Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Adventurer's Private Tutoring for Her -5-
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Among the orphanages in Coven, there were a few that managed to hold on without collapsing, even without the Empire's support.
One of them was Gornec Orphanage.
Gornec, the director of Gornec Orphanage.
To the children at the orphanage, she wasn't some stern director but gentle enough to be called "Grandma" without reservation.
Her face was lined with wrinkles from age, her hair fully white, yet she had such a kind and amiable demeanor that the children followed her without question.
Even she faced unexpected troubles.
'It'd be best to say they were dragged off into the sewers by the homeless...'
A few days ago, people from the Church had visited, thanking her for her devotion and service, and left behind a considerable amount of food supplies.
They'd come a few months back too, but this time, some annoying words slipped out that were hard to ignore.
"Oh? That child we saw last time isn't here?"
It was the young nun who said it.
She'd brushed it off by saying the child was out playing for a bit, but if they didn't see them next time either, it could become a problem.
Next time, she couldn't fumble with excuses—she needed to pin it on a solid target and shift the blame.
In a place like Coven with poor public safety, plausible excuses were plentiful.
In cases like this, consistent statements mattered more than evidence, so deciding in advance put her mind at ease.
"Ugh... my back..."
With age came aches in her back that no amount of money could soothe.
Ignoring the natural process of aging still felt like a distant path for her.
-Creak
The sound of a door opening.
Probably some kids awake and fooling around again.
If they didn't stick to bedtime, she'd have to drop the gentle image and give them a proper scolding.
If one actually got kidnapped, the losses would be immense.
"Tch."
As she rubbed her back and stepped out of the director's office, Gornec froze.
Two robed figures stood in the darkness.
She was startled enough to scream, but she barely held herself together.
"Wh-who are you?"
"Guests."
A man's voice came from the robed figure in front.
He held a long warhammer in one hand, eyeing her.
The faint divinity emanating from the warhammer...
'...The Church!'
How had they caught on so quickly? Just because one orphan was missing, had they taken that nun's words and started digging?
The weapon in his hand screamed ill intent at first glance.
If this went on, the sewer connected to the director's office would be at risk too.
'I can't let them see me panic and falter.'
The fact they hadn't lunged yet meant those two lacked solid proof as well.
'Think! Think!'
Gornec hadn't survived this long on luck alone.
She had the basic survival skills for getting by.
"I'm grateful you've come all this way with good intentions, but the children are sleeping now, so meeting them is difficult... Coming at this hour puts me in a tough spot."
He'd called them guests, so she treated them as visitors to the orphanage, feigning ignorance.
The man she presumed to be male reached into his hood, scratching his chin irritably.
"Look closely."
He spoke to the one behind him like he was giving a lesson.
With the man's low voice, the atmosphere flipped.
The piercing gaze from the man behind him was grating.
But Gornec had no room to worry about that.
Rumble...
A killing intent that could crush her frail body squeezed in.
Her breath caught under the pressure of the murderous aura and mana.
'Th-this bastard!'
He was on a whole different level from the usual thugs who threw their weight around.
Quickly realizing she could never defy this man with her own power, Gornec squeezed out her strength and opened her mouth.
"Urgh... Wh-why are you doing this! Aaagh!!!"
Even as she shrieked at the top of her lungs, there was no reaction from the sleeping children in the next room.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He approached step by step, warhammer slung over his shoulder.
The raw, savage mana made her doubt if he was really from the Church.
'I can't use black magic...'
Even if she died here, she couldn't use it.
Even if the sewer stayed hidden, leaving evidence in Coven—Tristan's territory—would blow things up.
For the prosperity of Nematos.
Step.
With each step he took, his presence ballooned insanely.
In Gornec's eyes, the intruder's frame swelled, growing to mountain-like proportions.
The warhammer dangling sloppily from his shoulder slowly rose.
'D-death...!'
-
Humans reveal their true nature before death.
Gornec steeled herself inwardly, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.
For her group and the advancement of black magic, dying here without resistance was the best choice.
She knew that.
And because she knew—though she resolved herself—the terror of death wasn't something humans could easily dismiss.
That was why sacrifice and martyrdom were deemed noble and praised by all.
Die die die die die die die die die die
She stared at the raised warhammer.
That vile lump of metal would split her skull, rendering all her hard-earned struggles meaningless.
The intent to kill her definitively burrowed into her body, as if tearing her brain apart.
Clack clack clack.
Gornec's jaw trembled uncontrollably, overtaken by fear.
Her instinct overpowered the rationality of dying nobly for Nematos, forcing the bare minimum movements to survive.
"Gaaargh!!!"
Regaining control with mana, Gornec roared and thrust out her wrinkled hand.
Black flames gathered in her palm, forming a sphere.
Crack!
Gornec's vision went black.
*****
What I'd used at the orphanage entrance was a sleep-inducing incense.
Sold in back alleys, it was banned by the Empire.
It didn't work on anyone with even a bit of mana or sturdy adults, but children and the elderly struggled to resist.
The old black mage running the orphanage didn't notice and boldly stepped out, putting on a laughable act.
I knew this old woman's true nature.
The closer I stepped, the more evidence poured from her body that she didn't want to die.
Cornered by the abnormal status of fear, her focus blurred as she let out a hard-to-hear scream and began casting black magic.
"Gaaargh!!!"
Crack!
The warhammer shattered Gornec's skull.
The gathered black magic lost its caster and dispersed into the air.
I swung the warhammer through the empty air once, splattering the sticky blood onto the floor.
Splatter—
▷ Deals additional damage to undead.
▷ Contains divinity.
- A warhammer forged by melting down the rosaries of devout nuns.
A prize won in a drinking contest from a retired holy knight. Feels as good as ever even after ages.
"How is it?"
"Definite. Same as that day..."
Rike had seen Gornec's mana and black magic with her own eyes.
Overcoming her trembling rage, she grew eerily calm, staring at the old woman whose head was smashed into a gruesome mess.
It didn't feel cruel. To Rike, this was a masterpiece painting.
She'd finally witnessed the scene she'd longed for.
She'd awaited this moment amid her stained life.
Now, all that was left was to find Hell Broom, uncover the truth, and give him the same.
"..."
Until recently, life had been a thorny path with no end in sight, even for her alone.
She knew there was a sun in the sky.
She knew light poured down, warming the ground from above.
Yet she couldn't lift her head to look up.
But now...
Rike gazed at the back of the man standing before her.
-
I tossed the old woman's half-headless corpse into the director's office and pulled aside the wardrobe in the corner.
A small door right behind it.
So low even an adult had to stoop to pass.
Opening it revealed rickety wooden stairs leading underground, greeting us.
The damp stench of stagnant water and musty odor assaulted our noses.
As I was about to descend, curiosity struck me.
"Even if I'm Platinum rank, aren't you curious how I know all this?"
Even as I drew the long warhammer from my inventory, Rike said nothing.
"...Curious, but I just trust you, Adventurer."
"Really? Kinda touching."
"...After all you've done for me, isn't it obvious I should?"
It touched me that my favorite heroine relied on me, but she'd interpreted it differently.
Her innocent words made the corner of my mouth twitch up.
"Earn trust by giving, and repay in kind... Idealistic, but the world and human relations aren't that simple."
"..."
"This'll drag on if we're not careful. Let's leave it there and head in. Don't forget what I said once we're inside."
"Yes."
*****
The creaking stairs grew louder with the smell of water and stench as we descended.
Closing in on the sewer, faint water sounds reached our ears.
Alone, I'd minimize footsteps and proceed stealthily, but with Rike, that was impossible.
Originally, I'd planned to leave her at the inn, clean up solo, then bring her.
(I want to kill those connected to me... Hell Broom and that knight, with my own hands.)
Her resolute yet pleading gaze left me no choice but to allow it.
It was the same line Rike gave the protagonist midway through the story.
If the protagonist could, so could I. Since I'd committed to helping, I'd see it through perfectly.
'One right at the bottom? Were there two?'
I knew the location but not details like enemy formations.
All I could trust was mana detection and honed senses.
I gripped my weapon tightly.
The bottom of the stairs loomed ahead.