Chapter 18

EP.18 The Longsword Warrior and the Hungry Saintess

A warrior wearing a helmet was running.

In the midst of an ongoing battle, he had been given a crucial responsibility, having detached himself from the main force.

The warrior galloped across the plains, which had been trampled by infantry and siege weapons during the war.

The lush grass was torn and cut by his steel boots, fluttering around his feet.

Set against the backdrop of a field battle in the nation of Ishuard, where a civil war had erupted, this was a mode where both teams fought under the same conditions without the presence of a castle.

The warrior, wearing a helmet with two horns, was the hero of the revolutionary army, and without any accompanying soldiers, he was heading towards the enemy lines, carrying the lustrous aura of the usurper.

His movements were so peculiar that the archers on the hastily constructed watchtowers of the kingdom's army, which had set up its encampment far beyond the horizon, failed to detect his appearance.

The task assigned to Mohye, with his characteristic 'Stealth Walking,' was to assassinate a player who was preparing a powerful spell at the rear.

‘What was his nickname again…’

As a streamer, he was just a green user, so it was no surprise that he couldn't remember.

Even if he had remembered, it probably wouldn't have stirred much emotion.

Before long, Mohye's character easily reached the first defensive line set up by the enemy.

Assassinating a mage.

This was originally a job for a thief, but the team's only thief, Parfetino, had died in a team fight and was waiting to respawn.

While the team 'Yuyuyu Chachacha' was skilled in full-scale battles, the opposing team, aware of this, had been trying to wear them down using mages, putting them at a disadvantage. The team's main orderer, the Saintess, had made a decision.

So, it was the Saintess's command.

Mohye briefly recalled the strategy the Saintess had briefed before the game started.

{ "Mr. Mohye, could you change one of your sub-traits?"

"Huh? Suddenly?"

"I have a rough idea of how the enemy will act, so I want to take out an insurance policy just in case."

"Insurance? But I've been practicing with the sub-traits that suit me best..."

"Hehe."

"..."

"Ufufu."

"Which one should I remove and which one should I add?"

"Remove 'Blade Focus' and add 'Stealth Walking.'"

"Huh? Suddenly 'Stealth Walking'? I'm not a stealth thief..."

"Ahaha."

"......Understood." }

As the game progressed to this point, Mohye was almost trembling.

Wasn't this exactly the situation where his 'Stealth Walking' would be needed?

What is she, that woman.

It's as if she had anticipated this would happen.

"No, no matter how I look at it, it must be a coincidence..."

Just as Mohye was muttering to himself, he saw the team chat update.

[ Saintess: Break through to the right from there, I detected a trap at the front. ]

Startled, Mohye quickly typed on the keyboard to set his character to move to the destination and then typed.

[ Mohye: Couldn't you have told me sooner? ]

[ Saintess: I'm busy too. ]

That's right. The Saintess was the main orderer.

She was likely still giving orders to the team through Discord for team communication.

But her voice didn't reach Mohye.

Yes, Mohye had left the team's voice chat room.

This was also part of the Saintess's strategy.

Strategy.

Can this even be called a strategy?

In the voice chat room of the game, where six people form a team, it's not as easy as you might think to immediately recognize that the orderer's words are directed at you.

This was especially true for Mohye.

He often missed the commands clearly directed at him, losing opportunities.

The supervisor, who had identified the problem but couldn't find a solution, had said to the Saintess without hesitation.

"I think I can solve it."

The solution she proposed was...

This.

Mohye would not join the voice chat room and would only follow the orders typed in the in-game chat.

So, the main orderer, the Saintess, would give orders to the team through Discord and separately type commands to Mohye in the in-game chat, while also performing the role of a priest by casting buffs and heals to all team members.

Unlike the other team members, she had to handle three tasks at once.

Despite this, she handled each task without a single issue, leading the team members, including the supervisor, to cautiously speculate that she might be an alien with three brains.

The reminiscence of the past ended there.

Mohye's steps halted.

They stopped.

Because a distant enemy had appeared.

A warrior with a thin frame and long, unkempt hair tied in a ponytail.

A longsword dangled from his bony wrist.

Just by seeing his customization, Mohye could guess his identity.

The longsword warrior, Hase.

Startled by his appearance, Mohye hid his body and nagged the Saintess.

[ This is a big problem. ]

[ Huh? ]

[ Hase is here, how did you not know? ]

[ Why is it a big problem? ]

[ Huh? ]

[ Didn't we check before the game started? Your character has the ability to detect stealth. ]

[ Then the Stealth Walking is useless. ]

[ Not at all. It can't perfectly detect stealth units, so you need to come out and face him. ]

[ So, I'm the bait? ]

[ More accurately, it's a strategy based on the prediction that they would think you're the bait. ]

[ Huh? ]

[ Is Hase alone? ]

[ Yes. ]

[ As expected. I predicted he would come alone rather than send troops, to avoid being manipulated. ]

[ ?? ]

[ If you can't understand, it's fine. Your task is set. ]

[ What, you want me to stall Hase? ]

[ No. Win. ]

[ What????????? ]

Despite the urgent situation, the Saintess's chat, complete with a period, was the last he received.

Mohye, outside the screen, sighed at the lack of response.

The enemy was handling a longsword, just like him.

Just because they were characters wielding the same weapon, the unprecedented aura emanating from Hase's name and customization was pressuring Mohye.

"The enemy is Orange 3, this devil... I'm only Green 4. According to the ranks, there's no way I can win against such a strong opponent."

As a warrior using the same weapon, if he couldn't gain any advantage, the outcome would be determined solely by skill.

So, he couldn't win.

With a headache, Mohye thought of one trick.

If I lose, I can blame that devilish woman. It's not my fault, right?

"Whatever!"

The warrior, who had been hiding like a shadow of the night, revealed himself under the scorching sun and charged.

***

『 BaldIsAphrodisiac: Yes, so what now?

Saintess: The Saintess is loved by animals too.

BaldIsAphrodisiac: She's bringing up another weird setting again.

Saintess: Is that so?

BaldIsAphrodisiac: I'm just saying, I'm not really interested in that kind of thing, and I don't want to hear it either.

Saintess: Tsk.

BaldIsAphrodisiac: Seriously, did you add that setting just to talk about that kind of thing... 』

The first match of the tournament ended in victory for our team.

Despite the opposing team's efforts to create a significant variable by actively using mages against our team, which excelled in full-scale battles, Mohye's victory over Hase and the subsequent assassination of the mage, as per my strategy, was the most effective move that led to our victory.

Despite all the fuss, he did a good job.

If it were impossible, I wouldn't have asked him to do it.

The match ended, and everyone was taking a break before the tournament resumed the next day.

Taking advantage of the brief respite, I found myself in a park.

I wanted to get some sunlight.

And, I was looking for something to eat.

...I'm hungry.

In the distance, the sight of pigeons pecking at feed near the fountain kept flashing in my mind.

I had already eaten dog food, so why not bird feed?

I was so hungry that I genuinely thought about it for a moment.

What if I just pluck a pigeon and roast it?

- Woof woof!

A barking sound came from somewhere.

Thinking it was a hallucination, I noticed a Jindo dog had approached and was sitting at my feet.

When the panting dog clung to my leg, I picked it up by putting my hands under its armpits and made eye contact.

Is it a Shiba Inu?

I don't care, it doesn't matter.

The important thing was that food had come to me.

Just as I was about to make dog soup...

"Ouch!"

How did it know I was having inappropriate thoughts about it? The animal, neither a dog nor a puppy in size, scratched my arm with its sharp claws.

The sudden pain brought me back to my senses.

If the dog lovers could see inside my head, they might try to kill me.

But I'm hungry...

Just as I was thinking this, a girl's voice reached my ears.

"Doji!"

The pitch of her voice was familiar.

Upon reflection, it was the same voice I had heard when I extorted money from some thugs at a convenience store.

But what did she say?

The girl, who had been panting from running a long distance, seemed to recognize me and opened her big eyes wide.

"Sister, it's you again!"

"What did you just say...?"

"Huh? ...Ah. This dog's name is Doji."

"Did you name it?"

"Ah, my older sister did."

"..."

"I was just taking it for a walk... Sister, there's blood on your wrist! You're bleeding?!"

The girl was making a big fuss, but I didn't think it was a big deal.

It's not the first time.

What was making me dizzy more than the sharp pain in my arm was the fact that there was someone crazy enough to name their dog Doji, just like me.

"She's probably a coin addict..."

"Wow, how did you know?"

"..."

Author's Note (Afterword)

(Peek)