Great Warrior Ruel (2)
The sky had already grown quite dark.
When I returned to the tree house, only the Hero remained, all alone.
She sat gracefully on the swing, reading a book.
It looked so elegant that anyone would mistake her for a noble lady’s daughter who had come to stay at the estate.
“Welcome back?”
“Where did Breny and the Great Warrior go?”
“Ah, they went out for a bit. They seemed to hit it off well together.”
As expected of a Fairy.
Like a child, she had already warmed up to Breny.
“Where did they go?”
“Just for a walk.”
“…What did you do without scolding them?”
Thinking this place was a playground.
The timing and place were terribly inappropriate.
“Since there are no monsters left anymore, it should be safe, right?”
Indeed, it was not dangerous.
The West was set to become a green world where only plants would quietly photosynthesize for a while.
“Make sure this never happens again.”
Still, safety and mindset were two different things.
“You have to guide them properly. The Hero party isn’t just kids playing around.”
Even if you weren’t always in full battle mode, you still needed to stay tense.
No exceptions for races with low mental age or actual young children.
Most of the countless scoldings I gave Liam were along these lines.
Yet even he had been serious on the battlefield.
At this point, it was fine to give a stern warning.
“Yes, understood. I will remember.”
The Hero closed the book and answered politely.
Her face was stiff as a board.
After the whipping, I needed to offer a carrot.
“Still, you’re doing well.”
I reached out and lightly patted her shoulder.
The Hero flinched.
“…Senior?”
“Why?”
“You seem to have a different atmosphere.”
“Just my thoughts changed.”
According to Sun-bask’s plan, it was fine to grow close to the Hero.
The closer, the stronger the effect.
Half for the Hero party’s growth.
Half for me.
A win-win plan.
I wouldn’t cancel the punishment I had given Sun-bask, though.
“From now on, can I just call you Selen?”
I took one step further in the moment.
Always calling her Hero made it seem too cold.
“Really?”
“No reason to lie about something like this.”
The Hero, who had looked slightly startled, nodded vigorously.
“Of course! I can!”
An energetic reply and a cheeky smile.
Her reaction was far too different from her usual self.
“You like that?”
“I grew up alone and always wished I had an older sister or younger sister.”
A forgotten fact resurfaced.
The Hero was decent and noble, but she wasn’t that old.
Ultimately, a girl under twenty.
It seemed almost odd that she liked such a small thing, fitting her age.
Having her normal life stolen and bearing everyone’s expectations on her shoulders.
Thinking about the Hero’s future, burdened with guilt, made me feel a bit bitter.
“Think of me comfortably.”
“Then can I call you Unni?”
“…….”
Unni.
Honestly, it was still a prickly word.
In the convent, I had been called “Sister.”
When acting as a member of the Hero party, “Saintess.”
So it was a psychological issue.
There had been almost no chance to be called Unni yet.
“Whatever you want.”
I allowed it after much deliberation.
It could boost the Hero’s motivation, and it wasn’t a difficult task.
Moreover, I couldn’t refuse because of Erin.
I had told her to call me Unni after about three years.
But before that, she had passed away, and I always felt sorry.
“Ah, Unni!”
Because of the Hero’s expression as if she couldn’t wait to open the gift, it didn’t feel that bad.
“Want to do something else?”
“Then please teach me how to use holy power.”
The title had become Unni, but she was still being polite.
Perhaps it meant her true nature was kind.
“Alright. I’ll teach you properly this time.”
I claimed to handle holy power far better than any knight or priest.
It had been in the past, but now.
“First, forget all the usage methods you knew.”
“Everything?”
“Think of it as completely changing the foundation.”
Since she was talented, she would accept it easily.
A lesson that would help the Hero grow greatly.
“The most important element is not the body but the mind.”
So I taught the Hero how to use holy power.
“New, right?”
“It’s definitely unfamiliar….”
“If you move every day, you’ll get used to it.”
The theory itself was finished in less than five minutes, but actually doing it was not easy.
For a while, she would suffer.
“I will remember, Unni.”
A slight smile appeared at the still-stiff words.
“You should teach me something too.”
“What should I teach?”
“The Great Warrior. You two have talked a lot, right?”
The mental education plan had been made by Sun-bask, but information was lacking.
Just adjusting the details would complete it.
“Of course. But I don’t know much yet.”
“Tell me what you know.”
The Hero recalled the conversation contents and told me.
“First, the Great Warrior was born and raised in the West. His age is unknown even to himself.”
Fairies had unpredictable minds, so it made sense.
“Originally, he lived with friends, but after the Western nightmare incident, he wandered alone.”
“Does he keep hunting corpse locusts?”
“So it seems.”
A normal Fairy would have fled.
Clearly different.
“Apparently, he has been fighting steadily without rest for several years.”
The will not to yield even when pushed into crisis.
An ambition that far exceeded Fairy standards.
The title “Great Warrior” was not wasted.
If born as a combat-suited race, enemies wouldn’t have run just from appearance.
Ibar, the previous Great Warrior, was like that.
Later, even the Demon King’s army soldiers lost morale just seeing him.
A warrior with top-tier mental strength.
He hadn’t feared the Demon King with overwhelming power.
…The result was a futile defeat, but.
“Did you hear how he fights?”
Like me, using fists, I had experienced it.
Even though controlled by corpse locusts, he was agile.
But with only strong mind and body, there was a limit.
Ibar, who had both, had already proved it.
Moreover, Fairies were a race with inherent limits.
To avoid the same ending as previous Great Warriors, something else was needed.
“Apparently, he handles the power between magic and aura.”
Intermediate power.
My head blanked for a moment.
“You think it’s strange?”
No.
I was happy.
“Honestly, it sounds unbelievable, but he evaded the corpse locust’s offense and hid until he met his teacher and learned.”
My guess seemed correct.
“Didn’t the teacher say he’s an Elf?”
“Ah! Yes. But how did you know that?”
I hadn’t expected to hear news here.
Too unexpected, I was bewildered.
“That’s all I know.”
“Thank you.”
My expectations for the Great Warrior rose.
He might be a talent on par with the Hero or Breny.
An Elf who wouldn’t take a disciple if the future wasn’t bright.
“We’re back!”
At that moment, the two who had gone out returned.
Breny came running to me, covered in dirt from playing a lot.
Meanwhile, the Great Warrior was perched on Breny’s head.
Slumped over, looking tired.
“Wow, Clitia!”
As expected, Breny rushed to me.
I hugged her appropriately, and the Great Warrior looked up at me and spoke.
“Hero, I see something good has happened.”
“How did you know?”
“The mana flow near the brain has slightly increased. It means there was something exciting.”
Could he even tell that?
Indeed, a mana race.
“Interesting? If you know the mana flow, you can read fate.”
“Fate?”
“By attaching mana to the face.”
It was like palmistry.
The appearance was like a cute toy doll.
But the speech and actions were exactly like a burly 30-year-old short guy.
“Shall I try?”
No credibility, but interest piqued.
“Go ahead.”
“Excuse me.”
The Great Warrior flew in front of my eyes and spun his turquoise bead-like eyes.
“Hmm…”
“Why? Is it a fate of destruction?”
“It’s blurry, hard to see. It’s unusual. Only when faithfully serving gods.”
What kind of talk was this?
“Great Warrior, that person is the previous Saintess.”
“So it’s true?”
Only after hearing the Hero’s words did his small eyes widen.
“I thought you were a demon because of your gloomy eyes!”
“…….”
Even without prejudice, it was too much.
“Haha! Sorry!”
A cute, boisterous laugh rang out.
Suddenly tired.
I had expected a hero-like figure, but it wasn’t.
Normally like this, but when fighting, it might change.
I needed to check urgently.
“Hero, I have something to say.”
The Great Warrior, who had moved away from me, approached the Hero this time.
“Why are you doing that?”
“I want to go to a place.”
“Where?”
“The place I lived. Before leaving the West, I want to visit once.”
A somewhat serious request unlike before.
“It’s okay?”
The Hero looked at me without much thought.
“What will you do?”
“Why ask me?”
“Eh?”
“The destination is up to the Hero. And am I your companion?”
The Hero seemed strange because she was being treated comfortably.
It was time to leave.
“I’ll go, so do as you like.”
“Now?”
“The Hero party can’t have outsiders joining the journey.”
A suitable excuse.
Not wrong.
“Going.”
I immediately turned around and left the tree house.
“See you next time.”
“Bye!”
“Safe travels.”
With various greetings from behind, I walked briskly.
Beyond me, other outsiders hidden places.
“Tower Master of the Purple Magic Tower.”
“…Why call me?”
The empty air distorted, and a middle-aged man appeared.
Showing reluctance with his whole body.
“Let’s do one thing together.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re my boss’s friend?”
“…….”
Power’s crumbs were sweet.
“Riella was good at illusion magic, right?”
The Purple Magic Tower Master snorted at my words.
“All illusion-type magic in our tower was created by me when I was young.”
“Nice.”
Perfect as a mental education helper.
“What do you want to do, hurry up and say.”
“Custom trial.”
The plan I had thought of with Sun-bask and composed the core.
The so-called “Revenge of the Abandoned Temple.”