Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

Translator: mii

Editor(s): ASplashOfMusic, sleepchaser

The alarm in my head has been ringing for a while, telling me to run away quickly.

My heart is also pounding violently, not showing any signs of calming down until now.

As I try to act as unbothered as I can, I look around. Then I look up at Schwede next to me. “Schwede, how about… my weapons? Where are they? Can you give them back?”

My dagger for self-defense, my long sword, and my ring to ease the use of magic.

The weapons that the man in front of me picked up and brought away to some unknown place.

“…You don’t need them anymore. After all, I, your ‘sword’, is right beside you.”

After I hear that, I…

Discreetly so he won’t notice, I take a deep breath.

Then I start wracking my brain to the point of overdrive, searching my memory for any emergency combat techniques to use when I can neither use my weapons nor magic. I highlight some of them that I can use here.

My teacher didn’t only teach me swordsmanship. He also taught me how to deal with disadvantageous situations during battles. Thank you, Teacher.

The guy next to me is equipping hard armor. Moreover, he is bigger than me, stronger and more powerful than me, and more skilled at combat than me. On top of that, he also has a powerful weapon.

Schwede’s sword is a sacred sword that only the Knight of the Sword is allowed to have.

In this situation, what I can use to get pass such an opponent is—

All of a sudden, I hear a loud noise.

I’m not sure where it came from, but it sounds like it’s from far away. And like something just exploded.

The noise is followed by several loud voices and angry yells.

Everyone in this place begins to look at each other in panic, arguing what the sound may be and what in the world is happening.

Then a boom resounds, and the ground slightly shakes.

I wonder what it is. Is it a bombing? No way. A raid? I don’t think so.

There’s no way someone will attack this place since this is a sacred place.

Even so, the explosions continue.

I don’t understand. What the hell is happening here?

I don’t know what’s going on, but…

I shift my gaze to the man next to me, making sure he doesn’t notice me staring. Schwede’s eyes are also widened as he stares at the end of the corridor with a confused look on his face.

No one is looking at me. Their attention is all on the fuss right now.

Now’s my chance.

I walk behind the knight quietly and quickly, not making a single sound. And then—

I kick him in the back of the knees with all my might.

His armor may be tough, but that specific place should be weak. Not to mention, the knees are joints. They’re very weak against force in one specific direction.

It doesn’t matter how strong this guy is.

“Huh?!”

Schwede’s knees buckle. His body loses its balance as he staggers and falls on his knees.

After checking that he’s lost his guard from the edge of my vision, I quickly jump backwards, turn around, and run.

One of the knights notices me running away and quickly extends his arm to block me, but I lower my body and slip past him. I then go behind him and kick the back on his knees in the same way.

His body, weighed down by his armor, easily falls down once his center of gravity becomes unstable. I also kick him on the sides for good measure.

Fortunately, he falls onto the knights and warlocks beside him, making them all fall down like dominos. Great! These rearguards are troublesome.

I jump onto the struggling mountain of people and run downstairs.

“L-Lian-dono?! Tch, I knew I shouldn’t have taken off his shackles… Why are you all just standing in shock like that?! Chase the angel! Make sure you catch him! And don’t ever lose your guard with him. He may look willowy, but on the contrary to his appearance, he is learned in various martial arts!”

What the hell! Willowy?! What does he mean by that? Do I look weak? In any case, his choice of words is really too unpleasant! Why did he choose that adjective? The way he used it is so wrong. Go study linguistics again! And stop saying rude things!

Several footsteps are running toward me from behind.

Without looking back, I run through the corridor as fast as my legs can go.

I continue to desperately sprint down the spiral staircase made of white stone, making sure I don’t trip on my feet or slip.

Once I’m at the base of the stairs, I step into the hallway.

Paintings depicting biblical scenes are lined up equidistantly on the wall.

A monk in black vestment walking from the other end of the hallway yelps when he sees me, and the bundle of paper he’s holding falls onto the floor.

Another loud sound reverberates again. The floor also shakes a little.

What’s going on?

Alongside the explosion are sounds of hard objects shattering and collapsing. And also metallic objects clanging against each other.

Then, I hear angry roars and a ton of ruckus.

What? Maybe it’s really a raid…?

No way. After all, this place is a branch of the Fortuna religion, which serves the Goddess.

As a holy land, everyone is equal here. There’s even a pledge that people in conflict should never fight here. This is a sacred place that should remain neutral.

Nevertheless, the harsh explosions haven’t subsided, and the angry roars continue to ring in the air.

“Huh…?”

Just now… For a moment…

Among those angry voices… I feel like I heard a familiar voice.

But that shouldn’t be possible.

Because I left without saying anything to him.

I’m sure he’s very angry right now. Definitely. If I were in his position, I’ll feel angry too. Very much so.

After my continuous acts of selfishness, I’m sure he’s fed up with me silently going off somewhere. He must feel offended.

Maybe he’s dumbfounded by my selfishness… Someone who keeps lying and deceiving him… He may have gotten fed up with me.

And if he heard Schwede’s lie, I think he’ll get even angrier.

He always tells me to not tire myself and to stay in good physical condition. And yet now I’m supposedly one of the victims of an epidemic. Just how idiotic can I be.

I don’t even know how I can meet him and apologize to him. And then explain what are actually lies and make excuses.

I’ve already gone this far with my deceptions. He may not want to forgive me anymore.

My throat trembles, but I endure my fear and forcefully swallow the tremors down.

There’s another big explosion.

I can hear his angry cry. He’s shouting, “Why can’t I meet him?! Let me meet him!”

A familiar voice.

I run toward the direction that probably leads to the front door, going after that voice.