Finishing Move: The 360-Degree Flying Grand Jeté

"So, how did the fight turn out?"

"We were tearing into each other till the blood flew, and then he just up and left. Said his time was up."

The black knight, after trading blows for ages before he withdrew, had called the whole attack nothing more than a probing strike. Still, it was a relief. Demon King's army or whatever they wanted to call themselves, hunters could hold the line.

"Now you're gonna throw down with me for real, yeah?"

"I-I can't! I'm still just some nobody on floor two of the Tower!"

"Hmm..."

Right now, though, she was the bigger threat. Even as we stood there, she was watching me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a hawk, waiting for the moment she could swallow me whole.

"Just think about it. If I climb past floor ten, imagine how deliciously I'll have grown."

"I like 'em underripe, too."

"You heinous, depraved predator...!"

Yeah. This woman was not normal. How was I supposed to survive this crisis...

Ah!

"The truth is, I respect you."

"Huh?"

"The martial prowess you showed me was more powerful, more overwhelming, than anyone I've ever seen. One thrust carrying your profound essence, Master, was far more beautiful than any gaudy, empty S-rank skill!"

"Ha... ahem. Well. Obviously."

"I want to hone myself from the fundamentals, just like you, Master, without leaning on mere skills!"

THUD!!!

To survive, I unleashed the god-tier bootlicking I'd perfected in the military and slammed straight into a grand jeté.

"Do you see it?! This grand jeté, filled with my sincerity!!!"

"Th-that's enough, really..."

"No! For you, Master, I'll perform a flying three-sixty spinning grand jeté!!!"

"Your ass is completely out!!!"

"Ah."

Of course, my plump-assed, silver-tongued performance was shut down on the spot by a woman whose ears had gone red all the way to the tips. For the record, all I had on was a single light hoodie. Which meant that the instant I launched into a grand jeté, gravity dragged the fabric straight down...

"Seriously. Every female hunter out there is an exhibitionist. I'm the normal one."

"..."

Against my will, I had just flashed my soft, bare body. No wonder I couldn't see what was in front of me. Going braless will do that to you.

"Don't just stand there. Put some pants on."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ten!!! The second you clear floor ten, I am coming to jump you!!!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Anyway, I barely managed to slip away from her. First stop, for real this time, was a hospital.

"What? Why's my body all healed?"

The body the black knight had left in tatters was already perfectly fine. No way that crazy bitch—a walking knot of C-rank inferiority—had patched me up...

"You healed me?"

God or not, the status window had stitched me back together without so much as a scar.

"Hm?"

And the whole way down the street, the murmuring around me only got louder. It felt a little different in tone from the usual running commentary on my figure.

"E-excuse me!"

"Yes?"

A young woman came running up and called out to me.

"You're the hunter who saved me yesterday, right?!"

I didn't really remember her face, but she was probably the woman the goblins had jumped.

"Thank you so much! I'm alive because of you!"

"Ehehe... it was nothing, really..."

She talked while clasping my hand tight, a bright smile on her face.

Mmmmm!

I am absolutely not a validation monster, but this did feel a little nice.

"..."

Some of those conversations did sting. I didn't choose that outfit, all right? The status window put it on me.

"HEY!!!"

"Huh?"

While the status window and I were bickering, people had started gathering around us, a few at a time.

"H-hey."

"Hm?"

Familiar faces pushed through the crowd. B-rank hunter Gwak Ducheol, the rest of the physical strike team, and the citizens I'd saved.

"Th... thanks."

"..."

"Honestly, at first I resented you... but seeing you save even a guy like me made me ashamed of myself."

Gwak Ducheol stood at the center of them, hesitating, letting the words out a little at a time.

"Might be shameless of me to ask now, but... the god you serve. What was the name again?"

"The Goddess of Mercy, Era."

"Thank you... for saving even a sinner like me..."

"Thank you!!!"

"Whoa..."

The moment he finished, everyone gathered around thanked me all at once.

Ding!

"Hwueeeh?!"

My follower count had just jumped more than tenfold. What had I even done?

At most I'd helped some protesters who'd been wronged, put down a few monsters that went after civilians, desperately protected even criminals, and when a real monster showed up, bought time by grinding my own body down until reinforcements arrived!

"Ahem..."

I still didn't get it. I'd only acted the way I always did. Did that really deserve praise this excessive?

"So how do I join the faith?"

"Uh... well..."

Gwak Ducheol's once-dull eyes were shining sharp and clear now, and he asked in a polite tone nothing like the man from before.

Status window. We don't have, like, a conversion ritual, do we?

What do you mean you don't know!!!

I'd asked the goddess Era herself, just in case, and it hadn't helped at all. Hmm... what was I supposed to say.

"You don't need any of that. The act of showing mercy to others is itself what qualifies you as a believer."

"Oh... ohhh!!!"

The line I'd tossed out just to bluff my way through seemed to hit them even harder.

"She showed us mercy without demanding a single thing...!"

"Lady Elia is no ordinary hunter. She only became a hunter so she could save people as a saintess!"

"But didn't Incompetent Warrior finish it in the end? I genuinely don't know."

"HERESY!!! From of old, to lose one's faith is to signify death, and...!!!"

"Hey. String that bastard up."

"W-wait a second!!! Please stop!!!!"

The believers were about to turn into fanatics, so I desperately cut them off. Seriously... why did perfectly normal people change like that?

"..."

Yeah. No. There is no way some idiot converts just because the saintess is a little pretty.

"Th-then I'll stake my balls..."

"..."

Seriously cheap.

"Haa... finally home..."

After the emergency call-out and every twist that followed, I made it back and threw myself onto the bed before anything else.

"Guess I'll browse the gallery a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit, then sleep."

"Hehehe..."

I lightly ignored the status window's nagging and opened the gallery.

"Fuck."

Maybe I shouldn't have ego-searched. The headlines made me want to put a bullet in my own skull. No. Not places like this. I needed Hunter Gallery, our playground!

"Uhehehehehet...!"

I'm not actually a pervert, but every time I read people praising me, the corner of my mouth climbs and my legs start bouncing. You know? This dopamine is honestly impossible to quit.

Apparently, without meaning to, I'd given people the wrong idea. Looking back, I didn't think I'd done anything that dangerous.

"Hmm..."

"And I ignored you, of course."

"You picked me!"

"Yeah. Not a chance."

Anyway, scrolling through the serious posts, I started to gain a little self-awareness. For a while, I should stop overdoing it and just keep climbing.

"Pfft..."

Still, a funny post loosened me up a little.

"..."

Ignoring that one.

"Hey. Freeze."