Chapter 16: The Troublesome Woman

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By the time Roland’s Flash Spell once again overpowered the darkness released by Kalia, the enormous mass of rats that had nearly filled the entire sewer had all been reduced to rat-shaped biscuits riddled with holes.

Kalia had more or less regained her composure. Aside from the fact that her whole body was still trembling uncontrollably and that she was clutching the staff, which stood a head taller than she did, she could at least be considered back to normal.

Most importantly, the profound darkness that had spread through the sewer moments ago had vanished.

All that remained was the Flash Spell shining from Roland’s fingertips, illuminating the floor strewn with rat corpses.

Looking at the bodies scattered before him, Roland was hardly in a good mood.

Of the countless dead rats, only a handful had been identified by the system as the quest targets known as Plague-Devoured Beasts and counted toward the quest’s progress.

There was, however, some good news: the few rats that had been successfully identified all displayed exceptionally obvious characteristics.

They were the sort of mutations anyone could recognize at a glance.

Their bodies were covered in festering sores, great patches of skin had fallen away, and their eyes bulged so far from their sockets that they seemed about to pop out.

Without exception, they were also far larger than ordinary rats—about the size of a domestic cat.

Compared to these truly mutated rats, the one Roland had killed at home seemed almost harmlessly pure.

Why had the system classified both as Plague-Devoured Beasts when the one from last night and these sewer rats were so completely different?

Just as Roland was about to go forward and collect the corpses of the unusual rats, Kalia, standing behind him, reached out and caught hold of his sleeve.

“D-Don’t leave me alone…”

Hearing the tremor in Kalia’s voice, Roland found it rather amusing. “What’s this? Frightened now? Want me to escort you out of the sewer? Don’t worry about losing your way. Once you leave the alley, turn right at the intersection and keep going until the end. That’s where I live.”

“No!” Kalia tugged on Roland’s sleeve and moved closer, stopping only when they were almost pressed against each other. “I told you, don’t leave me alone!”

“Isn’t it terribly rude to abandon a young lady in a city she doesn’t know at all?”

Roland turned his head to look at Kalia, who had now wrapped both arms around his. He could only feel troubled as he shook his arm, trying to pry the girl away.

One hand had to keep the Flash Spell active for illumination, while Kalia had the other one locked in her embrace. What would he do if they encountered danger? He would not even have a hand free to draw his weapon.

“W-Waaah…”

Seeing Kalia press her lips together as though she were about to cry, Roland let out a resigned sigh. “Fine. But I’m never bringing you along if something like this happens again.”

Well, they could deal with danger if it arose. Besides, given Kalia’s combat ability in darkness, Roland’s Flash Spell might actually interfere with her performance.

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Moreover, in terms of direct combat ability alone, Kalia was definitely stronger than Roland was at present.

It was simply that the image she had always presented had caused him to instinctively forget that the person standing before him was a witch.

A natural-born spellcaster whose strength, once her abilities awakened, would far exceed that of a mage of the same rank—even without any formal training from the system.

“Agreed, then. If we encounter danger later… No, if we encounter anyone unwilling to identify themselves voluntarily, just kill them.”

“!!!”

Kalia stared at Roland in horror. “That’s against the law, isn’t it? And killing people without even asking questions is going too far!”

Roland gave her a speechless smile. At that moment, he sincerely wished Kalia really were the sort of evil witch the system had described.

So he patiently explained, “The city hall carried out an inspection of the sewers not long ago. Anyone here at this hour won’t be an inspection worker.”

“Besides, look at these rats. In the face of such obvious abnormalities, anyone who remains in the sewer and refuses to identify themselves—what kind of person do you think they’re most likely to be?”

“Someone here to cause trouble!” Kalia was not stupid. She merely lacked certain basic knowledge. Once Roland gave her the hint, she quickly grew eager. “So basically, anyone we meet later can be assumed to belong to the Chaos Brotherhood, right?”

Roland was momentarily speechless. “You’re being a little too extreme. They could also be homeless people living in the sewers, or fugitives and the like. There are quite a few such people in Ryskan.”

After witnessing Kalia’s reaction, Roland finally began to believe some of what the system had said.

Perhaps this girl really did conceal an unimaginable strain of violence within her.

“Oh.” Kalia’s mood visibly sank. “And here I thought I could use this opportunity to develop more of my innate spell abilities.”

Roland was just about to say something in agreement when the system’s notification sounded in his ears once more.

[Ding!]

[Your appearance, companionship, and numerous acts of assistance toward Kalia, the Night Terror Witch, have caused a deviation in her fate. This may lead to certain uncontrollable changes in destiny.]

[The conditions for activating a special quest have been met. Special main quest activated—Persuade Others to Do Good.]

[Even a witch guilty of the most heinous sins has the opportunity to repent. As the Chosen Savior, you possess a heart broad enough to grant her that chance.]

[Host, please provide Kalia, the Night Terror Witch, with appropriate guidance and admonishment, so that she may return to the righteous path.]

Roland was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly questioned the system in his mind. “Return to the righteous path? She hasn’t strayed from it yet. How am I supposed to guide her back? Does this count as completing the quest?”

[As the Savior, host, you must lead others toward goodness.]

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“She hasn’t even done anything evil. How am I supposed to lead her toward goodness? Does skipping out on a bill count? Though I’ve done that myself.”

[Host, please cleanse the impurity within the heart of the Night Terror Witch and persuade her to abandon evil and embrace virtue.]

“What about the quest reward? There has to be a reward, right?”

[Upon completion of the quest, host will receive the Heart of the World and become the true ruler of this world.]

“So what exactly counts as abandoning evil and embracing virtue?”

[Abandoning one’s evil side, acknowledging past mistakes, and atoning for them. Host must discover the specific details independently.]

[Progress toward abandoning evil and embracing virtue: 1/10,000]

“...What?”

Roland had been careless. He had actually forgotten that the system was not entirely sound of mind.

He looked at Kalia beside him, and a dangerous idea began to rise in his heart.

Perhaps he should first try turning this girl bad.

“W-Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?”

Noticing the ill-intentioned look in Roland’s eyes, Kalia drew her neck in and regarded him with wary suspicion.

“It’s nothing… After we get out, let’s go back to the restaurant and settle the bill. It’s not easy for people to make a living.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Consider it an act of charity.” Roland looked at Kalia with a complicated expression.

He was pondering a question.

If Kalia never followed the path of the evil witch described by the system, would that mean he could never complete this quest?

With a soft sigh, Roland shook his head.

Never mind. He could do without the reward. A world with one more eternally kind witch was worth far more than one with a witch who had committed unforgivable atrocities and later repented.