Vol 1 Chapter 18 – Aftermath of the Explosion【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

The tremendous blast shattered the floor and sent chunks of wall crashing down.

Even so, the ceiling never caved in, nor did the room itself collapse.

Debora’s detonation packed enough force to flatten a room this small with ease under normal circumstances.

But this was the infamous “Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber,” where common sense went to die.

This room, which pops up all over the dungeon, withstood even Debora’s explosion.

The Guild and the Kingdom once tried to erase this vicious chamber that preys on novices… and met the same failure Debora just did.

“Keho, keho! …See that? Bad-mouthing me gets you blown up!”

Coughing and blinking away tears in the swirling dust—since the chamber refused to break—Debora managed a triumphant grin.

She turned to Miriam as if to say, How’s that? …

“Erik!”

—but Miriam ignored her completely.

With zero hesitation she charged straight into the thick dust at ground zero—dangerous territory where the Ogre could still be alive.

At the blast center was a huge crater.

Had this not been the Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber, it would have been even larger.

Inside lay the Ogre’s corpse.

Or what was left of it—there wasn’t even a head.

Only the right arm remained.

That once-mighty arm, which had hounded Miriam and Erik so mercilessly, looked pathetic by itself.

“Erik…!!”

The sight made Miriam’s throat tighten.

If even that iron-skinned Ogre had been reduced to one arm…

…then an ordinary human like Erik couldn’t possibly have survived.

Yes, he possessed an undying skill—

—but no one knew its true limits.

So far, massive blood loss and even lost limbs hadn’t killed him—as long as Miriam’s healing magic followed.

But what if everything except an arm had been blown off, like the Ogre?

Would Erik simply die?

Dreadful thoughts piled up until tears threatened to spill from Miriam’s eyes.

“If that happened, I would…!”

Just as Miriam let out a pained whisper—

“…ah…”

“Erik?!”

Her ears caught the faintest sound—no louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

Certain it was Erik’s voice, she sprinted toward it.

“Erik!!”

And there he was, collapsed on the ground.

His body was a wreck.

Parts of his skin were burned; blood covered him head to toe.

Bruises marred him everywhere, and one arm was hanging by a thread.

Even so, Erik was alive and managed a weak smile for Miriam.

“I’m sorry, Erik. Bear with this, okay…!”

“Gh… aaah…!!”

Weeping, Miriam cast her pain-laden healing spell.

In exchange for that agony, the wounds closed at remarkable speed; Erik’s body steadily knit itself back together.

Before long he looked almost healthy—though far from fully recovered inside.

“Erik, are you all right? Anything still hurt?”

“I’m quite all right, thank you. As expected of you, Miriam—both the healing and the pain.”

Miriam patted him all over, still worried.

He answered with a gentle smile.

“E-Erik…!”

Overcome, Miriam threw herself into his arms.

He was still too drained to sit up, yet he held her tenderly.

◆

“Oh, so you’re alive. Glad that worked out, then.”

A little late, Princess Debora trotted over, her tiny body bobbing through the dust.

I wanted to sit up straight and kneel at once, but I was more exhausted than expected, and Miriam clung to me, so I remained flat on my back.

“I beg your pardon, Princess Debora, for appearing like th—”

“Mm, ordinarily I’d ask Papa for a nice execution, but since you helped me pull off the heroic feat of slaying an Ogre, I’ll let it slide.”

“Thank you very much.”

Execution… how delightful…

But I cannot die yet.

I must… must taste much more pain!

While I redoubled that resolve, Miriam lifted her face.

Her eyes were puffy and red—painful to see.

“So… how did Erik survive? Even the Ogre didn’t leave a body…”

Such an incredible blast, was it?

How blessed I am…

Ah—Miriam looks puzzled. I should enlighten her.

“It’s all thanks to Princess Debora.”

“…Come again?”

“A-hem!”

Debora puffed out her nonexistent chest, and Miriam gave her a highly skeptical stare.

She clearly didn’t buy it, yet my words left her conflicted.

This time, though, I truly owed the princess my life.

“Right before the big explosion, a smaller blast went off near me and knocked me clear of the Ogre. So I wasn’t swallowed by the main detonation.”

Even that “small” blast hit hard enough to fling me away—and, while half-dead, I nearly set foot on the Sanzu River. My gratitude is boundless.

Of course, being yanked off the Ogre meant my hand, still pinned to his leg with my sword, was torn free—so-thanks for that, too.

…One day I really must be caught in a blast that size…

“The Hero couldn’t move then, you see. With my exquisite technique, I kept the damage to a minimum. Praise me all you like.”

“…Tch. Thank you.”

“Humph. Did you just click your tongue before thanking me?”

Miriam’s disgust was plain.

Everything the princess said or did rubbed her the wrong way now.

“Also, the Ogre’s body acted as a shield—that helped keep me intact.”

“I wouldn’t call you intact…”

Pummeled by the Ogre, stomped on, blown away by the princess—

This adventure was extraordinary indeed.

If this keeps up, I’ll be truly glad I swore fealty to King Rei.

“H-huh…?”

Miriam’s head drooped; she blinked rapidly, looking extremely sleepy.

Well, she isn’t a hardened soldier.

After a brush with an Ogre and all that stress, drowsiness is only natural.

Besides, she worried herself sick over me.

“Let’s rest a bit. The chamber’s master is dead, and we’ve time before it relocates.”

“B-but Erik still needs proper treatment—”

“Don’t worry; Miriam’s magic patched me up just fine.”

Her healing spell—aside from the brutal pain—is marvelous.

Its speed and power are leagues above any other healer’s.

The only drawback is that agony, which makes it unusable on anyone but me.

“Mmm… sorry, Erik…”

With that, Miriam laid her head on my thigh and drifted off.

The Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber… truly a fine place.

I do hope we come here again someday.