Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Freedom Comes with Responsibility (9)
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Freedom comes with responsibility.
Kiiiek─
The door to the Adventurer's Guild swung open, and someone stepped inside.
It was nothing out of the ordinary, so no one paid it any mind.
Until one person spoke up.
Then everyone started turning their heads that way.
"Huh? It's Jenny Harkur."
"Jenny Harkur? The hero?"
"What? Who'd you say?"
The murmur spread like wildfire, and soon the entire first floor of the guild was buzzing as they all stared at the lone figure walking in through the entrance.
Twin tails of red hair.
Serene emerald eyes.
Her body was small, clad in an elegant uniform.
She looked barely 150 cm tall, but her curves were impressively voluptuous for her petite frame.
Jenny Harkur—even without the hero title, she had a beauty that naturally drew every eye.
She resembled Scarlett Harkur, who was active in Hasler, but with a slightly different vibe.
If Scarlett gave off a pure and pitiable aura that made you want to protect her...
Jenny felt more like an adorable puppy trying so hard to look valiant.
Whether it was her looks or her fame, all eyes converged on her.
Jenny walked slowly toward the guild counter, ignoring the stares as if she were used to them.
"Hmm."
"Wh-what... can I do for you...?"
Upon reaching the counter, she addressed the tense receptionist.
"I came to register as an adventurer."
"...Pardon?"
The receptionist tilted her head, as if she'd misheard the girl's bright smile and casual words.
"I'm here to register as an adventurer."
She repeated it for confirmation.
"What'd she say?!"
"Ad... adventurer?! Jenny Harkur?!"
"No way! This is huge!"
The surroundings erupted in chaos.
"...Haa."
And from the entrance, Kane let out a deep sigh, as if he'd seen this coming.
#
"...S-so, you're saying... you want to become an adventurer...?"
Terry, the branch chief, blinked as he asked.
Yeah, that reaction was warranted.
I'd react the same way.
The rising star hero whose stock was skyrocketing, the very Jenny Harkur who was making the Harkur name shine even brighter.
"Yes. I quit being a hero. I want to be an adventurer now."
Hearing something so absurd as quitting hero work to become an adventurer.
"Ha, hahaha!"
Having confirmed it once more from her, Terry leaned back with a hollow laugh.
What was it? A mix of joy and disbelief?
It was understandable.
Scarlett Harkur was already in Hasler, after all.
And just recently, Miss Lin with her hero's quality had become an adventurer too.
...Yeah, that had been a sight to see.
I could picture Terry's face lighting up with a similar expression when he heard she'd been ousted from Hero Academy as a hero candidate.
"But why...?"
Terry trailed off as he asked.
Why?
Yeah, why indeed.
It was a question anyone would have.
A hotshot hero suddenly ditching it all to become an adventurer, a profession with a so-so reputation.
With Miss Lin, we'd chalked it up to being expelled from the academy and the kingdom—no choice there.
But Jenny? There wasn't even a pretext to understand it.
"Because Big Brother Kane said it was okay."
Jenny beamed as she said it.
...Hey, that makes me sound weird.
You're putting me in a bad spot here!
"...Instructor Kane..."
See? There it is.
Terry was looking at me with utter confusion right now!
Like, 'Who the hell are you, really?'
"No, I just told her the hero duties were too tough, and if it was too much, she should quit."
"...Ahem, I see."
Maybe because he knew I'd had ties to the Harkur family before.
He seemed to accept it as career advice from an acquaintance.
"Well, we're more than happy to have you, but... are you sure about this?"
Terry turned back to Jenny, his voice laced with unease.
Yeah, honestly, it was hard to believe the Hero Management Bureau would let a talent like her go so easily.
Especially since she wasn't just capable—she had a sweet personality that made her easy to exploit.
She said she'd just tossed her badge and walked out, and they let her...
But no tailing or anything shady?
As if to allay my worries, she replied.
"It's fine. If any issues come up, I'll handle them myself."
"...Ah, okay."
She said it with a bright smile.
But why... did a chill run down my spine?
Why did it feel like this wasn't the kind, bubbly Jenny I knew...?
"Then, we'll take good care of you. Per our regulations, you'll start at C-rank..."
Anyway.
With Jenny joining the Hasler branch as an adventurer too...
The Adventurer's Guild Hasler branch now boasted two heroes and one legend.
The strongest lineup in adventurer history.
#
"...It's a bit chilly."
Lin shivered slightly as she looked around.
It was strange.
The surroundings were an ordinary forest.
Hot and humid weather, even.
Ever since learning ice magic, she hadn't felt cold even in the depths of winter.
Yet here she was, suddenly struck by a chill.
'Is it trauma from the orcs...?'
She had a pretty good idea why.
Orcs.
With her abilities, they were really nothing.
She could smash them with pure physical strength alone.
With magic, she could wipe out dozens at once.
But the incident during practicals at the academy had left her with deep orc trauma.
Trolls and other monsters? She'd cut them down without a second thought on the road from the capital to Ode Swamp.
No big deal.
But orcs...
That fear wouldn't leave her mind.
'That's why I came here. To move forward... I have to overcome this.'
Sure, she could just avoid orcs, but she didn't want to.
She wanted to be someone Kane—who'd given her a new life—could be proud of.
And if she kept running from monsters due to a near-death trauma...
Next time something similar happened, she'd run again.
And keep running.
She couldn't let that happen.
To move forward and become a proud adventurer, she couldn't.
'Yeah. Face them head-on. Orcs are nothing.'
She steeled herself with a deep breath.
And then.
"Ahead. Three of them."
Jerome reported the situation in short, clipped words.
Lin immediately understood it meant three orcs right in front of them.
"...Probably patrol from the village."
They had crude weapons like spears and wooden armor.
That was the scary part about orc villages.
Unlike mindless packs, they had a central figure controlling and organizing them.
And those leaders were smart enough to arm up, build defenses, form villages—
Stuff that skyrocketed the subjugation difficulty.
"H-hic... haah..."
Sickly green skin.
Pig-like but grotesquely distorted features.
Two-meter hulks packed with muscle.
The moment she spotted the orcs, Lin's breathing grew ragged.
Cold sweat poured from her body; her eyes shook.
She couldn't even look at them properly.
Her mind filled with images of orcs dragging her away,
Coming to after passing out, only to see them raise clubs to knock her out again,
And the horrific future awaiting if they took her.
'Scary scary scary scary scary...'
Lin's body trembled violently.
"H-hey, you okay?"
Jerome panicked at the sight.
He'd heard she had orc trauma,
But he never imagined it'd be this bad.
He'd seen adventurers fear specific monsters before,
But cases as severe as Lin's were rare.
Usually, they'd avoid that monster or quit adventuring altogether.
'This won't do. We should head back...'
"No... I can't go..."
The moment Jerome thought to turn back, Lin grabbed him, head bowed.
"I can't go... like this..."
She slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes blazed with venom.
'No way. I told Sir Kane I was fine, that I could do it... I can't go back like this.'
She recalled a trauma even deeper than the orcs.
'Useless girl. You're not even my real daughter.'
'You, a hero? Ha! Don't lie.'
Born to a lowly commoner mother, she'd faced horrific scorn from the other royals.
'A hero, huh... Guess you finally have some use.'
Even her father was the same.
His own child from a woman he'd bedded.
Lin had always strived not to be abandoned.
She'd honed her innate hero's quality to the max.
But... she'd been discarded.
Corrupted by darkness, even from the academy.
And from her father, the king of Pacific, whom she'd wanted recognition from most.
Abandonment terrified her.
More than passing out to orcs.
More than being horrifically violated by them.
...More than death.
'I don't want to be thrown away.'
She knew Kane wasn't the type.
But if she became useless.
If she fell short of expectations.
The fear of abandonment lingered.
They say to conquer fear with greater fear.
She dragged out her deepest dread to crush the orc trauma and hardened her resolve.
"......"
Thud. Thud─
"H-hey...!"
She strode openly toward the three orc patrols.
Extremely dangerous.
A normal person would be pummeled to death by spears and clubs before they knew it.
And someone with trauma who couldn't fight properly was no different from a regular human, no matter their strength.
Jerome tried to stop her, but she ignored him and kept walking.
"Queek?! Human?!"
"Queeeek! Human! Female!"
"Keeek!"
The orcs spotted her and charged.
"Damn it...!"
Jerome rushed to block them.
But then.
"Frozen mana..." "...Become spears that pierce the enemy and rend them asunder." ⟨ Ice Spears ⟩
Swoosh─
The air suddenly grew frigid, like it was freezing over.
The blue and light-green magic stones at her staff's tip glowed in unison.
Three razor-sharp ice spears materialized above her head.
As the incantation continued, the spears grew enormous,
Soon as big as the orcs themselves.
"Queek...?"
The orcs nearly upon her sensed something wrong, halted, and started backing away.
"C-cold! Queek!"
"C-can't move! Queek!"
But escape was impossible.
The bone-chilling cold slowed their movements.
"...Die, you pig bastards."
She pointed her staff at them with cold, emotionless eyes and voice.
Shrieeek─!
Kwajik! Perok! Puck!
The massive ice spears shot forward, piercing the orcs completely.
They died without even a scream.
And that wasn't the end.
Crack─
The cold was so intense that the impaled orcs began freezing solid,
Ching!
Then shattered into pieces.
"......"
Lin watched silently, then turned to Jerome.
"Let's keep going."
She smiled brightly.
As if she'd completely overcome her trauma.
"Ha, haha. Sure."
Jerome gave a hollow laugh.
'Well, if she's overcome it, good for her.'
So he thought, glancing down at the frozen, shattered corpses.
And vowed deep in his heart.
'...Never piss her off.'
Gooseflesh rose, whether from the icy chill or sheer terror.