One of Kyleâs arms flew off as the sword slashed. The remaining of the pair was also blown away in the rigidity of the pain.
âKyle!!!â
Graveliya came, jabbing her spear.
The speed was fast, but the target was not slow either.
In the motion of flow, I avoided the spear, and skillfully grabbed the spear. Graveliya opened her eyes wide in surprised.
In response, I naturally kicked on her stomach and made her roll on the floor.
â..!!!!â
Kyle howled, with his facial muscles becoming bestial.
I just slapped him on the neck.
We donât need this dumb cub for now.
âDamn this sh!t!â
Graveliya, who was sent rolling on the floor, injected her strength into her legs as soon as she stood up and swung her fist.
Commendable. The courage to wield her bare fist at an opponent with a sword.
In admiration to her courage, I chopped off her swinging arm in return without courtesy.
As a bonus, her opposite leg was also included right after.
She wobblingly hopped a few steps back with her remaining leg and then feebly collapsed on the floor.
âI still donât understand. Why did you betray me?â
I approached her as she collapsed on the floor and asked. She laughed softly.
âBy chance, are you sick in your head? I did it. Of courseâbecause youâre a dick.â
âHm, thatâs not new, I guess. Was it because of what happened when we entered the dungeon? I didnât know, you had such a kiddish mentality?â
âItâs a joke, you idiot. Would someone like me risk her life just because of something like that?â
âIâm glad you still have the energy to joke around. I still do have some questions.â
I stably slumped down right next to Graveliya.
âWhy?â
âWhy do you think I will answer your doubts?â
I took out a potion and showed it to her.
âIf you donât answer meâŠmaybe, I will make you a goblin sex slave?â
âHeh. This is what a Hero is. The world is ruined.â
âDonât turn around with your words. Answer, why?â
âOf course, because I wanted to live.â
I frowned. It was still an incomprehensible answer.
Seeing my expression, she giggled and spoke to me.
âDidnât you said? This dungeon has 30 floors.â
âI did.â
âWe are on the 15th floor right now.â
âRight.â
âJust look at this. We are only halfway here, but we almost dead, didnât we?â
âNope, no one died.â
âIt doesnât matter. It doesnât matter, because we almost died. I donât want to die. But you, stronger than the three of us, insists on going downwards to those more dangerous floors. You got your sh*tty answer? In order to survive, I had no f**kng choice but to kill you by surprise, got it?â
âYou say you wanted to kill a Hero because you wanted to survive⊠Isnât that a bit contradictory? If itâs found out, even if itâs not Prona, in the Empire, or in the other countries⊠Oh, I donât need to say this.â
No matter how heinous a crime someone commits, even a treason against humanity of killing a Hero, it doesnât matter half a penny if one doesnât get caught.
And dungeon is the perfect place to hide murder, arson, and thefts.
âIf you wanted to kill me, werenât there better ways? Killing me while Iâm asleep, or poisoning my food?â
âWe all know how to sleep shallowly, right? Even if someone gets a little close, you wake up. Besides, you didnât eat the meat grilled by us, did you? You first have to give us a chance to do anything!â
âŠwell, I still havenât broken my old habits.
â..you didnât felt any guilt? The suffering that the people of a country who have lost their Hero will suffer.â
âIs that really what the Incompetent Hero should be saying? Rumors have spread that the Hero of Prona is not trustworthy at all, some say that the people of the Kingdom of Prona have already given up on their Hero. The king is also said to be attaching a string with another Hero⊠you donât know?â
âI have no interest in politics.â
ââŠI see. Anyways, thatâs the reason I tried to kill you, the Hero. I wanted to live.â
I sighed at her defiant attitude.
âI didnât had any intention to let any one of you die. You know Iâm strong, right? You also found out that I was a Hero. Then didnât you had the option to trust me and follow me? If you did, the fame and fortune would be incomparable to what it is nowâŠâ
âTrust the Incompetent Hero? Yo, Mr. Hero, arenât you too overconfident in yourself?â
ââŠâ
âTut⊠Donât give me that long face. Because I know that even the Incompetent Hero is much more powerful and respectful than the likes of us. Still, wasnât that just another new road where I would have to still risk my life? So, I was thinking of handing over this dungeonâs location to another Hero. Itâs a dungeon that the likes of us canât raid anyway. Moreover, itâs a dungeon that the Hero Cloud covets, isnât it? If I hand it over, wouldnât I at least get the title of a baron?â
âThe more I hear, the more I think you are a f**king b!tch. From the moment I saw the pink hair, I shouldnât have given my trust. Ainât gonna believe in pink hair weirdos from now on, or Iâll go crazy. What about Garuda?â
âAt first, I was thinking of getting him into our plan. But nutheads like him donât listen. He thought that he can become some great warrior bullsh!t if he follows the Hero. So, I stabbed him with a dagger that was heavily poisoned with Cockatrice poison. He died in less than five minutes, with no dead body left.â
ââŠIâm not sure on how to face Garudaâs family.â
âHe is a bastard that will readily have an affair even though he has a decent wife, what do you think? Arr⊠with such a brain, he was gonna die soon anyways. There, there, Hero-kun, no need to be distressed. Now, why muddle up in past sorrows, canât you just save me? For the rest of my life, I will only look at Hero-kun.â
âA goblin slave?â
âF**k⊠just kill me.â
Her face was pale, with a lot of blood drained from her smiling face.
Looking at her blood that covers the floor, it seems that there is not much time left for her.
âAh, before I die, I have something to say to our Incompetent Hero.â
She turned her head to look at the ceiling. Then, she made eye contact with me, she said.
âIt seems to me that there is a virgin flower garden on the head of the Hero. When people become teammates, it is natural to risk our lives for each other and bla bla, eh?â
ââŠâ
âCalm down, dude. Donât you know you will just be suffering like that? Teammates are just pieces of interests. When you no longer need them, you throw them away. Especially the bastards of adventurers like me.â
ââŠâ
ââŠBut, well, if you want to have a teammate who risks his life for you, there is a way.â
â?â
âTake away their weakness. Either physical or emotional. And use it. Letâs think. Why did Kyle risk his life to fight for me?â
âYou two are a couple, he loves you, pink weirdo.â
âThen did I love Kyle? Love someone who is dumb, unable to speak?â
âYou⊠damn, I really have nothing to say.â
âHick⊠haha, our innocent Hero doesnât know, thatâs what the world is all about. Use whatever thatâs available. A tool, is just a tool⊠donât give up on using them⊠thatâs⊠the secret to surviving to the endâŠâ
Graveliyaâs voice got weaker.
Soon her eyes darkened.
I sighed and covered her eyelids.
I laid down on the floor and looked up at the ceiling.
There was only the coverage of the expanse of stone ceiling, but my eyes saw something else.
âWhy do I miss you today so muchâŠâ
The words that Graveliya had said replayed in my head.
â Take away their weakness. Either physical or emotional. And use it.
â Use whatever thatâs available.
â A tool, is just a tool⊠donât give up on using themâŠ
âI just wanted to experience that feeling againâŠeven if itâs just a little bit⊠I donât think thatâs possible here.â
If thatâs the case, thereâs no reason to cling on whatâs unachievable.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
Just when I closed my eyes to the ensuing darkness.
â Cloud, the Imperial Social Banquet will be held soon. Donât forget to attend.
Frillite.
It felt as if her voice was being played right in my ears.