Chapter 8: Pretend to be weak
by fnovelpia
Ria gripped her wooden sword and took her stance.
‘Ten orcs…’
‘Ninety goblins…’
‘Ugh…’
‘I’m so scared…’
Thanks to the [Absolute Invincibility] trait, she knew she wouldn’t die.
And with the [One-Hit Kill] trait, she knew she could win with a single strike.
‘I know that, but still…’
‘Just yesterday, I was an ordinary village girl…’
She had always been a crybaby and a coward.
Just because she gained the power of a Hero didn’t mean she could become brave overnight.
But.
Her master was right behind her.
‘If something happens…’
‘He said he’d come save me…’
If she wanted to see her mother again, she had to be brave.
‘To find the Demon King…’
‘So I can see my mom again!’
She gripped her sword tightly.
She squeezed out what little courage she had.
[Ria.]
[You can do this.]
[When we sparred with wooden swords, you were insanely strong.]
[Even without any traits, you were strong.]
[So.]
[Just knock those small-fry monsters out with a single hit.]
[Fight just like you did when we trained.]
[That’s more than enough.]
Remembering her master’s words, she ran forward.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
She charged ahead, holding her wooden sword tightly.
“Haap!”
With a swift swing, she sliced off the heads of the two goblins at the front.
It was a clean cut.
It didn’t feel like she was holding an ordinary wooden sword—
It felt sharp, like a legendary blade.
‘Wow…’
‘So this is why he recommended using a wooden sword.’
No matter what she held, it became a legendary weapon.
Whether it was a heavy iron sword or a light wooden one, it didn’t matter.
If she could defeat every enemy with a single blow, then a light wooden sword was the best.
…Recalling her master’s teaching, she swung again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each time she swung her sword, one enemy was sliced clean in half.
Even goblins wearing only leather underwear.
Even orcs clad in steel armor.
All fell with a single hit, equally.
They were sliced so smoothly, it was like cutting through air.
‘At this rate… I can do this!’
At first, she was scared.
But.
Once she actually tried, it was easier than she’d thought.
Slash!
“Graaagh!”
It was easier than harvesting wheat in the fields.
Thwack!
She didn’t even need to defend herself.
‘It doesn’t hurt as much as I expected.’
Thanks to the [Absolute Invincibility] trait, all damage was fixed at 1.
When her HP was 100, taking 1 damage was 1% of her total health.
But now that her HP was 500, 1 damage was only 0.2%.
If it used to hurt at 1%, now it hurt five times less.
The pain was decreasing as time went on.
That’s because with each goblin and orc she defeated, she leveled up and her HP increased.
As a result, Goblins’ and orcs’ attacks now just felt like a tickle.
‘At this level, I can take hits all day.’
There was no need to defend.
No need to dodge.
All she needed to do was attack.
Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Every time she swung her sword, a goblin fell.
Every time she moved, an orc collapsed.
It was overwhelming.
Maybe that’s why—
While fighting, other thoughts started creeping in.
‘Hehe…’
‘If I take them all down, maybe he’ll praise me?’
…Thinking that, She glanced over at her master.
Then.
She saw his mouth move.
‘What’s he saying?’
She focused on his lips.
[You’re fighting well.]
[Good.]
[At this rate, you’ll be able to defeat the Demon King too.]
[So then.]
[This master of yours will go get ready to flee.]
‘Get ready to flee?’
Her mind raced.
‘Now that I think about it, Master never planned to stick around with me.’
‘The only reason he traveled with me was one thing.’
‘Because it seemed dangerous.’
Thanks to the [Absolute Invincibility] trait, she wouldn’t die easily.
But.
If she kept taking hits, she might still die.
If he left her to travel alone and she kept getting hit while crying, she might really die.
If she died, the mission to defeat the Demon King would fail.
The world would be doomed.
So he had stayed with her out of concern.
But now.
She had become strong.
So strong that there was no longer a need to worry.
As a result, her master was thinking—
[Looks like she can manage on her own now.]
[Good.]
[My role ends here.]
[From now on, she can travel alone.]
…That’s what he was thinking.
‘Uh… what do I do…?’
Suddenly, fear surged through her.
She wasn’t afraid of monsters anymore.
Because she was sure she was stronger.
But.
The thought of her master leaving scared her.
“Hhk… sniff…”
The idea of him being gone terrified her.
“No…”
“I said no…”
The kids she met when she was little bullied her, and the adults sided with the bullies and scolded only her.
Everyone in the world hurt her.
So she stayed home.
Because she was scared of meeting people.
Scared of talking to anyone.
Even now, that hadn’t changed.
But.
Her master was different.
He never hurt her.
‘He saved my life.’
He kind of has that “bad boy” vibe, but…
He didn’t seem to dislike talking to me.
That made me happy.
***
“You’re… abandoning me?”
“You’re just going to leave me behind…?”
The moment I realized that Master was planning to leave, I burst into tears.
“Huuugh… Hweeeehhh!”
Then—
His expression changed.
[Ugh…]
[Not yet, huh…]
‘Not yet?’
‘Ah.’
‘So that’s what this is.’
‘If I act weak, he’ll feel too worried to leave me behind.’
‘In that case, there’s only one thing I need to do.’
‘Pretend to be weak.’
But—
That alone won’t be enough to keep him with me.
‘Once I get my first companion…’
‘He might leave everything to them and disappear.’
So, pretending to be weak is just a way to buy time.
‘If I want to keep traveling with Master, I need something more decisive.’
‘Imprisonment?’
‘No.’
‘That’s not a good idea.’
‘If I want to see Mom again, I need to defeat the Demon King, which means I have to keep moving.’
Locking someone up in one place isn’t a viable option.
…And besides—
‘If I try something like that, he’ll end up hating me.’
What I want is a friend.
Not to be stuck with someone who hates me—
But to stay with someone who likes me.
So…
I can’t use any forceful methods.
‘Isn’t there…’
‘…a better way?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.
‘If it’s just that Master’s too weak to keep up with me, I could deal with that somehow…’
‘But the real problem is…’
‘Master has no reason to come with me.’
‘That’s the issue.’
‘He’s not interested in defeating the Demon King.’
‘If he becomes convinced that the hero’s party will be fine without him, he’ll leave without hesitation.’
‘So how do I stop someone like that?’
‘Ughhhh…’
‘I’ve got nothing—’
Flash!
A brilliant idea struck me like lightning.
‘A wish!’
‘That’s right!’
The hero’s party gets to make a wish.
There’s a legend that the goddess herself grants a wish to whoever defeats the Demon King.
That’s something Mom told me,And it was also written in the guidebook Master gave me.
So…
It’s confirmed that we get a wish once the journey is over.
My wish is to see Mom again.
But—
I don’t need to use the wish for that.
I heard that if I bring back her original body, she’ll possess it naturally.
Which means—
I could give the wish to Master instead.
‘This is it!’
‘This could be the key to keeping him with me!’
…That thought made me smile.
I’d been crying while getting beaten up by monsters just from the thought of him leaving—
But now that I had a way to keep him, I could smile again.
Ah.
But I had to hold it in.
If he realized I was faking being weak, he might leave right away.
‘I need to tell him about the wish before he leaves.’
‘For now, focus on the act.’
So I cried even harder.
“Hweeeehhh!”
“Masteeeer!”
“Help meee!”
Fifty monsters remained.
Five orcs.
Forty-five goblins.
That’s not a number easily handled by a D-rank adventurer like Master.
But—
He did say he’d step in if things got dangerous.
Even if all 100 monsters were still alive, I’m sure he’d have a plan.
So fifty shouldn’t be a problem.
…That’s what I thought as I glanced over at him.
Fwoosh!
He was lighting a rope on fire.
‘Huh?’
The flame raced quickly along the rope.
‘What is that?’
The fire crept closer and closer, and entered the leather pouch he’d given me as a “good luck charm.”
At that moment—
***
BOOM!!!
The leather pouch exploded with a loud bang.
Kain watched the explosion and muttered, “Whoa…”
“Nice detonation.”
A homemade bomb.
It was made with beginner-grade materials, so the power wasn’t impressive.
However—
‘What if the pouch was filled with paralyzing powder?’
‘A wide-area paralysis bomb, that’s what.’
It wouldn’t work on strong enemies, but it was more than enough to take down orcs and goblins.
Anyone hit by it wouldn’t be able to move for at least 30 minutes.
Which meant—
Now was the time.
“Ria!”
“I’ll save you!”
He ran, finishing off the fallen goblins and orcs with his sword.
“Hweeeehhh!”
“Masteeeer!”
“That’s so meaaaaan!”
Ria ran straight into my arms and started crying.
Normally, I should’ve pushed her away.
Act cold.
‘That was the whole point of setting off the bomb.’
Sure, part of the goal was to take out the monsters—
But the real reason was to lower Ria’s affection level.
Make it easier to part ways with her.
…That was the plan.
“Hweeeehhh!”
But as she clung to me and cried in my arms, my heart began to waver.
‘If this were a game, I would’ve pushed her away…’
‘But this is real life…’
It’s easy to reject a crying game character—
But it’s not so easy to reject a crying real-life beauty.
Still—
If I don’t push her away, I’ll never get to meet my favorite character.
‘To save my favorite girl—who only ever gets bad endings—!’
‘I have to distance myself from the hero’s party!’
…That’s what I told myself as I clung to my resolve.
I put on a cold expression, and tried to push the sobbing Ria away.
“Hic… sniff…”
But she looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, and she was just… beautiful.
‘Ugh!…’
‘M-My heart!’
She rubbed her large chest against me, and it was almost too much to bear.
‘Uhhh…!’
‘Uuuuuuuuugh!’
She was a beautiful character in the game too, but seeing her in real life—
She was unbelievably gorgeous.
For someone who’s been single their whole life, this was way too intense.
‘I… I must endure!’
This is a test.
A trial to test my resolve for my favorite girl.
So—
I will overcome it.
No matter how pretty Ria is, no matter how perfect her body is, no matter how adorable she is when she laughs or follows me around calling me “Master” like a baby chick—
Even if she wasn’t my number one, even if she was always somewhere between second and third place—
Even if she’s trying to seduce me like this—
I will endure!
‘I-I can endure, right?…’
Ah.
I don’t know anymore.
Let’s just sing the national anthem.
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