episode_0039

Cain put on his pants, slightly exhausted.

Sigh…

Is three shots in a row my limit…?

To replenish the energy of the Chalice of Sacrifice, he had to periodically offer sacrifices.

Understanding his own limits was important.

So, he tested it.

Huh, same as when I was Yi Jun-sung.

Back on Earth, Yi Jun-sung’s limit was three shots in a row.

Here in this world, as Cain, his limit was still three.

Even after leveling up and upgrading his gear, there was no difference in stamina.

That’s a bit disappointing.

Considering that [Stamina = Number of Chalice of Sacrifice uses], it was hard not to feel let down.

But.

That wasn’t the main point anyway.

The Chalice of Sacrifice is just an item I obtained for future convenience.

Swapping out gear?

Repurposing demon corpses into items?

Nice to have,

but hardly a necessity.

However.

There was one dream absolutely impossible without the Chalice of Sacrifice.

Want to know what it is?

I’ll show you right now!

…Or so he thought as he returned to where Lia and Alice were waiting.

Both of them are so pretty.

Lia, clad in her Spirit Armor and wielding the Spirit Sword, looked elegant and beautiful.

As expected of Lia.

Her resemblance to the Goddess of Light, Serena, gave her an otherworldly aura.

Too bad she’s such a crybaby.

But that’s part of her charm.

A crying Lia charging at him was more of a nuisance than anything.

But.

Isn’t it said that beauty forgives all?

Lia was exactly that kind of girl.

Of course.

If she were that much of a hassle, no amount of beauty would make up for it.

But.

Lia wasn’t that bad, so it was fine.

In fact, she was adorable.

Pet her, and she’d wag her tail like a happy puppy.

That’s why he liked her.

On the other hand.

Alice was someone he liked because she was reliable.

Honestly, she’s an all-rounder.

She could handle almost any situation—a true jack-of-all-trades.

Even if Lia broke down in tears mid-combat, he could still smile because Alice was there.

…Not just that, though.

Even just looking at her, she was stunningly beautiful.

She’d been lovely as the Ice Princess,

but now, with her relentless affection, she was downright heart-stealing.

I’m weak to this kind of thing.

He’d never been in a relationship before,

never had a girl throw herself at him like this.

Yet here he was.

An unbelievably gorgeous girl openly declaring her love for him?

No way he could resist.

If she weren’t my absolute favorite, I’d have dragged her to bed already.

…Or so he thought, until—

Oh…

Alice, wearing the , looked incredibly alluring.

Sure, he’d recommended it because it had solid defense

and was a well-balanced piece of armor that boosted all stats.

And because it was lightweight,

easy to move in,

comfortable to wear—

But!

It wasn’t just because he wanted to see Alice in a school uniform!

…Even if the sight was extremely satisfying.

Hnngh!

This is the good stuff!

She looked like the student council president from an academy manga.

Her chest wasn’t huge,

but it was just right.

A flawless figure, a cold beauty who could handle any task perfectly.

Perfection.

Absolute perfection.

“Cain~”

“How do I look?”

The moment she opened her mouth, the icy beauty image shattered,

but that had its own charm.

“It suits you.”

Especially the combination of the uniform skirt and stockings—cheat-level appeal.

No idea why stockings are part of an ancient empire’s magic knight uniform, but…

Who cares? She looked great.

“Master!”

“Praise me too!”

“You look amazing too.”

“Hehe.”

He patted Lia, who was clinging to him.

A bit of a dangerous sight,

but after three rounds, he was in post-nut clarity mode—he could handle this.

“Cain.”

“Pet me too.”

“Sure.”

He petted Alice as well.

Is a harem the answer?

At first, he’d planned to escape, thinking only of securing his favorite character’s happy ending.

But now,

he was leaning toward the harem route.

Half-swayed by the aggressive advances of the girls he liked.

How could I dislike someone who likes me this much?

Still.

That aside, danger was danger.

If they find out my favorite is a demon, they might turn on me.

Even a regular demon was kill-on-sight,

but if they learned a former Demon King’s general was hiding in a rural village?

They’d hunt her down immediately.

Because that’s what heroes do.

Because the Goddess’s Sword was made to exterminate all demons.

So he had to tread carefully.

Sigh…

Need to think more.

Not a conversation for now.

Enough of that.

While petting the girls, he turned his attention to the treasure vault.

There was enough gold to last a long time,

and he found some perfectly suited weapons and armor.

Satisfied, until—

“T-This is?!”

The moment he spotted the worn-out bag in the corner, he nearly lost it.

“Master?”

“Cain?”

“What’s that?”

“A Bag of Holding!”

“An insane item that lets you store a ridiculous amount of stuff!”

Prophecy RPG didn’t have an inventory system.

But.

There were items that functioned similarly.

The Bag of Holding.

An ultra-rare item that let you carry almost anything.

Not literally infinite,

but enough for all travel essentials.

With this, no need for bulky packs or porters—just smooth, comfortable journeys.

…He explained all this.

“That exists?!”

“It does.”

“Problem is, you’d be lucky to find one in five years of traveling.”

“But if you do, it makes traveling way easier?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow…”

“So we can take everything here now?”

“That’s the beauty of it.”

The reason he’d called most of the vault’s items trash was because they couldn’t carry them all.

Sure, some were lightweight,

but most were heavy and bulky.

Could hire porters, but…

Too much hassle.

Better to grab what they could and move on.

To normal people, it was all treasure.

To a hero’s party, just decent, cost-effective gear.

Take what’s useful now,

leave the rest—efficient.

But.

With a Bag of Holding? Everything.

If your inventory only had 10 slots, you’d have to prioritize.

But if it’s infinite?

Take it all!

Damn…

To get an item like this…

Is this Easy Mode?

He knew the difficulty boosted rare drops,

but he hadn’t expected a Bag of Holding.

Nice.

A journey where I get both the Sealing Dagger and this?

Perishables go in the dagger,

the rest in the bag.

Basically, infinite inventory + no-expiry cheat codes.

I’d forgotten this was cheat mode because the cheat-stacked hero kept crying in combat…

But no.

This was cheat mode.

…He was grinning at the thought when—

“KYAAAAAH!”

“?”

Alice suddenly screamed and dashed toward a chest.

Alarmed, he drew his sword—

“SO CUTE!!!”

“?”

Turns out, she’d spotted a kitten inside the chest and squealed in delight.

“A Mimic Meowling.”

“Mimic Meowling?”

“Yeah.”

“Think of it like a bonus monster.”

Meowling.

A special mob only found in Easy Mode.

Drops boss-tier gold, EXP, and items,

but has 1 HP—dies in one hit.

Rare spawn,

but catching just one is a huge windfall.

Incidentally, the reason he’d stood a chance against Alice earlier?

Thanks to Meowlings.

Right after possession, he’d killed three Slime Meowlings,

leveling up like crazy.

Without that, he’d have been stomped.

…Or so he said, but—

“You still lost to me.”

Alice ruthlessly countered with facts.

“A D-rank adventurer holding his own against a hero candidate is impressive enough.”

“Our Cain did fight well.”

“Anyway.”

“Killing that thing drops amazing loot, so…”

He clenched his fist.

No need for a sword.

One punch would do.

Mimic Meowlings don’t give much gold or EXP, but their items are top-tier.

Anticipating, he tightened his grip—

But.

His fist never connected.

“You’d kill this adorable thing?!”

Alice, utterly smitten, blocked him.

“It’s a monster.”

“But it’s cute!”

“……”

He paused.

Is this… actually good?

If cuteness could spare a monster,

maybe kindness could spare a demon.

From his perspective—needing to argue that some demons were good—this reaction was perfect.

So.

A Mimic Meowling? Fine, he could let it live.

…Or so he thought, until—

“KYAAAAH!”

Alice hugged the kitten in the chest—

CRUNCH!

The Mimic Meowling’s chest-mouth chomped down.

Still a monster.

Lured humans in with cuteness,

then bit when they reached in—classic mimic behavior.

But.

Alice blocked effortlessly.

Clink!

Ice formed where the teeth struck.

Impressive.

An automatic ice-defense ability.

That’s why she’s the shield.

Her physical stats were great,

but this ability nullified all ambushes.

Right now, it only blocked arrows,

but later, she’d create an Absolute Defense ice shield.

Plus reflect damage.

Her ice dealt frost damage on contact.

“Guh—!”

“N-No…!”

Exactly.

A 1-HP Mimic Meowling would die just from the reflect.

Crack!

The Meowling froze solid and shattered,

dropping an item.

“NOOOO!!!”

Alice clutched the item, sobbing.

Oh.

Good drop.

A top-tier crafting material,

usable for enhancing certain items.

The more, the better,

but it was extremely rare.

And here it was.

…But first—

“Meowly… Meowly!…”

He had to calm the weeping Alice.

Affection boost.

If I’m going the harem route, no reason not to.

He’d half-given up on the pure love route.

Running away would just lead to a kidnapping ending,

and he was already half-swayed by Lia and Alice’s affection.

So.

Time to max out affection.

…With that thought, he pulled out the Chalice of Sacrifice.