I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 133

Chapter 133:

Meanwhile, on the Old Continent

“NO SIGNS OF THE ENEMY!”

“Great! Looks like we managed to shake them! Time to head home.”

“All right!”

The five Servants of the Goddess looked relieved at the chance to catch their breath.

Make no mistake. It wasn’t monsters they had been running from. They had been getting chased all right…but by potential suitors.

Ever since their extraordinary combat skills had been broadcast all over the continent during the fight against the interdimensional invaders, nobles and merchants had begun inviting them into their personal employ, their fellow hunters had begged them to join their parties or clans, and they had been inundated with men asking for their hand in marriage or pressuring them to enter a relationship. The situation had gotten so far out of control that they couldn’t even enjoy a peaceful stroll.

At least the merchants’ and nobles’ messengers only accosted them when they were in town. Whenever the Servants were on missions in the forest, the other hunters would pretend to run into them by chance and follow them around everywhere. It got in the way of their hunting and gathering efforts, and it was just plain annoying.

“It’d be one thing if those hunters just wanted to merge parties. But they expect us to ‘keep the headcount manageable’ by disbanding the Servants of the Goddess and distributing ourselves across multiple different parties?! Idiots!” Telyusia griped. “We’re not like the Crimson Vow. Our individual abilities are nothing to write home about. We’re all perfectly average. Our true strength lies in how we know each other’s abilities like the backs of our hands and can use teamwork to boost our power several times over. And they’re asking us to split up our party?! That would reduce us to your run-of-the-mill lesser C-rank hunters! These people don’t understand anything! They’re completely oblivious!”

“Well, at least we have it better than Leatoria,” remarked Philly.

The rest of the party fell silent, their thoughts clearly united in sympathy for their fellow hunter. 

Leatoria was the party member who had made the biggest impression during the nanomachines’ broadcast. She was a dainty, pretty young noblewoman who could kick monsters to the curb with a swing of her giant club and a barrage of combat magic. Her combination of strength and beauty had brought an onslaught of nobles and royalty looking to bring her blood into their own family lines. As a result, her work as a hunter was the least of her concerns, and she had taken a temporary leave of absence from the party. 

Since Leatoria’s addition to the team had dramatically boosted their combat strength, this was a heavy blow for the Servants of the Goddess. They had gotten too used to the convenience of having a combat mage around.

“Here’s hoping Leatoria comes back to us soon,” said Willine. “I don’t even want to imagine her retiring to get married…”

“If worst comes to worst, do you think we should recruit a new combat mage?” proposed Tasha.

“Absolutely not!” Telyusia rebuffed her. “If we try to recruit a new member now, we’re bound to end up with someone else’s pawn, whether it’s a court magician, a nobleman’s personal mage, or a member of a high-level hunting party. It would be the perfect chance to break us up and headhunt us from within.”

“Ugh…”

“That leaves us one option. We pray that Leatoria turns down every proposal she receives and comes back to us. And in the meantime, we tough it out and take less difficult jobs.”

“………”

The Servants of the Goddess had a treacherous road ahead of them.

***

“Thus reads the message. Now, if you will excuse me.”

“A-all right. Thank you very much.”

As the messenger from the royal palace turned to leave, a certain mother and son stared blankly in his wake. Pauline’s mother and little brother Alan, to be specific.

According to the message, Countess Pauline von Beckett had left the country on an important national mission, accompanied by Countess Mireirine and Countess Reddlightning, and she wouldn’t be back for some time. The written instructions she had left behind stated that her brother was to be appointed her successor in the event of an emergency.

“Do I really have to take over the county if Big Sis dies or never comes home? Can you imagine? Me, a count… A noble… Heh heh. Heh heh heh…”

“Oh no! Alan is giving in to his dark side! Stop that, Alan! Get a hold of yourself!”

Whack!

“Ack! What was I thinking?! This is the shop Dad left us! The one Big Sis stole back! It’s my job to protect it and make sure it prospers!”

Alan had narrowly managed to avoid a corruption arc.

***

“Hold it right there!”

“Hm?”

As Princess Morena walked alone down a capital backstreet, she suddenly found her path blocked by a group of six unsavory-looking men. By all appearances, these were common thugs.

Princess Morena was currently traveling incognito, dressed as a commoner. Her well-groomed hair and elegant air made it immediately apparent that she was from the upper class, but the men assumed that she was nothing more than some low-ranking nobleman’s mistress or the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The lower classes were never granted opportunities to see the faces of royalty up close, so they had no way of knowing the truth.

As such, they hadn’t gone after a princess on purpose. They had simply spotted a rich girl dumb enough to walk around without a bodyguard and decided it was the perfect opportunity for a kidnapping. Only the men themselves could say if they were planning to demand a ransom or sell her into slavery.

Whatever the case, it was one girl against six men. It was clear that they were out to make a real fortune, not rob her of her pocket change and call it a day.

“Heh heh heh! That’s what you get for wandering a rough neighborhood all by yourself, sweetheart! Consider yourself unluck—”

“To arms!”

“Raaaaah!” came a resounding chorus of battle cries.

The kidnappers stood stock-still, flabbergasted. “Huh?!”

Their reaction was understandable. Moments ago, there had been no one around but one small girl. And yet, a group of sword-wielding soldiers had materialized out of nowhere, charging forward at her command.

Bonk! Ker-thump! Thud! Whack!

The kidnappers made the wise decision not to draw their blades. As a result, the soldiers refrained from cutting them down, instead settling for non-fatal blunt strikes with the flats of their swords, as well as pommel strikes and kicks. If the kidnappers had put a hand on their weapons, they would have been dead in a heartbeat.

It had been clear from the moment the soldiers appeared that the odds were stacked against the kidnappers—indeed, this was why the kidnappers hadn’t taken up arms or put up a fight.

Soon enough, all six of the would-be kidnappers were in restraints.

“Thank you for your service. I shall see to it that you are all fairly compensated for your showing here.”

“Appreciated, Your Highness!” the soldiers chorused.

As you may have guessed, this was the work of inventory magic. Princess Morena brought a squad of nine soldiers with her everywhere she went—tucked safe inside her inventory. She stored the men away with their swords at the ready, and the moment she found herself in danger, she would let them back out. 

The only times she would bring them out were when it was time for them to change shifts or she was under attack. Thus, if the men found themselves released anywhere outside the royal guard station in the palace, they knew to charge straight at the enemy with their swords swinging.

Shifts lasted three days at a time, and it was actually a very popular job among the royal guard. After all, to them, it would feel like no time had passed at all. They could complete three days of work in a split second, and they neither aged nor grew hungry in the process. It was tantamount to receiving three days’ worth of wages for doing nothing.

On the rare occasion that they did need to step in, they would receive the honor of protecting the princess from ruffians, a monetary reward, and words of gratitude from both the princess and the king himself. 

Few jobs came with quite so many perks. This meant there was always a huge swarm of applicants, and shifts had to be strictly scheduled to keep things fair.

Once, the third princess of the new continent, Estorina, had taken the squad out by accident, only to be scared out of her wits when nine soldiers suddenly showed up swinging their swords at her. Her own royal guard had rushed over at the sound of her scream, nearly escalating the mishap into an international incident. That had certainly been no laughing matter…