Chapter 66: Lust(3)
Chapter 66: Lust(3)
Lina's party evacuated the villagers.
Then, they rushed toward Barikmeteo. He was on a rampage, demanding they bring him the hero's party.
Naturally, Lina stepped forward to block his path.
As expected of a regressor, Lina, despite her small frame, was overwhelming Barikmeteo.
"Ugh. You blonde bitch. I even absorbed Furuku, but you're still no pushover. Where did you learn to use a sword? It doesn't look like the Empire's style."
"I have nothing to say to the likes of you."
But from that point on, the situation suddenly took a strange turn.
Perhaps realizing he was no match for Lina's party, Barikmeteo began to blatantly target a single person.
"Die! You annoying man!"
"Ah, fuck! Why are you only coming after me?!"
Barikmeteo charged at Kerry, even taking hits from the others with his own body in his attempt to kill him.
Kerry used illusion magic to dodge, but Barikmeteo's persistence was incredibly dangerous.
"This time, I will kill you, no matter what."
Can't we talk this out? Guess not. Shit.
Just as Barikmeteo was about to bring his sharp claws down on Kerry, Victoria blocked the path in front of him.
"Kerry! Don't leave my side!"
Victoria raised her shield. In that instant, a transparent barrier formed, enveloping both her and Kerry.
Unlike when she was moaning and gushing her juices, she looked completely dependable.
"That damn shield again!"
Barikmeteo ground his teeth and swung his claws down.
KRAAACK—
Sparks flew as the hard claws clashed with the defensive barrier.
Enraged, Barikmeteo began to frantically claw at the barrier.
SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!
"Ugh... Such power..."
Victoria groaned, still holding her shield up.
This was the same shield that hadn't budged even when blocking the massive fist of the transformed Magic Tower's master.
But against Barikmeteo's ferocious assault, Victoria's body was slowly being pushed back.
"Kerry... this is a little dangerous... Ugh!"
Just as Victoria was in peril, Natasha saw what was happening and clenched her jaw.
"Grrr... Don't you touch my husband!"
A red haze began to rise from Natasha's body.
She was going berserk.
Natasha shot forward like a cannonball. Seeing this, Barikmeteo, who had been pounding on the barrier, flew up into the sky.
I had to stop Natasha now.
Right now, Lina was the only one in the party who could handle Barikmeteo.
"Natasha. No. Calm down."
"Hngg..."
Thank god, she listened. The obedience training paid off!
Even after that, Barikmeteo continued to fly through the sky, repeatedly targeting Kerry.
"Khahaha! How long can you protect him? Why don't you just throw away such a troublesome piece of luggage?"
Barikmeteo's words stabbed into me like a dagger.
At this rate, I really did feel like nothing but a burden to the party. It was a shitty feeling.
That cat bastard. I'll kill him later for sure.
Natasha, as if she understood Barikmeteo's words, growled ferociously.
"Pay him no mind, Kerry. You have your own role to play."
Victoria comforted me from the side. Still, I really didn't like this situation.
Barikmeteo circled in the air, watching intently for an opportunity.
The party formed a circle around Kerry, keeping a wary eye on the sky.
Just as Barikmeteo was diving from the sky to target Kerry again, horses could be seen approaching in the distance.
"Aid the heroes! Imperial Knight Order! Charge!!"
Knights in heavy armor charged forward on horseback.
Clad in shields and sturdy armor, they looked incredibly reliable.
'But why is the Imperial Knight Order here?'
Kerry had heard of the Imperial Knight Order before. They were said to be a group of the Empire's most elite warriors.
"More interruptions."
Barikmeteo already knew he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.
With the Imperial Knight Order joining the fray, Barikmeteo had no choice but to retreat, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
Barikmeteo fled into the sky.
Though it was clearly a victory, the mood among Lina's party was utterly somber.
*
Lina's party received treatment at the village clinic. It was a remote village, but they at least had some decent medicine for wounds.
The party's spirits were low. And for good reason.
Victoria's shield was dented in several places, and Natasha had gone berserk.
Lina was the most unscathed, but her mood was the most grim of all.
Lina was recalling memories from her past life.
Memories of her righteous companions dying, all in the name of sacrifice.
When it was all over, she was the only one left alive.
'In this life, I will never let that happen again.'
In this life, I won't let anyone be sacrificed. No matter what.
No one dared to speak, fearing they would break the heavy atmosphere in the hospital room.
Not even the knights of the Empire.
It was almost cute, seeing these big, burly men huddled in a corner, nervously trying to read the room.
Kerry felt sorry for the nervous knights and decided to speak first.
"I heard you're from the Imperial Knight Order. Thank you for your help today."
At Kerry's words, the knights, who had been sitting on pins and needles, shot to their feet.
I'd heard that knights were also nobles, but they looked incredibly disciplined.
Is it because I'm a companion of the hero? Are they treating me with respect?
"I am Bilman, Captain of the Imperial Knight Order and direct guard to Her Highness, the First Princess Beatrice. It is an honor to meet you."
That's quite a mouthful. Wait. Why is the captain of the princess's guard showing up here?
"The captain of the princess's direct guard, you say?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Then why are people like you... here...?"
"Well, it's a long story. What happened was..."
To summarize Bilman's story, it went like this.
Princess Beatrice wanted to meet the hero, so she ran away from home—or something close to it.
The princess heard the hero was in the Magic City and rushed there.
But by the time she arrived, the heroes had already left.
After asking around, they found out we were in this village.
The princess wanted to come find us herself, but she couldn't possibly enter a village filled with ominous rumors about the dead returning to life.
"So, I came here first with my men."
"I see..."
At the mention of the princess's name, everyone's attention was drawn to him.
Even Lina, who had been so grim, was looking over.
Just then, Bilman, the captain of the princess's guard, suddenly grabbed Kerry's hands. He spoke with desperation.
There was a reason for this. Princess Beatrice had browbeaten the knights, ordering them to bring the hero to her no matter what.
[Very well, Bilman. I won't go to that dangerous village. But in exchange, you will take responsibility and bring the hero to me. There must be absolutely no disruption to my marriage with the hero. If I can't meet the hero this time and our marriage falls through... I will resent you for the rest of my life!]
Bilman spoke while holding Kerry's hands. Everyone's so obsessed with me today.
"Sir Hero! Please... could you just meet with Her Highness the Princess once? If we return empty-handed, we'll be in a very difficult position..."
What is this fresh new brand of bullshit? Who are you calling a hero?
"..."
"I beg of you, Sir Hero!"
"I..."
"Please!"
"I'm... not the hero."
"What?"
Bilman's face was a mask of bewilderment.
"Then who is the hero? You were the only man, so... I naturally assumed you were the hero..."
Bilman had even been envious, thinking he was traveling with a party of beauties, just as a hero should.
"The hero is that person over there."
Kerry pointed at Lina.
"The hero... is a woman?"
Bilman was flustered.
Princess Beatrice had been singing songs about marrying the hero, and now it turned out the hero was a woman.
Things had gotten seriously complicated.
Bilman glared at his subordinates and said in a feigned angry voice, "Who was the one who dared to report to Princess Beatrice that the hero was a man!"
His subordinates looked at Bilman with incredulous expressions and said, "...It was you, Captain."
Come to think of it, that's right.
When Bilman had first heard the story of the hero, he had relayed it to the princess without much thought.
That a hero had appeared in the Empire.
There were no concrete details about the hero's deeds yet, so rumors were rampant. Some said he was a muscular man. Others, a peerless beauty.
Bilman knew nothing about the hero, but the princess was so cute, listening with sparkling eyes.
So, without realizing it, he had even started making up stories about the hero's exploits.
Of course, in the process, his own prejudice that the hero must be a 'man' had slipped in.
Bilman swallowed a silent groan.
'Who would have thought the princess would declare she was going to marry the hero!'
Kerry watched the scene unfold, shaking his head.
*
They sent the Imperial Knights away. Lina had spoken firmly.
[I'm sorry, but I don't think we can meet with the princess right now. Our schedule is too tight.]
He wondered what could be so urgent, but after hearing Lina's plan for their next move, he couldn't help but nod.
"If everyone... is okay with it, I'd like for us to head to a dungeon next."
A dungeon!
Kerry trembled at the word. In this world, dungeons were precious, invaluable places.
Because while dungeons were dangerous, they offered guaranteed rewards.
Equipment with skills, various elixirs... most of the expensive gear in this world came from dungeons.
That's how valuable they were. To even enter a dungeon, an adventurer had to be at least B-rank.
And now a regressor was offering to take them to one. But dungeons weren't places you could just waltz into.
"Lady Lina. Aren't all dungeons managed by the Empire? If we had the money, it wouldn't be a bad idea, but... for all of us to enter, the cost would be..."
It costs a fucking fortune for five people to enter a dungeon. She's a regressor, so she probably has a lot of money, but it would still be a burden.
Victoria nodded in agreement with Kerry.
"It's fine. Actually... it's information I was lucky enough to obtain. I know of a secret dungeon that not even the Empire is aware of."
A secret dungeon! Yes. A regressor should know one or two of those, of course! Absolutely!
"This time, I've realized it keenly. Our enemies are strong, and we are still weak. Until now, I've been too hasty. Rushing in blindly, thinking I had to stop them... only gets you all hurt."
So that's why Lina was so grim.
"I can't let that happen... I don't want to see any of you get hurt. So please. Come with me to the dungeon. Once we clear it, you will all become much stronger."
Hooray for the regressor!
The party nodded. It was probably because they had all experienced Barikmeteo's strength firsthand.
Other than Lina, no one could properly fight Barikmeteo.
On top of that, he said he could get even stronger by eating Nassen. What a pain.
Natasha, with a worried expression, gave Kerry's face a little lick.
As if to say she would protect him.
Hearing the party agree to go to the dungeon, Lina relaxed a little.
'Natasha's and Victoria's talents are reliable. The only reason they can't perform at their full potential yet... is because they lack experience and proper equipment.'
[Natasha's Talent – One Who Craves Blood (SSS)]
[Victoria's Talent – Unbreakable Will (SS)]
Lina knew better than anyone how powerful Natasha and Victoria could be once they were properly equipped and had more experience.
Kerry wasn't a companion from her past life, so Lina couldn't be certain of his future. But he was now an indispensable member of the party.
He was also the only one who could control Natasha's berserk state.
'And Sir Kerry's talent is in no way inferior to theirs.'
In fact, looking at talent alone, his might be even more broken.
Even with the help of a Magic Storage Orb, it was a broken talent that allowed him to use Illusion, an intermediate-level spell, despite having only just started learning magic.
'But because he's so talented, he's drawing too much attention from our enemies.'
Just today, Barikmeteo had focused solely on him.
This couldn't continue. Kerry was a valuable asset to the party. She needed a reliable item to protect such a valuable asset.
And Lina knew of the perfect defensive item.
She planned to get that item for Kerry.
"We'll rest in the village for a day and then depart for the dungeon. It's going to be a tight schedule, so everyone please get some rest."
With that, Lina left the room.
The moment Lina was gone, Victoria and Natasha, who were lying in the same hospital room, gave Kerry a lecherous look.
"Kerry... Fufufu."
"Heehee!"
Here we go again. But I'm not the same Kerry I was before. I've been reborn.
I was confident I wouldn't lose, even if I had to take on both Victoria and Natasha at the same time.
Alright. Let's see who comes out on top tonight