* * *
The cursed elixir tasted absolutely awful.
‘……That sharp aftertaste. It’s almost like water brewed from rotten twigs.’
[An unknown power settles into your body.]
After I downed the tentacle monster’s essence in one gulp, the glass bottle went—
FSSSH-.
It dissolved into violet smoke and disappeared.
[You acquire a new Trait, 【Rapid Regeneration (+)】!]
[You acquire a new Trait, 【One Who Has Fallen from God’s Favor (-)】!]
And these were the new Traits I had gained from the essence.
‘First, the useful one.’
【Rapid Regeneration (+)】
-Natural healing is greatly increased. It is also effective against various infections and diseases.
A self-recovery Trait that dramatically increased my body’s regenerative ability.
It was an extremely useful ability at a time like this, when I did not have a healer.
‘Using potions even a little too often immediately gives you Potion Addiction.’
In this insane world where dying meant there was no restart, there could hardly be a Trait more useful for survival.
It felt as though I had gained a sturdy lifeline, which put my mind at ease.
‘Next is the negative Trait…….’
【One Who Has Fallen from God’s Favor (-)】
-Divine Magic Affinity is fixed at 0. Conflict may arise with deeply devout Heroes.
Judging by the name alone, the Trait sounded rather terrifying.
In reality, though, its effect was simple: it locked me out of Divine Magic.
……What? Wasn’t being unable to use Divine Magic a bad thing?
It was not much of a problem.
‘Setanta is a damage dealer whose talent for Divine Magic is practically zero to begin with.’
Besides, this was a negative Trait that could be removed later through a hidden quest.
If it caused problems, I could just get rid of it then.
“Hup.”
Now that I had taken the essence without any problems—
HOP.
I jumped down from the Special Mutant’s body and landed lightly on the ground.
[The Underground City residents’ Trust toward you increases greatly!]
[Their Trust toward you……]
“Hmm?”
But then cheers began erupting all around me.
“……?”
I turned my head and looked around.
The residents of the Underground City were showering me with enthusiastic praise.
Some rubbed their hands together, some covered their faces while crying, and some were even bowing to me…….
Apparently, they regarded me as their benefactor for protecting their home.
Hmm, what was I supposed to do here?
Should I at least wave?
Just as I awkwardly smiled and started raising a hand—
……DING!
[The Checklist has been updated.]
A new Checklist suddenly appeared.
[Hidden Route Progress: 1.5%]
-(new!) 『Gain the Princess’s Trust』
-『???』
-『???』
…….
‘……Huh?’
A Princess?
Not an Imperial Princess?
I immediately opened the detailed description.
【Gain the Princess’s Trust】
-Gain the Trust of Erin O Murha Kivanagh, the final descendant of the Ailant royal family.
But something about that description was strange.
‘Wasn’t the Ailant royal family supposed to have been exterminated ten years ago?’
Had there been some kind of hidden backstory where the last Princess of the fallen kingdom had barely managed to escape and survive……?
Something like that?
But I had no idea where to begin.
Where the hell was I supposed to find this person?
‘It’s not like I can search all of Russia for Anastasia.’
Besides, if it was an Irish-style name for a woman, it should have used ‘Ní’ instead of ‘O.’
That was the form used for a male descendant.
I was so dumbfounded that I could only glare at the holographic window.
“Se-Setanta! Sir Setanta……!”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve saved us yet again!”
Rian came running toward me from a distance in a fluster and clasped my hand tightly.
His flushed face was visible beneath the robe pulled over his head.
“As I thought, my dream wasn’t wrong……! You really are going to save us!”
“……Pardon?”
“Sir Setanta, you are our savior!”
He even went on to shower me with praise embellished with every flattering expression imaginable.
His eyes glistened so intensely as he stared at me that I began wondering whether this was what a cultist looked like when they started worshipping a human being as a god.
[Rian feels a strong sense of goodwill toward you.]
His Trust had gone up again already.
This lunatic.
“The residents of the Underground City are expressing their gratitude to you, Sir Setanta!”
“Ah, yes…….”
“I have always waited for the day when a savior would appear to lead us Ailantians!”
“…….”
“You see, I have something of a talent for prophecy!”
Of course you do. Your Unique Myth is Morrígan, a deity of death and fate…….
“Tears…… I’m actually crying…… Ahh, how long I’ve waited for this day!”
“Excuse me.”
“Yes! Yes……! Sir Setanta, you need only say the word!”
“Could you please let go of my hand?”
“Ah……!”
When I gently pulled my hand free, he put on a visibly disappointed expression.
“Anyway, I’ll leave the disposal of the corpse to you. I’ll be going now.”
“M-Me-Me-Meals! At least have a meal here before you go!”
I hurried away before staying there any longer drove me insane.
The cheering behind me did not stop.
* * *
SSR Heroes from Ailant were generally based on Irish Mythology.
First, there was me, Setanta, who was based on Cú Chulainn, the great hero of Irish Mythology.
I could not be completely certain about the others because they had originally been unrecruitable bosses…….
But based on their appearances, names, and other characteristics, players had speculated that their identities were as follows.
The Dark Mage who had been clinging disgustingly close to me earlier was Morrígan.
The hulking man was Ferdiad.
‘And lastly, this woman wearing the silver gauntlet who’s sitting in front of me right now…….’
The first king of the divine race.
Nuada of the Silver Hand.
And right now, she was having a meal with me.
“Your name was Setanta, correct? You seemed uncomfortable around Rian, so I sent him elsewhere for a while. You may call me Aileen.”
In one corner of the Underground City dining hall, Aileen placed something charred black on a plate.
Judging from the pungent smell…… it seemed to be some kind of meat.
A bat?
Was that seriously a bat?
“My apologies. This is about the best food we have to offer.”
“…….”
She hesitated for a moment.
SLIDE-.
Then she pushed a plate containing an even larger bat toward me.
……She really did not need to give me the bigger one.
“By the way, Aileen, that little piece of meat next to the bat. That isn’t dog meat, is it?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If I eat that, I’ll be in serious trouble.”
“……?”
This was important to me.
I would genuinely be in serious trouble.
My entire body might become paralyzed, and if things went badly enough, I could even die.
【Extreme Picky Eating (-)】
For one thing, I already had a negative Trait related to picky eating.
And on top of that—
【Cú Chulainn’s Oath】
-You must not eat dog meat.
This bizarre Geas involving dog meat had been engraved into my very soul.
And above all……
‘Eating dog meat was also what ultimately led to Cú Chulainn’s death.’
According to legend, Cú Chulainn, who had been virtually invincible, ate dog meat and paid the price by losing the use of half his body.
He then entered battle in that condition, only to be defeated and meet his end while standing upright.
‘In other words, a single bite of dog meat could potentially give me an instant game over.’
Naturally, I had no choice but to be careful.
“Hmm…… To give you the answer first, no, it isn’t dog meat. Nothing like what you’re worried about will happen, so you may rest easy.”
“Then what is this?”
“This is also…… bat meat. You needn’t worry about parasites, though.”
Aileen subtly averted her gaze as she spoke.
“Rian casts Life-Extinguishing Magic on all of our ingredients every time.”
“Pardon?”
“So there is no need to worry. You won’t have worms wriggling around inside your stomach after eating this.”
“…….”
Life-Extinguishing Magic?
Don’t tell me…….
‘That trap skill the Dark Mage used in the original game, the one that instantly killed anything below a certain HP threshold…….’
He was using that……
to disinfect food ingredients?
“In any case, what I’m saying is that this food is safe. You must be quite hungry, so go ahead and eat.”
“…….”
Truthfully, I did not particularly want to.
‘I still need nutrition if I’m going to survive.’
But the face looked as though it were screaming.
Its legs were twisted where the cartilage had melted from the heat, and even its wings had shriveled and curled from being scorched.
The sight was horrifying…….
‘Damn it. Is this really safe to eat?’
I raised my head, intending to see how a native ate the thing.
“…….”
Aileen was also merely staring at the whole roasted bat.
She showed absolutely no sign of actually eating it.
Only silence remained.
In the wavering candlelight, her silver gauntlet alone gleamed brightly.
……Come to think of it, why was she wearing a combat gauntlet while eating?
“Wearing a gauntlet even while you eat? Isn’t that uncomfortable?”
“……It’s a prosthetic.”
“What happened to your arm?”
“Everyone has circumstances that are difficult to speak about, do they not?”
Ah.
At first, the cloak draped over her right shoulder had made it difficult to tell.
But now that I looked closely, from the shoulder guard to the upper arm, forearm, and hand—
her entire right arm appeared to be a single armored prosthetic.
“Is it a Magitech prosthetic powered by mana?”
“Something similar. Despite appearances, I have no particular difficulty holding a sword. The sensation is…… naturally somewhat different.”
Aileen opened and closed her silver hand several times.
Indeed.
Judging solely by its movement, there seemed to be little difference between it and a human arm.
It was probably an extremely high-end product, or perhaps even an Artifact.
‘So even having one prosthetic arm is part of following her Unique Myth.’
Nuada of the Silver Hand.
He had once been king of the divine race, but lost his right arm in battle.
And because, according to Celtic tradition, someone with a physical impairment could not be king, he ultimately had to step down from the throne.
That was Aileen’s myth.
‘And Nuada is also the owner of Claíomh Solais.’
FLASH-
At that moment, the silver-white sword hanging at her waist entered my field of vision.
Even at a glance, it looked extraordinarily precious.
It was a weapon that seemed practically endgame-tier.
‘That’s it. The Sun Sword, Claíomh Solais. The only Mythic-Grade Weapon I was never able to obtain……!’
Perhaps the developers had blocked players from acquiring it because they feared it would destroy the game’s balance.
Even if you killed Aileen when she appeared as a boss in the original game, the sword did not drop.
The moment she died, it simply scattered into motes of golden light and vanished.
‘That was why I regretted missing it so, so much.’
A sudden curiosity stirred within me.
“Aileen, that’s a very impressive sword you have.”
“This? Everyone says the same thing.”
“Would you mind letting me try holding it, just once?”
“Ah…….”
A trace of bewilderment flashed through Aileen’s eyes.
“It is a weapon that chooses its owner, so I cannot simply hand it to you. You probably wouldn’t even be able to draw it.”
“Then may I at least try? I’m genuinely curious.”
“……You may be cursed. Right now, the sword recognizes me as its owner, so-.”
“Then if you die, does ownership transfer to someone else?”
“……What?”
Silence fell over the room.
[TIP - Some Mythic-Grade Items can be acquired when their owner dies.]