The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 32

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

Chapter 32

* * *

“I put together a few magic scrolls for you to use while you travel.”
“…….”
“The moment you tear a scroll, its effect applies to whoever tore it. I hope you find them useful.”

Traveler’s Magic Scrolls.
……They look like nothing special at first glance, but these are quite expensive.

“That’s very kind. Thank you.”

I offered a brief word of thanks, then went through the scrolls in the chest one by one.

‘They’ve packed in only the useful ones.’

Two kinds of common scrolls.
And a sparse set, with one female-only and one male-only.

For the latter, though, being a different gender doesn’t mean you can’t use the scroll at all.
The labels simply mark them as male or female so they’re easier to tell apart.

‘The common ones first, then.’

「Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Common): Instantly cleanses the body in a single use, securing hygiene.」
「Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Common): Immediately rids the user of mild infectious diseases and parasitic infections.」

The effects of the two common Traveler’s Scrolls were as follows.

– Full-body bath without water.
– Instant deworming & cold medicine.

Both were useful functions.
They were quite helpful for anyone living outdoors for an extended period.

But……
Instant deworming already has a substitute.

“Rian casts Life Removal Magic on the food ingredients every time.”
“Eh?”
“So don’t worry. Eating that won’t make anything wriggle around in your belly.”

Our Dark Mage can use a trap skill that kills anyone below a set HP threshold to sterilize ingredients,
and since every member of my Party is a top-tier SSR Hero, they can wipe out tapeworms and the like with nothing more than internal Mana manipulation, so……
At present, it’s not a function we really need.

‘I’ll stockpile these and sell them off for money later.’

Next.
The male-only scroll.

「Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Male): Prevents facial hair from growing for 100 days.」

‘I don’t think I need this one, either.’

As Setanta, I don’t grow facial hair to begin with.
It means I can keep a smooth jaw all the time without shaving or anything of the sort.

Why, you ask?
Because Cu Chulainn, the great hero of Irish Mythology, is a handsome man who never grows a beard.
Reflecting his legend inheritance, no troublesome whiskers ever sprout on him.

“…”

I stole a glance at Rian.
Looking closer, this hero hadn’t grown a single whisker these past few days, either, just like me.
Maybe he was young, or perhaps his body was simply too frail, and some hormonal issue was keeping it from coming in.

‘Good. I’ll be cashing this one in, too.’

And now, the grand finale.
The female scroll.

“Traveler’s Magic Scroll (Female): Prevents menstruation for 100 days.”

Oh.

‘To get something this useful so early on!’

A miracle remedy that could prevent a hero’s sudden drop in performance before it ever happened.
In a game where you travel for long stretches and explore the Labyrinth, nothing could be more effective than this.

And there’s only one.
This has to go to an ally in the Party, no question.

“Oh, that’s right, I picked up that scroll! I figured the lady over there would need it.”

Right on cue, Hecate flashed a grin and made a point of announcing her contribution.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
She drummed her fingers restlessly on the table, glancing back and forth between me and Ailin, as though insisting the thing must not be sold off and must be used by the person it was meant for.

Hm, perhaps the Proxy Trust Act last time built up our mutual Trust Level?
She seems to have looked after us with some care.

“Thank you. These are all excellent.”

I rolled up the scroll and stuffed it into my Storage Bag.
With that, the hero’s efficiency problem was taken care of in advance, and I’d also gained a little emergency fund to cash in later.
A very good start to Chapter 2.

“Did you like the gifts? Oh my, the food’s going cold. Please, help yourselves.”

Patroclus wore a warm, easygoing smile as he urged the party to eat.

Across the broad table lay a feast in the Rom Federation Style, with Mediterranean flavors.
Since arriving in this world, it was the first proper banquet I’d ever sat down to.

‘The Promise Fulfillment System message popped up earlier, so there’s no risk of poisoning.’

Gulp.
Before I knew it, my mouth had started watering.

“Patroclus, you don’t happen to have any dog meat in this, do you?”
“…Hm? No, there isn’t any. But why would you-”
“Then I’ll gratefully dig in!”

I held my fork gently, careful not to bend the tines.
Stab!
I plunged it into the food without a second thought.

* * *

As we ate, we exchanged all sorts of small talk.
Of course, only as far as I could keep my identity hidden.
We didn’t so much as mention the Underground City.

“How did you guests from Ailand come to know my friends?”
“Well, I, uh… stole a horse, and that led to us entering the Labyrinth together.”
“…Come again?”
“No, wait, she helped me when some guy picked a fight with me at the apple shop. This is Hecate, right here.”

I was being so careful about my identity
that my words kept slipping out wrong.

‘Damn it, why doesn’t this conversation work like a game, with proper multiple-choice Choices?’

At my old job, I could get by with a bit of small talk and just work hard on my tasks.
But dropped into a new world, having to weigh every factor while keeping a live conversation going, was nothing short of agony.

“So to sum up Setanta’s account: with Hecate’s help, you escaped that dispute unharmed, and afterward you stole Hecate’s Jorangi and got it killed?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you go strictly by the facts, that’s how it turned out. A regrettable thing.”
“…?”

Patroclus blinked a few times, his face dumbfounded.

“Ah, I see…”

Then he lowered his gaze slowly and turned his full attention back to his meal.
The whole time he handled his cutlery, the red Ruby Ring on his right hand glinted and flashed.

Ding!

[Patroclus has set aside the suspicion he held toward you.]
[He has come to regard you as “somewhat peculiar,” but “not malicious.”]

‘Huh?’

I hadn’t intended it,
but my clumsy way of talking seems to have actually succeeded in dispelling his doubt.

‘So did it go well after all…?’

I was staring vacantly into the air, eyes unfocused, when it happened.

Thud!

“Guhhh!”
“…!”

With a thunderous racket, Achilles came barging in.
Judging by the way he was trembling and clutching his foot, he must have slammed his toe straight into a pillar.

“…Achilles?”

Patroclus watched him with a slightly dazed expression, then jumped up in a hurry and steadied him by the arm.

“You’re supposed to be resting, aren’t you? What on earth brings you here…!”
“You all ate without me! You terrible people!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!
Achilles shook off Patroclus, stomped all the way to the banquet hall in a huff, and plopped himself down at the table without a second thought.
A grown, muscular man pouting with his lips jutting out was a truly unsightly sight.

“Do you expect me to live on porridge alone?”
“…Achilles, just because the outside looks fine doesn’t mean it’s all healed. You need to rest properly for at least three days.”
“I’m starving. So what am I supposed to do?”
“….”

Patroclus pressed a hand to his forehead at that.

“Ugh, you don’t have to thank me or anything, so please, just don’t get hurt any more than you already have…”
“….”
“Do you have any idea how my heart sinks every time I have to heal that cursed ankle of yours? Please, I’m begging you, be careful from now on…”

He clutched at his chest, genuinely tormented.
Like a scene straight out of a Greek tragedy.

‘He sounds like a parent raising a child who won’t listen…’

I stole a glance down at the area around Achilles’ ankle.
Thanks to Patroclus’ healing, the ankle looked smooth and perfectly fine.

‘If only that ankle had been amputated, he might have survived until the Final Chapter.’

Someday, that very ankle would unmistakably take Achilles’ life.
He had no idea, not even in his dreams.

‘Let’s just eat.’

Even I couldn’t do anything about the tragic future that lay ahead.
With a faintly uneasy feeling, I turned my attention back to the meal.

.
.
.

Munch, munch, gulp.
That’s how we were, quietly shoveling food down, when it happened.

“By the way, you Ailander guests, do you happen to know anything about the bomber? That Ailander who carried out the bombing attack!”
“…!”

Achilles suddenly turned toward us and fired off an out-of-nowhere question.

“Why do you ask?”
“Didn’t the whole place go into an uproar over that Ailander bomber this time? Since he’s from the same homeland, I wondered if you might know something about him.”

Achilles widened his eyes and looked me and my companions up and down.
…It didn’t seem deliberate. He sounded like he was asking purely out of curiosity.
Still, it was an honestly uncomfortable topic.

“Achilles…! What rudeness toward our guests!”
“Hey, Achil! Why would you say something that spoils everyone’s appetite at the dinner table? Do you know what kind of times we’re living in right now?!”

Sure enough, Patroclus and Hecate immediately recoiled and scolded Achilles.

“Huh? Why are you all acting like this all of a sudden?”

But Achilles acted as though his friends’ words went in one ear and out the other.
If anything, he bellowed back at them even louder.

“We’re from the same homeland, aren’t we? Of course we can ask about each other!”

With that, he raised his voice at the top of his lungs and started quarreling with his own comrades.
Reckless and rude, it was undeniably the spirit of a Rom Federation mercenary.

‘He’s going to split my eardrums…’

For reference, the Rom Federation’s SSRs tend to have a higher rate of scandal than the heroes of other factions.

-Why do all the Rom Federation heroes steal other people’s wives and husbands? Because of them, the whole party has blown up…
└It’s like building a scandal machine and then wondering why scandals keep happening
└Deal with it lol, you’re the one who brought in the scandal machine

Love triangles, bodily harm, murder, and the like.
Their odds of causing trouble are unrivaled, ranking first by a wide margin.

Roughly speaking, it’s like the scandalous antics the gods and heroes of Greek Mythology used to get up to.

‘…Though there are a few exceptions.’

I glanced over at Patroclus.
He was trying to calm Achilles down, wearing a troubled expression.
Unfortunately, the more he tried, the more Achilles only puffed up and raised his voice.

“People from Ailand can’t be trusted! They’re clever bastards who love to stab you in the back!”
“……?”

Oh, good grief.
Now he’s started spreading baseless rumors about us Ailanders, too.

‘This guy…?’

Maybe it was because I’d been put through so much these past few days, just for being from Ailand?
Those words grated on my nerves, if only a little.

“…Why do you assume all Ailanders are like that? Isn’t that just prejudice?”
“It’s what the rumors say! Most people from Ailand do exactly that, so isn’t it statistically true?!”
“…….”

Achilles pushed back against my perfectly reasonable question.
Beside him, Hecate stood with her mouth hanging open, and Patroclus was clutching his head in both hands.

‘So that’s why they never invited Achilles to the banquet from the start…’

But I wasn’t about to lose this one.
If it’s prejudice, I’ll answer with prejudice!

“…So is it true what they say about Rom Federation people? That you’re all womanizing wastrels soaked in liquor and gambling, that you cheat on your spouses as easily as breathing even after taking vows for a lifetime, and that you steal other people’s husbands and wives, sleeping with anyone regardless of gender?”
“Wh-what?”

This time, though, Hecate, who had been listening beside us, flared up.

“Excuse me?! That’s prejudice! If it’s a polyamorous arrangement everyone has agreed to, it’s not cheating at all, and besides, depending on one’s tastes, someone might only be into one gender-”
“Hecate, shut up! You’re making the prejudice against us even worse!”

Now Achilles and Hecate took up the baton and started bickering back and forth.
Did I win?

“….”

Patroclus rubbed his face with a grim expression, gazing at the cold dishes in front of him.
Sinking deeper into despair, he no longer bothered to reply and simply chewed his pasta in silence.

‘Oh dear, I feel a bit sorry for the mansion’s lord.’

It was just then, as the spark of prejudice I’d lit set the whole banquet hall buzzing.

“Lord Patroclus! Th-the, the ground outside the city—it’s turning red!”

A servant burst into the banquet hall in a panic.
His face had gone pale as ash.

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