Chapter 267
Chapter 267: Secrets and Doubts
That night, Tafuman was enjoying his usual drink at the Hobgoblin Tavern.
The work had been progressing quite smoothly. All thanks to the enhancement of his body due to the holy attribute.
(Really, magic is amazing…)
Tafuman sipped at his distilled drink, feeling contemplative.
The benefits of the holy attribute mainly came in two forms.
One was offensive capabilities against enemies of humanity. If the opponent wasn’t using any defensive magic, just touching them could inflict burns like wounds.
The other was the ability to enhance allies. It had a wide range of effects, from resistance to magic and curses to simple improvements in physical abilities.
Tafuman had just awakened, and his magical power was still weak, plus he could only enhance himself, but even so, he could easily dig into the dry, hard ground. His strength and endurance had significantly improved, and he felt like he could even win an arm-wrestling match against a beastman now.
And—his companions felt the same way.
After that rehearsal, Tafuman spoke to five guards he thought, “This could work,” and, along with Mycin, conducted an experiment. To avoid forming any preconceptions, they held the coming-of-age ceremony under the guise of a rehearsal.
As a result, three of them awakened to the holy attribute. Of course, the ones he approached were young men or older guys.
All of them were eager to fight the Demon Lord Army, so their mindset shouldn’t be a problem, but unfortunately, not everyone awakened. Perhaps there were other conditions involved… The disappointment of the two who hadn’t awakened was significant.
“What?! Me, a hero?! No way… The way of the sword…”
And one of those who awakened apparently aimed to become a Sword Saint and had been training hard, but with the newly granted magical power, he was at a loss whether to rejoice or lament. In the end, he cheered himself up and felt happy.
(Regardless, this is huge)
The battle with Asurabear had made it painfully clear the necessity of having high-level combatants. The prospect of replenishing the insufficient manpower in the autonomous district was quite an achievement.
…It was unexpectedly bizarre to find oneself becoming one of them.
(A hero, huh…)
He stared intently at his palm.
Hero Tafuman. It felt so out of place that he couldn’t help but laugh.
If only he had awakened a bit earlier, perhaps fewer lives could have been lost in the fight against Asurabear—such thoughts crossed his mind, but it was pointless to dwell on them.
The power of magic now resided within his hand. Much better than having none at all; he had to make effective use of this power…
By the way, the difference between a hero and a priest lies in whether one has received higher education about miracles and magic at the Holy Church.
Just as Tafuman and his companions had been able to enhance their bodies immediately after awakening, the intuitive use of holy attributes was apparently not too difficult… So they say. In other words, it involves enhancing oneself or allies, wrapping weapons in holy attributes, and such.
However, combining this in more complex ways with other magic or performing the miracles of the gods of light doesn’t happen overnight. Of course, it requires magical talent, deep knowledge of myths and legends, and mental discipline to embody the light attribute—basically, it takes a lot of time and effort.
Therefore, heroes are those who skip such education and specialize in intuitively wielding holy attributes on the front lines, acting as swords and shields.
And excluding Tafuman, most of the guards relied heavily on physical strength. By process of elimination, they became the heroes.
“Oh man, to think I could become a hero even after reaching adulthood… I want to let the Holy Kingdom know! Is there any way I can do that…!!”
By the way, Mycin’s delight and sadness were quite something. He seemed on the verge of plotting an escape from the autonomous district at any moment… However, given the situation where the eastern part of the Defteros Kingdom was completely subdued and connections to neighboring countries were cut off, it was tough.
The front-line’s shortage of troops was grave. This information must be worth a fortune…
(Well, there’s no point in me worrying about it)
Let’s leave that to the smarter folks like Mycin and Sebastian. The Demon Lord Army was keeping a watchful eye—someone in a position like him ought to not show any careless signs.
Surrendering to a pleasantly felt fatigue, Tafuman savored his drink.
This was the backlash from using magic. Physically, he wasn’t that tired, but mentally, or perhaps he should say spiritually, he felt a vague sense of lethargy that made his very existence feel thin.
According to Mycin, “You’ll get used to it eventually.”… Or perhaps it would become the new normal.
For now, he had to use the holy attribute extensively without sweating the small stuff and let it blend into his body while nurturing his magic…
“Good evening. It’s lively as always here.”
As the tavern door opened, a familiar girl walked in.
—Claire.
“Hey, good evening!”
He raised his cup in greeting, smiling cheerfully.
“Oh, you’re in a good mood. Is the base construction going well?”
“Thanks to you, it’s going pretty smoothly.”
As Tafuman replied in his usual manner to Claire, who took a seat next to him, he suddenly fell silent.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the tavern owner, the Hobgoblin.
(…I can’t really talk about it)
“?” Claire tilted her head in confusion, and Tafuman awkwardly smiled while gulping down his drink.
—How to handle this holy attribute issue.
He had been troubled greatly with the upper-ups, including Sebastian and the retired veterans of the guard.
“Indeed… It would be best to keep it a secret for now.”
“With our current lack of combat strength, attracting the Demon Lord Army’s attention would be a risk.”
“That mad prince is eager for us to grow stronger and is even delighted by it, but we can’t read the thoughts of his subordinates.”
The conclusion was to “keep it a secret as much as possible.” Of course, it would apply to the civilian populace of the autonomous district as well, to avoid unnecessary exposure.
Immediately after awakening to the holy attribute, their magical power wasn’t much different from that of the average human. Even if they grew a bit, the difference would be negligible from the perspective of higher demons. Mycin and others associated with the Holy Church assured him that they had ample time to buy.
Going forward, they planned to attempt the “Awakening Ceremony” whenever an opportunity presented itself, but they would need to be cautious about their selection… especially to avoid being noticed at the Demon Lord Army’s doorstep.
And keeping that in mind…
“What’s wrong with you?”
Claire blinked at Tafuman, who had gone unexpectedly quiet.
“No, I… we made great progress, but I overexerted myself and got tired…”
He chuckled and tried to brush it off.
(Sorry, but I can’t tell you, girl…)
He wanted to share, but even if the Hobgoblin wasn’t around, Claire was a rare person working at the Demon Lord Castle. Tafuman knew it was a bad idea to leak sensitive information to someone dealing with shady characters regularly.
No, he was indeed desperate to share.
(She seems to be harboring quite a bit of frustration…)
He glanced down at his cup, and an expression of sympathy almost surfaced on his own face, which he quickly erased with a forced smile.
Claire was a bright girl.
However, there were times when she seemed to have a hollow look, as if she were talking to a doll, infused with an emptiness.
(With all the dark characters around, how could she possibly be at peace…)
Maybe that’s why she came to this tavern, devouring spicy dishes, and generously treating regulars, recklessly spending her earnings.
Though they chatted reasonably well, Tafuman had barely heard any personal stories from her. …Perhaps there was nothing to talk about; it felt that way. Not a single topic arose concerning what had become of her relatives. Well, the autonomous district was filled with such people, so it was easy to imagine…
(I’d like to talk, but…)
The true self-sufficiency of the autonomous district.
If she heard that the groundwork for it was finally being laid, would Claire rejoice? Or would she panic, feeling it too reckless?
…Somehow, he felt it would be the latter.
(I can’t say anything…)
—Until that day comes.
“What’s wrong? You’re really zoning out; it’s not like you.”
Claire rested her chin on the table, laughing with a hint of exasperation.
“Haha, when you’re tired, the alcohol hits you hard!”
In an effort to clear his guilt, Tafuman laughed cheerfully and gulped down his drink.
…In the end, that night, he underestimated his own words and ended up getting drunk at the tavern, which was rare for him.
