## Chapter 478 – Killing Demons
“Ooh! Thank you!”
The bronze-colored, gleaming dagger was clearly a high-quality weapon crafted with deadly skill. The blade was sturdy and sharp.
Religious artifacts usually inflict extra damage on evil beings. Nothing could be better than a dagger used by paladins.
What a windfall.
As expected, religious people are fundamentally good. Unlike the barbaric otherworlders, they are truly righteous and uphold their promises. They’ve rewarded me appropriately for going above and beyond for them.
Doing good deeds really does bring good fortune.
“It is a deserved reward. Nothing would please us more than if you used it to slay demons. It is an artifact blessed by Verde, so it will be deadly to demons.”
The pastor smiled brightly, pleased to see my satisfaction. I was very pleased.
“Of course! I will stain this bronze blade with the blood of demons!”
“Haha. It seems you have the qualities of a paladin. If you are interested in our Bronze Celestial Knights, I can give you a scripture.”
“Hehe, is this proselytizing?”
“It is proselytizing.”
I seem to be getting proselytized a lot.
A paladin, huh? Looking back, the greaves I wear were given to me by Claudia, who got them as a prize from the church during the festival.
If I keep collecting equipment like this, I might be able to complete a full set of paladin gear.
“Unfortunately, I have a national religion. Thank you for the offer.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame. But there is no need to distinguish between religions when it comes to doing good. I wish you blessings in the future.”
“You too, Pastor!”
I greeted him energetically and came outside.
With two bottles of holy water and a Bronze Celestial Knights special dagger, even the worst demon bastards would be crying and begging their mothers to save them.
Of course, I have no intention of forgiving those sons of bitches.
“Got something good, huh, Shorty?”
“Hehehe, you could say that.”
Suddenly, I have another secondary weapon. Adding this dagger to the one Karin gave me, I don’t have to worry about weapons.
“It’s a good dagger. A weapon deadly to demons… I like it a lot.”
Claudia tapped the dagger and gave her assessment. She’s a weapon expert too. She recognized the value of the dagger.
“I can’t wait for the moment when I stain this blade with the blood of demons!”
“Hehehe, I want to see it soon.”
I immediately fastened the dagger to my belt and headed home.
After arriving home, I had some time left, so I cleaned the house and took care of my equipment. Frankly speaking, the equipment I seized from the adventurers at the mansion last time wasn’t of very good quality.
A breastplate, pauldrons, and a quilted armor.
It’s okay for temporary use, but if I earn money this time, I should replace them first. Anyway, I have to use them until I replace them, so I made sure to maintain them properly to prevent rust.
“Hmm… I need to buy new shoes too.”
Shoes are also consumables in the end.
The combat boots I bought a bit expensively last time seem to be barely holding up. I’ll have to replace them soon too.
As I was spending time like that, Karin came back.
“Sis is home. Oh? What’s this? Are you going to work now?”
Karin said, seeing me taking care of my equipment.
She knows it at a glance.
“I’m planning to go out tomorrow. But it’s near the city, so I probably won’t have to sleep outside.”
“Really? That’s a relief. More importantly, take this.”
Suddenly, Karin threw something like a sword at me. I caught it and saw that it was indeed a sword. A heavy two-handed sword.
“Oh? This is?”
“A new sword. I said I’d give you one last time.”
“Oh! Ohhh!! Kariiiin!!!”
Karin had said that she would give me one of her swords when my swordsmanship training progressed to some extent. Looking at it, it seemed to be one of the swords that was among the black iron longswords when she told me to choose one a long time ago.
That means it’s a pretty good sword!
“Hehehe, you like it. It’s not a super great sword, but it feels similar to the sword our husband took last time. I used it a bit too. Use it well. Don’t break it again. Well, you can break it, but it has to be worth it, okay?”
“Thank you, Karin!!!”
I immediately ran to Karin and rubbed my face against her stomach, and she stroked my head and said.
“Then, shall we spar a bit with that sword?”
“Yes!”
I immediately grabbed the sword and headed to the backyard with Karin.
“Karin Unnie is home?”
“Was Winia doing well?”
“She was doing well with Shorty.”
“Ah, damn it. I’m jealous. Husband, come here quickly! From now on, it’s exclusive!”
“Okay.”
We went to the backyard and I grabbed the new sword. It looked old, but it had been meticulously maintained, so there wasn’t a single flaw.
It’s quite a crude sword.
However, I knew it from the moment I grabbed it. Weight, balance. There’s nothing lacking. Being crude means it’s practical. Seeing the thick blade, it’s clear that it’s a sword that Karin, who has reached the pinnacle, used.
It’s truly a sword made to be used by someone whose strength is enhanced by mana.
It’s similar in length to the black iron longsword, but it’s a bit heavier.
“It’s a good sword, right? The durability is better, I think?”
“Hoo… This is the real deal. Amazing.”
“Like Husband’s dick?”
“Who told you to say that!”
“Hehehe, anyway, come on. You’re going out tomorrow, so I need to check if your senses have dulled while you’ve only been training at home. I’ll take a look now.”
It seems like we’re going to have a rough sparring session today.
I’m going to sweat a lot.
ㅡSwish.
I immediately took off my shirt and put it on the chair.
“Kyaa.”
Karin smiled and said as I took off my clothes.
“I really love this body every time I see it.”
“Hehehe. Same with Sis’s body.”
ㅡWhoosh!
I swung the sword a few times to check the feel. It’s heavier than the sword I used to use, but that’s not a problem for me. It’s a well-balanced sword in the first place. It feels like it was my sword from the beginning, fitting perfectly in my palm.
“Then, I’m going.”
“Come.”
ㅡFlash!
I immediately swung the sword at Karin. There’s nothing lacking in the feeling of swinging it. If this much power is put into it, demons are just fodder.
ㅡClang!
Karin lightly lifted her sword, freely defending and counterattacking, wrapping around my sword. Breaking through her defense is impossible for me right now.
I focused on defense and persistently poured out attacks.
“Good, good. You’re improving smoothly. I can feel you growing every time we cross swords. If you refine it a bit more, I might even recognize you as a knight.”
She praised me while blocking all my attacks. In the first place, Karin is too strong, so I can’t know exactly how much I’ve improved.
“Really?”
“Has Sis ever lied about swordsmanship?”
“No!”
I continued the intense sparring for about 30 minutes, receiving feedback from Karin. In fact, it’s not really sparring, but a one-on-one lesson where Karin unilaterally matches me.
ㅡHaa.
I struggled so much that sweat was pouring out of my whole body, but Karin was fine. When we finished sparring around that time, Karin came over and touched my body.
“Ugh… What are you going to do with this body? Huh? Are you trying to make Sis horny?”
“No, what did I do? And Sis’s body is just as horny, okay?”
“Heheut… Then shall we do it here?”
“Do you want to advertise to the neighbors?”
Karin laughed, saying it was a joke, and put her sword back into its sheath.
“Then, shall we see your Sword Ki state now?”
“I’m watching.”
I took a stance and focused my concentration. The mana swirling within me soon climbed up the blade. I had gained some skill through repeated training in recent days.
ㅡCrackle.
The Sword Ki was completed at a noticeably faster speed than before.
In that state, I slashed the air a few times and scattered the Sword Ki. It felt like I had consumed about 70% of my mana.
“Hiya, the speed has definitely increased. You can reduce it even more if you spend more time on it. You’re doing very well. But get Sis’s permission before using it in real combat.”
Karin praised me and gave me advice.
“Guys who use Sword Ki often try to use it to land the finishing blow and end up getting hurt. This is Sis’s experience, so take it to heart, okay? I’m telling you because I’ve killed them a few times.”
Oh my god.
So scary.
“Don’t be too obsessed with Sword Ki. It’s better to use it when you’re completely proficient. Using a technique that you haven’t completely made your own is a gamble.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. I should do as Karin says in these parts.”
Karin’s advice, who is above me in every way, is generally correct.
“Hehehe, but what is this? Are you going to catch up to Sis soon?”
“I have to surpass you, not just catch up, right? Sis has high expectations for you.”
“Quietly expect it.”
When we went inside around that time, Lysha had also returned.
“Were you training with Karin?”
“Yeah. Lysha, did you just come?”
I immediately patted her butt gently, and she expressed her affection by kissing my neck.
“Hehehe, I just arrived. Oh, and… didn’t you say that the succubus you defeated last time reappeared?”
“Did I?”
I had told my wives about it after parting ways with Hildegard. Everyone showed great interest. Of course, except for Winia, they weren’t too worried. They had already heard about the succubus’s combat power from me.
If it’s Claudia, Karin, or Lysha’s level, that kind of succubus would be instantly killed.
“This is an amulet to ward off demons. If you carry this, you will be able to drive her away the next time you encounter her.”
What she handed me was an amulet with a strange appearance with two bells attached.
“Ooh! Thank you, Lysha!”
I don’t have to worry if I have something like this!
“But I’m going out to hunt demons tomorrow. If I have this, won’t I not be able to find them and they’ll all run away?”
“Are you going to work right away tomorrow? Don’t worry about that part. It’s only effective when you show it directly.”
Is it used like showing a vampire a cross? Anyway, I thanked Lysha while rubbing her butt.
* * *
As soon as I woke up in the morning, I finished preparing for departure and went outside to match Karin and Lysha’s work hours. After saying goodbye on the way, I immediately stopped by the Adventurer’s Guild. Thinking about it, it was about time the bounty for catching Martellis was delivered, so I should stop by to check.
Let’s check it out.
“I’m D-rank adventurer Katt. Could you check if there’s a bounty delivered under my name?”
“A bounty? Hmm. Please wait a moment. I’ll go ask upstairs.”
I told the staff and he soon went up to the second floor. Surely the City Guard didn’t steal my bounty, did they? While worrying about that, the staff soon came down.
“Yes. There was a bounty delivered by the City Guard a few days ago. Please verify your identity here.”
“Ooh, thank you.”
There were exactly 15 silver coins in the money pouch. When I asked again, they said they would process this as a performance record as well.
I got up from my seat with a good feeling.
People should live doing good things.
“Claudia. Winia. The bounty for catching the elementalist last time came out.”
“Hmm, it has been over a month since then.”
I guess I can buy today’s food with this and go out.
I immediately left the Adventurer’s Guild, stopped by the general store to buy sausages and jerky, cheese, and dried fruit, put them in my bag, and headed to the city gate.
ㅡBuzzing.
The city gate was quite crowded, probably because it was morning. Looking at it, not only paladins but also soldiers of Lord Isvant were entering and exiting. It seems that troops are moving in various ways because demons have appeared nearby.
The scenery continued to outside the city gate.
Adventurers, soldiers, paladins. Merchants. Those people are mingling together. It feels like I’m seeing the scenery from the zombie festival last time.
They were all busy moving while talking to each other.
Seeing so many people gathered, it seems like something really happened.
“Hmph, there are a lot of people? Should we go far away?”
“Uh… I think we’ll have to go far away.”
“Shorty. Can you really find demons? With soldiers and paladins, wouldn’t they all be dead already?”
That would be a little worrying.
They said they were short on troops, but isn’t this enough? At this rate, they might be able to wipe out the demons. While I was unfolding the map and deciding on a direction, someone approached.
“Excuse me. Are you perhaps…”
“Yes? Do you know me?”
It was a priest who approached. He smiled brightly after confirming my face.
“Ah, looking at your face, it seems like you’re the one. Aren’t you the Saint of the Holy Army?”
He recognized me again.
