The Protagonists Are Murdered By Me Chapter 42: 211-215, a 13 tzameti fanfic

As one of Ascanta's '2 Empires, 4 Kingdoms, 1 Church', Zeckelfen Kingdom possessed an enormous national power which could be said to be on par with the world's most powerful nations, the Gritrin Empire and the Eyla Holy Church. And that said kingdom was where I was summoned at.

"This is nice…" I said as I enjoyed 38-year-old white wine that King Zeckelfen had prepared for me while submerging myself in a hot bath in the huge bath house surrounded by five dragons as well as eating the finest ice cookies prepared by the servants.

By what qualification can I enjoy that much you ask? Of course with my qualification as a Hero.

After taking a bath, I put on my robe and left the bathhouse. The moment I stepped out, the female servants who were on stand-by around the bathhouse came up to me. They bowed their heads and said, "Hero… we'll serve you…"

I was stunned by their words. Even though I'm a human trash, I don't think I would ever stoop so low to get my way with women using my authority. So, I answered, "It's fine, just go back to sleep."

"Pardon? Is it perhaps because we are not attractive enough?"

After one of the maids said that, all of them began to weep simultaneously. Well, I think it was only natural for them to cry like that. After all, they are probably thinking what kind of punishment the King will hand to them because they couldn't satisfy the Hero.

I felt a bit sorry for that, so I said.

"Actually… I like men." (P/n well, that explains his denseness)

"Then… then… we will send male servants…!"

"Do you want me to hit you?"

"I apologize, Hero! We will leave!"

I sighed as all the female servants left. In the first place, the reason I abused my authority as a Hero to the King was not because of money, women, or alcohol, but for other reasons.

After returning to the luxurious room prepared just for me, I equipped . This armor, obtained from the SSS-class Luck Protagonist's world, was made of materialized light. Hence, it constantly emits light like a luminous light, which gives it a very sacred feeling.

Then, instead of the black , the one I hung on my waist was the ether blade. The reason was because the 'Lost Morning Star' has an 'evil' attribute and contains a curse, which could cause discomfort to the people near it. While the ether blade was bright, which matched the feeling of 'Light' from the armor.

Once I wore the boots, I was fully armed. When I came out from the room, Aracelli was already waiting for me, wearing a black high-quality robe that the kingdom had prepared for her.

"Professor, did you enjoy the bath?"

"Yeah, It was refreshing."

"I want to take a bath too…"

"Isn't there another bathroom prepared for you? The one used by the princess."

"But I want to take a bath with you…"

"…"

I facepalmed at Aracelli's answer. This little girl had become bolder and bolder with every trip. She's actually about the same age as me, but because of the side-effect of traversing dimensions without the correct spell, her appearance looked so young. Thanks to that, I could hold myself from jumping on her.

"If you are ready, let's go see the King."

"Yes…"

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It's been only a week since I arrived at Ascanta. It was not long by any stretch of meaning. But I'm sure from the King's point of view, it must have been quite a frustrating time. After all, the Hero, whom they summoned to eradicate the Demon Kings, was only lazing around in his castle and indulging himself in extravagance without going out to do his job.

"Hero. May I ask when will you start your adventure?" As expected, that was the King's first words as soon as we arrived in the throne room.

"Since I already have a plan in mind, maybe later."

"But while waiting, can't you defeat the Demon King's servants and purify the land contaminated by their magic?"

What the King said makes sense. It's the natural progression in this kind of story. At first, the Hero who doesn't know anything had to go on an adventure to look for a suitable party member as well as hunting a low-level mob such as: slime, goblin, wolf, orc, etc. to level up. Although those creatures were also the servants of the Demon Kings, their power was so weak to the point that they only became the fuel for the growth of the Hero.

After hunting them, a slightly more powerful servants of Demon Kings will appear one by one. They were the likes of: ogres, trolls, wyverns, and werewolves.

The point was, the Demon Kings will somehow keep sending their subordinates according to the strength of the Hero rather than killing him outright, until eventually, the Hero becomes strong enough to even kill a dragon by himself.

But for me, that kind of progression was impossible. Even though I was given the role of the 'Hero' in this world by the system and at the same time was hailed as a saviour by the people of this world, it was nothing but a useless title. In fact, I didn't even have the blessing of a Hero at all. Catching such miscellaneous mobs wouldn't even raise my level. Therefore, there's no point for me to go on an adventure.

In other words, I don't have to take the 'Level-up Arc' for nothing. I just have to wait and make a thorough and perfect plan to hunt the Demon Kings. When it was finished and I got something like 'Ah! I guess I can beat him!' Then I'll go on an adventure.

"Your Majesty, are the preparations ready yet?"

"That preparations that you, just wha-"

"Did you do what I said?"

"Sigh… The kingdom, of course, is attracting wizards from the empire. But can I ask you why you wanted them?"

"The Demon King I wanted to hunt is 'Kim Diablo'. He is the worst Demon King who can't be killed easily. Therefore, adequate preparation is essential."

"I understand that well enough. But Kim Diablo has built the strongest Demon King's Castle ever. Even when numerous expert-level knights and famous adventurers entered there simultaneously, they did not come back alive. What are you going to do with only wizards?"

I nodded at the King's words. Indeed, Kim Diablo was a very out-of-the-norm Demon King. Instead of nurturing his own power, he reconstructed his Demon King Castle into something akin to a 'dungeon' and made it into the most difficult dungeon ever. Once people entered his castle, their chance of walking out with their lives was practically null.

"Professor. What are you going to do?" Since it was Aracelli who received the briefing about the Demon King from the King, it seemed that she also worried a lot about what I was going to do.

The bottomless cliff of hell which would make you fall endlessly once you stumble!

A dragon guard who sleeps in the lava!

Cerberus, the three-headed gatekeeper of hell!

The gateway to the thorny hell where you cannot relax even for a moment!

The moment you choose the wrong path, you can't get out of the infinite maze forever!

Each stage in the Demon King's Castle was extremely difficult that fit the word 'hardest' very well. And it seems that Aracelli, who remembered it all inside her head, was actively researching about the most appropriate way to deal with it all.

To be honest, I didn't even read the briefings. After all, I had no intention of entering the Demon King's Castle in the first place.

"Araceli. Let's say you are tasked to exorcise a ghost from a haunted house. What will you do?"

Aracelli fell silent and pondered for a few seconds before opening her mouth. "If I think about it in an ordinary way rather than with magic, I will first prepare an exorcist who can talk to the ghost and five holy knights to escort him. And then I'll order the exorcist to resolve the grudge of the ghost. However, at the same time I will prepare a special salt in case the ghost becomes angry. Also, I will prepare a branch that has been struck by lightning."

"Your method is wrong." I smirked.

"Yes?"

"Why can't you just fire a cannon at the haunted house and set it on fire?"

"Oh…" Aracelli let out a surprised gasp with her eyes opened wide.

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In the first place, the ghost was clinging into the house. So why do you have to work so hard to get rid of the ghost? All you have to do is burn the house down. In other words, I had no intention of confronting the Demon King directly. I will prepare a very powerful shot which can destroy the Demon King's Castle in one hit.

Although Aracelli's mana circle was barely in the second circle, there were expert-class knights (estimated level 150-200) and grand-class wizards (estimated level 200) in this world. So it was possible to do that. In the first place, back in Vivienda Empire, magic which was labelled as a 'strategic weapon' was casted by several wizards at once rather than being casted by a single wizard.

For example,

"Professor, are you perhaps talking about a super strong magic like 'Meteor Storm'?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

I had no intention of jumping into a fight either if I could help it. Who cares about the title of a Hero? A Hero doesn't always have to be honourable or dignified. Whether he struggled in the process or not, if in the end, he still killed the Demon King, he would still be hailed as a Hero.

For that reason…

"I have received a call from the Magic Tower. They are ready to meet the Hero now."

"Is that so? That's good."

Meteor Storm is a spell that literally summons and drops a meteorite from the sky. Those who did not know much about magic would say that Meteor Storm was an earth or fire type magic, but they were wrong.

That meteorite was summoned through a space-time magic and then was dropped and accelerated with gravity magic. It could be said that this particular spell was the ultimate spell for mages who specialise in spatial magic. Therefore, the prerequisite of activating it was also very strict.

Naturally, the spell requires a caster of at least 9 circles to cast it. On top of it, an astronomical amount of materials were needed. Therefore, It wouldn't be a stretch to say that it would never have been possible to use it in normal circumstances.

However, isn't there a magician who had once reached the top of the magical world next to me as well as a wallet overflowing with infinite money supporting me?

"If I want to use magic in the same tier as Meteor Storm, a super-giant magic circle is needed, right?"

"Yes, Professor. If you want to focus the magic on one point, at least six magic circles need to be built with the target point in the centre.."

The Meteor Storm spell was by no means a simple magic. Even more so when I couldn't rely on Aracelli. Therefore, I'll have to go around the world and look for a medium which is strong enough to replace the mana of a 9 Circle magician.

And, that will be the goal of the adventure of Hero Yoo seodam.

There's no need for anything like killing goblins, rescuing kidnapped villagers, or helping a damsel in distress and then falling in love after my adventure. After all, once the Demon King was killed, everything was going to be over. Why should I do such a useless thing?

"Then, shall we leave right away?"

A month has passed since Kim Diablo heard the rumour that a Hero had been summoned.

"…What are the goblin units doing now?" He said anxiously while biting on his nails.

-They are still waiting at the expected destination of Hero Yoo Seodam.

When the Hero begins his journey, it was an implicit rule that the Demon King had to send out his servants to hunt the hero. It was because, in the long history of Demon Kings, there's quite a lot of Demon Kings who gained the greatest power ever after successfully killing a Hero who had become strong enough.

Kim Diablo's thoughts were the same. He wanted to properly raise the Hero of this generation, Yoo Seodam, and lure him to his Demon King's Castle so he could kill him. If that happens, he would undoubtedly become the strongest Demon King that no one in the world dares to defy!

However…

"What the hell is that crazy Hero doing?!" Kim Diablo's scream echoed through his throne room. The Hero Yoo Seodam, even after 1 month being in this world, didn't even hunt a single wolf—one of the weakest mobs.

Rather than adventuring, it was more apt to say that the Hero was on vacation. Green fields, refreshing mountains, and the songs of chirping wild birds as snacks. Drinking a glass of medicinal wine, meeting some villagers and playing Go with them. Cheating people by selling arrowroot juice as wild ginseng juice, building a sand castle on the beach…. He's really just playing around.

It was ridiculous to the point that Kim Diablo doubted whether Yoo Seodam was truly the Hero or not.

"What the hell is this crazy Hero thinking…?" Kim Diablo bit his lips tightly. However, even when he was so frustrated because of Hero Yoo Seodam, he still had no intention of going out of the Demon King's Castle and went to him by himself.

That's right… He might be a tactician like me. What if all of that was part of his plan? A plan to lure the Demon King out of his Demon King's Castle because of frustration?'

With that thought in mind, Kim Diablo firmly pressed his ass to the Demon King's throne and sternly clenched his jaw.

No matter what kind of plan the Hero thinks of,

"…it will never work on me." Kim Diablo smiled confidently. That was the well-founded confidence of the 'protagonist' who had defeated the forces of many adventurers and rival Demon Kings.

Bz bz bz bz bz

It was only a month after I arrived in this world that I left for what people called 'adventure'. However, different from what people thought, my adventure was not dangerous at all. Instead, it was rather relaxing, just like a vacation. It was good to give yourself a break to take care of your mental health. Besides, just because I'm taking a break now doesn't mean that the plan for hunting the protagonist stopped, right?

"Hero. The first 'tower' you mentioned is ready."

"Is that so? Great!"

To cast the 9 circle great magic 'Meteor Storm', quite a lot of preparations were required. The most important one of all was the medium for summoning meteors. Since there would be no 9th circle wizard who can cast it directly, 6 special towers designed by Aracelli would be the substitute. However, it couldn't just be placed anywhere random as it had to be precisely placed so that they were located in a circle with the Demon King's Castle at its center.

Each 'tower' had to be built exactly 500 km apart from each other. There was no room for any errors. If there's an error, the meteor might not get summoned, or even if it was summoned, the meteor wouldn't fall precisely at the intended location—the centre of 6 towers.

"This is more cumbersome than I thought."

"Well, it was because you wanted to use a 9 circle magic without a 9th circle wizard, Professor."

"Sigh… Anyway, even though we've done all this, it's still not perfect. There is still one annoying flaw."

In my words, the wizards put on a gloomy expression. But it was true that the towers alone were great enough. They were all well aware because it was close to impossible for 7th circle wizards to reproduce the original magic of 9th circle.

Once again, I was reminded about how great the magic of a 9th circle magician was. If the rank of my Library of White Witch rises, will I be able to take a closer look into this level of magic, I wonder? After all, White Witch was actually a magician that's at least two levels higher than Aracelli.

'Hmmm…'

Thinking like that, I was reminded of Aracelli's potential once again, too. When she reached the 9th circle, she was still quite young. What if she trains her 'double circle' to the extreme and regains her original circle? Maybe she can be stronger than the White Witch?

'That's unlikely to happen now.' Her nine mana circles had already hardened, and there was hardly any way to get them back.

"Look how beautiful the tower looks!" An old man named Marvin, who was also a court wizard of the Kleiben Empire as well as a 7th circle wizard, exclaimed, waking me out from my thoughts. His eyes were locked into the blue column towering into the sky in the middle of the ridge.

Each of those 'towers' had an astronomical monetary value, but none of the wizards cared about it. After all, it was all something with great magical value which was worth more than a mere money for them.

Speaking of which, 'grand' level wizards in this world were equivalent to 7 circle wizards in many worlds. Normally, when they reach that level, they would be given the title of 'Great Sage' or 'Arch Mage', which was similar to the Vivienda Empire. In other words, the best wizard in Ascanta World was only at the level of 7th circle, so it was only natural that they were mesmerized by a sudden appearance of someone who knew 9th circle magic.

"Hero, can't we just build the second tower right away?" The court mage, Marvin, turned to look at Aracelli with eyes full of excitement.

I smiled at him and nodded my head. As expected, the wizards were really friendly.

"Sure."

"Then let's go now!" From what I heard, no other Hero had ever received such support and assistance from the magic tower. As soon as I thought of that, I felt quite proud of myself.

"From now on, please go to the points I marked on the map and work hard to build the tower. I can't go to the construction site to avoid the Demon King's eyes."

"Of course!"

"Then, please excuse me." Using the Demon King as an excuse, I was able to hand over the hard labor to the wizards and the soldiers of the kingdom.

"Where are we going now, Professor?"

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"We need to look for more materials. Not all the materials needed to build the tower are ready."

Among the magic materials used in the tower, there were rare items such as 'flea liver', 'cuckoo's conscience', 'grapes left behind by foxes'. There were also some things which could only be obtained by killing giant monsters such as 'griffin's only golden feather' and 'hibernating arctic twin dragon's scale'. and 'giant mountain bear's gallbladder'.

Of course, gathering those things wasn't my only purpose.

I glanced at Aracelli's outfit. Unlike me, who was armed with dazzling items and a state-of-the-art ether dispenser, she only had an old wooden staff and a shabby robe. She said it couldn't be helped since she had to lose all her equipment while jumping between dimensions. No matter how good the equipment she would get in one world, when she moves to the next world, she will lose everything.

However, only one thing was different: A bullet necklace hanging on her neck. When I asked why it was not lost in the aftermath of dimensional travel, Aracelli said that before she began her journey, she managed to obtain a small amount of a rare material and applied it to her bullet, and made the bullet a part of 'herself'. In other words, with that material, it was possible to deceive the world itself while moving through dimensions…

That material was none other than 'dragon scales'.

What if we could get our hand on more of them here?

Aracelli would be able to travel between dimensions without any worry of losing her gear. I don't know if there were dragons in this world or not. But Aracelli told me that, according to legend, dragons should exist in every world.

'If I find a dragon…'

For that reason, I was thinking of searching for the existence called dragon while at the same time looking for materials for the 'tower'.

Wouldn't this be the most efficient 'Hero's Adventure' ever written?

After hunting the protagonist last time, Yoo Seodam acquired a skill called [How to Emotionally Understand Machines (A)]. The skill would make him able to manipulate the machine a little more precisely and at the same time make him understand the structure of the machine more easily. Also, it would make him 'emotionally understand' the machine more.

In other words,

'It's hard. If I consume more energy than that, my body will burn.'

'Hey! Come on! Use me! I want to explode! Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! Hurry up and blow me up!'

'I'm sleepy… Can't you just turn the power off…?'

The hum of the machine, the crackling sound of sparks, etc. would sound like 'words' to Yoo Seodam. That doesn't mean the machine actually had feelings or anything like that. It was just that Yoo Seodam was able to see the state of the machine a little more clearly.

Was it a useful skill?

Of course, it is. Let's say, for example, he got a bomb that mumbles, 'Let's just get some sleep…' and a bomb that shouts, 'Detonate me right now!'. In the case of the sleepy bomb, strangely, a malfunction would occur; or the destructive power would be weaker than expected. However, the latter bomb would explode without any problem when detonated, and its firepower was even stronger than average.

For Yoo Seodam, who often handled machinery and was equipped with ether blade and winchester, it was a fantastic skill.

Pop, puff, puff!!

When a gas bomb enchanted with diffusion magic detonated, the nine-headed wolf monster slumped into the ground in agony. Without wasting time, Yoo Seodam buried his ether blade into the gaping wounds caused by the explosion on the nine-headed wolf. Once he pressed the 'rupture' button on the handle, the energy exploded and the wolf died instantly.

The monster he just killed, the nine-headed wolf, was one of those boss-class monsters which could only be defeated when at least five master-class knights gathered. The reason why Yoo Seodam dared to catch the nine-headed wolf was…

"If you make a shopping bag out of their leather, it will be no joke."

"Did you mean 'handbag' rather than 'shopping bag', Professor?"

"Aren't they both the same?"

"They are different!!"

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It was just to make one shopping bag.

"Professor, you seem to have been slightly injured from the explosion… I will treat you."

"Okay."

Aracelli's leaned closer to Yoo Seodam. The wound he suffered was nothing but a slight burn, but it would still take some time for it to be healed naturally. However, with Aracelli's magic, it was healed instantly. It was just a simple light-element magic, but her magic, which had once reached the level of the 9th circle, seemed to be no different from the divine power of the priests.

'Demon King… The movement of the Hero is odd.' A shadow said telepathically while secretly watching the hero from the distance. The creature was black from horns to toe. On top of it, he was assimilated into the shadows, making him unseen to normal eyes.

– What do you mean? Didn't you say that he's finally working on something now?

'That's not it.'

-Then? What is the Hero doing now?

'He… He hunted a nine-headed wolf.'

-Wh-what?! How can a Hero who has only been summoned for a month hunt a nine-headed wolf! Unbelievable!

'But it is true. The Hero has an excellent cleric girl as his companion, and he also uses a very unique swordsmanship.'

-Damn… it looks like the humans had summoned a formidable guy. So, why did he hunt the nine-headed wolf? A cleanup? Monster conquest? Or Magic suppression?

'No, that's not it…' The minion contemplated whether or not to tell the Demon King the truth for a moment. However, in the end he decided to report it as it is. 'It's to make a shopping bag.'

Kim Diablo was silent for a moment. Then, moments later, he shouted.

-What did you say, you bastard? Are you fucking kidding me?!

'No, my liege! It's the truth! I will never tell a lie to you, my liege!'

At the minion's words, Kim Diablo furrowed his brows.

-What the hell is this bastard of a Hero doing?

He was confused and irritated by the Hero's behaviour. He simply couldn't know what was happening inside his head. Only when he could infer, grasp, and calculate his movements will he be able to push him into a trap with a perfect scheme when he arrives at the Demon King's Castle.

However, it was simply impossible to predict the Hero of this generation. Right after he was summoned, he didn't do anything and was just lying around in the royal castle for a week. Then, when he finally decided to set off on an adventure, it was not a bloody and full of difficulty but a relaxing one!

– Th-th-then this time, he hunted the nine-headed wolf, the ruler of the Antauri Mountains, just to make a shopping bag? Is he sane?

On top of it, the appearance of Hero Yoo Seodam, whom Kim Diablo could see through the vision he shared with his minion was closer to that of a barbarian rather than a Hero. He was doing something a Hero wouldn't do: tearing the skin of the wolf while giggling.

Then, suddenly, a good idea came to Kim Diablo. If the Hero was already strong enough to hunt a nine-headed wolf, it means that the Hero of this generation was already complete. If so, wouldn't that mean that there would be no big problem if he hunted him right now?

-If the other Demon Kings knew about this, they would rush towards him…

However, going out on his own was suicidal. But, isn't there a very good way to attract him to his castle?

-That girl is his priest companion?

'Yes that's right.'

Kim Diablo stared at Aracelli. The potential of a priest was limitless. When they become strong enough, they would become more powerful as well as raise the party's power from two to ten times. But they had a glaring weakness: they were vulnerable when alone. In other words, it would be simple to abduct them.

Although the priest girl was useless to him, the Demon King, isn't it a long-standing tradition for Demon Kings to abduct beautiful women and brag about it?

That girl was more beautiful than any other beauty he had ever seen, and even when he looked at her through someone's eyes like this, her beauty still took his breath away.

-From now on, try to kidnap that girl and bring her to the castle.

It was a pretty risky plan, but there was no risk to Kim Diablo. It would be a pity if it fails, but it's good if the Hero comes to his castle out of anger.

Back when Aracelli was still in the Vivienda Empire, the reason she could get her hands on a 'dragon scale' was much more trivial than I thought, so it wasn't helpful for our current situation.

'There are rumours that my ancestor, Archmage Rinekal, interacted with dragons. Some history books say that she learned magic directly from dragons, but I'm not sure about the authenticity of those claims… Anyway, there was this one dragon scale which was passed down from generation to generation.'

Absolute perfection.

That was the property of a dragon scale. It was harder and tougher than the skin of any living creature, and it was a magical object which could conduct mana better than any existing material. Since one scale contained such an extraordinary effect, I dare not imagine just how great the dragons were.

'Come to think of it, I think there was a world related to dragons…'

The system had said that just as the human race was the same in all the worlds, dragons were also the same race in all worlds. It means that the dragons of Vivienda wouldn't be much different from the dragons of Ascanta if they did exist.

"So, Mr. Adventurer, are you looking for a dragon?"

In the northwest of the Ascanta continent, there was a strange forest called 'Silent Forest'.

In this place, no living creatures made any noise. The chirping of the birds, the roars of the animals, and even the whistling of the insects couldn't be heard. Even though this place was not devoid of the living, not even a sound of their presence was heard. After wandering for a week inside the forest where the sound itself was the enemy, Araceli and I were finally able to meet a hermit fairy wizard hiding in a valley deep within the forest.

The fairy wizard with gray-white hair with pointed ears was rumoured to have been alive for at least three hundred years. He clicked his tongue when he saw us.

"Again, adventurers chasing behind vain dreams. A dragon is not something you can meet just because you want to meet one."

"What does that mean?"

"Human history books are full of strange nonsense." He scoffed.

From what I know, dragons live by building fortunes. They dominate all the monsters in the mountain range, like treasure, collect all kinds of rare things, threaten dwarves, and sometimes go out into the world just to play.

However,

"It is all a lie. Dragons are not like that."

All these ideas were shattered. I know that all worlds must follow clichés. If so, dragons should also follow the cliché, therefore, their characteristic should be one amongst the things listed above.

'What did you say?'

'Yeah, but that's because I'm a protagonist hunter, isn't it?'

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'Hmmm…'

The more I heard about them, the less my understanding was about the existence of dragons. Beside that, a question bloomed on the back of my mind.

'Why was the dragon scale preserved even through dimensional shifts?'

No other material could be carried through Aracelli's incomplete dimensional travel. Only one was possible: dragon scale.

'Just what is the real identity of the dragons, I wonder…'

Anyway, in the end, I concluded that it was impossible to find a dragon in Ascanta. It was because I couldn't even find a clue about dragons even though I had traveled for about three months while the 'tower' was being built. Well, it wasn't necessarily a wasted trip since I gained a lot of rare materials. But still, I couldn't help but feel regretful.

"First of all, thank you very much."

"Yes, young man. The dragon is no longer in this world, so give up looking for them, and enjoy your life."

"…?"

With the hermit wizard's meaningful words, we set out on our way out of the forest.

After travelling all around the continent, Aracelli somehow became famous amongst the mass as a 'Cleric'. Even if wizards had no divine power whatsoever, they could still heal some simple bruises or detox some poison with mana alone. But high-ranking wizards could go beyond that level and even perform a surgery if they had a lot of medical knowledge. Unlike healing through divine power, which purely regenerates and repairs wounds, the treatment done by magic was very systemical, similar to modern medicine.

As a battle-hardened Archmage, Aracelli naturally had a lot of medical knowledge on top of magical knowledge. Therefore, whenever she met wounded adventurers or sick villagers while venturing through Ascanta to build the tower, she generously healed them. However, it was not purely because she had a generous heart, it was because the mana circle would grow faster as she consumed mana to heal people.

Thanks to that, her double circle finally reached the 2nd stage. And due to Yoo Seodam's nature that ventured into all kinds of remote areas, Aracelli was able to meet a lot of people and patients… As a result, Aracelli's title escalated from 'Cleric' into 'Saintess' instantly.

If you ask if it's a good thing, Yoo Seodam would answer 'no'. It was because the place they were currently at was the Holy Palace of Elia Church.

Elia church was second only to the two empires which had the most power in Ascanta. It was not an exaggeration to say that 50% of the people in this world were members of Elia Church. So, it was not far-fetched to say that they had the most influence in Ascanta. And in their rank, they had the real 'Saintess'.

This Saintess, who rarely reveals her face to the outside world because she rarely engages in outside activities, was the one who was truly recognized by God and had abundant divine power.

"…are you, 'Saintess Araceli,' who is adventuring with the Hero Yoo Seodam?" The Saintess, Lenica said as soon as Yoo Seodam took Aracelli to the dining room after receiving the invitation from the Pope.

Neither the expensive red wine nor the mountain banquets could change the mood of the 'Real Saintess' Lenica. She was upset beyond words, and she found the fake Saintess sitting opposite her was so detestable.

"Yum."

However, Aracelli didn't even pay any attention to her and only sliced the steak that was laid in front of her and put it in her mouth. Naturally, as the successor of the great Rinekal family, she used elegant dining etiquette which did not go well with her ugly clothes. It probably didn't have any meaning other than a habit that was ingrained to her body.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"Yes? No. The food is delicious."

"Sigh… Are you not ashamed at all lying to people by impersonating a Saintess?"

Saintess Lenica glared at Aracelli with her venomous gaze. Until now, she had never met or heard someone who dared to use the title 'Saintess'. Did she know how hard it is to get the title of Saintess? Did she know that she had to prove her worth amongst all the purest women recognized by God to get the title of Saintess?

How dare such a beggar, whom she had never heard of until recently, impersonate her title?

But Aracelli really had no idea.

"What am I supposed to do when people call me that?" She replied calmly.

"What?"

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Lenica tried to refute that brazen remark, but Araceli spoke in a passing tone. "People call me that way because I took care of the injured, healed the sick, and listened to their concerns. I didn't know you had to have a license to do it, so I apologize. But I swear I never once called myself a Saintess."

"…" Lenica bit her mouth, and didn't say anything. She was aware that she told the truth. Aracelli had never once titled herself as a Saintess. It was just a title which the mass gave her derived from the fact that she had done so many kind acts. But Lenica hated her so much, enough to the point she would rather die than to acknowledge it.

Lenica thought that it was too dirty and messy outside the church, and full of dangerous things. She really hated to venture into a place where monsters, robbers, murderers and demons existed and she did not like to touch dirty patients. The reason she got the title of a Saintess was because she just wanted to live the most comfortable and luxurious life.

Looking at the battle between the two women, Seodam let out a sigh. In fact, rather than a fight, Lenica was the one who was one-sidedly angry, while Aracelli was just chewing the steak without any care. Nevertheless, it was still burdensome to watch.

"Hero… It's already late, I think it will be best for us to rest."

Yoo Seodam, who was grateful to his words, bows deeply towards him before leaving the dining hall with Aracelli. Well, not leave, more like fleeing.

At the same night. A black mist crept into a very small gap in the Holy Barrier that surrounded the Holy Church. Eventually, the fog split into two figures. One figure had a horn on its right forehead, and one had a horn on its left forehead. Although the two were two different entities, they were one at the same time.

"Right… There is a problem."

"What is it, Left?"

"Didn't the Demon King tell us to kidnap the Hero's companion?"

"That's right. And the Hero's companion is just that one Saintess." The one with a horn in its forehead spoke. "And right now, the Hero is training at the training ground. This is a great opportunity, Left."

"That's not the problem, Right." The one called Left stood on the highest point of the church steeple and looked down at the ground. The barriers and walls of the church were not a problem at all for him because he had the vision of the 'great demon' who could see through any obstacles unobstructed.

"There are two saintesses."

"What!?!?" Right shouted as his face clearly showed confusion. "There are two saintesses? I have never heard of such a thing!"

The two demons were quite powerful great demons, so they did not appear in the front often and only worked under the shadow, executing Demon King Kim Diablo's order. However, a few days prior, they received a summon from the Demon King and were ordered to abduct the 'Hero's companion, the Saintess'. Common sense dictated that there could only be one Saintess in one generation, so they recklessly entered the church, and the rest was history.

"What should we do? Left."

"What do you mean what should we do?"

There was only one way, anyway.

"Kidnap both the saintesses and return."

At dawn, Aracelli, who was sleeping alone in a luxurious room called 'The White Rose Room' opened her eyes and waved her hand in the air aggressively.

Tuk!

"…!!!!"

The clouds that covered the sky slowly drifted away, letting the moonlight shower the night. The great demon 'Left' felt his breath suffocate for a moment.

'Ju-just when?!'

Still lying in the bed, Saintess Aracelli had her blue eyes wide open. As if she hadn't slept at all, her bright eyes seemed to have known their approach in advance.

"It's been awhile since I met a demon." As her mouth parted open, white cuts began to appear on the wall of the White Rose Room. Seconds later, a huge golden cog appeared and began to turn. The small light pillar protruding from there kept trying to take away Left's power.

'Hey, this is…!' Left couldn't resist. At that moment he realized that the Saintess in front of her was the real one. However, the moment he thought of that, he felt a chill of death creeping closer towards his soul. In an instant, all of his magic power was gone, and Aracelli smiled at him.

"From this moment, if you open your mouth without my permission, you die." Saying so, Aracelli got up from her bed, folded the blanket, and pushed both her hands towards Left.

"Then shall we continue? Kidnap me."

Left couldn't quite comprehend the situation, but since he didn't want to die, he had no choice but to follow her orders.

Hero Yoo Seodam (5)

When Lenica opened her eyes again, she was lying in a completely unknown place to her. It was eerie, dark and cold, but at the same time, it felt dignified, luxurious, grand, while still being a terrifying place.

'Huh?" Lenica, who opened her eyes, could not immediately understand the situation she was in right now. She opted to think about what happened last night first. The meeting with Hero Yoo Seodam was the part that Lenica had been looking forward to for a long time. It was because she'd heard the story of Heroes who saves the world by slaughtering evil while wearing splendid silver armor, traveling through all kinds of difficult and remote areas. It had been Lenica's dream since childhood to accompany such a Hero.

The story of a princess or a saintess accompanying a Hero had been heard and known throughout countless generations. Perhaps, the woman who followed the Hero of the time was the woman who lived the happiest life in that era. It can be said that Lenica had become one step closer towards becoming 'the happiest woman in this era' by obtaining the qualifications as a saintess.

By any chance, if she and Hero Yoo Seodam could be together, a romance, which would be told even to the next generations, could unfold!

However…

Aracelli was the problem. She was a thick-faced woman who pretended to be a saintess. Not only that, with her pretentious face, she seemed to have done a good deed, and she was monopolizing all the attention, love, and attention of the people on the street by just giving them a treatment.

'I treat nobles who are more valuable than beggars, but why is it all for that woman…!'

It was already annoying enough that she was clinging onto the Hero, Yoo Seodam, but she even took the title of saintess away from her!

So then last night, Lenica returned to her room and opened the bottle of whiskey she had been saving.

Then…

She ran into a certain man wearing a full dark garment… and then…

"Where is this place?" Her head felt like it was going to break. Getting hit by something? Because of a hangover? She did not know. To overcome the headache, Lenica tried to touch her head with her hand.

Rattle-!!

However, her arms couldn't move.

Rattle-!! Rattle-!!

"What!?!?"

So did her opposite arm. Looking up, she saw black, thin chains wrapped around both of her arms above her head.

"Ah, ah?!"

Rattle-!!

She tried to pull her arm with all her might, but only felt stinging pain. The chains stood strong, chaining her hands to the wall.

"Wh-what… where is this place…?"

"Shhhh… Be quiet!!" A voice comes from the other side of her. When she looked there, there was a girl, who, like herself, was standing with her hands bound over her head. It was Aracelli.

However, unlike herself, who was dressed in her pajamas, Aracelli was wearing a white, elegant dress. It was so absurd to the extent that anyone who saw her would never consider her as someone who just got kidnapped.

"You, why are you…. Just what is happening right now?"

"Don't you know? We were kidnapped by a Demon King. The one who kidnapped us was none other than one of the strongest Demon King 'Kim Diablo'."

"Ah…Ah…." Lenica starts to let out mumbled randomly. She was aware that it had been a common development since ancient times that princesses or saintessess would be kidnapped by Demon Kings. But that action will lead the Hero to destroy the Demon King because his precious companion was kidnapped.

However… The story of the Hero rescuing a kidnapped princess, marrying her, and living happily ever after was just a story in a fairy tale.

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While in reality, what happened?

"It can't be… It can't be…"

By the time the Hero rescued them, it was already too late. Tortured by the demon king, they had lost even the minimum dignity to live as human beings. And even if they could come to their senses, in many cases, they would commit suicide eventually. It was very easy to predict what the Demon Kings would do to the girls they kidnapped. This made Lenica even more desperate to escape.

Lenica bit her lips tightly and lowered her head, sobbing silently. She knew that no matter how great of a Hero Yoo Seodam is, it would take at least a few years for him to break through this impregnable Demon Castle.

No, even if several years pass, would it be possible for him to break through this place? The very same Kim Diablo's Demon Castle that the Empire and the Holy Church evaluated that they would never be able to break through even if they all worked together!

In any case, if Hero Yoo Seodam miraculously had the power to save her… By that time, it would have been too late.

'I, my life, like this…' A sense of despair engulfed Lenica. How did it happen? She couldn't quite understand.

Tak-!! Tak-!!Tak-!!

At the sound footsteps which came closer and closer, Lenica slowly turned her head. She was restrained to a wall adorned with beautiful decorations facing Aracelli, and someone was walking on the red carpet between them.

Black hair and bright red eyes. It was the Demon King, Kim Diablo.

With a smile that caught his mouth, he slowly approached the two saints.

"Well, seeing both of you put together, both of you truly look like fine pieces of art. It was a good thing I invested the 'Infiltration' stat in Left and Right." He stroked his chin and looked at Lenica, and then Aracelli. The Hero Yoo Seodam's comrade was definitely Araceli, but Lenica was by no means a bad loot.

'By the way, why is she wearing a dress?' He had heard from Left and Right that they had infiltrated at dawn. It was proven by the fact that Lenica was still in her pajamas and didn't have any make-up on. But Aracelli had her makeup done thoroughly to the point even her lips were dyed blood red, and she wore a dress with a slight exposure to it, giving off an alluring atmosphere. As if intentionally exuding an atmosphere of 'the abducted saintess who was sad and pitiful, but she was beautiful nonetheless'.

Unbeknown to him, his assumption was to some extent correct. It was because Yoo Seodam had shown Aracelli the 'abducted princess rule book' and taught her that it was an implicit rule for people who were kidnapped by the Demon King to dress up beautifully.

"Oh, are you interested in my clothes? Pretty, right? I did my best to look good for Professor. I don't normally enjoy dressing up. But it's human nature to want to dress up beautifully in a special situation like this."

"That sound like you knew you were going to be kidnapped?" Kim Diablo said as his face hardened. He was aware that the Hero Yoo Seodam was by no means an ordinary enemy. He possessed swordsmanship above the level of a master, and his strategy was above the level of normal people. So it's impossible for him to not know that his companion would be kidnapped. Or… Did he know in advance that his companion would be kidnapped?

Something feels fishy.

However…

"No matter what Hero Yoo Seodam is planning, it's useless. From the moment you enter the Demon Castle, there would be no way for you to escape."

His words were not mere arrogance but well-founded confidence. And it was a word that drove Lenica even further into despair.

"Aracelli, just give up… As long as we're here, it's almost impossible to get out of here forever…"

"Oh, yes. The saintess over there seems to be able to grasp the reality. Don't worry. Because I'm kind and gentle to women. If you just cooperate, nothing bad will ever happen to you."

[The protagonist, Kim Diablo, activates the skill 'Stockholm Syndrome Charm (A)'.]

[Even though they were kidnapped and found themselves in crisis, the supporting actors sympathize with the friendly and warm appearance of the protagonist who treats them kindly!] (P/n the fk?)

Lenica's eyes widened slightly. She suddenly developed a certain gratitude and attachment to the appearance of the Demon King who treated her kindly even though she had kidnapped her.

[Aracelli uses the skill 'Eyes of The Great Sage (SSS)' to resist.]

Well, it didn't work for Aracelli.

"Then, what do you think, saintess?" Kim Diablo asked Aracelli. He knew that she didn't have to care about Lenica anymore.

"Hmm…" Aracelli frowned and pondered for a moment, then she suddenly ripped the chains which bound one of her arms.

"What?!" Kim Diablo hastily retreated. However, Aracelli didn't have any intention to attack him. She just ripped the chains because she wanted to scratch the itch on her cheek.

Once she put the chain back on with magic, she smiled and opened her mouth. "Can you repeat the question?"

"…about this situation, what do you think?"

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"Oh, right. Are you curious about my Professor's strategy to break through this castle?"

Kim Diablo's eyes darkened. Because of the sudden act of Aracelli, he had summoned his subordinates through magic. And they slowly flocked to the surroundings.

Something was clearly fishy. That woman, how could she break that chain so easily?

'That chain can only be broken by people with a strength equal to or above a grand-class wizard!'

After thinking for a while, Aracelli started talking. "Actually, my Professor did not have any thoughts of attacking you, o Demon King. You must have been looking forward to it, but I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"What? So, are you saying that he's going to throw you away?"

"No?" Araceli reacted sensitively to the words before suddenly looking up to the ceiling. A beautiful vermilion chandelier was swaying. But she wasn't looking at the artistic chandelier. She was looking beyond that, to a much higher place.

"There was one fatal flaw in my magic. Not even six magic towers or 20 grand-class wizards could solve it."

"What are you talking about?"

Of course, she was talking about Meteor Storm, an offensive magic that drops meteors at a designated location.

Even though they had prepared all materials needed to execute the magic, in the end, 9 circle magic couldn't be perfectly casted by 7 circle wizards, no matter how many of them gathered. However, there was still a way to cast it on a specific place. It was to cast Meteor Storm right on the target. In other words, someone needs to cast the spell inside the Demon King castle.

Actually, this part wasn't much of a problem. Because that someone just had to use magic as soon as they entered the Demon Castle. That's why Yoo seodam was preparing to depart for the Demon King's Castle to directly cast the magic from the inside. Perhaps, if it had been as originally planned, he would have come to the Demon King's Castle immediately after meeting the Pope at the Holy Church?

However, when the Demon King's servants came to her, Aracelli suddenly had such a thought.

'If there are minions with this level of kidnapping ability, are there perhaps other victims who have been kidnapped?'

She understood Yoo Seodam's beliefs well. He was someone who would always properly kill the protagonist, but he would never harm innocent people. So, Aracelli decided to check the Demon King's Castle with her own two eyes by letting herself get kidnapped.

"It is truly a great castle. If I were to try to attack it with normal means, hmm… Unless I can regain my original strength, I will be quite troubled. I even struggled to find out where the prison was."

"Have you been walking around my castle?"

"Just a bit at dawn. Well, it's thanks to the fact that you are not here. Now that I have confirmed that there are no ordinary people here, I can destroy the castle without any guilt."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Did he perhaps hear it wrong?

Destroying this castle?

"You're talking nonsense… This castle will never fall. How many stats do you think you invested in its defence?"

"I know. Internally and externally, this castle is perfect."

"That's right! Even if the legendary 8th circle wizard appeared on my door, it was impossible for them to destroy it!"

At those words, Aracelli let out a sweet laugh without realizing.

"Well then, how about the magic of the 9th circle wizard?"

Crack-!!

The chains which bound her arms were torn apart in an instant. Aracelli's body slowly rose into the sky, as a golden glow emanated from her whole body. Numerous cogs, turned behind her back, and jagged thorns protruded from her back. Aracelli's blue eyes sparkled, and moments later. Lenica was already in her arms.

Woooonngg-!!!

High in the sky, an ominous noise filled the world. Aracell slowly flew away as she spoke to the Demon King, Kim Diablo. "If you give up on this Demon Castle and run away… I wonder… Maybe you'll be able to survive?"

Flash-!!

At the end of those words, Aracelli's figure turned into light and disappeared. At the same time, Kim Diablo, who was still raising his head to look at Aracelli moments before, could see something through the window.

A catastrophe more terrifying and greater than any other catastrophe that had ever come upon mankind. A catastrophe that far surpassed earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and typhoons.

A meteor rain.

The beautiful and dazzling trajectory of light was pouring down into the Demon King Castle, which was his everything.

Chapter 215

I put Aracelli on my shoulders and asked in an absurd tone.

"Why did you do that?"

Even if she didn't do anything, the original plan would still be carried out. I would have personally gone to the Demon King's Castle and at the last moment, cast the magic using the 'High Density Magic Crystal Stone' prepared by the wizards as the medium.

However, something else happened.

[Professor! I got kidnapped!]

Aracelli disappeared from her room. The blankets were neatly folded and even the refreshments were packed. The only addition to the room was that note placed conspicuously on the bed.

Unable to contain my surprise, I rushed to the Demon King's Castle, and the things that happened next really blew my mind. Suddenly, meteors started to fall from the sky.

[You have killed a level 109 (134) protagonist.]

[109 days of lifespan has been paid.]

[Your level has been raised by 3.]

[Your level has been raised by additional 2, following your achievement of hunting a protagonist who had built a strong foundation in the world using a large amount of probability]

What followed after the meteor shower was nothing but a catastrophe. The terrain near the Demon King's Castle was devastated and overturned to the point the map of the continent had to be redrawn because of it.

Of course, Aracelli, the one who caused all this, was completely exhausted after that. She had said that in order to use the original Meteor Storm, 50% of total mana had to be used—or to be exact, 50% of her total mana in her original state, the total mana of a 9th circle magician. So, even though the gap of the magic circles was covered by various magic materials and the towers, since the mana inside Aracelli's body was not even 10% of her original mana pool, it was natural that she was completely exhausted.

"You know… Sometimes…"

"Sometimes?"

"When you see a bubble wrap, you feel the urge to pop it, right?"

"I think so?"

"I felt like that."

What the hell is that example…

"Is that so?"

Anyway, I roughly understood her reason. Then I turned my head to the other side. There, for some reason, Saintess Lenica was glancing at Aracelli with red cheeks. Then she mumbled something under her breath. It was barely audible. What the hell was that? Is it a demon summoning spell?

"Oh… thank you for today…"

Long story short, I was able to bring Lenica back to the Holy Church.

"O… Hero… You have challenged the invincible Demon King Kim Diablo, defeated him, and even saved the saintess!! Our church will always praise you for your bravery and strength!" Fireworks decorated the sky. Flowers flew around and great festives followed the Pope's word. However, I don't think I deserved it at all. After all, most of the work was done by Aracelli. However, the girl in question couldn't enjoy it at all, since she was busy because Lenica was talking to her all the time.

"Hmm, Aracelli-nim. Where are you going after this? Maybe… to my heart?"

"…"

Ah, that's not right. Lenica was the one who talked by herself all the time.

By the way, it's about time for us to leave.

Since one of the Demon Kings is dead, for the time being, humanity in this world would prevail even without the help of a Hero. Perhaps they would also be able to kill the other Demon Kings with their own power.

'Hmmm, my level has risen a lot.'

I wondered if the hunt would still be successful if Aracelli wasn't here with me. After all, the protagonist was quite formidable, proven by how high his level is, although most of it probably came from how strong his castle was.

Yoo Seodam

[Level: 195]

Stats

[Strength 191]

[Strength 193]

[Agility 189]

[Energy 1]

[Mana 321]

Talent

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[Swordsmanship S]

[Hunting D]

[Shooting S]

[Cooking D-]

[Intuition A]

[Quick-wit A]

[Insight B]

[Vitality SS]

[Focus C]

[Others…]

Skills

[Protagonist Hunter Lv. 5]

[White Swordsmanship (S)]

[Sixth Sense (B)]

[Inventory (S)]

[Dharma Heavenly Wind God Technique (SS)]

[Concentration (SS)]

[Holy Conversion (F)]

[Ara-Sunyoung Mana Circling technique (SS)]

[Library Of The White Witch(C)]

[Looking at all things with a cold gaze (B)]

[How to understand the machine emotionally (A)]

[Double Circle (SSS)]

I have almost reached level 200 now. Compared to most SS rank superhumans on Earth, I am still far behind in terms of raw power output and ability value. But if I were to fight one, I am confident that I can fight them on equal grounds with the help of my various abilities such as swordsmanship, magic, and all.

"It's time for us to leave."

"Hero. Can't you stay for a while and enjoy all the festivities? All countries around the world are celebrating the death of Demon King Kim Diablo right now."

Well, that's such an appetizing proposal. I like festivals a lot. If I can enjoy it, I want to enjoy it as much as possible. But, the time I spent in Ascanta was longer than I expected. With all the breaks I took, quite a lot of time must have passed on Earth.

"Thank you for your consideration, but I must leave immediately."

"Sniff… Aracelli-nim, I will miss you!"

The Pope showed a sad expression while Lenica shed tears at my words. It was such a common expression that comes at the moment of parting. Judging from the fact that Lenica didn't give Aracelli aggressive gazes anymore, at least at the moment of farewell, she was actually doing pretty well in my eyes.

With that thought in mind, I took Aracelli's hand. The remaining probability around me was at the level where I could exhaust all of it once I perform three or four more dimensional travel. However, the time has come for me to worry about consuming all the probability at once if I didn't want to turn into a protagonist.

"Like last time, I want to spend a little bit of time and use all the probability."

You may not be able to dimensional travel much, but a few small leaps are possible.

"That is enough. Use dimensional travel to show me a world where the protagonist is huntable."

I understand.

The client immediately posted the title in front of me.

『Hero! Raise The Princess!』

#Fantasy #BeautifulGirlTrainingSimulation

#Love #Politic #Bloodline #SuccessionBattle #Muscle

It's a raising simulation-type. It's the first time I've ever seen such a genre. Naturally, I haven't studied the genre much.

"Check the summary."

–

Summary

One day, a mysterious woman comes to Faeden, a hero who retired after defeating the Black Dragon King Caberus, with a little girl in her arms.

"Please make this child the empress."

"I will make sure to do so with my life on the line."

Now, the journey of a former-hero-turned-guardian who is raising a Princess begins!

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–

I think the plot was about a former hero raising a Princess. But looking at the summary alone, as always, I couldn't be really sure.

'Raising a Princess, huh?'

What is needed for a Princess to become an empress, I wonder?

Considering that the world was a fantasy world roughly set in the Middle Ages, to be an empress, manners and appearance should be important. Moreover, it seems that dancing, musical instruments, culture as well as having excellent knowledge in politics and strategy was also important. Not all Princesses and empresses had to be like that, of course, but it's still a good idea to remember that they all generally follow such clichés.

"It should be fun. Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

We will depart immediately.

I grabbed Aracelli's hand and closed my eyes.

[Teleporting to Friedelia Empire, the world where the level 199 protagonist 'Ivan Faeden', the main character resides.]

[10…9…8…]

[2…1…0]

[Teleport complete.]

Fwooosh-!!

A huge, shadow figure covered us as soon as we arrived. It was the soles of some giant monster.

"What is this?"

Without a moment of surprise, I quickly drew my sword and flew high to block the giant's kick. It was to protect Aracelli, whose mana barely reached 1%. It would immediately kill her if she was caught up in it.

Crack-!!

The giant's foot was instantly cut into two when it collided with my ether blade. It seems like his level was the only thing he has, and his level was far below mine.

Kuunng-!! Kuuuung-!!

After that, I jumped at his body and slashed it with the mana-infused ether blade. His body instantly split in half. However, thanks to the flowerpot's water shield, the disgusting, green drops of blood splashing from the giant's corpse didn't touch me.

When the giant's corpse fell to the floor and followed by a rumble, I later realized that there were two women beside Araceli. One was a woman in her late twenties, and the other was a young girl who appeared to be in her early teens. When I looked closer, a small message floating on their heads as they hugged each other, trembling.

[Supporting actor, Third Princess Yerina Friedelia]

[Supporting actor, the Princess' exclusive maid, Saeran]

'Hm?'

The Princess and her exclusive maid? Aren't their clothes too shabby for that title?

'By the way, supporting actor, huh?'

When moving dimension, the system had always moved me to a location with the highest probability of success to hunt the protagonist. Hence, there must be a reason why the system dropped me here.

As I slowly approached them, the Princess shook more violently while her maid quickly hugged and protected her.

How should I proceed I wonder?

However, as if mocking my worry, the Third Princess Yerina opened her mouth first.

"Valiant warrior, your action of defeating the giant leaves quite an impression on me, can you tell me who you are?"

There was a slight tremor in her voice, but it was not difficult to guess that the little girl had mustered a lot of courage even when she only said that much.

"I am nothing but a passing woodcutter. While I was living in the woods, I had learned to kill giants. As you know, the liver of a giant is the best ingredient to make alcohol." Pretending not to notice their identity, I continued. "What is a noble such as yourself doing here, if I may ask?"

Even though I already know everything, I tried to pretend that I have a good eye for people. To be honest, it was pretty fun.

"You have good eyesight. However, we cannot reveal our identity—"

"I am Yerina Friedelia, the Third Princess of the Friedelia empire."

"-Princess! Didn't I tell you that you could be in great danger if you reveal your identity recklessly to outsiders!"

"I know that, Saeran."

The Third Princess forced her trembling feet to stand up. It's quite admirable when she still did it even when there's a giant corpse in front of her.

"….I don't know if the woodcutter is aware of this, but the battle for the crown is going on in the Imperial Palace of Friedelia. Of the three Princesses, only one who is the most suitable for the Empress will survive. I am a loser who has fallen out of such a scramble….but, if I have your strength, it seems like I will be able to set foot on that battlefield once again. Woodcutter, will you please be my 'guardian'?"

"…"

Is it really going to go like this?

Perhaps the 'protagonist' also received a similar offer. He's probably acting as the guardian of the first or second Princess.

"What can I get from it?"

"Wealth and fame, all the power of the country, and all the precious treasures, even women and wine. You can have anything you want."

"What if I can't put you in the place of the empress? What will happen to me?"

Then the Third Princess bit her lip. Her fingertips trembled and then told me the truth.

"…you, as a guardian, will die along with me."

That was a more satisfying answer than I expected