episode_0284

『Lilith has reached level 23!』

『Lilith has reached level 24!』

『Lilith has reached level 25!』

* * *

The battle that Ethan, Kara, and I fought somehow ended in our victory.

It may seem like an easy battle on the surface, but it was truly a life-threatening fight. Dodging the attacks of the Crescent Moon Bear while gathering stacked spells and retaliating with electric attacks at the precise moment was not as simple as it may appear.

If my swings were even slightly faster or slower, it would have been me who got paralyzed by the electricity instead of the bear, and if that had happened, Ethan and Kara would have had to fight an already tough opponent with an added burden.

“So, I tried to play it safe as much as possible…”

But now that the safe method was no longer an option, there was no other choice. The only fortunate thing was that my level was quite high, and my luck stat was not that low.

Of course, as someone who prefers certainty, I wanted to avoid such battles as much as possible. Unlike games with save points and resurrection in nearby towns, life in this world was singular.

After the intense battle in the western forest of the altar, we dragged the Crescent Moon Bear’s carcass back to the witch’s village. Upon our return, the first to join us were Agnes, who was in charge of guarding the eastern lake, and the two others (Antonio, Colt).

In reality, Agnes and the other two were excluded from the hero’s plan from the beginning. Agnes’s fire magic in the witch’s forest was too much of a variable risk.

And Antonio was too weak to be included. Colt was a variable that would not have appeared in the original story, and he was excluded to protect Antonio in a rare situation.

In other words, just to prevent the injury of the weak noble Antonio, Agnes and Colt were exiled to the western lake. However, the one who returned most injured among the three who met again was Prince Antonio.

“Oh, Prince Antonio?!”

“…Are you okay?”

“Oh, you all have returned… And judging by the size of the prey, it seems like you had quite a big battle…”

In fact, when looking at the injuries, Antonio was the most injured among us. It was even more surprising to see him injured and returning from what I thought was the safest place, the lake.

After hearing the whole story, it seemed that Agnes and the others had fought a battle similar to ours at around the same time. Against the three-headed hydra that emerged from the lake.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault that Prince Antonio got injured…! I, I will bear the punishment with my life…!”

“C-Colt! You shouldn’t make hasty decisions like that!”

“…It’s okay, yes… It’s not that serious… It was partly my fault due to my carelessness…”

“….”

Colt, showing a sense of responsibility as a palace knight, and Agnes, for some reason, unable to say anything with a troubled expression.

I didn’t dare to ask for more details as it seemed like it would be impolite. Instead, I just used the power of the saint I possessed to maintain Antonio’s vitality so that his injuries wouldn’t worsen.

Fortunately, there was a real saint, Cerista, in this forest, so as soon as we returned, she was there to help heal Antonio’s wounds with her divine power.

“This should do it, Prince Antonio…”

“…Thank you.”

“You should rest well for about three days from today… Even though I managed to seal the wounds with divine power, it will take some time to fully heal…”

“Understood.”

“Thank you, Sister Cerista. And I’m sorry for the trouble caused by my naive younger brother. I know you must be tired after the battle.”

“Oh, no…! I, I can easily replenish my lacking sacred power with a desperate prayer…! Princess Hwangnyeo just fought in the most dangerous place with the hero a while ago, so my skills are not that impressive compared to that…”

“It’s not important how much each of us contributed to the battle right now. I think the hero is just apologizing for making Cerista work hard after the battle. Anyway, good job, Cerista.”

“T-Thank you…. Hero….”

Even the highest-ranking Seraphine in this space addressed the hero by name without hesitation.

He won’t make any mistakes that could be held accountable in this world where he’s made to have such misconceptions, right? Unbelievable.

Seeing Seraphine flinch slightly when the hero called his name just now, it seemed unlikely that the future he envisioned would come to pass.

On the opposite side of Seraphine were Sirena, and in front was Cerista. At one point, he had the thought that the real problem might come after defeating the Demon King, with the honeyed gazes of the main heroines all focused on him.

“I should give them a warning at some point. If I’m going back to my original world, I should give them a hint and leave those three.”

Without a word, he disappeared, and a small-scale war broke out between the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Elves, each suspecting the other of hiding the hero.

“P-Please keep the splint on for three more days…. The broken bones need to set in this position to heal properly….”

“…Like this?”

“Yes, y-yes…. I know it’s uncomfortable but….”

“Hmm….”

Antonio, with a splint on his right arm, looked a bit awkward.

It didn’t seem very pleasant to not be able to use one arm for three days. And to make matters worse, the injured arm was his right arm, which he used frequently, making it even more difficult.

He probably wouldn’t be able to handle meals or personal hygiene on his own in that state. And to top it off, the knight who accompanied him was a female knight, not a male.

“…Well, compared to giving up one arm and saving you, it’s a small price to pay. Anyway, since we successfully defeated the monsters, it’s all good.

I don’t have to worry too much about Colt either. After all, it’s the result of my reckless actions, so I should take responsibility.”

“No need for courtesy, Prince Antonio. Instead, while Prince Antonio’s arm is uncomfortable, I will take care of the tasks for you.”

“Hmm, you will? I was already worried about that part, but if Colt is taking care of it, then I’m relieved….”

With no male knight present, Colt was the only one who could assist Antonio with his splint. Antonio seemed to reluctantly accept her offer, as if there was no other choice.

“…I’ll do it.”

Unexpectedly, it was Agnes’s statement that stopped Antonio’s words.

“Agnes, my dear?”

“I’ll take care of your splint for three days.”

The sudden declaration from the red-haired mage brought a sudden silence to the room.

It was a moment when an unexpected statement came from an unexpected person, so naturally, all of our attention turned to Agnes, and the first to break the silence was Antonio, the one who heard her words.

“…You don’t need to feel responsible for my injury, Agnes. It’s my fault for being inadequate….”

“Quiet. I said I’ll do it. …Or do you have a problem with me doing it?”

“Oh, no…. Of course not….”

“…Then don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s because of me that you got hurt, so I’ll take responsibility. And besides, it’s only been three days.”

“Ah, yes…. Then, I’ll ask for your help, Agnes Yeongae….”

“….”

Agnes, with a troubled expression, nodded her head, insisting on lifting Antonio’s injured arm, and Antonio eventually accepted it with a nod.

It wasn’t difficult to speculate that something had happened between the two.

***

After Agnes mentioned lifting Antonio’s injured arm and the brief commotion that followed, a meal to replenish everyone’s strength after the battle ensued.

There were generally two types of meals served in the Witch’s Forest. Traditional vegetarian dishes made with vegetables native to the forest cooked with spices, and occasionally meat dishes made using monsters as ingredients found within the forest.

The day they caught everything from Moonlight Wolves to Crescent Moon Bears was naturally a day with leftover meat ingredients, so our meal naturally turned into a meat party.

“As we’re doing this, it feels like we’re having a pork belly party.”

Of course, the meat being grilled now was closer in taste to pork neck or pork shoulder rather than pork belly. Wild monster meat tended to be lean.

Well, it didn’t matter as long as it was grilled. After all, meat was always right.

“If we had some grilled kimchi here, it would be perfect. Or maybe some ssamjang….”

Suddenly thinking of Korean food made me emotional. Come to think of it, it had been years since I had a proper Korean meal.

The last time I vividly remembered eating Korean food was about 7 years ago when my memories from my past life resurfaced. It had been quite some time since I had eaten Korean food.

…I know it’s inevitable. It was a luxury to even consider whether or not I could eat Korean food in this worldview.

As I imagined dipping the grilled meat in salt and dipping it in sesame oil, a plate suddenly appeared on the table in front of me and Edan, filled with familiar seasonings.

“Eating lots of grilled meat outdoors like this makes you feel like you’re having a pork belly party, doesn’t it?”

“….”

People’s thoughts are all quite similar, aren’t they? Maybe it’s because we’re both Korean.