The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Vol. 3 Page 14

  “But you would have been killed if Grandleon saw through your disguises, right? I don’t think Seiya overreacted…”

  “You don’t?! I don’t even know anymore! Is that really the man I was in love with in a past life?!”

  Aria, on the other hand, calmly sips her tea before looking my way.

  “Hey, Rista… People don’t remember their past lives when they’re reborn. Goddesses are no different. Do you know why?”

  “Huh? That’s, uh…”

  As I find myself stuck for an answer, Aria firmly says:

  “In order to forget it all and live a new life. You can’t allow yourself to dwell on the past.”

  “Y-yeah…”

  …What Aria’s saying makes total sense, but I can’t deny that Seiya still means a lot to me.

  I decide to head back to Ishtar’s room after retiring from Aria’s. Of course, I’m going because I want to check up on Seiya.

  “Excuse me. May I come in?”

  I open the door…but Seiya is no longer inside.

  “What the…?! Did Seiya learn how to do it already?!”

  Ishtar smiles.

  “He has always been a sponge for information, and memorizing the ritual’s procedures isn’t a difficult process to begin with. Putting the ritual into practice is the difficult part.”

  “S-so where’s Seiya now?”

  “He’s a very cautious boy. He probably wasn’t comfortable only knowing the secret ritual. He said he wanted to learn new skills and went to the rooftop to see Valkyrie.”

  That last nugget of info gives me a bad feeling in my gut, so I thank Ishtar and hurry to the rooftop.

  When I open the door to the sanctuary’s rooftop, there are two moons—a crescent moon and a full moon—side by side and glittering in the sky. Bathing in the moonlight, Goddess of Destruction Valkyrie and Seiya are locked in what appears to be a passionate embrace!

  “Hooooold up! What the hell is going on here?! Is this really happening again?!”

  My gut was right. I scream at what feels like déjà vu, but even then, they continue to embrace as if in their own little world. The goddess, whose only article of clothing is the chains wrapped around her body, whispers:

  “Seiya, I always believed you had what it took to return to me, safe and sound.”

  “I was only able to save Gaeabrande thanks to your techniques of destruction, Valkyrie.”

  The distance between their faces continues to dwindle until they’re close enough to feel the heat of each other’s breath!

  Wh-why?! Last time they embraced, it was just to grant him an aura of destruction! They were never actually intimate!

  “By the way, I remembered Shattered Break even though I forgot the other divine techniques. Why do you think that is?”

  “The Valkyrja techniques are a symbol of our bond. There is no way you could ever completely forget them. It won’t be long before they all start coming back to you.”

  “I see… Valkyrie, I’m searching for a way to surpass my maxed-out stats. Incidentally, when I used Scan on you, I noticed you had a special ability called Status Limit Break. Do you know something that could help me?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s something I was born with as the Goddess of Destruction. It’s not something I can teach.”

  “I see…”

  As Seiya stares into her eyes, Valkyrie averts her gaze in a slightly awkward manner.

  “There is someone in the unified spirit world who knows how to break past your status limit, but Ishtar can’t say who it is, and I can’t exactly tell you, either.”

  S-someone like that exists, but she can’t tell him who?! Why?! Is the method that dangerous?!

  “Seiya, go to the Divine Forest. There, you will find a clue.”

  …Feeling invisible, I decide to make my presence known and slide in between them before yelling:

  “Seiya! Great Goddess Ishtar told me you learned the secret ritual, so why are you risking your life on something so dangerous?! We already have a way to defeat Grandleon now!”

  “Because if things don’t go as planned, I don’t want to be thinking, I wish I had done that. By then, it would be too late. You don’t go all out during battle. You do that during practice.”

  Valkyrie crosses her arms and nods in agreement.

  “Exactly. You really know your stuff.”

  She then rubs her slender finger down his cheek with rapt attention.

  “If only I were the goddess assigned to you…”

  “Yeah. Saving Ixphoria probably would have been easy with you by my side, Valkyrie.”

  “H-h-hey?!”

  As I begin trembling, enduring the humiliation, Valkyrie presses her body nearer to Seiya’s once more.

  “Seiya, don’t use Gate of Valhalla ever again. I’d be so lonely without you…”

  “Okay. I’ll avoid using it if possible.”

  They bring their faces even closer together, looking like they’re about to kiss…

  “Ahhhhhh!! Stoooooop!”

  Unable to take it any longer, I forcibly peel them off each other.

  “Wh-what do you think you’re doing, Ristarte?!”

  Tears roll down my cheeks just like they did the last time this happened.

  “Sniffle…! I would’ve preferred you lost to the Demon Lord in Gaeabrande if I’d known things would end up like this!!”

  “H-how can you even say that?! You’re supposed to be his goddess!”

  “Sniffle! I-it’s not my fault he—waaah!”

  “Ristarte…”

  Valkyrie puts on a serious expression…and yet, at the very next moment…

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha! You’re a total mess when you cry! And you call yourself a goddess?!”

  She clutches her stomach while cackling.

  “Hey…! Seriously?!”

  Bawling, I flail at Valkyrie, but the strongest deity in the spirit world doesn’t even try to dodge my cat slap. She just looks fed up.

  “Sigh. Get it together, Ristarte. You’re not a human anymore…”

  Although I’m still sobbing, I follow Seiya to the Divine Forest. It’s a long way from the sanctuary’s rooftop to the woods, and after some time, my sadness turns to pain. And then…

  Sigh… What am I doing? I’m acting so stupid…

  My pain eventually turns to anger and frustration.

  Yeah! Valkyrie’s right! Aria and even Seiya already pointed it out! I’m not Princess Tiana anymore! I’m a goddess, and Seiya is a human! No matter what happens, we’ll never be together!

  The moonlight peeks above the Divine Forest, faintly lighting up the entrance. After wiping my face with the hem of my dress, I yell out to Seiya from behind:

  “Seiya Ryuuguuin!”

  He listlessly looks back at me.

  “What?”

  “I am a goddess! And you are the Hero I summoned! Nothing more, nothing less!”

  “…And…? Why are you stating the obvious?”

  “I’m saying this for me—to remind myself!”

  I puff out my chest and declare:

  “We’re going to save Ixphoria! But I’m going to need your extraordinary talent, Seiya Ryuuguuin!”

  Seiya stares at me like I’m an idiot.

  “Hmph.”

  He then starts walking into the forest. I follow him once again, but this time in high spirits.

  “…So, Mitis, do you know anything about Status Limit Break?”

  “Indeed, there is a way to accomplish such a thing.”

  The alluring Goddess of Archery’s lips curl when she hears Seiya’s question.

  “Then tell me. What is it?”

  “Tee-hee. I can teach you, but there’s something I need to know beforehand.”

  Mitis coos.

  “…Why am I tied to this tree?”

  After finding Mitis, Seiya wasted no time approaching her from behind and knocking her out with a karate chop to the neck. Then he proceeded to tie her tightly to a big tree nearby. />
  “Because you’re a nymphomaniac. I didn’t want to have to worry about fighting off a naked goddess, so I decided to take precautions.”

  “I see.”

  Not only does Mitis not argue, she even seems satisfied with his answer. Tied to a tree and wearing a serious expression, she says:

  “Deep within the forest…in the depths hidden even from Great Goddess Ishtar’s second sight…exists an entity that may help you break your limit.”

  “Oh? The depths of the forest, huh?”

  Seiya thereupon swiftly turns around, leaving Mitis behind. Taken aback, I ask, “Huh? You’re not gonna untie her? She told you what you wanted to know…”

  Concerned, I look back at Mitis, only to find her quivering and blushing.

  “Oh…! You’re going to leave me tied up for a bit of neglect play…! How deliciously stimulating!”

  Yep… I’m not sure why I even asked. It’s not like she’d die if we just left her there forever. We turn our backs on Mitis and continue into the depths of the Divine Forest.

  While walking in silence for a while, I suddenly notice the trees around us are eerily distorted. The moonlight is blocked out by the forest, making it hard to see. I know this is supposed to be a holy forest in the spirit world, but it’s starting to feel as if we’ve wandered into a forest of the underworld.

  I’m about to latch onto Seiya’s arm out of fear, but I stop myself. I repeat I am a goddess! Seiya is a human! in my mind as I clench my fists and press on. Seiya then suddenly comes to a halt.

  “Hmm… Looks like this is the place.”

  After finally pushing through the ghastly trees, I see an old well in the middle of a field.

  “What in the world is a well doing here? …Wait! Is this…?!”

  …It happened soon after I was reborn as a goddess. Aria told the young, wayward me, “Rista, if you don’t do what I tell you, I’m going to throw you down the Well of No Return in the forest.”

  I got so scared, I cried, so she said, “All you have to do is listen to me, okay?” After that, she gently rubbed my head.

  The Well of No Return…! I thought that was a fairy tale Aria made up to scold me, but it’s real…!

  I shake Seiya by the shoulders.

  “S-Seiya! We can’t be here! Aria used to tell me that getting near that well makes you lose your mind!”

  “Looks like you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “…?! …Huh…? Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

  Seiya presses forward. He has never shown any sign of caution when it comes to training.

  “You want to save Ixphoria, right? I won’t be able to break my limit without taking some risks.”

  “S-sure, I get that, but…!”

  There’s a rope ladder leading into the well. Seiya tugs on it to make sure it’s safe before climbing down. Although hesitant, I follow after him. When I reach the bottom, I find myself in a dim, open space.

  “This is the inside of the well? It’s more spacious than I imagined…”

  I can see the opening to a cavern in the distance. It looks kind of like a modern-day tunnel made out of concrete.

  “S-Seiya, wait.”

  I chase after him, but the moment I set foot in the tunnel…I hear a loud voice.

  “Get down!”

  Something flying out of the tunnel suddenly rams right into me!

  “Gwah?!”

  The impact sends me straight to the ground.

  “Wh-wh-what the…?!”

  I lift my head and look back to find someone on top of me dressed in a filthy camouflage uniform. In addition, I feel two soft things touching my back…which makes me guess… It’s a woman…? B-but why would she even be here?

  Thud! Thud! Roll!

  The woman, who has loose, disheveled hair similar to Adenela’s, gets off me and starts rolling on the ground.

  “The enemy’s explosion magic is about to go off! Spread out!”

  She screams while looking ahead. I follow her gaze, but there’s nobody there.

  “The battle of the unified spirit world, Armagezeeda, isn’t over yet!”

  “Arma-what…? Wh-what is she rambling about?!”

  Instantly, the woman in camouflage lunges on top of me with her eyes wide open.

  “Eek?!”

  “You don’t know about the war?! Are you a new goddess or something?!”

  “I—I don’t know anything about a war! I’m sorry! Forgive me for being a new goddess!”

  Out of nowhere, she throws her fist into the ground.

  “During the first war of Armagezeeda, my squad fought under the command of Mersais, the God of Tyranny, but we were almost completely wiped out after battling the pro-Ishtar Goddess of Destruction, Valkyrie! Mersais lost because of Valkyrie’s techniques of destruction, and before Goddess of War Adenela’s Dual Unlimited Eternal Blade, I…! Mn…!”

  Rage burns her face, but she almost immediately softens her expression.

  “But…! After much refinement, I was able to perfect my ultimate attack, Berserk: Phase Three! Adenela will be no match for me now!”

  The creepy woman is all smiles, contrary to her behavior a few seconds ago. I manage to speak up and ask:

  “Wh-what—who are you?!”

  “Oh… I still haven’t introduced myself, have I? My apologies…”

  The woman then turns her unfocused gaze in my direction.

  “I’m Zet, the Goddess of Warfare.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Goddess of Warfare

  The goddess in camouflage scratches her head, messing up her already disheveled hair.

  Z-Zet, the Goddess of Warfare…! So she knows how to use Status Limit Break? We have to— Huh…? Where’d she go?

  I look down to find her crawling flat on her stomach.

  “Hff! Hff! I’ve gotta prepare—hff! Hff!—for the second war of Armagezeeda!”

  Wh-what the…?! She’s just as—no, she’s even weirder than Adenela! I should probably be careful how I act around her!

  But Seiya glares at her and says:

  “Hey, you. Yeah, you—the weird, creepy goddess.”

  “…?! You’re not even gonna sugarcoat it?!”

  How can you say something like that to someone you’ve just met?! Do you not realize how weird you are, too?!

  “I’m already at max level, and I can’t get any stronger. Do you know how I can break this limit?”

  “…Affirmative.”

  Zet stands upright, then swiftly brings her face right to Seiya’s.

  “In order to defy the boundaries of humanity, you must give up being human! If you become a berserker, your stats will double, with the exception of magic!”

  Th-they’ll double?! I-it sounds too good to be true! B-but even if it is, there’s no way she would teach him such an amazing ability so easily!

  But Zet smirks at Seiya.

  “I’ve got some free time, so I can teach you if you want!”

  “…?! Seriously?! You’re gonna help us that easily?!”

  “I’ve been trapped in this well for so long. I’m bored. Even if you can leave, I can’t because of the force field Ishtar created.”

  “Let me ask you a question before we begin. Has there ever been a human who mastered this technique?”

  “Hmm… Well…there was one.”

  “How dangerous is mastering said technique?”

  “Hmm… Well…you won’t die.”

  Th-this really is too good to be true! His stats will double?! Yeah right!

  I call Seiya over and secretly whisper in his ear:

  “H-hey, uh… There’s no guarantee you’ll be okay, is there? Maybe we should try something else.”

  “According to Ishtar, the Hexagram Ritual of Retribution can only be used once, on a single predetermined target. I need some other way to defeat Grandleon in case the ritual fails.”

  “But just because this goddess is gonna teach you how to do it, that doesn’t mean you’ll b
e able to master it!”

  “Valkyrie wouldn’t have led me to her if she didn’t believe I could do it. It’s worth a shot.”

  There he goes bringing Valkyrie up again. She must really put a lot of faith in the cautious Hero…

  Seiya faces Zet, then demands:

  “All right. Teach me this Berserk: Phrase Three that can apparently defeat Adenela.”

  Zet’s nose twitches when she hears that name. It seems pretty clear to me that there’s some friction between the two of them.

  “Phase Three, which quadruples stats, would be impossible for a human to learn. Even Phase Two, which triples stats, wouldn’t be possible. You will be learning Berserk: Phase One.”

  Zet then walks into the dark tunnel and waves Seiya inside. After following her into the abyss, he turns around one last time and looks at me.

  “Rista, you better not tell anyone I’m training here.”

  …I walk through the dark forest alone and head back to the sanctuary.

  Berserk—is it really necessary for Seiya to risk his life in order to learn this move? Would the Hexagram Ritual of Retribution not be enough?

  But Seiya himself came to this decision. Besides, the training already started, so there’s no point in debating it anymore.

  That’s when all of a sudden…

  “This way…”

  I hear someone calling out to me in the night.

  “Over here… This way…”

  “Eeeeeek!”

  Terrified, I cover my ears and run as quickly as I can. After returning to the sanctuary, I think about it some more and come to the conclusion that it must have been Mitis, still tied to the tree.

  …I should probably untie her tomorrow.

  The next day, I pack some lunch and make my way to the Well of No Return. After climbing down the rope ladder, I see Zet crawling flat on her stomach before the tunnel.

  “U-um… Where’s Seiya?”

  “Oh, Seiya Ryuuguuin? He’s currently in the Human Modification Lab… I mean, the Chamber of Concentration.”

  “…?! Wait! What was the first thing you just said?!”

  “Chamber of Concentration.”

  Concerned, I try to head into the tunnel, but Zet spreads her arms out wide and stops me.

  “Any farther, and you would be getting in the way of his training.”

  I reluctantly hand Zet the lunch I made for Seiya and leave.