Chapter 27
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: No Good Deed
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"What are you talking about?"
Luon pointed the holy sword at the blonde woman, who asked back venomously.
She flinched in surprise and grabbed the shoulder of the older man next to her.
"What are you pointing at me? Put that away right now!"
The men standing around the trembling woman shouted.
"He's definitely in league with the witch!"
"What a disrespectful swordsman!"
"Trash, pointing a sword at a delicate woman!"
Paying them no mind, Luon kicked off the ground. Surprised by his reckless charge, people screamed and scattered in all directions. The only one who held her ground was the blonde woman.
At a glance, she looked like someone frozen in fear, but that wasn't the case.
She was following the trajectory of Luon's swinging sword with her eyes.
Her calm eyes only strengthened Luon's conviction, and he cast aside any remaining hesitation and swung his sword down.
At that moment, the woman twisted her body to dodge the attack, let out a beastly shriek, and lunged at him.
Luon immediately kicked out, but surprisingly, the woman dodged with agile movements and swung her hand in a counterattack.
Luon pulled his arm back, blocked her incoming palm with his pommel, and took two steps back to avoid the next attack.
*I didn't expect her to enjoy hand-to-hand combat.*
Luon, who had judged her to be a witch based on her slender frame, let out a dry laugh as he watched the woman's body transform before his eyes.
"...I've heard a woman's transformation is her prerogative."
Her pale skin grew rough and keratinized, drying out, and her full lips tore open to the sides of her ears, long fangs sprouting from within. With a crunching sound, sharp claws emerged, and as the transformation completed, a beastly growl escaped the woman's mouth.
The woman—no, the monster—with the whites of her eyes stained blood-red, spoke.
"You've ruined everything I've worked so long for."
Then, she pointed a sharply curved index finger straight at Luon and added.
"You'll have to quench my thirst. I'll wring you dry, down to the last drop."
The monster bared its gums in a smile, its long fangs glinting menacingly. It placed both hands on the ground and charged on all fours.
The monster kicked off the ground, leaped, and swung its arm fiercely.
Luon neither dodged nor blocked the attack that cut through the air like a whip. Instead, he reached into the trajectory of the arm.
Like an acrobat catching a flying blade, Luon snatched the monster's wrist in mid-air.
"Kyaak!"
The monster let out a shrill scream and fell to its knees. The sight of the bone jutting out from its wrist, broken like a twig, was gruesome.
"Kyaak! Let go! Let go!"
The monster thrashed, trying to swing its other hand, but before it could, the holy sword pierced through the back of its hand and embedded itself deep in the ground.
"Kyaaaaak!"
With both hands instantly pinned, the monster twisted and struggled. It was the only movement the captive creature could make.
Luon released his grip on the wrist, which had no more bones left to crush, and grabbed the monster's head with both hands as it looked up at him with eyes full of terror.
"Wait! Wait! D-don't do it! Stop!"
The monster pleaded desperately, as if it knew what was coming next.
Luon said in a monotone voice.
"Wring me dry? I'll return the favor."
Thick veins bulged on the back of his hands.
*Crunch!* With the gruesome sound of a thick skull caving in, the monster's eyes rolled back, and fresh blood poured from every orifice on its face.
Only then did Luon let go, spitting on the ground and wiping his hands.
Luon glanced down at the holy sword embedded in the back of the monster's hand, hoping it might absorb the dead creature's power. When nothing happened after a moment, he scratched his head and pulled the sword out.
The sword's ability to signal the presence of evil was incredibly useful, but it seemed it couldn't absorb the power of beings that weren't demons.
Putting his disappointment aside, Luon turned and approached the bound woman, cutting the ropes that restrained her.
"...Ah."
Seeing the woman collapse without taking a single step, Luon sighed, knelt, and took a bottle filled with red liquid from his backpack.
It was a potion he had received from Amella before leaving the Magic Tower.
"Excuse me."
Luon lifted the woman's bloodied ankle and dripped a few drops of the potion onto it.
After dripping the potion on her wrist as well, Luon stood up. Becky spoke in a desperate voice.
"E-excuse me... C-could you take me home?"
At her anxious gaze, Luon raised his head and looked around. Despite everyone having clearly witnessed the blonde woman turn into a monster, the stares directed at him and the woman were nothing but cold.
*They must want to rationalize it.*
Luon nodded.
"I will."
***
The house was an absolute mess. None of the furniture was in its proper place, and all sorts of junk were strewn across the floor.
The walls were even covered in red graffiti, with words like 'witch' and 'demon,' making it feel utterly uninhabitable.
Luon let out a dumbfounded laugh, realizing they had also stolen anything of value, like food or money.
"Thank you."
Becky, who bowed her head with difficulty, spoke while nibbling on the jerky Luon had given her.
"Thanks to you, I'm still alive. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you all my possessions, but... I have nothing left."
"It's fine. The experience points were surprisingly good, so that's enough for me."
Becky clearly didn't understand what Luon meant, but she seemed to lack the energy to question it, leaning against the wall and breathing laboriously.
After catching her breath for a while, she slowly opened her mouth.
"...I can't live here anymore, can I?"
"After all this, you still want to live here?"
Becky hung her head low. A tear streamed down her chapped cheek, pooled at the tip of her chin, and fell to the floor.
"I thought... they would at least apologize."
*As if.*
Luon gave a bitter smile inwardly.
The people would surely never offer her an apology, not even as a formality. That was the only way they could look away from their own transgression of ruining an innocent person.
But he didn't bother to voice that thought.
He believed there was nothing uglier than lecturing someone already in despair about the harsh realities of life.
"What... what should I... do... from now on?"
As she spoke, Becky's voice began to lose strength and trail off. Soon, unable to overcome the overwhelming fatigue, her body collapsed onto the floor.
Watching her, Luon scratched his head.
"This is awkward."
He had no more business here and could leave immediately, but leaving an unconscious woman alone in such a mess felt wrong.
In the end, Luon sat down on the floor, took a rolled-up map from his backpack, and spread it out.
Small 'x' marks drawn on the map clearly showed his recent travel route.
*I should be able to get there in a few days.*
Luon gauged the distance between the last 'x' and the city named 'Nook', nodding to himself.
Luon usually wandered wherever his feet took him, but this time, he had bought a map and was taking the fastest route.
The reason was that, for the first time in a while, he was moving with a clear destination in mind.
Luon tapped the name 'Nook' on the map with his index finger.
The port city of Nook, located at the edge of the kingdom's territory, was his destination.
To be precise, his true destination was Tivela's Grand Cathedral within Nook.
*The Grand Cathedral...*
Luon had decided to visit the Grand Cathedral not because of a sudden surge of faith, but because of the vision of Belducias he had seen at the Magic Tower.
Whether Iredor was right about the vision being a fixed future or not, Luon knew well that as long as he carried a sword blessed by Tivela, he was bound to be at odds with Belducias.
Remembering that the starting point of this whole relationship was Tivela's monastery, he planned to go to the Grand Cathedral, ascertain Tivela's true intentions, and prepare for the fights to come.
Putting the map back into his backpack, Luon leaned against the wall and quietly closed his eyes.
A few hours later, Luon woke from a light sleep and looked around. The sun must have set, as a mixture of white moonlight and darkness was pouring in through the window.
He turned his head and saw Becky, still unconscious.
As he looked around for something simple to cover her curled-up form, Luon raised his head, sensing a faint presence beyond the door.
He quietly closed his eyes and activated his senses.
[Fairy's Hearing], activated for the first time in a while, brought the sounds from outside the door to his ears.
"...Chief, do we really have to go this far?"
"Shut up! He's the one who killed Sella."
"Chief, Sella was a mon...ster."
"If that bastard hadn't shown up, no one would have known. Not me, not you! That bitch Becky would be dead, and Sella would have remained my eternal companion!"
The chief, spouting words that suggested his brain had a tenth of the wrinkles of a normal person's, added.
"...And what if Becky tells the city what happened in this village? If she's alone, we can just treat her like a crazy bitch, but if she brings the guy who killed Sella as a witness, things will get complicated. You still want to say you can't do it? If there's anyone here who didn't throw a stone at Becky, step forward."
When silence fell over the group, the chief continued in an agitated voice.
"We just set the fire and run. It's over. If they both die, that's perfect. But even if only Becky dies, the matter will be settled."
*...He's truly insane.*
Having heard enough, Luon clicked his tongue and got to his feet. He immediately opened the door, stepped outside, and walked in the direction of the voices.
The men huddled together behind the dead man Kun's house (though Luon didn't know it), across from Becky's, were startled by Luon's sudden appearance and cried out.
"Gasp! Wh-what the."
"How long has he been there?"
Luon silently scanned the clustered group.
Spotting a man holding a glass bottle reeking of oil and a torch, he spoke.
"Looks like you have something to burn?"
At his words, an old man who appeared to be the chief spoke up.
"Mind your own business, outsider."
His voice trembled with fear, but he still glared. Luon slowly approached him.
"Gak!"
He instantly grabbed the chief by the collar and lifted him up, growling low in his ear as the man's face turned beet red.
"If you're going to conspire, you should at least try not to get caught."
Faced with Luon's piercing gaze up close, the chief's trousers grew damp.
Tossing the chief to the ground like a piece of trash, Luon jutted his chin at the village men, who were watching with fearful expressions.
"Drop what you're holding and get lost."
The men dropped the oil bottle and torch and fled without a backward glance.
Luon glanced down for a moment at the chief, who was groaning as if he'd hurt his back, then picked up the torch and the oil bottle and walked toward the largest house in the village.
Confirming the nameplate next to the door read 'Chief Fran', he unhesitatingly threw the oil bottle and then the torch through a half-open window.
"Wh-what are you doing! A-are you crazy?"
As the staggering chief shrieked, Luon shrugged.
"Instead of saying that, you should be putting out the fire."