episode_0022

“So the brat’s here.”

Volkan chuckled as he waited for me.

Is this old man really the Sword King?

Should someone of his stature have this much free time?

—He is indeed the Sword King.

Lysiel nodded in affirmation, agreeing with my thoughts.

—Didn’t I tell you before? The Gift of a Sword Master is rare, earned only through relentless effort and dedication. That man is one who stands at the pinnacle of humanity.

Humanity… is this really okay?

The fact that Old Man Volkan is our last line of defense made me feel a little dizzy.

As I was lost in thought, the old man handed me a black pouch.

“What’s this?”

“Didn’t I say? I told you I’d have a gift for you when you returned to the labyrinth.”

Ah, he did say that.

But I didn’t believe him.

‘I thought he was just saying it casually.’

Turns out he was serious. I expected him to pull some kind of prank instead.

I was a little touched.

‘A gift…’

What could it be?

I reached for the pouch.

Volkan grinned and let go.

“……?”

Stagger.

What the—

What kind of gift is this heavy?

For a moment, I nearly lost my balance. Part of it was exhaustion, but still—

‘No, seriously, what is this?’

The weight was no joke.

It felt like it weighed as much as I did.

Thief’s Pinnacle.

My extreme dexterity measured its weight.

60 kg.

What kind of gift weighs this much? Some kind of spatial artifact? Armor? A sword?

When I shot Volkan a questioning look, he smirked.

“You strike me as someone who relies on innate talent in battle.”

Well, of course.

I’ve only been in this world for about a week.

I never had any proper training in the basics.

So sometimes—

“That’s why I brought you something to help build your foundation.”

“So what is this?”

“Iron weights. Simple to use—just strap them to your limbs and go about your daily life. They’re training gear, so I can make them heavier if needed.”

With a wink and a thumbs-up, he looked at me as if to say, I made these just for you.

“…….”

I was a fool for expecting anything else.

Well, if I melt these down, they’d probably fetch a decent sum.

Just as I was thinking that, Erme approached us.

“Sigh… With this much loot again, it’ll probably take until tomorrow to sort everything properly.”

“Oh? You hauled back quite the haul this time. Must’ve been a good haul, huh?”

“Hehe, even if you slyly poke around, it’s a secret~”

Erme replied playfully.

Well, given the shady characters involved, keeping quiet was the right call.

“Ehh……”

“……?”

Erme’s reaction was unusual.

Normally, she’d grin and say something like, Heading the usual way today?

‘Why is she blushing and acting all shy?’

Did she eat something weird?

As I pondered, Volkan glanced between me and Erme before—

“Heh… So that’s how it is.”

—smirking slyly.

He’s definitely thinking something weird again.

‘Anyway, what’ll happen now?’

I recalled the group that ambushed us.

Naturally, we killed them all.

No need to let them leave and spread information about us.

Erme had argued that since they targeted us, we had to make an example of them.

‘If we’re careless, we’ll just become their next targets.’

I thought about the sub-quest.

The artifacts of the shadowy organization operating in the background.

If that group starts moving—

‘Half the world as a reward…’

That’s absurd.

At that point, they might as well be the Demon King’s subordinates.

‘The Demon King…’

I recalled this game’s main quest.

Journey to the Cradle.

The final objective was probably to kill the Demon King.

‘…They expect me to take that thing down?’

The more I thought about the Demon King, the more hopeless it seemed.

The reason I got into Arcadia RPG—

A friend dragged me into this game’s world.

That’s why I know.

‘I’ve heard him rant about that game’s final boss before.’

But seriously, is that thing even beatable?

Physical immunity, magic immunity, halving all elemental damage, and losing over half your HP in a single hit—

“…….”

I suddenly felt like crying.

How am I supposed to kill something even that deadbeat couldn’t?

Still, there’s hope.

That guy was stubborn to a fault. He probably set the difficulty to the max.

‘Meanwhile, I’m on easy mode.’

Maybe I’ll manage somehow.

As I was lost in thought, I felt someone’s gaze.

“What’s got you so troubled?”

“The Demon King.”

“The Demon King? Why him?”

Volkan seemed interested in my words.

His eyes gleamed with curiosity—why?

“The Demon King’s on your mind?”

“Well, they’re gathering Hero candidates and openly training them, so…”

But I’ve never actually seen it.

Still, official documents mention special treatment, and I’ve seen clans offering generous terms to those with exceptional Gifts or those close to being Hero candidates.

However.

Most of them end up aligned with the Kingdom or the Empire.

Which made me wonder—

Why aren’t they countering the Demon King?

Volkan leaned in and spoke quietly.

“For the past thousand years, neither the Empire nor the Kingdom has acknowledged the Demon King’s existence.”

—Indeed. So you need not concern yourself with such a being.

Lysiel nodded along with Volkan’s words.

—The Demon King is no longer a threat now that adventurers have conquered the labyrinth. Today’s adventurers far surpass the so-called Heroes of old.

That’s what Lysiel said.

But.

Volkan added one more thing.

“That doesn’t mean the Demon King hasn’t appeared in the last thousand years.”

“……?”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Volkan smirked and left it at that.

“For now, that’s all the information I’m authorized to share. If you want to hear more, climb higher, brat.”

“…….”

This old man really knows how to piss people off.

When I shot him an exasperated look, his expression turned serious.

“Brat, I know you’re talented, but this world has secrets you’re better off not knowing.”

Secrets I shouldn’t know.

Things buried deep in humanity’s history, perhaps. Dangerous knowledge.

It was so absurd that—

I blinked, feigned ignorance, and replied.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t hear anything.”

“……You’ve got some nerve acting this shameless.”

“What can I say?”

Survival demands it.

But knowledge that could get me killed?

I glanced at Lysiel.

—What does he mean… the Demon King has appeared within the last thousand years? The World Tree…

Lysiel looked just as confused as I was.

Her expression and tone suggested even she didn’t know everything.

Well, no point worrying now.

The Demon King seems like endgame content anyway.

‘Killing the Demon King can wait.’

Until then, I’ll just focus on surviving.

I strapped Volkan’s gift onto my limbs.

My body felt like it was sinking.

‘But it’s not impossible.’

Every movement required gritted teeth, but I could still move.

“Huh, you’re still here?”

Just as I was about to leave, Glasses and Teresa waved and approached.

“You don’t seem anxious, just lingering here… Gasp! Sword King!”

“Yeah, yeah, Glasses.”

Volkan half-heartedly acknowledged the greeting.

Teresa sidled up to me and spoke.

“Staying at the inn again today?”

“Yeah.”

“Not going to the orphanage?”

“Why would I?”

“I live at the orphanage.”

Teresa’s blue eyes sparkled.

The corners of her lips curled slightly. Her damp-looking gaze seemed to ask—

Ask me more.

“……Where are you headed after this?”

“The orphanage.”

“What about the inn?”

“I eat and sleep at the orphanage.”

“……Didn’t you leave the orphanage?”

“No, they’re short on hands, so I help out.”

Come to think of it, even back on Earth, well-run orphanages were rare.

In a medieval-like world like this, it’s even less likely.

So.

I studied Teresa to figure out what she really meant.

She stared blankly before asking—

“Wanna come with?”

I suppressed the urge to ask, Why me?

‘I should check out the orphanage at some point.’

I looked at Teresa.

Her expression remained unreadable.

Then—

“You an orphan too?”

—she dropped that bombshell.

Is she picking a fight?

I was about to take it seriously until I noticed her earnest gaze.

“Kids who don’t trust their families are all orphans. Or those sold off as children, or so I’ve heard.”

Glasses hastily interjected. Well, he’s been sticking close to her, so he must know she’s bad at communication.

‘Yet despite that, he sticks around…’

She must have something that outweighs her social shortcomings.

Like how Erme’s face brightens when she sees Teresa or Glasses.

Teresa nodded in agreement.

‘An orphanage, huh…’

I’ve heard stories.

Not that I wanted to, but that guy wouldn’t shut up about it.

‘Probably not a great place.’

More accurately, the people connected to it were dangerous.

But.

‘I should visit at some point.’

Erme wanted a Saint candidate.

With our firepower, we needed stability. Glasses was doing fine, but—

‘Who knows how long we can last without injuries?’

This world is full of dangers.

Better to secure safety where we can.

And orphanages are usually run by nuns.

‘A source of healers.’

It’s about time to round out the party.

—

When you think of a Saint, certain images come to mind.

A benevolent smile and divine power.

In our line of work, you’d expect outlandish, borderline indecent outfits, but—

‘Normally, that’s not the case.’

Anyway, the typical Saint is like that.

Radiating holiness, maybe a bit dense, but kind-hearted.

And a candidate for Sainthood should be similar.

…Should be.

“Hic.”

So.

The drunken woman in front of me better not be the Saint candidate.

“Who’s this hunk? Hehe, did the gods send you to reward me for my suffering? Not usually into sharp types, but…”

She tried to kiss me.

I caught her face with my hand.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

She licked my palm.

I wanted to bury my face in my hands in despair.

But my hands were already covered in drool, so I resisted.

‘…This can’t be.’

A Saint candidate?

What a bleak world.

[Encounter Quest]

You have encountered a Saint candidate.

Either earn her favor or lose her interest.

Reward: ???

Failure: No penalty.

Seriously, give me a break.