episode_0016

Chapter 16 – Saint Iris

Late Saturday afternoon, having endured strenuous training, I finished showering and was returning to the dormitory.

“Phew… My growth isn’t bad.”

*

Ruan Friuli Level – 30 (+3) Strength: 31 (+3) Stamina: 25 (+3) Endurance: 31 (+5) Senses: 22 (+2) Magic Power: 24 (+2)

*

Alisa’s relentless beating was effective, perhaps too effective. Just two sessions of two hours each caught me up to over 30 hours of training.

However, one complaint is that perhaps because I was only getting hit so much, my stats are heavily skewed towards Endurance.

Even when playing games, I mainly play damage dealers, and even if I pick a newly released tank I like, I always equip damage items. For someone like me, having only Endurance stats increase is not a welcome development.

While it’s necessary to some extent, it’s not to the point of neglecting other stats.

Soon enough, my Strength will be overtaken too.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

It’s impossible to perfectly control the direction of growth, so it’s more comforting to be satisfied with getting stronger quickly.

Anyway, if I keep getting stronger at this rate, the number of times I get hit in sparring with Alisa will eventually decrease, and my stats will naturally regain balance.

At least until I reach level 50, there’s no need to worry about it at all.

Soon after, I had just arrived at the dormitory.

“Breaking news! Breaking news! An incident has occurred in the underground waterway in the shopping district!”

“An incident?”

“Yeah! They say there was a fight there? And Ratmen are swarming out, causing chaos.”

At the shout of a character famous as a source of information even in the game, male students who had been scattered about chatting instantly gathered.

I, too, stopped my steps toward my room at the information I couldn’t ignore.

“Who was fighting?”

“I don’t know that. But it seems like two people? Perhaps they were on the same team, then betrayed each other to monopolize the Ratmen’s treasure?”

Ratmen are mouse-type monsters, who like shiny objects and have the characteristic of hoarding them in their nests.

‘It was quite a lucrative farming spot.’

Especially the underground waterway in the shopping district, useful artifacts would appear there, making it famous as a dungeon that was essential to clear early on.

I was already considering going there once I grew stronger to some extent, but I never expected something like this to happen.

It’s not certain, but I suspect that other reincarnators might have encountered each other while going into the dungeon, and a clash occurred.

If I go there, I’ll probably find traces that can hint at their identities.

‘I need to go right away.’

At Solias Academy, there’s a rule that you can’t leave without obtaining an outing permit in advance, but such rules ultimately only matter if you get caught.

I left the dormitory behind and moved to the outskirts, beginning to grope along a wall hidden by bushes.

A moment later, I finally found my target.

“Here it is!”

In the sturdy wall, there was a hole just big enough for one person to crawl through.

It was a legacy left behind by the academy’s seniors.

At first glance, it might seem like the academy’s security is too lax, but the types of magic carved into this seemingly simple hole number in the dozens.

If the person who made this hole was the current Yellow Magic Tower Lord, it would be somewhat understandable.

I squeezed my body through, passing through the wall.

“Ugh, darn it. Why is it so narrow?”

Perhaps because the person who made the hole was a mage, the dimensions themselves were tailored for that type. Even though I didn’t have much muscle yet, for my large-framed body, it wasn’t easy to pass through.

Straining, I finally squeezed out of the hole, looked around, then hurried towards the shopping district.

“Fresh apples have arrived! Come take a look!”

“Hey, miss. How about a necklace? It would suit you perfectly!”

A wide road stretched between various shops, and along the edges, various stalls were set up, engaging in hawking activities targeting passing customers.

Since it was the weekend, academy students who had gone out were the main targets.

As I watched the vibrant scene, it wasn’t long before I arrived at the entrance to the underground waterway, where a ‘No Entry’ sign was posted.

As expected, the front of it was being guarded by two soldiers.

‘I can’t just go in.’

Since things were already like this, I considered using the image and status of a scoundrel to push my way through by force, but then I shook my head.

If I did that, unnecessary commotion would arise, and the fact that I came here could leak out.

So, how can I get rid of both of them at once?

As I racked my brain, the middle-aged man who seemed to be the senior soldier spoke to the younger soldier.

“Hey, Hanson. I’m going to take care of something for a moment, so guard this alone.”

“Huh?”

“My bladder feels like it’s going to burst! I’ll be back in 5 minutes.”

The middle-aged soldier didn’t even wait for Hanson’s reply, and just disappeared into the alley.

Hanson mumbled continuously with a sullen expression.

‘Now’s my chance.’

After a moment of thought, I approached a group of children playing nearby.

Shrewd gazes fixed on me.

Instead, I smiled satisfactorily and took out a silver coin from my pocket.

“Hey kids. Can you do me a favor?”

“…What is it?”

“You see that soldier over there? Even if it’s just for a moment, distract him from the underground waterway entrance. Then I’ll give you this silver coin.”

As I proposed the deal, the boy who seemed to be the leader glanced at Hanson.

“If you give us two silver coins, we’ll think about it.”

The little rascal already knows the value of money, and made a counter-offer. Realizing that polite words wouldn’t work, I resorted to an extreme method.

“Then how about this? You cooperate in exchange for me not beating you up right now.”

“……If you do that, won’t you get caught by the soldiers?”

“Not at all? Believe it or not, this Hyung is the eldest son of a marquis’s family. There’s no way I’d get caught for beating up a few of you. Rather, you’d have to deal with the aftermath. What do you want to do? Do you want two silver coins and tremble in fear every day? Or do you want one silver coin and finish it comfortably?”

“…I’ll take just one.”

“Good choice. Then get moving right away. You stay here.”

As I gave the instructions, the children left their leader behind and rushed towards the soldiers all at once.

“Mister! Something big happened!”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“In that vacant lot over there, a Ratman appeared!”

“I-Is that really true?”

“Yes! This way. Follow us.”

“O-Oh no! Can’t be helped!”

Soldier Hanson alternately gazed at the alley where the middle-aged soldier had gone and the underground waterway, then soon made a decision and followed the children.

With this, the entrance was completely open.

“Good work. Take this.”

I tossed the silver coin to the boy, and without looking back, quickly entered the underground waterway.

“Ugh, the smell.”

Naturally, the underground waterway gave off a terrible smell. Not only the stench of sewage, but also the Ratmen’s characteristic musky odor made my stomach churn.

I quickly took out a handkerchief from my subspace pouch and held it over my mouth and nose.

Everything was unpleasant, but the fortunate thing was that the structure of the underground waterway was very familiar.

My steps moved unhindered towards the Ratmen’s nest.

Thus, before reaching the Ratmen’s nest, at the place where the paths converged, I could find traces of a clash.

Sharp sword slashes were etched into the wall, and it was blackened by fire.

“One Fire Mage and one Swordsman.”

Although my knowledge was limited and I couldn’t discern more detailed information, being able to confirm the magic attributes and weapons used was a big gain.

While I was looking for other useful information, I suddenly sensed a presence.

When I raised my head, I saw a familiar face.

“Strange pervert. Long time no see.”

“Why are you here….”

“Shouldn’t I be here? Rather, I don’t know why you’re here. How did you get in? Soldiers should be guarding this.”

The Saint, Iris, as if she finally understood this time, gazed at me with suspicious eyes. With each step she took towards me, her unnecessarily large breasts swayed.

‘Just my luck.’

To encounter the Saint here.

Thinking about it now, I should have anticipated this situation. The Saint, who knows about the existence of reincarnators, would naturally be interested in this incident.

Even if she wasn’t as certain as I was, she must have thought she should at least check, just in case.

Finally, she stood before me.

“You… you’re a reincarnator!”

Thud!

It was a shock as if my heart had hit the floor.

At the blunt question, I desperately maintained my composure and feigned the most common reaction for this moment.

“Huh? A reincarnator? What’s that?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! Why did you come here?”

“……”

“You can’t answer! My words were right, weren’t they?”

At my suspicious silence, as if she had half-concluded, the Saint motioned to the Holy Knight silently standing behind her.

The Holy Knight’s hand grasped his scabbard.

What was he planning to do with that? Surely he wasn’t going to just chop my head off, was he? All sorts of complicated thoughts swirled in my mind.

However, I couldn’t get caught up in this.

I continued my suspicious act until the last possible moment, then confessed as if I couldn’t endure it any longer.

“Phew… Actually, I came to meet the Saint-nim.”

“W-What? Me?”

“Yes. Ever since I met you then, you haven’t left my mind… I heard rumors that you were here and rushed over.”

“H-Heh… M-Me?”

Although it wasn’t a direct confession, at an action anyone could infer, the Saint blushed and became shy.

Reincarnator this and that, all such things seemed instantly forgotten.

‘It works, as expected.’

People’s thoughts don’t change easily.

To change them, either extremely logical words, clear evidence, or shock therapy so profound that such things become meaningless is needed.

That’s why I resorted to this method.

Fortunately, as expected, my ‘confession’ worked very effectively.

“I-I need time. I appreciate Young Master’s feelings, but I’m not ready yet….”

The problem was that this Saint-nim, who was utterly without prejudice and exceedingly benevolent, accepted even the confession of Ruan Friuli, around whom all sorts of vile rumors swirled, very seriously.

At this rate, I’m worried she might actually accept the confession.

So, let’s put a stop to this here.

“I understand. Hearing something like this suddenly must be bewildering. So, please think about it and give me your answer. For those breasts, I can wait indefinitely.”

“U-Uh? Yes? My breasts?”

Just when things were going well, I suddenly swerved the steering wheel, plunging off a cliff. The Saint, snapped back to reality, asked again with a bewildered expression.

With an appearance that seemed to border on madness, I lavished praise on her breasts.

“That’s right. The Saint-nim’s breasts are a treasure of the world. Anyone who encounters them even once cannot deny their beauty. If I could only touch them someday, I would have no regrets.”

“…So. What you’re interested in isn’t me, but my breasts. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. That’s what I said from the beginning, didn’t I?”

I deliberately, as if asking what she had been listening to until now, shrugged my shoulders annoyingly.

Then the Saint flinched. Her face changed from bewilderment, to surprise, to shame, to anger, in that order, and then suddenly contorted.

“Pervert, die!”

Thwack!

With a shout, a holy fist shot out and slammed into my solar plexus.

I rolled helplessly on the floor.

“Cough! Cough! W-What are you doing!”

“How dare you reveal such disgusting desires in front of me? If you do something like this one more time, I truly won’t let you get away with it then! Hmph!”

She snorted roughly, and stomped past me, heading for the entrance.

She showed not a shred of lingering regret.

“…Isn’t she too kind?”

She was openly sexually harassed, and made to have a strange misconception, yet she let it go with just one punch to the solar plexus.

There truly is a reason she’s a Saint.

I rubbed my solar plexus, then braced my hands on the ground and stood up.

Over the past week, perhaps because I’d been hit in the solar plexus dozens of times by Alisa, this much didn’t hurt much anymore.

I, who quickly recovered, then entered the nest through the path the Saint had taken.

“Nothing much here.”

The artifact had already been taken by the Saint, and the reincarnators hadn’t even reached this far, so there were no notable traces left.

After a quick look around, I didn’t gain any significant yield, and turned back.

And when I returned to the underground waterway entrance, I encountered the Saint again.

“Saint-nim? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, you came just in time. This is the person who was tailing you.”