episode_0008

Lia gripped her wooden sword and took her stance.

‘Ten orcs…’

‘Ninety goblins…’

‘Ugh…’

‘I’m scaaaaared…’

She knew she wouldn’t die thanks to the trait.

She knew she could defeat them in one hit thanks to the trait.

‘I know that, buuuut…’

‘Just yesterday, I was just an ordinary country girl…’

She was a crybaby, a cowardly human.

Just because she gained the Hero’s power didn’t mean she’d suddenly become brave overnight.

But.

Her Master was behind her.

‘If something happens…’

‘He said he’d save me…’

To see her mother again, she had to gather her courage.

‘If I defeat the Demon King…’

‘I’ll get to see Mom!…’

She clenched the sword tightly.

Wringing out every last drop of her meager courage.

[Lia.]

[You can do this.]

[When you sparred with me using a wooden sword, you were incredibly strong.]

[Even without any special traits, you were terrifyingly strong.]

[So.]

[Just knock those low-level mobs away in one hit.]

[Do as well as you did when you sparred with me.]

[That’s more than enough.]

Remembering her Master’s words, she charged forward.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Gripping the wooden sword tightly, she dashed ahead.

“HYAAH!”

Swinging the sword swiftly, she sliced off the heads of the two goblins at the front.

A clean cut.

It felt less like she was wielding an ordinary wooden sword and more like she held a legendary blade, so effortlessly did the sword carve through them.

‘Wow…’

‘So this is why he recommended the wooden sword.’

Anything she held would become a legendary blade.

A heavy steel sword? A legendary blade.

A lightweight wooden sword? A legendary blade.

If she could one-shot every enemy with anything she wielded, then a light wooden sword was the best choice.

…Recalling her Master’s teachings, she swung the sword again.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

With each swing, another monster was cleaved in half.

Goblins clad only in leather underwear.

Orcs encased in steel armor.

All equally defeated in a single strike.

Sliced apart as effortlessly as cutting through air.

‘At this rate… I can do this!…’

She’d been terrified at first.

But.

Now that she was actually doing it, it was easier than she’d thought.

Swish!

“GRAAAH!”

Even easier than harvesting wheat back home.

Thud!

She didn’t even need to bother defending.

‘It doesn’t hurt as much as I expected.’

Thanks to the trait, all damage was capped at 1.

When her HP was 100, damage of 1 meant 1% of her max health.

But now, with 500 HP, damage of 1 was only 0.2% of her max health.

If suffering 1% damage had been painful before,

now it was only 0.2%.

The pain had been reduced fivefold.

And it would only decrease further over time—

because with every goblin and orc she slew, she leveled up and gained more HP.

As a result,

the attacks of goblins and orcs now felt like nothing more than tickles.

‘If it’s just this much, I can take hits all day.’

No need to defend.

No need to dodge.

The only thing that mattered was attacking.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Every swing of her wooden sword felled another goblin,

every slash brought down another orc.

She was unstoppable.

And so—

mid-battle, another thought crept into her mind.

‘Hehe…’

‘Once I take care of all these, he’ll praise me, right?’

With that thought,

she glanced sideways toward her Master.

And just then—

she saw his lips move.

‘What’s he saying?’

She focused on reading them.

[You’re doing well.]

[Good.]

[At this rate, you’ll handle the Demon King just fine on your own.]

[So.]

[This Master will prepare to make his escape.]

‘Escape?’

Her mind raced.

‘Come to think of it, Master never planned to stay with me long-term.’

‘The only reason he’s traveled with me this far is…’

‘…because he thought I was in danger.’

Thanks to , she wouldn’t die easily.

But.

If she kept taking hits, she could still die.

If he sent her off alone and she ended up crying while getting beaten down endlessly, she might die.

If she died, the Demon King wouldn’t be defeated.

The world would end.

That’s why he stayed with her.

But.

She’d grown stronger.

Strong enough that he no longer needed to worry.

And so—

he’d started thinking:

[She should be fine on her own now.]

[Good.]

[My role ends here.]

[From now on, she can travel by herself.]

…And that was the problem.

‘Wh-what do I do?…’

Suddenly, terror gripped her.

The monsters weren’t scary.

She understood now—she was stronger than them.

But.

The idea of her Master leaving was scary.

“Sob… Hic…”

The thought of losing him terrified her.

“No…”

“I don’t want that…”

As a child, the other kids had bullied her.

As a child, the adults had shielded those bullies and scolded only her.

The whole world had been against her.

So she stayed home.

Because facing others was terrifying.

Because talking to others was terrifying.

Even now, she felt the same.

But.

Her Master was different.

He never tormented her.

He saved her life.

Even if he gave off a slightly shady vibe,

he never acted like he disliked talking with her.

That’s why she liked him.

“You’re… abandoning me?…”

“Just tossing me aside?…”

The moment she realized he planned to leave, tears burst forth uncontrollably.

“Hwaaaah… WAAAAAAH!”

Then—

her Master’s expression shifted.

[Tch…]

[Still not yet, huh…]

‘Still?’

Ah.

So that’s how it was.

If she showed weakness, he wouldn’t be able to leave out of concern.

In that case, she knew what to do.

‘Play weak.’

But.

That alone wouldn’t be enough to keep him.

‘If he finds another party member…’

‘He could pass the protector role to them and leave.’

So.

Playing weak was just buying time.

To ensure her Master stayed with her for good, she needed something more certain.

‘Kidnap him?’

No.

That wouldn’t work.

To see her mother again, she had to defeat the Demon King—

which meant traveling constantly.

Keeping him locked up somewhere wasn’t an option.

…That too, but also—

‘If I resort to something like that, he’ll grow to hate me.’

What she wanted was a friend.

Not someone forced to stay against his will,

but someone who wanted to stay with her.

So.

Extreme measures were off the table.

‘There’s got to be…’

‘…some solution…’

But no matter how much she thought, nothing came to mind.

‘If he’s just too weak to keep up, I could carry him or something…’

‘But…’

‘…he has no reason to stay with me in the first place…’

That was the problem.

Her Master had no interest in defeating the Demon King.

The moment he believed the Hero’s party could function without him, he’d leave.

‘How do I keep someone like that…’

‘Ughhhhh…’

‘I’ve got noth—’

Flash!

A brilliant idea struck her like lightning.

‘The Wish!’

‘That’s it!’

The Hero’s party could make a wish.

Legends said the Goddess would grant one wish upon the Demon King’s defeat.

Her mother had told her the tales,

and the guidebook her Master gave her also mentioned the wish.

So it was confirmed—

they could make a wish when everything was over.

Her wish would be to reunite with her mother.

But.

She didn’t need to use it for that.

She’d heard that if she brought back a healthy vessel, her mother’s spirit would naturally inhabit it.

Meaning—

she could offer her wish to her Master instead.

‘This is it!’

‘This’ll make him stay!’

Smiling at the thought—

even as she cried and let monsters hit her, pretending she couldn’t fight—

the realization that she could bind him to her lifted her spirits.

Ah.

But she had to suppress the smile.

If he caught on to her acting weak, he might leave immediately.

‘If he leaves before I propose the wish, it’s over.’

‘Focus on the performance for now.’

So she cried harder.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

“Masteeeeer!”

“Helppp meeeee!”

50 monsters remained.

5 orcs.

45 goblins.

Numbers far from easy for a D-rank adventurer like her Master.

But.

He’d promised to help if things got dicey.

Even if all 100 were still alive, he’d surely have a way.

So.

50 should be manageable.

…With that thought, she peeked toward her Master—

Whoosh!

Only to see him lighting a rope on fire.

‘Huh?’

The flames raced along the rope toward her.

‘What’s this?’

The fire drew closer,

then slipped into the leather pouch he’d given her—the one he called her “lucky charm.”

And in that instant—

BOOM!!!

The pouch exploded with a deafening blast.

Watching the explosion, Cain muttered under his breath.

“Nice…”

“That worked perfectly.”

A makeshift bomb.

Crafted with beginner-friendly materials, its destructive power was mediocre at best.

But.

What if you filled the pouch with paralyzing powder?

‘A wide-range paralyzing bomb, complete.’

Nearly useless against strong foes,

but against orcs and goblins? A guaranteed lockdown.

Victims would be immobilized for at least 30 minutes.

So.

This was his chance.

“Lia!”

“I’ve got you!”

Cutting down the already fallen goblins and orcs, he dashed toward her.

“WAAAAAAAAH!”

“Masteeeeeer!”

“You’re so meeeeean!”

The moment she saw him, Lia threw herself into his arms, bawling.

Normally, he’d push her away.

Normally, he’d act cold.

‘That was the plan, hence the bomb.’

Sure, neutralizing the orcs and goblins was part of it,

but the real goal was to lower Lia’s affection toward him.

By tanking her affection stat,

he’d make it easier for them to part ways.

…Or so he’d intended.

“WAAAAAAAAAH!”

But seeing her cling to him, crying, softened his heart.

‘In a game, I could coldly reject her…’

‘But reality’s different…’

Pushing away a crying game character was easy.

Pushing away a crying, real-life beauty? Not so much.

But.

If he didn’t push her away, he’d never meet his beloved character.

‘To save my ultimate waifu from her bad ending!…’

‘I need to distance myself from the Hero’s party!…’

Steeling his resolve with those thoughts,

he forced a cold expression and tried to push Lia away—

“Hic… Sniff…”

Only to falter at the sight of her teary-eyed gaze.

‘Ugh!…’

‘M-my heart!…’

The way her ample chest pressed against him was downright lethal.

‘Ghh!…’

‘Nooooo!…’

Even in-game, she’d been a beauty.

But in person? A peerless knockout.

For a lifelong single man, this was too much to handle.

‘I… I must resist!…’

This was a trial.

A test of his devotion to his true favorite.

And so.

He would endure.

No matter how gorgeous Lia was, no matter how perfect her body, no matter how adorable her sunny smiles, no matter how endearing her duckling-like attachment to him!

Even if she wasn’t his #1!

Even if she’d only fluctuated between 2nd and 3rd place among his favorites!

Even if she tempted him like this!

He’d resist!

‘I… I can do this… right?…’

Oh.

Who was he kidding.

Maybe singing the national anthem would help.