TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 32
Ricardo’s voice was heard once again.
“Did you close your eyes?”
Yuria’s heart raced at his words seeking confirmation.
A gentle voice.
Yuria pressed her lips tightly together as the quiet boyish voice echoed in her ears.
“Miss Yuria? Did you close your eyes?”
The voice confirming once again was heard.
As if he knew her curious nature, Ricardo asked multiple times, but she did not answer.
Because no voice came out.
Her lips wouldn’t part at the realization that if she had been even a little late, she would have died.
-Thump. Thump.
And her heart pounded wildly.
Whether it was because she had faced a life-threatening danger or because she saw Ricardo again, she wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain: her heart was racing like crazy.
Ricardo spoke again.
With a calm voice.
Yuria, faintly sensing the worry in his voice, felt her heart waver.
“You need to close them. It’s a bit unsightly to look at.”
***
The situation wasn’t good.
There was someone to protect behind her.
And a reckless moth who only knew how to act rashly was beside her. She couldn’t fully concentrate on the battle.
I, who was blocking the heavy-swinging greatsword, looked at Ruin, who was wriggling his fingers.
-Mutter. Mutter.
“Ruin.”
“What?”
I called Ruin.
Ruin, who was muttering while preparing large-scale magic beside me, was reciting a highly difficult spell formula, but deploying it with trembling hands wasn’t helping at all.
“If you don’t want to die, stop using that sloppy spell formula.”
At my words of uselessness, Ruin flared up.
“What?”
It must be infuriating to assess usefulness when facing an opponent whose strength couldn’t be measured. I know. The desire to show off in front of the woman he likes.
But right now, Ruin wasn’t just weak; he was also scared. He needed to set aside his trivial desires for a moment.
Otherwise, he would really die.
The killing intent emanating from the man in front of me was overwhelming.
An oppressive dominance.
The blood smeared on his greatsword.
And even the black aura.
Just looking at it made my skin prickle.
Moreover, the man was a heretic notorious in the world as a crazy bastard.
A fanatic group that believed in killing those who didn’t share their faith, dragging countless casualties in their wake.
Black priest robes.
Black scripture.
Ruin, who was seeing a heretic he had only heard about in rumors for the first time, wouldn’t be able to control his emotions, making it difficult to exert his true strength.
Ruin, who was casting magic with a serious expression, looked at me nonchalantly deflecting the man’s sword.
“Kuhuhu… You’re blocking this? Young swordsman?”
“I’m somewhat versatile.”
“Puhaha…!”
Ruin, thinking he could do it just because I could, sent me a challenging look.
I spoke kindly to Ruin, who was sending me that look.
“Ruin, listen to me. Miss Yuria can’t reattach a severed arm.”
Ruin wouldn’t understand me.
Because Ruin wasn’t as strong as I was.
“Shut up, Ricardo.”
So, Ruin saw my actions as recklessness, and he must be thinking, “Who are you to boss me around when you’ve been expelled from the Academy?”
After all, at most, I was just an Academy mate.
Ruin didn’t know much about me.
Not that I had killed Mikhail in an unofficial setting, nor how dangerous aura could be. A wizard like him wouldn’t be able to imagine it.
Ruin, who at most mistook me for being on the same level as Hanna or Mikhail, said to me.
“Stop acting cocky. How much of a difference is there between us anyway?”
I said to Ruin.
“Ah. Then suit yourself.”
Ruin completed his magic.
The strongest magic he could muster.
‘Explosion.’
As the hot wind signaling the success of the magic brushed against his hair, he smiled.
“Watch closely. I’m not the person I used to be…”
The moment red flames rose in Ruin’s hand. Bang. With a loud noise, the blood-soaked greatsword moved swiftly to sever Ruin’s arm.
Ruin didn’t notice.
Not until the greatsword was about to touch his arm.
“See? I told you you’d die.”
I kicked Ruin’s abdomen with all my strength.
Crash. With a sound, Ruin was slammed into a tree and slumped his head.
It seemed he had lost consciousness from the strong impact.
Honestly, he’s useless.
“Miss Yuria, are your eyes closed properly?”
“From now on, it’s going to be unpleasant to see.”
With a sharpening sound, red blood blossomed in front of Yuria’s eyes.
***
When I take a vacation.
All sorts of things happen.
Is the whole world trying to mess with me?
Whether it’s because the possessor is despised for stealing fortuitous encounters, incidents just wouldn’t stop, and my head throbbed.
I was trying to secretly raid a dungeon without the protagonist noticing, but I ended up meeting the protagonist on the way.
After looting the entire dungeon, I came across a heroine who almost got killed by heretics.
Even though the protagonist always dragged incidents around, couldn’t they at least take a break while doing so?
Yuria, who was constantly surrounded by incidents, was quite bothersome in many ways. But what could I do? I couldn’t just ignore her.
Besides, the man in front of me might be the biggest fortuitous encounter I’ve come across so far.
I looked at the man in front of me.
Ballack, drenched in blood.
[Ballack Lv. 71]
[Job: Archbishop of Despair]
[Favorability: -50]
[Favorite conversation topics: Daughter/Health/Duels with strong opponents/Greatsword Techniques/Greatswords must always be large]
[Disliked conversation topics: Daughter’s illness/Nobles/Toothpick-like swords/Murder]
Ballack is one of the antagonists who appears in the novel.
Though he has a backstory that makes him more than a simple antagonist, he has committed enough wrongdoings to still be considered one.
He’s someone like us.
Ballack belongs to the heretics for the sake of his daughter’s illness.
Ballack, who was once an S-rank adventurer, has a daughter.
The only daughter left by his deceased wife.
The Doctor advised giving up, and the Holy See also recommended abandoning her, but Ballack’s sick daughter was his only treasure.
Ballack had been scammed dozens of times by the Doctor, and though he knelt and prayed to the Goddess Cult, believing that prayers could cure her, there was no progress.
By the time the money he had earned as an Adventurer was running out.
One day, while walking down the street, he heard a sermon from a religion claiming that simply believing could cure incurable diseases, and that was the beginning of Ballack’s Fall to Darkness.
At first, he hesitated to wield his Greatsword, feeling a Burden of Conscience, but as time passed and his daughter’s condition gradually improved, the weight of his conscience grew lighter.
Even though his daughter tried to stop him.
Having given up on being a good Father, Ballack silently picked up his sword.
Later in the novel, after his daughter dies, he learns that the Heretics were lying, but by then, he had already been defeated by the Protagonist’s group.
A tragic Antagonist in the novel.
The man standing before me now is Ballack.
Fortunately, it’s still early in the novel, so he hasn’t committed any major Evil Deeds yet.
Even now, he probably only intended to frighten Yuria and drive her away.
At this point, Ballack is likely torn between his conscience and his daughter. Caught at a crossroads.
I had always wanted to meet him someday, but meeting him like this felt somewhat bittersweet.
I looked down at Ballack.
Planting his Greatsword into the ground, he glared at me with trembling arms. His piercing gaze made me let out an awkward laugh.
Ballack spoke to me.
“Are you a Monster?”
“Oh, no way.”
“Haha… Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense.”
With True Feelings, Ballack told me that even among the top-ranked Devotees, there were few Monsters like me, and he shook his head.
I said to him.
“Look at me. I’m a wreck too.”
“Compare things that are comparable.”
I wasn’t in great shape either. My trembling right arm had been deeply cut by Ballack’s Greatsword, and blood was dripping from it.
Ballack was no different.
His Entire Body was covered in small scars, drenched in blood, and he was kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily.
After hundreds of exchanges, I finally achieved Victory, and I spoke humbly.
“I am indeed a Monster.”
“Heh… Crazy. Absolutely crazy. Using Aura at your age.”
Ballack staggered to his feet.
With his trembling Greatsword in hand, he slowly walked toward me, but I shook my head and said to him.
“Let’s stop here.”
“Why?”
“There’s more behind you.”
I looked past Ballack.
Through the thick Thicket, I saw countless Silhouettes. They were probably Heretics who had come here to explore the Dungeon.
They must have been selected as an elite group.
In the novel, the Heretics were the first to loot the Dungeon and leave. Afterward, the Protagonist fought the remaining Remnants and awakened.
Ballack must have come here with those figures behind him to loot the Dungeon.
I looked at Ballack.
With eyes full of Desire to Compete, Ballack stared at me.
If I were to kill Ballack here, it would undoubtedly make the later parts of the novel easier, but I was certain that I couldn’t ensure Yuria and Ruin’s safety while dealing with him.
Deciding to withdraw from the Battle and let us go our separate ways, I said.
“We’ll just leave now, so why don’t you go your way too?”
“Why? If we fight now, I think I can take your head back with me.”
I waved my hand dismissively at his words.
That’s nonsense.
If I fought with someone who once tried to take even one of Mikhail’s arms, I wouldn’t leave unscathed either.
And Ballack, the Monster, only grew stronger the more blood he shed.
This current weakened state of his might even be an act.
“It’s better to leave things on a good note, isn’t it?”
“That’s true. It was an exciting fight, though. A shame it has to end.”
Ballack chuckled awkwardly.
Feeling reluctant to just part ways, I pulled out Paper and Pen from my pocket. Scribbling something quickly, I handed it to Ballack.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“My autograph.”
Ballack chuckled faintly and tucked the Paper I had written into his pocket.
“Check it out somewhere private. It’s hard to come by.”
Leaving the faintly smiling Ballack behind, I carried Yuria, who had collapsed from exhaustion, on my back.
“We’ll be off. Don’t forget me.”
And that’s how we parted ways.
***
On the way down.
Yuria was silent.
Without a word, she clung to my back as we descended the mountain, and the silence was unbearably awkward.
Yuria asked me.
“Was this your doing too?”
“No way.”
We continued to descend in silence.
I wasn’t sure what to say.
Breaking the silence, Yuria spoke to me.
“By the way, Mr. Ricardo, is this how you always are?”
“What do you mean?”
“Always showing up when things are dangerous, saving me, and then acting like it’s nothing. Why do you do that?”
“Hmm… Who knows?”
I couldn’t exactly say it was because the novel only showed the dangerous parts.
And if I said I was watching over her to see if she could handle it, she might think I was a Stalker, which was hard to admit.
Ah, maybe I am a Stalker.
Thinking about it, I probably am.
I felt guilty in many ways.
Yuria spoke to me again.
“You know, Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
“Do you realize what kind of misunderstanding you cause every time?”
“What misunderstanding?”
Yuria lowered her head deeply.
“That you might actually be impotent.”
Yuria mumbled softly.
***
The estate came into view.
A place with an eerie presence, as though Ghosts might appear.
Yuria, who had been dozing on my back, spoke to me.
“Uh… Why are we here?”
“You need to eat before you go.”
“What?”
Glancing at Ruin, whom I had dragged along the ground, I said.
‘If this guy hadn’t passed out, I’d have just left him behind.’
Ruin, who wouldn’t wake up no matter what.
Since the security at the Inns in Hamel wasn’t very good, I had no choice but to bring Yuria to the Estate.
Standing in front of the Estate, I looked at the Window.
-Peek.
A Silhouette visible on the second floor.
Peeking, as the sun had set, it seemed like the Young Lady couldn’t see us clearly, and she kept sticking her head out.
Placing Ruin on the ground, I waved my hand.
“Young Lady!”
Now, the Young Lady would finally realize I had arrived.
“Ohhhh!! Ricardo!”
And.
When she saw Yuria climbing down from my back.
“Huh…?”
It was Olivia, wrapped in a Blanket.