episode_0131

Mariel was avoiding my gaze.

It’s not like the memories in my head are disappearing just because of that.

“These days, I’ve been spending almost all my time making Guardian No. 3. Ugh…”

“Do you forget promises that are inconvenient for you so easily?”

“S…sorry. I didn’t intentionally forget!”

Mariel clasped her hands together and bowed deeply to apologize to me.

Well, it didn’t matter to me since I wasn’t in a hurry.

The reason I wanted to ask Mariel for a magic tool was to prepare for the situation that had befallen the current kingdom.

When we eventually have to fight the Demon Army led by Bloodstain, a direct subordinate of the Demon King, I wanted to have some power to rely on.

The power of Bloodstain, whom I met when I went to save Milaia who had given up on life before, was formidable.

There was no reason for me to face an opponent that even Milaia found difficult to confront one-on-one.

If my goal was the Demon Soul, I was bound to clash with Bloodstain.

So, wouldn’t it be better to have all possible means at my disposal to prepare for that time?

“Can you make a magic tool that would be helpful when facing a powerful demon?”

“Hmm? Surprisingly. Looking for something like that.”

“You’ve seen him too, Mariel. That big-mouthed demon.”

“The one we barely escaped from last time? Ugh… I don’t want to fight that guy again.”

Mariel shook her head vigorously.

“Just in case. Is there a rule that says you can’t meet someone twice? It’s better to be thorough in preparation. Besides, I can’t think of any other magic tools that are needed elsewhere.”

Actually, Bloodstain is leading the Demon Army towards the kingdom.

But mentioning that now would only increase anxiety.

It’s not like I can inform anyone to deal with it when the capital is in a state of anarchy or the same.

So, I’m preparing what I can personally.

Mariel was deeply lost in thought at my request.

She seemed to have her own world somewhere, as she didn’t respond even when I spoke to her while she was deeply lost in thought.

After a while, Mariel spoke with a look of realization.

“I’ll try making it once! A promise is a promise! A magic tool that would be helpful when facing that wicked guy again!”

“That’s right.”

“Okay! I understand! So…”

“Do you need magic…?”

Now, without saying anything, I could immediately understand what Mariel wanted.

Mariel reached out both hands to me.

I held Mariel’s hand and slowly began to transfer my magic into her.

***

“Hear ye! Hear ye! The leader of the rebel army, Lotus, and his followers have all been killed in the capital!”

Early in the morning, I woke up to the sound of a man shouting.

The first thought that came to my mind was ‘it has arrived.’

The news spreading to Kubele meant that most of the other cities in the kingdom also knew about what had happened in the capital.

Now that the rebel leaders had been wiped out in this situation, we had to be vigilant about how the other cities would react.

When I went to the Adventurer’s Guild, the news of what had happened in the capital was already circulating.

“Did you hear? Rebel leader Lotus is dead.”

“It’s the ‘divine punishment’ the goddess spoke of. It’s right on schedule, and it’s terrifying.”

“We’re lucky to be in Kubele. If we had sided with the rebels in the capital, we might have received divine punishment too.”

“It’s not just Lotus who died, but all the key figures of the rebel army. No one knows the reason. Rumor has it they just got torn apart and died.”

The people of Kubele were recognizing the events in the capital as ‘divine punishment.’

It was only natural.

We had announced the divine punishment through a speech before the incident occurred.

The effects were so remarkable that people began to fear the power of the goddess Stellaenia, who resided within the cube.

At the same time, they also felt a sense of relief knowing that the goddess with such fearsome power was watching over the cube.

However, they were curious about how things were going in the capital.

Relying solely on the news that reached the cube had its limitations in understanding the situation.

At times like this, it would be helpful if the narration could provide more detailed information.

But the narration did not offer any information related to the capital city of the kingdom.

“Hmm….”

I entered the guild office and pondered.

If the situation in the kingdom was not stable, it would be difficult to embark on a full-fledged campaign against the Demon King.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

Sitting alone in the office lost in thought, receptionist Tina entered and asked me.

Algot was currently at the market mansion, so there was no one else in the office.

Although I was not the guild master, I had been given permission by Algot to freely use the office.

“Sure. If you’re not too busy, would you like to take a short break with me, Tina?”

“Um… Sure. I just finished up my morning tasks.”

Tina smiled and went to make tea.

I wondered how Tina was feeling about the current situation.

She was a former saint who served the goddess.

Despite the appearance of the goddess Stellaenia, she remained focused on her duties as a receptionist.

It made me curious how her reaction differed from that of Saint Selena.

“How many sugars would you like? We also have some cookies.”

“It’s okay. I don’t like things too sweet.”

Tina sat across from me.

Her short, pink hair swayed gently.

“Do you not feel anything even when you see the goddess?”

“Well? Oh… Well, I didn’t become a saint because I wanted to. It’s fascinating. To think that the seven goddesses were actually one.”

Tina took a sip of her tea.

Looking at her now, it was hard to recognize the person she was when we first met.

Her abilities as a guild receptionist were excellent.

In a way, it was fortunate that she had fled the church and given up being a saint.

“A hero… right?”

Tina suddenly stared at me and muttered.

I had been chosen as a new hero when the cube became the city of the goddess.

In terms of authenticity, I had become more of a real hero than those chosen through prophecy.

The goddess had personally appointed me and even created a new holy sword for me.

While I couldn’t guarantee victory without the ‘hero buff’ when fighting the Demon King, I couldn’t deny that I was a hero.

“Is it a bit strange?”

“No, it’s just fascinating. I still remember the Yunoa from the church.”

“Back then, the priests were quite troublesome, right? I knew about it.”

This was news to me.

Tina knew about the things I had endured from the priests when I worked as a church janitor.

So, she had deliberately looked out for me back then.

I was grateful for that.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I appreciate it. It was really tough back then.”

During my time as a church janitor, I had just arrived in this world and was struggling to adapt.

There was a time when I thought I could just walk around with all my cheat abilities and be invincible.

But in reality, I had no abilities and was just a bum with a hole in my left shoe.

Well, that was all in the past now.

The fact that I was not special and definitely not a hero had ultimately changed.

I had a stronger magical talent than anyone else, and I even received the Holy Sword directly from the goddess and proclaimed myself a hero.

By the way, Tina used a rather unusual method to avoid the goddess’s prophecy.

She claimed that she was impure because she didn’t wear underwear and refused the prophecy.

Thinking about it now, it was really difficult to talk about.

“Yunoa, the pervert, was curious if Tina is wearing underwear right now.

If I had to answer, she wasn’t wearing any.

To be precise, she couldn’t wear any.”

Huh? W-what?

She really wasn’t wearing any?

Quietly sipping her tea, I looked at Tina, imagining that she wasn’t wearing anything under that receptionist outfit.

…It somehow feels embarrassing to sit facing her.

“Why are you acting like that? Did something get on my face?”

“N-no… I just… um…”

“Sometimes it’s nice to have tea time like this.”

“Y-yes.”

She… wasn’t wearing underwear…

But what does it mean that she couldn’t wear any?

There shouldn’t be any reason not to wear them now…

“Indeed, Yunoa was the lowest scum of a perverted man.

Just because he knew that woman’s secret, he kept thinking about it.”

The narration criticized me mercilessly.

You were the one who told me in the first place…

Are you trying to provoke me now by even fishing for me?

As the narration continued, creating a subtle atmosphere while Tina and I were drinking tea, the door to the office opened and someone came in.

It was Algot, the mayor of Kubele.

“You two seem to get along well.”

Algot came in and looked at me and Tina before speaking.

Tina quickly put down her teacup and stood up.

“Oh, I-I was just taking a break… I’ll go back to the reception right away!”

“No, I didn’t come to scold you. Rather…”

Algot’s gaze turned to me.

He seemed to have something to say.

“The worries Yunoa had are becoming a reality.”

“What?”

“Really, the Demon Army has invaded the Lambat Gorge.”