Chapter 89
“Kyaaahhh—!”
The Harpy Queen screamed in a piercing high note as she charged forward. Her claws were extended in excitement, looking as if she would tear us apart.
However, a boss encounter is always welcome.
<So you came to us yourself.>
“Thank you very much.”
There was no longer any need to capture the harpy. We could just eliminate the boss first and rescue the hostages later.
I ran my hand along Serpens, the transforming sword. A white glow sharpened its blade.
I took a deep breath and continued drawing up aura.
‘With this strike, I’ll take the wings in one hit…’
That was when it happened.
Whoosh! Fwip!
“…Ah.”
Tessilid let out a calm exclamation.
“…Huh?”
<…Huh?>
Both Agnes and I froze in confusion.
Flap! Flap!
The Harpy Queen flew off without the slightest hesitation, as if she had finished her business.
“……”
My dazed eyes fixed on her talons.
Because Tessilid was hanging from them.
In other words, the current situation was—
‘The weak protagonist got kidnapped by the boss!’
My face turned pale.
“Terry!”
The Harpy Queen was so fast that her silhouette was already shrinking, melting into the sunset.
<Why couldn’t he dodge that?! He used to be an Expert, didn’t he?!>
“Exactly!”
Was his reflexes nerfed too?! He should’ve told me if that was the case!
<Anyway, don’t attack yet. The altitude is too high. If we miss the Harpy Queen, he could fall and die.>
That was true.
Right now, Tessilid had no aura or divine power to protect his body.
If he fell from that height, it would be instant death.
[‘The Word That Builds Worlds’ is flustered by the unexpected development.]
[‘Inspector of Heavenly Secrets’ notes that a queen personally coming to escort someone is unprecedented in the settings.]
[‘Scales That Judge Souls’ comforts you, saying she probably won’t kill him immediately since she took him alive.]
“Let’s hurry.”
I raised my head and looked into the sky.
Kreeeeek! Kreeeek!
As if mocking me, a harpy circled overhead.
You dare low-fly above my head at a time like this?
Good. I’ll use you.
From my hand, the harp-string of the Spirit King extended, wrapping around the harpy’s neck, legs, and wings.
“Eek?”
“Come down.”
Kiiieeek!
After a crash landing and a healing spell to patch it up, I used its neck as a rein and mounted it.
“If you don’t want to die, take me to your mother’s nest.”
Kiiit!
Thanks to the obedient harpy, I was able to pursue the Harpy Queen quickly. But my frustration kept rising.
“Harpy Queen…”
I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if I was too late.
Soon, we arrived at the boss zone—a crater nest. I jumped off the harpy and scanned the area.
Colorful eggs laid by the Harpy Queen. Wooden cages holding exhausted men.
I ran past them toward the center of the nest.
I spotted Tessilid’s silver hair.
He was in a standoff with the Harpy Queen.
“Tessilid, are you—!”
But then—
“…Huh?”
The scene before me was nothing like I had expected.
“Heheh… I’ve never seen such a beautiful male before.”
The Harpy Queen sat Tessilid down gently on a bed of colorful feathers, blushing.
“If I must, I’ll dismiss all others and live only with you!”
“Is this a polygamy arrangement?”
“If you wish, I’ll live only with you!”
“Still, I have sworn an oath to the church, so that would be difficult.”
“You’ve sworn yourself to a god?! Ahh, being your first makes this even more exciting!”
…I can’t listen anymore.
A fiery divine power surged around my body.
I raised my hand and aimed at the Harpy Queen.
“Divine Judgment.”
“Kyaaaack!”
“Dark Execution.”
“Kiheeeek!”
“Piercing Radiant Light.”
“Grrrgh…”
[<System> Congratulations! You have defeated the dungeon master, “Harpy Queen Pignellis,” ranked 780th in the demonic hierarchy.]
Because of her “Predatory Reversal” skill, my attacks hit especially hard.
In the end, the lustful half-bird queen turned to ash without leaving even a trace.
<You really didn’t use aura at all and went straight for divine power. I really don’t like watching that.>
“Yes.”
[‘Scales That Judge Souls’ laughs, saying the pheromones of the world’s most handsome man transcend even species.]
I reached out my hand and helped Tessilid up from the feathers.
“Good to see you’re okay.”
“Thanks to you.”
“No problem. Let’s rescue the hostages.”
“Yeah, Ailet.”
We split up and freed the prisoners.
Everyone who witnessed the Harpy Queen’s defeat burst into tears of gratitude.
“Sob… Thank you for saving us… If not for you, we would’ve died such a miserable death…”
“I never imagined you could defeat the Harpy Queen so easily… It’s an honor to be saved by such a great person…”
“Sniff… Is there anything we can do to repay you, priest?”
I almost said it was fine, but then something came to mind.
“All of this is the blessing of God. You should give thanks to Him rather than me.”
“Ah! Give thanks to God!”
They immediately understood.
A message appeared.
[<System> You have converted atheists into believers.]
[‘The Word That Builds Worlds’ is pleased.]
Another successful pyramid scheme accomplished.
We opened a gate to send them out first, then looted the dungeon.
[<Item> “Multicolored Feather”
A Harpy Queen’s feather more dazzling than a peacock.
Prevents one instance of fall damage.]
“……”
“……”
Putting aside the fact that it’s single-use trash… they’re giving this to us now?
“Want it, Terry?”
“Thanks. I actually needed it.”
The kind protagonist accepted it with an emotionless smile.
We left the dungeon.
Another bandit purge completed. I looked up at the real moon in the night sky.
“Let’s sleep at the village chief’s house tonight. It should be empty.”
“Good idea.”
“Where are we going next?”
I was about to mark the next destination on the system map when—
“I think I’ll go somewhere else this time.”
“Somewhere else?”
At my questioning look, he smiled faintly.
“I can’t keep being your burden forever.”
A smile as sweet as overripe sweetness.
Chapter 19. The Way the Protagonist Shows Kindness
Tak-tak.
The campfire crackled softly.
The teleportation stones were a convenient means of travel, but unless they were specially crafted, only coordinates tied to major cities were distributed.
Because of that, traveling through every corner of the Hegellix Mountain Range had to be done on foot, and I and Tesilid often found ourselves spending the night outdoors.
[‘The Scale that Judges Souls’ smiles warmly at the pair’s intimate journey.]
[‘The Eye that Watches All Chaos’ stares wide-eyed, monitoring your infidelity.]
I ignored them and stirred the campfire. Only embers remained, glowing faintly—quite pleasant for an early summer night.
I glanced to the side.
There he was—the protagonist, now reduced to slightly above average in stamina due to being unable to use aura. He was leaning against a tree, fast asleep.
Perhaps out of a sense of chivalry, he had insisted on taking the night watch himself. It was somewhat admirable.
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
<Arlette.>
“Yes?”
<Ladies shouldn’t disturb gentlemen.>
“…Agnes, what do you even take me for?”
<He’s too handsome, and your laugh just now sounded suspiciously lecherous.>
“That’s not true at all.”
To prove my innocence against this unfair accusation, I turned my gaze away from Tesilid.
“Oh, right.”
While standing watch, I remembered something I needed to do. Namely—
[<Quest> ‘Mandatory Education for a Wise Possessed Life’ completed. Please receive your reward.]
Right. Choosing the tutorial completion reward.
[<Quest> You may select one job class and receive an item suited to it.
▷Divine Power ▷Aura ▷Cooking ▷Alchemy ▷Cultivation]
The list consisted of fields I had previously purchased “class packages” for.
“Hm…”
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ watches your choice with shining eyes.]
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ eagerly waits for you to open your reward and react.]
Maybe it’s just my imagination, but the Voice seems like someone urging me to open a present quickly.
Still, this is a real dilemma.
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ tilts its head, wondering why you’re hesitating when your main ability is Divine Power.]
Well, the thing is…
“I’m kind of drawn to Aura too.”
Yes. Separate from my main ability, I had always been an “aura enthusiast” with a strong romantic fascination for sword techniques like flying sword control.
Divine Power or Aura. To be, or not to be—that is the question.
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ is startled by your answer.]
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ panics at the unexpected situation and fidgets nervously.]
[‘The Voice that Builds the World’ tries to persuade you, saying that choosing Divine Power will bring good things.]
