Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Hero Who Wants to Level Up
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Ashy sensed the residual demonic energy emanating from Gulik's body and bolted straight out of the village.
It was to catch the Black Mage hiding nearby.
Inside the house, only the village chief and a few elders remained.
I stood there awkwardly, giving them a sidelong glance.
'Feels kinda embarrassing for no reason.'
Even as a stranger from outside, I'd already been verified as a hero's companion.
No one would feel uncomfortable about me being here.
On the contrary, I should act confident.
As a hero's companion, it was only right to receive proper treatment.
"Ahem..."
I tucked in my chin and cleared my throat.
Ashy would surely handle the Black Mage and return, so all I had to do was wait here.
The village chief and elders fidgeted hesitantly.
They seemed unsure what to say with me standing right in front of them.
Then the village chief stepped forward.
As the village representative, he was the one who spoke up.
"Where did the hero go off alone...?"
"Ashy went to subjugate the Black Mage. She can track him through the demonic energy lingering in Gulik's body."
"Did Gulik really fall victim to a Black Mage? The doctor couldn't find any remedy, and we didn't know what to do..."
The village chief glanced up at the attic where Gulik lay suffering.
His eyes brimmed with worry that had clearly built up over quite some time.
"Since the hero stepped in, it'll be fine. Everything will get resolved."
All I could offer were empty promises.
But it was a show of faith in Ashy, so I figured she'd appreciate it.
The village chief nodded slowly at my words.
"I hope Gulik pulls through. It's not some ordinary fever—it's a curse from a Black Mage..."
In this world, unexplained fevers were all too common.
The existence of Black Mages was the reason.
Black Mages spread plagues to specific villages to extract demonic energy.
Their methods varied by temperament, but this one was on the milder side.
'Among the Black Mages' collective, Hell-Chain, there's just one real lunatic.'
Sacrificing an entire village as tribute was par for the course with them.
Even when powerhouses banded together to kill them, they wouldn't die.
Thanks to the author's contrivances, the Hell-Chain Black Mage named Grape clung to life right up to the finale, relentlessly tormenting Luke.
Someday, we'd cross paths with him.
Since Ashy went around hunting demons, confronting Grape was inevitable.
After some idle chit-chat, I took a look around the house.
It was a rough-hewn wooden home, with the kitchen and living room crammed into a tight space.
This was standard fare for rural homes in this world, so nothing out of the ordinary.
Noble mansions weren't something just anyone could have.
You needed a hefty inherited fortune to live in one.
'If I can't go back to my original world, I'd take a mansion over a place like this...'
Complete with a bunch of servants for maximum comfort.
It lined up nicely with Ashy's own ambitions.
I plopped down on a dining chair and killed time staring into space.
At some point, Gulik's groans ceased.
"Looks like Ashy took care of the Black Mage."
Gulik shifted from pained moans to steady breathing.
The village chief climbed the ladder with a look of disbelief.
He let out a brief gasp of admiration.
"It's true! Gulik's fever's broken, and his face looks so peaceful...!"
He hurried back down to bear witness.
The elders gawked with eyes wide as saucers, unable to believe it.
They didn't dare climb up themselves.
No need to see it with my own eyes anyway.
The auditory cues were just as telling.
'She wrapped it up in no time flat.'
Ashy was strong.
Plenty strong even in the original story, but after regressing, she'd ascended to an unreachable realm.
At this point in time, calling her the absolute strongest was no exaggeration.
Ashy returned.
"Eek...!"
She came back dangling just a single Black Mage head.
Facing a human head out of nowhere made it hard to breathe.
The village chief and elders looked just as shocked.
The chief in particular recoiled in disgust, whipping his head away.
Avoiding any eye contact with the severed head.
"Gulik—the kid—is he all good now?"
Ashy tossed the head carelessly onto the floor.
Then asked about Gulik's condition.
"His breathing evened out. Doesn't seem to be in pain anymore."
"Killing the Black Mage wiped out the illness."
Ashy's appearance hadn't changed a bit.
She looked the same going out as she did coming back.
"Starting with Gulik, it's a plague spreading through the whole village. Extracts demonic energy from folks who waste away and die bit by bit."
Gulik doesn't appear as a character in the original.
Probably got wiped out along with the village because of the Black Mage.
"Good work, Ashy."
"Not really. No demons even showed up."
Ashy yanked a chair back and sat down.
She let out a heavy sigh while scanning the room.
Spotting the stares from the chief and elders, her face twisted into a scowl.
"What? Got more favors to ask?"
"N-no, nothing like that. If—if Gulik's better.... Right, we need to let his parents know."
The chief sneaked a glance behind him.
Nothing but scrawny old folks.
The mood turned awkward.
Ashy slammed the table hard and shot to her feet.
"Fuck this, you want me to play messenger boy too?"
"...N-no! Absolutely not! P-please rest easy, hero! W-we'll pass the word along!"
Ashy was genuinely pissed.
The chief and elders jumped in fright and bolted.
Now just the two of us remained in the house.
In the quiet space, Ashy burst into giggles.
"Puppy, I saved a person."
"Yeah...?"
"So you know what that means you gotta do."
"Ah."
Before I knew it, Ashy sidled up next to me and sat down.
She tilted her head toward me, half-demanding a pat.
I gently stroked her ash-gray locks.
Touching Ashy like this always made me realize anew how big my hands were.
"Good boy."
"Hehe..."
Ashy beamed with satisfaction.
For a fleeting moment, I wondered about swapping out her collar.
'...Yeah, that'd never fly.'
Ashy trembled as she pressed her head against me.
I softly kneaded her flushed earlobes and caressed her warm cheeks.
"Ashy?"
Ashy was unfastening my belt.
Seemed like she wanted my pants off, so I lifted my hips to help.
She tugged down my pants and underwear in one go.
The pink chastity cage halted things at half-mast.
It was squeezed tight.
"Ow..."
Ashy scrunched her brow.
Irritated, she fished the key from around her neck.
She unlocked the chastity device and deftly removed the cage with practiced hands.
Only then did my half-erect cock shyly emerge.
"Keep petting my head."
She murmured the order, then leaned forward and buried her face between my legs.
She latched onto the glans and sucked noisily.
Slurp, slurrrp.
Her idea of a reward, I supposed.
She popped my balls into her mouth like they were candy to melt, working them gently.
My cock stiffened fully erect.
Ashy delved deeper, pressing her face right up close.
Sniff sniff.
"Sniiiif, haa..."
Her breath trailed up my back.
A shiver-inducing sensation, but far from unpleasant.
Her heavy-lidded, hazy gaze and eagerly extended tongue looked downright erotic.
I didn't stop stroking.
Gently massaging the back of her head to let her know she was doing great.
"You know you're not allowed to cum, right?"
"That's too much..."
Not the first or second time, so the no-cumming rule barely fazed me anymore.
Didn't make holding back any easier, though.
I had to rely purely on my own willpower.
Ashy finally released my cock.
She'd sucked it thoroughly until she was satisfied.
My shaft glistened with her saliva.
The pitiful glans shone slickly.
"Puppy cock tastes so good. Can't I just live off sucking this?"
"...I do have a personal life, you know."
"Don't give me that crap. You have no personal life. You're mine."
Ashy slipped the chastity cage back on my cock as naturally as could be.
Unlocking it only when she felt like it, savoring it all by herself, then leaving me high and dry like this.
My cock and glans spasmed, gushing precum.
Slipping on underwear now would leave it soaked and sticky.
"Mom...?"
Right after I pulled my pants back on, an unfamiliar voice called from the attic.
The only ones in the house were me, Ashy, and Gulik.
The kid who'd been racked with fever had woken up.
Gulik came down from the attic, calling for his mom.
"Mom...?"
Two people sitting brazenly inside the house.
Two faces he'd never seen in the village.
Gulik's complexion turned ashen.
In this world, intruders weren't exactly welcome guests.
Thankfully, the house door swung open right then.
Someone flung it wide and strode in like they owned the place.
"Mom, Dad!"
Gulik recognized them and practically flew into his parents' arms.
His parents hugged him back, eyes brimming with tears.
"Aaah, aaah...!"
"Hero, thank you for saving Gulik...!"
The mom frantically checked the kid's face and body all over.
Making sure he was unharmed everywhere.
The dad expressed his gratitude to Ashy.
The chief had already spread the word, so no further explanation needed.
Saving others.
Luke pushed himself to his limits performing acts of kindness.
Betrayed and despised, yet he never stopped, pressing on resolutely.
Ashy's response was lukewarm.
Unlike Luke, she was utterly indifferent and cold.
Still, it beat the original.
The mere fact that she'd taken action and saved them was enough.
'I didn't do a damn thing myself.'
Yet I felt proud anyway.
Was this true vicarious satisfaction?
Living the hero life through Hero Ashy.
Their son had come back from the brink of death.
Gulik's parents shed quiet tears, patting each other's backs.
The tearful reunion drew to a close.
"Kyaaak!"
Gulik's mom spotted the Black Mage head rolling on the floor and fainted dead away.
Ashy scratched her head sheepishly and retrieved it.
The support contract for Gulik's dream got put off for later.