Book 14 Chapter 11

Episode 29

“Why, you ask? Well—”

Before the explanation, "Because he's a Hero," could even come out, Rista appeared.

It was a good thing.

Because Rista had said she would hide her identity until she arrived at the Papal Court.

Anyway, it's truly amazing. No long explanation is needed. The words "Because he's just a Hero"… explain in one sentence that Rista is [the Strongest].

I hope to have such a title attached to me someday.

In that moment when this archer asked why I didn't kill her earlier, I didn't have the eloquence to repeat exactly what Rista had said to me.

– Is that… reason really so important?

So I answered like this.

But what's with this archer? Why did she nod, saying she understood? Is she perhaps a genius enough to see through my thoughts?

I scratched the tip of my nose awkwardly and shouted to hide my embarrassment.

“Go, Sval! Stomach Punch!”

At my command, Rista enthusiastically cheered, swinging both fists.

“Stomach Punch! Stomach Punch! Sval, be a stomach punch!”

Sval, practically pushed into the unconscious woman's mouth, soon delivered a powerful punch to her stomach.

The [Flesh of the King] spurted out mixed with vomit. Sval was also covered in stomach acid.

So dirty! I definitely won't let it come near me for the rest of today.

“Wow~ It's definitely bigger than the ones we've seen so far.”

Rista nonchalantly picked up the flesh and examined it from all angles.

Just touching it, the temptation of the Abyss reaches my brain, it's truly strange.

The flesh formed itself into a blade and lunged towards Rista's eyes, but she simply dodged it nonchalantly and burst into laughter.

“Still, it's not as big as Sval.”

As Rista brought the flesh next to Sval, perhaps to compare sizes, Sval yelped in fright and ran behind my shoulder.

“Still, it seems more useful than this guy?”

I said. The [Flesh of the King] is intuitive. What that means is, its power is determined by its size.

The flesh had a property of wanting to attach to itself, so size was akin to number.

The pieces of flesh Rista and I had collected so far had also attached to each other on their own, growing considerably in size.

“You're also part of [Roar of the Grizzly Bear], aren't you?”

The archer answered Rista's question readily.

“Did Zhanna tell you?”

“She spilled everything without even being asked. Well, even if she hadn't, I would have known by the emblem on her chest.”

“Ha, that scatterbrain didn't even hide her emblem….”

“Why are you, a Platinum-grade mercenary group, searching for flesh in the North?”

Platinum grade, does that mean they're on the same level as Link and Nils?

I wonder what those guys are up to.

Thinking of Link, who thumped his chest with a fist and yelled “Link,” and Nils, who heartily guffawed, a smile unconsciously appeared on my face.

“Hmph….”

Then the archer replied in a bitter yet challenging tone.

“To dismiss information about a Platinum-grade mercenary group with such derision, does a 4-star genius mage mean we're beneath her notice?”

No, you. It's not like that….

However, it seemed acceptable for someone defeated by [the Strongest Mage] to react this way.

I learned something good. I should use it next time too. Anyway, the woman was unconscious, and the archer was not intact from the shock of the fall, her entire body bruised, making movement difficult.

“What do we do now?”

I asked Rista.

“What do you mean, 'what do we do'?”

Rista licked her upper lip seductively and replied.

“Shall we get to know each other over a meal?”

“?”