NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
Magic Stone Party!
Thanks to Rosmas’s covering fire, Lucius was able to effortlessly defeat Chief Orc Ges and his subordinates.
Battle?
With the assurance of safety, Lucius’s movements became incredibly easy to fight.
He swung the Holy Sword!
The Orc is dead!
He swung the Holy Sword!
Chief Orc is dead!
The end.
In that process, it wasn’t just Lucius effortlessly dodging enemy attacks with flashy movements; he was genuinely engaging in swordsmanship, wielding the power of the Holy Sword.
After all, the power of the Holy Sword would protect Lucius, but Rosmas sniped the Orc aimed at Lucius’s neck with a silver arrow, taking it down.
It was trivial that Chief Ges tried to flee while throwing a dead Orc’s corpse during his duel with Lucius, only to ultimately die from Lucius’s Holy Sword Storm.
What truly mattered were the magic stones left behind by the Orcs we defeated.
‘This truly is a party.’
After the Orcs melted away in the storm of the Holy Sword, I personally reached into their hearts to collect the magic stones.
It was a struggle to retrieve each one, but I relished the feeling as each one I collected seemed to add a week to this physical body’s lifespan, and I focused on farming the magic stones.
‘I’m glad I made holes in advance.’
The Orcs had gaping holes in their chests.
Their hefty bodies weren’t disappearing anywhere, so I could just reach into the inside holes of the fallen bodies to snag the magic stones from the roasted insides.
Some of the ones I killed with my flame spines, and most were those I had confirmed killed after stabbing them with spines to burn their hearts after dying from the Holy Sword once.
If this were pork, it would be as if Lucius slaughtered the pig and I grilled it nicely for eating.
Of course, I was the one eating.
I had no intention of taking the magic stones I collected from the Orcs back to town to ‘sell’ them.
‘Absorb them immediately.’
Swoosh.
As soon as I grasped the magic stones, I pressed down hard with my hand to absorb the mana.
Still, despite being Orcs, each magic stone contained more mana than five Goblins did.
Calling this feeling of fullness from mana was somewhat awkward, but Orcs felt much more plentiful than Goblins.
“Hehe.”
Laughter came naturally.
Originally, I relied entirely on Lucius and only played around from behind, but if the Orcs had so much mana, there was no reason for me to shy away from directly absorbing it.
Even while I was feeling the thrill and joy from consuming each one, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if I absorbed everything Lucius was currently collecting at once.
Plus, what about the mana from the fallen Chief Orc, Ges?
Just as there is a difference between Goblins and Orcs, there would surely be a difference between ordinary Orcs and Chief Orcs.
I would obtain tremendous mana from this battle.
Although I had used some mana during the fight, I had fully recovered the losses by absorbing five Orcs.
‘It’s a pity that I didn’t utilize the Orcs practically.’
This battle was truly perfect.
Not only did we easily take down the Orcs, but Lucius also learned the difference between when he needed to protect me and when he didn’t.
Moreover, we annihilated the Orcs without anyone getting hurt and even rescued an elf who was moments away from being roasted and eaten by Orcs.
However, there was one problematic point.
– You annihilated the Orcs? How?
– With the Holy Sword!
– The Holy Sword…? Ah, you are the Hero of the Holy Sword!
– Ah! My Master told me not to say that. Hehe.
Or something like that.
– How were you rescued?
– …The Hero of the Holy Sword saved me.
– The Hero of the Holy Sword?
– Yes. The hero who wielded the Holy Wind Sword saved me…!
Or something like that.
The problem is that the method of defeating the Orcs is the ‘Holy Sword.’
As long as we intend to hide that Lucius is the Hero of the Holy Sword, we must minimize the variables arising from this.
What? Wouldn’t it be better not to use the Holy Sword then?
“Lucius, I’ll help you too.”
“It’s okay, Rosmas. You don’t need to get your hands dirty with the Orcs’ blood.”
“But if I just keep receiving help…”
I could feel the absurdity of the situation again.
‘It’s because I said so.’
Ah.
After all, a handsome man usually enters with a basic favor from women.
I too had secretly snuck into an adventurer party in the guise of a handsome face and had led the female members astray more than once, ruining the party.
“I’ll at least fan you!”
“Oh, that’s fine…”
“I’m doing this because I want to!”
Look at that greedy Elf energetically waving her hands—also shaking her chest—beside Lucius, trying to show off in any way possible.
A silver-haired Elf bigger than this body.
After rescuing such an Elf beautifully and gaining her favor, how could I not use the Holy Sword?
I traded one achievement as an adventurer for the infatuated Elf who fell for the Hero of the Holy Sword, Lucius!
‘I hope you explain well for us later.’
For the sake of achievement.
I extracted all the remaining magic stones before turning my body toward the two who were still arguing about helping or not.
“Then, could you help my Master instead of me?”
“…….”
“Ro, Rosmas?”
“Your Master…?”
“There’s no need.”
I hurriedly cut off Lucius’s words and approached him.
“Here, want to pour in a bunch?”
“The magic stones?”
“Of course.”
I took off my robe to make a sack out of it.
Lucius willingly poured in the magic stones he had collected—of course, Lucius had gathered more—and I selected a few that were in a poor state and absorbed them one by one.
“Thanks for your hard work, Lucius. And thank you for your hard work, Rosmas.”
“……I did nothing at all.”
“Just seeing the Orcs’ corpses must have been a tough ordeal.”
“I’m not that weak of a woman.”
Though her sassy responses were a bit annoying, considering her combat power, she wasn’t completely useless.
Surely she must have been caught in some trap.
It was a bit odd that she got captured alone without any companions, but I decided not to think about it too much.
“Lucius. Could you recover the magic stones from Chief Orc? I think I need to talk with Rosmas for a bit.”
“Oh, that.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Before Rosmas could reach out, Lucius headed toward the fallen Chief Orc in the distance.
“Rosmas.”
“……What is it?”
“I am the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, Bel, who awakened from a long slumber of 500 years to seal the Demon Lord.”
At my introduction, Rosmas flinched and scanned me from top to bottom.
“It might be hard to believe, but it’s true. After battling the Demon Lord, I sealed myself at the request of the former Hero. If I see any signs of the Demon Lord reappearing, I will awaken from my long slumber once again.”
“……Really?”
Her voice began to quaver.
I don’t know how old she is as an Elf, but surely an Elf who survived from the time I was wreaking havoc wouldn’t be weak enough to be captured by Orcs.
“That, 500 years ago…!”
“The Demon Lord Bel—”
“Stop, stop!”
So, this Elf is younger than 500 years old.
She’s a modern-day Elf who harbors fear regarding the name Belphegor.
“…It’s awkward to keep calling him ‘that Demon Lord’ when he’s someone no one should name.”
Even though there are seven Demon Lords, if someone here said ‘that Demon Lord,’ it would obviously be understood as Belphegor.
Rosmas doesn’t seem to be so foolish as to need an explanation for that.
“I journey to seal that Demon Lord. However, it was truly ‘unavoidable’ that I had to use Lucius’s Holy Sword. Yes, Rosmas, to rescue you.”
Shifting the responsibility.
“I must receive a promise from you, Rosmas. Do not disclose what happened today to anyone.”
“Huh, a promise…?”
“Yes. A promise. That promise…”
Is more than just me.
“Please make the promise with Lucius.”
“With Lucius…?”
Oh ho.
Already addressing him by name.
Imagining what name to give quarter-elves is quite vivid in my mind.
“Yes. Please make the promise with Lucius. The Master of the Holy Sword is Lucius.”
But using anyone available is what a Demon Lord does.
“It was Lucius who liberated the Holy Sword to save you.”
It’s just wordplay.
Lucius only stepped forward after I instructed him to liberate the Holy Sword, but it isn’t a lie that he ‘liberated the Holy Sword to save Rosmas.’
“Did I, really…?”
“Of course. Who saved you? Despite having the power to wipe out the Orcs with a single blow, Lucius prioritized saving you first, even if the enemies could have used the time to respond to the power of the Holy Sword.”
“Ah…!”
There’s a difference in the sequence, but it certainly wouldn’t feel false to Rosmas since my words felt all the more truthful to her.
“I am a guide on the path to seal the Demon Lord, assisting the Hero of the Holy Sword. It seems appropriate for you to promise regarding the Holy Sword with the Hero.”
“I see….”
“However.”
Before promising.
“I personally think it would be good for you to kiss Lucius—”
“What?! Kiss, kiss Lucius?! I’m not ready for that yet….”
“Hey.”
What I meant wasn’t to make that kind of kiss.
“That’s not what I meant….”
“Master?”
From behind.
A chilling voice could be heard.
“I’ve collected the magic stones.”
“Good job, Lucius. But is something wrong? Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmm… That Chief Orc died a rather gruesome death, didn’t he? Sorry for sending you alone.”
“Don’t worry about that. What I’m worried about is….”
Lucius stepped in front of me and locked eyes with Rosmas.
“Rosmas. I need to keep my identity as the Hero of the Holy Sword a secret for a while.”
“Yes, yes…!”
“So, I’d like to ask if you could remain silent regarding my affairs and my Master’s.”
“Yes!!”
Rosmas raised her hand and nodded.
“I’ll keep it absolutely secret!”
“Thank you, Rosmas. Master, then….”
“Hey, we can’t just promise in words.”
A verbal promise holds no validity.
“Rosmas. I’m sorry, but you need to make a more solid promise.”
“A more, more solid…?”
“Exactly. If I had to say it….”
I have a very good method.
“A pledge kiss. Lucius, let’s solidify the vow with a kiss with Rosmas….”
“No thanks.”
Hey.
Rosmas’s expression just went blank.
What are you doing suddenly ruining the mood like this?
Barely suppressing the urge to curse, I was about to ask Lucius, when suddenly—
“My first kiss… is reserved for a beloved person. I want to share it with someone truly beloved at my wedding.”
“…….”
It seems Lucius really is a crazy pure-hearted type.
“Ah….”
Rosmas appeared to have her heart drop once more at Lucius’s words.
‘They’re really playing around.’
I found those little kids just comical.