ALL NOVEL Chapter 28
After gathering all the Orcs’ magic stones and stuffing them into my body,
I returned to Normans with Rosmas, who was completely smitten with Lucius.
There was no particular need to cover the Elf’s ears, and Rosmas, wearing the robe that Lucius had given her, went straight into the Adventurer Guild with us.
“…What? How could they be so tightly—”
“Hey. They might not be adventurers.”
“Is that so? Still looks risky….”
“An Elf? If it’s an Elf… maybe?”
The gazes of those who were awkwardly staring at Rosmas, dressed in a robe, turned towards her ears.
Her ears, sharper than those of other Elves, were indeed peculiar, and Rosmas began to feel uneasy about the attention.
‘Lucius.’
I shot a glance at Lucius, who naturally stood behind Rosmas to block the stares of others.
The height difference wasn’t too significant.
Rosmas was taller than this body of mine now, with her gaze reaching Lucius’s collarbone.
“T-thank you, Lucius.”
“Please call me Arthur.”
“A-arthur….”
Just the right height for a kiss if she stood on her tiptoes.
It seemed Rosmas had already fallen for Lucius, so if I set up a place for them to talk alone soon, they would probably be head over heels for each other.
“Hehe.”
Who knows, a half-Elf might be born about ten months later.
I don’t know if Lucius has any feelings in that direction, but as long as he’s not impotent or gay, enjoying the company of the flowers beside him could greatly help his relationship with his party.
‘For a wholesome pure love harem.’
They say that the biggest concern for the Hero Party is matters of romance, but I’ve handled it all before when multiple women are fighting over a single man.
‘If you listen to me, you’ll be baking bread even while asleep.’
Lucius should be truly grateful.
I’m the one who entered a Hero Party full of women, charmed all of them, and turned them into warriors for the Demon King’s Army.
‘Let’s gather more companions, Lucius.’
Through more adventures, more women will vie for Lucius’s side.
To achieve that, we need to become higher-ranked adventurers and undertake adventures that accumulate more achievements.
For the time being.
“…I’ll be reporting our achievements soon, so please share your prepared accounts. Understood?”
“Understood. ‘Witch’ ma’am.”
It felt a bit odd, but it wasn’t something I had to dwell on, so I ignored Rosmas.
Clip, clop.
I confidently made my way to the guild reception desk.
The receptionist inside, upon noticing me, briefly contorted her expression before quickly changing it and smiling.
“Welcome. It’s been only two days since you last visited, what brings you back? If you’re planning to cancel your request….”
“I rescued a missing Elf.”
“…Already?”
“Yes. Here.”
I introduced Rosmas to Hora Morzen, a guild member at the Adventurer Guild in Normans.
Rosmas, who had been fidgeting, immediately changed her expression upon seeing Morzen.
Though an Elf, she started to be cautious.
Standing next to Lucius, Rosmas grabbed his waist, and Lucius merely let her be.
‘You should at least put a hand on her shoulder, you fool!’
It was the perfect timing for some casual skinship, and yet he just wants to stay still?
This idiot—
“……Tsk.”
Oh, wait.
Lucius was the crafty one.
He must have recognized the kind of gaze the receptionist was throwing at him and was purposely maintaining a calm demeanor.
‘He’s subtly skilled.’
While letting Rosmas play her little tricks, he pretended to be troubled by her actions in front of Morzen.
He was making two women glare at each other in confrontation.
If that behavior came out instinctively, he had an amazing talent.
“Morzen-san. This is Rosmas. We rescued her from Orcs in the forest.”
That’s a lie.
She was indeed captured, but it wasn’t a case of dragging her; we saved her from a situation where escape was impossible after she had already been captured.
“How did you rescue her?”
“Well….”
-Master, is this really safe?
-Let’s search more. Shh. There’s something ahead.
-Aah! Help!
-Chirp. Captured an Elf. Chirp.
-Let’s offer her to the chief. Chirp.
-Master.
-Go, Lucius! Slash them apart!
-Haaah! Are you alright, Elf?!
-Aah, so you’re the one who rescued me…!!
-Chirp, let’s run away!
-Let’s escape before the Orcs come after us! Hurry!
“That’s how it happened.”
It was completely different from the previous situation, but I adjusted my storytelling to fit our time spent as a Hero Party.
“We rescued Rosmas and ran away immediately. Luckily, the Orcs didn’t chase us back to the village.”
“My word. That must have been dangerous….”
“There were only three Orcs nearby, so it was a blessing. We took care of them quickly and fled.”
“I see….”
Morzen began writing something on paper with a feather pen.
“Were the Orcs taken care of by Lucius?”
“Two. One I handled with fire magic.”
“I see…. Where exactly did you encounter them?”
“I’m not really sure. We were in such a hurry to run away. We encountered them while following a stream in the northern forest near a lake.”
“Hmmm….”
Whether she believed or not didn’t particularly matter.
Lucius is a swordsman capable of taking on two Orcs with a iron sword.
I, Sorceress Bel, am a magic user capable of supporting Lucius.
‘This will surely help during the ranking review later, right?’
Definitely stronger than E-rank.
To conceal the Holy Sword and our true strength, we needed decent accomplishments.
We had to make sure that the Orcs we butchered would be seen as unrelated to us.
Even if they later find out that the Orcs were massacred, we should remain merely the people who rescued an Elf by chance.
Yet, we shouldn’t appear utterly incompetent, as though we got lucky.
I take pride in my skills; if I’m asked to hunt slimes or goblins for recommended requests, my pride won’t be upheld.
“For now, Rosmas, will you tell the receptionist what we discussed?”
“Y-yes….”
Rosmas stepped forward timidly in front of Hora.
“I’m sorry….”
This was more of a basic courtesy than anything we planned beforehand.
“I apologize for unintentionally causing trouble for the Adventurer Guild.”
This might be a bit of a blow to her pride, but it’s true that she caused trouble by being captured by Orcs.
“It’s alright. I’m glad you’re safe. I’ll contact the search team separately.”
Rosmas was registered as a D-ranked adventurer.
With her missing, the search team has been looking around the village and nearby woods for the past few days.
‘The search team is acting as they should, and they probably posted notices for other adventurers too.’
The request we accepted was a sort of missing person poster, meaning it wasn’t a specific request aimed at someone, but more of a public alert for more people to join the search for the missing person.
Had we not found her, they’d likely have given up after searching for about two weeks.
In that case, they would have probably found only bones later.
“I’m really sorry.”
“It’s truly fine! This is what the Adventurer Guild does. So, Bel-san, may I have your and your companion’s adventurer badges?”
“Here you go.”
“First off, I’ll report that you both have completed the request regarding the ‘missing Elf’.”
Morzen took one of the request forms from underneath the reception desk and stamped it heavily.
Mana began to flow from the stamp and soon imbued the adventurer badges we handed over.
Saaah.
The engravings on the back rose slightly higher.
“Morzen-san, does this mean our achievements are being recorded now?”
“Yes. Though, as you are still E-rank… you’ll need at least four more, but still, saving a person right from the start is a tremendous achievement. It’ll certainly help during your next ranking review.”
“Four more….”
A rather peculiar number.
“Lucius. You can do more, right?”
“Of course, Master.”
If we consistently solve requests one by one from now on, we will be able to aim higher.
“Have confidence. You’re strong enough.”
That’s true….
“Trouble’s brewing!! A large Orc settlement has been discovered to the north!!”
“!!!”
The adventurers turned pale in an instant.
With everyone growing serious, I alone maintained my composure—
‘Should I drop out too?’
“The High Lord Orc chief and all Orcs were massacred! This is at least a B-rank mission!!”
“…….”
Isn’t the power of the Holy Sword sufficient to handle something like a B-rank mission with ease?
“…Master.”
“That was close, close.”
Did two E-rank adventurers solve a B-rank mission?
Isn’t this a situation that will easily draw attention?
“It must have been genuinely dangerous. Right, Lucius?”
“…Yes.”
“Moving forward….”
I lightly winked at Lucius.
“…Without that, we will strive to improve until we can mirror it. Understood?”
I whispered softly to Lucius so that nobody else could hear.
*
The Village of the Holy Sword, in ruin.
All humans lay dead, and no one survived.
No, there was just one person.
“My daughter.”
Payza Odrone, head of the Odrone family, felt fear at the sight of his daughter holding a sword.
“…You’re certainly my daughter. But.”
“Father.”
“…You are too gifted.”
Count Odrone felt fear at his daughter’s ability.
How long had it been since she picked up the sword?
A week?
Ten days?
In less than that time, she had shown tremendous growth.
“I was called a prodigy since I was a child. But you have far surpassed my talent. Look.”
Count Odrone pointed to the sword his daughter, Droniel, was holding.
“Who awakens their aura in such a short time?”
“……That doesn’t matter.”
Droniel swung the sword with a cold expression.
“I will train in swordsmanship and definitely go help ‘him’. So, Father, please help me.”
“…Hah, you.”
“Father.”
Droniel confidently swung the sword at the scarecrow.
“If I can connect with him, it will be a great help to the Odrone family.”
“…Help? …The one who belongs to that will become a member of our family.”
“Yes. So….”
Swish.
With a horizontal slice, Droniel severed the scarecrow’s neck.
“Please make me strong enough to stand by his side.”
“……I see, but it’s just too fast for me to know what to do. I will consider it.”
Count Odrone left.
Droniel sat alone in the training yard, gripping her sword, pausing to stroke it with a smile.
“Lucius….”
Droniel murmured.
“Lucius. Lucius…. Lu, cius…. Hehe…. My… Lucius.”
She merely repeated one phrase over and over while fidgeting with the sword.