I Became a Hero With a Lot of Experience

36 – 036: Unsettled Mind (2)

“I dislike that woman.”

No, rather than dislike, the hero thought he couldn’t accept her on a physiological level.

The rudeness shown at their first meeting was enough to cause anger, but it was not unreasonable not to understand.

He had never thought of welcoming an outsider who knew nothing but the title of a hero.

On the contrary, considering that she suddenly appeared and disrupted his life, it was natural for him to want to give her a piece of his mind.

He could understand gossip born out of resentment.

He had already forgiven Penny’s rudeness shown in prison a long time ago.

It’s also understandable that she’s not a virgin since Lars, her original fiancé, existed.

It’s also forgivable for Lars to attribute not becoming a hero to the hero’s responsibility.

People, when angry, tend to want to blame and resent anything.

The hero was not a perfectionist to the extent of cursing the common human flaws everyone has.

Everything could be forgiven and understood.

Strictly speaking, what almost got intertwined with the hero afterward was not her will, but Galleon’s will.

In fact, there had not been a single moment when the warrior felt sympathy for Penny.

From a different perspective, she was a unfortunate woman separated forcibly from her betrothed by the king and sold to an unknown foreigner.

If he had encountered a woman with a similar story, the knight would have set aside everything to help her.

However, Penny was not that kind of woman.

She was a foolish woman without principles or dignity, ready to climb over another man in the name of patriotism whenever the opportunity arose.

Though the magician and priest were equally repugnant as Penny, or perhaps even more so, the knight harbored a particular hatred for Penny, possibly because of the longer time spent together.

“When I discovered her true nature in the carriage! You won’t know how grateful I was that the goddess bestowed this ability upon me!!”

“Yes…”

“That filthy, wretched woman!! If I didn’t have this ability, I would have been stuck washing dishes like a fool, and someday, when I was old and ailing, she would have coerced me to lead her to the valley…!!”

“Well…”

Having heard the knight’s opinion on Penny so far, Melina, with a somewhat uneasy expression, interrupted him, cutting off his words, and asked, “But… if you hate the princess so much, why did you propose such conditions?”

“Because that’s what the king wanted the most!!”

When he recklessly stormed into the palace, the knight had planned to coerce Galleon into compliance with threats.

However, as he rushed into the palace, he realized that this approach wouldn’t solve the problem as his hot-headedness subsided.

Even if he gained support through violence, how long would that support last?

Even if Galleon was initially afraid and started providing support, once the knight moved away, the fear would diminish, and the greed for the money involved would only increase.

Somehow, he had to make Galleon willingly start supporting him. Therefore, the knight proposed an offer that Galleon could not refuse.

“The bastard really liked it.”

When he laughed as if the heavens had abandoned him and called the knight his son-in-law, the knight considered a revolution for the first time.

But thinking about the bloodshed that would occur due to the revolution, he couldn’t bring himself to lift his sword.

“Anyway, now you understand why I called myself a ‘son-in-law,’ right?”

“…Yes, but you don’t need to be too pessimistic about yourself. Sir Knight, you have made a noble sacrifice for us…”

Unable to articulate the pressure with words, she nodded reluctantly, but the word ‘sacrifice’ never came out.

It was clear how much contemplation the knight had gone through to reach this decision.

She understood, but… as she tried to label it as a sacrifice, the word didn’t easily roll off her tongue.

“You, you sacrificed yourself…”

“Well, still…”

At the words filled with mixed emotions, the knight’s head drooped.

Seeing him like that, Melina, who bit her lip reflexively, held back the impulse to tell him to stop and spoke to the knight.

“Although he may not know the teachings of the Goddess of Purity, he… sacrificed himself for the maiden. Will the goddess not forgive him for that?”

Just as the day before, the knight had tried to dash forward with the words of sacrifice for the maiden, just like he had told Melina. However, shaking off the melancholy that clung to the knight’s back proved to be a futile endeavor.

“Sigh…”

Melina was pondering over the crisis, unsure whether it was a situation she could not comprehend.

Suddenly, the knight’s pocket began to tremble.

“…”

Without a word, the knight took out a smartphone from the pocket and held it, frozen, as the vibrating device continued.

“Um… Sir Knight? What is that?”

Melina, who had not known about phones or the existence of smartphones, asked with a puzzled expression. The knight, with a trembling voice, replied.

“…It’s the goddess.”

“What?”

*****

A call from the goddess had come.

Since there was no need to explicitly mention the matter, I found myself unable to answer the call easily, frozen in front of the call screen.

“Are you…!! Does this mean that a decree has come down?!! (Experience Points: 6 people)”

I couldn’t even hear Melina making a fuss beside me.

As I hesitated whether to answer or not, the call was connected on its own, as if it couldn’t wait any longer.

“Good evening. My knight.”

“Yes…”

Without a chance to be surprised, the voice of the goddess was heard. In her usual affectionate tone, there was no hint of anger or disdain.

Like a mother… no, like a sister, it was a warm voice, full of compassion, as if enveloped in clouds.

“By the way, it seems that whenever I contact you, it’s always on a night like this. The moonlight is truly beautiful tonight.”

“…Yes.”

“Well then… since greetings are over, shall we talk about the troubles you’re carrying in your heart?”

“Goddess, I…”

“It’s okay. My knight. I didn’t contact you to scold you. On the contrary, it’s the opposite. I’ve never been prouder to have you as my knight than I am at this moment.”

In the sincere voice without a hint of pretense, my heart, which had been pounding like crazy until a moment ago, calmed down a bit. However, it didn’t completely dispel the chains of guilt that were gripping my chest. Even if the gods forgive me, I cannot forgive myself.

“I staked my sympathy as collateral. And it was for that filthy non-virgin!”

“If it’s for the sake of a virgin, generously offering even sympathy as if it were, in fact, sympathy, that attitude is truly a nobler sentiment than anything else.”

Strictly speaking, since I staked sympathy, one could say it’s potential lack of empathy.

However, the goddess forgave my such sins generously.

“I said it sometime. Just because there’s a barrier, not everyone is a virgin. The sentiment you hold towards virgins is more important than anything else. And Melina.”

“Yes, yes?! (Experience Points: 6)”

Melina, startled at the sound of her own name from the goddess’s mouth, turned to me.

It seemed she was looking for support, but unfortunately, I had nothing to offer her.

I reassured her that there was nothing special, no need to be nervous, but with such words, I couldn’t relieve the burden on her heart.

“Melina, I am well aware of your sacrifice for the virgins. We can’t turn back the past, but I will never overlook your sacrifice.”

A warm light suddenly emitted from the smartphone and vanished abruptly, passing through Melina’s body.

Unable to see what I saw, Melina, unfamiliar with English, was bewildered, but I was not surprised for a different reason.

“I-it disappeared…”

The experience points carved above Melina’s head disappeared.

“Recognizing your contribution, sacrificing yourself to save numerous virgins, I will grant you the honorary virginity officially recognized by the Goddess. Now, you are an honored virgin endorsed by the Goddess of Purity.”

Witnessing what could be called a miracle, I couldn’t stop my trembling hands.

She seemed equally surprised; Melina stammered, speaking to the goddess.

“T-thank you?”

“You’re welcome. Considering your contribution, this is only natural.”

“Ridiculous… talking about virgins, honorary virgins, it’s all nonsense.”

That’s when it happened.

A disgusting voice, as if collecting all the filth in the world, came from beyond the smartphone.

The sight gradually blurred due to the voice that seemed to tickle the throat with used condoms.

I couldn’t hold back the urge to vomit.

When I regained consciousness, I was violently retching on the floor, reminiscent of a rough vomiting of strong currents.

“Uweeek!!!”

“Hey, hero?!”

“W-what’s going on? Why is he vomiting?!”

“Haa… Sister, I warned you that this would happen if you intervened, didn’t I?”

“Ugh, uguuuh!!”

Having vomited everything, including bile, I managed to regain my senses, albeit only slightly.

“Oh, if it isn’t the five digits….”

“Yes, those five digits.”

“What the hell!! What nonsense have you been spouting?!!”

“I merely spoke the truth. Why are you so angry? I simply cannot comprehend what has irritated you so much, Unnie.”

“What are you talking about over there…?”

“The, the Goddess of Love.”

The Goddess of Love.

Her mop-like power surpassed imagination, turning even Penny and other mop zombies into mere mortals in a world without the Goddess of Love. I could only faintly endure the shock.

“Unnie, it’s true that I exposed your experience stat to the opponent I faced, but it was for the sake of that person. It’s impossible to connect with someone like you, who has an experience stat limited to a small town, full of sympathy.”

“Shut up!! That deity pleased me too!! This time, it could have gone well!! It’s all because of you!!!”

“I’ll listen to your complaints later, so please go to the cleaning tools room, the bathroom, or the Kkokko House. Those places suit you better, Unnie.”

“This is ridiculous!!!”

“Gyaak!! Patience, Unnie!! Elder Brother!!”

The sounds of fighting echoed through the smartphone.

It was a spectacle that could be considered a reproduction of a myth, yet we had no idea how to react.

The divine battle, with no clear way to intervene, came to an end with the appearance of the upper sister.

“…What kind of disgrace is this in front of the children.”

A stern voice refusing any counterargument was not heard.

Is this the dignity of the youngest daughter?

“Oh, Unnie!! This woman started it!!”

Soon, a voice cautiously defending herself was heard, but it stopped along with the sound of hair being slapped.

Disgusting. A filthy virgin.

“Ahem…. Melina.”

When the newly arrived voice mentioned Melina’s name, I reflexively turned to her.

She had lowered herself to the ground with a humble posture and quietly replied.

“Yes, my Lady….”

Apparently pleased with her demeanor, a more satisfied voice praised her.

“I was deeply impressed by your patience for the children. I am grateful to you as well. Pure warrior. Thanks to your… sa-sacrifice? My child could finally receive recompense. Thank you.”

With a solemn gratitude, the call ended abruptly, but Melina remained motionless, her head bowed.

“It’s disconnected, so you can get up now.”

“The voice at the end… was it the Goddess of Patience?”

Unless there are other sisters we don’t know about, it surely must be her.

“I can hardly believe it. To think I’d hear her voice in this way…”

Tears fell down her pale cheeks.

As if every past day was redeemed by a brief compliment, she sobbed softly.

“In this world… I thought there was nothing but pain. Yet, there are good things to be found while living.”

“Indeed. Especially today. You were also honored as a maiden, weren’t you?”

“…That too.”

It should have been the most moving moment, yet her emotions seemed oddly subdued.

Hmm… perhaps it’s just my imagination.