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Chapter 27 Part 2

「Thanks for the support earlier.」

 

「You’re welcome~ Well, I didn’t really get a chance to do much, so I’m glad I got to play a little bit at the end.」

 

Sybilla said in a carefree manner while picking up the magic stone from the Cavalry Knight, but I think we wouldn’t have been as successful earlier if it weren’t for her.

 

Not only how useful her magic was earlier, but also her quick decision to put up a stone wall as soon as she realized we were dealing with a fast monster.

Without that, it’s highly likely that the horse would’ve chased us even if we had avoided it somehow.

 

Above all that.

She came up with the alternating chanting technique after anticipating that we would encounter a monster that moves quickly. Her ability to anticipate and avoid danger is truly amazing.

Did Sybilla also predict that such an enemy would appear?

 

——No, I guess it doesn’t matter even if I ask her about it.

 

Even if she didn’t know much about monsters or can’t anticipate the dangers that may come, we’ll get through with everything we got.

Even in an emergency situation, she can make a split-second decision that can save our lives.

That’s one of the things Sybilla’s good at.

 

Before being a Goddess, she was Sybilla the 【Mage】, my adventurer-senpai, and her intuition, backed up by her experience as a seasonal adventurer, is what makes her so capable.

 

And that capable girl is my partner.

It’s truly reassuring to have her by my side.

 

「Your magic earlier was amazing too, it saved us.」

 

「……Well, it’s level 20 magic, and it’s a bit flashy, but… I think you’re doing about a hundred times more amazing than I am. But well, I’ll take your compliments. And I’ll also give you the right to fall in love with this Sybilla-chan.」

 

「Again with the jokes, geez…」

 

I shrugged my shoulders at Sybilla, who’s just being herself as usual, joking at times like this.

But it does make the atmosphere calmer, erasing all the tension from earlier.

 

After Sybilla confirmed that there was nothing else we can get from the Living Armor’s horse, she proceeded in the direction where the Living Armor Cavalry was coming from, as we have nothing to do here anymore.

I followed her, heading for the far end of the path.

 

And what lies there… was a giant door made of steel.

 

「It’s the Floor Boss room.」

 

「I can see that.」

 

Once we both agree that what we see in front of us is the door to the Floor Boss, I ask Sybilla to decide our next action.

 

「What should we do?」

 

「Let’s go home.」

 

She unexpectedly replied in an instant.

And it looks like we should return, according to Sybilla.

 

「Can I ask for the reason?」

 

「Firstly, do you remember what I told you earlier?」

 

「Above everything else, it’s important to know when to retreat… was it?」

 

「Correct.」

 

Sybilla nodded and stared at the giant door.

 

「There’s nothing wrong with thinking that it’s best to defeat the boss as soon as possible. But we don’t know when the attack on the village is going to happen. It can be tomorrow, it can be next month, or even a decade from now on. So if Russel is at the orphanage at that time, then you would be able to protect it anyway, right?」

 

「That’s… you’re not wrong… but…」

 

It makes sense when she put it that way, but, that would mean at that point, the Demon King would already begun to attack the orphanage.

 

「You’re right, the orphanage will be in danger that way. Our chances to protect everyone will go down considerably.」

 

「Then we shouldn’t wait… If there’s even one person who got killed…」

 

…That’s right, I’m one of the people who knows the situation, so a part of me has braced my heart for such a possibility.

But Emmy… will she be able to keep her spirit up when she suddenly finds out that one or two people from the orphanage have been killed?

 

「I know what Russel is thinking. But I have only one thing to say.」

 

Sybilla turns her body from the giant door toward me and glares at me with a serious expression on her face.

 

「If you lose, there’s a ten percent chance that everyone in the orphanage will die.」

 

「——!? ……」

 

Her words were so harsh that I can’t help but turn speechless.

And yet, there’s nothing but truth in what she said that I can’t refute it.

 

She’s right… if I lost here, there would be no one in the village who could be relied on to fend off the Demon King’s attack.

I mustn’t lose.

 

This makes me think about throwing all my shame and everything else behind and just go to call Vince and the others.

But if I do that… the reunion will be too awkward.

I know that that’s just an excuse for how weak my heart is, but I just can’t go that far yet.

 

And there’s one more thing.

The Demon King thinks that the Hero’s Party would be weakened if he targeted the Priests instead of the Saintess.

But he’s wrong.

Right now, there’s no Priest in Vince’s party. So the Demon King won’t have to worry about killing who first to weaken them from the start.

I don’t think Emmy would allow him to hire a new Healer after he kicked me out.

I’m just going to be honest here. After seeing how cunning the Demon King is, it’s hard to believe that they can win without a Priest.

 

Besides, if I could, I want to settle the things here by myself before I reunite with them.

I believe I have the power to do that. 

 

As I was worrying about those things, …… Sybilla, For some reason, started touching my body without hesitation.

 

「…What are you doing when someone is troubled about something? Do you want me to hit you again?」

 

「Russell, in cases like this, it’s important to make your preparations carefully, you know?」

 

Sybilla said and lightly tapped her own clothes.

When she did that, a clanking sound like that of a light armor being hit rang out.

So, what she meant by that was…

 

「Are you wearing light armor under that robe?」

 

「Exactly.」

 

「…That’s not that bad, but…」

 

「No no, you don’t get it, do you? This thing is incredibly good! It’s amazing, I tell you. After all, it’s a 『very special item』.」

 

As I tilted my head and waited for Sybilla to continue, Sybilla turned her lips into a grin.

 

「Did you forget about all the items you have?」

 

「Don’t be annoying and just tell me, would you?」

 

Sybilla looked at me with her mischievous smile and began to tell me about this 『very special item』.

And here I would once again be amazed by the Goddess of crisis prevention’s showcase of power.

 

「Last night, I made a quick request to a dwarf in the town to work on the Fire Dragon materials we brought. And that is an inner armor made for you, Russell.」

 

That’s… certainly terrific.