SWER 86

Chapter 86

“You, you… what are you?”

[Is something wrong?]

“‘Is something wrong?’ Are you kidding me, you little— You were glitching earlier! Your text broke apart and everything was—whatever! It was weird!”

Honestly, it had been terrifying. The situation was so urgent that I didn’t show it properly at the time.

I seriously thought some horror game had suddenly started.

Watching the system pretend nothing happened—even though it clearly knew how I felt—made me both angry and dumbfounded.

“What was that earlier? Go on, pretend you don’t know!”

[…Due to a brief bug, I rebooted the system. Everything is normal now.]

“A bug, huh. You really do sound like a game system… well, you are one.”

I nodded because that part made sense.

But that ellipsis at the beginning—yeah, that raised suspicion.

This guy is definitely hiding something.

The system always watches my every move, but I’ve been watching it for a long time too.

And that attitude? 100% hiding something.

[You must trust me.]

“Why do you sound exactly like a scammer… You read my thoughts again, didn’t you? I swear I’ll report you for privacy invasion.”

But the system pretended to ignore me again, as if it had already read my suspicion.

It was clear I wasn’t getting any real explanation.

[This bug has been patched. The same issue will not occur again.]

“…Whenever you say that, the same issue always happens again.”

[My system is different. I am the Saintess System, after all.]

“Doesn’t saying that out loud embarrass you?”

We bickered back and forth.

It was such a pointless exchange, almost like playing a harmless word game—but that familiar back-and-forth actually helped calm the anxiety sitting deep in my chest.

A moment later.

I let out a long breath, then looked toward the pitch-black depths of the cave.

“So… what do I do now?”

I didn’t know what might be ahead, so moving recklessly felt wrong.

But I also couldn’t just stay here forever.

Still, if someone could find a way to save me and come to get me… wouldn’t it be better to stay in one place?

Even so, just waiting helplessly for someone to save me felt…

All sorts of thoughts spun around and around in my head. Suddenly having to act alone made it hard to choose the right option.

At times like this, system advice really is the best…

[I recommend the following actions.]

A blue window popped up instantly, as if it had been waiting for the cue.

First action: report the system for privacy invasion.

I said not to read my thoughts!

* * *

Normally, miasma can be destroyed by a swordsman’s aura, a mage’s high‑purity mana, or the saintess’s purification.

Of course, certain crimson‑black miasma cannot be erased even by a Sword Master’s aura or spells crafted by the descendants of a Tower Lord—and those are a separate case. They aren’t normal miasma. No one knows exactly what that crimson‑black miasma really is yet.

Then what are monsters?

Quite literally, creatures tainted by ma (darkness).

In other words, living beings corrupted by miasma.

So ordinary monsters weren’t exclusive prey that only a saintess could eliminate. Any swordsman or mage of sufficient level could kill them.

But what was certain was that a saintess’s holy magic worked better than anything else against monsters with the attribute of “darkness.”

And the reason I was suddenly reviewing the definitions of miasma and monsters was because…

“Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared. I’m stronger than it… I’m stronger… I AM stronger…”

Because right now I was face-to-face with a monster drooling heavily while staring at me.

To understand why a noble lady of a ducal house suddenly ended up in a one-on-one showdown with a monster… we need to rewind a bit.

* * *

Following the system’s advice, I decided to explore deeper into the cave.

[In your current state, you cannot rely on anyone coming to help.]
[You must look for clues to escape.]

I still hoped that if I stayed in one place, maybe Duke Blake or Edwin would come rescuing me—but according to the system, that wasn’t likely.

I asked why, but it didn’t give me any further explanation.

This system really is so self-righteous.

It speaks more fluently than before, but somehow reveals less of the important things. What—will it die if it just explains things properly?

Grumbling internally, I began to walk.

The cave was cold enough that every breath came out as mist. I was truly grateful I packed a thick coat for the expedition.

“Anyway… what IS this slime?”

As I walked deeper, I surveyed the surroundings.

At a glance, it looked like an ordinary cave—but black slime oozed along the walls and rocks like spreading roots.

As if announcing that this place was anything but normal.

“When I fell through the ground earlier, I’m sure this slime wrapped around my whole body…”

I reached out to touch some of the slime along the wall.

—Sllluuurp…

“…Ugh. Disgusting.”

It stretched like mucus between my fingers before breaking. Its slippery, sticky texture sent shivers down my spine.

Now that I thought about it—this slime was identical to the fluid that burst from the blisters covering Jonathan’s entire body—

Uueegh.

I forced down the rising nausea and stepped away from the wall.

I was worried about Jonathan’s life, but honestly the sight had been so scarring that I didn’t want to remember it.

Did Jonathan turn into a monster like Veronica…? I hope there’s a way to save him.

I sighed heavily. Then I reminded myself that I had my own immediate problems and started walking again.

Saving Jonathan could only happen after I got out of here safely.

The cave was truly pitch-black.

“…I’m glad this world has magic.”

Thanks to light magic, the area around me was bright enough.

If I had fallen alone into a cave like this without magic, I would’ve bawled like a child out of pure terror.

Yes, I recently became an adult, but I fully believed I would still end up rolling on the floor, crying with tears and snot everywhere, begging whoever was listening to just kill me already.

[Disgusting.]

“You chose me as your saintess. Deal with it.”

I retorted shamelessly at the overly fastidious system.

You may have chosen me freely, but quitting isn’t an option.

Live forever as the saintess of the Amure religion while enjoying delicious food I eat for your sake—that’s the deal.

—Gurgle

“…Speaking of food, I’m hungry. Hmm…”

Thankfully, my inventory still had cooking ingredients and tools.

Even if I was stranded alone in a cave, I could manage my meals.

If I ran out of ingredients, I still had infinite garlic I could roast and eat.

Eating garlic in a cave… am I the Bear Woman now?

It had already been 18 years since I reincarnated into this world. It warmed my heart that the spirit of Hongik Ingan still lived within me.

The Amure faith’s teachings were also “to benefit the world widely,” so really, not that different from Hongik Ingan.

Although Amure’s version is more like ‘benefit everyone through food,’ but still… close enough.

“Caves and garlic make me think of the Bear Woman. Bear Woman means bear. Wow. How did she survive 100 days in a cave like this?”

[…]

“Yep, definitely my ancestor. That’s the spirit.”

[…]

“I’m hungry. How long do I have to walk? Nothing’s showing up. Bears… I wonder if bear meat tastes good. I want to try it.”

[…Isn’t there something else that appears in that story besides the Bear Woman?]

“Huh? What? System, you know that myth too? What are you? How do you know all this? Do you know my previous life too?”

I heard it’s an old saying…

“Besides the Bear Woman in the founding myth… mm, yeah, there was a tiger. Tigers are usually symbols of bravery, but that guy is OUT. Total failure. He ran away before the 100 days were up. Oh—was it actually 21 days the Bear Woman lasted instead of 100…?”

When you speak of the tiger, he appears.

“Yeah, I think that is an old saying— huh?”

…What?

The familiar phrase froze my steps.

I heard something echoing through the cave.

—Grrroooooowwwl…

“…”

Because my light magic only illuminated the area right around me, the cave beyond was still pitch-black—but from that darkness came the sound of a beast.

Cold chills ran down the back of my neck.

This wasn’t an ordinary animal’s cry.

It was heavy, suffocating, with a strange metallic distortion scraping at my ears.

And then—thud, thud—something heavy began walking from within the darkness.

I instinctively tried to step back.

But—

“…!”

From the dark emerged a pair of glowing red eyes, staring straight at me. My body froze as if turned to ice.

A moment later, its figure entered the circle of light.

“…Sir. System sir.”

[…]

“That’s not a tiger. That’s a bear, sir.”