Chapter 3. Were they such a high-ranking person? (6)
Chapter 3. Were they such a high-ranking person? (6)
Was I a cowardly human?
Looking back, that boundary is faint.
The human with memories of a past life is me. And the 'Rosalyn von Artena' before recalling those memories is also me.
The me of my past life was someone who didn't have much. Well, some might say that being born in Korea and just getting by is actually quite high up when looking at the global average, but even so, I couldn't live my life without worrying about what others thought.
Work superiors, sometimes friends, student loans, living expenses, hospital bills when health problems arose—I had never once thought that I lived a life 'without worries.' Rather, I spent my days fearing an uncertain future while surrounded by problems I couldn't solve right away.
Then, what about me as Rosalyn?
......Now that I think about it, I didn't fear anything.
It's not because I was incredibly brave. It was just that I grew up knowing absolutely nothing, so I didn't know how or what to be afraid of.
"It's unpleasant."
"Your Excellency?"
"Ah, I didn't mean that looking at you, Erna. Rest assured. Well, at least for now."
That's right. It was unpleasant.
What Rosalyn felt was 'unpleasantness' rather than 'fear.'
Seeing something dirty is unpleasant. Smelling something foul is unpleasant. There is probably no one in this world who doesn't feel that way, but in Rosalyn's mind, that 'unpleasantness' was about the fact that 'it wasn't fixed immediately on its own.'
Therefore, the fear I felt until now mostly stemmed not from me as Rosalyn, but from the memories of my past life knowing Rosalyn's future. Because it was only after I had the memories of my past life that I realized 'Rosalyn von Artena is not invincible.'
"Are you...... not afraid?"
"Well."
I don't know.
I have no guarantee of winning. I might end up with an H-game-like ending after being defeated here, or I might get slaughtered and roasted. Because the goblins in this world were that kind of goblin.
However, ironically, 'goblins' were not beings that Rosalyn couldn't even imagine.
In the memories as Rosalyn, goblins were inferior.
They were just unpleasant beings. And even in the memories of my past life.
So— I probably won't be afraid.
Though I would be afraid if I were to be defeated here.
......Still, I do have something to rely on.
"You've learned how to use the sword properly, right?"
"Yes. Although this is my first time using it like this......."
"There are plenty of magic stones, so don't worry. Besides, I don't intend to just stand by and watch."
Unpleasant sounds can be heard from afar.
It was the sound of monsters with 'food' and 'seedbeds' right in front of them.
Just in case, I decided to leave the knights near the carriage, and the ones running with us were guards holding long spears.
"Then, let's go."
I said quietly.
Erna couldn't start right away. She had hunted goblins before, but this must have been her first time seeing so many.
Besides, Erna was a woman, after all.
"Erna."
I whispered softly while sitting a little closer behind Erna.
"Run, Erna."
"Ye, yes!"
Perhaps she felt that whisper was much more terrifying than my usual voice from a moment ago, as Erna urged the horse on. At the command of 'Hiyah,' the warhorse was startled and ran vigorously.
As expected of a well-trained horse. If it were an ordinary horse, it wouldn't have moved its feet at all, terrified by that many Demon Army forces.
The wind is cool.
But unlike that, there is a foul smell. An unpleasant smell from not washing.
An unpleasantness that cannot even be compared to the smell coming from the children at the orphanage.
Are they thinking of hugging us with bodies like that?
That can absolutely never happen.
Click.
That sound came from the sword Erna was holding.
The sound of the soldiers advancing with us behind us shouting war cries.
The sound of the Demon Army forces screaming at us, not knowing if it was a scream or something else.
I put my hands into my pockets carelessly. And I grabbed a handful of those top-grade magic stones I had brought just in case.
Others might call it a crazy thing to do, but my life is much more expensive than a handful of these magic stones.
Seeing Erna about to swing her sword, I infused my faint magical power into the magic stones and then threw them high above my head.
Erna swings the sword.
"Kieeeek!?"
The head of the first line of goblins, who were waiting to turn us into skewers while holding long spears, flies off.
"......!?"
Erna, who had already heard the explanation from me, also swallowed her breath in surprise.
The sword Erna was holding, that is, the 'sword I used to use,' had a blade that was broken into pieces.
However, those pieces never scattered. As if there were invisible threads connected between the fragments, it moved like a whip following the movement of Erna's hand.
Isn't it my, Rosalyn's, sword?
Rosalyn's sword, which fought on the very front line of the Demon King's forces. Naturally, the appearance of that sword was also 'bad taste.'
According to the flavor text description, Rosalyn had tortured the Saintess by wielding that whip-sword like a whip. In the game, Rosalyn had even sent the flesh cut from the Saintess's body to the kingdom as a gift.
The Saintess is one who receives the goddess's protection.
Unless it is 'instant death,' that flesh grows back. That was also the reason why she was able to live without dying, and without her body being ruined, even after giving birth to monsters several times.
Rosalyn was jealous of that body, and at the same time, found it amusing.
And now that I have become 'Rosalyn,' I think that perhaps Rosalyn was also infatuated with her. A being that never falls into depravity no matter how many times she is tortured.
'Bullying' is only fun if the opponent reacts properly—
Blood and flesh splatter.
It is not mine or Erna's. That flesh was green. Flesh like that of the goblins in the H-game.
Red blood splatters between the bones and flesh. So goblin blood is red, too. I didn't know because the graphics weren't made properly.
And that blood smelled not much different from human blood.
The smell of rusted iron.
I have never been to a place with a large amount of blood. Neither me as Rosalyn, nor the me who lived an ordinary life in my past life. That is why this was my first time smelling the scent of blood this intensely.
And—
"......Haa."
For some reason, my mind calms down a little.
I don't know.
Basically, it's a bitter taste, but there are people who say it's 'delicious' while drinking tea, coffee, or alcohol. It must be that they are feeling some complex taste or aroma within it. Well, as I was someone who drank high-quality tea countless times as Rosalyn, I understand that feeling.
But is a person who thinks the smell of blood is good normal?
The unpleasant smell of the goblins slowly retreats in the face of the smell of blood and flesh that Erna is scattering. That red scent, which I could even feel was somewhat fragrant, washes away the unclean smell—
And.
Bang!
"Whinny!?"
Along with a flash of light from behind, a sound that seemed to tear my eardrums rang out. The horse was startled and reared its front legs.
"Your Excellency!?"
Erna's voice sounds faint. Well, there's nothing to worry about. I'm holding onto her waist properly.
The goblins' screams can be heard. Not the screams close to cheers that they let out when they saw us, but screams filled with terror. Screams filled with rage.
I feel that those screams are also much better than the annoying sound from a moment ago. It seems I had that kind of taste.
"Haa."
I exhale once more.
Once again, a different scent is felt. The smell of something burning. It is different from the smell of simply burning wood. It is also different from burning incense.
This is the smell of burning flesh.
"Erna."
"Ye, yes!"
Perhaps startled by the explosion, Erna answered with a slightly trembling voice.
"Let's go further ahead."
"Yes......?"
Some goblins were already throwing away their weapons and running away. Was it a much more effective method than I thought?
Then, perhaps there was no need to chase them.
"I want to take a walk a bit more."
Erna couldn't answer for a moment at my laughter-filled voice.
*
Was I this strong?
Of course, magic stones were a very expensive medium. Magic stones used to effectively amplify and release even a small amount of magical power infused into them. If the mages of the Imperial Magic Tower saw this, their eyes would probably pop out. Because I was using magic stones with infinite uses for a mere 'one-time explosion.'
So, it must be the magic stones' fault. These explosions.
"Ahahahaha!"
But what does that matter?
The castle is piled high with Mahwa that can buy these kinds of magic stones by the sackful. Besides, Eisenforke even has a real magic stone mine. Although the output is less than other full-scale mines, at least it would be enough for me to use while playing around like this.
Before I knew it, I was walking, stepping on the grassland.
Because the warhorse, which had endured the explosions once or twice and kept running, eventually couldn't stand the continuous explosions and ran away.
How did I get off, anyway?
Hmm, that doesn't matter at all.
It's just that I feel refreshed, as if a hole has been punched in my chest.
It felt like I was finally doing what I wanted to do to my heart's content.
As if dancing, I walked lightly in the middle of the Demon Army forces.
Like a flower girl at a wedding sprinkling flower petals, I grab a handful of magic stones and sprinkle them over the goblins' heads as if giving a blessing. I think I'm starting to understand how to control magical power little by little. The magic stones, which at first erased them without leaving a single corpse, now exploded a little weaker, leaving about half of the goblins' bodies.
Then I could leave this fragrant smell for a longer time, more intensely.
My body was stained with a little blood in places, but this much is acceptable. What if I think of it as perfume? Well, if I leave it for too long, it will smell rotten. If it makes me this happy, I can generously overlook it just this once.
"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!"
Erna hurriedly follows behind me.
I gently grabbed one of Erna's hands.
"Erna, let's dance!"
"Ye, yes!?"
Erna is horrified at my words.
No matter what, she wouldn't be able to see me like this as normal.
No, I wasn't normal to begin with.
Under the Rosalyn who had become rapidly gigantic, intoxicated by the situation, my past life's memories still grasped the situation quite calmly, at least a little bit.
Ah, I see.
Rosalyn wasn't 'corrupted,' after all.
That's right. Rosalyn had never been corrupted in the first place.
It was just that her nature was like this from the beginning.
I pulled Erna's hand. Even though Erna was clearly much stronger and bigger than me, for some reason, she was helplessly pulled toward me.
The sword Erna was holding was already in my hand.
Step, step.
I walk through the grassland, spinning around with Erna.
Using the screams as music. Using the smell of blood as perfume.
The walk hasn't ended yet.
I was thinking that it was indeed a good thing I came out.