How To Leave The Hero Party- Chapter 23

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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To Inquisitor and Cardinal of the Church Veronica, searching for traces of cults was a part of her daily life.

So, when she arrived at a small village, having found a lead as usual,

“So, this is Silver Village.”

Cultists generally moved in secret. So, unless their main base was discovered, the Inquisitors had to act with the utmost secrecy.

Veronica, accompanied by only two paladins for this preliminary investigation, asked her adjutant, who nodded grimly.

“Yes, ma’am. There have been several ominous signs in this village. The details are in the report.”

“I see.”

The report she had read before arriving replayed in her mind.

Livestock disappearing.

Ominous altars found in the hunting grounds.

The palm tree barriers, erected by the Church, being destroyed one by one.

The sudden appearance of so-called “chimeras,” while monster sightings had decreased.

And…

People had gone missing.

Individually, these were common occurrences in any village or territory. But for all of them to happen in one place suggested something was brewing in Silver Village.

That was why Veronica had come here herself. She pulled her black hood over her silver hair and started walking.

“Over there.”

Silver Village was nestled in a mountain valley, shrouded in a thin, silvery mist, as if the breath of a dragon had settled over a silver sea.

It looked like a peaceful, picturesque village. Why would cultists be here?

As she pondered, something out of place caught her eye through her spyglass.

“Who are they?”

Four figures were heading towards the village, down the hill. Outsiders in a rural village that rarely saw visitors?

They could be connected to the cult.

Veronica placed a hand on the hilt of her mace and said to her paladins,

“Let’s identify them first.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Understood.”

The paladins, also hooded, cautiously descended the hill. As they approached the village,

“Who are you?”

One of the four figures she had seen earlier, a beautiful girl with golden hair like molten gold, drew her sword and confronted them, her stance wary.

Veronica, seeing the hostility and caution in her pretty, sun-like orange eyes, smiled faintly.

It had been a long time.

Since she had been met with such hostility.

With a mixture of amusement and annoyance, she asked, her voice cold,

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before asking for our names?”

“…Hero Claire. We’re here tracking a subordinate of the Demon King, Clover.”

Veronica had heard that a young girl had drawn the Hero’s sword and been appointed as the Hero. Busy at the time, she had missed the appointment ceremony. She nodded slightly.

To think she would meet the Hero here.

And to feel an instant dislike for her.

Veronica showed her the Divine Mark of the Church.

“Inquisitor Cardinal Veronica of the Church.”

“Veronica…? Huh…?”

Claire tilted her head, then flinched. Her reaction wasn’t due to Veronica’s title, but something else.

As the observant Veronica narrowed her eyes, Claire muttered to herself,

“She… really came…?”

“What do you mean?”

Cultists were paranoid and cautious. So, the Inquisitors’ investigations were conducted in secret.

Only a select few knew of Veronica’s visit to this village, and none of them were loose-lipped.

So, what did Claire mean?

As if someone had known she would be here.

In the worst-case scenario, this village could be a trap. The paladins gripped their weapons. Claire, flustered by their reaction, said,

“My companion, the Sage, told me.”

“The Sage?”

“Yes. He…”

Claire hesitated, then sheathed her sword and explained cautiously,

“He said that Cardinal Veronica, having discovered traces of the White Moon Cult, would come to this village…”

Following Claire’s lead, they entered the village. A strange atmosphere hung in the air. Suspicion and hostility were palpable.

The villagers, who must have lived like family for a long time, ignored their neighbors. They openly glared at the outsiders, as if their mere presence was an intrusion.

The atmosphere in the rest stop in the center of the village, a place where travelers occasionally stayed, was no different.

In fact, it was worse.

“Who are they…?”

“Ah… um… those are…”

The other three people who had entered the village with Claire were gathered together. Perhaps because of the strange atmosphere, Claire’s voice trembled slightly.

They were supposed to be companions, but the atmosphere between them was strained. Veronica knew what it was.

Caution.

And jealousy.

As someone who had risen to a high position in the Church at a young age due to her exceptional holy power, Veronica recognized it.

The same atmosphere she felt from those who coveted her position within the Church’s hierarchy emanated from the knight and the elf.

The complex emotions of the tough-looking female knight and the arrogant female elf were directed at the man who was tuning a lute.

He was of average appearance, nothing special. He finished tuning and plucked the strings lightly.

–Strum…

A pleasant melody filled the air. And with it, the atmosphere in the village began to change, albeit slightly.

Soothing Melody, one of the Bard’s skills.

“I thought you said he was a Sage? I didn’t expect him to be a bard…”

“Ah, well, the Sage can use skills from all classes. And…”

As the song ended, the villagers, their wariness eased, approached him. Were they injured? A hunter with a bandaged arm and leg approached him. He smiled and held out his hand.

Veronica and her paladins couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Heal.”

Healing? A skill exclusive to priests?

Before the astonished Veronica and her companions could say anything, other villagers approached the man called the Sage.

“What is he doing?”

“Ah… well, the Sage is always like that.”

He always helped people.

Whether it was fixing a broken item or helping with menial tasks.

Veronica looked at the Sage with curiosity. As if sensing her gaze, he stood up and approached her.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hyun-woo, the Sage. Please, call me Hyun-woo.”

“Ah, I’m…”

“I know.”

A strange man.

As if he already knew her, he held out his hand and said,

“Cardinal Veronica.”

.

.

.

“Snap out of it!”

–Twang!

The sharp shout and the piercing sound of the lute strings brought Veronica back to her senses.

What just happened?

Veronica raised her heavy head and looked around.

“Yeeeeeeeah!! Kill!! I’ll kill you!! Kyaaaaaaah!!”

The numerous tentacles were kept at bay by the sonic attack created by Lark’s insane performance.

“Wow! Look at those tentacles! There are so many! Can we eat them? Ah! We eat monsters in my village! They look so strange! They’re similar to the tentacles of a tentaclaw, and they can be made into a specialty dish depending on the recipe! You should really come to my village and try it! The chewy texture is amazing… Huh? What’s that? Mr. Sage! Mr. Sage! Look over here!”

“When darkness falls! Uuuuuuuu-yeahhhhh~ The chaotic wings call for bloooood! Kyaaaaaaah!! Oh yeeeeeeah~ I’ll kill you~! I’ll kill you allllll~!!”

“Whoa! That was close! Hehe, but I’m a werewolf, so you can’t keep up with my movements! Wow! Look at that eye! Mr. Sage! Mr. Sage! Should I throw a shadow spear at it? Oh! It closed its eye! The pattern is the same…”

Veronica felt a wave of dizziness. She wondered if the reason she had just been lost in a flashback was due to the incessant chatter and the insane music.

“I understand the feeling, but it’s not because of them. In fact, you were able to snap out of it quickly thanks to them.”

“Ah… oh, was that it?”

Veronica, who had been sitting on the floor, looked up blankly at the outstretched hand.

A large hand. And a rough hand.

Seeing that hand, Veronica closed her eyes tightly.

Yes.

It was a hand just like that, back then.

“You’ve been marked by the Pale Moon. Every time you use a skill, your mind will shift between the past and the present.”

“…Ah, I see.”

Hyun-woo had told her this as they were walking down the corridor. The Pale Moon focused its attacks on the one with the strongest holy power.

And one of those attacks was a mental attack, causing the victim’s mind to fluctuate between the past and the present every time they used a skill with holy power.

Veronica gritted her teeth, frustrated that she had fallen for it.

“…To think I would fall for it.”

“It’s fine. It happens.”

It was an unavoidable penalty in the game, so Hyun-woo wasn’t too concerned.

But Veronica couldn’t be so nonchalant.

The fact that she had been caught, despite being warned, and had only managed to regain her senses with his help, bruised her pride.

Hyun-woo looked down at the dejected Veronica and smiled.

He always thought the people in this world were too mentally fragile.

In that respect, those adventurers, living their lives as they pleased, might be better off.

“Yeeeeeeeah!”

“Yeehaw!”

Wilkers, chattering non-stop, as if he had a motor in his mouth, and Lark, screeching like a pig being slaughtered.

Hyun-woo looked at them and shook his head slowly.

‘Was I affected by their music and chatter? To think they look better off…’

“Anyway, I told you before, this is unavoidable. Just remember what you have to do.”

“What I have to do…”

Veronica opened her eyes and looked at Hyun-woo.

But her gaze wavered. A sign that her confidence had taken a hit from the mental attack. But Hyun-woo wasn’t worried.

He had experienced this countless times, both in the game and in this world, and he knew how to deal with it.

“Who are you?”

“Veronica. Veronica… Elreitz.”

“And?”

“…A cardinal and inquisitor of the Church.”

“Then what should you do, when faced with this monster, worshipped by the White Moon Cult, a symbol of heresy, a being of darkness that seeks to rule the world?”

The grotesque voices, the insane music, the shaman’s chants,

And the sound of the Pale Moon’s tentacles writhing.

It was a cacophony of chaos, but the skill Hyun-woo used, “Psychological Counseling,” was enough to dispel her despondency.

Veronica smiled faintly.

He was like that back then too.

Always.

So naturally, he healed people’s hearts and helped them stand up again.

“I have to fight.”

“Good.”

Her resolve strengthened, and her grip on his hand tightened. She was still under the influence of the Pale Moon’s mental attack, but she still had to fight.

“Light!!”

Veronica raised her Divine Mark. A protective barrier of light, born from her prayers and holy power, began to heal the wounds of the other three.

And in that moment, Hyun-woo shouted,

“You bastard! Don’t you dare look at us like that!!”

And he, the Sage,

Charged towards the massive, amorphous, unknown monster.

Watching him, Veronica thought,

You…

You haven’t changed.

Just like back then,

When you charged without hesitation into the nightmare of Silver Village, a nightmare even I thought we couldn’t overcome.

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