Chapter 47

〈 Chapter 47 〉 Going Crazy

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”It’s broken…”

Looking at her swollen right arm, twisted at an odd angle, Apis let out a sigh that was almost a groan.

Her tone was as indifferent as if a pair of chopsticks had just snapped.

It was no wonder; for Apis, who fought on the front lines of a dungeon, breaking an arm was just another injury.

At this point, even the pain from the fracture was merely an annoyance.

”Haa…”

Yet, the occasional damp moans escaping Apis’ lips were due to one simple reason.

It hurt.

Not her body, but her heart.

Soon, Apis’s perplexed gaze fell upon the hero, who was sprawled on the couch with his eyes closed in sleep.

”I knew something was off…”

Every time the hero inhaled and exhaled, the scent of alcohol wafted up, tickling Apis’ nose, causing her to frown.

”How much did he drink… What on earth…”

Despite being immune to various poisons, the hero had a particular weakness when it came to alcohol.

It seemed that while he was cooking, he had taken several sips of cooking wine, losing track of his limits.

Considering the amount of food he was preparing, it was likely that he had exceeded his capacity without realizing it.

”This idiot.”

After a moment of sniveling while holding Apis’ broken arm, Apis looked at the fainted hero.

Having thought something terrible had happened, her heart sank, and it was hard not to curse.

”Ugh…”

Responding to Apis’ annoyed voice, the hero moaned.

Was it from a hangover, or was he having nightmares?

The hero was tossing and turning in distress, his brow furrowed tightly.

As much as she wanted to pat his back or place her hand on his sweat-drenched forehead…

Getting too close to the hero right now would be akin to signing her own death warrant.

All she could do was watch his pitiful movements.

Eeeeng.

Just then, a fly smelling the food flew in and tried to hover above the hero’s head.

Crack. Thud.

The very next moment, the fly was abruptly cut in half, its remains falling to the ground like autumn leaves.

This was how it often went when the hero was unconscious.

Though his mind was asleep, his body was wide awake.

With a merciless reflex, he would slice through everything coming within a few meters of him, resembling not a living being, but a golem programmed with set commands.

Even Bigtim, Apis’ blood relative, wouldn’t dare come near her while she was sleeping.

The only person who could approach the hero in that state was one person.

Only that priest.

”Hoo, hoo, I messed up…”

Watching the hero mumble in his sleep, Apis pondered.

What on earth did he do wrong?

In the past five hundred years, she had not seen a single person more virtuous than him.

What’s more, humans were a greedy race living in pursuit of their own desires.

Apis didn’t necessarily think that was a bad thing.

At least, it was better than the elves, who clung to a life devoid of desires, claiming that merging with nature was the only path to truth.

What could possibly be wrong with being honest about one’s desires?

In this harsh world, the only one who could embrace and understand oneself was oneself.

It was the hero who corrected Apis’ narrow-minded thoughts.

He was selfless, dedicated.

Even in the face of adversities threatening the well-being of those he had no connection to, he was always brave and valiant.

Yes. Like someone born to become a hero.

Apis tried to recall the moment when the hero had prioritized his desires over the greater good but stopped.

Such a moment had never occurred.

Just a while ago, she had considered the hero’s impeccably perfect figure—a flawless sculpture crafted by the creator—as magnificent and admirable.

However, now he appeared to be a being lacking something fundamental that any living creature should possess.

It felt as though she were watching a child who had lost something precious and didn’t know how to be greedy for anything.

”So kind-hearted…”

Her tone, far too gentle and caring, was hard to believe for someone whose arm had just been broken by the hero.

Though she didn’t know what kind of circumstances existed between the hero and that priest, one thing was certain.

The hero needed that priest.

”Well, okay. I needed a reason to see his face anyway.”

Apis glanced at her broken arm and took a breath, concluding a certain decision.

She couldn’t forcefully bring him here; that would probably backfire spectacularly.

What mattered was making that priest return of his own volition.

It would definitely be a challenging ordeal, but for Apis, who was part of the hero party, such challenges were part of daily life.

Moreover, she had never missed a target she had aimed for until now.

”…”

Apis fell into her thoughts.

This wasn’t someone who would be swayed by material temptations or physical torture.

Anyone who could be swayed in such a way probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the perilous journey of the hero party.

Then, there was only one method left.

Using her strengths while digging into his weaknesses.

”Seductive tactics…”

The idea that human men with little experience with women would be enticed by a woman’s virginity was a stereotype held by elves.

What’s more, the target was a man who had never had any relationships with women at all—a virgin.

Apis was convinced that her chances were overflowing rather than slim.

”What’s the matter? Let’s just fetch him! If he’s a guy, he won’t be able to resist his lust for a virgin!”

Going crazy.

If Regis had been there, he would have surely spat out words filled with regret.

Despite being an elf, who are often said to have weak reproductive instincts and closed-off tendencies, and thus struggle with interspecies perceptions…

Apis had spent her time outside the village solely concentrated on survival, training, and collecting fairy tale books.

So, the degree of her oddities had reached quite a serious level.

For Apis, experiencing a man for the first time was just a small task akin to cleaning up a delayed chore.

It felt no different than the light sensation of going for a driver’s license.

”Wait! Hero! I’ll be right back with that guy!”

Little did Apis know that the hero’s face, already heavy with worries due to the receded moonlight, was now twisted even more after hearing her declaration.

”Well then, first…”

◈◈◈

”What on earth…”

Early in the morning.

At this hour, she would usually have finished preparing for her day, being as diligent as she was.

Yet, it seemed that she had forgotten to even change out of her pajama-like appearance into her nun’s outfit and hadn’t left her bedroom yet.

”Is every scar healed…?”

Holding a hand mirror, this beautiful woman was gaping in shock as she touched her face here and there.

Her name was Beltein.

Beltein Angelas Ashes. The high-ranking nun in charge of the monastery´s operations.

Only a handful of people knew that she was the biological sister of the saint.

”This can’t be… This, this can’t be happening…”

Her suspicions were understandable. The scars she had once resigned herself to live with forever had completely vanished without a trace.

Healing fractured or severed limbs with divine power was tough but not impossible.

However, healing scars that had already healed was beyond the reach of divine power.

She had heard of a country beyond this system where scars were removed by grafting new flesh onto them, but she knew that such treatments required substantial time. So, she shook her head.

Who on earth could have…

As she brushed her hair back, Beltein suddenly recalled a fragment of a vague memory.

‘Hey, nun… Sleeping here will make your mouth crooked…’

Suddenly, her face flushed red.

”Could it be that Regis…”

The thick hands of a man clasping her own. A gentle voice. The warmth seeping into her tired body.

All those visions made it hard to distinguish between dream and reality, and even though she was struggling to recall it, piecing it together based on those memories felt impossible.

”Haa… Oh?”

Just then.

Her bewildered gaze fell helplessly downward, catching sight of her thin pajama outfit.

”Kyaaa!”

Clatter!

Beltein let out a scream so startled that she threw the hand mirror she was holding.

”Pajamas!? I, I was… I changed while I was sleeping!? Wh-who did this!? L-Let me guess! Could it be… Regis!?”

What if something had happened? Was there a series of events between her dazed self and that priest?

That was what she thought as she began anxiously feeling her body, searching for tangible evidence of what happened.

”C-Calm down. Let’s calm down. Beltein. You know he’s not that kind of person…”

Eventually, regaining her original composure, she slowly began to rise.

”Oh, huh?”

As Beltein stepped off the bed, her body trembled with an unnamed discomfort.

The shoulder pain she thought she would have to endure for a lifetime due to her natural physique. The needle-like agony in her back from excessive work was completely gone.

It felt like she had cast off the heavy burden that had been resting on her, to the point where she couldn’t even remember it.

A lightness, as if shedding something heavy on her skin, filled her with a sense of vitality.

”What is this…?”

Soon, as she shook off the questions binding her steps and opened the door…

Squeak.

”H-Hik! I-I’m so sorry, Nun…”

”Sister Marianne? What on earth…”

Marianne, the apprentice nun who watched over Beltein’s every move, stood there, drenched in tears and cold sweat, waiting at the threshold.

And behind her stood…

”Oh. You look much better without the mask.”

One member of the hero party. Archery Mastery Apis.

Startled by the unexpected guest’s arrival, Beltein had to swallow her almost instinctive scream that threatened to burst forth.

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