The Excommunicated Saint Wants to Lose

“This way.”
Following Giff’s guidance, I stepped into a space hidden in the middle of dense vegetation.
A dark cave where light barely penetrates.
The chilly air swirling around created an eerie atmosphere.
Wouldn’t it be natural to think a demon might suddenly pop out and flick its tongue?
It was a place that evoked such a creepy atmosphere.
To think that only mud goblins live in such a dungeon.
There must have been a serious error in the monster placement procedure.
“What are you doing standing still?”
At Giff’s voice, I shook off my idle thoughts and moved forward.
“From now on, just watch.”
“Understood.”
Our destination is the end of the dungeon.
Once we arrive and clear out the boss-level monster, all the preparations will be complete.
I planned to handle all the mud goblin groups that would appear along the way.
Not half-heartedly, but with all my might.
It had nothing to do with the saying that a tiger uses its full strength even when catching a rabbit.
It was, so to speak, a process of aligning body and will.
It’s about fine-tuning the process of reacting to the opponent’s attacks as smoothly as possible.

It wasn’t essential, but it was better to do this before an important battle begins.
It’s like refreshing your whole body, you could say.
It wasn’t just a matter of feeling; I couldn’t stand the persistent uneasiness when I didn’t do it.
“Here, take this.”
I took off the cumbersome robe and handed it to Giff.
“It’s precious, so take good care of it.”
“You’re treating me like some porter.”
Ignoring his grumbling, I closed my eyes gently.
A deep breath.
The silence hidden in the darkness flowed in through my nose.
As I just breathed calmly, my somewhat disorderly mind settled down.
Even my hands and feet, which were still not free from the hangover, regained their senses somewhat.
I wonder if this is enough.
As I slowly opened my eyes, the interior of the cave appeared as bright as daylight.
The power of the admirable sacred artifact ‘Sun Catcher’.
It was a function that allowed me to navigate even in darkness.
It’s so convenient that I want to keep wearing it.
With a slight smile, I started moving inward.
The mud goblin dungeon had a structure that was straight and open.
It meant I just had to walk forward without needing to spend time finding my way through complicated paths.
Trudge, trudge.
For a while, only two types of footsteps echoed.
How long had we walked like that?
Feeling something strange, I stopped for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s too quiet.”
We’ve come quite deep, but strangely, not a single mud goblin was in sight.
Normally, they should be swarming to attack intruders.
“Looks like someone else came here first?”
“Conquering a dungeon without permission… What a dangerous thing to do.”
Newly discovered dungeons are, without exception, all attributed to the imperial family.
While organizations like the adventurers’ guild manage them, they are clearly the private property of the imperial family.
Thus, the miraculous logic was established that conquering a dungeon without permission is treason against the emperor.
It’s absurd, but sometimes absolute power must be understood through emotion rather than reason.
“That person must have some guts. Aren’t they afraid of the emperor?”
“…You’re not one to talk.”
Ignoring him, I carefully observed the empty cave.
Not just empty, but a clean passage.
It looked more like a cave developed for tourism rather than a mud goblin dungeon.
Since monsters wouldn’t hire cleaners, this must have been done intentionally by someone.
“Look at this?”
There’s the scent of a strong one.
A sweet aura is wafting so strongly that it’s almost saccharine.
They probably annihilated the mud goblin groups and cleaned up thoroughly afterward.
An impossible feat with ordinary skills.
Whoever it was, they had a talent for exciting people.
“Did you find something? I can’t see anything because it’s dark.”
“Be quiet for a moment.”
Could they still be inside the dungeon?
Worried they might sneak out, I hurriedly ran forward.
After focusing solely on running for a while, I soon reached the end of the dungeon.
A space larger than expected.
The bizarre murals drawn along the walls created an ominous atmosphere.
But the dungeon boss that should have appeared here was nowhere to be seen.
The unknown strong person seemed to have already left, leaving the place empty.
‘Tch….’
It’s a shame.
I shook off my lingering thoughts and pushed them out of my mind.

There’s no time to waste on disappointment.
A precious defeat has come within reach after so long; how could I be distracted by something else?
“Why did you suddenly start running?”
A moment later.
Giff appeared, breathing slightly heavily.
“You’re here? Let’s start right away.”
“What should I do?”
“For now… just hold your axe.”

At my words, Giff stood still with a dumb expression.
“Why the axe…”
“Why? Did you think I’d tell you to chop firewood here?”
“But I’ve already fought with you.”
“That was an unofficial battle.”
Seeing that he still didn’t seem to understand, I added an explanation.
“Listen carefully. You’ve taken on the request to conquer the mud goblin dungeon as light exercise.”
Giff nodded as if he finally understood what I meant.
“So that’s the setting.”
“That’s right.”
Now we’re finally on the same page.
“Claim that you broke through the dungeon and encountered me waiting at the end.”
The excommunicated saint spotted in a dead-end dungeon with only one entrance.
The Holy Knight of Evil Destruction, who would be desperate to eliminate me, would have no choice but to take the bait.
“But do you think that makes sense?”
The expected rebuttal came flying.
“Why would you be in such a low-level dungeon?”
“Let them interpret the reasons as they see fit.”
Analyzing the meaning of a work was originally the role of the consumer.
I just need to enjoy it to my heart’s content.

“I understand your plan. But is there really a need to fight again?”

Annoyingly, he keeps making valid points while trying to avoid combat.
In times like these, stubborn insistence is more effective than logical persuasion.

“It’s necessary for a realistic performance. Get into position quickly.”
“You’re really tiring me out.”
Although Giff grumbled, he finally gripped his axe.
“This time, I’ll do it properly with killing intent. Don’t regret it.”
“Please do so.”
Losing to a close friend isn’t so bad either.
The feeling of a strained relationship adds a strange flavor to it.
“I’ll let you attack first.”
“I won’t hold back then.”
Without warning, Giff charged at me in an instant.
He’s fast.
Maybe it’s just my feeling, but much faster than yesterday.
“Now that I look closely, maybe I should give you 70 points?”
With a light joke, I sprang forward.
Not hiding the excitement that was now starting to overflow in earnest, but letting it burst out.

The days of adventurers residing in Serda always followed a similar pattern.
They only take on requests once a week.
Even this was due to a rule that revokes adventurer qualifications if one doesn’t take a request for more than 8 days.
For the rest of the time, their main activity was sitting around in the adventurers’ guild, chatting with companions.

In reality, it was closer to an “Idlers’ Guild”.
When outsiders pointed this out, the adventurers would unanimously offer a proud excuse.
‘The great ones take care of everything. We can just play around.’
Indeed, despite being a city close to the northern front, Serda was actually the safest city in the empire.

The Nusette Order.
The Purple Magic Tower.
The Evergreen Mercenary Group.
The Imperial Spirit User Association.

With branches of all sorts of renowned organizations and forces established here, it had become a city far from danger.
It was an excuse that accurately grasped the current situation of Serda.
Though they failed to grasp the boiling frustration of their parents or spouses.
Of course, not all adventurers lived lazily.
On the contrary, there were adventurers who lived diligently like worker ants.
“I heard Giff-nim went out to fulfill another request? He’s really amazing.”
“I know, right? We should learn from him.”

The ‘Storm Winter Wolf’ Giff, one of only five S-rank adventurers.
His reliability in fulfilling requests every single day was enough to make him an object of envy.
“Should I try taking requests every day like Giff-nim?”
“Didn’t you say the same thing two days ago?”
“This time it’s different. I’m really serious about… huh?”
The chatter that had filled the air was suddenly cut off.
The eyes took over the role of the busy mouths and tongues.
Everyone’s gaze flew and fixed on the orc who had just entered the adventurers’ guild.
A staggering gait.
His face was full of wounds, as if he had been through a fierce battle.
Anyone could see he had been thoroughly beaten.
“What happened?”
“Who could have done this to Giff-nim…”
Giff pushed through the murmuring voices and bought a recovery potion from the adventure equipment store and drank it.
The usually noisy adventurers’ guild fell into silence.
Everyone seemed to want to ask who had done this to him, but no one dared to step forward.
“Giff-nim?”
Finally, an adventurer who gathered courage carefully opened his mouth.

“What on earth happened?”
“…The Excommunicated Saint has appeared.”
At that moment, gasps of surprise burst out from all around, forming a chorus.
The Excommunicated Saint.
The most widely known among the ‘Seven Great Evils of Humanity’.
A monster-like human known to have gone mad from the shock of losing companions and now rampaging and committing massacres.
“She was in the mud goblin dungeon I went to for a warm-up. I barely escaped with my life.”
It meant she was no match for him.
The shocked adventurers began to stir.
“That’s impossible…”
“What should we do? Should we run away?”
“It’s useless. We’re all dead now…”
This might be the greatest crisis in Serda’s history.
The adventurers’ guild became noisy once again.
Amidst the chaotic atmosphere, Giff frowned sadly.
‘They’re so gullible.’
Anxiety and fear spread with surprising speed.
It was a commotion caused by the notoriety of the nickname ‘Excommunicated Saint’.

While it wasn’t exactly a pleasing sight, it was already too late to back out.

Fortunately, the possibility of Clitia going on a killing spree was extremely low.
However, just in case, it seemed he should play along as much as possible.

“Everyone be careful. She’s a complete madwoman, just as you’ve heard.”
Giff decided to spread the news of the Excommunicated Saint’s appearance throughout Serda.
With a touch of personal sentiment added.