chapter 13

After killing the vampire lord, I suddenly realised.

「Ah, I killed him. Should I not have?」

「There’s no problem」

「That’s good」

Shea deeply bowed.

「Rock-san. Thank you very much for wiping out our disgrace」

「Ah, it should be alright for me to cut up the medal, right?」

「That is not a problem either」

「I see」

「It is a good thing that you dispelled the curse within it. Dispelling it ourselves would be really troublesome otherwise」

「There was quite a lot of it. I’ve already buried it in my body, though」

The amount of curse within the medal was out of the ordinary.

Even that much curse isn’t enough to open the gate to the Rift, huh.

「How strong are the gods of the Dark?」

「I’m not sure. However, there’s no doubt it is stronger than the Devil King. The Devil King was just the vanguard, after all」

「That’s some frightening news」

「That is why we have to make sure that they aren’t summoned into this world」

I wonder what would happen if the gods of the Dark appear in our world

It wouldn’t be strange at all if Me, Eric and Gran can’t defeat them even with our powers combined.

Even if we are fortunate enough to defeat them, the casualties would still be quite significant.

「Indeed. It’s paramount that we prevent the summoning from happening」

As I looked at Shea, I noticed that she had an extremely serious expression on.

She was just staring at my face.

「What’s wrong?」

「Rock-san…… Just now, the vampire lord said that your sword is the Devil King’s」

「……Did he?」

I tried to dodge the question for now. However, Shea kept staring.

I turned my back at her. She then came in front of me.

「That was clearly what it said」

「Are you sure you didn’t mishear?」

「Us beastkin have excellent hearing. That was definitely what I heard」

She’s extremely suspicious of me right now.

The problem is, what exactly is she suspicious of?

Is she thinking that I might be the Rakku who even had his name become the currency unit?

Or is she suspicious of why I have the Devil King’s sword?

Depending on her doubt, I have to deal with it differently.

While I was racking my brains for dear life, Shea just sighed.

「Well, whatever. Everybody has their own secrets」

「Y, yep」

「For now, let’s kill the goblins hiding in here」

Even though she came here to kill the vampire, she isn’t ignoring the goblins.

That’s some admirable dedication.

Occasionally, there are some adventurers who ignore the small fry after defeating the big boss.

When that happens, those small fry might advance towards the nearby villages.

It’s common for such villages to suffer considerable damages.

Even if the monsters are extremely weak, they are still a threat to them.

「Yeah, we’ll have to annihilate them」

「Yes. Let’s split up for now」

Saying that, Shea started sniffing around.

「Us beastkin also have a good sense of smell」

「That’s convenient」

「Fuhehe」

She let out a weird laugh, probably from embarrassment.

「Is your job a warrior, Shea?」

「That is correct」

「Your hearing and nose’s really good so you seemed like a scout as well, though……」

「Of course, my second job is a scout」

That combination’s very convenient.

She can choose to be in a party or adventure on her own.

Thanks to her acute senses, the goblins who were hiding were all brought down.

It seems that the deeper into the tunnel we go, the stronger the goblins.

There aren’t any goblin lords, but there are hobgoblins.

After defeating about 10 goblins, Shea said,

「There doesn’t seem to be anymore goblins near us」

「Is that your nose working its magic?」

「Of course」

「Excellent」

After confirming once again that none of them slipped through, we decided to return.

「Let us head back. We should pay attention if there are still any of them just in case though」

「Sure. I’ll be on a lookout as well」

While twitching her nose, Shea then said,

「Rakku-san, Ario-san and Josh-san shouldn’t have a problem, right?」

「Most probably. They’re pretty prudent for F-rankers」

「……」

Shea suddenly went silent. She then stared at me.

「What’s wrong?」

「I just called you Rakku-san, not Rock-san, you know?」

「…………」

I was at a loss for words. I thought we were over this.

Shea nodded as she said,

「Now that I take another look at you, Rock-san, you indeed look like the statue of the hero Rakku」

「W, we don’t look alike at all」

「No, you really do look similar」

I wonder which part of us does.

I’m not as handsome as that statue. Gran and Eric too agreed with me.

「As I expected, Rock-san, you are the hero Rakku, aren’t you?」

「No……」

「You don’t need to hide it anymore, you know? There’s no way that someone other than the hero Rakku himself would possess the Devil King’s sword」

「How do I put this……」

「I understand. You have your own reasons, don’t you? You are my benefactor, Rakku-san, so I’ll keep it a secret for you」

She completely believes that I’m Rakku.

Since it’s reached this point, I should just acknowledge her suspicions and tell her to keep it a secret.

「Can’t be helped. I’ll admit it. I am indeed Rakku」

「……I thought so」

Shea’s expression had 「You’re only admitting it now?」 written all over her face.

「However, I have my own reasons, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone about me……」

「I understand. I shall not speak a word even if someone holds a sword to my neck」

「Uhh, you don’t need to go that far」

It’s not something one should put their life on the line for.

If someone threatens to kill her, no, even if they don’t go that far, it’s okay for her to let the cat out of the bag.

I made sure that she knows that.