Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Qualifications of a Hero (2)
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After Kalt had relations with Lunia.
Kalt no longer focused solely on Nadia every night. Instead, he alternated between her and Lunia.
He hadn't taken both mother and daughter at the same time yet. For now, until they reached a certain level of conditioning, Kalt concentrated on building up their sexual experience.
Meanwhile, his relationship with Nellis's party was improving day by day.
The day after he had taken Lunia, Nellis came to him that evening, saying she needed to talk, and poured out her troubles.
"Kalt... actually, I..."
The problem Nellis had was exactly what Kalt had observed and guessed so far.
When facing someone she believed was stronger than her, she felt intense fear, anxiety, and impatience.
Her face would drain of color, and her breathing would quicken.
If that were the end of it, it might have been manageable, but Nellis's Blessing...
Her Barrier was heavily influenced by her mental state.
When she was gripped by extreme anxiety and lost confidence, the Blessing's power weakened dramatically.
That was why she had been injured by a Kobold Warrior's attack—something her Blessing should have easily handled otherwise.
Of course, Nellis hadn't simply ignored her issue all this time.
She had trained in her own way, constantly telling herself to build confidence, and somehow managed to improve her skills.
She had grown from barely handling Slimes and Goblins at first to the point where she no longer panicked against Kobolds.
But that was her limit.
Monsters of higher difficulty exuded such overwhelming pressure—not just from their aura, but even their appearance—that they made her feel vastly inferior.
And Nellis's problem wasn't limited to monsters; it applied to people too.
Even in sparring matches, no matter how kindly her opponent acted, the mere fact of facing someone stronger filled her with immense pressure, burden, and terror.
"Pathetic... right? I'm a Hero, but when a stronger monster shows up, I get scared and can't even use my full strength. Still, I want to... get even stronger, build more confidence! I want to take down tougher monsters! So, Kalt, please... take good care of me from now on!"
The way Nellis laid bare her problem, acknowledged it, and once again asked for Kalt's help struck even him as a commendable attitude.
'Mabel was running away using her own Blessing at first, after all.'
To start, Kalt asked about Nellis's past to build more rapport with her.
He inquired about how she'd lived before becoming a Hero and why she kept going despite her fear of strong monsters or opponents.
Nellis had been just an ordinary village girl.
She liked cute and pretty things and harbored vague dreams of a prince on a white horse sweeping her away.
She hadn't particularly wanted to leave the village, and spending her life there peacefully didn't sound bad at all.
The village was a bit poor, but it was livable enough.
But after awakening as a Hero, Nellis had no choice but to become one.
Of course, she didn't want to.
She'd been living peacefully in her village when suddenly she was told she carried the Hero's bloodline and had to fight the Demon King.
Nellis wanted to reject reality and run away.
But it was the law of the kingdom, and as an ordinary village girl, she couldn't refuse.
On top of that, once a Hero left the village, the kingdom sent support funds to it.
The kingdom invested heavily in villages that produced Heroes, of course.
But it was practically like mass-producing veteran-level adventurers.
The emergence of so many talents capable of slaying high-difficulty monsters.
The resulting influx of materials and magic stones was incomparable to before.
Anticipating those gains, the kingdom boldly supported villages that sent out Heroes.
Besides, due to the nature of Heroes as defined by the kingdom, they inevitably traveled between villages.
Thus, the policy was to send funds to develop those villages, making rest stops more comfortable for traveling Hero parties.
In her unavoidable situation, the fact that she could help the village she loved became Nellis's consolation.
And so, Nellis became a Hero.
At first, she was too scared to fight monsters, so she started by gathering herbs.
Afraid to jump straight into combat, she joined the Guild and even asked the receptionist for advice on how to swing a sword.
Her somewhat pitiful, pitiable, yet endearing pluckiness led the receptionist to introduce her to an adventurer who taught her the basics of swordsmanship.
And she claimed her first victory: defeating a Slime.
Her legs trembled, and it was an intense battle for her back then, but she clutched that first win.
As she took on more requests and managed to defeat a Goblin...
Nellis heard thanks from the villagers for the first time.
"Thank you, Hero."
She herself would have been in the same position as those grateful villagers before.
When crisis struck the village, all they could do was beg for help from adventurers.
But now, as a Hero, Nellis could save people who had once been just like her—with her own hands.
That was the reason she continued as a Hero, despite the harshness, fear, and hardship.
"It's nothing much. Hehe, n-no big deal, right?"
"No. You're a full-fledged Hero, Nellis."
"Me?! N-no, you don't have to hype me up like that! Every Hero has been through something similar, right?"
'Not really.'
Kalt knew of Heroes who, upon awakening, rejoiced at being chosen and rushed into adventures only to discover their monster phobia and flee in terror.
'There's even one who locked herself in her room right after her first monster extermination request.'
"Nellis."
"Y-yes."
"I'll do everything I can to help you get stronger... to help you overcome your problem."
"K-Kalt...!"
Nellis gazed at him, moved to tears by his words, but Kalt didn't use Hypnosis right away.
'Not the right setup yet.'
In cases like Aria or Scarlet, they could gradually confirm their own improvement on their own.
But with Nellis, since they were only hunting Kobolds right now, there weren't many chances to really feel the progress.
He could spar with her, but for maximum dramatic effect, it would be better against monsters she actually needed to defeat.
'Focus purely on building her skills for now. I can use Hypnosis after we leave this village.'
Ideally, somewhere with monsters ranked higher than Kobolds.
Or a place where they could upgrade their current gear.
Kalt was mulling over such options when...
Nellis spoke up, her eyes sparkling brightly.
"Me! If it's to get stronger, I'll do anything! Kalt!"
"Anything?"
"Yes!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"I see."
"...K-Kalt?"
"Then I'll come wake you every morning. How about some morning training together?"
"Y-yes!"
"Let's head out, then."
"Now?"
"The clothing shop in town should still be open. Let's buy some disposable clothes that can get dirty."
Four days passed from then.
About five days after Kalt had first been with Lunia.
Nellis began morning training with Kalt every day.
She wasn't a natural early riser, so he'd knock on her door once he was up to wake her.
Nellis performed the exercises Kalt assigned her one by one.
Of course, she couldn't do them all perfectly at the start.
"Ugh, this is sneakily intense!"
"That's why it builds strength. Next, let's work on flexibility. First, check how far you can stretch."
After what was simple training by Kalt's standards, they even did flexibility tests.
"Eek! M-my arm won't go any further!"
"...You're stiffer than I thought."
Squeeze!
"Gah! K-Kalt!"
"Hold still like this. We'll slowly build up your flexibility again."
"Ow ow ow ow!"
Once flexibility training wrapped up, they checked her sword swings and posture, just like before.
To see if she could execute them properly, he had her swing at him.
Since Kalt only blocked, Nellis could swing without too much worry.
As those days continued, her flexibility improved further, and she could take down Kobolds much more easily than before.
At dinner together in the evenings, Nellis would share her progress and always add:
"This is all thanks to you, Kalt!"
Meanwhile.
As Nellis's swordsmanship improved, Aria and Scarlet were also showing gradual progress in resolving their own issues.
Aria could now use four more Blessings in a row, pushing back against the nightmares that plagued her prayers by focusing on her comrades.
Scarlet, repeating the Light-based training method Kalt taught her, found she could maintain Light longer each day despite her worries and anxiety.
The longer she sustained Light, the better she got—even managing basic spells against groups of Kobolds as a test.
For the two of them, these results were profoundly meaningful, great strides they hadn't been able to take before.
"Yeah, we've grown a lot since Kalt joined."
"I'm really glad Kalt joined the party."
Even Scarlet, who had once scowled and been wary, smirked in agreement with Nellis, while Aria sincerely welcomed Kalt's addition.
The harmonious atmosphere they shared now was one Kalt had felt before.
It reminded him of the time right after Mabel, Ianna, and Marti's problems had been fully resolved.
Back then, everyone was brimming with motivation, promising each other to keep pushing forward together.
Kalt wanted to savor this vibe for as long as possible.
He couldn't stand by and let Nellis's party turn into one that forgot cherished memories and ungratefully cast him out, like Mabel's party had.
No matter how friendly and trusting they were toward him now, Kalt's goals hadn't shifted an inch.
If anything, having seen this exact pattern before made him even more resolved to stick to his chosen path.