A Hidden Stage?
It was a situation I had neither seen nor heard of before.
They say you usually just enter the reward room, pick one reward you like, and come out.
Could it be because this is Hell difficulty?
For now, I watched the situation quietly.
My vision changed in an instant, just like when I had entered, and before I knew it, I had arrived in a forest densely packed with trees.
I was worried I might end up alone because it was a Hidden Stage, but fortunately, Rachel was with me.
As if proving she had climbed the tower many times.
The moment she landed in the unfamiliar environment, she drew her sword and surveyed the surroundings.
Wow, that's fucking reassuring.
Was it because I saw her slaughtering those goblins earlier?
I felt that as long as I was with Rachel, I could definitely survive here.
“Oppa, are you alright?”
Soon, perhaps judging that it was safe, Rachel ran toward me.
She had a cold expression until just now, but the moment she saw me, her face brightened like a puppy’s.
“I’m fine. But do you happen to know what situation this is?”
I asked, wondering if Rachel, who had cleared up to the 100th floor, might know,
but she tilted her head, clearly indicating she didn’t.
“They’re saying it’s a Hidden Stage. Did nothing like this ever happen while you were clearing it?”
“It didn’t happen back then... When I first entered the tower, I just killed goblins and that was it.”
Well, that was probably why she had been on guard.
“But one thing’s certain: I don’t sense any dangerous aura.”
Well, if she said so, it didn’t seem like a dangerous situation.
[Exit is impossible.]
Not that we could get out either way, so for now, we decided to look around.
But this place was completely unmaintained, with weeds growing up to my knees.
And since thorny bushes were mixed in among the trees, I ended up slightly cutting my finger.
“Aagh!”
Blood pooled like a bead at the tip of my finger.
I worried that the tree might have been poisonous, but—
“Oppa! Give me your finger.”
Rachel put the wounded area in her mouth and sucked on it.
Overwhelming suction.
Even if there had been poison, it would have been drawn out long ago.
“I’m better now, thanks to you.”
“For weal...? It doesn’t huwt... wight...?”
Rachel asked while holding my finger in her mouth, looking up at me.
Our eyes met, and I felt embarrassed for no reason.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I averted my gaze and pulled my finger out.
Bwoop—!
The pressure I felt on my finger disappeared, leaving only a damp, unpleasant sensation.
‘Ugh, gross.’
But no matter what, I couldn’t badmouth someone who had sucked my finger for my sake.
I wiped the saliva on my pants and expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. By the way, you can speak comfortably. You used to call me your beloved Rachel.”
“Huh? I did?”
“Yes! So couldn’t you call me like before? Like ‘my beloved Rachel.’”
Furtively.
Rachel watched my reaction, gauging my response.
Something felt suspicious, but faced with those expectant eyes, I couldn’t help but try.
Maybe because they were words I’d never even said to my mother. They kept circling near my lips.
“Sa, sa...”
My lips wouldn’t form the words.
How the hell do I say this?
“Sa...”
The moment I squeezed my eyes shut to force it out,
a man suddenly appeared in the forest, screaming, and ran this way.
“Save me!”
Wondering what was going on, I looked,
and saw a house-sized giant bear chasing him.
It was madly charging through trees, and since an axe was stuck in its head, it seemed the other party had done something wrong first.
There was no benefit in meddling in others’ affairs.
I tried to ignore him, but the man ran toward us as if delighted to see us.
“Please save me! I’ll do anything if you just save me!”
“Kuaaang!”
“Hmph, no! This is an important moment, so just hurry past us.”
Rachel showed a rather cold attitude.
But the man didn’t give up.
Perhaps thinking we were his only saviors, he pleaded.
“Please, won’t you think of it as saving a poor soul?”
“I said no? Don’t interrupt my private time with my Oppa and get lost.”
“How cruel. Husband, please convince your wife!”
I guess since a man and woman were together, he thought we were a married couple.
Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
But sometimes, there exists a wrong answer that feels good.
— Aphrodite is the most beautiful goddess.
— More than you, teacher?
— Pfft. I’ll give you plus one point for attitude.
Like that teacher in high school who always threw hysterics but smiled upon hearing those words.
Rachel suddenly smiled pleasantly and aimed her sword at the charging bear.
“...It can’t be helped. Hide behind me for now.”
“Thank you!”
Had he cast aside all pride as a man?
“This is my spot, so please move back a bit.”
“...Yes!”
I couldn’t give up the safest spot behind Rachel.
“Kuaaa!”
The bear roaring and charging wildly was several times larger than a normal bear.
It boasted the physique of a decent detached house, and even wore armor on its body.
Anyone could see it was a boss monster.
‘Could it be that defeating that bear clears the stage?’
That was merely a guess since no information had been given.
“Th-that’s no time to be so relaxed! Shouldn’t you fight alongside your wife since you have a weapon too...?”
“Shut up and watch.”
There was no way Rachel would lose anyway.
I had already seen enough of her strength back in the goblin village.
“Heeeek!”
“I told you not to worry, jeez.”
The man squeezed his eyes shut at the charging bear.
Thanks to that, he didn’t see it.
One slash, a clean bisection.
She had simply swung her sword from top to bottom, yet the bear charging toward us was split left and right.
Even the weeds that had grown haphazardly in disarray were cut to a uniform length along the path of her blade.
When the man opened his eyes a moment later, the scene before him was a long, straight path paved with a blood-red red carpet.
“Hua, wh-what on earth just happened?”
“I cut it with my sword.”
“Tr-truly amazing. Though I am but a fugitive, I have never seen anyone this strong even when I was in the Empire.”
The man gave a thumbs up to the Hero.
“At this level, perhaps even the Sword Saint could learn a thing or two. You are truly the Empire’s greatest swordsman.”
“No. I am not the Empire’s greatest swordsman.”
It was praise obviously bordering on flattery.
But Rachel shook her head firmly.
“All the swordsmanship I possess, I learned from my Oppa here.”
“Ooh, you look frail on the outside, but it seems the husband is hiding tremendous skill as well!”
“Yes, exactly. So that makes me the Empire’s number two swordsman.”
Haha, hoho.
The two of them were really hitting it off.
“The Empire’s greatest swordsman! I’d love to witness such tremendous skill later.”
I had never thought I’d meet someone who harbored such a misunderstanding in my life.
Thanks to having a good familiar, I was receiving this kind of misunderstanding too.
I scratched my cheek at the unnecessary embarrassment.
‘By the way, what else is left?’
Even though I had killed the bear, no message saying the stage was complete appeared.
As I worried about how to get out,
“Thank you sincerely for helping me once again.”
The man pulled the axe embedded in the bear’s forehead and expressed his gratitude.
Now that I looked, the axe was a golden axe.
He was clearly dressed as a woodcutter; had he met a mountain god or something?
If not, he might be a golden spoon.
‘What the hell is his true identity?’
I suddenly felt something out of place.
Come to think of it, the fact that he had run from that bear alone proved he was an incredible expert.
Besides, he had embedded an axe in the head of that bear with such tough hide?
That couldn’t be done with ordinary skill.
I had tapped it with a wooden sword, and it felt as hard as steel.
“Excuse me, but what is your name?”
“Ah, I was in such a hurry that I failed to introduce myself.”
The man gently placed the axe on the ground and politely knelt on one knee.
“My name is Adel Garion. It is shameful, but until a few years ago, I served as an Executor of the Eden Empire.”
...Wait, the Eden Empire?
At this sudden information, I glanced at the Hero beside me.
She too wore a surprised expression upon hearing her homeland mentioned.
“What year is it by the Imperial calendar?”
“...I do not know why you ask, but this year is Eden Year 209.”
The Hero’s face filled with shock.
“Is the current Sword Saint’s name Arden Roiman?”
“Yes, that is correct, but...”
“Then do you know of Rachel Grace?”
“...No, if you speak of the Grace family, aren’t they a house that was [censored] in [censored]? Why do you ask of them so suddenly?”
I felt hostility toward Adel.
But the Hero looked pleased.
They were having a tremendous conversation about something, but static interfered and I couldn’t hear the content at all.
“......”
“......”
But it seemed Rachel heard those words clearly.
“You said you were an Executor earlier... Then is it because of...?”
“...How did you know...?”
Kzzzt— Kzzzzt—
The static grew worse as the conversation continued.
A headache set in, and even a nosebleed came out.
An unfamiliar landscape unfolded before my eyes.
— It was to save more lives. Everything was to protect the collapsing world.
— But looking at this state, I can see that choice was wrong.
In the center of a ruined palace, a man in black armor was crying.
Right in front of him, the dead Hero was visible.
Unconsciously, I raised my hand and wiped my cheek.
Dried blood came away along with moisture.
‘It’s okay, I can just start over again.’
Beyond the scenery of the crimson sunset, a familiar button was visible.
I pressed that button....
“...Oppa!”
“Are you alright?”
“Haa... haa...”
The moment their conversation stopped, the pain, which had been severe, surprisingly improved drastically.
The scenery disappeared in an instant.
I sent a gesture saying I was fine to the two people looking at me worriedly.
The scenes I had just witnessed remained burned into my mind, unable to be erased, yet gradually faded and eventually scattered like a backdrop.
All that remained within me now was the lingering emotion of that choking sensation in my chest.
“I’m really fine, so don’t worry. Didn’t you say you’d do anything if I saved you earlier?”
Was that why.
His manner of speaking changed drastically.
“O-Oppa! Did you recover your memories?”
“No, it’s not that. Huh, what the fuck. Why is my speech suddenly coming out so casually?”
I felt like I wasn’t myself.
Wow, have I finally gone crazy?
Even when I slapped my cheeks and pinched them, honorifics now felt more uncomfortable.
I tried somehow to be polite, but I couldn’t fix it and gave up.
Fortunately, the Eden Empire didn’t seem to be a factory for old fogeys, so it seemed okay to use informal speech.
“A reward... In the name of Adel, former Executor of the Eden Empire, I shall give you a reward that will surely please you.”
“That’s all past tense anyway. What do you even have now?”
“...Could I give you the reward at the village? I don’t have anything on me right now.”
“You know the saying, right? If you’ve got nothing, you pay with your body.”
Adel gauged the mood and quickly changed his words.
“The truth is, the village isn’t doing so well either, so if you help me a little, I’ll give you something truly good.”
What was this, hitting someone up for a reward after saving them?
Absurd.
Rachel’s expression hardened too.
The man, reading our moods, quietly slipped off the jade ring on his finger.
“For now, I will give you this ring. It is the most precious thing I possess.”
The rings on his other fingers were gold and silver.
Was he still trying to hold onto them even in this situation?
“Rachel, let’s just go.”
“Yes!”
The moment I refused and tried to leave, a message appeared before my eyes.
[A quest has been generated.]
[Village Construction - Bring 100 pieces of wood. (0/100)]
[Reward - Woodcutter’s Ring, Fragments of Time x5]
[On failure - All Hidden Stages in the tower will be deleted.]
...This was a Hidden Quest?