Chapter 29: Debt 29 - One-on-One Training with the Heroine

Sophia still didn’t know that Ryan’s group had a small clash at the palace.

Ryan figured that was why she treated them more calmly.

And currently, the guild didn’t have any mission particularly dangerous or urgent enough to require an S-rank party like theirs.

So she didn’t oppose the idea of them going to explore a dungeon in another nation.

With that, they said their goodbyes to Sophia and left the guild.

They wanted to prepare to leave as soon as possible.

On the way back home, both Mirian and Karol were clinging to Ryan’s arms. One girl on each side.

Helen, unusually, remained silent.

"Hey Karol, can you stop already? Quit draining my mana," Ryan complained as he pulled his arm free from her grip.

"But Ryan, don’t be cruel. I don’t want to return to my infant form when you’re with beauties like these," Karol replied, clearly referring to Mirian and Helen.

Mirian leaned forward to look at Karol’s face without letting go of Ryan.

After observing her, she glanced at Ryan and made a comment.

"Karol is like some kind of succubus. That’s scary."

"That’s not true!" Karol protested, crossing her arms.

’A succubus, huh? I thought of her more like a vampire, only instead of blood, she sucks mana.’

Once they all arrived at the house, they split up to gather their things and get ready.

Karol went to take a shower, and Mirian entered her room to prepare spare equipment for the trip.

Ryan lay down on the bed in his room.

’I haven’t had the chance to analyze the boomerang I got on the demon continent. If I take it out of my inventory now, it wouldn’t even fit in the room, hehe.’

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at Ryan’s door, and he sat up on the bed.

"You can come in."

The door opened, and Helen stepped in with her gaze lowered. Then she lifted her face, staring directly at Ryan.

"What is it, Helen?"

"..."

There was a brief silence. Then she spoke.

"I see you’re getting along very well with Karol."

"Hm? I think that’s normal. There’s nothing special about it."

"That’s not true. She’s always all over you, along with Mirian."

’Is she jealous?’

Helen sighed.

"And what feels even stranger is that Mirian doesn’t say anything... it’s like they get along really well," she murmured.

"What are you saying, Helen? We’re a group. It’s obvious we need to get along."

"Don’t play dumb! Something happened between you, didn’t it?"

Ryan looked away slightly, his expression shifting.

"Huh? No. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing happened, definitely nothing."

Helen walked up and stopped right in front of him, invading his space. She grabbed his face with both hands and stared at him intensely, her face slightly flushed.

"What is it?"

"Don’t play with me, Ryan. When I asked Mirian, she acted exactly like you are right now."

She didn’t look away.

"I feel like you’re hiding a lot from me... and it’s not fair," she murmured.

"I didn’t hear you. What did you say?"

"Nothing!" She turned her back to him, crossing her arms.

"Before we leave, help me with something. I haven’t had the chance to fight, and I need to release this tension I’m feeling."

"Mmm, alright, but does it have to be now? We need to prepare."

"Yes! It has to be now!"

Helen grabbed Ryan by the arm, pulling him along.

They left the house and headed out.

Helen led him to a remote area—a forest surrounded by mountains. No houses, no people.

"This place..."

"A long time ago, Mirian and I used to train here. No one usually comes, so there’s no need for me to hold back."

Helen said this as she equipped her sword. Ryan watched her as she stepped away.

"So, what kind of help do you want?"

"Buff me."

From her expression, Helen looked restless—maybe even a little angry.

Ryan used his skills, and Helen’s body was enhanced.

With her attributes increased, she began to swing her sword.

Each thrust stirred the air.

’So much power, and those are just basic attacks.’

Then Ryan took his boomerang out of his inventory.

"Analyze."

[Rare Giant’s Boomerang: Strength +60 | Stamina +50]

Item Skill:

[Separation]

› The weapon splits into two parts. The stamina attribute is removed, and strength is converted into 300 agility points.

’Interesting.’

"Ryan, what is that thing?" Helen asked as she approached.

"This? It’s a weapon I took from a principality on the demon continent."

"Impressive, but it’s too flashy for my taste."

"Yeah, maybe it is."

"Do you think it could withstand one of my skills without breaking? I actually want to test my divine skill with the attributes boosted by your priest abilities."

"No, not a chance. It would definitely break," Ryan replied.

"Too bad. Well, I’ll aim it at the sky."

She stepped a bit farther away from Ryan.

"Critical Aura."

Helen’s sword lit up.

"This skill increases the damage of my abilities by 25%."

She pulled her sword back, slightly bending her knees.

"And now..." Helen breathed steadily.

Ryan watched in silence.

"Straight Repulse," Helen declared as she swung her sword forward with tremendous force.

The wind surged so violently that Ryan was pushed back, forcing him to sit on the ground.

The wave of energy released from Helen’s sword swept through much of the forest, erasing trees and slicing off the peak of a mountain.

The rest of the attack dispersed into the sky, parting the clouds.

"Wow... so this is your true strength, Helen?"

Helen turned toward Ryan with a wide smile.

"I feel much better now. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my whole body."

She approached Ryan with a teasing smile.

"Did I surprise you? You haven’t seen me fight seriously until now, right? I mean, since I became S-class."

"Of course. If that attack hit someone, there wouldn’t be anything left of them."

’If this helped her release her tension, then I don’t see a problem.’

"Now, whatever command I give her, the debt should be about to collect..." Ryan muttered.

Helen placed her hands on Ryan’s face and looked straight into his eyes.

She was deeply flushed.

"Don’t give me any command... let it activate on its own..."

"But Helen, don’t play around... you know I can’t control what happens."

"I understand, but... even so..." she murmured.

[Automatic debt collection initiated]

"..."