Chapter 13: They say its a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when seen from afar.

Sepine Alabard.

A young lady born into the Alabard family, one of the top magical families in the world.

She was expected to rise to the position of family head one day, renowned as a promising genius summoner, but in reality, she had little desire for her family’s power or wealth and preferred to live in the flow of things.

She liked things just right.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just live by having just enough ability, playing around, and eating well?”

She often thought like this, dreaming of a leisurely future.

Her mother, the family head, would often say, “As a woman, you should carry on the family line!” with a rather matriarchal attitude.

But Sepine Alabard only wished to buy a few buildings and spend her days leisurely.

She had no desire for money, fame, or power—just wanted to live as a carefree, noble lady.

Her laid-back personality was quite compatible with being a summoner, and her talent in that area was exceptional.

But when it came to life, she was a woman with no motivation.

“Wow, amazing. Another 6 came out. Since the goblin is rolling, we escaped the maze so quickly. You must be really lucky.”

Kreeek, the light…!

For a moment, Sepine Alabard thought the light was blinding and took a step back.

A radiant light was emanating from the hero’s eyes right in front of her.

How could even his voice be so beautiful and gentle, like pearls rolling?

His tall figure and warm personality…

Even though she was up close, she couldn’t spot a single flaw in him.

Did I really fall for him?

She realized that all this time, while meeting celebrities on TV and various awakened individuals, she had been so picky about her standards that she hadn’t even realized it.

It was only when she faced such an out-of-this-world beauty that her eyes finally opened.

Every time she looked at his shining face, her heart skipped a beat.

But as a proper lady, she couldn’t show a foolish expression.

So, she purposely turned her gaze away, cleared her throat, and spoke with a somewhat aloof expression.

“Ahem. I suppose I’m just lucky.”

In truth, when her species and class were assigned as Goblin, her luck had been pretty disastrous, but Sepine Alabard genuinely believed that her luck wasn’t all that bad.

After all, she was spending time alone with the hero.

Yeah, this was actually nice.

“Seems like it. I wonder how many times a 6 will come up on the dice.”

At the hero’s sincere compliment, Sepine Alabard’s nose and shoulders slowly rose with pride.

“Wait a minute, I’ll roll again.”

In this unexpectedly happy moment, she smiled widely and rolled the dice.

Degururu…

<Super jackpot!>

<‘6’!>

<The optimal path through the maze is found!>

[…The hero is delighted with the luck.]

Balance of order and causality.

The goddess, who had restored peace to the world she was responsible for, mostly watched over the hero.

It might seem unnecessary to watch over a hero who had already saved the world and was now enjoying his freedom, but, as she thought,

‘It’s because I have the time to do other things.’

She would restore the world, listen to the voices of the gods, and quietly observe the hero.

Not just any god, but a top-tier god—the hero—should be given special care, right?

If the goddess’s thoughts were heard by Shin Yuseong, he would probably respond, “Stop with the nonsense,” but she genuinely believed that.

Anyway, she would spend her leisure time watching the most important person in her world, the hero, and sometimes, if something went wrong, she would point it out.

Sometimes, just watching could make her angry.

“Should we go this way?”

“Click (Yes, I think so).”

“Oh, I found a Moonlight Herb, which might be useful for medicine or could be sold for a high price.”

“Click, click (Hmm, things went well again).”

The hero Shin Yuseong, smiling kindly, and the Goblin following him with a cold smile.

No, to be exact, the Golden Goblin Battle Mage (laughs) sneaking a glance at the hero from the side, made the goddess instinctively smack her forehead.

“Click, click (Hmm, these hyacinths here are so beautiful… Would you like to take them)?”

“Oh, are you giving them to me? Thank you.”

“Click, click (No, it’s nothing).”

The Goblin nervously handing over flowers.

The hero, smiling innocently and receiving the pink flowers without any knowledge.

Watching this from a third-person perspective, it was an amusing sight.

They say life is tragic up close and comedic from afar.

‘No, even from afar, this is tragic!’

She wanted to watch a romantic comedy, not this black comedy…!

“…Oh, gods.”

The goddess, covering her face, wished for someone to come and resolve this situation as soon as possible.

[The hero is enjoying seeing the Golden Goblin’s color for the first time.]

[(ᄒ_ᄒ)]

[The hero is already thinking about wanting to catch it when they meet in person.]

“No, Hero. I don’t think that’s what you mean.”

What in the world was he thinking about a lady like that?

She found it hard to keep watching any longer and desperately prayed for a miracle.

Perhaps what she wished for as the Goddess of Causality had spread beyond the world and affected things.

<Super jackpot!>

<‘6’!>

<Treasure discovered!>

<The Elixir of Truth, which restores the true form of the target, has been found!>

“Oh, amazing. Finally…!”

The goddess clenched her fist and watched intently.

<Super jackpot!>

<Treasure discovered!>

<The Elixir of Truth, which restores the true form of the target, has been found!>

‘This is it.’

Just like the goddess in the sky, Sepine Alabard thought the same.

The moment they were spending together was enjoyable, but still, it would be better if he were in human form.

It was her personal preference, and she found it somewhat unappealing to be around a goblin when she had feelings for someone.

‘Even though I’m in the form of a monster, he’s still so caring without saying anything.’

There were some heart-throbbing points, but Sepine Alabard was slowly planning to escape from her golden goblin form.

She would drink that Elixir of Truth and quickly return to human form!

Then, she could walk around as a human, side by side.

With the staff she had received from her aptitude choice in hand, she burned with determination.

Ku-gu-gu-gung!

The magical board game they were playing was annoyingly thorough in its attention to detail for the real world.

If there was a priceless treasure, there would naturally be a guardian to protect it.

<Field boss has appeared!>

<A Green Forest Troll has appeared!>

In a beautiful lake where a treasure chest was located, just as she was about to get closer to grab the chest, the Green Forest Troll appeared from the forest.

The troll was easily twice the size of a human, easily surpassing 4 meters in height, and it looked like a fully grown adult, not a baby.

Sepine Alabard furrowed her brows and gripped her staff tightly.

‘No, even if it’s a game, a troll?’

During the level test, goblin groups were just weak mobs that an E-rank Hunter usually handled.

Orcs were usually C or D-rank.

Trolls were monsters of monsters with B-rank combat power, capable of facing even B-rank Hunters.

Their nickname was even “Newbie Cutter.”

The size and strength of the troll were immense, and even if it got hurt, it had extraordinary regeneration, making it almost impossible to take down for anyone under C-rank.

To defeat such a monster, either the right combat class or overwhelming firepower was necessary.

‘Summoning… the materials aren’t here right now.’

Right now, she was not a genius summoner, but a golden goblin battle mage.

With her specialties sealed, victory could not be guaranteed, but,

‘Still, I’ll do it.’

As a woman, she couldn’t just run away with the man behind her.

Sepine Alabard steeled herself, putting all her strength into her arm as she extended her staff.

I will protect the hero!

For some reason, she didn’t like how the troll was looking at the handsome hero, and her motivation surged even more!

Just as she was about to enter battle mode, Shin Yuseong stepped forward with a smiling face.

“Huh?”

“I think you’re in the wrong position.”

“Y-Yeah, but…”

“Since I’m the vanguard, I’ll go ahead. I’m pretty skilled at dealing with trolls.”

Despite the monstrous troll being in front, the hero’s confident stance didn’t falter.

With his gentle voice, Sepine Alabard’s heart thudded once more.

‘I must definitely return to human form.’

Her motivation was now fully charged as she quickly gathered her magical energy to prepare for the spell.

Woosh—whoosh—!

A fireball, the size of a marble, formed at the tip of her wooden staff.

Elemental magic, Fireball.

It was obvious that this small size wouldn’t be enough to deal with a huge monster like the troll.

She would condense more magic, much more, to make it far larger than this.

At least, it should be bigger than the troll’s head.

‘As expected, it’s taking a bit of time.’

However, since she was a mage who didn’t usually use elemental magic, the speed at which the Fireball was formed was slower than she had hoped.

If she could, she’d want to shoot it out in 1 or 2 seconds.

But to achieve the required destructive power, it would take nearly 10 seconds.

Even if the firepower wasn’t enough, if the hero was in danger, she’d fire quickly and gather more magic again.

Just as Sepine Alabard was thinking this and pushing her magic casting forward,

“Troll, huh, it’s been a while since I’ve faced one.”

Hero Shin Yuseong spoke casually, as though he were meeting an old friend, walking toward the troll with a calm, unbothered air.

There wasn’t a trace of worry or fear in him.

Suddenly, as he gripped the sword at his waist, there was a sense of formidable presence emanating from his back.

Sepine Alabard stared blankly at the hero for a moment.

The hero then drew his sword.

“Excalibur Unleash.”

The brilliant radiance emanating from the sword in the hero’s hand was so natural and beautiful, it was like a masterpiece painting.