episode_0089

We ascended.

From the 13th floor to the 12th.

With our combined strength, climbing wasn’t much of an issue.

“But there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

Suddenly, as if struck by curiosity, Veronica spoke up.

“If it were you, you wouldn’t have needed to use your body to protect me.”

She spoke as if the thought had just occurred to her.

I groaned. Honestly, I was aware of it too.

More than anything, she knew I was a candidate for the Thief Hero.

“Use your body to save someone?”

At Veronica’s words, Clara, who had been standing beside us, widened her eyes. Her gaze suddenly sparkled, as if she was expecting something.

Veronica looked at me.

Her eyes seemed to say, You don’t seem like the type to do that—at least not when it comes to me.

And yet, she was staring at me with an inexplicable glimmer of anticipation.

‘What the hell is she expecting?’

It was just… that.

Without a moment to think, my body had moved on its own to save her.

“I didn’t have time to think.”

“Huh?”

I snapped back, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

‘……So it wasn’t just Clara who was expecting something.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the two knights pretending not to listen while clearly eavesdropping.

Why the hell were they even paying attention to this?

“Truly a model knight.”

“On behalf of the Church, I thank you. And I understand why Yuseong acted that way. His body must’ve moved on its own out of concern for the Saintess.”

“……”

At the last knight’s words,

I caught the faint twitch at the corner of Veronica’s lips.

I fixed the two knights with a dark stare.

The pinnacle of thievery.

It meant I could do nearly anything a thief was capable of.

In other words—

‘I can see through half-baked lies and deceptions in an instant.’

And.

The fact that this had activated meant—

-Those two knights are complete bastards.

‘Still, they’ll be useful for now.’

While I was having that exchange with the Holy Sword—

“Hmm.”

Veronica let out a strange hum and smiled in satisfaction.

……This is seriously annoying.

“But you said you were ambushed earlier.”

“Yeah.”

“We were attacked too. Unfortunately, Elvin was the first to be taken out by a surprise attack……”

Probably that priest.

Since the first one to die was a priest, everyone must’ve panicked.

“So we had no choice but to retreat.”

“And you managed that?”

“Yes. Thankfully, Lady Clara helped us at the time.”

“Hmm.”

Veronica chuckled lowly and glanced at Clara.

“Well, I suppose that’s possible. She is my little sister, after all.”

“As the Saintess’s sister, we naturally protected her with our lives.”

“……”

The knight spoke as if proud of himself.

He probably thought he was flattering her. But Veronica’s expression only grew more complicated.

‘The Saintess’s proxy.’

Clara.

She was a secretly raised candidate to replace Veronica as the Saintess.

No wonder Veronica found her presence grating.

‘And Clara must feel the same way.’

I ran a hand through my hair, lost in thought.

‘The one who attacked us used long-range attacks.’

The one who ambushed Clara’s group had fought at close range.

The best-case scenario was that the enemy was like me—skilled in both close and long-range combat.

‘But that’s impossible.’

I had to assume the worst.

And the worst-case scenario for us right now was—

‘One enemy who attacked from a distance. Another who killed the priest and escaped using a method the Church knights couldn’t detect.’

At least two enemies.

Maybe even three.

‘……Can we handle this?’

This was different from before.

They moved by devouring souls and taking over other bodies.

But this time, unlike before—

‘……They’ve taken hosts from monsters on at least the 11th floor or below.’

If so, they’d possess power beyond what we’d faced so far.

And if there were multiple of them—

‘This is terrifying.’

But compared to back then, I’d learned the Hero’s Steps.

And after using them in battle a few times, I was convinced they made a massive difference in combat.

As I was calculating the enemy’s strength, Veronica and Clara turned to look at me.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“The enemy.”

“……At least two, I’d say.”

“Even with us on guard, to think there are at least two who could kill Elvin in one strike……”

Two would still be manageable.

But those bastards could also command the dungeon’s monsters, making things even more complicated.

“Enemies who control dungeon monsters and specialize in ambushing adventurers……”

“At least we have Lady Clara and Lady Veronica with us.”

At the knight’s words, I nodded.

Veronica, specialized in offense and healing.

And Clara, specialized in defense and buffs.

‘……Three frontliners, and one scout who can switch to the rear.’

Not a bad party composition.

It was a little unfortunate we didn’t have a mage, but between my firepower and Veronica’s, we could manage.

The only problem was—

‘How long we can hold out.’

I let out a deep sigh as I watched the approaching horde of monsters.

Even sticking together might not be enough, and everyone was hiding their true intentions.

‘I really want to quit.’

After the battle ended,

I was receiving healing from Veronica.

The other two knights had excused themselves to “scout,” slipping away for a while.

‘Scout, my ass.’

What a flimsy excuse for knights.

-……You felt it too, didn’t you?

‘Yeah, they weren’t even subtle.’

They acted reverently toward Veronica, the Saintess,

but in truth, the one they were most eager to protect was Clara.

Veronica had noticed too, which was why she refused to cast healing spells on them.

“Recover quickly.”

Veronica leaned in close as she spoke.

“You’re the only one I can trust right now.”

She grumbled while casting spells on me.

I wasn’t actually injured, but—

‘This state makes me feel like my strength is surging.’

Vitality, I suppose.

That energy swirled around me as Veronica worked.

She was pouring more holy power into me than I could recover, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Do you think we can escape?”

“It’d be nice if we could.”

“Fufu.”

Clara laughed as she watched us complain.

Veronica shot her a sharp glare.

“What?”

“Nothing. It just reminds me of the old days.”

“……”

Veronica’s brow furrowed.

Clara only smiled wider, clearly enjoying herself.

“That damn orphanage?”

“Yeah. Back then, we barely had enough to eat, and it was tough… but it was still fun.”

“I never want to go back to those days.”

“Me neither. It was a happy time, but I don’t want to go hungry. I’m satisfied with my life now.”

Clara smoothly deflected Veronica’s sharp words and turned her gaze to me.

“Oh, did you know? Back then, my sister was so obsessed with food that she’d—”

“Hey!”

“Aigoo, why are you yelling all of a sudden?”

“Don’t spout nonsense.”

“Nonsense? Even if it’s just for a little while, we’re entrusting our lives to each other. Isn’t it good to get closer?”

“……”

Veronica pouted without a word.

Are you a child?

‘Well, she kinda is.’

-The Church’s Saintesses are often spoiled rotten, so they tend to be ill-mannered.

Honestly, she wasn’t that bad.

Considering Rosenta, a drunkard who danced like a firefly, was still considered a decent priestess by the Church’s standards.

-And obsessed with food.

-That’s thanks to your Gift. If someone with an elf’s alchemy or a dwarf’s craftsmanship dedicated themselves to cooking, they’d be summoned to the Imperial Capital to prepare feasts for the Emperor.

‘……That really exists?’

-Obviously. Not like you could ever do it.

‘I know.’

I was just lamenting.

Still, being skilled enough to cook for the Emperor…

‘That’s more impressive than I thought.’

To me, it was just restaurant-level food,

but others had gone crazy over my cooking.

I looked at Clara.

Her clear eyes were fixed on Veronica and me.

‘I don’t sense any killing intent.’

If anything, this only confirmed that this was Clara’s true nature.

Maybe that was why Veronica just grumbled and let it go.

‘The others are different, though.’

I closed my eyes.

What kind of life must she have lived?

To feel like the people she once trusted had turned against her.

“I’m not dying in a place like this.”

Hugging her knees, Veronica muttered those words.

“No matter what, even if it’s pathetic, I’ll survive. And then I’ll live a life of luxury, drowning in gold and power, right on top of the bastards who tried to screw me over.”

“……”

Do whatever you want.

For someone suddenly making a dramatic declaration, she looked a little ridiculous.

But I don’t dislike that kind of honest greed.

“Then I’ll survive and eat Yuseong’s cooking.”

“Who said he’d cook for you?”

Veronica reacted sharply to Clara’s words.

Clara ignored her and smiled brightly.

“Who knows, maybe he will. After all, I think I’m closer to him than you are.”

“Hah? After all I’ve done for him?”

“What do you think, Yuseong?”

Clara grinned as she asked me.

Veronica jutted out her chin, as if the answer was obvious.

To be honest—

‘I wish both of you would just leave me alone.’

Saying that would only worsen things.

“Both of you are annoying.”

I softened my words a little.

Veronica looked offended, while—

“Pfft.”

Clara, for some reason, laughed happily.

“Cough, Sister, does that mean—pfft—?”

“No way! After all I’ve done for him! Hell, he even shielded me with his own body—ah!”

Veronica cut herself off, realizing what she’d just said.

The problem was—

‘That’s the face of someone who needs to be punched.’

Her smug look was unbearable.

“Well, I get it. No matter what you say, deep down—”

“I’ve always hated you, Sister.”

Clara cut her off.

“Ever since we were kids, I’ve thought—this is my twin? This insufferable person?”

“I am a little insufferable. Too perfect, you see.”

Veronica smirked at Clara’s words.

“……Sniff……sniff……”

From a distance,

I could sense the two knights returning.

‘Break time’s over, huh.’

Yeah, we’ve rested enough.

Two knights with ulterior motives.

Twin sisters who hated each other.

And me, stuck in the middle.

-You really have it rough.

‘Tell me about it.’

How did it end up like this?

It was a combination that made me sigh endlessly. Just as I was thinking that, Clara smiled sweetly and spoke to Veronica.

“Sister, you know what?”

“What?”

“If you die, all your Gifts will pass to me.”

“……”

At Clara’s words,

Veronica stayed silent.

“That reaction… so you knew.”

“You think I’d just roll over and die? Like I said earlier—”

“You want to make everyone in the Church kneel and worship you, right?”

Clara smiled nostalgically as she spoke.

“I’d like it if you kept being like that, Sister.”

“If you’re planning to kill me, you’d better back out now.”

Before you regret it for the rest of your life.

Veronica added with a sharp glare.

Clara only smiled in response.

-What a complicated relationship.

The Holy Sword sighed as it watched them.

Yeah.

I couldn’t agree more.

“I hate you, Sister.”

Clara said those words with a smile.

“But no matter how much I think about it, I don’t hate you enough to curse you to death.”

“Even if you cursed me, there’s no way I’d die.”

Veronica smirked.

Clara grinned back.

“And if we survive this, you’ll cook for me, right?”

She said.

“Don’t come.”

Veronica pouted at Clara’s words.

‘This again.’

But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything this time.

After hesitating, I finally nodded and muttered—

“Come or don’t.”

If we survive this place, that is.