Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Hero Who Truly Repaid the Favor
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Grape pressed his lips to the pregnant woman's belly.
It was a stretch to call it a kiss, but it certainly made for an embarrassing sight on the surface.
But the creeping demonic energy being drawn out made it hard to feel that way.
Chloe's husband watched the scene with a rigidly tense expression.
Tension was written all over his face.
"Good, you're doing well."
Ashy grabbed Grape's head and held it in place.
She was on high alert to prevent any funny business.
"Ugh, urk...!"
Grape sucked up the demonic energy greedily.
Thanks to the magi lingering in Chloe's womb, his wounds began to heal bit by bit.
Grape couldn't pull his lips away.
Not until he'd rooted out every last trace of demonic energy remaining in Chloe's body.
He had to keep his lips pressed to a stranger's belly to do it.
Slurp, slurp!
"Eugh..."
It was a grotesque scene.
Maybe because I was just a detached third party, but watching it made my mind reel.
The demonic energy that had been sucked out vigorously began to lose its strength.
It trailed off like the weak dribble from a seventy-year-old man.
"It's almost done, sis."
Ashy delivered the hopeful news.
"Honey..."
Chloe giggled as she clasped Delick's hand.
All that was left now was to give birth to a healthy child and live happily ever after.
No need to worry about demons or Demon Kings.
That's what the holy sword and heroes were for.
Ashy would take care of it.
"D-Done...! It's not coming out anymore...!"
Grape mumbled as he spat out the words.
Even for a black mage, kissing a stranger's belly and extracting demonic energy wasn't easy.
"Good job."
Ashy praised his efforts, then slammed his head into the floor.
Forcing him to expend the absorbed magi.
"Kyaaah...!"
"Chloe, stay calm! Think of the baby—you need to rest...!"
A living, breathing human head was creepy enough, but she was smashing it around like she meant to shatter it.
For a pregnant woman who needed to take care, it was a shocking spectacle.
And it kept going.
"How's your body feeling, Chloe sis?"
"Y-Yes...!"
Ashy shook the blood off her hands roughly.
Chloe flinched in horror, but Ashy paid it no mind.
Delick's floor was soaked in blood.
Grape lay still as if dead.
He was pretty much half-dead anyway.
"Magi extraction complete. Now, time to purify the baby."
From the second child onward, they'd have perfectly healthy kids.
The priority now was the first child, tainted by magi.
Chloe, who had been gripped by fear, quickly composed herself.
Thinking of her baby seemed to summon her courage.
"Please, Hero."
Chloe stared at Ashy with a resolute face.
She begged from the heart to save her child.
Ashy answered with a bright smile.
A reassuring smile that put people at ease—she could make that face too.
I thought she'd grown a lot as a hero.
Ashy awakened her celestial energy and spread her wings.
A pair of pure white wings, the symbol of the celestials, filled the room.
"Whoa, wow..."
Chloe stared in awe.
It was the moment she came face-to-face with an angel from legend.
"Ahh..."
Chloe exposed her belly completely defenseless.
Even more openly than she had for Grape.
The angel melted human hearts.
It naturally made everything else fade away.
Ashy reached out with her delicate hand and caressed Chloe's belly.
Stroking it as if it were my balls, then infusing it with celestial energy.
A pure white light began to seep in.
Chloe felt Ashy's touch with a more relaxed gaze.
The womb purification took quite a while.
Purifying a child corrupted by magi wasn't easy.
Especially one tainted for nearly ten months.
"Phew, almost there?"
But Hero Ashy was a woman who didn't know the word quit, and she pulled it off in the end.
Ashy raised her head.
She folded her brilliantly shining white wings and withdrew her celestial energy.
She closed her eyes gently, feeling the movement in her belly.
Even from the outside, it looked exhausting.
She'd only poured out energy, yet Ashy's body was drenched in sweat.
"Hero... Is it done? Will our baby be okay...?"
Chloe clutched her belly, her voice trembling with tears.
She was anxious that her child might not make it.
Having seen the magi pouring from her womb with her own eyes, her plea was all the more desperate.
"I'm not entirely sure about that."
She'd only tried because ignoring it would lead to a bad outcome.
Even Ashy had never dealt with this before.
She couldn't give a firm guarantee.
"Hic..."
Chloe let out a heartbroken sob.
There was nothing more they could do now.
All they could do was pray the baby's demonic nature had been purified and take it easy.
Delick patted Chloe's shoulder.
Comforting her that she'd been through enough.
"Phew, saved another one today."
Ashy approached me, boasting like it was to me.
I wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"What should I do for you?"
"Hmm..."
Ashy stroked her chin, lost in thought.
She looked like a kid pondering which toy to pick.
I was used to it by now.
Hero Ashy did good hero deeds, and as her party member, I gave her the appropriate reward.
An unspoken routine had taken root.
The one thing I could do with this body of mine—my sole role.
Hero mental care.
A vital job, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to enjoy it.
'...She came here to repay a first-round favor...'
She'd saved a family doomed to tragedy by a black mage.
I decided not to sweat the small details.
"Hero, um..."
Chloe tried to sit up.
She seemed able to walk a bit.
"I want to wash up, sis."
"I'll fetch some water. But heating it will take time..."
"That long?"
Not everyone lived well.
Only noble mansions enjoyed magical conveniences.
Ashy frowned briefly, pondering.
It wasn't exactly bath-ready here.
Wiser to head to the public bathhouse, even if it took a little longer.
'Good thing this is a novel setting.'
For Hero Luke's party and all, bathhouses were a must in this world.
Hard to ignore the steamy events that happened there.
Ashy made her decision after some thought.
The bathhouse would be more comfortable than Chloe's place—they'd leave right now.
"Already? Stay at least one night..."
"No, it's fine."
She firmly declined Delick's offer.
She'd sized up the situation and realized it'd just be uncomfortable.
"You seem well-off enough. This should suffice."
Ashy glanced around the house.
As city guards, they weren't in bad shape.
Nothing to nitpick.
Unless she was going to take responsibility for their whole lives...
Any more meddling would just be a nuisance.
Ashy bid farewell to Chloe, a connection from her first round.
"Sis, we're heading out now. Didn't really do much, but nice to see you."
"At least have dinner. I..."
"No, it's okay. We saw your face—what more do we need?"
"Still..."
Chloe and Delick fidgeted anxiously.
Worried they'd been poor hosts.
'...More like intruders than guests.'
No matter how you looked at it, we hadn't exactly been invited in properly.
Ashy had come on her own whim and would leave the same way.
No reason for the couple to feel guilty.
"See you later. Maybe when the baby's born and a bit bigger, I'll drop by."
"Y-Yes..."
"Nah, might not make it. I'll be raising my own kid by then—how would I even get here?"
Ashy snorted and grinned.
Her face twisted into something ugly as she indulged in her delusions.
Chloe and her husband met my eyes.
They finally noticed the dog collar around my neck.
They looked shocked at first, then sent knowing glances.
They gave me meaningful smiles.
I smiled awkwardly and looked away.
"Hero."
Chloe called out to Ashy.
Ashy, giggling in her fantasy, stared blankly at her.
"If what you say is true, Hero, then the baby in my belly is one you saved."
"It might die, sis. Don't get your hopes up. Who knows when it'll turn dark and become a black mage."
Even a white lie and a blessing for the child would do.
But Ashy had to throw sand in the rice.
Chloe didn't mind Ashy's words.
"No, this child will definitely survive. You came all this way yourself and helped so hard. It'll be born healthy for sure. And live a long, long life."
"Sure, if you say so. Don't blame me if it dies."
I poked Ashy's side.
I wished she'd shut up.
Ashy pushed my hand away and whined.
"Ow... Why...?"
"Shh. No more chit-chat."
A pfft of laughter escaped.
Chloe covered her mouth, laughing elegantly with a ho-ho.
"Hero, one last request?"
"Make it quick. Wanna wash up and rest."
Ashy switched gears faster than grandkids grabbing New Year's money.
Chloe didn't hesitate and continued right away.
"Could you name the baby?"
"Eric. Eric Brownie. Good?"
"......"
Ashy tossed out a name and turned her back.
She strode out of the house.
"Ugh, so sticky."
"Take care. Live long and happy."
I bowed to Chloe and her husband before following Ashy.
The door closed, and their voices faded.
─ ...Name... We never even told you...
"Sis, what was the dead son's name?"
"...Eric. Eric Brownie."