Chapter 79

“Is This Really Okay?”
“Of course. Trust me.”

I gave Irian’s gently whispering butt a firm squeeze.

“…Let go. Unless you want to get hit.”
“So prim.”

Her face was flushed as she glared at me, quite feminine, wasn’t she? It was so heartwarming to see her becoming more feminine by the day.

“Hmm. The Saintess doesn’t look too good. Is she going to be alright?”
“She’ll be fine, she’ll be fine.”

Right before entering the underground waterway. Irian seemed worried about Diana, who we left behind. But there’s no need to worry. Why?

▷ Yurian, how far did you go?
▷ Diana is bored
▷ Being alone is so lonely
▷ Yurian, who are you talking to?
▷ You’re not getting too close to a girl, are you?
▷ Yurian…
…
…
…

…Because a barrage of semi-transparent whispers from Diana were pouring in like a bomb.

‘…Diana. Please send them moderately. I can’t even see in front of me.’

After drinking with Cha Hyewon and coming back, it was chaos. I, who usually didn’t drink, came back completely drunk and grinning, so my kids were terrified.

They scolded me on the outside, but later, they’d subtly ask if I had any worries. Thinking about Irian’s cute appearance, or how Carsilla would smack my belly, saying I shouldn’t drink, still made me feel warm inside.

…It was heartwarming. But thinking about Diana, who was smiling with cold, sunken eyes, made me feel a chill… It wasn’t even a sweet and salty mix. Seeing Diana after Irian and Carsilla’s cute reactions sobered me right up.

I’d rather she show some reaction. If she got angry or grumbled, I wouldn’t be so anxious. But because Diana just stared coldly and smiled without saying anything, I still had cold sweat on my back.

More than anything, when I told her that Carsilla needed to be entrusted to the Magic Tower for education and asked her to take care of it, Diana’s expression at that time… Thinking about how her lips, which she had barely managed to pull up, were trembling, I was just afraid of the aftermath. Where did that kind Diana go?

The strange thing was that she didn’t refuse, despite all that. It was obvious that she hated it, but Diana obediently said she understood and even told me to have a good trip. Why? It was even scarier.

I was more anxious because I didn’t know what she was thinking in that little head of hers.

“Yurian. Is this the right place?”

I looked up at Irian’s call and saw a staircase with a dark maw. A spiral stone staircase leading underground… A classic design.

The cold air flowing from the stairs felt like the entrance to hell, making it very ominous. It was just leading to the underground waterway, but the atmosphere was like a gate to hell.

“Let’s go in.”

The disorganized group quickly formed positions. The vanguard was Irian and a guy named Somir. The middle was me and Sandra, Cha Hyewon’s subordinate mage. The rear was Cha Hyewon.

Originally, I was planning to form a 3-person party with Irian and Cha Hyewon… but Cha Hyewon caused a problem. Or rather, it wasn’t a problem, but she had grown in a strange direction, making her too weak compared to her stats.

She was neither a proper warrior nor a mage.
Cha Hyewon basically started as a melee class. Maybe that’s why, or maybe she thought physical ability was important in the beginning, but until I met her, she had steadily increased her stats and skills focused on physical abilities. But once she was satisfied with her physical abilities, she switched to magic.

In other words, her melee ability hadn’t improved much since I first met her. She had grown quite a bit in magic… but since the time was different, she wasn’t good enough to be considered a useful mage right now.

When I asked why she had become such a jack-of-all-trades, she said she couldn’t trust NPCs. Even though she had capable subordinates, they were still NPCs, so she was going to do everything herself.

…I knew she didn’t trust NPCs much, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Did she have some kind of NPC phobia?

Originally, an all-rounder is versatile if they grow well, but if their growth is lacking, they become a jack-of-all-trades who is good at nothing. Cha Hyewon had the potential to become versatile, but that was for the future. Since she was still in the growth stage, she was no different from a jack-of-all-trades right now… Ugh, really.
Anyway, she had grown in an all-rounder format. A swordsman using magic, isn’t that cheating?

So, I changed the plan. I thought it would be too dangerous for just three people, so I asked if she had any useful subordinates, and she gave me a list. From that, I picked a warrior to be the vanguard and a mage to make up for the lack of damage, forming a group of five.

If I had known this would happen, I would have told her about the growth direction in advance. As she said herself, she didn’t know anything about games, so she didn’t even have basic knowledge. I just laughed in disbelief at Cha Hyewon, who proudly said she had learned magic just in case, even though she had NPC subordinates. Well… if she grows well, she’ll become versatile. I should aim for a late-game carry.

“I’ve looked into the underground waterway, but there’s no special information. The city hall doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of it either.”

Cha Hyewon’s subordinate mage, a woman named Sandra, was an intelligent-looking beauty in her 30s. But she wasn’t the scholar type… She looked quite well-trained, and her appearance with leather armor, a sword, and a shield was closer to that of a seasoned warrior. Aren’t mages supposed to wear robes?

“Combat mages are usually like this. If you’re just wearing a robe as a mage, you’re the first target in battle, and there’s a risk of being sniped. No matter how much of a mage you are, if you’re a combat mage, you need to be able to protect yourself.”

Oh… she had a sense of experience, truly like a combat mage. Cha Hyewon, with her position as a magistrate, was enjoying the benefits of having such subordinates. Somir the warrior and Sandra the combat mage. They were all experienced and skilled subordinates.
I’m jealous of power.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it’s just that I’m a little jealous.”
“……?”

I glanced back and saw a bewildered expression. She didn’t seem to know how capable her subordinates were, and how much she was benefiting from it. …How infuriating.

“It’s been abandoned for at least a hundred years, so we don’t know what might be there. Everyone, please be careful.”

Everyone nodded at the words of the combat mage Sandra, who created a large light orb and floated it in the air. …I have nothing to do? I felt like my role had been taken away, which was a bit annoying.

The brighter it was, the easier it would be to explore the dark underground waterway, but in proportion, it would attract all sorts of aggro. So, with the faint light of the orb, the visibility wasn’t long. But the vanguard, Irian and Somir, were capable of seeing far even with this faint light, so there was no need to worry. I also had divine power ready to deploy a shield, just in case.

However, unlike the dangerous atmosphere that felt like the entrance to hell, the underground waterway was nothing special. It was full of all sorts of bugs and wild animals, and their waste was everywhere, making it extremely dirty. But the most disgusting thing was the dirty water flowing through the sewer itself.

As expected of a sewer in a city with a population of tens of thousands, the smell from the sewage was just… killing me. I’d rather fight monsters. I can’t fight against the smell.

“…Is there really something here?”

After walking silently for a while, Somir, who couldn’t stand it anymore, frowned and asked.

“Whether there is or not. Just focus on your job.”
“I’m sorry, Magistrate.”

…Wasn’t that a bit too much? But it didn’t seem right to interfere with Cha Hyewon and her subordinate’s problem. I could imagine how she usually treated NPCs. It was a miracle she hadn’t been stabbed in her sleep during a rebellion.
I glanced at her and saw a prickly expression… Ugh, I’m glad I didn’t meet a boss like that.

“There’s something strange lurking ahead? Shall we check it out?”

At Irian’s words, I focused my divine power on my eyes. Indeed, at the edge of my visibility, I could faintly see something wriggling, hidden in the darkness. What is that?

“Let’s get closer.”

Maintaining our formation, we slowly approached, and the identity of the wriggling thing gradually became clear. A bizarre form with arms and legs attached to a slime-like liquid. It was wriggling, but it stopped when it sensed our presence and turned towards us.

“…A face?”
“It’s incredibly disgusting. I’ve never seen such a bizarre monster before.”

The faces of the group all contorted at once. At the end of the slime-like black liquid was a human face. The problem was that it was only human in form, but it was extremely hideous in detail.

“It’s uglier than Gollum.”

Like Cha Hyewon’s mutter, like Gollum, her hair was mostly gone, with only a few strands left. Her skin was bumpy and distorted, and her eyes, filled with white film, had no focus. Her nose was flat as if it had been cut off, with two holes gaping open, and her mouth, with sharp teeth, was grotesquely large, with a thin tongue flicking like a snake. It was a very unpleasant sight.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Even Somir, not to mention Irian, seemed reluctant to swing his sword, so Sandra stepped forward. Yeah… I wouldn’t want to go near that kind of creature either.

A hot flame was created and flew towards the sluggish monster. The monster made strange noises and wriggled to avoid the approaching flame, but it was too slow to avoid it. At that moment, the monster’s legs bent grotesquely, and it suddenly flew towards us.

“Shield!”

I deflected the monster with a shield, taking the place of the group who were flustered by the unexpected speed. As expected, this jump scare pattern was the same as in the game. Thanks to my quick reaction, the monster was knocked back and fell to the ground, wriggling. Sandra, as if she had adjusted the flame, changed its direction and quickly collided with the monster.

“Kieeeeeeek!”

Considering that it was an underground waterway, there was no explosion, but the fire spread all over the slime monster’s body, sizzling. The monster writhed its bizarre body and screamed, and the stench it emitted as it cooked made the group step back. After a short time, the movement of the well-cooked monster stopped.

“…What the hell is this? Such a bizarre creature.”

The eyes of the group, except for Sandra, who approached the dead monster’s corpse to examine it, were focused on me, as if curiosity was greater than fear or stench. Why are you looking at me?

“I don’t know either. I’m not a god, how would I know everything?”

Of course, I knew. I wasn’t a god, but I was someone from a world like a god.

“This… it’s not just a simple monster. It seems like the human form isn’t just there for no reason.”

At Sandra’s words, who was rummaging through the monster’s corpse, the group’s eyes shifted to her. Oh… that lady was more perceptive than I thought. I could explain it all here, but then they would wonder how I knew, so I’ll pass the explanation role to her. I’ll just play the role of giving appropriate supplements.

“What do you mean? You don’t mean to say that this monster is a human, do you?”
“…I don’t want to believe it either, but that might be right, Somir.”
“Good heavens. This terrible monster is a human?”
“Calm down. It’s not certain yet, and it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a human.”

I had to calm them down because Somir and Sandra’s atmosphere was more intense than I expected, but soon the group started walking again. Although it was terrible to look at, it wasn’t a very threatening monster.