Chapter 5: When in a hurry, take a detour
by fnovelpia
“Ria Attack!”
Whack!
“Ria Shield!”
Ting!
Aaah…
So this is what offense and defense in perfect harmony feels like.
Nice.
This is an excellent weapon.
“Hueeeeeeng!”
“Masterrrrr!”
“You’re so mean!”
“Then fight them yourself if you don’t like it.”
“But I’m scared!”
“Then be a good girl and lend me your body.”
“I’ll take care of the rest for you!”
“Hueeeeeeng!”
Ria was crying, but she didn’t resist.
That must mean she agreed, right?
Good.
Time to go wild and flashy!
“Ria Whirlwind!”
Grabbing Ria’s legs and spinning like a tornado, I launched the <Whirlwind> attack.
The result was spectacular.
“Aagh!”
“Graah!”
“Uwoaagh!”
Each time I struck with Ria’s body, bandits went flying.
This really is a broken-tier weapon.
Performance is top-notch.
…Or so I thought as I swept through them all.
But the bandits weren’t complete idiots.
“Everyone fall back!”
“Attack with arrows!”
They realized staying close meant getting wiped out, so they switched to long-range.
But…
I’ve got long-range attacks too.
“Ria!”
“Million Volts!”
“Hueeeeeeng!”
Ria cried as she cast an electric spell.
The basic spell <Spark>.
It wildly shoots out electricity, so the damage itself is minimal.
However, it causes <Electrocution> on all enemies, a wide-area debuff attack.
But.
What if it’s combined with the <One-Hit Kill> trait of Baby Mode?
‘A wide-area instant death spell.’
Even the Demon King’s army couldn’t survive that.
No way some lowly bandits could withstand it.
“Graaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Uwaaaaagh!”
The bandits were all electrocuted and collapsed in a <Critical> state.
“M-Master?…”
“I-It’s over, right?…”
“No.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Huh?…”
“The boss who killed your mother hasn’t shown up.”
***
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Who goes there?!”
Speak of the devil.
He came right away.
The boss of the bandits who murdered all the villagers.
“His name is…”
“Not important.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s going down immediately!”
“Ria!”
“Water Cannon!”
“Fwoosh!”
Ria sprayed water from her mouth.
And the bandit boss laughed.
“Pfft!”
“That’s supposed to be an attack… Grah!”
Bang!
The boss got hit by the water cannon mid-sentence and collapsed.
Nice!
That’s the end of the tutorial!
“Master?”
“What about the bandits?”
“Leaving them all dead would be the cleanest solution, but…”
If the soft-hearted <Crybaby> Ria experiences killing, she might develop a <Mental Disorder>.
‘That wouldn’t be good.’
‘Then what about me doing the killing?’
‘That’s not great either.’
‘If this were a game, I could kill people without a second thought, but this is real life.’
‘For a normal modern person, killing someone—even a villain—is not easy.’
‘No matter how evil they are…’
‘Spilling real blood with my hands is…’
So I came up with a different solution: <Turn them over to another village>.
Send them to prison, or sell them at the slave market.
‘…That’s an option.’
‘But drag all of them there ourselves?’
‘Can we even do that?’
‘Even if they’re all tied up, it’s practically impossible for just Ria and me to handle them all.’
‘If Ria were a strong enough hero to handle it responsibly…’
‘We could haul them all off, but…
‘She’ll probably cry if anything happens.’
‘So that’s out too.’
So I settled on: <Tie them up and leave them in the forest>.
‘Tie them up so tight they can’t move, then they’ll either starve or get eaten by monsters.’
That way, it’s <Death by natural causes>.
Definitely not <Murder>.
…At least, that’s what I was thinking as I started to move the bandits.
***
[Can we switch for a moment?]
“Huh?”
“What the—?! Who are you?!”
[Kain.]
[I’m the owner of this body.]
“??????”
Out of nowhere, the real Kain spoke to me.
I was caught off guard.
[Don’t worry.]
[If you do two things for me, I’ll give you the body back.]
“Two things? What are they?”
[I want to kill the bandits with my own hands.]
‘Oh.’
‘That’s fine with me.’
‘I get the bandits dealt with cleanly, and Kain gets his revenge—win-win.’
So I nodded immediately. “What’s the other one?”
[I want to hold a funeral for the villagers.]
[After the funeral, I want you to send my soul off too.]
That’s not a bad deal either.
He gives me the body, and his soul departs peacefully with the villagers.
To be honest, I’d been feeling a little uneasy about possessing Kain like this.
If we can part ways amicably, I’m all for it.
So I agreed.
“Alright.”
“I can do that much.”
[Thank you.]
“But…”
“You’re not going to change your mind and try to keep the body, right?”
[No such plans.]
[A world without Bella means nothing to me.]
Bella.
The woman Kain loved so deeply he swore to give up everything for her.
She was murdered.
Of course he was enraged, and while chasing the bandits for revenge, he met the protagonist.
They slaughtered all the bandits together, and then—
He embraced Bella’s corpse and took his own life.
…That’s Kain’s ending in the game.
Though we laughed and parted during the tutorial, if you visit the village later, you can find <Kain’s Hidden Ending>.
‘If I can’t be with her in life, I’ll join her in death’—
That kind of man.
That’s who Kain is.
…Considering that, there’s basically a 0% chance he wouldn’t return the body.
So I gave him my approval.
“Use it well, and give it back.”
[I will.]
***
I sent Ria back home.
There’s nothing good about her seeing someone get killed.
“Let me know when it’s over.”
[I will.]
I switched places with Kain.
Even disconnected from the body.
‘I really don’t want to see someone getting killed.’
Once disconnected, I couldn’t feel anything—sight, smell, sound, touch, taste—all gone.
So I wouldn’t have to feel the sensation of killing.
‘…Which is good, but…’
‘Now what?’
Until Kain gives the body back, I have nothing to do.
‘Maybe I’ll make some future plans?’
The tutorial is over.
All that’s left is to reach the village where my favorite character is.
…But.
That village is pretty far away.
‘Now that I think about it, that’s a problem too.’
When I played as the protagonist, getting there was easy.
Dangerous monsters?
Just walking EXP piñatas.
Bandits?
They’re just walking bags of money to be captured and sold to slave traders.
But.
What if we’re talking about Kain, a D-rank adventurer?
“Monsters, bandits—everything’s dangerous.”
That’s what I thought.
So I needed a way to get to the village where my favorite character lives—easily, quickly, and safely.
‘Should I just snag a few hidden items for myself?’
After all, Ria’s a character decked out with cheat-level abilities.
She could probably take down a Demon King without even needing hidden items.
Taking a few for myself shouldn’t hurt.
‘Then…’
‘I’ll grab this item… take this route…’
‘…Was how I was roughly planning it out.’
[It’s over.]
Wait, I haven’t finished the plan yet.
‘Does it matter?’
I can make plans on the way.
With that in mind, I started moving Kain’s body.
“Have the funerals been held?”
[Yes.]
Funerals.
In <Prophecy RPG>, a funeral means burning the entire corpse.
If any bones remain, they’re smashed to bits with a hammer.
‘Huh?’
‘Why do something so extreme?’
Because if any remains are left, they could turn into monsters—zombies or skeletons, that’s part of it.
There are some religious reasons too.
Anyway.
The funeral is over.
It’s time to say goodbye.
“You’re going, right?”
[I have to.]
“Farewell.”
[Yeah.]
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kain’s soul ascended to the heavens.
Which means—
Kain’s body is now completely mine.
Oh.
Not bad.
…I thought, as I headed to Ria’s house.
***
Knock, knock!
“Master!”
Ria came running out with a bright smile.
“Take this.”
“A bag?”
“I packed the essentials you’ll need until you reach the next village.”
“Having it with you will help.”
Money, food, a map, camping gear, and more.
It’s a bag filled with whatever useful stuff was in the mountain hideout.
“And one more thing.”
“Huh?”
“It’s kind of like a guidebook.”
It’s an easy mode where you can probably beat the Demon King without doing anything too stupid.
But just in case, I made a beginner’s guidebook for her.
“Read it slowly when you have time.”
“It’ll be helpful.”
Nice.
That should be all the help she needs from me.
So now—
The tutorial guide character, Kain, shall make his exit.
The rest is up to you.
Hero.
…That’s the vibe I was going for as I casually waved and turned to leave.
Tap!
“Master?… Where are you going?”
Ria grabbed my wrist and asked.
“Hmm…”
“How should I put this?”
“Maybe like this?”
“I’ve done everything I needed to.”
“So now, I should head my own way.”
“Your own way?…”
“Yeah.”
‘Ria, you’re off to slay the Demon King.’
‘I’m off to meet my favorite character.’
‘We want different things, so we go different ways.’
…Was what I thought as I tried to leave.
But squeeze!
Ria tightened her grip on my wrist.
“Weren’t you going to help me until the end?…”
“Weren’t you going to follow me until I went to fight the Demon King?…”
She said, tears forming in her eyes.
Tch…
Using tears—that’s dirty…
Still.
My feelings for my favorite character can’t be stopped.
“I’m sorry, but my role ends here.”
“Ends here…?”
“How am I supposed to go to another village all by myself…”
“Use the map.”
“If a monster shows up, just kill—”
‘Wait.’
‘What happens if a monster shows up?’
‘She might just end up crying and becoming useless in battle…’
‘Knowing Ria… she’s such a crybaby.’
‘When there’s at least one party member, it’s fine.’
‘An ally would bail her out.’
‘But if she’s alone?’
‘Wouldn’t she just get beat up until she dies?’
Suddenly, I felt uneasy.
‘Tch…’
‘Maybe I should stay with her until she gets at least one teammate…’
‘If Ria dies, I get a guaranteed bad ending too.’
‘It’s the world-destroying ending.’
‘If I want to be with my favorite character, I have no choice.’
‘Ugh…’
‘I really want to see her soon though…’
They say haste makes waste.
Tch.
I guess I’ve got no choice.
I’ll stick around until she gets one companion.
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