The Villainous Noble Tried His Hardest to Break the Original Storyline, and Now the Heroines Are Acting Weird - 14

Chapter 14

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When I turned around to check if everything had gone as planned—

“……”

Everyone stood there, mouths agape in astonishment.

If it’s just a goblin, I can easily take it out in one hit. Well, even a beginner-level spell should barely be enough to defeat a goblin in a single shot.

“Was that okay?”

“Y-Yeah! That was amazing, Rubest!”

My father beamed as he patted my head. I gave him a wry smile in return. Edic, still looking shocked, began clapping.

“R-Rubest-sama… That was incredible magic. To think you could hit it so accurately from this distance and take it down in one strike…”

“Thank you.”

Well, in terms of raw damage, that spell was considered high-tier magic in this world, after all. The issue was how accurately I could hit multiple targets. It boiled down to how much I could polish my own skill. Unlike in the game, I couldn’t just select a target and fire. The reality was a bit inconvenient, but at the same time, it also allowed for more creative usage. 

For example, I didn’t need to aim directly at a monster. I could just destroy the ground beneath its feet. Hmm… I’d like to explore these kinds of realistic uses of magic. After I defeated the goblin, more goblins began appearing nearby with a slight delay. Maybe they were supposed to spawn together with the first one.

“I’m going to keep going.”

I stepped forward and cast Thunder on each one individually. The goblins that had been advancing toward us collapsed without even a hint of resistance. Four in total. I still had plenty of MP left, so it didn’t seem like there’d be a problem. Maybe it was thanks to my daily training.

When I glanced back, my father and the knights were openly delighted by my performance. But perhaps because he was also a mage, Edic was the only one who looked a bit stiff.

“…T-The difference… It’s too great…”

That pretty much summed up my abilities accurately.

Well, if we’re going to talk about that absurd difference in power, I’d like someone to pass the message along to a certain goddess.

I directed a pointed thought toward the Goddess, who was probably still watching. But of course, no response came. Was she pretending not to hear me? Or just ignoring me?

When I peeked into the divine realm, I saw her covering both her ears.

Hey, come on.

“You took down that many goblins! So? Did you level up? Did you hear the voice of the gods in your head or anything?”

My father asked with barely contained excitement. Right, that kind of thing did happen in this world.

“……”

Under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve leveled after taking down a few goblins since I was still at level one. But I didn’t hear any sort of notification. Maybe I really should’ve pushed harder to get the Goddess to tweak the settings.

“I might’ve missed it. I was a little too excited.”

It was my first real combat experience, so maybe it was good to show a bit of childlike innocence. As I scratched my head awkwardly, my father clapped me on the back. He was grinning happily.

“Haha, is that so? Make sure you catch it next time, alright?”

As I walked alongside my cheerful father, I sent a thought toward the Goddess.

『Are you there right now?』

『Yes. I’ve been watching the whole time while doing paperwork.』

『…Isn’t that why you keep screwing up?』

『Rubest-san, you’ll check the paperwork later for meanyway, so it’s fine~』

No, it’s not fine.

I sighed at the Goddess who was casually pushing her work onto me as usual.Even when I was trying to sleep, she’d summon me to the divine realm to help her with tasks. It was blatant abuse of authority. But well, this was an exchange. I was helping her, so I expected her to give me something in return.

『Alright, since I’m helping you out, tell me what my current level is. I took down a bunch of goblins, so I should’ve leveled up by now, right?』

『Nope. You’re still… You’re still level 1.』

『…Excuse me?』

I couldn’t help but ask again. When I looked into the divine realm, the goddess was sweating bullets and avoiding my gaze. Clearly, something was off.

Come to think of it, even her voice earlier had sounded a little different than usual. Which meant, something happened.

『What are you hiding?』

『H-Hiding? Come on now, you’re not seriously thinking I messed up again, are you? I didn’t do anything this time!』

She boldly declared, “This time, I didn’t do anything.” And since she was notoriously bad at lying, I could tell she was telling the truth. So, she hadn’t done anything this time.

Which meant the issue had to be from something she’d done before. As I worked through the possibilities, a realization hit me, and cold sweat began to run down my back too.

『If I think about it logically… Does that mean the amount of experience I need to level up is based on the standards of the other world…?』

『I—I’m terribly sorry!!』

That apology was all the confirmation I needed. As I continued hunting goblins alongside my father and the others, all I could do was wallow in self-despair.

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