Kal sat in the chair, staring blankly at the sword that Lucy had gifted him.
The sword, now cracked, had been damaged while blocking Karia’s dagger.
In this moment, what dominated Kal's mind was a sense of helplessness.
He believed he was strong enough.
He thought he could shake off any ordinary threats to the lady.
But what was he doing when the lady's life was in danger?
He couldn't even keep up with the enemy's movements.
He couldn't even see the hand wielding the dagger, let alone track its arc.
If it hadn't been for the Guardian’s brooch...
If it hadn’t been for another being protecting the lady...
If it hadn’t been for divine protection...
He would have had to witness the lady collapsing right before his eyes.
I am weak.
So very weak.
As he clenched his fist around the table, feeling the cracks spread, he heard the sound of the door opening.
Kal, rising in haste, rushed toward the priest who had stepped outside.
“Where is the lady?!”
“She is fine. She’s just asleep from fatigue and will wake up soon.”
Hearing the priest’s assertion, Kal collapsed to the floor as if crumbling.
Thank goodness.
Really, thank goodness.
Really...
“How long are you going to stay like this?”
Alsetin was the one who lifted Kal off the floor after he had sat there for a while.
Raising him like a child, Alsetin threw Kal back into the chair, and upon seeing Kal's flushed face, let out an exasperated sigh.
Then, with a frown, he sat down opposite Kal and spoke in a deadpan tone.
“I know your helplessness is overwhelming, but if Lady Alrn is healthy, isn't that enough?”
“...That’s true.”
“Helplessness can be overcome in the future. Am I wrong?”
“No. You’re right.”
Regretting what had already happened would change nothing.
What mattered was not repeating the same mistakes.
To prevent that, he would need to keep striving forward.
To become a knight worthy of the lady.
He realized how arrogant he had been during that time.
He was so happy to finally meet the master he had only dreamed of, that he had forgotten the truly important things.
There would be many things to do when he returned to the Alrn family.
After barely collecting himself, Kal took a deep breath and raised his head again.
“What about you, Alsetin? Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you asking me again when you already know?”
Alsetin, who had grumbled that Kal lacked sensitivity, let out a sigh and continued.
“Well, she was my master, but she wasn’t really my master.”
Alsetin recalled the time they faced Karia.
He hadn’t understood any of the signals from the information dealer.
He hadn’t even been able to follow the basics he had taught himself.
The way she looked at him, as if he were a bug...
That wasn’t the face of a master.
She couldn’t be a master.
A master wouldn’t make such fundamental mistakes.
The one who insisted on digging out even the smallest piece of information wouldn’t recklessly swing a weapon.
That woman from the underworld, who was so emotional that she cried on the day of their parting, couldn’t possibly make that kind of face.
“That’s all.”
After giving that response, Alsetin fell silent, and Kal didn’t ask any further questions.
A heavy silence settled over the table.
When Kal came to his senses, he saw the off-white ceiling.
It was something familiar he had seen every morning since arriving in Menesteil.
<Are you awake?>
‘Grandfather.’
<I was worried since you had been asleep for a long time.>
‘Did we escape the dungeon safely?’
<Yes.>
Hearing his grandfather's reassurance, Kal covered his eyes with the back of his hand and sighed in relief.
As his vision cleared, the image that popped into his mind was Karia’s expressionless eyes.
Those murderous eyes that activated the penalty of the Masakaki skill just by looking at him.
The subsequent attack.
If it hadn’t been for the Guardian’s brooch, if the dazed fox hadn’t been by his side, he would have had his throat slit by that dagger.
Karia's movements were so swift that neither he, Alsetin, nor Kal—nor even the Iron Wall skill—could keep up.
Was it because he was revisiting that fear? His head throbbed.
He had faced life-and-death crises multiple times, but he could never get used to the feeling of walking a tightrope between life and death.
It would probably be the same in the future.
Pressing his forehead with his fingers, Kal rose, realizing that his physical condition was oddly poor.
Maybe it was fine when he first possessed Lucy's body. But after all that training, he had come to a body that was far from fatigue.
He could wake up refreshed even after moving his body all day long.
How could he possibly feel heavy now?
It was true that he had pushed his body to its limits to endure against Karia, but it shouldn’t have taken such a toll.
“That's the influence of your spirit.”
As the headache stubbornly persisted, he frowned, and the dazed fox’s voice came to him.
She lay in the sunlight by the window, her fox form as usual, opening one eye to look at him.
“Do you remember? You said your level is still too low to exert any power?”
‘Yes.’
“Right. You admitted you were weak.”
“To break that limitation, I borrowed your vitality this time. Isn’t it better to feel unwell for a while than to lose your life?”
‘Uh... Vitality means...’
“Dazed fox. Are you talking about lifespan?”
“You think I view my spirit as some sort of demon? It’s not that. You’ll just feel unwell for a while. In about two days, you’ll recover, so there’s no need to worry.”
After finishing her explanation, the dazed fox closed her eyes, signaling that she didn’t want to be disturbed.
Normally, she would flaunt her superiority, but seeing her close her eyes like that indicated she wasn’t feeling well either.
Could that pervert be my lifesaver?
When I first saw the dazed fox in my bag, I thought she was a bothersome nuisance. But life has its twists and turns.
Since she saved my life, I should repay her somehow. If she wants something, she should just say it...
No, I’d better not bring up something pointless. I can only imagine what kind of situation I'd end up in. Her perverted tastes are beyond my imagination.
Let’s just give her a gift instead.
Sighing deeply, I leaned against the wall and opened the quest window.
The quest to save Menesteil was still sitting there.
Hey, Armadi. Did you really think I could handle that now?
If this were a game, maybe. With my current specs, I would’ve somehow figured out how to crush Karia.
But that was back when it was a game, right? Not now, in reality.
No matter how I look at it, this is just pushing me to my death. You piece of trash.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
Don’t you have anything to say? You gave me a playful quest when I compared you to Agra, but why are you silent now?
If your incompetence almost got your Apostle killed, you should be the one bowing your head.
I'm really annoyed.
My irritation bubbled to the surface as I prepared to slam my hands on the bed, only to feel my head spin.
Barely grasping my clouded consciousness, I let out a hollow laugh.
Goodness. Dizziness? I thought that was a word far removed from me.
Have I turned into a sickly masakaki girl now?
It’s a name that makes me feel like I’d die just trying to teach her a lesson.
<Are you okay, young girl?>
As I chuckled at the nonsensical thought in my head, my grandfather's voice resonated.
‘I’m okay.’
Will I really die like this? The dazed fox said she’d be fine in a few days, so it should be okay.
After listening to my indifferent reply, my grandfather fell silent for a while before speaking softly.
<...No matter how I think about it, this situation is too dangerous. I don’t know what the deity is looking for, but I think it would be best to give up.>
It was surprising. To hear the word "give up" from my grandfather.
Unlike me, he is a faithful follower of that incompetent deity. If the deity commanded something, he believed it must have a purpose.
For him to be the first to suggest breaking the decrees of that weak and powerless bug deity...
So he decided my safety was more important than that decree?
Haha. Where did the old man who said he could never utter the word 'give up' go?
‘I refuse.’
<...young girl?>
‘I’m not thinking of giving up.’
Although I vented my frustration in various ways, that was different.
I have no intention of giving up at all.
One reason is that I don’t know what I’d face if I failed, but there’s something even more important.
This is new content that wasn’t in the game.
Karia in the game always appeared as dead.
Even when I used cheats to meet her right after enrolling, she was dead.
But not now.
She is alive.
Even if she’s being controlled by the Evil God, that’s all.
Her soul still remains in her body.
Do you understand?
It means I can save Karia.
A boss that didn’t exist in the game.
A strategy that was impossible to attempt.
New NPCs whose stories could only be speculated based on Alsetin's narrative.
The new content that will arise from her existence.
You want me to give this up?
Of all people, me—who has spent over 10,000 hours on that damn broken game—am I supposed to give up on this?!
<How do you plan to confront the Evil God’s servant?! Haven’t you experienced it? If that creature sets its mind to it, you’ll die in one stroke!>
‘I’m aware of that.’
Grandfather, I’m the one who faced the threat of death head-on. I’m not crazy enough to think I can defeat that thing.
<Then what do you intend to do?! What can you do against an enemy you cannot confront?!>
‘Why do I have to face that creature?’
<Huh?!>
It’s a simple story, Grandfather.
If the opponent is an unstoppable monster, then all we need to do is summon an equally unstoppable monster on our side, right?
And conveniently, I know a monster I can control at will.
Stumbling slightly, I got up from my spot and pulled out the crystal ball that I had kept in a drawer, placing it on the dressing table.
After pouring my mana into it, a hazy image soon floated above the crystal ball.
<Lucy? Lucy?! Lucyiii!>
“Papa♡”
<Yes! Lucy! It’s Papa! Are you okay?!>
“Some old maid is bothering me♡ Punish her♡”