Episode 9

The group of adventurers, numbering twenty men, donned heavy armor and wielded their complete array of weapons.

"He's alone, attack him... we must also finish him off."

They were all individuals who deemed the lives of others worthless. To let them be would only spell disaster for the future. I laid my hand upon the lifeless bear.

This bear simply wanted to protect its offspring, but what it received was cruel human treatment, not content with merely killing it, they even killed its cubs.

It all made me sick to my stomach.

I pulled the sword from the bear's body and placed my hat on it; I did not wish to stain the hat with blood.

As I advanced, the adventurers lunged towards me, two of them charging with their swords drawn.

Following that.

Blood spurted through the air like a fountain, the sensation of severed bodies crawling up my trembling hands. Yet, I did not care, I kept moving towards the man from earlier.

Some of them cast magic at me, but it was totally ineffective against my shield.

Together, the next five ran circling around me, attacking simultaneously, and I merely swung my sword until they lay lifeless.

"Hey, hey, isn't his stats supposed to be really weak? How come he's this strong?" one man questioned.

Stats are but uncertain numbers that increase with training.

"I've told you to leave, but you wouldn't listen, going so far as to kill both the bear and its three young ones."

"They're just animals, why should we care?"

"Well then, let me show you what magic really is."

I extended my hand before them to summon a circle of fire magic that passed through my fingers.

"Hell of the Abyss," I declared as all of them laughed.

"What is this? Nothing’s appearing."

Looking up, they finally realized the true terror, observing several giant overlapping magical circles. When the fire fell, it formed a massive pillar that incinerated all the adventurers, turning them to ash.

Only a giant crater remained afterward.

The three women screamed in fear, yet I had no wish to kill them. I discarded my sword and picked up my wizard’s hat before walking away.

There, I opened the door to the quiet shop and dropped the basket I'd collected onto the floor.

"Welcome... Aksa, you’re covered in blood."

My easily flustered master hurried over to brace my forward-falling body, my face nestled between her breasts.

"Hey, what happened?"

I said nothing and simply closed my eyes in the comfortable place.

In the bathroom, Miss Heliet washed me with warm water, her expression unchanged. I was unsure why she did it, but she believed that bathing together strengthens bonds—even though I had no time to admire her beautiful form now.

I recounted what had happened to her until she simply smiled softly at me and said, "I see."

It was my first time taking a life, shaking my hands uncontrollably; Miss Heliet gently embraced me from behind without another word, her warm body giving me comfort.

Then the next day, I went to the guild. Everyone watched me in silence.

Kazel, the first to greet me, asked, "Are you okay, Aksa?"

"Yeah," I replied curtly before heading to the guild counter where a girl I knew, Lulu, stood.

"Aksa?"

"I want to leave the guild."

As I presented my guild card, she immediately refused it.

"I can't take this; after all, they were at fault."

"But..."

Before I could finish, the entire guild interjected.

"Don't worry, Aksa, they got what they deserved... those people were always causing trouble in our town."

"That's right, you have no reason to feel guilty."

The three involved women also nodded in confirmation of the truth. Lulu leaped towards me, nearly choking me with her arms. More than anything, I preferred feeling her softness.

I could see two prominent parts from her chest.

"You think about too many strange things, are you going to take on a quest again today?"

I could only nod in response.

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