Chapter 28 – 28 – Regret, Obsession, Impoverishment
[… He pointed out that when more than 80% of the combatants dispatched against Cubus were men, it was nearly impossible to achieve such a great feat in a situation where prior information was lacking. Some experts say that this incident may lead to major changes in the anti-monster manual…]
“Sujeong? Is the teacher pregnant?”
At the hero Adamantone’s indifferent giggles, the wizard Mindina sighed.
A lament with a clear meaning, not much different from clearly saying ‘Ignorant bastard’.
It grated on Adamantone’s nerves. As for reading the books, it seemed as if culture had melted into the bones of his neck and he couldn’t stop cockily lifting his chin.
Adamantone had no intention of just watching his woman behave like that.
“Are you a bit sarcastic with your jokes, Mindina?”
“···Not there. Read further.”
[···By far, the person who was evaluated as having made the greatest contribution was Eshen Taiga (20, female), a class A combatant belonging to the ‘Special Monster Elimination and Destruction Squad’ party. In short-]
“It’s none of my business what those who don’t even have the characteristics of a hero can accomplish. Heroes have their own competition.”
Adamantone has been underperforming for several years. Even to himself, he probably sounded like he was making excuses.
Mindina sighed louder.
“Okay, read more!”
The wizard who shouted angrily almost got slapped, but Adamantone held back. Because he is a very considerate man.
“Mindina? What did I tell you yesterday?”
“···I told you to fix the golem.”
Mindina’s voice became thin as she avoided eye contact.
Any party has one purpose. Join forces to catch the monster.
But if it’s as small as Adamantone’s party, and if you don’t have as much restraint in your spending as Adamantone and his two women.
In the end, there is a high probability that you have no choice but to wander around the rough terrain and find rare monsters.
Those who appear in the city center are either small-time people who don’t have a lot of money or people who are confident in their power, so they are more dangerous.
She didn’t think it would be that difficult. Because it wasn’t actually difficult.
That is, when there was a burnt ban thai.
That idiot would randomly share travel knowledge that was more expensive than his salary.
Just when he thought he had quite absorbed his know-how, Adamantone cut him off like a rotten branch.
Since he enjoyed the lecture, he didn’t think there was any need to pay him any more since he wasn’t even a combatant.
However, as is the case with most things called professional knowledge, he was not able to perfectly imitate it on his own just because he learned it from others.
For example, yesterday was like that. If he had been thinking, he wouldn’t have led the golem down the narrow path that bordered the cliff. It was Adamantone’s mistake as he got tired from walking.
Thanks to this, the golem slipped while stepping on a space narrower than its feet, and fell into the river along with all its supplies and got stuck in a crevice in the rock.
I got soaked, but fortunately my luggage was somewhat safe. The golem, which crawled out of the water with all its might, was safe.
However, the golem’s power unit was not safe. The magic engine, which was turned off as soon as it fell to the water’s edge, instead of running when started, just gurgled gloomily and spit out the valley water it contained.
“Have you fixed it yet?”
“···I’m a modifier, not an engineer! That’s-“
“Then what you should do is not shove this damn newspaper in my face and teach me how to read like a child, but hang on to making that magic engine run properly just a little longer! Because in the end, if it can’t be fixed, you and I, And Sister Moriba will have to carry hundreds of kilograms of luggage back home. Do you understand?”
Adamantone, baring her teeth, pressed her face close to Mind Dina.
Because the salt and toothpaste had drifted away, the smell of her breath was even more unpleasant because of the hardships she had endured.
Mindina gritted her teeth and tried to erase certain thoughts. She thought, ‘The empty space for porters is too big.’
If I had been a porter in the first place, I would not have walked on the narrow road or submerged hundreds of kilograms of luggage in the water in that valley…
Min Dina shook her head. She shouldn’t be caught out that she desperately misses traveling with a porter.
You can’t lose your connection as a warrior just because of something like a porter. This was why she gritted her teeth and joined in turning Tan Ban Thai into trash.
Thanh Bhan Thai’s career is over. It should have been over. However···.
“I already requested help through the magic emergency transmission. Then, I was told that this newspaper was delivered along with the repair catalog tied to the thunder owl’s leg. Please remain calm and listen to me. Look closely at the photo at the end of the front page.”
Adamantone sat back down on the tree stump with a thud, and opened the newspaper with a bang as if it were an enemy. Min Dina almost suppressed her third sigh.
The newspaper contained a face that bore a striking resemblance to someone they knew.
Even the name was familiar.
“Your name is ‘Lan’ Bantai…?”
“No matter how you look at it, it’s the same, right?”
“No. It’s not the same.”
Adamantone said, pointing his finger at the ponytail in the photo.
“This is a woman.”
Mindina was pounding her chest and suffering. A scream asking how on earth you could not recognize this. A frustrated shout, as if he were the only person whose eyes were opened.
“This is the Tan Bantai that left us! If only I had eyes-“
Mind Dina’s mouth closed with a bruise.
The reason Adamantone slapped Mindina was not only because her hysterical cries gave her a headache.
Mind Dina slowly stroked her cheek and withdrew, she looked at the side of Adamantone’s face.
It was clear that Adamantone felt it too. The damn porter’s gap. And because of that, he seemed to be feeling a serious pride pang.
Silence flowed through the dripping tent.
Adamantone soon broke the silence with a passing remark.
“That porter guy, didn’t he ever tell you that he had a younger sister?”
“That sister? She was studying magic at the Imperial Magic Tower! She’s a big deal! Who would give up that life and join the party to become a porter or something?”
“Fuck, so what are we going to do?”
Mindina flinched. Although Adamanton did not draw his sword, his patience was evident on his face.
“If it’s the same person, what’s the difference?”
“So…So…”
“Shouldn’t you have cut that fucking non-combatant? Why are you going through so much trouble every time you go on an expedition? It’s just a misunderstanding that he’s saying ‘thanks to me,’ and he’s doing well on his own. “
“···No. What I mean is, even a child like that can find a new home so quickly, and some parties are still using porters. So, let’s hire a reliable porter in case of an incident like this… ··.”
Adamantone stood up and grabbed Mindina’s shoulder, which was shaking and making excuses.
And he said while poking Mindina, who was shocked, on both cheeks.
“That’s a really good idea! Why didn’t I think of that before?”
“Oh, Adamantone?”
“I will seriously consider it. Yes, I think it was a bit careless to replace the porter with a golem. You can’t even chase away bugs, you frequently drop your luggage into the water, and you can’t occasionally make fun of how it feels to live as a porter. When you go back, you can become a new porter together. Let’s find out. Tan Bantai, you’ll find a much better pack mule than that ugly, unfaithful bastard. What do you think?”
The tone suddenly became kinder. Mindina, who had been shaking with anxiety, felt relieved.
Suddenly, the Adamantone that Mindina knew and that Mindina hoped for returned. His hand automatically grasped the front buckle. Like a lifeline when she’s drowning.
But Adamantone immediately removed his hand and returned it to Mindina’s side.
“Now get out.”
“What?”
“Go out. I need to fix the golem again. I heard you got the catalog?”
Blinking her eyes, Dina waited for something to happen to her. But Adamantone did not react. There was no further expression of affection, let alone a kiss.
As soon as Mindina left the tent with a vague mixture of regret and frustration, Adamantone called out another woman’s name.
Moriva, who had been wiping off her wet tent, bowed to Mindina, took off her priest’s hat, and disappeared into her tent. It felt like a wildfire was raging in her mind Dina’s heart.
‘Nothing was like this at first.’
The conversation between Moriba and Adamantone was clearly audible through a small tent.
Unlike before, Adamantone did not get tired of hearing Sister Moriba’s voice.
In fact, the conversation itself didn’t last long. Suddenly, I heard a sound hitting my lips, and a faint moan escaping.
It was clear that she was conscious of herself being overheard from outside as she whispered, trying to muffle her voice.
Mind Dina felt that it was more of a mockery than a consideration on her part. I don’t know what it’s like in reality.
Unable to bear it, the wizard put on his hat and ran to the golem lying by the water.
She couldn’t bear it. The sound of the man she thought was hers being taken away.
And that she, who had been with him from the beginning of the adventure, was more interested in desecrating her saintly nature than in herself.
“···If I try a little harder, if I do something that pleases you and fill your heart…”
Meanwhile, inside the tent, Moriba was pushing Adamantone away with tears in her eyes.
“You said that you might be able to restore the honor of my father, who died without sin.”
Among the fallen lower-class nobles, there are many who entrust their unmarried women to the religious order to protect them.
To ensure a decent living for her children even if she has no money.
Or to maintain her modest status even by selling her daughter into the world of faith.
Moriba was the latter case. Her family, framed as a traitor, was in a situation where they had to hang on to whatever rope they could.
And the Hero family is mostly noble among nobles.
Moriba could not miss this salvation that God bestowed on him, an unfaithful servant.
But she couldn’t give her body without any guarantees. If she is then abandoned, her heart will only be broken and her efforts will be in vain.
“Promise me… Please say it more clearly. If I sacrifice myself, you will protect my family.”
“What?”
“You heard it…!”
The only answer is a snickering laugh.
She tried to shake off Moriba, who could no longer bear it, but her hero’s strength was too strong. Moreover, Adamantone was already very drunk.
Fortunately, Adamantone flinched and stopped her movements before the deed was accomplished. And soon she let go of Moriba’s collar.
Moriba, her hair matted in her sweat, collapsed to her knees, but Adamantone, who was dazed with her pants half down, muttered in frustration and left her tent.
Moriba thought. I wish I had words to describe this misery.
The drunken annoyance soon turned into humming. Adamantone roughly threw the towel he had wiped off the sweat and dirt somewhere in the forest and prepared to pour out the beer that was slowly filling his bladder.
It was carelessness that should not be committed in such a remote area.
And anyone who had the knowledge to stop such a thing had been cut off by him not long ago.
Adamantone, who was looking down at the trickling stream of urine, suddenly realized that he was stepping on the edge of a circle.
The circle made of cigarette ashes around the campsite is to prevent snakes and poisonous insects from crawling in.
However, more than half of Adamantone’s soles were outside the circle.
Adamantone was ignored. He said that if Tan were still in the party, he would have made a fuss and nagged them to stay in the circle.
But honestly, does he deserve to die if he breaks it once or twice?
Unless you happen to make eye contact with a snake that is getting unpleasantly struck by a stream of urine… ?
Dina, who was sobbing and tearing apart parts to repair her golem, fell on her butt when she heard a desperate scream coming from afar.
The golem that was on the verge of coming to her senses also fell on top of her. Mindina, who was crushed by the iron, groaned and cried out.
“What, what’s happening-!”
———–
“I heard a certain warrior had his balls ripped off by a poisonous snake.”
“Wow, crazy. They say it’s not life-threatening?”
“Luckily he survived. I don’t know how injured he was. The rest of the information…There are a lot of warnings to be careful about safety if you’re going to wander around rough terrain.”
Eshen, who subscribed to a newspaper for the first time in his life at my recommendation, trembled as he folded up today’s newspaper that he had received.
After the special promotion made headlines, Eshen’s interest in the newsletter seems to have increased.
“I borrowed it and read it all the time, but it’s convenient because I subscribe with my own money.”
“Is that so?”
“But the same goes for the last succubus incident. Isn’t this world designed to be overly harsh to men? This is the only way you can live in fear with such shame.”
“Let’s say something like that in a quiet place, Eshen. It’s embarrassing. So, where should we go this time?”
“Remember the succubi we sealed last time? Going to deal with them was an additional mission in itself.”
“I’m not even a goldfish. I wonder if you’ve forgotten. It’s not even been a week.”
“You may have forgotten. Last night was so intense.”
Sister Monica, who was chewing on her snack, was embarrassed.
“D-did you hear that, Eshen?”
For a week, Eshen, I, and Sister Monica were treated like kings at the party.
The success of the last mission is also a success, but it is a tradition to treat people crazy well when they return alive from a mission with a high chance of going wrong.
Thanks to you, I was able to make many friends. It was difficult to set aside time just for the three of us.
And during that difficult time, I ended up winning quite a lot of money.
“Why don’t you put up a barrier, sister?”
“Of course I hit it. I guess the barrier that blocks Eshen’s senses doesn’t work. Is it because he was recognized as my comrade by his mother? I guess I should ask what happened…”
“To that goddess? If she’s going to ask you to take steps so she can’t be heard, then don’t do that. I’m worse off being heard. She did that with you, but I’m wondering what she’ll do with me next.”
Eshen licks his lips with a happy face. I gave up bitterly.
“Sister, if you’re going to ask, let’s ask if you can replenish the energy of our porter. He’s getting better little by little, but I think we’ll really be wasting our lives at this rate.”
…Still, when a person is thrown into an extreme situation, even if it doesn’t seem like it, they somehow get used to it.
I’ve never faced them both at the same time like last time. But both have become much more bearable than before.
Sometimes, I can send it before I go.
“How can you land a few shots on both of them this time without getting exhausted?”
But that is still too much.
“···So where are we going?”
Eshen giggled and took out the bead containing ‘Queen’ from his pocket and showed it to him.
“The ‘City of the Pantheon’ in Vanir. According to the instructions, we must go there. Since she is a very powerful queen, I think we should carefully judge which god we should entrust to.”
