A Bottom-Tier Adventurer Devoted to Supporting Their Idol Activities: Every Time, They Offer Rare Materials and Stir Up the Elites - Episode 33: Roger Awakes. The Hero Awakens

Episode 33: Roger Awakes. The Hero Awakens

Ever since Ellel-chan’s chest wrapped around my hand, the world had suddenly become vibrant. The dull scenery from before began to sparkle as if it had all been a lie—everything’s edges sharpened into clarity.

Softness and firmness. Though they may seem contradictory, Ellel-chan’s chest perfectly embodied both.

In short: the supreme. A god. No, a being that surpasses even the gods—that is Ellel-chan.

All living things should bow their heads before Ellel-chan and offer prayers of gratitude for her existence.

Thank you, Ellel-chan, for simply existing!

“Roger! You’re kinda scaring me! What’ve you been mumbling to yourself this whole time!?”

Just as I was preaching the greatness of Ellel-chan at a busy underground intersection, someone called out to me.

It was Boomer, the hulking adventurer.

He worked at a gay brothel and was also a member of the Underground Guild.

“I’m recruiting followers for the Church of Ellel. Wanna join?”

“No way! And seriously, you need to quit with this religion stuff! People will definitely hate you for it!”

Boomer shouted. He was spitting as he spoke. What a filthy man.

“You’re just mad that I started the Church of Ellel before you could.”

“That’s not it! I’m honestly trying to help you! Did you even get Ellel-chan’s permission for this!?”

I dodged his spit and thought about it. True, I hadn’t gotten Ellel-chan’s permission. Would that count as blasphemy?

“Should I ask for her permission?”

“Obviously! Actually, she’ll definitely hate it. So you should just drop this Church of Ellel thing altogether!”

“Tch. Shut up, you fatso.”

Still, Boomer had a point. For now, I decided to stop recruiting followers.

“You should be grateful! It’s because you kept fainting that I escorted Ellel-chan back to the surface!”

“Thanks, fatty.”

“Don’t call me fat! Say ‘voluptuous and delightfully curvy’ instead!”

“Voluptuous and delightfully curvy fatso.”

“Shut up!!”

Boomer, out of breath, took a moment to calm himself. Then he spoke normally again.

“Oh right, the Adventurers’ Guild just put out a request across the entire kingdom. They’re asking for info about a ‘gray-haired man.’”

Tch. Things are getting complicated.

“There’s no more gray-haired F-rank adventurer. I’m Roger with black hair, member of the Underground Guild.”

“Exactly. None of us in the Underground Guild would rat you out. You’re safe.”

Boomer’s face turned serious as he said that.

“But there’s no doubt all the forces in the Kingdom are after the power of that ‘masked man with gray hair.’ And the Empire—”

“Sees him as a threat and wants to eliminate him, if possible.”

Boomer silently nodded.

“When hunting rare monsters, be more careful than ever.”

“Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind.”

After that, Boomer said, “Time for work! My favorite client’s coming today!” and skipped off. He was probably heading to a brothel in the slums.

“What a pain this has become.”

Still, time can’t be rewound.

“No point in brooding. I’ll go gather info on rare monsters.”

And so, I headed to a bar in the underground known as a hub for informants.

#

In a rural village in the southern region of the Kingdom of Linde, a man appeared.

He had gray hair, pale skin, and sharp, cautious gray eyes.

His body was clad in a bizarre black battle suit. It was unlike anything seen in the Kingdom—tight-fitting and ominous. His appearance caused a stir among the villagers.

People gathered at a distance. They were whispering nervously and wondering what was going on. But the man stood still at the village entrance, unmoving. Was he waiting for someone, or trying to decide what to do?

After about an hour of debate, a veteran adventurer among the crowd stepped forward and approached the man.

“I’m Lamberto, an A-rank adventurer. I’m here in this village on a monster investigation request. Who the hell are you?”

Lamberto eyed the man warily.

“I’m Renya. When I came to, I was near this village. I saw a Dragon in front of me, so I killed it. Was that your prey?”

“…You took down a Dragon alone? Seriously?”

Lamberto narrowed his eyes further and asked firmly.

“I’ve got no reason to lie. The corpse is still there. Go see for yourself.”

“…Fair enough.”

Lamberto began to think.

“You said you woke up near the village. Where were you before that? What were you doing?”

Suddenly, the man seemed off.

“…I can’t remember…”

Renya, as he called himself, held his head with his right hand and squeezed out the words.

“Amnesia?”

“…Sorry… I can’t remember anything from before…”

Lamberto put a hand to his mouth, thinking.

“Alright. Let’s head to the village hall. We can talk it out over some tea.”

“…Thanks…”

Renya followed Lamberto into the village and entered the largest building.

Inside was a stark room filled with rough long tables and simple round stools.

The two sat facing each other. Their eyes were searching the other for clues. A nervous villager brought over tea.

Lamberto took a sip, and Renya followed his lead.

“Interesting outfit you’ve got there.”

“Seems that way.”

They looked each other’s clothes over.

“Gray hair and gray eyes too. That’s rare around here.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.”

Lamberto stared hard at Renya.

“Right now, every adventurer in the kingdom has been asked by the guild to report any info about a ‘gray-haired man.’”

Renya’s pale skin grew even paler.

“Did… this gray-haired man commit a crime?”

“No, it’s the opposite. He’s a hero who defeated the leader of a bandit group that was terrorizing the Kingdom. The guild is trying to thank him.”

Renya’s eyes narrowed. And a subtle smirk played on his lips—like he was holding back a laugh.

“So you’re saying… I might’ve been that hero before I lost my memory?”

“It’s possible. That’s what I think.”

With that, Lamberto downed the rest of his tea. Renya followed suit.

“Renya. Want to come to the capital with me? I’ll take care of you for a while.”

“You’d do that?”

“Leave it to me.”

The two stood and firmly shook hands. They both looked deeply satisfied.

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