TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 55
A person’s determination is not easily broken.
“Bath!”
“…We must!”
I tried to ignore the Quest Window that appeared before my eyes.
It had been a week since I resolved not to help with Mikhail’s trials anymore. I wanted Mikhail to grow independently, both mentally and physically.
Because seeing the novel’s ending with the current Mikhail was not an option.
I thought that Mikhail, who constantly spoke of justice every day, might finally learn the concept of moderation after this incident.
It was absolutely not because I wanted to bathe with the Young Lady. It was just that today’s underwear color… No, that’s not it.
I looked at the Young Lady with eyes brimming with anticipation.
The Young Lady dressed in a bathrobe.
Her slightly visible black underwear felt suggestive.
The Young Lady stretched and said.
“Let’s go!”
The chest that gathered fiercely.
I thought it was a good idea to give up on the quest.
With an awkward smile, I turned my back to the Young Lady.
“Get on.”
While forcing myself to ignore the Blue Window visible in the empty space.
[Q. Save Yuria.]
Yuria is currently exploring “Hamel’s Dungeon” to take the Academy’s final exam.
While taking the exam, Yuria discovered a certain The Man bleeding in a Dungeon Corner.
A The Man covered in wounds and gasping for breath.
Yuria, with her kind heart, couldn’t just pass by and decided to heal him, and Mikhail, her teammate, agreed to her decision.
Without knowing that The Man was one of the Remnants of the Heretics.
Yuria is in danger.
In the eyes of the Heretics, who needed a Healer, Yuria looked like a gem. The Remnants of the Heretics ambushed Yuria and began dragging her to the depths of the dungeon.
Normally, Mikhail would be the one to save Yuria, but Mikhail seems to lack both the mental and physical ability.
(!) Save Yuria, who is in danger.
○ Probability of Mikhail saving her without User’s help: (70%)
Reward: Dark Magic Resistance LV. 4
Mikhail: Beginner Aura (C)
Yuria: Favorability +40
If failed: Favorability of all Academy students except Histania Hanna -30, Yuria’s injuries, Mikhail’s injuries.
The quest is not mandatory.
Though the quest appeared suddenly without warning, there was no mandatory obligation to complete it.
The novel progresses normally.
My existence is merely an addition to it.
If there were a mandatory obligation, that would be the strange part.
Sometimes there were penalties, like reduced stats or lowered favorability, but they weren’t life-changing penalties, so it was okay to ignore them.
Whether to do the quest depends on my choice.
Like Hanna’s Quest, it could save someone’s life or, conversely, take it. It offered a wide range of free choices.
The same applies now.
Dark Magic Resistance. It was indeed a good reward, but it wasn’t attractive enough to break my resolve not to help Mikhail.
If the reward had been something like an increase in Swordsmanship level or an Additional Skill, I might have reconsidered and tried it, but bathing with the Young Lady… No, the stress of getting involved with Mikhail wasn’t worth the reward.
Dark Magic Resistance would increase over time, and it wouldn’t inconvenience my daily life.
And the penalty for failure was also minimal.
Even if the already rock-bottom favorability dropped further, it wouldn’t make much difference. At worst, it would escalate from frowning faces to asking about my parents.
It wasn’t as if we were going to see each other for a long time.
And I didn’t want to see them for a long time either.
The high probability of 70% couldn’t be ignored either.
I thought Mikhail could handle it. While Mikhail was frustratingly stubborn, his skills were solid.
I trusted them.
But when I saw the changes in the Quest Window.
The anticipation I had turned cold and solidified.
‘Ha… This is seriously messed up.’
[Yuria’s emotions are changing.]
[Mikhail’s emotions are changing.]
Probability of Mikhail saving her without User’s help: (70% > 57%)
The quest reward is updated.
[Rehabilitation’s Touch (B)]
Allows the User to weakly heal a physically restricted target using the User’s health as a medium.
“Ah…?”
I exhaled through my nose and watched the Young Lady slyly take off her bathrobe. The Young Lady, demonstrating a healthy philosophy that a bath should be taken naked.
Black bra.
Fierce chest.
‘F*ck.’
Clenching my fist, I said to the Young Lady.
“Shall we… do it next time?”
The Young Lady cried.
***
“F*ck.”
A dark dungeon.
I looked at Yuria, who was trembling in fear, and Mikhail, who had fainted.
A deep sigh escaped from the pit of my stomach.
Since I became a Butler, I had been trying not to use bad words, but Mikhail’s performance, far below expectations, was making my mouth itch.
Not much had changed from the novel.
They encountered the Remnants of the Heretics.
They treated the Heretic.
They got ambushed.
Mikhail was defeated.
Except for the fact that Mikhail fainted, nothing was different from the scene I had seen in the novel.
‘Then why are things still like this?’
Holding my sword, I glared at Mikhail with irritated eyes.
‘Why is the one who is supposed to fight passed out?’
The Heretic in front of me wasn’t someone powerful like Ballack or Pascal. To make a comparison, it was akin to a blue golem in the jungle from a game I used to play in my previous life.
It might be tough for Mikhail, but.
It was an opponent he could definitely handle.
If he avoided getting ambushed or being careless, it was an enemy he could easily defeat.
No way…
With a “no way” expression, I looked Mikhail over. His abdomen, marked with a sword wound, faintly came into view.
Mikhail’s school uniform was soaked with blood as if he had just been stabbed, and the torn clothes revealed his smooth skin, hinting at what had happened.
‘…Hopeless idiot.’
This event was supposed to be the episode where Mikhail kills for the first time.
Mikhail was meant to awaken his Aura to protect Yuria, who was being dragged away, but judging by this mess, it seemed he wouldn’t even make it out alive.
With a heavy heart, I looked at the Heretic holding Yuria by the hair.
[Vigny Lv. 34]
[Job: Apprentice Priest]
[Favorability: -60]
[Favorite discussion topics: Twisted Justice, Faith, Murder, Women, Torture, the Future of Heretics, Blood, Screams]
[Disliked discussion topics: Goddess Cult, Love, Mercy, Patience, Young Child, Peace]
The Heretic looked at me with a stern expression.
While my unexpected appearance as an outsider seemed to annoy him, he quickly managed his expression with a bizarre smile.
“Who might you be?”
“Your Mother.”
“What?”
I was not in a good mood.
The pathetic state of Mikhail, who had been defeated so gloriously, irritated me more than receiving a text to work on the weekend.
I spoke while looking at the Heretic’s hand clutching Yuria’s hair. A Heretic who grabbed her hair without knowing its value.
He was someone who didn’t understand the fear of baldness.
“That hand… you’d better let it go now.”
“What?”
The Heretic forcefully gripped Yuria’s hair. When Yuria let out a faint scream, “Kyaaak!”,
I lightly swung my sword.
With a sharpening sound, the Heretic’s arm was severed. The Heretic’s eyes trembled violently.
As he looked at his severed arm with a puzzled expression, wondering what had happened, his face immediately twisted in shock.
“Aaaaaaah!! My arm! My arm!!”
The Heretic rolled on the floor. Clutching his severed limb, he writhed in agony.
“That’s why I told you to let go.”
My words didn’t seem to reach the Heretic writhing in pain. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. The bleeding Heretic and Yuria’s shocked expression made me feel like the bad guy here.
Whatever the case, I just wanted to go home quickly.
I kicked the fallen Heretic in the abdomen. With a thud, the Heretic was pushed into a corner.
When he tried to reach for a dagger from his waist, I didn’t even allow him that.
“Who are you…!”
“You don’t need to know.”
I stomped on the Heretic’s remaining arm and approached Mikhail.
Seeing Mikhail leaning against the wall, gasping for breath, I let out a sigh. He was someone who lacked determination. If it were me, I would’ve done everything to wake up.
Looking at Mikhail still unconscious, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in him.
I nudged Mikhail lightly with my foot and said.
“Get up.”
“…”
“I said, get up.”
I hoped he’d wake up before I got more annoyed…
Mikhail had to finish this himself. If I ended it alone, this episode would mean nothing to him. That’s why I was trying to wake Mikhail up.
I nudged Mikhail again, this time with irritation in my voice.
“Get up. Are you just going to sit there while Yuria is being dragged away?”
“…”
“…Seriously.”
Thud.
When I kicked Mikhail hard, he groaned and opened his eyes.
“Yuria!”
As soon as he opened his eyes, Mikhail called out for Yuria. His posture as the Hero was commendable enough to deserve applause.
Mikhail’s gaze slowly took in the scene before him.
The Heretic rolling on the ground with a severed arm, Yuria catching her breath, and me standing above him with an impassive gaze.
Though his pupils wavered at the situation that had unfolded in such a short time, I took it upon myself to instruct Mikhail on what to do next.
Clink.
I tossed the sword that had fallen from Mikhail’s hand onto the ground.
Mikhail’s Sword, dulled and stained with use.
He looked up at me, confused by the situation, but I ignored him and walked slowly toward the fallen Heretic.
A red potion had fallen out of Yuria’s pocket onto the ground.
A top-grade potion distributed by the Imperial Family.
Though I felt tempted to pocket it, the situation being what it was, I sighed deeply and opened the potion.
Then I began pouring it onto the Heretic’s severed arm.
Sizzle. The Heretic’s severed arm started to heal with a hissing sound.
I could temporarily make him capable of fighting.
The Heretic glared at me.
The Heretic looked at me with an expression of disbelief, unable to comprehend the situation.
Even I found it absurd that the person who had cut off his arm was now healing it.
I looked at both him and Mikhail and said.
“From this moment on, I won’t do anything. Whether you kill him or run away, I won’t interfere.”
“…”
The Heretic’s gaze remained fixed on me.
“Seriously…?”
He was quick to assess the situation.
I answered with a simple nod.
“But see that guy over there?”
I pointed at Mikhail with my finger.
Mikhail stood dazedly holding his sword.
He looked half out of his mind.
“Fight that guy.”
The Heretic glared at me, as if demanding I make sense. He protested, claiming it was impossible to fight Mikhail with one arm.
I gave the Heretic a harsh dose of reality.
“Then die.”
The Heretic grabbed his sword.
And he asked me again.
“If I fight that guy… you’ll let me go, right?”
“Of course.”
The Heretic, barely managing to hold his sword.
As corrupted mana seeped from his body, I stepped aside and supported the fallen Yuria.
“Are you alright?”
“Mi…Mikhail…”
“Ah… he’ll be fine. If things go south, I’ll step in.”
I glanced at Mikhail.
Mikhail stared at the approaching Heretic with trembling eyes.
I wondered how far this pushover would go.
I wasn’t expecting him to kill.
If he could at least cripple the Heretic or leave an irreversible wound, I’d consider it sufficient progress.
The guy had grabbed and dragged the hair of the girl he loved; he wouldn’t just stand by.
In the novel, Mikhail had killed that guy. To rescue Yuria, he had stained his hands with blood for the first time and developed a cold-blooded emotion.
There was even a description of him trembling as he hugged Yuria tightly, telling her it was alright. I was curious how it would play out this time.
With a clashing sound, Mikhail’s sword collided with the Heretic’s, and I began preparing to leave.
*
The battle was over.
As expected, the person lying on the ground was the Heretic.
For someone fighting with one arm, the Heretic had fought admirably, but he was no match for Mikhail, who had exceptional talent in swordsmanship.
Mikhail was breathing heavily.
Mikhail placed his sword against the neck of the fallen Heretic, struggling to catch his breath.
“Don’t move.”
Mikhail issued a terrifying warning.
Mikhail’s hand trembled.
He didn’t know what to do.
After killing countless Knights.
Mikhail couldn’t decide what to do with the Heretic who had threatened Yuria.
The Heretic looked at Mikhail and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Save me…”
“…”
“Please… Please save me… I’ll live a good life from now on.”
“…Really…”
Wow…
I clapped inwardly.
I wondered if he would let him go again here.
Even if Mikhail let him go without doing anything, I would secretly take care of it myself, but if he just let him go here, it would be no different from being the Reincarnation of Buddha.
I decided to give Mikhail a little push.
“Come on now…”
“You call me a killer and a bad person, but you’re just going to let this guy go?”
Flinch. Mikhail’s shoulders trembled.
“Isn’t that right? Miss Yuria?”
“W…What?”
A flustered Yuria looked at me.
“Miss Yuria almost got hurt, so wouldn’t it be unfair to just let him go?”
Like watching a national soccer team, I alternated between sighing and criticizing Mikhail.
“Come on now.”
Yuria looked at me.
With eyes that said she couldn’t understand.
She also looked at Mikhail.
Yuria must have felt the same.
Killing someone.
Who would like that?
I didn’t like it either.
But sometimes, in unavoidable situations, one must make bold decisions. That’s why swordsmen like us learn the sword.
The choice was Mikhail’s.
I gave one last word and shut my mouth tight.
“Unnecessary interference should have its limits.”
With those words, Mikhail swung his sword.
*
Everything was over.
Mikhail threw his sword to the ground, breathing heavily, while the Heretic sighed in relief for being alive.
“I didn’t think you’d actually spare me.”
Mikhail spoke with compassion.
“I’ll give you one more chance. From now on, don’t do anything bad…”
That idiot.
Falling for it again.
The Heretic, tearing up, spoke to Mikhail.
“Thank you! Truly, thank yo…u!”
As I saw the Heretic’s swift hand gesture, trying to stab a dagger into Mikhail’s chest, I swung my sword again.
With a clanging sound, the breath of the Heretic was cut short.
A deep sigh escaped me.
Looking at Mikhail’s face, trembling as he stared at the fallen Heretic, I struck him with my fist.
Thud…!
“Ugh… Idiot.”
[The quest has been completed.]
I never wanted to get involved again.
***
On the way back to the estate.
Not wanting to get entangled in any more trouble, I quickly left the dungeon.
I looked down at my hand.
My right hand, where the black scar had disappeared.
I wanted to boast about it to the Young Lady.
As I plodded down the mountain.
A strange sound reached my ears.
-Squeak…
“Huh?”
A cute puppy was hiding in the thicket, whimpering.
A puppy with black fur and a round, chubby appearance. At the same time, its large paws were like those of a beast.
Thinking the Young Lady might like such a cute creature, I squatted down and beckoned to the puppy.
“Come here.”
The puppy limped over and rubbed its head against my leg.
“Should I take you with me?”
I carefully reached out my hand.
At the same time, I used the skill I had acquired earlier.
[The Hand of Rehabilitation is activated.]
-Drip.
Blood dripped from my nose onto the back of my hand.