The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12

* * *

“My daughter… she’s not my daughter! Aaaaah-!”

A man’s anguished sobbing rang out, filling the entire street.

“Captain! The Ailander bastards who went in earlier say they brought out one survivor.”
“…”
“And they say they’ve wiped out every demonic monster inside the chapel too…”
“Have it burned down with the building.”
“Ah, should I list the survivor on the report?”
“…No. There are no survivors in this chapel. There’s no need to count those who aren’t subjects of the Empire.”

The adjutant hesitated, his face blank, then began jotting something down in his notebook.

“But Captain… Are you sure we shouldn’t investigate them? Three of them managed what our trained Imperial soldiers could not.”
“…”
“And the spearman is downright insolent! I’ve never had my knees go weak just from making eye contact…”
“…Seems I’m tired.”
“Sir?”

At the captain’s words, the adjutant tilted his head.
No matter how long he waited, his superior only gazed into empty air and gave no answer.

Only silence.
Now and then, the screams of a man searching for his daughter and cursing the world were all that drifted through.

“Adjutant. Those Ailanders you mentioned will surely return tonight to their filthy underground nests and try to get some sleep.”
“You mean the place they call the Underground City?”
“The complaints of our citizens are reaching the heavens. They say our initial response was lacking and that the death toll has risen as a result.”
“But we did our very best-.”
“Where do you suppose this arrow will be aimed next? At the Imperial Knights? Or at the Papacy’s priests, who failed to foresee this disaster?”
“…Sir?”

The adjutant went pale at once, all color draining from his face.

“H-how could you even suggest such a thing! Who would dare blame His Holiness?!”
“What would you do, in my place?”
“Huh…?”
“In a moment like this, the most convenient excuse is lying right under our noses, isn’t it?”

The captain’s gaze shifted to the man wailing in the street.
The man kept repeating his daughter’s name over and over, carrying on like a lunatic, and now he was cursing the Ailanders who had recovered his daughter’s body.

“The weaker one is, the more eagerly it sinks its teeth into something weaker still…”

The captain let out a small sigh, then turned and walked away.

* * *

[Emergency Quest, 【The Girl Locked Beneath the Chapel】, has been completed.]
[You have acquired 1 Player Point!]

We brought the surviving kid back with us to the Underground City.
Thankfully, the quest was marked complete, and the Privilege Points came through properly.

“I didn’t mean to, but in the end I kept my promise to bring back our Ailander people…”

The Hidden Route, , seems to differ from the original plot in many ways.
From the very start, the hero came to kill me, and a colonial girl survived in place of the Imperial girl…
Even more surprising is that this Underground City is still standing.
In the original work, it always fell apart from the early stages and turned into a dungeon swarming with Demonic Monsters.

‘Besides, the original setting had the Ailand Faction behind the Red Steam release.’

Starting with the Red Steam terror, contaminated zones spread across the country, and the Monsterization of humans, animals, and plants accelerated.
That was the backdrop of the original game.

‘…But no matter how I look at it, I don’t think the people of the Underground City are the ones who did it.’

Just look at those innocent faces.
Do those look like the faces of mass murderers?

“Setanta, we owe all of this to you.”
“….”
“Saving this child. I doubt I could have managed it alone.”

Ailin offered me her thanks.
Beside her stood the little girl she had rescued from beneath the chapel, who had kept her mouth clamped shut the whole time, as though she had no intention of opening up.

“Well, I only did what anyone should have done.”
“Even that attitude is enviable. I can see why Rian considers you his savior.”
“….”

Acquiring the Holy Relic was mandatory.
It was an early-game must-have, so I’d gone for it, which made it only natural.

“And what about Rian—”
“Ah, he went to rest. His mana nerves must have been strained.”

Ailin hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“By the way, Setanta. Once all this is over, do you have somewhere else to go?”
“Hmm, nowhere in particular, for now.”
“…Then why not stay here in this Underground City?”

Maybe I was imagining it.
Her expression seemed far softer than before.

“We’re both Ailander, after all, and above all, we desperately need someone with your talent.”
“Well then, I’ll stay. I’ve got nowhere else to go anyway.”
“Thank you! May the Blessing of Ailand be with you.”

That was the moment I agreed, more or less casually.

…Ding!

[Ailin’s Trust Level toward you has risen!]
[Hidden Route progress increased!]

‘Huh?’

All at once, the Hidden Route Checklist was marked as complete.

[Hidden Route Progress: 2.2%]
-『Earn the Princess’s Trust』 (Complete)
-『???』
-『???』
…….

Is this really complete now?
The quest to Earn the Princess’s Trust……?

[The Hero’s name in the party differs from their true name. The name recognized by the Observer will be the final display.]
[Current display – 【Ailin (SSR)】]

On top of that, a helpful System notification even tells me the Hero’s true name is something else.

‘Could it be that the last princess of Ailand, the one who was supposed to have survived…?’

Ailin……
Is this the one?

In that instant, every piece fell into place.

“Do you know? In the Ailand Kingdom, the line of succession has traditionally never passed to someone with a physical disability.”

‘So she was a princess pushed out of the succession because one of her arms had been cut off.’

And the fact that she’s the only remaining royal blood in the Ailand Kingdom…
Now it all makes sense.

‘Excluded from the succession from the start, so she never had to show her face?’

That’s how she managed to survive, slipping past the Imperial Army.
Probably that’s the story, anyway.

“Setanta, why are you staring at me like that?”
“Oh, it’s just that it feels like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”
“Hm?”
“Ah, I mean until I can get back home.”
“……?”

Ailin wore the look of someone who didn’t quite follow, but—
she didn’t press further.

“You say strange things sometimes. But I don’t mind that. None of us do.”

She wore a slightly awkward expression, then gave a stiff little smile.

* * *

The first night after officially becoming a member of the Underground City.
At the moment, I’m being pestered by the girl I rescued from the Chapel.

“My finger won’t stick back on…”
“…….

The girl kept holding out her half-torn little finger in front of me.
Even after several rounds of Potion and fresh bandages, there seems to be no improvement.

“I said earlier… I can’t fix that.”
“……?”
“Go ask someone else to rewrap it. I’m hopeless when it comes to healing.”
“But…”

I’d meant to shoo her off with a few gentle words, but the girl is still trailing right behind me.
Does she feel attached to me, thinking I saved her?

‘…At her age, she should have passed out from the pain by now.’

Yet this child shows not a trace of pain, and keeps insisting over and over that I reattach her finger.
Something about her is… off.

[【???】 is showing you a faint sign of goodwill.]

The System is even popping up like it does for a Hero’s status message.

What is this kid?
Don’t tell me this little brat is classified as a Hero too?

“Hey, kiddo. Head over that way, and there’s a sickly mage who uses magic. Ask him to fix it for you.”
“….”

I pointed with my finger toward the door of the Guest Quarters, where Rian was surely passed out.
Not that he’s a healer, of course.
Still, he’s a mage, so shouldn’t he know a better way than I do?

“Kid, I’ll go with you-”
“Ahem!”

A harsh throat-clearing sounded from behind me.

“There’s no point in going! That Dark Mage can’t use a single healing spell. No need to make a wasted trip.”
“Hm…?”
“Kid. How about I just rip off that dangling finger of yours? I’ll pull it off so it won’t hurt-”
“Enough, Perdi! Can’t you see you’re scaring the child?”

A man built like a barbarian.
And beside him, Ailin.
They looked like they’d just stepped out after inspecting the inner state of the Underground City.

“Ailin, the kid’s been asking for someone to reattach her finger this whole time. Is that even possible?”
“…Let me take a look.”

At my words, Ailin knelt on one knee and carefully lifted the girl’s right hand.
She studied it closely, and her expression didn’t look good at all.

“….”

Even at a glance, the little finger looked blackened and necrotic.
The cut surface was ragged and uneven.
It didn’t seem like something a potion and a bandage could fix.

“Child, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’ll have to give up on that finger.”
“….”
“If we leave it like this, infection could cost you your life.”
“…Please, just reattach it.”
“It’s in bad shape. Amputation is the only option. If we wait any longer-”
“No! This one, this one is…”

The girl yanked her right hand back with a jerk and stumbled backward.

“This finger is…”
“…?”
“It’s the finger I promised Mom about…”

For a moment, a heavy silence settled over the room.

“I promised Mom, pinky to pinky, that we’d meet again alive…”
“Ah…”
“So you can’t cut it off…”
“…”

Leaving Ailin behind, her brows knitted as she searched for the right words to say.

“Ahh… I’ve got urgent business! You two carry on!”

Ferdi went *thud, thud!*
With his massive frame, he bolted off somewhere in a hurry.
He left the three of us stranded in this awkward space.

‘…This is a problem. The trait must already have attached itself to her.’

Since she appeared as a Guest rather than an official Party member when I rescued her earlier, I haven’t confirmed the exact trait yet.

【Body Loss (-)】
-Lost body parts cannot be restored with healing magic.

It’s probably appeared on her Character Window as a negative trait like this.
And there’s no undoing it now.

‘Should I run off with that barbarian brute too…?’

Soothing a child isn’t really my department, and if she starts crying, I’m going to feel awful about it…
I was gazing at the girl with a rather troubled heart when it happened.

…*Clack!*

‘Hm?’

A metallic sound of armor coming loose rang out of nowhere, so I turned my head.
Ailin had just detached the prosthetic arm from her right side.

“Little one, there’s no need to be so frightened. Look, I’m getting by with a replacement arm like this too, aren’t I?”
“…An arm…?”
“Once your fingers have healed, let’s get you a nice one to attach. It might take a while to get used to, mind you.”

Ailin continued, speaking to the child slowly, as if coaxing her gently.

“Even without an arm, even without a single finger, a person can still live.”
“But…”
“Even when something precious is taken away, one day you’ll grow used to living without it.”
“…”
“That’s right, even when a kingdom falls, we still manage to get by just fine, don’t we…?”

…Oh, is that a dark joke only a colonial royal could make?

Ailin seemed a little startled by her own words. She glanced around as if she’d committed some crime, then let out a short sigh.

“So what I mean is… even if a person loses an arm, even if a nation vanishes, and even if a hollow space opens up somewhere in their heart…”
“…”
“Still, one can get by somehow. That’s what I’m trying to say…”

She stumbled over her words, which was unlike her, as she carried on.
Almost as though she were speaking to herself.

“Uh… Setanta?”

Ailin seemed to run out of words. Her eyes twitched, and she glanced my way.
She looked like she wanted me to back her up.

But I’ve never been good with words, so I decided to keep quiet.

‘Speaking of which, in the original work that guy was portrayed as a vicious killer, slaughtering people like a madman.’

Every time that woman’s frenzied Golden Sword Aura swept across the map, the lower-ranked soldiers died split from top to bottom, their bodies scorched a crispy golden brown.

Ah, seriously, I can’t tell if this is really the same person.
Did she change her personality after getting buffed by allies or something?

‘Well, now that she’s completely on my side, I guess it doesn’t matter…’

While Ailin fumbled, I decided to take over and simply ask the little one her name.
I couldn’t keep calling her “kid” or “little one” forever.

“Hey, little one, what’s your name?”
“……”
“I’m Setanta, and this is Ailin.”

The girl hesitated for a moment.
Then, as if she’d finally let her guard down, her eyes softened a little, and she opened her mouth.

“My name is……”

[Warning! – Hostile faction forces are approaching!]

But just then.

“…Lu…”

…
…
Kwaaaang-!

With a roar that shook the entire place.
A heap of stone came crashing down from the ceiling, burying everything before us.

“…?”

It happened so fast that there wasn’t even time to react.
What on earth just happened?

[Warning! – Multiple hostile Heroes are nearby!]

“From this moment, the Imperial 7th Knights will move to suppress the rebel forces!”

A bellowing shout rang out, filling my ears.

Kwang-!

Explosion after explosion rang out.
Screams erupted from every direction.
A dull rumbling echoed on all sides as the Underground City crumbled……

“What is this……?”

I turned my head and looked down at the spot where the little brat had been standing.
Through the heaped rubble, a red liquid was slowly seeping out.

“The crime of spreading Red Steam across the Empire, the very thing that causes mutation! And the crime of slaughtering countless citizens of the Empire as a result!”
“….”
“For all these crimes, every last filthy traitor hiding in there will be disposed of this instant! Every one of them!”

[Warning! You are under attack! Evacuate immediately!]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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