The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 31

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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 31

‘Why the axe…?’

Without even treating him first,
he’s going to cut off Achilles’ ankle just like this?

Just as I was watching Patroclus with a somewhat puzzled look, he spoke.

“Since we’re at it, I’ll knock some sense into you, Achilles.”

Patroclus raised the axe high.

“P-Patroclus? What are you doing!”
“This ankle of yours! Since we’re at it, I’m getting rid of the root cause once and for all! Then this idiot won’t ever end up in danger again.”
“W-what?!”

Hecate, aghast, and Achilles, still out cold.
And Rian and Ailin, watching the scene with grave expressions.

“Hey, are you crazy?! I went through all that trouble just to bring him here so you wouldn’t have to cut off his ankle!”
“…That idiot’s going to end up holding his own funeral because of this ankle. I can overlook everything else he does, but not that.”
“Hey! Hey, put that down…!”

Just as the struggle dragged on.

“…Cough!”

Achilles, who had seemed unconscious the whole time, suddenly coughed.

Then, drip, drip.
Achilles’ trembling eyes turned toward Patroclus.

“P…Patroclus? It’s been a while.”
“…!”
“C-could you put that axe down? I’ll be careful not to get hurt again next time, I promise…”
“…Ha!”

Patroclus let out a heavy sigh and tossed the axe onto the floor.

“I apologize for the disgrace. With guests present…”

Patroclus seemed to cool his temper alone for a moment,
then crouched beside Achilles and began chanting some kind of incantation.

Woooong.
Soon a pale ivory mana rose up around them,
and the ankle that had swollen to an angry blue sank back to normal in an instant.

“…There. Done, you idiot.”

Patroclus slowly rose from his seat.
The fury he had shown moments ago was nowhere to be seen; his face was now remarkably gentle.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Allow me to show you to your quarters. I suspect this fool made it all the way here alive thanks to your help. Isn’t that right, Hecate?”
“Huh? I guess you could say that…? Oh, right, these guys are all from Ailand. If a checkpoint search comes barging in unannounced, it could be a problem, so you should know that in advance.”
“…So you’ve brought along some rather difficult guests.”

Patroclus clicked his tongue briefly, then led us inside the mansion.

“Please, come in. Stay as long as you like and rest comfortably.”

* * *

We had been formally invited into Patroclus’s mansion.

‘Oh, what a nice place.’

The interior was crammed with lavish decorations. It was a sight completely unlike the Underground City.
Feeling such a vast gap between rich and poor, I found myself wanting to grab a bamboo spear without even realizing it…

“You’re Setanta, correct? I imagine you’ve had a hard time since the Underground City was destroyed.”
“…”
“It’s hardly enough to call comfort, but… please, rest as much as you and your companion wish. I’ve also prepared a small gift.”

A gift?
Ah, a good-hearted bourgeois.
I put the bamboo spear back in my heart.

“Hecate, would you stay by Achilles for a little while? He’ll need to rest for a few days, and I’m worried he’ll go wandering off again.”
“Sure, leave it to me!”
“…Please look after Achilles.”

Patroclus called a servant, and Achilles was carried off somewhere.
Hecate trotted after him, glancing back at us again and again.

“Right, this way, please. I’ll show you to your quarters first.”

Following Patroclus, we arrived at a magnificent annex.
The architectural style was strangely Greek…
No, in terms of this game, it had a ‘Rom Federation Style’ feel to it.

“Pick whichever room you like and make yourselves at home. Every room has a bathing facility with hot water, so I’m sure you’ll find it convenient to freshen up.”
“Oh.”

A state-of-the-art shower room with hot water gushing freely, fitted with the latest Magitech Engineering? Really?
And each one a private room?
No way.
This is so, so good.

‘Besides, Patroclus was famous as a kind character even in the original work.’

The chances of getting stabbed in the back were also dramatically lower.
If anything, I’m the one who strikes first. It meant they were hardly likely to stab me from behind.

“Then I’ll take this room!”

I flung open the guest room door without a second thought.
Just as I was about to charge straight inside.

“…I heard from Hecate. That you were treated shamefully during your journey.”
“Hm?”

Patroclus’s low voice brushed past my ear.

“Your days must feel like a bolt from the blue. Ever since then, a strict investigation has been launched against every Ailander, all because of that bombing attack at the Execution Grounds not long ago.”
“…”

At first glance his eyes look warm, but suspicion is already stirring in them as they sweep over me.

“So I have to admit, I was a bit surprised. The people Hecate brought in so casually as guests turned out to be from Ailand, of all places.”

Ding!

[Caution! Patroclus is suspicious of you.]

“…”

…Oh, great.
This is looking bad.

I took my hand off the door handle and stole a glance around me.
Ailin and Rian are watching us from a short distance away. Ailin has already let her hand drift up to the Iron Wood Sword.

“Hecate has always had an almost uncanny sense for danger. Ever since she was little, without fail.”

Patroclus continued slowly, his eyes narrowed to thin slits.

“But at the same time, Hecate has always been strangely drawn to the very dangers she senses.”
“…”
“Right up to the edge. She’ll even go out of her way to get close to that danger on purpose…”

Squeeze.
Without thinking, I clenched the Hero Rat I’d tucked into my Storage Bag.
Squeak?
As if responding to the pressure, Charles let out a short squeak. It was a faint, useless little sound.

‘…This approach won’t work right now.’

Patroclus isn’t a Hero from the Empire. He belongs to the Rom Federation, a Neutral Faction.
Even if I pulled out the Hero now, it would probably do next to nothing.

‘And if I make a scene in a situation like this, I’ll just be marked as the one who’s definitely guilty.’

How do I handle this?
I was just running through a few possible Choices in my head when it happened.

“Patroclus-!”

Just then, Hecate came pattering toward us from far off, quick on her feet.

“Just one day! We’ll only stay one night! These guys aren’t that dangerous, I swear!”
“…!”

She ran right up to Patroclus and thumped his chest with her fists.

“So don’t you dare kick them out. They’re my guests.”
“…Hecate?”
“You can’t send them out there right now!”

I have no idea how she sensed the tension from just a glance across the distance, but her instincts were eerily sharp.

“But Hecate, these people are—!”
“Well, I actually drew a little suspicion at the Checkpoint earlier, you know? They might assign someone from the Empire to keep watch on me for at least today.”

Hecate shuddered, then tapped her own neck with exaggerated flair.

“And this spearman here is no joke, either! Once he starts getting chased, he’ll go and lop off the heads of a few Imperial Army soldiers without blinking, and then we’ll be dragged into it too!”
“…What? That’s a huge leap. And right now of all times, bringing in an Ailander is far too dangerous—”
“Then why don’t you cut me in half too and throw me out there?”
“Ah.”

At Hecate’s string of remarks, Patroclus’s face drained of color, replaced by sheer bewilderment.

“No, Hecate. That’s not what I meant to say…”

Patroclus stared at Hecate’s face for a long while, then squeezed his eyes shut.
His eyebrows trembled faintly, like those of a Greek statue come to life.

“Haah…”

Soon after, he furrowed his brow deeply.

“One day. Just one day. Please stay…”

At last, he granted us permission to stay.

[The target Hero has sufficient trust with the Hero you are interacting with.]

…Ding!

[Patroclus will surely keep the promise he has made.]

“I apologize for the rudeness toward my guests. Please wash up and rest comfortably in the Guest Quarters, then come down for a meal around noon. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Patroclus left, pressing a hand to his forehead with a pained expression.
Whether it was the dangerous burden he’d been saddled with so suddenly, or the “harsh words” his friend had just spat out, I couldn’t tell.
He looked to be suffering a truly splitting headache.

“Well, you all rest up. See you later!”

Hecate gave Ailin and Rian a playful wink, then vanished in an instant.

She moved so quickly and nimbly that it felt like a spring breeze had just swept through.

‘So she helped us again.’

I stared at the spot where Hecate had been.

“…Then why don’t you cut me in half too and throw me out there?”

‘…Could that guy actually be half-blood?’

Now that I think about it,
the Hecate of myth…
was also the goddess of boundaries and crossroads.

Perhaps she had taken the concept of “boundary” and made it her character setup: a half-breed of the Rom Federation and Ailand.

【Blessing of Ailand (+)】
-When an Ailand Faction Hero is present in your Party, all of your stats increase.

‘If she’s half Ailander, then the Blessing of Ailand trait will likely apply to her as well.’

“Thankfully, things worked out. Rest well, everyone, and we’ll meet again at lunch.”

I signaled to Ailin and Rian that we were safe, then slipped quietly into the Guest Quarters.
Soon, a clean bed and shower facilities greeted me.

* * *

After a short rest at the Guest Quarters.

“Dinner invitation, Setanta.”
“……!”

Guided by a servant, I made my way to the balcony where the banquet had been laid out.

‘Oh…’

Dishes piled high on the tables filled my entire field of vision.
And these weren’t the bland Imperial fare you’d find in England, but Rom Federation-style dishes, the kind you’d expect at some high-end Mediterranean restaurant.

‘They look even glossier than what I saw in the game, don’t they?’

I glanced around.
Ailin and Rian were staring at the spread, their eyes wide.
Hecate, seated across from us, rolled her eyes around as she seemed to be watching the scene unfold, like a cat keeping an eye on something that had caught its interest.

“….”

Patroclus, already seated, studied the three of us carefully for a moment.
Then he smiled and spoke.

“Achilles, whom you so kindly rescued, is currently resting. Earlier… I was rude to all of you. Allow me to offer my apologies once more.”
“….”
“I hope the food suits your tastes. Please, enjoy your meal…”

Swish.
Then Patroclus raised his hand.
A servant approached carrying a small chest.

“And as a small token of gratitude for keeping Achilles safe, I’ve prepared a little gift for you as well.”

Click!
The chest opened at last.

‘Hm?’

A set of magic scrolls emerged from within.

“Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Male): Beard growth halted for 100 days.”
“Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Unisex): Body cleansed in a single use, instant hygiene assured.”
……
“Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Female): No menstruation for 100 days.”

‘These…!’

The Traveler’s Magic Scroll, the very one the Great Mage of a thousand years ago had invented after long years of research, driven by an urgent sense of need.
And now a full set of them sat right before my eyes.

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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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