Episode 16: The Mysterious Gift
“Hah… Hah…”
Somehow, I managed to escape my swim in the lava and barely survived. I suffered severe burns all over my body, but my Gift is Healing. Normally, such injuries would be fatal, but they healed in an instant.
At that time, I also healed the torn muscles in my right leg from when I jumped.
This is just a guess, but I think I was able to make that huge jump by sacrificing the muscles in my right leg because, in my attempt to save Cornelia, the limiters on my muscles were unconsciously released.
I’ve heard that people normally only use about 20 to 30 percent of their muscle strength. Apparently, this is a necessary measure to prevent them from destroying their muscles and bones by going all out.
However, there are times when these muscle limiters come off. It’s what they call 【Hysterical Strength】.
What happened to my body was probably this 【Hysterical Strength】. I unconsciously wished to save Cornelia, even if it meant crushing my right leg.
Well, in reality, Cornelia annihilated the goblin army all by herself, so there was no reason for me to panic.
All that remained was the idiot who couldn’t control his landing after the jump and dived straight into the molten earth.
“Onii-sama, um, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a little hot. No injuries. More importantly—”
That’s right. My own well-being doesn’t matter right now. The problem is why Cornelia was able to use a sword’s ultimate secret skill like Ann-Teaker.
Ann-Teaker is an overly powerful skill. It’s the skill the protagonist, who is given the Hero’s Gift, learns last. It’s so overwhelmingly strong that enemies are turned to cinders, and though it has the demerit of no item drops, its power more than makes up for it. It’s synonymous with the strongest skills.
There’s no way Cornelia, who has no combat experience and whose Gift hasn’t even developed yet, could use such a skill.
A Gift that surpasses the Hero’s? I’ve never heard of such a thing!
“Ria?”
“Aha, I’m kinda tired…”
Cornelia collapsed into my chest as if diving into it. Ann-Teaker consumes Holy Power appropriate for its might. In that sense too, I don’t understand how Cornelia, whose Gift shouldn’t have developed, could use Ann-Teaker.
At least, in the game “Legend of the Magic Sword” that I know, no such Gift existed.
I’m not arrogant enough to claim I know everything about this world. I merely know a little through the game.
I understand that. But she said she didn’t even know the name of her Gift, and it worried me that Cornelia, of all people, had received such an inexplicable Gift.
“Ah…”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Does anywhere hurt?”
“Nn-nn. My body feels a little better.”
Perhaps her Gift developed because she defeated the goblin army.
Should I be nurturing Cornelia’s Gift?
Won’t such overwhelming power bring disaster upon Cornelia?
What should I do…?
Out of anxiety, I hugged Cornelia tightly.
“Young Master! Young Mistress! Are you unharmed?!”
“Achim…”
“…Yeah, we’re safe. The goblins were also annihilated by Cornelia’s skill.”
“That’s a relief, but… this devastation…?”
“…It’s due to Ria’s skill.”
He probably knew from the start. When I confirmed it, Achim looked at Cornelia with a daunted expression. Bach, the other soldiers, and the villagers were much the same. They were looking at Cornelia as if she were a monster.
The only small mercy was that Cornelia was in my arms and hadn’t noticed the way they were looking at her.
I don’t like it.
Don’t look at Cornelia like that when she’s the one who saved you!
I know everyone is just terrified by a destructive power far beyond their comprehension.
But if they intend to make Cornelia out to be a villain, I won’t forgive them!
“Ria’s skill was surprising, but the target goblins have been annihilated. This is our victory! We won’t be bothered by those goblins anymore! Right?! It’s all thanks to Ria!”
“Y-Yes! That’s right! As expected of Cornelia-ojousama! How reassuring! Huh? Isn’t that right, you lot?”
“Just as the Captain says! Glad we could take it easy! Right?!”
“Y-Yes… As expected of Cornelia-ojousama…”
“Yeah… It was certainly surprising, but the goblins were dealt with. All’s well that ends well, right?”
Achim and Bach reacted to my words, and following their lead, an atmosphere of praising Cornelia began to form.
Certainly, there’s still an air of bewilderment. But in times like these, the beginning is crucial. People are bound by the words they themselves speak. By not letting them voice any negative impressions of Cornelia, I can suppress them.
“Now, Ria, let’s give a victory cry!”
“Kachidoki? What’s that?”
“To put it simply, it’s a declaration of victory. The person who contributed the most does it. Just raise your sword and say something suitable.”
“Oooh? Okay!”
Cornelia gracefully drew the rapier from her waist and shouted loudly.
“I want to eat goat!!!”
“””Ooooh?””””
It was my fault for saying she could just say something suitable, but of all things, that…?
After that, we, along with the villagers, celebrated with goat as Cornelia had requested, raising a toast.