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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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I wanted to become stronger.
But I didn’t know how.
This wasn’t a world where you could get infinitely stronger just by mindlessly swinging a sword.
“So, I was wondering how I could become stronger.”
[…You’re asking me?]
“Yes. As far as I know… you’re the strongest, Mister Fenrir. Well, except for Master and Miss Marguerite of course.”
And so I approached someone who might know the way. Fenrir. Evangeline’s familiar. A catastrophe-level divine beast who could face an army alone.
However, hearing my question, Fenrir’s expression hardened as if troubled.
[I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you how to become stronger.]
“…Why not?”
[I am a divine beast. I was born with strength beyond what you currently possess, and I didn’t have to struggle much to become stronger after that.]
Fenrir explained that divine beasts don’t need any effort or practice to become stronger.
What they needed was only the purity of their bloodline at birth, and the quality of their contracted witch’s magical energy. Just these two things.
He explained that he became this strong not only because he was born with excellent bloodline, but also because he was able to contract with Master.
“Well yes, but… isn’t there some kind of know-how? Like becoming stronger by handling mana well…”
[I don’t understand. Aren’t you human? Isn’t human strength not about individual power but about numbers and using your intelligence for strategy?]
“…That’s true, but.”
[Let me tell you one thing clearly. No matter what exceptional talent you were born with, no matter how much effort you put in- you cannot become stronger. No matter what you do, you can’t become stronger than your master. That’s the fate you were born with.]
Humans cannot become stronger than witches.
Those words made my heart burn.
It meant I could never protect Master, no matter how long I tried.
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Even a life marked by frustration and despair continues flowing forward. The stars shine with utter indifference to the individual lives existing beneath them.
Though I had fallen into frustration and depression after hearing I couldn’t become stronger, I didn’t remain trapped in despair forever.
Time was always the medicine.
‘Right, what’s the point of me getting stronger? When Master can cause nuclear explosions with one spell, who am I trying to protect…’
After long self-reflection and added faith in Master, my earlier worries became meaningless.
To be blunt, even if I got somewhat stronger through training, I couldn’t imagine being able to overcome anything that could endanger Master, who could create nuclear explosions.
I couldn’t even imagine something existing that could put Master in danger in the first place!
‘Master is the best, cutest in the world, strongest in the world, world’s greatest witch…’
While walking through the forest thinking such thoughts, a familiar-looking monkey monster dropped down from a tree.
The monkey screeched when it saw my basket full of food, then charged straight for it.
“Kieeeeek!”
“Really- has this thing gone mad.”
Since I had faced this kind of monster several times before, I smoothly twisted my body to avoid its charge, then grabbed its nape and pinned it to the ground.
Though it was a monster that could exert strength beyond its weight, the same was true for me. I crushed its nape with just grip strength until the vertebrae cracked.
Soon after its spine shattered, it trembled briefly before dying. After tossing the limp corpse into the forest, I felt the necklace I was wearing with confusion.
‘It seems fine… no cracks anywhere.’
This necklace Master made for me was a magical necklace that prevented attacks from other monsters. More precisely, it contained Master’s magical energy which scared monsters away.
However, making the necklace pointless, this was already the third attack today. They had all been unusually aggressive monsters, as if they hadn’t eaten for days.
‘Is the necklace broken…’
Thinking the necklace might be broken in a way I couldn’t detect with my lack of magical knowledge, I gathered the day’s fruits, mushrooms, and herbs before returning to the cabin.
When I reported what had happened to Master at the cabin, she scratched her cheek awkwardly as she explained the reason.
“…That’s probably because of me.”
“What? What did you do, Master…”
“Well, you know how I blew away part of the forest fighting that witch? I had evacuated the monsters and animals beforehand so they wouldn’t die. But while the animals survived, their habitat was reduced, so it’s natural that monsters pushed out of their territories would attack recklessly…”
“Ah-”
Only after hearing Master’s explanation could I understand why the monsters had been attacking. Originally, this forest had sustained just the right number of animals. As long as each kept to their territory, it could have been maintained semi-permanently without issues.
However, Master had recently battled the Fire Witch, and in the process, a portion of the forest had completely vanished.
Monsters who lost their territory scattered to other areas, and monsters driven out by these sudden territorial invasions ended up charging at me.
“But isn’t that… unavoidable?”
“Well- it can’t be helped. For now, no more gathering in the forest. You might encounter dangerous monsters.”
“…Then what are we supposed to eat?”
“Why worry? In the past I would have just gone to get things myself, but now we have Ritz, right? We can just buy things from the city.”
“But isn’t it dangerous to go to the city every day? People might get suspicious about where she keeps appearing from…”
“I’ve got it figured out! Just act like someone who lives in that city! Besides, this situation will only last a month or two, so it’s not for that long!”
In the end, Master compromised on buying ingredients from the city daily. Marguerite would fetch necessary things like bath water.
After all, monsters that were dangerous to me alone weren’t threatening to witches.
Getting to live city life after so long, I went to bed feeling slightly excited. And the next day, I headed to the city first thing in the morning.
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An unnamed city.
One I had deliberately avoided since seeing holy knights publicly execute innocent citizens in the square.
Landing in the city’s back alley, I immediately looked for a butcher shop. Or “meat shop” as they called it in this era. Though I braced myself for medieval filth and blood, it wasn’t quite what I expected.
“Welcome.”
The owner glanced at me briefly before silently continuing to cut meat. Though the meat clearly wasn’t pork or beef… at least it didn’t look spoiled.
Whether it was because monster meat doesn’t spoil, or they really received fresh meat… after buying meat I immediately visited other shops to buy things we usually couldn’t get like bread and fruit.
‘Fantasy is fantasy indeed. Everything’s fresh even though they can’t have refrigerators…’
There must be some kind of sewage system since there was no filth visible on the ground, and people seemed to bathe at least twice a week since you rarely saw anyone with greasy hair.
It couldn’t be dismissed as just a primitive fantasy. Well, though no matter how well the commoners dressed up, they couldn’t compare to even Master’s feet-
“Johan?”
Just as I was about to head back with ingredients for breakfast, a very familiar voice called out to me. When I turned my head slightly, Elicis stood there in her holy knight uniform.
“…Elicis?”
“Indeed- what are you doing here? Where is she?”
“She? You mean Master?”
“Yes. Has she come here? Why? Is it because of that mushroom cloud in the forest recently?”
Elicis said this while looking around. Her hand naturally moving to the sword at her waist was probably holy knight instinct.
I glanced at this briefly before carefully lifting the ingredients cradled in my arms.
“I just came to buy ingredients. Master isn’t here, so don’t worry.”
“Buying ingredients? Coming all this way?”
“The forest is in chaos like you said. After that incident, monsters and animals that lost their territory are running wild in other areas… well, that’s basically what happened.”
“I see. That’s a relief. That she hasn’t come here.”
The moment she heard Master wasn’t in the city, she relaxed and removed her hand from her sword. Though I didn’t know what she thought she could do by drawing her sword, it seemed quite presumptuous.
And- as if sensing my gaze, Elicis smiled awkwardly and said:
“Sorry. It’s the training we receive. Just being near someone like her makes us react this way.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“People say plenty with their eyes even without speaking. Anyway, since this is fate, could you spare some time? There are a few things I’d like to ask…”
At these words, I glanced at Marguerite beside me. She pretended not to notice, acting distracted.
Well, even if she had ulterior motives in calling me out- with Marguerite present, my life shouldn’t be in danger.
Thinking this, I nodded and accepted her proposal.
‘Master… probably won’t mind something like this.’
“Thank you. It won’t take long… shall we?”
Elicis said this and headed straight for the church. Entering a church impressively large for the city’s size, she received greetings from various nuns and clergy as she went to the innermost room.
I, who had thought she was just an ordinary holy knight, gaped slightly seeing the treatment she received.
“What’s this, weren’t you- just a holy knight?”
“I am. I’m still just a holy knight. This treatment is… because I recently got lucky and captured a witch. I was awarded this church as a reward.”
“…Captured a witch?”
“Yes. You know of her? The Fire Witch who burned down a city recently…”
Hearing her words, I fell silent for a moment as I stared at her.
‘How did that become your achievement?’
Those words climbed up my throat.
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Fighting off sleep with difficulty and crawling out of bed, Evangeline stretched and called for Johan.
“Johaaaan…”
There was no answer. Feeling uneasy, she immediately ran to the living room looking for Johan. Though she couldn’t find him anywhere, fortunately she found a note Johan had scribbled on the table.
[Going to the city to shop.]
Though it said it wouldn’t take long, she felt inexplicably uneasy.
For some reason, she had a feeling Johan was talking with another woman while she wasn’t there.
“…Must be my imagination?”
Evangeline thought this as she waited for Johan.
She waited and waited.
But no matter how long she waited, Johan did not return.
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Thx for chapter