[Lucky Overpowered] — I Became a Background Character Meant to Die in the Game’s Opening, But Now I’m Overpowered and Fighting to Save My All-Time Favorite Alchemist Heroine - Episode 22
“Cheers!”
After clearing the dungeon all the way down to the ninth floor in one go, we were now celebrating in high spirits at the tavern attached to the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Phew! Damn, this ale is good! I can never quit this stuff!”
That gruff statement came from none other than our leader, Gilles of the party Fang of the Wolf. With frothy foam clinging to his upper lip like a white mustache, he really did look like a middle-aged man unwinding after a long day’s work.
Beside him, Gustave was too focused on shoveling food into his mouth with both hands to bother with drinking. Apparently, he prioritized eating over alcohol.
Isabelle, sipping her ale elegantly, cast a disapproving glance at the two of them.
And Lise? She sat beside me, looking forlorn as she munched on a skewer. Even with that sad expression, she was ridiculously adorable.
Why was Lise looking so down? Well, earlier today we looted six rabbit meats during our dungeon run—and sold them all for cash. Lise had wanted to eat them, but we urgently needed money to upgrade our gear and buy new alchemy recipe books.
It was all for her sake. I hope she can forgive me.
“My precious rabbit meat…”
“Sorry, Lise. Next time we go dungeon diving, just the two of us, we won’t sell the meat—we’ll cook and eat it, promise.”
“Really…?”
“Really. With my Gift, I can gather more in no time.”
“I’m holding you to that!”
Once I managed to cheer Lise up, I decided to ask Gellis about the thing that had been on my mind.
“Hey, Gilles—so, are we in? Did we pass?”
“Huh?”
Gilles, still sporting his ale-foam mustache, looked at me, then turned to Isabelle. Even though he was the party leader, Isabelle was the one person he could never quite say no to.
“Well then…”
Noticing everyone’s eyes on her, Isabelle finally spoke.
“I’m in favor of both of them joining. Gee’s Gift may not be useful in combat, but it’s great for generating revenue. And Lise’s ability to produce Ether? That’s something I absolutely want on our side.”
As expected from the party’s mage—Isabelle clearly saw the value in Lise being able to create Ether, a rare and powerful mana recovery item.
Hearing that, Gustave paused his eating to speak up.
“Gee’s archery skills are impressive. He rarely misses, and that initial strike gives us a huge advantage in battle.”
“Yeah. I don’t really get what ‘Ether’ is, but both Gee and Lise really proved themselves today. We of Fang of the Wolf welcome you two aboard!”
“Yes! We did it, Gee!”
“Yeah, we did!”
Lise and I instinctively grabbed hands and grinned at each other. Gustave looked on with envy, while Gilles and Isabelle simply gave us exasperated stares.
“You two are really close, huh.”
“You could say that!”
Man, hearing that’s kind of embarrassing.
And just like that, Lise and I officially became members of Fang of the Wolf. With a full party, we could now clear dungeons much faster. That also meant more experience points, and quicker leveling. With increased MP, Lise could produce more alchemical recipes too.
Everything was finally clicking into place. Satisfied with this upward spiral, I took a deep swig of ale.
It was bitter—but just right.
________________________________________
◇
“Hey, you guys heard the rumor? ‘The Heroes of Dawn’ lost in the forest.”
Gilles brought it up out of nowhere, just as we were all getting nicely buzzed.
“The ‘Heroes of Dawn’?”
“Who are they?”
The name didn’t ring any bells for me.
Lise tilted her head in confusion, clearly unfamiliar with them too. Adorable.
“You serious? They’re super famous!”
“They’re the most promising rookie party these days. They were dispatched by the Guild to investigate and eliminate a monster that’s recently started showing up in the forest.”
“A monster in the forest…”
That had to be the Soul Eater, right?
“So yeah, they lost.”
“That’s not exactly accurate,” Isabelle corrected. “Technically, they were all found unconscious. They still haven’t regained consciousness, so no one knows what really happened.”
“All of them… unconscious?”
That pretty much confirmed it. They were most likely attacked by the Soul Eater.
As its name suggests, the Soul Eater devours souls—it doesn’t touch the body. That would explain why they were found passed out in the forest.
“There’ve been more and more reports of people collapsing in the woods lately. Survivors say they saw something that looked like a skeletal monster. Creepy, right?”
Gustave shuddered as he spoke.
“Gee, you’re thinking what I’m thinking…?”
“Yeah.”
No doubt about it—it had to be the Soul Eater. Lise seemed to realize it too.
“The Church says there’s been a surge in unexplained comatose patients. Neither holy magic nor potions have any effect.”
This was bad. The number of victims had already grown this much?
There was a way to fight a Soul Eater. But to do that, I’d need Lise’s help—and I’d have to reveal my secret to her.
The thought weighed heavily on me. But letting time run out without making a choice… was the worst thing we could do.