Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Afterparty
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Next morning.
We heard that Ruin had left.
"Haah..."
What the hell should we do about this?
As I was lost in those thoughts, Ariana snorted beside me.
"Hmph! We don't need a so-called hero like that!"
"Saintess, even so, he's still the hero..."
"What about it? I don't recognize a guy like that as a hero! A hero has to always be kind, never able to overlook injustice, and smile so brightly it shines like the sun! Someone perfect, just like Is!"
"What do you take me for..."
I'm not that kind of guy.
But Ariana showed no signs of stopping. She grabbed my arm and kept going.
"That's right! This is our chance for Is to become the hero!"
"Pardon?"
Her eyes sparkling as she gazed at me.
She seemed dead serious.
"Is, somehow you managed to take the hero's holy power, right? Then just steal every last bit of the hero's holy power and make Is the hero!"
"Saintess, that's not going to happen."
Her idea actually made a fair bit of sense, but there were three huge problems.
First.
"Even just getting about twenty percent of the holy power was too much for my body to handle. How do you expect me to deal with four times that amount?"
"Ah..."
No matter how lazily Ruin lived, his base physical specs were way higher than mine.
If even that body of his couldn't take it, there's no way mine could.
And second.
"Plus, if I ended up taking the hero's position, what would everyone around us think? I'd be labeled a hero usurper from that day on."
"That... would be pretty dangerous..."
No matter how much of a scumbag Ruin was, he was still the hero chosen by the goddess.
If I suddenly snatched his holy power and declared "I've inherited the hero," people would just nod along and accept it? Yeah, right.
And finally, third.
"And Saintess. Stealing someone else's holy power is no different from denying their faith. To be honest, I already feel bad about what I did to the hero."
"..."
Ariana fell silent at my words for a moment before cautiously opening her mouth.
"B-but, looking at the hero's actions now, doesn't it make you question if he even believes in the goddess? Does he really?"
"He does. That's something we can state with certainty, isn't it? Holy power isn't granted to just anyone."
"R-right."
In the end, Ariana nodded in agreement with me.
Holy power comes from faith in the goddess.
Without faith, not even a speck is bestowed.
That was the reason I hadn't given up on reforming Ruin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...And so, I hope everyone enjoys the feast to the fullest. With the dragon's appearance, the demonkin won't come anywhere near for a while, so relax and have fun."
"Woooah!"
"Booze! Meat! Booze! Meat!"
"Even the folks from the capital, come join us! We're comrades, aren't we!"
A few days later, a feast was held in front of the barrier.
Unlike the usual tense vigilance against demonkin appearances, the atmosphere was endlessly light and joyful.
This was only possible because the hero had slain the dragon.
'Though the star of the show himself is missing.'
Polar had thrown the feast for Ruin, Ariana, me, and the other knights, but Ruin—the one who'd actually killed the dragon—had skipped out.
I was pretty worried, but all I could do was trust that Lib High Priest would at least keep him from crossing any lines.
The guy was a mystery who never even appeared in the game, but there had to be a reason he was sticking to Ruin like glue.
"Ugh... aside from the cold weather, this is one hell of a fun feast."
"Haha, you're right about that."
The weather was still frigid, but thanks to the supercharged atmosphere, it felt less biting than usual.
I smiled as I looked around.
"Imperial Knight Gabun! Icicle territory knight Himmel! Arm-wrestling showdown starts now!"
"Hahaha! This is gonna be fucking awesome!"
"We betting money on this?!"
"Gabun! Don't you dare lose!"
"30 silver on Himmel!"
"Gabun! Got 20 silver on you! Win this!"
The knights, buzzed on booze, were hyped up and betting on arm-wrestling matches.
"Um, sir imperial knight, over here..."
"Hm? Ahaha, thank you, miss."
"I-if you're okay with it, how about a walk together...?"
"!! It'd be an honor!"
A northern woman shyly approaching an imperial knight.
"Table 13 needs more booze!"
"We're short on plates!"
"How much meat's left?"
"His Grace the Grand Duke says it's okay to bring out more magical beast meat from the warehouse!"
The servants bustling about, faces full of smiles.
I'd died once, but... this was a sight worth protecting.
Glancing beside me, Ariana was also smiling warmly as she took in the scene.
She turned, our eyes met, and she beamed innocently.
"This is all a sight we can enjoy thanks to Is."
"Hm?"
"Because Is threw his whole body into blocking that black mage's suicide explosion, everyone here can smile and have fun, right?"
"Haha, you think so?"
Personally, I figured Ruin slaying the dragon was the bigger deal, but since Ariana didn't like hearing about Ruin, I just nodded without a word.
Suddenly, Ariana placed her hand on my cheek.
"Saintess?!"
I jolted back in surprise, but she pinched my cheek.
"Saintess...?"
I looked at her with puzzled eyes, and she tried her best to make a scary face—like she was mad. It was just cute, though.
"Is."
"Yes, Saintess."
"Still... don't throw your body away so recklessly next time."
"Hm... that's a pretty tough request."
"Is!"
"...I'll be careful."
No matter how I thought about it, sacrificing my body to save the rest seemed like a pretty sweet deal, didn't it?
Sure, I was stronger than your average holy knight, but this level was totally reachable for others too. Like how level 30 seems impossible at first in a game, but before you know it, you're there.
And that wasn't even the only reason...
'Ariana, you can't stand seeing people die.'
All my actions always had her well-being in mind.
When she found me while searching for monster wave victims, I'll never forget her gaze.
That noble, pure look filled with hope because of me—I'll never forget it.
So I'll save people no matter what it takes.
Was it because I tried to gloss over it?
"Is, you always—"
The moment she was about to launch into a lecture.
-Bang!
"Hey, today's protagonists!"
A heavy beer mug thudded onto our table.
I looked up to see the culprit: Carmen.
She was already plenty buzzed, face flushed with excitement.
"Heard folks from the Holy Kingdom can drink too? Let's knock one back!"
She was shoving booze at us right in front of the saintess—this crazy woman. I was about to give her a stern talking-to.
"Sh... shall we?"
"Saintess?"
Ariana beat me to it and took one of the mugs.
"Oho! Our saintess is one bold lady! No way her direct holy knight's gonna refuse after she accepts, right?"
Carmen grinned mischievously at me.
In the end, I had no choice but to take the mug from her.
'Did Ariana ever drink before?'
In the game, Ariana never touched booze.
Only once: putting that high-proof but delicious "Wyinis Special Grape Wine" in her private room.
Ariana would take one sip of the protagonist's gift wine, then keep chugging until she was smashed, triggering a flood of service scenes.
But her drinking now...
'...Guess Ruin's been stressing her out a ton.'
Yeah, not that surprising on second thought.
"Alright! Cheers to the heroes of Icicle territory!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers."
-Clink!
The mugs clashed with a heavy ring.
"You know the first one's gotta be a one-shot, right?"
"What."
"Gulp... gulp..."
Carmen suddenly calling for one-shots.
And there she went, downing hers in one go. I hesitated a bit.
'That's a big mug.'
I'd never tried isekai booze before. Was this okay?
If I chugged it, Ariana might feel forced to as well, so maybe hold back—
"Got it! One-shot!"
"Saintess?!"
But Ariana beat me to it and started chugging.
"Gulp... gulp..."
She didn't stop once, just kept going.
I watched tensely.
She might crash hard like that.
But.
"Puhah! First time trying it, but I can't even taste it!"
"Ooh! Not bad for a newbie!"
Ariana successfully nailed her one-shot.
"Alright, now our direct holy knight's gotta show us what he's got?"
Two pairs of blue eyes turned my way.
"Sigh, fine."
Well, she did it first, so it'd be okay. Besides, I'm a pretty solid drinker.
"Fuck, so that hero bastard really just up and left! What a total piece of shit, right?"
"Exactly! Says he likes 'em then just vanishes! Trashiest trash there is!"
"Ahahaha! Is is drunkkk!"
"What nonsense! I am per-fect-ly fine! But Ruin, that guy deserves every bit of shit thrown at him! How does a man hold two women in his heart?!"
"Ooh~ You confident you wouldn't?"
"Of course! Only one person can ever take a spot in my heart!"
"Is has someone he likes?!"
"?! No! There's no such person!"
"Puhahah! What bullshit!"
"Knew it? Phew..."
"Ah, fuck, from a third-party view, you two are so damn frustrating. But I guess I gotta hold back?"
"Hold back on what?"
"Our baby saintess doesn't need to know. Aww, so cute."
"Eek! Is! Save meee!"
"..."
"Is?! No way you're asleep?!"