The Priest Wants to Retire

EP.239 A Song for the Ashes Left Behind (10)

“I’ve decided!”

As the Hero passionately voiced his thoughts, Bigtim’s brows twitched slightly.

It was something he had naturally come to understand through experience.

Having a sister with that kind of face was almost guaranteed to mean she was spewing nonsense.

“Once this battle is over, I’m going to marry the Priest! We’ll have two sons who look just like the Priest! Then, we’ll open a little flower shop and live happily together, just the three of us!”

If he was going to have two sons, wouldn’t that mean the four of them would be living happily together?

Wasn’t it just the other day he mentioned having three children, regardless of gender, and running a bakery together?

Feeling a moment of despair at the rapidly changing life plans of his sister, who came up with ideas as fast as he could count, Bigtim quickly steadied his heart.

“Sis, they say that people who talk about marriage in a dungeon tend to die sooner than others.”

“Ha! You only know one thing and not the other. Clueless little brother! A true Hero must break through these trivial worldly troubles head-on!”

“Uh, yeah…”

As if he was being too much of a help.

Without making a sound, Bigtim’s lament stayed safe from his sister’s gaze.

“But Sis, they say sons usually take after their mom, while daughters take after their dad?”

“Gasp! Really!?”

Bigtim’s casual remark left the Hero momentarily dumbfounded.

“How could such a cruel twist of fate occur! If that’s the case, my grand wish to have a cute boy who’s the spitting image of the Priest will be thwarted!”

“What if it’s a daughter?”

“No daughters! If by some chance my daughter insists on marrying her dad while crying and throwing a tantrum! I don’t know what I might do!”

“Sigh…”

Bigtim’s melancholic sigh, reminiscent of a pile of ashes, truly reflected his state of mind.

“Hey! Hero! Bigtim! Over there!”

With Apis’s thunderous signal, Bigtim immediately shut his mouth.

Despite his tall stature and indifferent demeanor, he had been thought of as a quiet young man, but if one delved into his inner thoughts, it wasn’t quite so simple.

“Kuoooohhh───!”

A massive monster charged at them like a runaway train, shrieking with a noise that could tear the ears.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Bigtim threw himself into its fearful trajectory, raising a shield that was as tall as he was.

His eyes, glaring like a beast, radiated a sense of solemnity that was hard to believe came from someone who had just been chatting nonchalantly.

Boom!

“Huff…”

In a single breath, Bigtim planted his shield into the ground.

The difference in mass instantly translated into a difference in power.

The rules of biology dictate it all revolving around innate size.

Bigtim’s actions appeared foolish as he blatantly resisted the laws of nature that even the most insignificant creature understands.

However, in this situation, there wasn’t a single onlooker showing concern for Bigtim.

Bang! Crackle-crackle─!

After the resonating noise and vibrations shook the surroundings, the monstrous beast came to a sudden halt just before Bigtim.

“!?”

In terms of size, it was akin to an ant stopping an elephant.

The beast faltered momentarily, like a startled animal, revealing an overwhelming embarrassment behind its actions.

“Phew…”

The hot breath escaping Bigtim’s lips resembled the steam released from a finished locomotive.

“Here we go! Hero!”

“Yes! Apis! Dawna! Please support me!”

“I know what to do!”

Crack!

With Bigtim’s shoulder as a springboard, the Hero and Apis leapt high into the air.

Dawna, reaching down towards them, gathered magic power from the surroundings.

“Ugh! If only I had enough magic power!”

Dawna exploded in frustration, her power output not even half of her usual.

However, that was merely her subjective judgment; the completeness of the magic was flawless.

Whoosh!

Using the wind magic created by Dawna as a cushion, Apis steadied herself in the air as she aimed her bow at the target.

Even though Apis had healed from her injuries, the battles thus far had drained considerable energy from her as well, leaving her far from optimal condition.

But Apis possessed the experience and skills to compensate for such gaps.

“Come forth, fire!”

Bang─!!!

Dawna’s wind magic and Apis’s elemental magic mixed together, creating an explosive projectile that surpassed both light and sound, striking the monster squarely between the eyes.

“────!!!”

A thunderous roar echoed. No, it was a scream.

Its force, revealing a relentless desire to live, was quite fierce, but despite such desperate thrashing, the Hero’s sword strike did not lose its original intent, sweeping across the battlefield with a brilliant golden trail.

Swish──!!!

With just one swing, everything came to a conclusion.

With an ice-cold expression, the Hero returned the blade to its sheath, having swung it who knows how many times.

The monster’s head, plummeting, was barely able to let out a choked scream.

The heavy silence brought forth by such a clear victory lingered until the recovering Hero finally spoke.

“Ah! Goodness! I was so focused that I completely forgot to shout the name of my ultimate technique! Apis! Dawna! If you don’t mind, could we cancel that and do it again!?”

“Stop being an idiot! Quickly fix your stance! There’s still one more left!”

Apis’s fierce reprimand fell on the Hero, who was rambling nonsense amidst the fierce battle.

Although they had successfully dispatched one of the two massive monsters, their struggle was far from over.

“Damn it! This thing’s tough as nails! Hey! Hero! We’re going with the plan again! If we give it an opening, you chop it up! Got it!?”

“Yes! Leave it to me! Apis!”

“Sigh! Once this is all over, I’m quitting adventuring and becoming a fairy tale author! I can’t take this anymore! Seriously!”

“Haha! Is that the same line again!?”

The Hero laughed heartily at Apis’s grumbling.

Their conversation bore no tension whatsoever, but the fierce focus in their eyes as they locked onto their target was that of night-time predators.

“That beast is trying to enter the city again!”

Dawna shouted urgently, and in an instant, the three of them dug their feet into the ground.

“This time, I will take the lead! Once more! I need your support from the back! Dawna!”

Thunk!

“I’m counting on you! If you screw it up again, you’re dead!”

Thunk!

“Mm!”

Thunk!

As her allies patted her on the back in succession, Dawna momentarily lost her focus, staring in disbelief at the familiar sight.

The dull ache radiating from her back echoed in her consciousness like a ringing in her ears.

Every so often, her companions offered this encouragement which Dawna always found unsatisfactory—it’s unhelpful and merely annoying, the so-called unnecessary skin contact.

She had lost count of how many times she had whined to Regis about such pointless acts.

But strangely, now it didn’t feel all that bad.

The warmth nudging her back, the sharp pain running along her spine, forced her to realize something she had not recognized before.

Why had it taken her this long to recognize it?

Dawna, who had never doubted that she was a genius all her life, felt foolish for the first time in this moment.

“Just leave it to me─!”

As she pushed upward, the speed of the three companions became even faster.

Watching their reliable silhouettes, Dawna couldn’t help but break into a satisfied smile as she murmured softly.

“I guess it’s not really fair to blame Lowville for being so lacking in attention… after all, I’ve been just as careless.”

The thing she had so desperately sought was already in her hands from the beginning.

Was there a more futile conclusion than this?

From the graceful trembles of Dawna’s spellcasting, such feelings of emptiness dispersed like dust.

“Quick! We need to capture that bastard before monsters start popping up all over the city!”

With a tone filled with urgent impatience, Apis spoke quickly.

There was no time to waste.

With countless monsters expected to appear around the city soon, they had to eliminate that one beast swiftly or countless casualties would likely result.

“Rest assured! Apis! Even if it costs me my life! As the Hero! I will absolutely ensure the safety of the citizens of the system! And once all of this is over! A night of revelry with the Priest!”

The Hero, clad in boundless positivity, was already convinced they could quell this situation without a single sacrifice, but the other comrades could not afford to feel so carefree.

“Alright, I get it! If you have time to daydream, get your sword straight! No one else can slice through that bastard’s damn tough hide but you!”

“Yes! I’ve finally made up my mind! Now, let’s have one son and one daughter!”

“Hey─!!!”

“Grrr…”

As the Hero once again launched into a serious daydream during the intense battle, Apis couldn’t stand it anymore and smacked him.

Bigtim, who watched their banter, shook his head in disbelief.

Boom!

Just then, the ground, which had been calm for a while, shook violently once again, pushing the battle they were nearing an end into a new phase.

“W-what is that!”

The Hero’s gaze suddenly twisted to a certain direction.

There, a familiar girl fluttered in white wings like an angel, waving her hand nonchalantly as she approached.

“Barking high.”

In her arms, hugging tightly like a new bride, was Regis, staring this way with a face as pale as a ghost.

“Saintess! This is really safe, right!? It is, right!? I won’t fall, will I!?”

Snap!

At that moment, an unpleasant noise tickled the Hero’s forehead, who had been endlessly cheerful.

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