Chapter 17: Violet Orient 1

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“—GRAAAAAAAOOOORRRR!!!”

A roar. The air itself rippled and distorted, and the shockwave blasted rubble into the air, sending it hurtling forward at high speed. Blocking it with the great shield, Finn shifted only his left eye outside the shield’s coverage and observed the monster.

“F-Finn-san… What should we do? What am I supposed to—”

“Stay still.”

—GOGAAA!!!!

Faster than sound, faster than wind, the monster’s fist swung toward Finn. But he deflected it with the great shield and shoved back with a shield bash.

GOAAAH!!

Just that alone stirred a gale and sent rubble flying. Yet the monster showed no concern at having its attack blocked, instead swelling its muscles and pressing the assault.

“SHAAA!!”

It was like an incarnation of destruction. Using both arms and legs, every single movement carried swirling devastation capable of easily claiming human lives. If it landed a hit, survival was impossible; even a graze would result in serious injury. Faced with a rain of attacks like that, Finn did nothing but plant his feet, lower his stance, and brace himself.

──GOGGAD DOGAGAGAGAGA!!!!!

He deflected a punch from the right, blocked a kick from the left, and parried fists thrown simultaneously. The speed was so extreme it was nearly impossible to see, yet Finn blocked every single one. In the blink of an eye, the exchange ended. When he noticed, the rubble beneath their feet was gone, and a field surrounded by towering walls of debris had been formed.

Finn had been driven into a place where escape was impossible. Yet there was no panic on his face. However, Violet—still held tightly against his chest—was in utter confusion. She, too, was an adventurer in her own right and had accumulated ample combat experience against monsters. Compared to nobles her age, her combat ability was overwhelmingly high. Even so, there were limits.

From the exchange just now, she understood the enemy was a powerhouse and that no matter what she did, she couldn’t win. What she could do was avoid getting in the way of Finn, the strongest person present, and obey whatever instructions he gave. Violet wasn’t foolish. Putting aside noble society’s common sense, she possessed the common sense of an adventurer.

That was why she knew exactly what the optimal choice was here.

(If I die here, I won’t be in Finn-san’s way…)

She knew the strength of Gold-rank adventurers. Even so, she couldn’t believe this monster could be defeated with certainty. With a single roar it blew away rubble, possessed a body larger than three humans combined, and attacked with speed beyond the eye’s ability to track. If Violet had been alone, she would’ve died in that first surprise attack. She survived only because Finn protected her.

By forcing a Gold-rank adventurer to choose “protect,” she understood that the optimal solution was to throw away her life. She understood it.

(If I die, I won’t be in the way. If I die…)

Violet was an adventurer, but she wasn’t hardened enough to immediately choose suicide. If she were a knight or adventurer fighting on the front lines against the Demon Lord Army, she might be condemned, but she was still a student attending the academy. Like other nobles, she was supposed to focus on her studies, build connections, and move peacefully toward adulthood… Not be forced to throw her life away. She had accepted death as part of being an adventurer. But accepting that in principle and accepting it immediately were two different things.

Fear of impending death surged up, making her feel like she was about to vomit stomach acid. But she swallowed it down, face pale, and took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.

(That’s not okay. Get a grip.)

She shook off her weakness. 

Born a commoner, raised in a world where the strong devoured the weak, and taken in by nobility. She thought becoming a noble would spare her from such suffering, but what awaited her was harsh education and contempt. Even among nobles, it was still survival of the fittest, and she learned that one had to grovel before greater nobles just to live.

Violet chose to survive by clinging to powerful men. She enrolled in the academy, bought expensive clothes beyond her income, and refined her appearance. Anything to be seen as a desirable woman. Anything to catch a strong man. She didn’t care if other women hated her. She pushed forward aggressively. She was despised, whispered about as a whore or prostitute. She was summoned, had water thrown on her, her clothes torn.

Even so, she persisted, believing that attaching herself to the strong was the only way to survive. Then she learned that the man she had clung to had no future. She screamed and cried without caring who saw. She thought it was over. She’d earned resentment and hostility. Still, she’d clung to men because she believed she couldn’t survive otherwise and that doing so would make her stronger in the future. When all of that collapsed, despair crushed her. There was no way left to climb. She would continue being trampled as a weakling until she died.

The one who stopped her sobbing that day was Charlotte. A decorative princess. A princess with status but no respect. A strong woman who endured whispers and scorn yet still tried to fulfill her role as royalty. That day, Violet gained her first friend.

(I was happy.)

Lucille, who had no walls toward former commoners and casually said, “I hunt on my own too.” Chloe, who accepted no longer being a noble and resolved to live by her own strength. And Charlotte, who pulled Violet up from despair. The fulfillment she gained through adventuring with them made her life shine for the first time.

-I was happy. That’s why.. I don’t want good people like them to die.)

Lucille. Chloe. Charlotte. All of them viewed Finn Debyura favorably. Violet had always been sensitive to women’s gazes toward men, often clashing with entourages of noble girls back when she dealt with sons of the Second Prince’s faction.

Lucille had a future as a count’s daughter. Chloe was tough enough to survive on her own. Charlotte would only grow stronger from here. But Violet… Violet had no future.

A mere baron’s daughter, and originally a commoner, she was no different from dust in noble society. Those who approached her were parasites who didn’t care who she was, only seeking sweet benefits. With no pedigree or backing, she believed no one would approach her for any other reason. It was obvious she would eventually become a burden. So…

Then here, now, she would use her life meaningfully. As the standoff continued and the battlefield stagnated, Violet made her resolve.

“Finn-san. Please abandon me.”

A Gold-rank adventurer would make the right decision. If she could be useful at the very end of her life that was filled with failure… Then that was enough. Finn turned his gaze toward Violet.

In his eyes were observations… And a hint of surprise. Before he could speak, she continued.

“I know I’m just baggage. So please, throw me away. No one will blame you. I’m just a fake noble anyway. But in return… Please win. Her Highness, everyone… They all want you to live. So in my place, please… Protect them…”

Was she smiling properly? She didn’t want to die. She was terrified. Even so, what scared her most was her friends getting hurt. More than injury, more than fear, more than death… She hated the thought of her friends crying. As Violet whispered her plea with a pale face, Finn replied without changing his expression at all.

“I refuse.”

For a moment, Violet couldn’t understand what he’d said.

“…W-wait, but if I’m here, you can’t even attack—”

Finn held the shield in his left hand and his right hand was holding Violet. The mace he’d been gripping just before the ambush had been dropped to protect her. His right hand was sealed. He had no weapon. How was he supposed to fight like that?

Violet’s confusion was natural. His defensive technique was overwhelming, so much so that she could hope he might block even this monster. Even so, protecting dead weight was nothing but a weakness. The more she thought about it, the less reason there was to protect her.

“You dare to chat so nonchalantly like that?!”

The monster moved, seizing on the conversation as an opening. No longer charging straight on, it used the rubble walls to run freely in all directions. Behind. Front. Side. Above. Faster than the sound of slicing wind, the attacks came and Finn responded while still holding Violet tight. Naturally, attacks from multiple directions couldn’t be blocked perfectly.

Finn prioritized preventing fatal damage and protecting Violet. He blocked with the shield, only to have a kick flow toward his face. He forcibly took it on his right shoulder, shattering his armor and damaging bone. The monster showed no mercy, relentlessly targeting injured areas, shifting focus whenever Finn adapted.

Right shoulder. Left leg. Right flank. Left shoulder. Right leg. Back. Left arm. Face. Little by little, he could no longer block everything. Violet watched it all from his arms.

Someone stronger and more dependable than herself was being injured because he was protecting her. And yet, she herself hadn’t been so much as grazed. Because Finn was protecting her completely.

“…No… Please… Please stop…”

His right shoulder shattered. Though it shouldn’t have moved, Finn forced his muscles to hold Violet tighter. His left leg broke. Even as his knee was precisely smashed, he suppressed the pain and anchored himself to the ground. His abdomen was struck, armor shattered, shards tearing into flesh. Left shoulder armor broke, right leg swelled, his back was pummeled repeatedly until no uninjured areas remained, his left arm was beaten again and again until the strength to hold the shield should have been gone and yet….

Finn only twisted his expression and never let go of Violet.

“No… No, no, no—stop, Finn-san! You’re going to die! You’re going to die!”

—GOK!!

His temple was struck, his neck twisted violently. It was bent in a direction it should never bend.

(Ah—… He’s…Dying…)

“—!!”

But Finn didn’t die. His muscles moved with a grinding sound, and his neck returned to its original position. The inhuman movement was terrifying but more than that, Violet was shaken by his expression. He looked like a corpse. Pain-suppressed groans leaked out. It was obvious he was enduring agony. His left eye was crushed, his cheek swollen, blood flowed from his mouth. Whether it was internal damage or a torn mouth, Violet couldn’t tell.

Why? How?

(Why… Would you go that far to protect me?)

She didn’t understand. If she weren’t there, Finn could’ve fought far more advantageously. He wouldn’t have been beaten so one-sidedly.

Why? Why would an overwhelmingly strong person protect useless baggage like her? Unable to comprehend it, Violet screamed from the surge of emotion.

“Why?! Just abandon me! You’ll die like this…!”

“…I won’t abandon you.”

Finn answered softly to her wail.

Haa… huu… hyu…

Breathing weakly, he met her eyes.

“I’m a shield, you know… I protect you too.”

His face was swollen, bleeding, one eye crushed. The sight of his state was horrific to behold. And yet… Despite that… Violet couldn’t help but be utterly captivated.

“With that body, you can’t move! Die!!”

The monster charged with a roar. Even his left hand gripping the shield was injured. Finn could no longer exert sufficient combat ability. No options left. Violet shifted her gaze from Finn’s face to the incoming fist. She could see the punch now. But her body wouldn’t move. It felt like a deathbed vision.

(If only we’d met sooner—)

The fist closed in on Finn’s head… But just before impact, something touched it.

“…Eh?”

It was a hand. An armored hand. The hand that had been gripping the shield avoided the punch and grabbed the monster’s wrist.

“What—”

“—You finally went for a big swing.”

Finn forcibly moved his swollen bicep and slammed the monster behind him.

─DOBASHHH!!!!!

The impact blasted apart the rubble wall. The ground warped, leaving a massive circular crater.

“Gah… Haa!!”

Using its own strength against it, the monster spat blood. Just one blow, yet its power was immeasurable. As the monster convulsed from the impact, Finn muttered.

“It’s true… Compared to those three, I’m a weaker shield…”

Then, gently, he released Violet. She fell onto her backside with a blank expression, and Finn stepped in front of her protectively.

“But I’ve got a reputation for enduring. Let’s see who gives out first.”

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