“Hey Ellie! You don’t trust me?!”
“Jonah, your track record is quite flashy.”
“That’s a generalization! Just because I often used beauty tricks on Ellie doesn’t mean I do that to everyone else?!”
“You just mentioned beauty tricks?! That’s basically a confession of being a con artist?!”
With Ellie screaming, and me feeling wronged, Karen quietly raised her hand in between us.
“Can I have a moment?”
“…What is it?”
Ellie suspiciously frowned at Karen. But I was just glad to see her.
“Inquisitor Karen! Please clarify the truth! I haven’t done anything wrong, right? I only asked for a donation of all my assets??”
“Ugh! Jonah! Do you really think that makes sense…?”
“It’s true!”
“…?”
Ellie wore a blank expression. Karen continued speaking toward her.
“Even if it was my entire fortune, it’s not that much, and since Jonah said they’d use it for a good cause, I willingly gave it based on what I’ve seen.”
“Y-yeah, but it’s still your entire fortune.”
“Above all, thanks to Jonah, Ian, who took the curse for me, was able to survive. Considering the value of that life, I don’t feel it’s a waste.”
“Oh.”
At that, Ellie finally gave a nod as if she remembered something. She would probably catch up on what happened in the temple while she briefly went to the storage with Lydia.
After some struggling, Ellie finally let out a long sigh and relaxed her shoulders.
“If that’s the case.”
“Hehe. See? When have I ever done anything to worry Ellie? Please trust me a little more.”
“No, you’re still doing things to worry about even now.”
“…Didn’t we just finish discussing going to the first floor together?”
“Yeah. Lydia said even if I didn’t want to go, she would follow me anyway. By the way, if I may ask, why do you want to face One Who Devours the Twilight so badly?”
“Why not?”
I tapped my chin for a moment, organizing my thoughts.
Where should I start and end? This world is made up of my settings? The seeds of tragic events I spread are so many that I need to get a little stronger to prevent anything from happening? Or… a sense of crisis that erroneous settings might occur for reasons unknown to me?
Speaking all of that was, of course, impossible. Even if I did, they would treat me like a psychopath.
So, I spoke a little more vaguely but absolutely hit the essence.
“I need to tie up loose ends.”
“……”
“It’s something only I can do.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Helping me doesn’t mean you need to fight in my place. It means I need help to tie up my own matters.”
“I understand.”
“Once more, I’ll ask you, Ellie. Please help me. Even with one arm missing, you’re strong, right? Please use that strength for me.”
“…Got it.”
Nodding, Ellie scratched the back of her head and added something.
“But there are conditions.”
“Conditions? What are they?”
“No matter what happens, don’t get separated from others. Whether it’s me, Lydia, or even that Inquisitor, just stick together. Don’t ever jump into a dangerous place alone, and come back without a scratch. …Can you promise that?”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
“Don’t just try; just do it.”
“But if you’re in a dangerous situation, I can’t just stand by, right?”
“That won’t happen, so don’t worry.”
“I won’t have a reason to jump in as long as you’re safe. …Ah, this is only regarding battles with One Who Devours the Twilight, right? I’ll still fight the Guardian of the First Floor, so please don’t stop me. I want to try getting some powers too.”
“What? Why did the Guardian suddenly come up? I thought we were going to the first floor?”
“I’m talking about the Guardian of the First Floor, you know?”
“??”
“???”
Ellie and I tilted our heads at each other. It turned out that Lydia, who had meticulously closed the storage door, and Karen, who had been fiddling with the Goddess Statue beside her, were also wide-eyed.
“Oh dear. Did I forget to mention it?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it?!”
“Yeah. First time.”
“Could it be that those heretics are targeting…?”
I nodded toward the shocked trio.
“That’s right. Somehow, they found out how to summon the Guardian of the First Floor. I’m not sure how, and they’re still experimenting, but it won’t take long before they truly summon it.”
“…That’s indeed a troublesome issue. This isn’t just about a power struggle in the temple or corruption; it’s something else entirely.”
“Just as Ellie said. With each additional power One Who Devours the Twilight gets, thinking about what happens next means we cannot sit idly by.”
“By the way, how did you find out about this, Jonah? Did you already know the summoning ritual… oh?”
Karen, realizing something, placed the Goddess Statue on the table and looked up to pray.
Uh-huh. Just because I’m a saint, the Goddess of Love probably gave me a hint, right?
Now that I’ve decided to stick to the saint (not actually) route, I put on an intentionally meaningful smile while secretly enjoying it.
“Hahaha, I just had a brief dream, and I wasn’t sure if it was true or not.”
“……”
“……”
Ellie and Lydia looked at me without speaking, clearly not buying it. But they were right to doubt it, so I didn’t care.
Enjoying their blatant gazes, I tapped the table cheerfully.
“So how about we craft a detailed plan for our assault now?”
“…Sure. Well, Jonah’s role is already decided anyway.”
“Jonah, the radish. Got it?”
“Jonah doesn’t need to be in danger.”
As they said that while trying to shove me away like it was some sort of chore, I felt perplexed by this princess treatment. Am I like a prince in this fantasy land? Anyway.
Though I appreciated all the attention, I felt a bit hurt that they didn’t trust me. Complex emotions swirled within me.
Is this what it feels like to be judged by a female knight who said not to underestimate women?
Indeed, people only learn something when they are put in that position.
Wiping fake tears, I said, “This is too much. Everyone gathered to help me but won’t let me join the planning.”
“Don’t be like that. We just meant to set the things you can do in advance; we’re not saying we’ll move without you.”
“Well, that’s true. But if I’m just going to be protected while tagging along, then I don’t need to be part of the strategy meeting, do I?”
“Huh? Uhhh. Not really?”
“Then please do let me know when everything is set. After all, I know zero about this kind of hunt, so I’ll leave it to you all.”
“…You’re being unusually obedient compared to how you were throwing a tantrum about wanting to tag along earlier. What’s the objective here?”
“That’s just wrong, Ellie. Even after making the wrong call before, you still can’t trust me? I just want to see One Who Devours the Twilight get stomped in front of my eyes and capture the Guardian. That’s it!”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
As Ellie said that, she affectionately patted my head.
“Right. You’re right. You should focus on maximizing your safety for tomorrow.”
“Yup. I was planning to check things out in advance anyway. There’s a lot to prepare.”
“I see.”
I held Ellie’s hand on my head and gently pulled it away. Then, I lightly kissed the back of her hand.
Smooch.
“Thank you, Ellie. Even though you’ve retired, you’re still fighting for me?”
“Well, treat me well in the future if you understand.”
Ellie chuckled, but surprisingly, the hand kiss caused her face to flush bright red, and her lips trembled while her tail wagged furiously.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I told Lydia and Karen to call me if anything happened while I headed to my room.
With a hefty coin purse from Karen in my hand.
Preparation?
Sure. I gotta prepare.
For Gacha!!!
As soon as I closed the door, I dumped today’s earnings all over my desk.
Having looted an entire Hobgoblin den, moved a poisoned man to the temple for a fee, and now Karen’s entire fortune.
Sadly, it was a pile of silver coins and not a single gold coin… but still, with this much, it should be quite a hefty sum.
I didn’t bother counting. After all, I’d waste… no, invest it all in Gacha.
Even though I didn’t have the Goddess Statue to pray on behalf of Karen, I poured my earnest heart into my prayer.
“People have to understand… right?”
Ding!
[Standard Gacha]
– Spend cash or correspondingly equivalent magic stones to randomly get items and skills between 1 to 5 stars.
[1-time Gacha] [10+1-time Gacha]
“Watch over me!!”
I shouted while frantically clicking the gacha button as if screaming.
With the clinking of coins rapidly disappearing, a barrage of random junk poured out along with message windows popping up in front of me.
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
[3 Stars: Masterpiece – The most beautiful and adorable Goddess Statue in the world]
“???”
Well, that’s not what I meant by asking for you to watch over me?
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