The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 30

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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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Episode 30

* * *

Dealing with the demonic monsters that had been trailing behind us wasn’t hard at all.

“KKrrrk!”
“Krk!”

Swish!

They were nothing special, just low-tier monsters.
A sweep of my sword took their heads, and a few jabs of my spear finished off the rest, and in no time the area fell silent.

Drip, drip.
After shaking the blood from my spear and sword, I glanced over at Hecate.
She sat atop her horse, pale as a sheet and trembling so badly it was almost pitiful to watch.

‘…For a Hidden Route-exclusive SSR Hero, getting chased around by low-tier monsters like these.’

I’d felt it back in the Labyrinth expedition too.
This woman had poured everything into her absurdly overpowered ‘Corruption Detection’ ability, and so…
Her basic stats were, if anything, worse than half-baked, bordering on the level of an N-Rank.

“G-Gratitude… hic, waaah.”

Hecate climbed down from the horse on unsteady legs, her face a mess of tear tracks.
Achilles was draped across the saddle like a corpse, on the verge of death, and his ankle had swollen up a terrible blue, as if it had started to necrotize.

‘Achilles, even on the Hidden Route, this guy’s going to die over his ankle…’

I extended a hand to steady the wobbling Hecate and casually asked,

“What’s wrong with his ankle again? It looks even worse than before.”
“….”
“Oh, right, why did you leave the capital? Isn’t it safer inside the capital than out here?”

At the very moment I was wearing my most gentlemanly smile.
…Ding!

[Hecate’s Trust Level toward you is dropping.]

‘Huh?’

Along with the notification that her trust was falling,
Hecate slapped my hand away with a sharp *smack!*

“You horse-thieving bastard, do you really not know, or are you just asking to ask? Her ankle got worse because of that Labyrinth, didn’t it!”
“Ah.”
“Because you stole our Jorangi, Achilles and I got dragged into this mess and…”

Then she immediately went to Ailin, who was standing beside me, and threw herself into her arms.
Even as she trembled, pale as a ghost, her furious eyes stayed fixed on me.

“…?”

Ailin, stiff and awkward, held Hecate without any idea what was going on.

“Uhm…”

Ailin gave me a faintly awkward look, then hesitantly began patting Hecate’s back.
Pat, pat.
Just like soothing a small child.

▶ 【Protector of the Weak (+)】

Maybe it was because of that trait, but she seemed to be feeling a strong protective instinct.

‘The Proxy Trust Act… did it work?’

Ailin soothed Hecate in silence for a long while.
Ever since the collapse of the Underground City, she sometimes acts like she’s lost her mind…
But looking at her like this, she seems exactly the same as before.

“Lady Hecate, since we’ve crossed paths again like this, might I ask a single favor of you?”

I waited until Hecate had calmed down a little, then made my proposal at the right moment.
I asked her to vouch for everyone in our party, myself included, so we could get through the city checkpoint without trouble.

“Huh? Why should I help you lot…!”

Hecate flared up for a moment.

“Setanta saved you. You were being hunted down by demonic monsters, remember?”
“…Mm, well, the horse thief did rescue me just now, I suppose.”

Pat.

“Without Setanta in the Labyrinth, not one of us would have survived.”
“Mm, that’s true enough, isn’t it…?”

Pat!

“So why not lend us a hand?”
“Mmmm…”

To my surprise, she gave in quickly at Ailin’s words.
She promised to cooperate with us.

Even so, she clearly still wasn’t pleased, and for quite a while she kept shooting sidelong glares at me while nestled against Ailin’s chest.

“Oh my, his ankle looks in pretty bad shape…”

Just then, Rian, who had been checking on Achilles’ condition, spoke up without warning.

“Lady Hecate, did you bring the wounded all the way here through the night? Did they say he couldn’t be treated within the capital?”
“….”

Hecate nodded without a word.
Then she reached out and pointed at Achilles’ ankle.

“They said it has to be amputated. That’s what the doctor told us…”
“….”
“So we rushed over here on horseback from the neighboring city. There’s a healer here we know, so…”

Honestly, amputation might have been the better option.
But it seemed like poking a hornet’s nest, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and let it be.

‘…There’s one way for Achilles to survive until the Final Chapter.’

-Found a way to keep Achilles alive
└What is it?
└Cut off both his ankles beforehand and he pretty much won’t die until the ending (writer)
└What a lunatic; what kind of nonsense is that?
└Yeah, he can survive that way, but his stats drop so low he’s useless in combat. Still, he does survive (writer)

…Cut off both his ankles in advance.
Doing so extends Achilles’ lifespan.

Of course, this only holds if the amputation is done somewhere safe, through one of the rare special events.

‘But he’s terribly incompatible with Magitech Prosthetic Legs, so his stats fall too far to be a problem.’

A Magitech Prosthetic Leg basically moves on the wearer’s mana.
That’s why Ailin, who is a Magic Swordsman by class and brimming with mana, has no trouble at all using her prosthetic arm.

But Achilles?
The moment this guy loses both ankles and gets fitted with Magitech Prosthetic Legs,
his mobility drops so sharply that he’s almost useless in battle.

‘Though I suppose with prosthetic legs he can at least manage ordinary daily life.’

In exchange for lifting the curse that kills him young through his ankles, his performance drops to R-grade level.
In a game, there’d be no real reason to go to such lengths for a Trash-Tier hero…
But he’s a living person now, so on humanitarian grounds, it’s a perfectly reasonable option to recommend.

“About Achilles’ ankles, Lady Hecate, why don’t we just take this chance to cut them off cleanly? Before the infection gets any worse, remove both ankles and replace them with Magitech Prosthetic Legs-”
“…What? You psycho horse-thieving bastard!”

Ding!

[Hecate’s Trust Level toward you has dropped sharply!]

“….”

But Hecate’s reaction was so fierce that I decided to simply keep my mouth shut.

Damn it, I don’t know anymore.
If he dies young because of those ankles, then so be it. Let him handle it himself.

“Setanta, I think we should move before the patient’s condition gets any worse. We’d better get through the checkpoint soon too.”
“…Yeah, let’s go now.”

I looked at Achilles’ swollen, blue-black ankles with a heavy heart,
then gave up and headed toward the city gate.

* * *

We were stopped for inspection at the City Wall.
Jjiiiing-.
While an Imperial Court mage thoroughly checked us first for demonic monster mutation, then for Disguise Magic or Perception-Lowering Magic,

“These three Ailanders… you say you hired them as your mercenaries?”
“Mm-hmm, all three of them are super cheap, so I hired them! You know how it is, Ailanders are the best value for money-”

Hecate played it up in front of the Imperial soldiers, pretending to be our employer with a breezy, theatrical air.
Gone was the trembling figure from a moment ago; she wore the most carefree expression of anyone there.

‘You’re acting better than I expected.’

That new character might be specialized in negotiation or conversation, I suppose.

I stole glances at Hecate while working hard to keep my expression as harmless-looking as possible.

‘Nobody here recognizes me… thankfully.’

[…Part of the Hero Trust will be inherited.]

Going by my experience so far,
that message seemed to pop up for any hero who had a direct connection to Setanta, even if it was just once, like being in the same Party.

Luckily, none of the guards doing the inspection seemed to be that kind of guy.
So we should be able to slip through without a hitch-

“By the way, about those mercenaries you hired. Why do all three of them look so neat and clean?”
“…?”

I thought we’d get through without a problem.
Suddenly, one of the guards conducting the inspection jabbed a finger at us and demanded an answer.

“They’re all Ailanders, yet their clothes are tidy and their looks are polished. That’s extremely suspicious. This calls for a thorough investigation!”
“….”

You have to be kidding me.
So now they’re going to arrest us for looking too clean?

“We need a detailed investigation into what purpose these people have for entering this city…!”
“Truth is, those guys are my slaves.”
“…Eh?”
“All of them are my property, slaves. Not for combat, but for, well… a different purpose, you could say?”

‘Huh?’

Then, out of nowhere, Hecate started saying something outrageous.

“Why else would they be so good-looking? They all have a purpose, obviously.”
“Wait a moment, didn’t you say earlier they were mercenaries…?”
“Ugh, that’s just how things are done in the Rom Federation. All three of them are my local concubines, got it?!”
“Ah…?”

The imperial soldier froze for a moment, blinking at us with nothing else to do.

“Ha, I only called them mercenaries to spare you stiff Empire folks the shock! Oopsie, my bad!”
“Th-that’s…”
“Well, my identity’s certain, right? Hecaterr Bellini. Hecaterr of the Bellini Family.”
“…Y-yes, that’s true.”
“If you’re that suspicious, why don’t you file a complaint with the Bellini Family across the sea in the Rom Federation? They’d just shrug it off, I bet.”
“R-really…?”

The imperial soldier stayed silent, face flushed red, before gathering with his comrades to confer over something in hushed tones.

“…You may enter the City Wall. Do enjoy your stay.”

And at last.
The inspection was passed with ease.

Ding!

[Hidden Route progress increased!]

[Hidden Route progress: 11.9%]
-『Move to the Neighboring City』 (Complete)

‘It actually worked…?’

I looked at Hecate with a faintly astonished expression.
Hecate glanced playfully at the Imperial Court mage and the Imperial soldiers, and now that I looked closely, the corners of her mouth were twitching strangely.

‘…So she really is a Rogue Class.’

Not every one of them is like this, but the class tends to be exactly this way.
Somewhat flippant, skilled at acting, quick on their feet, and specialized in grabbing whatever practical advantage they can…

“Ha-ha! That was fun for once! Oh, and since it turned out this way, we can stay a night in whatever town we’re headed to!”
“….”
“Did you see that soldier’s eyes twitching earlier? Ha, those Imperial guys are really such bores…”

…And they’re hopelessly addicted to dopamine.
Rogue Classes, especially.

“You’re saying we can stay for free? Then we’d be glad to. Where are you headed?”
“Yes! I’m going to visit a friend who lives in this city. His name’s Patroclus, and he’s pretty well-versed in healing magic-.”

We walked briskly through the city as Hecate explained.
It was somewhat smaller than the capital, but the clean, lively cityscape flashed past our eyes in quick succession.

“…If we just ask him, we won’t have to amputate Achilles’ ankle. He’ll definitely fix it up good as new!”
“He must be quite skilled.”
“You won’t find a healing mage in the entire Empire who’s better than Patro! After he crossed over from Rom to the Empire, he made a fortune with that ability of his!”
“Ah, how enviable. Indeed.”

The whole way there.
I played along with Hecate’s chatter, just enough.

…Ding!

[Hecate’s trust in you has increased!]

I had thought the Trust Event hero was quite a difficult one.
Maybe that isn’t entirely the case.

[Hecate’s trust in you has increased!]
[Hecate’s trust in you has…]

Having swiftly won back the trust I’d lost with Hecate, we walked on for a while.

‘Oh?’

Before long, we arrived in front of an imposing mansion.

“Patro, we’re here! Achilles hurt his ankle again, so can you heal it?”

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!
As Hecate pounded on the mansion door and called out.

“What do you mean…! Achilles hurt himself again?”

Soon, a man called Patroclus came rushing out and flung open the front gate.

“…Hm.”

Then, the moment he saw Achilles’ swollen ankle, his expression soured as though it had rotted through.

…Clack.
Thud, thud, thud.

He went back to the mansion.
He came out carrying an axe whose blade had been freshly honed.

‘Huh?’

A truly massive axe, the sort that could sever an ankle without any trouble at all.

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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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