Chapter 142: Savior

Fortunately, there weren’t many people in the tavern; otherwise, someone might have noticed our scent, which could have caused misunderstandings. Of course, we had had sex in the dungeon, but no one needed to know that—it had all been for the sake of the mission. Explaining that out of context was a no-go, so we discreetly headed to the room. After we cleaned ourselves up, we went to deliver the good news to the mayor and his wife.

“You managed to clear the dungeon?!” the couple and their son, who was present, said in unison.

They looked incredibly surprised by our feat, their eyes and mouths wide open in a way that couldn’t be faked. Of course, they wouldn’t have asked us to carry out a mission they didn’t even slightly believe we could accomplish, but I still couldn’t help but agree with their surprise.

“In so few days?” Joseph said to me. “Considering the days you spent resting, it was six in total, but only three days of exploration. You are a really incredible bunch!”

“Thank you,” I replied, embarrassed.

In Joseph’s voice, there was a kind of respect I had never thought I would hear from an older man. In my past life, other adults didn’t take me seriously, much less praise me in such a manner.

My Valkyries praised me a lot, and I really did feel good hearing it from them. But hearing someone other than my wives praise me like that just hit different.

“Mr. Richard,” Ingrid, Joseph’s wife, began to cry, “thank you so, so much. Thanks to you, our town can return to normal.”

I had no words for such a genuine reaction of gratitude. What could I do to stop a woman I had no relation to from crying? My mind was going into overdrive.

“Rick, you’re amazing!” And as if that wasn’t enough, their son was staring at me. “Being able to defeat the Boss of that dungeon… you’re a great hero!”

“Uh… I wouldn’t say that I’m some kind of hero…”

“No, Carl is right,” Joseph said to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You are the savior of Ironburgh. You should be proud of your actions.”

The tall man said this while looking into my eyes, like an equal. I wondered what would happen if I told him that their town had almost disappeared from the map because of me, and that I was just cleaning up my own mess.

“I-It’s not like I saved the town alone—my Valkyries helped me a lot—” I tried to make them stop praising me, but a woman’s laughter cut me off.

“Hahaha, Rick is being modest.” Sarah came from behind, placing her arm around my shoulder. “The truth is that if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Boss. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

For some reason I didn’t understand, Sarah was fueling the fire that would soon devour me. I had hoped that at least my other Valkyries would help me with this, but I was wrong.

“Sarah is right. Rick acted like a true leader, guiding us to victory. He deserves all the credit.” Against all odds, my logical wife, Justine, supported Sarah.

“Rick is truly an incredible man,” my lovely blonde princess said to little Carl.

“I wasn’t there, but I’m sure Rick was the most amazing!” Erina chimed in. I was about to tell her that if she didn’t know the truth, she should stay quiet, but there was already too much on my plate, and the words wouldn’t come out.

The only one who stayed quiet was Diane, who just observed the situation with a puzzled expression.

Ingrid finally wiped away her tears, clapped her hands to get our attention, and said, “This is a special moment, not just for our family, but for the whole town. So let’s celebrate!”

“Good idea, Ingrid!” Joseph gave us a bright smile. “A moment like this needs to be celebrated!”

“I’ll go call all the people who are still in town!” Carl said excitedly.

I just stood there and watched things unfold in front of me. Without my consent, things escalated very quickly.

…

“Another toast to Rick and his party! The saviors of our town!” Joseph shouted inside his tavern. All the miners were there, with cups full of foamy drinks.

“Cheers!” the men responded to the toast, clinking their cups together.

It didn’t seem like the same tavern I had seen for the first time. The lighting at night was the same, but the cheerful voices of the men inside made the lights seem brighter.

After being among them for a while, being praised by them, my social battery was completely drained. It’s not like I hated people, but I certainly wasn’t the most social type.

I was looking up at the night sky, my eyes fixed on the full moon above my head, when I felt eyes glued to my back. I hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps, which gave me a good clue about who it was.

“Getting some fresh air?” the Assassin asked me, standing by my side. Her slender body took on an almost supernatural presence under the moonlight, as if she were some kind of divinity.

“Yeah, I’m not very good with this kind of situation.”

Diane gave a small smile. “You act in a pretty carefree way, but I’m surprised by how shy you are.”

“It’s just kind of uncomfortable,” I said to Diane. At this point, I had no filters—being with her made me want to talk more. “Remember what I said. If it weren’t for me, Leo would have saved this town. This place almost became a ghost town because of me.”

“I see. You feel guilty, don’t you? Hearing the people who suffered because of you praising you without knowing the truth must be really uncomfortable for you.”

“It definitely is,” I said to Diane bluntly.

“But Rick, I don’t think you should blame yourself.”

“Huh?” The girl’s words caught my attention.

“There’s no way to change the past. You did what many would do to save your own life, and when you saw that the consequences of your actions harmed others, you helped them. Don’t you think you’re being too hard on yourself?” Diane said to me, her voice gentle and supportive.

Diane looked toward the tavern. Through the window, I could see my Valkyries at the bar. Sarah was defeating all the men in arm wrestling, while Erina was telling stories to the miners, who listened attentively to everything she said. Alicia and Justine were helping Ingrid in the tavern, delivering orders and collecting dirty plates.

“You know,” Diane spoke to me again, her eyes following mine, “I bet Sarah and the others wanted you to relax a bit. After all, regardless of how you feel, it’s a fact that you saved this town.”

“But what if someone had died? Carl went into that dungeon, and what if—”

“As for that, Sarah saved him. Don’t forget that her powers were given by you, and the same goes for Alicia, who was a below-average Priestess before meeting you. When Sarah said they wouldn’t have been able to do it without you, it was true. You gave them power, and that power bore good fruit.”

“And what if someone else had died?” I asked insistently.

“If that happens, then take responsibility. You can’t control everything, but I feel like, whether it’s your fault or not, you’d still throw yourself headfirst into other people’s problems.”

“I’m not that good of a person. I helped Alicia because I believed it was within my reach, and I only helped the people of Ironburgh because I felt guilty and bad for them,” I confessed to Diane.

“I think that’s fine just the way it is. I’m not asking you to be a saint; I just want you to be able to take that weight off your heart and forgive yourself.”

I was dumbfounded. After all, I didn’t expect to hear that come out of Diane’s mouth.

“It’s better if I head back inside. Sarah and Erina might cause havoc if we leave them alone,” Diane said to me, her feet guiding her back to the tavern. “Don’t stay out here too long, Mr. Savior.”

My eyes followed Diane as she walked until she entered the tavern. She seemed different. Her serious demeanor was still there, but I could sense a certain lightness in her that gave her a renewed air.

’Maybe she’s right. There’s no point in thinking too much about this. Everyone is fine and happy. From what they said, no more people died than had already died in SCRL inside the mine on the first day of the dungeon,’ I thought inwardly.

I sighed, letting the cold night air enter my lungs. There was no use thinking about it. What could have been and what is were already two very different things. What I read in SCRL could help guide my journey, but tormenting myself over what happened in this timeline was self-torture.

“Everyone inside seems to be having a great time,” I said to myself, watching the miners drink. “I guess one or two drinks won’t hurt me.”

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