Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: 18. What Did I Even Do (3)
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“Priest of the Church of Nature, Hill Shuttle.”
“Ooh…….”
That guy called the God of Nature seems to have pretty good sense.
“I bet you’re good at healing magic.”
“Hill is the Saint of the Church of Nature.”
“It’s an embarrassing title.”
Man, this Hero dude was a trainee in the Evil Organization.
And the Saint got beaten into shape by that Hero, to the point he carries around a magic recording device for evidence!
“Impressive, Shuttle sir.”
Keh, that rolls right off the tongue.
“No need for that.”
“No, it really is impressive. You’ve got skills, Shuttle sir!”
His sheepish, embarrassed expression was pretty funny.
- Master, your mind is full of malice.
- His name’s Shuttle!
- So what?
Hah, have you ever seen such a noob?
Not knowing about life games. What a wasted life this guy’s had.
- I don’t get what you’re saying, but Life Beatdown exists, so it’s all good!
- I see.
For the record, Lady Aris takes first place in Life Beatdown rankings.
They say the thrill of two birds with one stone is insane.
Second place goes to the princess, who clamps her mouth shut to avoid showing weakness.
The pleasure when a groan slips out from those tightly sealed lips is something you can only know if you’ve tried it.
…Though for a commoner like me, even thinking of hitting a princess is impossible.
I didn’t hit her. She did it to herself!
Anyway, beyond that, the Hero guy’s third, followed by Sia and the other disciples.
The dwarves get the worst reviews—too hard, no satisfying impact.
“I’m Selena.”
She bowed her head slightly to me and the iron bat, her eyes full of dissatisfaction.
“These are all my comrades!”
After their greetings ended, the Hero wrapped up his third round of introductions.
“Aren’t you a bit too far?”
“…It’s fine.”
From about twenty meters back, with a booming voice!
“Did I hit him too hard…….”
The Hero flinched at every single movement from the iron bat.
“A Hero scared because a kid beat him up.”
“Daddy, even if he’s Daddy, there are things you can’t say! Daddy was wrong this time!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
He clicked his tongue softly at the Hero, but got a stern glare from his daughter in return.
A bit hurt, but her puffed-up cheeks were so cute that he gently stroked her head while apologizing.
“I’m forgiving you ’cause you’re Daddy.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He kept petting his daughter’s head as her good mood returned with a big smile.
“I’m Naruan, the one who taught that pathetic Hero a few tricks.”
“I’m Daughter Ar!”
“I’m Ellis! These are Misha and Kkoko!”
As I introduced myself, the iron bat and daughter did theirs.
“Nya~”
“Hello!”
The cat was still wary of them, but Kkoko wagged its tail happily while greeting.
“Ah, hello. Hi… Huh?”
“What?!”
The priest’s affable smile and the elf’s nonchalant nod gradually turned to shock.
“Did it talk?”
I shot back at the elf staring at Kkoko in disbelief, as if asking what the problem was.
“First time seeing a talking dragon?”
“Yes. First time?!”
“First time!”
The two charged at me like they were interrogating, but froze at the sight of the iron bat in front of me.
Hey now, your training’s lacking.
Any proper Hero party has a dragon as a member, a dragon sponsor, or at least fights one as an enemy!
“D-Dragon?!”
Expressions like they’d never seen a dragon before!
- Master, when’d you first see a dragon?
- First time was when I bought an egg at the market for seven silver and it hatched.
- Where’d you get the adamantite to smack that face with?
- Leveling up happened naturally while training in the Evil Organization.
If you can’t level up mana, you gotta level up stuff like this.
“If it’s that small, is it a hatchling?”
“Yes.”
I fielded the iron bat’s jab and the shocked Hero party members.
Good training.
It’s tough when your mind and mouth aren’t in sync.
“No way… did you catch a dragon?”
Am I crazy? Go toe-to-toe with a monster of monsters?
“No.”
“Then… did you steal a dragon egg?”
“That’s not it either.”
I don’t steal anymore after the Organization… Hmm… A little.
But after Yuglasia… I did siphon some booze from the previous Sword Saint grandpa’s barrel and dilute it with water… Uh……
Yeah, nothing since leaving the village!
- We left the village less than a week ago?
- It’s not a lie!
“Then how exactly…….”
The elf’s eyes shook violently.
Unlike humans who till the soil, elves live with nature.
So they overlap territories with dragons a lot, I heard.
Dwarf elders said dwarves get extorted by dragons, while elves get their homes snatched by sudden dragon appearances.
The former’s like high school extortion, the latter like forced demolition?
That’s why both elves and dwarves hold a small grudge and huge fear toward dragons.
Gotta clear up the misunderstanding.
“Bought an egg at the market for seven silver, and when it hatched, out came a dragon.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
The phrase you hear most in the army: faces like they didn’t hear right.
Annoying, but repeat it.
“Bought it at the market for seven silver.”
“Uh…….”
“Liar!”
The pair’s identical faces split opposites.
The priest gaped in a daze, the elf yelled in fury.
“Who’d believe that?”
“Nope.”
Honestly, unbelievable.
If you haven’t experienced it, it’s pure nonsense.
If you could buy dragons at markets for seven silver, humans would conquer the world and fight gods.
“And you know that!”
“But I said it anyway, doesn’t that mean something?”
The raging elf shut her mouth.
She realized it too.
How absurd my words were.
Even an idiot wouldn’t fall for that lie.
So if I said it anyway…
“No way… it’s real?”
The elf’s face matched the priest’s again.
“Yes. It’s real.”
She looked bitterly at Kkoko.
Who gazed back at me with a smile like daughter’s, for some reason.
“Grandpa!”
Her speech reeked of iron bat vibes.
Family education really matters, huh.
- Huh? What’s wrong with this goddess’s goddess speech?!
- Shut your mouth if you’ve never even tasted cafeteria food before using cafeteria speech.
- Cafeteria? What’s that?
Not the latest cafeteria speech, but from my peaceful cafeteria days.
- Latest? There’s types?!
Full of expectation.
If I tell her, my head’ll echo with cafeteria speech for a while, so better not.
- Tell me!
- Scram.
- Mean!
Have I ever not been mean? For villains, being mean is a virtue.
Anyway.
“Gotta wrap things up with that guy too.”
The Hero, curious about our chat, peeked from afar.
“Come here quick.”
Not yelling, but he got the hand gesture and approached.
“I-Is this close enough?”
From twenty meters to fifteen.
“Closer if you don’t wanna die.”
I pointed at the iron bat, then sliced my throat.
If he doesn’t get it, he’ll learn with his body.
“Eek!”
Luckily, he hadn’t forgotten about me.
“You called?”
“Introductions are done. What now?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the Hero, so you must have plans.”
Heroes get worked 24/7.
God’s orders, kingdom pleas, civilians with incidents when resting.
That’s why so many Heroes visited the Organization back then?
Organization-wide efforts to cut civilian complaints from excessive damage!
“Nothing right now.”
But this Hero was my disciple.
“I see.”
Unthinkable for a church-picked Hero.
Even fake Heroes claiming the title get endless trouble, but this guy has none.
“No place we gotta go?”
“Nope.”
“Then I can just leave?”
“I’d love to let you.”
His sincere face screamed he wanted me gone.
“Let’s just go our ways.”
“That damn god…….”
“I trained you not to fear divine punishment, right?”
“I’m human too. Can’t take on every church.”
“I didn’t raise you to be that guy!”
Raised him to fight the world as an Evil Organization member!
“Idiots who don’t know when to run are useless! I’m acting as taught!”
Oh yeah, I said that.
No deserters died among disciples thanks to it.
“That was for different jobs. As a Hero, forget fear from now on.”
“No. As a Hero, your teachings matter most!”
Fair point.
Villains and Heroes share uncertainty of death and many enemies.
“Forget my teachings.”
“They saved me every danger. How could I?”
“Like this?”
Swipe.
“Forgetting doesn’t sound bad.”
The Hero tried quick stance switch seeing the iron bat appear lightly before me.
“Well trained.”
His backward steps looked desperate.
Even Michael couldn’t beat that moonwalk if he descended here.
“You learn this without lessons just from getting hit.”
He backed five meters, watching our every move warily.
“Sigh, fine. So we can pick the travel route?”
“Yes, until the oracle.”
I pondered as he nodded.
Can’t go back to the Empire, no way.
Human kingdoms risky, known heterorace villages too.
Empire allies sketchy……
“What’s this? Feels like nowhere to go?”
“Not a feeling. Karma from your usual actions.”
“Damn…….”
Maybe he has trackers too?
Wake up surrounded?
- You plan to run anyway.
- True, but what if.
Life’s timing.
Perfect escape wasted if caught first.
- Just beat ’em all now?
- Overcaution’s your strength and flaw.
Best is kill and erase, but Hero and Saint of a church.
Their eyes and ears are god’s.
Kill them, gods use it for oracle.
- Capture the brutal killer who slew Nature’s Hero and Saint!
Then even smuggling to Demon Continent’s impossible.
“Then let’s go where we have to.”
“Where’s that?”
One place where church weak, princess can’t act militarily without going mad.
- That big sis might work?
- Seems possible, so shut it!
Silencing the iron bat, I told the Hero.
“The Lübella City Union.”
The only city bordering demon territory!