Kidnapped the Saintess of the Hero Party

9 – Dispose Method(6)

The campsite Sion captured was in the middle of the forest.

A place far from the royal road intersection, a place where even the bravest adventurers rarely visit.

Thanks to that, things like this happen.

Rabbits gather around Lucia.

Shia wasn’t too bad playing with the rabbits. It was like a picture, but not all of it could be seen favorably.

“Presenting such peaceful images isn’t too bad either.”

The trauma still remained.

The worry that Shia might die didn’t let her be at peace.

She had already become friends with the rabbits and was cradling one in each arm.

“Shia.”

She’s too fearless.

This is the wild. Where predators stake out their territory, and those who violate it are hammered down. Or they starve and roam around looking for something to eat.

“Was it for the better?”

Predators who are clearly targeting the rabbits will appear.

It may not be a bad thing to give Shia a strong heart.

“I guess Howld won’t die if we’re careful enough.”

Shia, not knowing anything, asks.

“Huh? Should I get one for Shion too?”

“No.”

“Speaking of which, it’s about time.”

It was time.

She cooked a dragon, emanating a delicious aroma.

“Do you understand what it means?

Again.

This place is wild.

A wilderness that is almost untouched by human hands.

To cook in this place was like screaming, ‘I’m here!’ in the middle of a dungeon.

Eventually, the ground began to tremble.

The sentinels of the wild, creatures of massive weight.

They had picked up a scent.

#

In the past life, it was said that the Hero Party had chosen a poor location and had to face monster waves for three nights without sleep.

After hearing the hard-won news of their victory, Sion stayed awake for several nights.

How long had he watched the retreating figure of the owl who went to receive the news?

There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again.

Therefore, Sion had left the party in a dangerous environment, even if it was cruel.

The reason the village cannot be settled in this expansive forest, with a flowing river and good environment, is reason alone.

‘There are too many monsters.’

Shia did not realize, but even when they first came to set up the camp, after they set up, and even now, small monsters were continuously on a reconnaissance operation.

They disappeared without a trace after the catching the wyrm.

Anyway.

This place was located in the relatively warm southeast part of the kingdom and had an abundance of food, so the monsters were overflowing. Additionally, the majority of beasts and monsters were large.

The rabbit that Shia adored and hugged was in fact, from the perspective of other small creatures, horrifyingly fast and large predators.

Whether she knew this or not, Shia simply petted the rabbits alternatively, admiring their cuteness.

‘Speaking of which, I’m jealous.’

If Shia had disliked them, she would have already chased them away.

She just left them alone, as they would run away soon anyway.

From their ears perking up, it seems they’re catching on.

It’s about time Shia notices as well.

“Sion?”

A sound echoing from afar.

Thump.

Thump.

The ground shakes.

The sounds gradually grow closer.

Holding her breath and listening to the sound, Shia, seeing the rabbits in her arms have run away, shifted her gaze to Zion.

“Is… something coming?”

Lucia trusted Lucien infinitely.

She’s not feeling the danger.

Well, of course, he’s the one who defeated the scary looking monster – the wyvern. And Zion would protect her, what could be frightening?

However,

Lucien purposely put on a scared face.

Just then, sounds began to come from multiple directions.

Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Zion has already identified all the locations where trolls are. How groups of nearby monsters are formed. And even the rough numbers.

While he was able to make a rough guess with his divination skills, he has been able to walk around a lot since setting up camp and has looked over everything by enhancing his sight on the mountain.

‘There must be well over a hundred thousand monsters spread out around here.’

Considering even tiny rabbits count as monsters, it’s not an excessively large number.

Some could attack at any time.

He cooked a wyvern in the middle of the forest and set off a smell, surely they’re not going to ignore it?

The boss monsters of this forest began to search for the irregular visitor in their territory.

‘Almost ten of them.’

They might be less in number compared to wyverns, but trolls are still tough monsters to face.

Unlike facing a wyvern, knights can never beat them. Conversely, a knight can’t break through a troll’s defense.

The best ways to handle them are either to blow off their heads with fireballs, behead them with a heavy sword or raise a rogue up to a tree and strike the brain.

These tactics work when it’s one or two of them.

“Zion…?”

“Perhaps. It seems to be coming by the smell.”

“What are you going to do?”

I have to intercept it all.

But first, I’m thinking about collapsing under the troll’s attack.

To let them know that they can only trust themselves.

They might even get higher points if they leave their falling self and run away.

I wonder how Shia would play it out.

#

“Shion… Shouldn’t we run away now?”

The thundering footsteps are now heard fairly close.

The vibration of the ground lets us guess the size of the opponent.

Could it be a giant approaching?

“It seems like a troll.”

Shia’s face turned to horror.

Troll!

Even if raised in an orphanage, all the knowledge is pretty much covered.

The orphanage director was a white knight who rolled on the battlefield.

His heroic tales have come in enough to get tired of.

Among them, there was a story about trolls.

–

It was my first appointment.

The guy was several times taller than me.

Bed-on-bed, he didn’t falter.

He could only reach the child inside the cave if I caught hold of that man.

But I couldn’t approach him.

No matter how hard I tried to confront him,

I had to wait for another opportunity.

I had to seize the chance when that man was preoccupied with chopping down a tree.

He handled tools skillfully.

The tree, larger than my expectations, stood before me.

Despite its size, it moved swiftly.

I took advantage of his distraction and approached from behind.

As I emerged from the shadow of the tree, I seized the opportunity to strike at that man with his own axe.

With all my might, I leapt onto that man’s back as he turned around.

The size of that man was immense.

That was his weapon, the one I held in my hands.

Si-an, I recalled the simple-minded Sion.

He was not like that, but rather numerous.

“Si-on!”

“I arrived too late. The situation had already escalated.”

In Si-on’s resolute expression, I searched for hope.

“Is it true that if I beg earnestly, you will help me?”

Si-on looked up at me.

“This time, grant my request. Fight fiercely and win.”

Just as Si-on had said, the Troll stood still, its attention fixed on the leg of Bi-rd, which it had snatched in its grasp.

Despite being a formidable creature, it was powerless against such an adversary.

“Very well, Si-a. I will pave the way for you, and we shall escape.”

Lucion tells her to run again.

He claims that he is not able to help, that he is a burden, and that Zion will keep sacrificing himself.

“No!”

Sia vehemently shook her head.

“I’ll draw their attention. Zion, you run. I hate the idea of you fighting for me again!”

She should not let that happen. That’s Sia.

“I trust… Zion is a good person, even if he’s made life unbearable. There must be a reason, right?”

Lucion is the most trustworthy being in the world.

If it’s Lucion, despite trolls being terrifying adversaries, he might still manage to win.

But with the echoing thud sound that resurfaced, her hopes were cut in half.

Even for Zion, taking on such a thing… wouldn’t it be too much?

There is something scarier than a flying dragon.

The forest guardians squint their eyes, beginning to show their figures.

Not just one, but multiple creatures at the same time.

Monsters that drool, having a pale green skin.

Their bodies, from head to toe, seem entirely made of muscle, their skin tightly swollen in every direction, they begin to surround.

“Roaaar!”

A furious roar that as if telling whoever dared to step into their territory. The tension could kill.

She couldn’t envision a scenario where they could win.

Even the holy power in the air, though minutely, was trembling as if gripped with fear.

In the troll’s hand was a deer’s corpse, when and how it had grabbed it, she wasn’t sure. Perhaps emergency food. Or maybe just something to hold in its hand.

To overcome her fear, Sia decided to rely on Zion.

Even in this urgent situation, Lucion’s divine power was excessively serene.

As if nothing was amiss.

Sia saw and realized this fact.

“Zion. My eyes can see it. I know you can put in more effort! Stop hiding yourself anymore!”

“Hmm. I hadn’t considered this.”

Lucien had always known that Shia possessed a unique ability.

But for it to be an ability that could discern his hidden power…

“It seems she wasn’t simply chose by the goddess.”

Being chosen as the saintess meant more than just having high divine power. In other words, she was chosen this time as well.

If his hidden power had been exposed, it would mean that Shia also knew he had been a deceiver and an actor all this while?

Rather, that was a relief.

His understanding was hastened.

“Ha. hahahaha.”

It was easy?

Lucien raked through his hair and looked at Shia.

“Caught me? Yea, that’s right. The truth is, I’m incredibly strong.”

“Right?”

“But what to do?”

Shia responded as if she didn’t quite understand.

“Huh?”

Lucien shrugged his shoulders.

“Even for me, this is too much. You’ve worked hard all this while, Shia. It seems our journey ends here.”

“What on earth are you talking about…?”

“Fend for yourself. I, too, have to survive.”

If it hadn’t been for Zion, this was a moment he inevitably would’ve faced someday.

“Priest, you need to figure it out.”

Typically what happens when a crisis strikes a party with a priest.

If there is any different aspect, perhaps it’s that Shia possesses exceptional resilience.

“I told you before.”

“Hmm?”

“I said a chant is not for the sake of others.”

What on earth does that mean?

If blessing others is not the purpose of chanting, then what is?

It took Shia a considerable time to understand Sion’s words.

Lucion provided a practical example.

“【Grant me the courage not to falter, Celebrate.】”

Can this be called a chant?

Divine power mobilized in a form Shia had never seen before.

A chant manifests itself in the form of words.

It’s divine energy that spills out of the mouth and envelops an individual’s entire body.

Sometimes they would modify it a little, gather divine energy in their palms, then radiate it.

Sion called that a chant as well.

Not with the mouth, but with the hand.

But what they were seeing now was slightly different.

Divine power was gathering, concentrated around Sion.

It wasn’t the hands or mouth.

His entire body was absorbing the divine energy, radiating a glow.

Suddenly, Shia suspected that the person in front of her was none other than the manifestation of Saint Sebastian, a figure straight out of the history books. Once the situation steadied, Lucien advanced step by step, sword in hand. No sense of danger was felt. Shia felt a sense of relief. However, there were many trolls. They were approaching, centering on Shia. ‘I should do it too.’ What Lucien wanted was for Shia to let go of her unconditional trust in him. But Shia trusted Lucien. Lucien froze like a stone at the sound of the voice from behind. “Give me the courage to follow Lucien! Celebrate!” A chill ran down her spine. ‘Is this really what she wanted?’

Fortunately, it’s safe to say the result was very pleasing. Shia was able to fight on her own. And she did it quite well. If Sion hadn’t forbidden mention of Shia’s spirited performance, he would have teased Shia for a long time about the historical instance where she turned a troll into a eunuch with just one shot. “Yup!” Boom! How her kick could be so strong was beyond comprehension, but anyway. Sion would never forget Shia’s performance, where she raised her leg while tilting her upper body back. ‘No need to worry about a sneak attack.’

Perhaps I would return as a castrato.

In the future, the priestess who was destined to become a saint would be able to show off an incredible feat of casting a buff on herself, then kicking a troll in the crotch, and blowing away the troll’s head with the aftermath.

In only one day, Sion had achieved the goal he had been aiming for.

“Do you understand, Shia? How to use the buff?”

“For… for me?”

“That’s right. You just need to take good care of your body.”

“Uh… okay.”

As a result, Shia knocked down more trolls than ever.

She felt more pleased with the fact that she could trust Sion even more than realizing how powerful she was.

Shia wanted to hide her smile, but she couldn’t.

Of course, because Sion was so powerful.

She exhausted her divine power in one go.

However, Sion’s power was unchanged before and after the battle.

The meaning of this.

Shia knew it better than anyone else.

Maybe Lucion may be the strongest in the world.