CHAPTER 138: SAINT ESTHER

~3rd Person Perspective~

“Hmm—–? What is this!?” (Esther)

　Her consciousness suddenly darkened. Esther was startled and shouted. Her voice, however, was distorted and sounded very faint.

“I was supposed to be evacuating the residents at Toru’s request…” (Esther)

　Until a few moments ago, Esther had been carrying the residents who had fallen off their backs and failed to escape to a safe zone.

　Things were settling down when she approach the battlefield. She saw Toru and Luka, a former C-rank adventurer, fighting.

“That’s right, Toru had just struck Ms. Luka!” (Esther)

　Toru plunged his sword in Luka’s chest. At that moment, Esther’s vision suddenly went dark.

“Hmm?” (Esther)

　She tried to sort out the situation and think how she came here, but she had no idea why it was so dark in front of her.

　If her vision went completely dark immediately after being attacked, she could understand. However, there was no such trigger, and above all, it was strange that she was conscious.

　As she groaned not understanding anything at all, the thickness of the darkness changed.

“Hmm? What’s that, I feel strangely cold.” (Esther)

 

　Esther rubs her arms.

　Suddenly the temperature dropped. And it was somewhat damp.

“It’s an unpleasant atmosphere…” (Esther)

　The air is full of negativity, and her heart is being pulled downwards.

“Hmmm. You have an inferiority complex to Mr. Toru, don’t you?” (Voice)

“Wha—Who are you!?” (Esther)

　Esther’s shoulders trembled at the sudden sound of a voice. The voice sounded familiar. But when she tried to remember where she had heard it, her thoughts suddenly blurred. It was as if someone had “changed” her thoughts, telling her that it didn’t matter.

　Esther discards her thoughts. She listens to the voice, not thinking about anything else.

“Ms. Esther, you must have gone through a lot of hardship. In order to become a first-class adventurer. You had been collecting information without fail and training in swordsmanship every day. But then a kid named Toru appeared out of nowhere, caught up with you, and overtook you in a blink of an eye.” (Voice)

“Yes… he did…” (Esther)

　Two years had passed since she ran away from home. In her own way, Esther had worked hard to become a first-class adventurer.

　In order to become a first-class adventurer, she practiced every day without fail. She took pride in being second to none among the newcomers.

　But in the blink of an eye, she was overtaken.

“Talented people are sneaky, aren’t they? No matter how much effort we put in, they overtake us in the blink of an eye without any effort at all.” (Voice)

“Oh. Toru is sneaky…” (Esther)

 

“Reality is very hard. Would you like to sleep for a little while? If it’s just for a little while, No one will blame you if you take a little bit of a break.” (Voice)

“………” (Esther)

“Come on, close your eyes and forget everything you hate.” (Voice)

　Just listening to the voice, she feels so comfortable. Esther feels like she can leave everything to this voice. If she do as the voice says, everything will be fine. She strongly felt that way.

　Darkness takes over my heart.

　I want to throw everything away.

　I just need a little rest.

　My heart wants to give everything to the voice.

　At that moment.

“—-No, the reality is not all painful things.” (Esther)

　Esther said firmly.

“Toru is a sneaky man! It’s not fair of him to get to where I’ve worked so hard to get to in such a blink of an eye! But I don’t mind being overtaken.

　It is not because I am weak that he overtakes me. It is because Toru is strong. Toru is Toru and I am me. I am not Toru. I don’t need to be like Toru.

 

　It is because of Toru that I was given the chance to move up to the C rank. At my age, I am too good to be the daughter of a mere merchant family!

　Toru would do the unthinkable and drag me into his ridiculous hunts. He does too much of everything, and he is out of touch with the common sense of Eargard. He is crazy enough to ride on the back of a dragon! It’s hard to keep up with Toru…” (Esther)

“Well, in that case–” (Voice)

“But I enjoy Toru’s company. He thinks differently than I do, and sometimes I don’t understand Toru—” (Esther)

　In places where similar people gather together, growth and development stagnate. It is only by accepting a completely different way of thinking that people can grow.

“For me, I enjoy every day learning about my differences with Toru!” (Esther)

　As Esther said this, a sound like a cracking shell was heard.

“Impossible… The [Mental Domination – Mind Control] has been broken! Toru and Esther are both monsters!?” (Voice)

“By the way, who are you?” (Esther)

　After all, it’s a voice that sounds familiar. Esther crosses her arms and thinks.

　Her thoughts were blurry earlier, but now she can remember them clearly.

“I’m not sure, is it Luka? But why do I hear her voice?” (Esther)

　When Esther guessed, Amy faltered slightly. When she was in another person’s body, she was able to take control of the soul almost 100% unconditionally. But it did not work with Esther.

　It was the first time she was in a situation like this, and Amy was befuddled.

“…I can enter other people’s bodies. I am like a soul, so to speak.” (Voice => Amy)

“Hmm? Why did you possess me?” (Esther)

“There are some conditions for entering another person’s body. You were the only one who met those conditions and was able to fight. If it were possible, I would have transferred to Aaron.” (Amy)

 

　It had been a long time since he had held the position of guild master, but Aron was still an A-rank adventurer, even if he was rusty. If Amy could take over, he might be able to crush Toru the next time.

　However, Aaron’s guard was so tight that she could not clear the conditions.

　There are three conditions for Amy to take over a body.

　The first is to get the other person to voluntarily give his or her name.

　The second is to touch a part of their bare skin for more than three seconds.

　The third is to have them abandon their body that Amy is currently controlling in front of the person who has fulfilled the first two conditions.

　There were several people there who fulfilled these conditions. Most of them, however, were unable to fight. Even if Amy took over, they would be crushed immediately.

　The one who had the best body among those who fulfilled the conditions was Toru. But he had six gods inside him. Amy could see a future in which her soul would be crushed when she entered his body.

　The runner-up was Esther.

　Amy abandoned Luka’s body and managed to get into Esther’s body, despite losing most of her soul.

　She is now a D-rank adventurer, a lower rank than Luka, who was C-rank, but she had no other choice.

　However, although the transfer was a good thing, she had no idea that she would have trouble getting a hold of her soul. As it was, she could not move Esther’s body as she wished. She could not avoid the attacks of Toru, Aaron, Graf, and the others.

　—death.

 

　Realizing that, Amy trembled.

(It can not be helped!) (Amy)

　Amy grabbed Esther’s soul with her hands.

　If Esther interfered with her, she could crush her soul. If the soul is crushed, Esther will die, so she can easily take over the body.

　On the other hand, the body will melt away. Just like Philip did some time ago.

　But now is an emergency. Rather than disappear herself, Amy put her hope in the slightest possibility.

　Amy put power into the hand that held the soul.

　It was the next moment.

“What is this……!?” (Amy)

　A strong white light filled the pitch-black mental world.

A/N: Esther’s fulfillment of the conditions for the possession is fully depicted in the second volume of the novel.

Of course, the manga version is also well described, so if you are interested in the manga version, please check it out!