Lucas strolled casually toward the fields, the Great Hoe resting on his shoulder as if nothing had happened.
Before his eyes—
that damn monitor was still glowing.
[DING]
(￣▽￣)ノ Wow, Host. You looked cool—visually, at least.
---
Lucas let out a quiet snort.
Cool my ass.
Why didn't I get any EXP just now? he thought flatly.
I literally made an entire village bow and forgave them instantly.
The panel blinked.
---
(￣_￣)
Because that wasn't growth.
---
Lucas stopped walking.
"…What do you mean?"
The panel changed.
---
(－‸ლ)
You lost control.
---
Lucas frowned.
"I was just angry."
---
(￣へ￣)
Wrong. You vented.
---
He took a long, slow breath.
"So?"
---
(╮╯_╰╭)
If you had held back—
your ego, your anger, your urge to dominate—
The panel flashed.
(｀・ω・´)
You would've leveled up on the spot.
---
Lucas froze.
"…Huh?"
---
(｀ε´)
You were this close to a Mental Breakthrough.
Lucas swallowed.
Even though they deserved it…
(;一_一)
Everything got canceled.
---
He exhaled sharply.
"…Fine."
He resumed walking, slower now.
"So the level isn't for people who win…"
---
(￣ー￣)
It's for people who hold back when they could destroy everything.
---
Lucas gave a weak snort.
"You're getting philosophical."
---
(¬‿¬)
---
Footsteps hurried behind him.
"Y-Young Master…!"
Lucas stopped.
Geralt stopped too.
Silvara stiffened.
Mae stood on the dirt path, hair disheveled, breath ragged—
no holy dignity,
no divine aura.
Just a panicked woman.
She ran to him.
Then—
She fell to her knees.
Dust puffed beneath her.
"PLEASE… FORGIVE ME!"
Lucas turned halfway.
"…Now what."
Mae bowed low.
"I was wrong! I was arrogant! I judged without proof!"
Her voice cracked.
"That trial… that ritual… I—I acted too fast!"
Silvara frowned.
This is dangerous…
If she leaves, this village loses its only healer.
One plague and everyone dies.
Lucas stayed silent.
Mae trembled.
"Please… don't report me to the Cathedral…"
Her forehead nearly touched the dirt.
Inside, Mae panicked:
Damn it… I'm begging this bastard…
but anything's better than getting reassigned to some war-ridden hellhole…
She stayed kneeling, breathing hard, her robe stained with dirt.
Lucas looked down at her.
He was tired.
Dead tired.
"…Get up," he said flatly.
Mae didn't move.
"I… I can't. Not until you forgive me—"
"I said get up."
His tone wasn't loud.
It was worse.
It was cold.
Mae slowly lifted her head.
Lucas sighed and slipped back into his Lucian Voss persona.
"You think I'm going to report you?"
He stepped closer.
"You know what the worst fate for a Rawdihgo is, right?"
Mae's mind filled with nightmares—
status stripped, exiled, thrown into disaster zones…
And knowing Lucian's reputation—
as a Rawdihgo herself, she didn't even dare finish the 'get some raw dick in' thought.
Her shaking worsened.
Lucas saw it.
And got sick of it.
Completely.
Then he leaned in and whispered:
"I forgive you. Right now."
He straightened.
"Leave. Before I change my mind."
Mae jolted.
"R-Really…?"
"Ten…" Lucas muttered, already walking away.
"Nine…"
Mae scrambled up.
"T-Thank you!! I'm going—!"
"Seven… six…"
Mae ran.
Not holy.
Not dignified.
She ran like someone escaping hell, sandals slapping wildly, skirt flying, dust everywhere.
"…Five… four…"
She vanished beyond the village bend.
Lucas stopped counting.
Exhaled.
Then glanced at Silvara.
"What."
Silvara stared.
"…You're truly a bastard."
"Thanks," Lucas said calmly, and kept walking.
---
[DING]
(≧▽≦)／
+45 EXP
+20 Progression Points (Double PP as promised!)
Reason: Host resolved the trauma arc by restraint—without casualties (and without turning Mae into a new harem member).
[DING!!!]
(≧▽≦)
LEVEL UP!
Host has reached Level 3
STATUS UPDATE
Level: 3
Strength: 4 (+1)
Agility: 5 (+1)
Stamina: 4 (+1)
Mana: 6 (+1)
BONUS:
+5 Progression Points
The panel glowed proudly.
(￣︶￣)
---
The alley behind the brothel reeked of alcohol and stale sweat.
Liria kicked a wooden crate in frustration.
"It's all gone to hell…"
A cold wind drifted through the narrow passage.
Her plan to bait Lucian's ego into walking straight into the brothel—to bury that dirty rumor—had failed.
Healer Mae had interfered far sooner than she'd anticipated.
"A bad plan," a man's voice said from the shadows. "And you played it terribly."
Liria turned sharply.
A knight stood beneath the dim alley lamp, posture easy, expression unreadable. His cloak was spotless. His insignia unmistakable.
Sir Aldric Rosevelt.
"…You," Liria hissed. "What do you want, royal knight? Here to laugh at me?"
Aldric gave a lazy shrug.
"You spread rumors," he said lightly. "I get things done."
He reached into his coat and flicked a small bottle toward her.
Liria caught it on reflex.
The pink liquid inside shimmered faintly.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Insurance." Aldric's smile was thin.
Liria's eyes hardened.
"Bullshit."
He took a single step closer.
"It's an extract from Viperpink venom," he said flatly.
"A poison repurposed as an aphrodisiac."
Liria went still.
"What does it do?"
"Anyone who takes it," Aldric replied quietly,
"will be consumed by desire. And it won't wear off until they've had someone."
Her grip tightened on the vial.
"You're insane," she snapped. "You'd poison the family you serve?"
Aldric let out a short laugh.
"Serve? Please."
"I protect territory, not a decaying noble house."
"Voss is no king of mine."
He turned away.
"Slip it into your best bread," he said over his shoulder.
"Your sweetest drink. Once that idiot heir finishes playing with his filth—send it in."
Then he was gone.
Liria stood alone beneath the flickering lamp, staring at the vial in her palm.
Her breathing was uneven.
"…Lucian Voss," she murmured.
"Tonight… you're going to fund me again."
-----
Evening arrived without fanfare.
The sun sank slowly behind the hills, golden light reflecting off wet soil and young leaves.
Lucas held out two gold coins to Geralt.
"Take them."
The old man's trembling hands accepted the coins.
"Y-Young Master…" Geralt's voice was hoarse, eyes rimmed red. "I… I don't know what to say…"
Lucas frowned.
"Then don't. Go home."
Geralt looked like he might collapse.
He bowed once—deep, far too deep—then hurried away, almost running.
Lucas exhaled long and slow.
His back throbbed.
His arms felt like iron.
His legs barely belonged to him anymore.
Silvara had already sat down on a rock, silent… almost disturbingly so.
Her face was pale.
Only now did Lucas notice.
"…Damn. We really forgot to take a break."
Silvara glanced at him, then looked away.
"Forgot?" she muttered. "I thought you just enjoyed tormenting an old man."
Lucas let out a small snort.
"I'm exhausted too, you know."
He turned toward the field.
Neat rows of soil.
Straight irrigation channels.
Open drainage.
If the rain came now—
this field would survive it.
The panel appeared.
[DING]
(￣▽￣)ノ
+32 EXP
+7 Progression Points
Reason:
Basic irrigation system completed.
Local civilian provided with steady income without exploitation (Yes, the innocent old man.)
---
Lucas glared.
"…Local civilian? Innocent old man?"
The panel blinked.
---
(￣_￣)
He is innocent. For real.
---
Lucas clicked his tongue.
"Whatever…"
---
(¬‿¬)
Heh.
---
He gestured toward the ordinary hoe Geralt had been using, now lying in the dirt.
"I should tell him to take it home tomorrow. I don't need it anymore."
Silvara shot him a sharp look.
"…Because you bound yourself to another filthy hoe."
Lucas pretended he hadn't heard.
Soft footsteps approached.
A young girl stood awkwardly at the edge of the field—thin, tense—clutching a small cloth pouch to her chest.
"U-Um…"
Lucas turned.
"Who are you?"
Her face flushed.
"I'm… Lina."
She hesitated, then inhaled.
"I was… one of the people who caused trouble earlier."
Lucas raised a brow.
"…And?"
She bit her lip, then pulled out a large loaf of golden-brown bread and a small bottle filled with red liquid.
"This… is my apology."
The scent hit him instantly.
Warm.
Sweet.
Lucas swallowed without realizing.
His stomach had been empty since morning.
"I'm not angry," he said flatly. "Just go."
Lina nodded rapidly and fled.
Lucas stared at the bread.
"…I'm starving."
Silvara glanced at it.
Lucas chuckled.
"You want some?"
Silvara scoffed.
"No."
He lifted the bread closer.
"Fresh village bread. Still warm—"
"Shut up."
He pushed again.
"It's really good."
Silvara growled, snatched the loaf, and tore it in half.
"Eat. Quickly."
Lucas grinned.
They ate.
Ravenous.
No words.
Just chewing beneath a dying sky.
Suddenly—
HAP!
Silvara choked.
"—Khh!"
Lucas lifted the bottle.
"Drink—"
She grabbed it and gulped everything down.
Wine.
Her eyes flew open.
"…?!"
Lucas froze.
"…That's wine."
Silvara didn't answer.
A second passed.
Then another.
Her face slowly turned crimson.
Lucas finished chewing.
"If you're going to puke, do it somewhere that isn't near me."
Silvara turned sharply.
"Shut up."
They passed the bottle back and forth.
Lucas wiped his mouth.
"…Once in a while, life doesn't feel completely miserable."
Then—
the sky shattered.
Lightning split the heavens.
GREEEG!!
Rain fell.
Not rain.
A storm.
Silvara stood at once.
"This is bad. We won't make it back to the manor."
Lucas raised his arms.
"Then run—"
Silvara grabbed him.
"Look at the clouds! We need shelter. Now!"
They ran.
Rain hit like thrown stones.
The ground slick beneath their boots.
Then—
a small cave.
They stumbled inside, soaked and breathing hard.
Water dripped from Lucas's hair.
Silvara dropped her pack and removed her armor piece by piece.
Metal hit stone.
Ting.
Tak.
Thud.
Without it, she looked smaller.
Human.
Lucas looked away.
…for about two seconds.
Then glanced back.
Silvara sat, breathing slowly.
"…I hate thunderstorms."
They sat.
Inside the cave.
Rain hammered the world outside like hell had spilled over—
And just when they thought that was the worst—
THUD.
Their hearts lurched.
Then—
a wave of heat crawled beneath their skin.
Wrong.
Sudden.
Invasive.
It burned from places that should still have been numb with cold—
And—