Goddess

Argh, shit!

Captain of the guards!

Don't die!

Yes, once we were enemies.

The image of my roasted brothers and sisters is vivid before my eyes.

I should rightfully hate this human called the captain of the guards.

Is that really so?

To be honest, I don't have any affection for my siblings at all.

I was moved by the captain's sacrifice just now.

But honestly, it was too much.

He swung his sword as soon as he saw me.

Thanks to this snake's excellent reflexes.

I dodged immediately and bit his arm as I passed by.

Isn't it too quick a death, no matter how you look at it?

Did I really kill him?

Ah, come to think of it, it was like that then too.

When my brother (Little Green Snake lv3) who was fighting me met the same fate as the Sawtooth Bat.

It wasn't me who directly ended his life, but it was recorded as if I had killed him.

Isn't this the same?

It was the Chimera that killed the captain of the guards.

Not me.

He probably would have died even if I had stayed still...

There's no way I could have killed such a splendid mustachioed captain of the guards.

「You have achieved the achievement 'Killing the Captain of the Guards'.」

...But that message was heard too clearly.

I didn't know there were achievements in addition to traits, skills, and status.

It's like they're confirming that I killed the captain of the guards.

What? You're saying I did the confirmation shot?

Um...

──────────────

[Achievement]

[Killing the Captain of the Guards]

──────────────

Is it okay to leave a record like this?

Isn't this a violation of human rights?

What if someone sees it?

──────────────

[Killing the Captain of the Guards]

You have killed the captain of the guards of a territory.

When fighting against the guards, you won't easily get tired and will feel energized.

You will likely develop a strange hostility towards the guards.

──────────────

It's not like human guards would like me anyway.

It doesn't seem to be immediately useful, but it doesn't seem bad either.

Let's be grateful.

This is the legacy of the captain of the guards.

That's what I decided to think.

No, actually, that wasn't the only legacy of the captain of the guards.

Excuse me for a moment.

I searched the captain's pockets.

It's true that I was trying to loot his possessions.

No matter what, I can't just leave them here.

The captain would be happier if I took them and put them to good use rather than letting them be torn apart and discarded by beasts.

I'm sure that's right.

Wow!

This guy is really crazy about fire engineering.

The captain of the guards had several more oil bottles in his pocket.

They all seem to have their uses, so I'll take them.

What's this? This isn't oil!

In a bottle sealed with a cork stopper, a red liquid was sloshing around.

I barely managed to open it with my tail.

Pop-

Along with the refreshing sound, a sweet fragrance spreads.

I stuck out my tongue to taste it, and it felt warm in my body.

The scratches on my body really healed smoothly.

──────────────

[Holy Water]

Water blessed by a priestess of the Goddess Church. It heals wounds and boosts magical power.

──────────────

This is a potion, isn't it?

It's both a health potion and a mana potion, how precious. This really is a fantasy world.

And does it mean a goddess exists? I was originally an atheist.

I searched the pockets of the other soldiers too.

It was a bit troublesome because there were guys whose waists were cut in half, separating their lower and upper bodies.

Ugh, intestines.

I was careful not to get the brown liquid on me.

...Oh.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I've properly seen people dead like this.

A person has been cut in half, and I'm not afraid, but rather concerned about not getting filth on me.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

'Ugh! A human corpse...'

'The shock of killing a person, urgh.'

Maybe I should be like that.

It seems strange to be as calm as I am now.

But isn't this good?

It seems much better than whining.

It feels like I've become a dignified snake.

Long live Mental Strength 20, indeed.

The loot I collected was varied.

First, the most precious potion bottle. There's quite a lot of dried food too.

I'll keep all of that.

And I gathered all the arrows and blades too.

If you ask how I, without hands, will use them, there are ways to utilize everything.

I swept them all into the ring's subspace.

Since the Chimera took about one and a half soldiers with it, there are four and a half left, including the captain of the guards.

I decided to hold a modest funeral for them.

Not just out of sentiment, but I hope the Chimera doesn't come back to eat the rest.

I need it to get hungry so I can lure it out and hunt it.

It wasn't easy to gather the corpses with my small body.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, because the Chimera had torn them into pieces, I could drag them one by one.

I couldn't move the knight wearing armor because it was too heavy.

I gathered the rest near the captain of the guards, whose limbs were intact.

I opened one oil bottle and sprinkled the oil around.

Basic Elemental Magic, Fire.

Whoosh!

The dead are cremated, emitting black smoke.

It might not be the proper cremation method, but this should be enough.

Namu Amitabha Buddha.

Although they died in vain in this life, may they be born in a good place and be happy in the next life.

Being reborn as a snake like me might not be as bad as you think.

What was left was Zain, who the captain of the guards had saved.

Although it seems he's already dead, making that sacrifice meaningless.

I was startled as I was sprinkling oil on him.

It looks like he might be alive.

He was clearly breathing, albeit slowly.

Seeing a streak of blood at the corner of his mouth, it seems he has internal bleeding.

It's understandable, given how his armor's breastplate was dented.

──────────────

[Knight Zain lv16]

[Traits]

[Knight], [Rookie]

...

──────────────

Wow, this guy's trait is 'Rookie'.

I wonder if he knows his trait is 'Rookie'? If so, it must be really embarrassing.

Unlike the captain of the guards, his real name, Zain, is written, perhaps because I heard his name.

As befitting a knight, there were a few skills I hadn't seen before.

The noticeable ones were 'Aura lv2' and 'Intermediate Swordsmanship lv5'

The name 'Aura' makes my manly heart flutter.

Isn't it about using sword energy and such?

If I could apply Aura to my Venomous Fang, I'd be unstoppable.

I tried to borrow Aura with Billy's Horn.

「Failed to borrow Aura lv2.」

I tried several times but only used up mana and failed.

It seems the proficiency of Billy's Horn is insufficient. It's disappointing, but can't be helped.

And anyway, I already had a skill borrowed for Fafnir.

I almost accidentally burned him alive.

Hmm...

To be honest, I hesitated for a moment.

Isn't this an opportunity to quickly dispatch the knight?

Just a little bite would do it.

The neurotoxin would cleanly kill the injured knight.

But.

I made a slightly different choice.

Didn't the captain of the guards, a man I acknowledged, die trying to save this knight?

Although I'm not sure if dying to save this rookie was worth it, I decided to respect the captain's will.

Well, I also felt sorry for accidentally finishing off the captain, and the fact that I'm currently at max level and wouldn't gain experience from killing the knight also influenced my decision.

It's a bit disappointing, but...

Oh.

There was something shiny around his neck.

──────────────

[Blessed Necklace]

It brings a bit of luck. Perhaps that luck might even save your life.

──────────────

Hmm, is this why the knight is still alive?

It probably isn't, but.

I think it's fair to take this as payment for his life.

I decided to proudly collect the loot as the victor.

Why is this so hard?

I couldn't unfasten the necklace with my tail, so it wasn't easy to collect it.

And then I was startled. The knight had his eyes half-open.

I was so surprised that I almost stabbed my Venomous Fang into his neck.

The knight remained still, not knowing he had just nearly died.

He didn't seem to have regained consciousness. He looked unconscious.

That surprised me.

Thud.

The necklace came off.

I'll take good care of it.

That's when it happened.

Chu.

The knight kissed my ring.

"...Uh. Eh. ...ess."

You crazy bastard.

Before I knew it, I had struck the knight's nose with my tail.

He grinned even as he bled from his nose.

Ah, Captain of the Guards.

You gave your life for this madman.

Once again paying my respects to the captain, I left the place.

Next time I meet the Chimera, I'll hunt it down and evolve.

==

Zain's armor was custom-made in the kingdom's capital.

It's a full plate mail that Gunter personally commissioned from a workshop on the day he made him his squire.

Not all knights can wear such armor.

A properly made full plate mail requires several bags of gold coins.

Therefore, it was a grace from his lord.

The grace of his lord saved Zain's life.

If it had been a normal chain mail, it would have been torn apart by the Chimera's slash.

The plate armor was merely dented.

Zain was thrown back and lost consciousness.

It was painful enough to die.

Painful enough to think of death.

The knight, whose training was not yet complete, dreamed in his sunken consciousness.

The dream was clearly a nightmare.

It was the dream he often had since becoming a knight.

A dream of dying.

One day, participating in an unwinnable battle.

Or dying while fighting an insurmountable monster.

In the end, he always fell down with blood flowing from his mouth.

So it was in the dream.

All strength left his body as if there was a hole in his stomach.

Blood kept flowing from his mouth.

He couldn't distinguish whether this was a dream or reality.

It felt like he was really dying.

Zain, trembling, brought his blood-stained hand to the nape of his neck.

There was a necklace there.

Zain was a believer in the Goddess of Hearth and Fire.

The priest had told him that when he died, he would return to the embrace of the Goddess.

Would Zain be like that too?

He forcibly swallowed the tears that were about to come out.

Saa-ak.

A chilling wind sound is heard from somewhere.

Has the angel of death come to take him?

Sa-ak!

And something gently brushed his face.

That's when Zain opened his eyes with a hazy mind.

'Goddess?'

Flames were rising all around.

The dead were burning.

In the temple of the Goddess of Hearth and Fire, such fires were always burning.

This acrid smell was the scent of the temple.

Am I dead?

Zain thought so.

His body that wouldn't move.

"God...dess."

In his foggy consciousness, Zain called for the goddess.

And something cold and thin stroked Zain's forehead.

It was a finger wearing a ring.

Zain realized it was the hand of the goddess.

"O Goddess..."

It was as if a spark had been rekindled in his cooling heart of faith.

Zain willingly kissed the goddess's ring.

Saa-ak!

The wind blew.

Something slapped Zain's face.

His consciousness sank again.

After a while, Zain opened his eyes.

"Huff. Ugh!"

Unlike in the dream, his body was unbearably heavy.

There was a lot of blood on the corner of his mouth.

His chest ached. Seeing the dented armor, it's fortunate he didn't die.

"...Ah, Captain of the Guards!"

Only then did Zain recall the memory from before he lost consciousness.

However, Zain's complexion turned pale white as he looked around.

"Everyone... Ugh!"

Everyone was dead.

Moreover, the corpses were gathered in one place and had been burned to ashes.

"Who on earth did this?"

He vaguely remembered dreaming about the goddess appearing.

But what was the real reason for the others being cremated?

Zain had no clues to deduce this.

He clenched his fist tightly.

It was a defeat.

An undeniable mission failure.

Now all he could do was return to the Greyrim territory.

Plus the stigma of being the only survivor.

His heart was heavy.

==

"So, when you opened your eyes, there was fire around?"

"...Yes, that's right."

Zain answered the lord's question with a haggard face.

"The Captain of the Guards and all the soldiers were dead."

"Yes, I confirmed it before I lost consciousness."

"Couldn't they have been not dead?"

"Their necks were cut, waists were severed, and chests were pierced."

"Hmm, is that Chimera so strong? Didn't you know even with the Analysis Scroll?"

"At first, it wasn't that strong. Suddenly it molted, and its speed became incredibly fast."

The lord sighed deeply, seeming perplexed.

"This is troublesome, very troublesome."

"Shamefully, I have returned alone. If you give me a chance, I will surely catch and kill that Chimera."

Zain knelt on one knee.

His appearance was utterly solemn.

"Rise, Zain."

The one who ordered Zain wasn't the lord.

It was the large man standing next to the lord.

The true owner of the Axe Spear.

One of the Eight Heroes.

The alias, Steel.

Gunter Frihansen had returned here.

"Interesting. Both the story of the Chimera and the story of the goddess."

Having just returned to Greyrim, Gunter seemed to be planning to leave again.

"You will depart with me to that place. Do you need time to rest?"

"I'm fine!"

"Then prepare."

"Yes!"

Zain answered vigorously as well.