Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: There Are No Tales Where Only One Side Is Saved
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Even if it's called a spirit beast, do we really need to investigate its migration path and stop the Marsh Whale in the Empire?
If someone asked that, the answer is absolutely yes.
It's not like it has a savage temperament that makes it attack people on sight without provocation. The truly terrifying thing about this massive creature is that it turns everywhere it passes into a swamp.
Killing the Marsh Whale removes the debuff effect gradually, but if it passes through farmland or a city, it would be a total catastrophe.
I don't know if the Imperial Family requested this from me out of any real concern for the Empire's citizens, but in the end, it's also for the sake of the people.
"Hah... damn it."
I spat curses while staring at the Marsh Whale's anatomical diagram.
They wanted me to pierce only the brain without causing excessive damage, and I planned to do my best.
But why the hell is this insane monster's brain located so far down?
It defies all common sense—a true monster in every way.
'Should I... go in through its mouth and stab it?'
No Platinum-rank adventurer would ever do that out of pride.
Not even those below that rank.
But even as I cursed, I'd already made up my mind to do it.
'The reason the Imperial Family often assigns requests to me is because I get the job done without complaint...'
That was probably just flattery to make me feel good, but now that there's a woman waiting for me at home, shouldn't I play it safe for once?
...Just this one time.
-Bwooooooo-!!
The Marsh Whale's thunderous cry was starting to feel familiar now.
"Captain... at this rate, we're screwed."
They'd been chasing it from a distance, only catching glimpses of its tail far ahead, and now their initial dreams of striking it rich had given way to worry.
One bold guy had charged in swinging his sword, but he hadn't left a single scratch.
Instead, a mere brush from its massive body had shattered his arm completely, so now everyone was just watching from afar.
"Tch... that thing alone would keep us living large for years. Doesn't it have any weaknesses? Don't the mages know anything?"
The mage's face twisted at Liljo's words but quickly returned to normal.
Even if his head was empty, Liljo was infamous for his foul and brutal temper, backed by skills to match.
"Since it's a spirit beast, it's impossible for us unless it exposes its organs or something."
"...Fuck. But backing off now feels like too big a waste."
With no big scores lately, ignoring this opportunity was nearly impossible for Liljo.
We spotted a wandering spirit beast first?
Legal or not, this was like stumbling upon a pile of unclaimed jewels.
In the back alleys, spirit beast meat fetched prices that no amount of gold could buy.
As Liljo ground his sturdy teeth, the man with a bow slung across his chest came running.
The guy who'd been on lookout duty in the trees came scrambling down in a panic, halting Liljo's pursuit of the Marsh Whale.
"Captain... there's some weird guy."
"Huh?"
Liljo took the mana-fueled telescope and scanned around the Marsh Whale.
"What the hell? Is he nuts?"
There was a man wandering around near the Marsh Whale, having ventured into the forest practically bare-handed.
"Those muscles are insane! Huh? For real?"
Liljo smacked the back of his subordinate's head as the man praised the physique.
Crack-!
"Argh!"
The subordinate screamed from the pot-lid-sized hand.
"You idiot!! Don't you know muscles are useless without mana, no matter how much you have?"
Building muscle to smash rocks and tempering mana to do the same had massive differences in efficiency and time.
That was why even knights obsessed with systematic training allocated far less emphasis to running or strength exercises than to cultivation methods.
'Our eyes just met for a second...'
No way.
Liljo let out a hollow laugh and handed the telescope back.
With all these trees and the distance, without a magic tool, spotting something smaller than a dot in the dense forest was impossible.
Only elves or beastkin from the Federation with innate senses could pull that off.
It was a realm separate from strength.
"Wh-whoa?! H-he just... jumped into the whale's m-mouth?!"
The subordinate holding the telescope started freaking out.
"What now."
"He ran and went right into the whale's mouth?!"
"I told you to stay on watch... you drunk or something?"
Liljo's irritation peaked, his hand going to his sword hilt.
"Captain, I saw it too."
The mage behind him approached, stowing his telescope.
"...He really went into the Marsh Whale's mouth?"
"Hard to believe, but I saw it. Maybe he's a specialist in this? Didn't look like suicide."
"What's that got to do with going into its mouth?"
-Bwooooooo!!!
The mercenaries' attention snapped to the Marsh Whale's cry, different from before.
"What if the weakness is inside its mouth... or he went in to hit the organs directly?"
Liljo's eyes lit up at the mage's mutter.
"Follow immediately. Set traps and pitfalls around first."
The guy might be unarmed at best—a dagger?
Even a tough-looking body could be taken down by well-prepared veterans like them.
Experience and life proved it.
'Muscles? Doesn't matter—a sword kills everyone the same. Just some cocky young punk obsessed with looks...'
Unless it was some freak case, mana purity and cultivation came down to time invested.
No matter how impressive the muscular shell, the inside was bound to be hollow compared to him.
Not a single buff guy he'd faced had substance to match him.
All show, no substance.
'A man's got enough with a solid gut from good eating.'
Giving up the Marsh Whale—a jackpot chance—wasn't an option for Liljo.
I emerged from the stinking maw of the Marsh Whale.
Thankfully, it had rolled onto its side as it died, making escape easier.
As I exited, I opened a box, activated the signal artifact, and tossed it to the ground.
"Hoo..."
What happened to the mercenaries surrounding me didn't matter anymore.
I looked at the black blade in my hand.
'Same with the Romerius incident...'
Had my senses rusted so much that I could draw and rely on a creepy weapon without hesitation?
Or did such things simply not matter anymore?
If it was a shift in mindset, was that positive?
"Hey—drop the weapon!! This is your only warning!!"
A gravelly voice snapped me from my thoughts, twisting Roman's expression.
"Tch... one... two..."
Counting with my eyes, none seemed missing.
Mages ostentatiously casting spells, archers nocking arrows from the trees.
And the big guy flashing shiny teeth with a missing earlobe.
Thanks to Romerius's potion, the forest traps glowed vividly... sharper than before.
"Leave the Marsh Whale and we'll pretend we didn't see you."
Liljo's booming voice echoed through the swamp.
'...Miss Rike. Hope she ate.'
Once I decided to end it cleanly, the path forward was crystal clear.
Shrrrk-
I pulled the warhammer and iron chains from my Inventory.
To the mercenaries, it looked like I'd conjured them from thin air.
"M-magic?!"
Liljo glanced at Roman, noting the mages hadn't finished casting.
Clank-!
I attached the chain to the warhammer's head and wrapped it around my forearm.
"No women waiting for you at home, right? Lately, that kinda stuff's been getting to me."
Still gonna kill you though.
The mages finished their casting.
Liljo's smug, toothy grin turned ferocious.
Blue auras rippled from some mercenaries' weapons.
"Kill him!!!"
"Seria keeps talking about Mr. Roman lately, and every time, it shocks me so much my heart hurts..."
On the way back after safely completing the request, Liliane sighed.
Her party members Rak and Chambers just laughed in understanding.
"Loosen up a bit. You're learning directly from Roman, right? Makes sense you'd be curious."
"True, but..."
The last time Liliane saw Roman fight firsthand was ages ago.
She'd been so shocked by his blood-soaked figure that she'd fallen on her butt.
His image strangling a massive monster with iron chains was still vivid.
"I told them to handle it themselves, but deep down, Liliane hopes Seria doesn't become an adventurer. I'd feel the same if I had a little sister like her."
Chambers spoke as if he fully grasped Liliane's feelings.
"..."
-
It was the night Roman had gotten blackout drunk alone.
Too wasted to find his way home, he'd started rambling about himself—something he never did sober.
Half of it was incomprehensible.
According to him, he had this annoying system: whether mental or physical, he had to heat up to fight properly, and sometimes he even felt the urge to test if an opponent could kill him.
Fatal in real combat, a sure way to throw away your life.
Even knowing that, he said he couldn't always rein it in.
Not arrogance or underestimating foes.
Just poor emotional control.
Rak and Chambers had heard it too.
"Solo all the time, no party—covered in blood daily, no one to comfort him but booze, no one to witness his efforts or acknowledge them... Sometimes that guy's head seemed dangerous, right?"
That was Liliane's exact worry.
Even if it was selfish, she hoped Seria learned everything under Roman except that 'desperation' in survival—and ideally never learned it at all.
Living moderately, earning moderately without overdoing it, was plenty happy.
Endlessly killing alone wore down even the toughest souls.
In Liliane's eyes, Roman had been deeply scarred for a long time.
"Sometimes he acts nonchalant or jokes lightly to hide it, and it just makes him pitiable."
Liliane nodded vigorously at Chambers' words.
"I hope Mr. Roman finds a good woman soon and settles down..."
"That's for him to figure out. A sane Roman...? Can't picture it."
"He won't get even stronger from that, right?"
"Then... we couldn't even joke about it."
This had to be a nightmare.
'It's a dream... surely when I close my eyes and open them, I'll be in my room...'
Shrrrk-
Crack-!!
The chain-bound warhammer smashed the last mage's skull as it passed.
No scream as the flame of life extinguished.
For the first time, Liljo experienced his body freezing solid.
The moment combat began, that madman's aura shifted drastically.
A storm of blades raged.
Mercenaries shredded and swept away before his eyes, too fast to react.
A head exploded right in front of him, drenching Liljo's face in blood.
'What just happened...?'
Terror shattered his focus; he couldn't form an aura.
Like a frog before a snake.
Like a slave before a master of horrific violence.
"Aaaah-!!!"
Tons, who'd shared drinks and rapes with him moments ago, was hacked to pieces right there.
Slash-!
Geruta, dagger in hand, was sliced like butter.
Geruta died with a shocked face, no scream.
"Th-this... m-monster...!!"
Liljo knew now.
While slaughtering the others, that savage gaze hadn't once fallen on him.
The monster was targeting him.
He was the last one left.
