episode_0006

Initial characteristic: Guardian Knight.

This one, the activation condition is truly ridiculously difficult.

I’ve had this thought since rescuing Jill from almost falling into a pit.

Even though it was clear that saving Jill from danger and protecting her should have met the activation condition of ‘protecting someone,’ it didn’t activate.

In reality, I gained some confidence at that moment.

A Guardian Knight does not base its protection on the subject being guarded.

Whether the protected individual perceives themselves as being protected or not is the key point.

With that conviction, I embarked on this task.

If I failed, I was destined to be stabbed and killed by the rushing bandits.

[Characteristic ‘Guardian Knight’ activated.]

[Stats]

[Strength: 9(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Health: 7(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Mana: 12(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Agility: 18(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Luck: 14(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

It succeeded just like that.

I barely escaped death.

Although initially I chose the heroine route to avoid risking my life against the final boss, now I find myself risking my life to protect the heroine.

Isn’t this totally absurd?

‘Stats inflated by 5 times. What an insane effect.’

When carrying the -5 penalty on all stats, it used to be a characteristic that would provoke curses.

But now, the penalty feels insignificant compared to the tremendous performance boost.

Even holding Jill with one hand, I can move much more agilely than the bandits.

With this, I could easily take down a dozen bandits.

‘…but thinking like that would be foolish.’

For a modern person who has only swung a sword a few times, what are the chances of winning against the inhabitants of this world who consider murder a profession, armed with cold weapons?

Certainly close to zero.

Having slightly superior stats doesn’t solve the problem.

With an amplification factor of 10, even if it’s subtle with a 5x boost, if it’s so fast that it’s imperceptible, I might be able to take down around six people, but I’ll quickly get overwhelmed and killed.

Moreover, I have to consider the fact that I am in a position where I must protect Jill.

‘I can’t escape because the way out is blocked.’

They seem to anticipate my escape route, swarming around it.

To break through that, I have to fight while surrounded.

The answer was always one from the beginning.

“Please let go of me…”

“He’s charging!”

“Is he going for a direct assault?”

Pretending to charge forward, I feint and accelerate backward.

I’m not heading towards the escape route but to an empty coffin in a corner of the mortuary.

It’s the same coffin I opened a little while ago.

Swiftly sliding, I push Jill into the coffin and as soon as she’s inside, I trigger the mana bomb I had planted there.

“Ack?!”

Boom! Crash!

“What?! The pillars!”

The mana bombs planted during construction explode, causing the thick pillars to collapse entirely.

In an instant, the roof, having lost all its pillars, collapses and

“Ahhhh!”

Thud.

As the roof settles down like a lid on the coffin, within less than three seconds after the explosion, the screams cease, and the surroundings fall silent.

The bandits, without even a chance to flee, are crushed under the thick ceiling.

Operation successful.

“…”

“…”

However, now that the operation has succeeded, I am at a loss for words, feeling awkward.

In the quiet coffin.

Breaking the silence, I open my lips.

“Have you been well, Lady Saint?”

“…”

Why did I say that?

With that thoughtless remark, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

There is no response.

It’s somewhat fortunate that nothing can be seen in the dimness.

If it were bright inside, facing Jill and her face would have made it twice as awkward.

“Eugene. Is that you?”

“Yes, Lady Saint.”

“Could you explain what has happened here?”

“The recently completed cathedral has collapsed, trapping us alone inside the coffin. It will likely take half a day for the rescue team to lift the ceiling, so we must endure this for over 12 hours.”

“That’s not what I asked for…”

It’s obvious what he’s asking.

He wants to know how I knew that the assassins would target this ritual and how I infiltrated here to cause this massive explosion.

Perhaps he is asking about the source of the recent tremendous power.

But I have no intention of answering straightforwardly.

Being identified as a possessor or a regressor would be troublesome, so I must act mysteriously as if I have the power to foresee the future.

Even if I speak the truth, he probably won’t believe me.

“It seems you have no intention of telling me.”

“That’s correct, Lady Saint.”

“Then may I ask why you are going to such lengths for me?”

“Because I need you to live for me to survive.”

“If I die, you’ll be in trouble? Why is that?”

“Well, I’ll have to think a bit more about the reasons.”

“… ”

Just before executing the plan, I was too nervous and forgot all my lines.

I had prepared to counter any question he might ask.

I’m worried that by giving vague and foolish answers, I may have severely damaged his opinion of me.

If I miss this opportunity, there will be no chance to establish a connection with Jill.

“Speak, you fool! Are you just going to cower in the corner like a loser at an MT?!”

But I remained silent in the pitch-black darkness, unable to utter a word.

Although I can’t see anything in front of me, I feel excited and tense, thinking that Jill is within reach if I stretch out my tongue.

The 69 flirty lines I came up with based on the nature of the questioning have long been erased from my mind.

By the time the ceiling opens, my lips will probably be sealed shut.

I felt the pressure to say something, anything.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Yes?”

“You’re lying face down. Your arms must be sore.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. Your arms are shaking.”

Oh, don’t touch me.

If I lose strength, I’ll collapse on top of you.

I really don’t want to be arrested for assaulting a saint.

If I end up rotting in prison for ten years, any chance of conquering the heroine will be lost, making it truly the worst-case scenario.

“Lie down next to me.”

“There’s not enough space.”

“We can make space. Come on… Lie down here. Your arms seem sore.”

Jill stood up and made room by moving aside.

Then she pulled me down next to her, and I eventually had to give in and lie down beside her, facing each other.

While it’s more comfortable for our arms and legs, the shorter vertical space caused us to be much closer together.

Jill’s chest pocket pressed against mine, creating immense pressure.

Our arms were unsure where to rest, so they ended up on each other’s waists, and our legs tangled, leaving us unable to move.

To break this awkward situation, I had no choice but to speak.

“Um… Should I hug you?”

“What? Why?”

I immediately softened under his strong protest.

My hand, which was about to embrace Jill’s waist, returned to its original position.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I thought that hugging each other would help maintain body temperature since you could potentially suffer from hypothermia.”

“The night in Hameln isn’t that cold.”

“It’s a different story if your clothes get wet.”

“Why would my clothes get wet?”

“Do you have confidence in holding your urine for 12 hours, Lady Saint?”

“… ”

It fell silent once again.

Jill’s breathing stopped, then suddenly intensified.

“I-I want to leave! Let me out right now!”

“You can’t leave, so stop struggling!”

“If I use magic, somehow…”

“The ceiling is only 2 meters thick. How am I supposed to lift this on my own? Let’s wait for the rescue team to arrive.”

“…”

Suddenly, in an attempt to calm down the frenzy of excitement, I struggled.

To think that I have to pee while being embraced by the commoner I despise so much.

It’s so unpleasant and embarrassing that I’d rather die.

Oh, madness.

Come to think of it, is there a woman who would hire someone who has seen her urinate as a bodyguard?

I hadn’t thought about that until now.

“Well, there’s no other choice. Come here.”

“Alright.”

As Jill’s arms slipped between my armpits and gently pulled me closer, I wrapped my arms around her waist even tighter.

Jill, initially taken aback, was almost on the verge of whimpering.

For a frail Jill like her to survive, there was no other way.

Now, if I could just get a good night’s sleep, I might hear the bustling sounds from above.

By then, I should return to my initial posture, lying awkwardly until rescued.

Creak…!

“Hey! Are there survivors here?”

“Ah.”

“Oh.”

Just as I was thinking that.

Suddenly, the ceiling cleared, and bright moonlight shone down on us.

As numerous eyes and gazes met ours, we froze in place.

So shocked that we couldn’t even think of letting go of each other’s arms and legs, we just stood there trembling.

***

The attempted assassination of the saint ended with the assassin from the opposing faction mistakenly setting off explosives, leaving behind the remains of the once-great idiot, Klee.

After a while (20 minutes) had passed since the incident, the rescue team was dispatched, and miraculously, the saint was found unharmed.

It was unimaginable that just as the cathedral was collapsing, the sacred knights were passing through Hameln, and the mages of the knight order immediately began rescue operations.

All the chaos caused by my clumsy missteps and the statement “You must pee here” was in vain.

In the end, due to my unfavorable impression caused by those incidents, I was hired as Jill’s bodyguard…

“Yujiiin! What should I wear today? Is this better? Too flashy? How does it look, huh?”

It’s been a month since I was hired as Jill’s bodyguard.

“Um… Personally, I prefer the one on the left, but considering the event today, the one on the right might be better.”

“Really? Then I’ll wear the one on the right. I’ll fold the left one neatly for later…”

Even I feel perplexed.

Starting from acknowledging Jill’s flaws and all the things that seemed to provoke resentment, it seemed like I had done everything wrong.

Even the swordsmanship I demonstrated during the interview was terribly lacking.

Despite all this, without even asking me a probing question, Jill directly asked if I wanted to become her bodyguard.

Naturally, there was no reason to refuse.

“Are you familiar with ‘Vigilance’?”

“Yes. I’ve been practicing whenever I have the chance.”

“Haha. Keep it up. That superficially impressive swordsmanship will come in handy. You don’t even need to wield the sword well, just swing it convincingly.”

“…”

As expected, Jill is completely unaware of the power bestowed upon me by the Vigilance she gave me.

The Vigilance, which encompasses all aspects of the Daiya-style swordsmanship, is not just for show.

It’s an item that adds an extra attribute.

[Attribute: Daiya-style (lv.3)]

[Learn the forgotten ancient one-handed swordsmanship. Understanding of one-handed swords increases.]

As soon as I unfolded the Vigilance, this system window appeared.

The ancient swordsmanship with a broken lineage, Daiya-style.

Unlike the swordsmanship of today that emphasizes both offense and defense, this swordsmanship focuses solely on attack.

Like all hidden swordsmanship, once leveled up, it unleashes an overwhelming power that surpasses all existing swordsmanship.

Main heroines each have a martial arts characteristic, but Dakiaryu from Jill has the highest potential.

She might shine the most towards the end.

“It’s time to go out soon.”

“How many minutes left?”

“10 minutes left.”

“Then let’s rest for 10 minutes!”

“You haven’t rested until now, have you…”

Plop.

Jill, sitting on my knees, wraps her arms around my waist.

Due to the overwhelming warmth of Jill’s large and affectionate heart pressing against me, I had to slightly pull back my waist.

I’ve gotten used to these antics from Jill.

Or rather, I shouldn’t be surprised.

After all, it was me who made Jill like this.

I memorized everything about Jill, from her personality and preferences to every little habit. By providing mental care and pampering her with “there, there,” I unintentionally led her to play around like this.

“I really don’t want to go volunteering. There are so many annoying commoners there.”

“You’ll do well. I believe in you.”

“What do you believe in? I hate commoners, you know.”

“······.”

It was a spectacle of lines that would have startled me in the past.

But now, I just smile and pat her head.

Because I know about her past now.

Jill’s parents were a noble couple who once owned a small estate. The two who greatly influenced Jill’s philanthropic spirit ran an orphanage and supported the commoners during famines.

However, even in the reign of the Dynaer Viscountess, the fervor of republican revolution began, and the commoners who had been indebted to the noble couple turned against them after a few incendiary speeches, dragging them down and brutally murdering them.

In the chaos, the only survivor among the nobles was young Jill.

Although this backstory was unknown to me, the addition seems quite fitting as it provides a plausible reason for Jill’s disdain towards commoners without any mention of her parents in the game.

“I hate the smell, it’s disgusting and irritating. I really don’t want to go volunteering…”

“······.”

Jill whines while burying her face into my chest.

Does she realize what she’s doing?

Once she goes out for volunteering, plays with the children, and smiles genuinely, her hypocrisy will forever continue, as they say.

Even if every truth is revealed, and the whole world points fingers at Jill, I will stand by her side till the end.

That fact will never change.

“Oh right. We have to go to Petenbourg next week.”

“······!”

That name coming up now.

Jill also seems surprised, lifting her head to look at me, likely due to the sudden movement and my reaction.

Yulia Petenbourg.

It seems like the second main heroine’s introduction event is approaching soon.

“Petenbourg’s witch, isn’t that the Petenbourg you’re talking about?”

“Yeah. But Eugene, were you acquainted with the witch?”

“Oh, no.”

“No? Your voice sounded surprisingly familiar.”

“······.”

Jill whispers coldly as she interlocks her fingers with mine.

Damn it.

I was too excited and forgot one crucial fact.

That all our game heroines come equipped with a sense of justice as a standard feature.