Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Outing (3)
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“My goodness, it suits you so perfectly!”
The shops Carlyle had recommended were—though she hated to admit it—filled to the brim with items that hit Gray right in her tastes.
‘They’re pretty good.’
Gray thought to herself as she examined a dress adorned with layers of frilly lace.
How had he found these hidden gems in shops that weren’t exactly well-known?
⋯⋯The fact that the Holy Sword had told him was Carlyle’s little secret.
“You look beautiful, milady! So cute!”
“⋯⋯Really?”
The shop assistant’s face lit up even more at Gray’s hesitant question.
She didn’t seem like the insecure type, but it felt like she hadn’t heard compliments like this much before.
Clearly, a young lady with no resistance to girlish flattery.
‘Perfect, hooked.’
Girls like this from noble houses would clean out the shelves once they got into it.
“Of course! I don’t know how you ended up in our little shop, but everything here suits you perfectly!”
The words were clichéd, but the sentiment was genuine.
Her looks were model-level to begin with. A walking cheat code.
No matter what she wore, it would look good. That was the truth⋯⋯
“⋯⋯Cute?”
“Yes, yes!”
“⋯⋯Pretty?”
“Absolutely, absolutely!”
“⋯⋯Hmph, hmph.”
No matter what Gray said, the assistant chimed in while circling her.
What was it? She felt like a friendly neighborhood big sister.
Normally, Gray would thunder at anyone daring to speak to the Hero this way, but somehow, she felt like letting it slide right now.
Clearing her throat with satisfaction, Gray nodded and picked up a dress.
A smile she couldn’t hide crept across her lips.
“Then, shall I try it on?”
With that, Gray took off her coat.
Exposing her nape completely.
And the mark left there as well.
A cross torn open in both directions.
Running a clothing shop in the capital Kagenov meant being well-versed in all sorts of etiquette and info to deal with nobles properly.
In that sense.
The moment the shop assistant saw the mark on Gray’s nape, her face drained of color.
The Stigmata.
The symbol of the one rightfully chosen by the Holy Sword.
Practically the Hero’s ID card.
“⋯⋯Hic⋯⋯!”
A frightened gasp escaped her.
Even in a place used to dealing with nobles, facing the “guardian of humanity”—a monster of a person—without fear would be the weird part.
In a way, as dangerous as the imperial family.
“S-Sorry! I didn’t recognize you, Hero⋯⋯!”
“⋯⋯.”
And.
The instant she saw that reaction, the expression wiped clean from Gray’s face.
‘⋯⋯Ah, right.’
She smirked bitterly, brushing back her hair.
She’d almost forgotten, distracted for a moment.
This was normal.
She was in a position where she had to live a life blatantly different from others. She could never blend in with the crowd.
‘Ordinary.’
The tiny, everyday things others could easily feel and experience.
They were just elements crushed flat by her inherently different station from birth.
“⋯⋯.”
Gray closed her eyes, staring at the floor for a moment, and let out a sigh.
When she lifted her face again.
It bore her usual arrogance in full.
“Don’t make a fuss. I’m just here to buy clothes.”
“Y-Yes, as you command⋯⋯!”
“Leave me alone to browse. Go hole up somewhere.”
Seeing the assistant bolt away in relief only stirred up irritation again.
That reaction reminded her of someone.
-I’ll always put you first, Hero, no matter what.
-If you don’t like me, toss me aside anytime. Just give it a try first.
The guy who’d said that with a sly grin even after she’d chewed him out.
The one who’d dared to act on her level, the Hero.
She’d thought he was an eyesore with nothing to his name, but somehow.
Right now, that kind of reaction felt preferable.
‘⋯⋯Where is that guy?’
Bad mood. Time to take it out on him.
With that thought, Gray closed her eyes and circulated the mana within her body.
Countless people on the continent wielded mana, but some were born with special ‘affinities.’
Like the sun-worshippers of the Sand Kingdom with their fire affinity, or the apostles of the Church handling the altered mana known as ‘divinity’⋯⋯
Among those, the Hero’s mana affinity was unparalleled.
No specific interactions, just overwhelming base power that dominated everything.
In other words.
Omnipotence.
The strongest, sharpest, most precise.
As a weapon to pierce and slash, it could breach even the sturdiest defensive spells. Concentrated in one spot, it became an invincible barrier no weapon could pierce.
And the total amount of mana Gray possessed was near-limitless, enough to call her a human power plant.
“-”
A person like that could pull off stunts like spreading mana to ‘scan’ the surroundings, just like now.
Releasing mana across the area, enveloping everything, reducing all nearby things to information.
A feat that would make mage tower wizards—who calculated hyperspace coordinates and multidimensional equations daily—scream, but for the Hero, who perceived mana as an extension of her body, it wasn’t so hard.
The world’s composing data flowed neatly into her mind.
And among it.
“⋯⋯?”
She couldn’t sense that man’s presence.
Not at all.
It was as if.
In this entire place, only that man had ‘resisted’ her mana.
A human without combat training.
Against humanity’s strongest mana.
“⋯⋯What?”
Gray let out a bewildered voice.
◆
Even if you could take one ability from the Hero, the first one is predetermined.
[System Message]
◆ Adding ‘Mana: Omnipotence’ to the Holy Sword’s functions.
[Skill Info]
◆ Mana: Omnipotence
The special mana possessed only by the Hero. It has the highest output.
The foundation of all abilities this person wielded.
A skill akin to the heart in a person.
‘Jeez.’
Carlyle gave a wry smile at the description in the skill window.
As simple as could be, but that said it all.
The strongest.
No need for more explanation.
From what Carlyle felt, the power already surging within the Holy Sword proved it.
[Not bad at all.]
The Hero inside the Holy Sword let out a satisfied voice.
[Familiar fuel.]
“But, Hero.”
[What.]
“You’re trapped in the sword, so what exactly can you do, and to what extent?”
Carlyle knew well what level of monster she’d been before getting sealed in the sword, but in this form, how much of her original power could she wield? Unclear.
Obviously a degraded version of the original.
[Do I seem that way?]
“⋯⋯No?”
The confident tone outright denied that premise.
[I’m weaker, sure. No body to move with, so it’s only natural.]
Flesh is the vessel for the soul. With just her spirit in the sword, she couldn’t perform like the original Hero.
[But that doesn’t mean-]
Even so.
[-there’s anyone who can oppose me.]
She was.
Still ‘humanity’s strongest.’
The unfolding situation proved it plain.
The world slowed.
Not actually slowing, but the mana flowing from the Holy Sword massively boosted Carlyle’s physical abilities, creating the effect.
The way he perceived the world changed entirely. The omnipotence overflowing in his body drew a chuckle.
Did that person always live in a world like this?
‘No wonder she’s such a brat.’
The human mind is influenced by all sorts of things more than one thinks.
This level of power would definitely make others look laughable.
Irrational enough to twist the mind.
[Now.]
And the person taking his fist to the gut right now was probably thinking something similar.
Matching the timing the Holy Sword indicated, he turned the alley corner and landed a blow on the emerging person’s chest.
A light tap, but the armor crumpled with a sound, sending them tumbling to the ground.
‘⋯⋯Did I kill them?’
Carlyle wondered at the way they flopped unconscious, but the Hero replied in a playful tone as if to say “Are you serious?”
[I controlled the strength properly.]
“⋯⋯Ow, that hurt-!”
“⋯⋯.”
Mumbling leaked from inside the helmet worn over their head, confirming it.
Weird way of talking.
And.
‘A woman?’
The voice was female.
Pretty young, too.
Carlyle tilted his head and spoke.
“⋯⋯From the Church?”
The emblem on the opponent’s armor was unmistakably theirs.
“Why are you following the Hero around?”
“No obligation to answer someone who hits strangers outta nowhere.”
“Shouldn’t the one who got knocked down answer nicely instead?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯I oppose violence.”
When Carlyle raised his fist, the armored woman flinched and averted her gaze.
That hit must’ve left quite the impression⋯⋯
“You’re the reason I have to tail the Hero in the first place.”
“⋯⋯Pardon?”
“The Hero’s humanity’s top asset, so every move needs strict monitoring. Can’t have weirdos sticking around, right?”
“⋯⋯.”
Hm.
Well, it sounded plausible.
“⋯⋯Wouldn’t the Hero be the first to snap the waist of any weirdo sticking around?”
Unless the surveillance target was a monster who didn’t need guarding.
At those words, the woman sprawled on the ground slid her gaze away.
Definitely sweating bullets under that helmet⋯⋯
“⋯⋯Want another?”
“I-I don’t wanna monitor the Hero either! Personally, I admire her greatly! No desire to invade her privacy!”
The woman waved her hands frantically in response.
“But the higher-ups ordered it!”
“Why’d they order that? That’s what I’m asking.”
“⋯⋯If the Holy Sword’s wielder causes a huge scandal, it tarnishes the Church’s face. That’s why they’re wary.”
“⋯⋯.”
“The Hero’s, well⋯⋯not exactly the mild-mannered type, right?”
⋯⋯Aha.
Carlyle gave a wry smile, brushing back his hair.
A believable reason, and a clue inferring one fact.
‘There are Gray-haters in the Church.’
No other reason to stick a tail on someone they’d given the Holy Sword to.
Having constant surveillance just for going out was too harsh for a girl who hadn’t even had her coming-of-age yet, even if labeled a troublemaker.
[⋯⋯That happened. I remember now.]
The Holy Sword chimed in.
‘You had enemies in the Church?’
[No. But sometimes⋯⋯existence alone breeds enemies.]
Makes sense.
Jealousy, envy, wariness.
Excessive checks born from such.
‘⋯⋯Must’ve been tough when you were young?’
[What’s with the hindsight.]
After exchanging those words with the Holy Sword, Carlyle sighed and spoke.
“Miss, she’s just out for a stroll. Nothing for you to worry about.”
He stated it flatly.
“Let her do some shopping. Why make such a fuss?”
“⋯⋯Uh-”
“Put the shady adult stuff aside for a sec.”
He scratched his cheek and continued.
“Let her live a little normally.”
“⋯⋯Pardon?”
The woman responded blankly, but Carlyle just shrugged.
“She’s a person too.”
At root, from what he’d seen.
Twisted in many ways, sure, but still an ordinary human with emotions.
That’s why his reformation had worked somewhat, right?
“Everyone has the right to pursue happiness, even bearing the heavy duty of humanity’s guardian. Let’s not touch that.”
“⋯⋯.”
“And.”
Carlyle smirked and went on.
“She’s already got a shitty personality—if you block what she wants to do, it might explode back double later-”
“-You’ve got some nerve talking like that.”
“⋯⋯.”
Huh?
A voice he shouldn’t have let hear rang out.
Shit.
Carlyle broke out in cold sweat, turning to look behind him.
Gray stood there, arms crossed, staring at him—he had no idea when she’d arrived.
“⋯⋯Miss. That had some complicated context-”
“If you don’t wanna wear that shitty personality label, just shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Gray, who’d sunk Carlyle with one blow, alternated glances between the woman on the ground and him.
“⋯⋯The right to be happy.”
She muttered as if amused.
“Me, of all people.”
She scanned Carlyle up and down again.
Still a guy with nothing to him.
On the surface.
She smirked and opened her mouth.
“Tired. Heading back. Prep the carriage.”
“⋯⋯.”
Carlyle blinked.
Huh.
Why isn’t she mad?
He’d braced for serious injury at least.
“Didn’t hear? We’re going back.”
“⋯⋯Yes, ma’am.”
Whatever the case, be grateful her capricious temper hadn’t erupted badly for now.
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[System Message]
The Hero’s curiosity toward you has amplified in a positive direction.
- Trait ‘Hero’s Companion’ activates.
- A ‘Positive Trait’ has been added!
[ ★ Trust 0% → 5% ]
- Reward granted!
- Check the Trait tab!
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