Herin (1)
It all came back to me. Hedy Marigold. A heroine who honed her swordsmanship to become a Sword Master and happened to meet the story's protagonist, Kain, at the academy. Since Kain was a swordsmanship genius, Hedy was drawn to his strength. At first, she approached him with the intent of taking as much as she could from him, but over time, she fell in love. The same woman who had once despised men began using the etiquette she had learned from her family, trimming her hair, applying makeup, and dressing up just to look good in front of Kain.
In the process, Hedy made a vow and abandoned the family she had always resented, changing her name. That name was Herin, discarding the Marigold family name. From then on, people called her Herin without exception.
…All because of this. That was why I had forgotten. The name Herin felt so familiar that I had completely forgotten she was originally named Hedy. On top of that, this wasn't the period when she bothered with appearances, making her even harder to recognize. A woman's transformation really did make that much of a difference. It was understandable that I hadn't noticed.
But seeing her mimic my swordsmanship was what finally made everything click. Herin had an exceptional talent for absorbing sword techniques. What made it worse was that I had never paid much attention to the heroine system in the first place. I had been obsessed with leveling up and raising stats, so I could only skim the heroine routes.
"Ugh…"
"……"
Looking down at her as she lay groaning beside the Twilight Queen's corpse, I thought to myself—this was a real accident. I had interfered with a heroine's storyline. It was a plot thread I should have left alone. By becoming a variable, I had created a connection between us that never existed before. Because of that, she should have awakened at the last moment and defeated the Twilight Queen alone… but instead, she had suffered severe injuries without even awakening.
…It was probably because of me.
Only now did I remember the magic stone and pull it from my pocket. It glowed with a blue light. The stone I had extracted after it absorbed my mana. This wasn't a user-grade magic stone. The small crystal-shaped stone, brimming with blue mana and emitting a blue glow, was a unique, heroine-exclusive bound item.
*
"Cough—!"
Still collapsed, she coughed up blood in pain. I needed to find it quickly. Since I had already interfered, I might as well save her life. I frantically rummaged through the Twilight Queen's corpse and soon found it.
…As expected.
A glossy, jet-black sphere. A neidan.
"Usually, only spirit-grade demonic beasts carry these inside their bodies…"
Though rare, they could occasionally be found in the bodies of long-lived intermediate-grade demonic beasts. I had known this Twilight Queen possessed a neidan. Because…
"This place was an artificial breeding farm created specifically to produce neidans."
The details could wait. I extracted the neidan from its entrails and approached her as she continued to suffer.
"Hey!"
"Ugh, ughhh…"
I lifted her body with both hands and sat her upright.
"Deep breaths. Breathe deeply! And…"
"…Ugh."
Placing the neidan in her hand, I kept speaking.
"Eat it. Swallow this and meditate. Otherwise, you'll die!"
"……"
Whether she understood or not, her hands trembled as she struggled to swallow the neidan she held.
—Gulp.
And at that moment—
"……!"
Her eyes flew wide open. She immediately clutched her danjeon and began writhing in agony.
"Graaah—!!"
"Stay focused! If you lose consciousness now, it's over! Meditate, quickly!"
Forcing herself to endure the pain, she sat cross-legged and placed both hands on her knees. Then she began to meditate.
"……"
—Shuuu…
Watching her close her eyes and enter meditation, I finally let out a sigh of relief. Her once-twisted expression gradually relaxed into a blank one.
…The immediate crisis had passed. That neidan rapidly accelerated overall physical growth. The wounds around her danjeon would heal in no time. However, because it unleashed its effects explosively in an instant, failing to meditate could cause shock and death. Now that she had entered meditation, her chances of dying were nearly zero.
"Hoo…"
Since I was already at the 3-star level or higher, the neidan would have had almost no effect on me anyway. I didn't feel it was a waste.
…I took out the magic stone I had retrieved earlier. It resembled an ice crystal with a faint blue glow. As I mentioned before, this was a unique bound item. In the original story, Hedy was supposed to discover it only after defeating the Twilight Queen at the very end… but I had found it first. After absorbing my mana, it had become a bound stone that only I could use.
Its effect was the ability to store or manipulate mana, making it quite useful if forged into a weapon. That was what I knew.
I felt no guilt. The first to find it was the rightful owner. It wasn't theft—I had obtained it fairly.
I glanced at Hedy, who was still sweating as she focused on her meditation.
"……"
I felt a slight pang of conscience, but what could I do? In the story, she was destined to become a Sword Master. I had never heard of any subplot where this magic stone played a direct role in her development. So it should be fine. Besides, I was the one who actually needed this stone.
…To survive in this world, I had to seize every advantage and grow stronger. I needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario where Kain might recognize me and come seeking revenge. That was why this magic stone suited me better. Since I had obtained it, I would make good use of it.
. . .
After finishing her meditation, Hedy regained her color and sensed the change in her body. It felt lighter. Naturally, consuming a neidan at a low level produced noticeable effects. Once she finished assessing her condition, she suddenly asked me,
"…Who are you, exactly?"
Who was I. It wasn't some philosophical question about existence. But that didn't mean I understood her intent either. As I remained puzzled, she spoke again, sounding impatient.
"I asked what you're doing here. Are you a transfer student at the academy?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"No…? If someone like you had been in the same lectures, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed…"
Of course she wouldn't have noticed. It would be troublesome if she had. I was in the middle of forging a new identity. I didn't want to be recognized, and I certainly didn't want to stand out. That was why meeting Hedy in this labyrinth had been so unsettling.
"I've always preferred keeping to myself."
"What's your level? You were using auror earlier."
"3-star."
Not exactly accurate, but close enough.
"3-star…?!"
She looked genuinely surprised. At our age, 3-star was impressive. But objectively speaking, I didn't think it was that high. The protagonist Kain had reached 7-star at sixteen and received the hero's stigma from the heavens. Compared to that, my level was average in this world. Hedy had probably reached the peak of 2-star after consuming the neidan. As long as I grew strong enough not to die pointlessly, that was enough.
"…I don't really feel like my level is that high."
"……"
I could feel Hedy's gaze studying me with curiosity. I deliberately looked away. Though I had somehow gotten tangled up with Hedy, she was someone who would eventually attach herself to Kain as Herin. Since I had saved her life, there was no need to get further involved. From now on, I just needed to keep my distance.
I stood up.
"For now… if you've recovered, let's take some parts from the Twilight Queen's corpse and get out of here. We need to find a way out of this labyrinth before it's too late."
Hedy nodded in agreement. We moved and left the cave. I handed her a few pieces of jerky from the bag I had brought. Chewing on jerky myself, I walked with her as we searched the cave.
'The escape magic stone has to be somewhere around here.'
This was an artificially created labyrinth. An artificial dungeon. Essentially a breeding farm built to manufacture neidans. So if there was an entrance, there had to be an exit. Even though we had defeated the Twilight Queen, the final boss, a large number of Big Spiders still remained. Finding the exit quickly was the safest option. Once we found it, we could gather the rest of the party—Victor, Zik, Monaka—and escape.
We kept walking. It felt like about an hour had passed when—
"Wait."
"……?"
I stopped Hedy, who had been following behind me. I could hear something. Footsteps… They didn't sound like a Big Spider's. Were there other demonic beasts here?
Soon, the steady sound of footsteps grew closer. I calmly raised my sword and took a stance. From the darkness of the path ahead, a figure gradually emerged. Just as it came fully into view—
"…! Kid?!"
The person who appeared seemed to recognize me.
I also felt my heart settle after the initial shock. Seeing him in this situation was oddly reassuring.
"…Zik?"
"Kid! It really is you! Hahaha…!"
It was Zik. As he approached, Hedy gave me a puzzled look and asked,
"Someone you know?"
I nodded and briefly explained that he was a party member who had been transported here with me.
"I'm glad you're alive, Zik."
"Y-yeah! More importantly, kid! I need your help…!"
Zik looked filthy. He must have gone through quite a lot in this labyrinth as well. His armor was battered and dirty, and his expression seemed urgent.
"What's wrong?"
"The magic stone…! I found the escape magic stone!!"
"……!"
He found the escape magic stone? That was good news. Hedy also looked surprised at Zik's words.
"Where is it?!"
"I'll guide you. From what I saw, it seems like it won't activate unless you pour mana into it! That's why I need your help, kid!"
At that moment, I understood. This guy had tried to escape alone, but when the magic stone didn't work, he had gone looking for me. It was a little annoying, but I reluctantly nodded and said,
"Please lead the way."
Zik took the lead, and we followed behind him.
*
Several Big Spider corpses were scattered about. I stared at the scene in silence. The atmosphere grew tense, and the surroundings fell quiet. Hedy looked confused, unsure why I was reacting this way.
…At the center of those corpses lay a single person. They weren't moving—already dead. A broken greatsword lay beside them. I approached the person who had become a corpse before my eyes. As expected, checking their pulse confirmed they had been dead for a while. There was no hope left.
I turned back and glared at Zik. Then I spoke.
"…What happened here?"
"……"
He didn't answer. He simply stood there, responding only with silence.