Kwaang!

The meteor fell.

…….

There was no shockwave.

Pallang! Pallang!

A few scattered leaves fluttered in the breeze.

……That was all.

Not even branches—just leaves, a handful of them shaken loose by the faint vibration. The aftermath was astonishingly small.

[Tower restoration complete! Beginning strategy check.]

The Tower restored itself in a single second.

No—even less than a second.

Did small meteors like this have to have their impact absorbed?

# Remaining Monsters: Minotaur King (1), Armored Tri-horn Minotaur (5)

Even without checking the quest window.

The map rendered in his mind made the information instantly clear.

Only the five rear guards had perished.

The boss at the center and the forward guards had all survived.

It seemed the meteor’s coordinates had been set slightly further back than intended.

The map had more margin of error than expected…!

“My Lord! Give the order!”

Lea’s eyes blazed as if she would charge out at any moment.

She was so fond of sword fights—what was he going to do with her…

“There are still five guards left.”

“They must all be near death from Your Lordship’s skill! I beg you to conserve your omnipotent power!”

Twenty seconds had already passed.

From what the map showed, the surviving monsters had all been sent tumbling by the impact, so there had been some effect.

The meteor had fallen directly behind them, so as Lea said, they might well be on the brink of death.

Moreover, unlike the 11th floor, all the monsters were clustered around the boss, so there was no chance of any strays wandering over.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to finish them off cleanly in one blow?”

“This humble one shall strike down the boss’s head in a single stroke! Please do not waste Your Lordship’s precious power!”

He had only planned to attempt one climb today anyway, so he had attempts to spare.

That said, this was Lea’s real combat experience.

It was certainly necessary.

Summoned Beings existed to fight alongside their summoner, not to stand about like decorative props.

From Jungho’s perspective, Lea had already fulfilled her role simply by blocking the shockwave.

From Lea’s perspective, however, that apparently wasn’t enough.

……What to do?

While he deliberated, thirty seconds had already slipped by.

Lea, sensing that dragging things out any longer would be dangerous, resolved to cast aside all pretense of dignity.

Huup!

After a deep breath—

She made an earnest plea to her Lord.

Desperately forcing out the form of address her Lord had asked her to use!

“O…ppa! I, this humble one, n-no, I—please trust me!”

Jungho thought to himself.

This was… quite a critical hit.

The request, delivered with an earnest expression by a crimson-faced Lea whose clenched fists trembled visibly, was devastatingly effective.

Well…

They were all dying monsters anyway. What could go wrong?

“…Alright. But if the boss is still in perfect condition, you must come back immediately, understood?”

A radiant bloom of joy spread across Lea’s face.

“I shall faithfully follow Your Lordship’s command!”

Jungho pointed precisely at the boss’s location and gave the order.

“Lea, go and return.”

“At once!”

As if fearing he might revoke the order, Lea tore through the forest at the speed of light.

Seogeok! Seogeok!

Rather than dodging the trees as she charged, she made the trees dodge her(?) and vanished into the forest in an instant.

……Could she really be that happy?

* * *

Bursting from the starting point, Lea sprinted at full speed, barely pausing to breathe.

Protecting her Lord from the meteor’s shockwave.

Was, of course, a glorious and honorable duty.

However.

As a knight sworn to protect her Lord, what her blade should cut down was not the wind, not the trees, but monsters.

Moreover, before her Lord’s transcendent omnipotence, all she could do—

Was flail desperately just to stay alive.

As a knight, she found it utterly shameful.

To think she was so useless to her Lord!

That was why she had waited for precisely this kind of opportunity.

A chance to slaughter monsters with nothing but her own strength, in her Lord’s stead!

The monsters had surely been caught in the shockwave of the modest(?) meteor her Lord had dropped, so she didn’t expect them to be unscathed.

Even so, if she couldn’t earn at least some battle merit this way, she would have no face to call herself her Lord’s knight.

Tadadadadat!

The 20th floor of the Tower was a boss battle.

With all the other monsters clustered around the boss in particular, there was no chance of her Lord being endangered like last time.

So three minutes.

No—if she could dispatch the boss within a minute and bring an Amazing Achievement to her Lord, she would have fulfilled her duty admirably.

A moment later.

Lea’s Ki Sense locked onto the monsters’ presence.

Five Armored Tri-horn Minotaurs and one Minotaur King.

She had expected them all to be face-down on the ground, barely conscious.

But the five guards had already taken positions around the Minotaur King, forming a defensive formation.

Huup!

Tadadadat!

Lea drew a deep breath and maintained her top speed.

Soon, the pack of minotaurs came into view within the scorched forest.

……They were all fully armed and in proper battle formation.

Then what about the boss?

Turning her gaze to the Minotaur King behind the guards—recognizable by the extra head of height—both its arms hung limp.

The guards might be fine, but the boss had taken considerable damage.

Which meant the boss was not unharmed—so pressing on rather than retreating would not violate her Lord’s command.

……I’ll end this with a swift strike!

Piing! Piing!

Two guards loosed crossbow bolts.

Kakang! Kakang!

However, attacks from a blind spot might be another matter.

She was by no means so unskilled that she couldn’t react to bolts launched in plain sight.

Eumeoeoeo—!

Three guards charged in.

Since they were clad head to toe in iron armor, engaging them head-on would be the worst possible move, eating up precious time.

So here, with minimal movement—

She had to slip through the gaps between the three minotaurs.

Buuung!

The lead minotaur brought its massive two-handed axe down like it was splitting firewood.

Meanwhile, the two flanking minotaurs gripped their weapons, timing their coordinated strike.

Left, right.

Which way to dodge?

Lea twisted her body left, narrowly evading the axe falling vertically.

Immediately, the minotaur on her left swept in with two greatswords.

She sharply pivoted right, dodging the first greatsword strike.

And the following second strike—

Kaaang!

She deflected with her own blade, neutralizing it.

In a pure contest of strength, she would have been overpowered.

But she had made a split-second judgment upon seeing the wound on its left arm.

As expected, deflecting the greatsword proved effortless.

Having kept her movements to a minimum, she instantly recovered her balance and continued her breakthrough.

Shuuuk!

The minotaur on the right belatedly thrust its long spear.

But Lea had already surged forward, slipping out of its range.

Now, all that remained before her was the Minotaur King—a full head taller than the rest—

And the two minotaurs on either side that had just fired their crossbows.

At full strength, the Minotaur King would have been a worthy opponent.

Its overwhelming presence truly befitted a boss.

But the creature was already crushed beneath her Lord’s power, barely clinging to life.

Both axes hung limply from its drooping arms, and it was doubtful whether it could even swing them properly.

The summit was within reach.

One more dash and she could plunge her blade into its heart.

The problem was—

The crossbowmen had already reloaded and were taking aim at her.

If she stopped to deal with the bolts, her momentum would stall.

And if she lost momentum, the minotaurs behind would swarm her.

But what her Lord desired was an overwhelmingly swift clear!

Miss this chance, and who knew when she would get another shot at the boss one-on-one.

Thus, with the resolve to sacrifice flesh to break bone, Lea charged recklessly at the Minotaur King.

Pisut! Pisut!

Two crossbow bolts fired from both sides.

Buuung! Buuung!

The two axes crossed in a massive X-shaped arc—

Ppuuk!

The tip of her blade, wreathed in white light, pierced clean through the Minotaur King’s back.

Even as she charged in—

Kang!

She blocked one bolt with her shield.

Chiit!

But the remaining bolt grazed Lea’s cheek as it flew past.

She had tried to dodge.

Perhaps because it had been so long since she had experienced real combat, her body had stiffened.

[You have cleared the 20th floor of the Tower 25.]

[20 Magic Stones will be awarded.]

[Level increased.]

[Automatic return in 10 seconds.]

Five monsters remained.

Unfortunately, however—

Her gracious Lord was not about to permit even that much.

Her body was

already fading away.

* * *

Jungho returned from the Tower the instant the floor was cleared.

Watching Lea’s movements on the map, he had a gut feeling she was pushing herself too hard.

He had expected them all to be sprawled on the ground, barely conscious.

But by the time Lea arrived, the monsters had regrouped and formed a proper defensive formation.

He couldn’t order Lea to return.

He couldn’t assess the situation from what the map showed him.

And he couldn’t just drop a meteor on them.

He found himself in a rather precarious position.

He fretted over whether Lea would throw herself into a reckless fight.

Sure enough—

The white dot charged straight into the red dots without slowing down.

At first, he thought she was trying to clear the front-line monsters.

But Lea bypassed all three minotaurs, aiming solely for the boss in the rear.

On the two-dimensional map, it was unmistakably a situation where Lea was surrounded by the monster pack.

Were there any ranged attackers?

What weapons were the minotaurs carrying?

What condition was the boss in?

He couldn’t determine any of it, so he could only pray with all his heart for Lea’s safety.

And when Lea clashed with the boss—

The system message announcing the 20th floor clear appeared.

Jungho immediately requested extraction.

Thus, back in his studio apartment, the Lea he met again—

“Hak! Hak! Hak! Hak! Hak!”

Was gasping for breath relentlessly.

The sight of her panting like a baby bird just learning to breathe stirred a quiet poignancy in his chest.

At least she didn’t seem to be hurt…

Hmm?

A long red scratch ran horizontally across Lea’s pale face.

Jungho stared at Lea’s wound in silence.

[Notice: Mirinae has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower 25 in the shortest time.]

[As a shortest clear time reward for the 20th floor, the Ring of Protection previously held by Iron Heart has been recovered and granted to Mirinae.]

[Amazing Achievement accomplished!]

[As an Amazing Achievement reward, 1 Platinum Random Box has been provided.]

[Amazing Boss Clear Achievement accomplished!]

[As an Amazing Boss Clear Achievement reward, 1 Platinum Skill Acquisition Ticket (Bound) has been provided.]

Various message windows kept popping up, but the only thing that entered Jungho’s eyes was Lea’s wounded face.

The vivid red mark crossing her pale cheek was as poignant and heartbreaking as a rose petal fallen upon snow.

As time passed and Lea gradually caught her breath, she became aware of Jungho’s gaze and offered an apology.

“I apologize, my Lord. I have shown you a disloyal sight.”

Her Lord had commanded her to complete the mission without injury.

A wound of this degree was akin to a medal of honor for a knight, but meeting her Lord’s tender gaze, she felt no excuse would suffice.

“Lea.”

At her Lord’s call, Lea bowed her head deeply and answered.

“Yes, my Lord.”

What rebuke would he deliver?

She would gladly accept whatever criticism he offered.

For her failing was undeniable.

But the words that came from Jungho—

Were neither reproach, nor rebuke, nor worry.

They were something entirely unexpected.

“Thank you.”

“……Pardon?”

Lea lifted her head to study Jungho, wondering for a moment if she had misheard.

He wore a smile that seemed somehow bittersweet.

“Thanks to you, Lea, I obtained both Platinum rewards. It must have been dangerous, but you completed your mission brilliantly.”

Lea felt an emotion she could not quite describe and bowed her head once more.

“It was all… thanks to Your Lordship’s transcendent skill. I merely claimed the head of a boss that had barely clung to life.”

“Even so, you carried out your assigned mission beautifully. Thank you truly, Lea.”

“……I am… grateful for your words, my Lord.”

Despite receiving praise, she felt inexplicably stifled.

Her Lord had acknowledged her accomplishments, so why did her heart feel so unsettled?

Why couldn’t she feel simply, purely happy?

Lea wrestled with her thoughts before mustering the courage to ask.

“My Lord… is it possible that my minor injury has… troubled you?”

Was he troubled that Lea’s face had suffered a slight wound?

Of course he was troubled.

It wasn’t just any part of her body—it was a wound on her face.

But saying he was worried, that it was dangerous, demanding to know why she came back injured—that would have been nothing more than nagging.

Lea was a knight who fought on the front lines.

Whether against monsters… or meteors…

She would always stand at the very forefront to face them.

And she could sustain any wound at any time.

So as her Lord, if he understood the nature of her duty—

He shouldn’t reprimand her for wounds sustained in battle.

Jungho calmed his heart further.

He had tried not to let it show, but if Lea had noticed enough to ask, his expression must have been worse than he thought.

“You can get hurt fighting monsters. More importantly, I’m glad it wasn’t a more serious wound.”

As Jungho’s tone returned to its usual warmth, Lea finally felt at ease.

“It is nothing, my Lord! A wound of this degree is like a brand of glory! I would even claim it as proof of my service to you!”

“Hmm… will the scar remain?”

“No, my Lord. Unfortunately, it will heal completely over time. But if it is Your Lordship’s wish, I shall do my utmost to prevent it from healing!”

Well, there was no need to put effort into that.

Still, relieved that it would heal cleanly, Jungho offered a light jest.

“That’s a relief. I wouldn’t want any scars on your pretty face, Lea.”

Entirely defenseless against such casual teasing—

Lea’s face flushed so deeply that it hid the red scratch entirely.

“I-is that so! Then I shall heal with all my might for you, my Lord!”

As if healing were something you could achieve through sheer effort.