Chapter 137

“Could it be that even the magic beasts instinctively realize how terrifying you are? Since they’re right next to you, they aren’t even coming close!”

I let out a hollow laugh at that bizarre misunderstanding.

“It’s great that you tried whatever you just tried, but you’ve done your absolute best. Let’s stop now and get out of here! We’ve done more than enough, seriously!”

Taking advantage of the moment the magic beasts were distracted by attacking people, Drott began shoving at my back.

“No, I mean you’re right, but wait a second.”

There were still people alive.

We needed to take as many of them with us as possible.

Though I had no idea how long they’d stay alive, anyway.

“Huh? Hey, what are you doing?!”

Lifting Drott over my left shoulder like a piece of luggage, I decided to rescue the nearest survivor first.

There was a blood-stained sword belonging to a fallen knight right at my feet.

Snatching it up in my hand, I set out to search for survivors.

“Hey! Whoa… are you out of your mind, seriously! I’m begging you, let’s just go!”

The first thing that caught my eye was a kid around middle school age, hiding behind a pillar and clamping a hand over their mouth.

I remembered them because they were the youngest among the servants. Luca, was it?
Luca looked thoroughly startled as I approached, but I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to calm them down.

Without a word of explanation, I hoisted the kid onto my right shoulder.

Next was…

“Uaaaaaaah!”

Right behind the food warehouse, another familiar person was on the verge of being attacked. To make up for standing there blankly a moment ago, I quickly kicked off the ground.

“Noah!”

Of all things to forget. How could I forget about Noah!

Noah was just seconds away from offering his neck up to a magic beast, but thanks to me grabbing him by the back of the collar, I managed to save his neck by a hair’s breadth.

Gazing at the massive jaws of the wolf magic beast snapping shut right in front of his eyes, Noah breathed heavily and raggedly.

He must have been utterly terrified, as he looked up, recognized my face, and let out a tearful, relieved sigh.

‘Ha… Are there any more?’

If they still had a shred of life left in them, I could save them with a potion.

‘Villero is nowhere in sight, either….’

Just as I was about to individually check the corpses scattered on the floor, Drott tapped me on the back.

“Hey, I noticed earlier most people were just sprinting outside. I don’t think there are any survivors left in here.”

“Ugh….”

Perhaps feeling sick to the stomach from continuously witnessing corpses, Luca gagged dryly.

It felt like my own stubbornness was just making me put on an unsightly display in front of my companions.

“In that case, let’s wrap up the search here and take a short break.”

“Yeah! That’s a great idea!”

Color returned not just to Drott’s face, but to Luca and Noah’s as well.

Before heading off to rest, we decided to scavenge some simple rations from the food warehouse.

A few preserved foods like dried jerky and fermented bread were left in the food warehouse.

As I blindly shoved everything into my inventory, I noticed a notification window that I had ignored earlier because I was too distracted.

‘Ah, come to think of it, it’s been quite a while.’

Since my reputation score was increasing, that is.

Back at the mansion, characters hostile to me had the upper hand, so my reputation had actually been dropping instead…

Thud!

“Mister. You dropped this.”

Something fell out of Drott’s jacket, and the girl following behind, Luca, picked it up.

“Where do you think you’re touching with those filthy hands! Hand it over right now!”

Visibly displeased, Drott immediately snatched the item right out of Luca’s hands.

“Ah, jeez. When did this tear?”

Without even glancing at Luca’s darkened complexion, Drott checked the torn pocket of his jacket and whined, while I almost lost my mind.

The object I had caught a fleeting glimpse of had an all-too-familiar shape.

‘Isn’t that a magic stone…?’

A crudely fashioned stone roughly the size of one’s palm.

A faint rainbow hue was rippling across its surface.

Though smaller in size than the magic stones I’d seen in the first run, its appearance was an exact match.

“Where did you bring that from?”

“What’s it to you? It’s a personal possession, alright?”

Drott reacted with highly suspicious oversensitivity.

“Who gave it to you?”

“W-Why do you even need to know that!”

It was Jeffrey, no doubt about it.

I had been wondering why the magic beasts were so persistently targeting this fortress, or rather, our side, and it looked like this was the root cause.

‘I need to smash it….’

However, Drott, bristling with hostility and guarding himself against me, didn’t look like he’d hand it over easily.

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

What on earth could that guy possibly do to me in this fortress swarming with magic beasts?

“I’d like to take a look at it, too.”

“Wh-why would you!”

True to form, Drott immediately balked.

“Is that not allowed?”

Placing my hand on Drott’s shoulder, I pressed down gently.

“Ah! Hey! It hurts! Let go of this!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll give it to you! I’m giving it to you!”

Now we’re speaking the same language.

Drott pulled the magic stone out of his pants pocket and handed it over to me.

“With strength that damn monstrous, you’ve got zero refinement to speak of….”

I wanted to smash it right then and there, but shattering the magic stone might trigger some unexpected, strange event.

It would be safest to herd them into a suitable room and deal with it by myself.

With that, we finally walked out of the food warehouse.

As we were walking along, Luca timidly poked my arm and spoke up.

“Uhm, Big Sis. Thank you for saving me earlier.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Uhm, but why are the magic beasts not coming anywhere near Big Sis…?”

Magic beasts were still scattered all around us, but Luca seemed fascinated by the fact that they were only making threatening gestures without actually coming close.

Partly thanks to the holy artifact, but maybe it was because the number of living people around had decreased since before.

The magic beasts’ level of interest directed toward us had dropped noticeably as we walked around.

Looking curious, Noah and Drott also cast subtle, sideways glances toward me.

“Well. I don’t really know either.”

“I-I see….”

With Luca looking dejected, Drott desperately avoiding my gaze, and Noah glancing at me sideways, I led them into a suitable room.

“Why this place of all places? Leaving all those clean, wide rooms alone! How are we supposed to rest in a place like this!”

The place I had guided the three of them to was a tiny room where brooms, mops, dustpans, and feather dusters lay scattered about—calling it a room was a stretch; it was closer to a walk-in closet.

Still, it was large enough to fit about three people, and it was a remarkably stellar evacuation spot as it happened to be the only area nearby that fell within the sacred armor’s range.

“Who knows when the magic beasts might suddenly turn on us and attack? Shouldn’t we stay hidden as quietly as possible?”

“What does that have to do with staying in this filthy room? There are plenty of other rooms!”

“It has everything to do with it. If you want to live, just get inside.”

I just wanted to smash that magic stone already. I really wished they’d stop whining and just go inside.

“Whoa, I’m seriously losing my mind!”

Barking like an angry Maltese dog was something that required physical stamina to pull off, making them an impressively exhausting human being in a whole different way.
Case in point: Noah and Luca were so utterly drained of energy that they quietly went inside the room and slumped down.

“Try to eat some bread, at least.”

Do you think food can go down my throat right now?—asking that with their expressions, all three of them turned their heads toward me simultaneously.

Still, those who needed to live had to live, and they needed food to replenish their stamina.

I added that they should eat, even if forced.

“What about you?”

“I’ll keep watch outside.”

Drott asked back, looking slightly uneasy.

“You’re not going far, right?”

“I’ll be right outside the door.”

Honestly, what a worrywart.

If they wanted to latch onto me and survive like this, wouldn’t it be better to act a bit more amiable?

What on earth was so great about their pride that they kept acting this way? Or maybe their personality was just fundamentally busted from the get-go.

‘Ah, do siblings take after each other?’

Come to think of it, Mina had quite the fiery temper, too.

Must be that tempers are genetic. If so, that explained a lot.

Thud.

Stepping out and closing the door, I spotted a wolf-type magic beast still glaring fiercely down the right-hand corridor.

It didn’t look like it had any intention of attacking me, but the sheer tension stiffened my body.

That recent ordeal made me realize it with crystal clarity.

I needed to condition my body.

I had thought that for the second run, seducing Robert would be smooth sailing without any dangerous incidents, just smoothly playing the affection game while running my mouth well.

Plus, with a holy artifact and items, I foolishly assumed I’d never actually need to engage in physical combat.

That was entirely wishful thinking.

‘I need to figure out how to properly use Belita’s body.’

Well, for now, I needed to take care of this first.

I pulled the magic stone I had accepted earlier out of my apron pocket.

And squeezed it with all my might.

Crack!

The magic stone split into two halves and clattered onto the floor.

Grrr?

Grrr…

And right after, the magic beasts let out a sound akin to utter bewilderment, stood frozen for a moment, and then vanished beyond the broken wall as if possessed by something.

‘Ha….’

Only when the surroundings grew quiet did a sigh of relief finally well up from the pit of my stomach.

‘I’m seriously losing my mind.’

Naturally, after witnessing people getting brutally slaughtered right in front of my eyes.
It wasn’t the kind of thing an ordinary 21st-century modern human easily experienced, after all.

Stuff like this only happens in games…

Well, technically this was a game, too, but anyway.

‘Ah, come to think of it.’

Earlier, a warning pop-up had clearly flashed telling me that my mental health was at a dangerous level and demanding I recover it quickly.

‘Am I doing okay now?’

I hurriedly opened my status window.

‘I’ve never seen “Dangerous” before.’

Wait, and when did the synchronization rate go up?

I felt like my mental health was about to drop even lower!

“Lita, I have something to tell you for a second.”

Hearing rustling noises from inside the room, it seemed Noah had gotten up.

I answered as if nothing was wrong.

“Eh, you can come out.”

“Thanks.”

Don’t mention it.

“Huh? The magic beasts are gone?”

“…When I came out, they were just gone. They probably left because they couldn’t see us.”

“Is that so? Haah… What a relief. Though it was weird, how they just stared without attacking.”

“Same here.”

“Maybe Ralphican is protecting you because you’ve lived a kind life?”

…I don’t need any divine protection, so I’d really appreciate it if someone just sent me home.

“You saved both the Duchess and me, and even that kid… Maybe He looks upon you favorably.”

“I’d prefer if He helped us make it out of here safely, ideally.”

“Right, haha….”

Noah’s lips curved upward stiffly, the tension not yet entirely drained from his body.

“Did you happen to see Lord Villero?”

Villero had been right there alongside Noah in front of the food warehouse.

Though strict, he was someone who had quietly guided me so I could settle in well.
Since he wasn’t registered on the affection list, I had no clue where he had vanished to. He wasn’t among the corpses, though….

“I don’t know either. I got separated from Lord Villero while getting shoved around by the crowd. Haah… I hope he’s safe.”

He might have gotten swept up among the people fleeing from the food warehouse area earlier.

Though I had no idea where he headed, if he had good luck, he might still be alive.
As soon as the group recovered their stamina, I’d have to start searching for survivors.

“Um, Belita. That….”

Noah suddenly bowed his head respectfully and offered an apology.

“Thank you for saving me. Even though I… betrayed you.”

At least he had the decency to feel a shred of shame.

I simply answered honestly.

“I just did what I had to do.”

“Still. You had every reason to leave me to die out of sheer resentment. I tried to kill you, after all.”

“…I don’t really hold it against you.”

“…? What?”

Noah looked utterly dumbfounded, as if asking what kind of insane nonsense that was.

“The Duke is the person who saved you, and betraying someone like that must have weighed heavily on your conscience. Plus, you must have been terrified. Disobeying orders could get you disposed of just like the Duchess.”

Noah must have wrestled with that complex clash of emotions.

“I’ve thought this for a while, but you really are kind. You even understand the standpoint of someone like me…. Ah, are you pitying me? Because I look pathetic?”

Well, while I resented Robert as the root cause, I held no real ill will toward this guy.
After all, I had witnessed firsthand the moment right before he went out of his mind under Robert’s orders.

And rather than understanding him….

“You’re pathetic.”

“…….”

Noah dropped his head in silence.

“You’re still shackled to the past, unable to break free.”

And then he turned back to look at me with wide, shocked eyes.