignee blank before passing it over.

Eli took the paper, then gestured at the air like opening a pocket dimension and stashed it away. Watching that, a mod Kairan had installed popped into her mind. The so-called Inventory Mod—a cheat letting you store items without a bag.

"Sigh, no helping it. Let's go, Hero."

"Yeah, find it quick and wrap this up."

"Split up? I'll check the square."

"Market for me then."

They divided the square and market, heading off in opposite directions.

They agreed to meet at the square when the 6 PM bell tolled, then split to scour their zones.

Kairan wandered the market. Stalls sold apples and fruits, bracelets and necklaces, and smithies hawked armor with special effects on those accessories.

The Nude Mod she'd installed stripped clothes from NPCs and player characters alike. And it prevented equipping any outfits. Now that the game was real, it had turned into a world without clothes. The closest to armor were necklaces, bracelets, rings. No bikini armor anywhere was a bit of a letdown.

Come to think of it, was there a character who showed up in bikini armor?

She couldn't recall if NPC or player, but somewhere in her memory lingered a vague sense one existed. Maybe she'd skimmed past on the wiki. Kairan pondered briefly.

Speaking of... this is the Starting Village, right?

Kairan desperately recalled the Namu Wiki page she'd skimmed for mod info.

Starting Village. The game's first spot, tutorial zone with the easiest difficulty. Made sense with her here and the first quest being cat-hunting. Devs said in interviews they picked cat-finding to encourage map exploration.

Course,攻略 posts with locations killed that after a month.

Anyway, the goddess said this was the game world. Real now, but once a game in her old life. So the cat spot was probably the same.

"Square then."

Kairan muttered, glancing around with a sigh.

"Leave the cat to Eli, sightsee a bit."

Kairan took in the surroundings. Medieval fantasy vibes all the way. Like a cozy rural village, she slowly admired it.

Dong- dong- dong-

The evening bell rang out across the village via magic amplification.

At the chime, Kairan quit window-shopping the market and headed to the square.

Waiting at the village central square, Eli emerged from an alley, cradling a black kitten.

"Hero."

"Eli, you got it?"

"Yeah, for now. This the one?"

Eli glanced at the black kitten nestled between her breasts, peering around with bright eyes. Kairan eyed it.

"Black kitten, looks right. Anyway, take it to the owner."

"Lead on, Hero."

"Sure thing, Saintess."

At client Loren's house, Kairan knocked.

"Yes, who is it...?"

"You put in the guild quest for the missing cat?"

"Y-Yes, I'm Loren... D-Did you...?"

Loren's eyes widened with hope. Eli stepped forward, showing the kitten in her arms.

"Ah, Nero!"

Snatching the cat from Eli, Loren hugged it tight, tears welling up. After a long embrace, she looked at Kairan and Eli.

"Thank you! So much! Oh, no, come in. Least I can do is fix you some dinner...!"

"Well, if you insist."

"Eli...?"

"In you go, Hero."

At Loren's invite, Eli grinned wide and stepped inside, dragging Kairan by the wrist. She shot Kairan a shut up and follow look amid her fluster.

Seated at the table, Loren signed the quest sheet and headed to the kitchen to prep dinner.

"Eli, you don't mean..."

"Hero, doesn't Loren look fuckable?"

"..."

"We rape her?"

Kairan seriously wondered if this girl was really a saintess.