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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Lina and her party evacuated the villagers.
Then they ran to Barickmeteo. Barickmeteo was causing a ruckus, demanding they bring the heroes.
Naturally, Lina stepped forward and confronted him.
Like the reincarnator she was, Rina overpowered Barickmeteo despite her small stature.
“Ugh. Blonde bitch. I’ve absorbed Huruuku, yet you’re still quite formidable. Where did you learn to use a sword? It doesn’t look like the Empire’s style.”
“I have nothing to tell you.”
But from here, the situation suddenly started to become strange.
Perhaps deeming it impossible to defeat Lina’s party as a whole, Barickmeteo began to blatantly target a single person.
“Die! Annoying man!”
“Oh, shit! Why are you only picking on me?!”
Barickmeteo lunged at Kerry, trying to kill him even while enduring the attacks of the other party members.
Kerry even used illusion magic to dodge. But Barickmeteo’s persistence was incredibly dangerous.
[“This time, I will definitely kill you.”]
I wish he’d speak our language. Guess not.
Damn.
It was when Barickmeteo was about to strike Kerry with his sharp claws.
Victoria blocked Kerry.
“Kerry! Stay by my side!”
Victoria raised her shield. At that moment, a transparent barrier appeared, enveloping Victoria and Kerry.
Unlike when she moaned and spurted fluids, she looked dependable now.
“That damn shield again!”
Barickmeteo gritted his teeth and slammed down his claws.
Kwaddeuk—
Hard claws and the defensive barrier collided, sparks flying.
As if enraged to no end, Barickmeteo began frantically clawing at the barrier with his claws.
Chiching! Chiching! Chiching!
“Ugh… What power…”
Victoria groaned, holding up her shield.
It was a shield that hadn’t budged even when blocking the giant fist of the monster-transformed magic tower headmaster.
But under Barickmeteo’s fierce attack, Victoria’s body was gradually being pushed back.
“Kerry… This is a bit dangerous… Ugh!”
It was when Victoria was in danger. Natasha, seeing this, gritted her teeth.
“Eek… Don’t touch my husband!”
A red haze emanated from Natasha’s body.
Berserk.
Natasha charged like a fired cannonball. Barickmeteo, seeing this, flew into the sky, ceasing his assault on the barrier.
We needed to stop Natasha now.
Currently, Lina was the only one in the party who could handle Barickmeteo.
“Natasha, no! Calm down!”
“Heeng…”
Thankfully, she listened. The obedience training had paid off!
After that, Barickmeteo repeated his attempts, flying through the sky and targeting Kerry.
“Khaha! How long can you protect him? Why not just throw away such bothersome baggage?”
Barickmeteo’s words pierced like daggers.
At this rate, I really feel like nothing but a burden to the party. It’s a shitty feeling.
That damn cat bastard. I’ll kill him later for sure.
Natasha, seemingly understanding Barickmeteo’s words, growled furiously.
“Don’t mind him, Kerry. You have your own role to play.”
Victoria offered comfort from the side. But I still didn’t like this situation.
Barickmeteo circled in the air, constantly looking for an opportunity.
The party remained vigilant, watching the sky with Kerry in the center.
It was when Barickmeteo descended again, targeting Kerry.
Horses were galloping from afar.
“Aid the heroes! Imperial Royal Knights! Charge!!”
Knights in heavy armor charged on horseback.
Their figures, clad in shields and sturdy armor, were incredibly imposing.
‘But why are the Royal Knights here?’
Kerry had heard of the Royal Knights. He’d heard they were a group of the Empire’s most skilled individuals.
“More interruptions.”
Barickmeteo, who already saw no chance of victory in a direct confrontation, had no choice but to retreat with the arrival of the Royal Knights.
Barickmeteo fled into the sky.
Although victory was certain, the atmosphere within Lina’s party was incredibly gloomy.
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Lina and her party received treatment at the village clinic. Although it was a remote village, they had medicine good for wounds.
The mood within Lina’s group was down. And understandably so.
Victoria’s shield was dented in places, and Natasha was still in a berserk state.
Lina was the most physically intact, but her mood was the most serious.
Lina was recalling memories of her past life.
Memories of her righteous comrades dying in the name of sacrifice.
When everything was over, Lina was the only one left alive.
‘I will never let that happen again in this life.’
In this life, she would sacrifice no one. No matter what.
No one dared to speak in the heavy atmosphere of the hospital room.
Not even the Imperial Royal Knights.
The large men cowered in a corner, looking apprehensive, which was kind of cute.
Kerry, feeling sorry for the nervous knights, spoke first.
“I heard you are the Royal Knights. Thank you for your help.”
At Kerry’s words, the knights, who had been sitting on pins and needles, jumped to their feet.
I’d heard knights were nobles, but they seemed incredibly disciplined.
Perhaps they were treating us with respect because we were the hero’s companions.
“I am Billman, captain of the Imperial Royal Knights and the personal guard of the Empire’s First Princess Beatrice. It’s an honor to meet you.”
That sounds awfully grand. Wait. Why is the Princess’s guard captain popping up here?
“You’re the Princess’s personal guard captain?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then why are… you here…?”
“Well, the story is a bit long. It’s like this…”
To summarize Billman’s story:
Princess Beatrice, wanting to meet the hero, ran away, sort of.
The Princess, hearing that the hero was in the magic city, rushed there.
But when she arrived, the heroes had already left.
After making inquiries, they found out we were in this village.
The Princess wanted to come find us herself, but with the ominous rumors of the dead returning, it wasn’t appropriate for a princess to visit such a village.
“So, I came here first with my men.”
“I see…”
With the Princess’s name mentioned, everyone’s attention was focused.
Even Lina, who had been lost in thought, was now looking this way.
Then, Billman, the Princess’s guard captain, suddenly grabbed Kerry’s hand and pleaded earnestly.
There was a reason for this. Princess Beatrice had pressured the knights, insisting they bring the hero to her.
[Alright, Billman. I won’t go to that dangerous village. But instead, you must bring the hero to me. There must be no disruptions to my marriage with the hero.
If I cannot meet the hero this time and get married… I will resent you, Billman, for the rest of my life!]
Billman, holding Kerry’s hand, spoke. Everyone seems particularly fixated on me
today.
“Hero! Please… could you meet our Princess just once? If we return empty-handed, we’ll be in a very difficult position…”
What kind of novel bullshit is this? Who are they calling a hero?
“…”
“Please! Hero!”
“I…”
“Please!”
“I’m… not the hero.”
“Huh?”
Billman’s face was painted with bewilderment.
“Then who is the hero? I saw you were alone, so… I naturally assumed you were the hero…”
Billman had been envious, saying that, like a true hero, Kerry was traveling with a party of beautiful women.
“The hero is that person.”
Kerry pointed to Lina.
“The hero… is a woman?”
Billman was flustered.
Princess Beatrice was singing about marrying the hero, but the hero is a woman?
Things were seriously messed up.
Billman feigned anger, glaring at his subordinates.
“Who was the one who reported to Princess Beatrice that the hero was a man?!”
The subordinates looked at Billman incredulously.
“…It was you, Captain.”
Thinking about it, that’s true.
Billman, having heard the story of the hero, had relayed it to the Princess without much thought.
That a hero had appeared in the Empire.
There hadn’t been any concrete news of the hero’s exploits yet, so rumors were rampant. A muscular man, a breathtaking beauty, and so on.
Billman didn’t know much about the hero, but the Princess, listening with bright eyes, was cute.
So, he’d unconsciously fabricated tales of the hero’s exploits.
Of course, in the process, Billman’s bias that heroes were ‘men’ was included.
Billman groaned inwardly.
‘Who would’ve thought the Princess would want to marry the hero?!’
Kerry shook his head, watching the situation unfold.
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The Royal Knights were sent back. Lina firmly stated:
[I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can meet the Princess right now. Our schedule is tight.]
They wondered what was so urgent, but after hearing Lina’s next plan, they couldn’t help but nod.
“If it’s alright with everyone… I’d like our next destination to be a dungeon.”
A dungeon!
Kerry trembled at the word. In this other world, dungeons were extremely valuable places.
Because while dangerous, dungeons offered substantial rewards.
Equipment with skills, various elixirs… most of the expensive equipment in this world came from dungeons.
A dungeon’s value was high, and to even enter one, you needed to be at least a B-rank adventurer.
And this regressor was offering to take them to one. But dungeons weren’t places you could just go to as you pleased.
“Lina, doesn’t the Empire manage all dungeons? It wouldn’t be bad to enter if we had the money, but… the cost for all of us to enter…”
It costs a lot of money for five people to enter a dungeon. Since she’s a regressor, she must have a lot of money, but it would still be a burden.
Victoria nodded in agreement with Kerry.
“It’s alright. Actually… I’ve come across some information by chance. I know of a secret dungeon, unknown even to the Empire.”
A secret dungeon! Right. A regressor should know a thing or two about those. Of course!
“I’ve learned a painful lesson this time. Our enemies are strong, and we are still weak.
I’ve been too hasty. Recklessly rushing to stop them will only get you all hurt.”
Was that why Lina had been so serious?
“That won’t do… I don’t want any of you to get hurt. So, please, I ask you. Come to the dungeon with me. After clearing it, you will become much stronger.”
Long live the regressor!
The party nodded. It was probably because they had all experienced Barickmeteo’s strength firsthand.
No one besides Lina could properly fight Barickmeteo.
Furthermore, Barickmeteo claimed he could become even stronger by consuming Nasen. Troublesome.
Natasha, with a worried expression, licked Kerry’s face lightly.
As if promising to protect him.
Lina felt somewhat relieved hearing that the party agreed to go to the dungeon.
‘Natasha and Victoria’s talents are reliable. The reason they haven’t been able to perform properly is… lack of experience and equipment.’
[Natasha’s Talent – Bloodlust (SSS)]
[Victoria’s Talent – Unwavering Will (SS)]
Lina knew better than anyone how powerful Natasha and Victoria could become with proper experience and equipment.
Kerry wasn’t a comrade from her past life, so Lina couldn’t be certain of his future. But Kerry was now indispensable to the party.
He was also the only one who could control Natasha’s berserk state.
‘Kerry’s talent is no less than theirs.’
In fact, considering only talent, his might be even more broken.
Even with the help of the magic storage bead, he’d only just started learning magic, yet he could use Illusion, an intermediate-level spell. A truly remarkable talent.
‘But because of his talent, he’s attracting too much attention from enemies.’
Even today, Barickmeteo specifically targeted Kerry.
This wouldn’t do. Kerry was a valuable asset to the party. They needed a reliable item to protect him.
And Lina knew of a reliable item for defense.
Lina planned to give that item to Kerry.
“We’ll depart for the dungeon after a day’s rest in the village. It’ll be a busy schedule, so please rest well.”
Lina said so and then left.
As soon as Lina left, Victoria and Natasha, lying in the same room, looked at Kerry lasciviously.
“Kerry… Hufufufu.”
“Heehee!”
Here we go again. But Kerry wasn’t the same Kerry as before. He was reborn.
He was confident he could hold his own against Victoria and Natasha simultaneously.
Alright. Let’s see who wins today!
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