Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 53: Under Attack

Kōya was currently soaking comfortably in the clear lake water, the dark gray skies above having gotten even darker and more ominous with each passing hour.

He was absolutely certain it was evening by now based on the complete absence of any sunlight, though somehow he could still see his surroundings relatively clearly despite the oppressive darkness.

Perhaps it was an effect of ranking up to four-liner status, or maybe his enhanced Sensory skill was compensating for the low visibility.

"You really don’t have to go through all this trouble for me..." Kōya let out a resigned sigh as Victoria carefully washed his back while he sat submerged in the water up to his chest.

The warm water felt incredibly good against his still-recovering muscles.

"Incorrect assessment. I am your lawfully wedded wife now through the completed Blood Contract, so it is absolutely a requirement and privilege to wash your back properly," Victoria said with clear conviction in her voice then she gave a slightly lewd smile as she looked down appreciatively at the oversized shirt he had given her to wear for modesty.

It hung loosely on her smaller frame, the fabric draping over her curves, and it smelled strongly and distinctly of him... his scent embedded in every fiber. She found this surprisingly comforting and intimate.

"Besides, we went through the trouble of buying all that expensive shampoo and quality soap specifically for exactly this reason, right? It would be wasteful not to use it properly."

"I really didn’t expect us to find any source of clean water out here at all in the Outer Zone..." Kōya said with genuine curiosity and appreciation. "How did you manage to purify such a large body of contaminated water?"

Victoria finally let go of his back, having finished scrubbing thoroughly, and rinsed her hands in the water he was currently submerged in.

"Well, it’s one of my more useful utility spells called Cleanse," she explained with a touch of pride. "It’s specifically designed to clean both physical bodies and entire bodies of water simultaneously if you pour sufficient mana into the casting and maintain concentration. That’s why I used my Blood Convergence ability to create a temporary barrier separating this clean section from the heavily contaminated parts of the lake. I can’t realistically turn the entire massive lake clean permanently... the various monsters living in and around the water would just dirty it up again within a few hours of us leaving."

Kōya nodded with understanding and appreciation so they really didn’t actually need to take traditional baths at all with her Cleanse spell readily available.

She just personally wanted them to have this intimate bathing experience together as a married couple.

"Well, thank you very much for all your efforts. You’re proving to be an absolute lifesaver once again," Kōya said genuinely, meaning every word. "So what exactly are you planning to make for our dinner tonight? I’m genuinely curious."

He was honestly interested in seeing her cooking skills in action for the first time. In reality, he personally could not cook anything edible at all, which was precisely why he had always relied entirely on his older sister Reona for preparing all meals back home.

There was a very significant cultural difference between traditional English meals and authentic Japanese cuisine in terms of ingredients, preparation methods, and flavor profiles.

So far in this world, Japanese-style meals seemed to be extremely common and widely popular across all social classes.

"You actually want to eat my cooking? You trust me that much already?" Victoria said with visible happiness, then gave an enthusiastic salute. "Well, I was thinking of making Fried Ox-tail Soup as our main dish for tonight... Don’t worry at all, Kōya. If there’s anything in this world I’m genuinely confident in besides my combat abilities, it’s definitely my cooking skills, so you’ll be absolutely sure to love i—"

Just then, there was a sharp, distinctive whistling sound cutting clearly through the night air.

An arrow shot rapidly through the darkness, flying directly toward Kōya’s exposed position in the water.

Victoria’s crimson eyes widened with alarm and she immediately moved to intervene, her hand already glowing with Blood Convergence but Kōya’s hand shot up with incredible speed and caught the arrow smoothly just inches from his face, his enhanced reflexes proving to be more than sufficient.

The metal tip suddenly opened with a mechanical click, releasing a thick cloud of purple gas directly into his face and surrounding area.

「Host has been struck by concentrated Bubbercat Poison (C-Rank neurotoxin)」

「Unique Skill: Poison Immunity (C) has analyzed the toxin composition」

「Unique Skill: Poison Immunity (C) has rendered the poison completely useless」

The purple gas hit his face and entered his lungs exactly like it was normal, completely harmless air... there was not even a tickle in his throat.

He threw the arrow aside dismissively, watching it splash into the lake.

That entire excruciating hour of him violently twitching on the ground in intense pain earlier had absolutely not been for nothing after all.

His Pain Tolerance skill had successfully evolved into the significantly more powerful Unique Skill: Pain Suppression (C-Rank).

This allowed him to actively suppress even the intense pain of broken bones and severely torn limbs as long as he consciously activated the ability and maintained focus.

He was genuinely glad that he had invested the suffering and training time into developing it properly now.

’I have complete immunity against all low-level and mid-level poisons now,’ Kōya thought with satisfaction. ’My body just metabolizes them instantly.’

As for higher-ranked poisons at B-rank or above, they could potentially either kill him outright if concentrated enough, or his significantly enhanced body would delay the lethal effects long enough for him to acquire and properly administer an antidote.

Victoria gritted her teeth visibly as she sensed and then spotted a person confidently approaching their makeshift camp from the darkness.

He had a professional-grade crossbow held casually in one hand and distinctive long black hair that hung past his shoulders.

Three prominent crest lines were clearly visible under his eyes, marking him as a three-liner.

"Yo!" the stranger called out loudly, raising his free hand up in a casual, friendly wave as if he actually knew Kōya personally and they were old acquaintances even though this was clearly the very first time they were meeting each other.

Victoria glared with barely suppressed hostility however, Kōya raised up his hand calmly to stop her from doing anything immediately rash or violent.

He wanted to know exactly who and what this person was after, and potentially gather intelligence, before making any hasty decisions about elimination.

"What’s going on here? What do you want?" Kōya asked evenly, his voice neutral while he studied the intruder carefully.

The man grinned confidently, completely relaxed.

"Well, you’re clearly a four-liner based on your mana signature and the way you’re carrying yourself, so naturally you are physically superior to me in any kind of direct combat," the man said while his eyes wandered over to examine Victoria’s splendid figure appreciatively, lingering on her curves.

The oversized shirt was doing very little to actually hide the pronounced curves on the Vampire Princess’s body, and the wet fabric clung in revealing ways.

This direct view was significantly much better than what he’d been able to see through his binoculars from his distant observation position.

He pulled out a small green glass bottle from his jacket pocket with a flourish.

"This right here is the only antidote to that particular Bubbercat poison that will kill you within approximately ten minutes through progressive neural shutdown," he said confidently, holding it up like a prize. "I’ll give it to you freely and without any additional cost if you simply give me that beautiful girl over there and promise not to come after us when we leave this area."

Kōya sighed heavily, genuinely disappointed in humanity.

’People still actually do this kind of obvious extortion in the current year...?’ he thought with frustration but then again, this guy could potentially serve as a useful source of intelligence about the area and any organized groups operating here.

"Hold on a moment. Are there other people like you operating out here in the Outer Zone regularly?" Kōya asked with calculated interest, keeping his tone curious. "You’re clearly originally from Keropolis city, just like me. I can tell from your accent and equipment."

"Huh?" The three-liner blinked with confusion at the unexpected question, thrown off by Kōya’s casual tone. "Of course there are many others here working this entire area in coordinated groups... We’re all positioned strategically around this entire section and we regularly coordinate our hunting patterns and territory an—"

"I’ve heard enough useful information. Kill him." Kōya interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand, his tone completely casual.

In that singular instant, the man’s entire head violently exploded into bloody chunks and bone fragments.

Victoria’s Blood Burst had struck with pinpoint precision. The rest of his body slumped forward onto the ground lifelessly, blood pooling rapidly.

Somehow, watching this particular death wasn’t nearly as emotionally disturbing or traumatic as watching those two innocent children burn alive in front of him.

Context mattered significantly.

"Aren’t you going to take his blood for yourself?" Kōya asked Victoria curiously, genuinely wondering about vampire feeding customs.

She made an extremely disgusted expression, her face scrunching up with visible revulsion.

"The intimate process of taking blood directly from someone is a very personal and intimate gesture for vampires... It’s almost equivalent to the act of sex in human cultural terms." Victoria explained seriously, making sure he understood. "Would you like it if I even thought about having sex with another person? Would that be acceptable to you?"

Kōya’s face visibly squeezed with displeasure at the mental image.

"Absolutely not. Never."

Victoria nodded happily at his possessive reaction, clearly pleased. The corpse suddenly compressed and crushed itself into a perfect sphere of blood through her magic, the bones and organs liquefying.

The man’s crossbow weapon, storage ring, and other personal belongings floated through the air and landed neatly on the shore behind Kōya.

"I’ll properly dispose of his blood far away from our camp and then start cooking our dinner, Kōya." Victoria said with a bright genuine smile.

She flicked the compressed blood sphere far into the distance with casual force, sending it flying at least a hundred meters away then she ran enthusiastically over to the portable cooking pot and gas-powered camping stove that Kōya had purchased specifically for this extended trip into the Outer Zone.

It was excellent professional equipment for cooking outdoors in dangerous areas, and the flames were magically enhanced.

The delicious scent from her cooking would definitely draw various monsters to their current position but Kōya was absolutely confident she would deal with any threats efficiently and without needing his help.

He turned around in the water and faced where Victoria had dropped the dead man’s belongings on the shore.

First, he picked up the laminated ID card and examined it carefully under the dim light.

"Shinji Takahara, huh?" Kōya muttered, reading the printed information.

The guy had been twenty-seven years old and officially classified as a C-rank according to the KCAC’s assessment system.

Kōya threw the ID card aside onto the shore without a second thought and accessed the storage ring next.

He lifted it up to examine closely... it was the exact same model of advanced storage ring he personally owned, probably purchased from the same shop.

’System, can I hack into this storage ring’s security?’ Kōya thought.

The rings were specifically designed in a way that only the registered wearers could access their contents through biometric and mana signature locks.

That security feature was exactly why Victoria had been forced to physically carry the massive Queen Broodminder corpse while he was unconscious earlier.

「To successfully hack into the storage ring’s security protocols, Host will be required to pay 10 FP」

「Accept cost? Y / N」

’At this point in our relationship... I don’t even have words for you anymore,’ Kōya thought with exasperation and resignation.

A System’s primary job was supposed to be helping and supporting its host unconditionally without charging for every little thing. However, it seemed to be very different with this particular one, which was constantly reaping him of his FP at every possible opportunity it could find.

He mentally tapped Y and the ring clicked immediately with a mechanical sound, the security disengaging.

He placed it on his finger and willed everything that was stored inside to materialize out onto the shore.

There was a surprisingly good-sized mound of various monster corpses and extracted mana cores inside the storage space.

Not only that, but in a woven basket that appeared, there was an obscene and frankly suspicious amount of women’s clothing and undergarments.

There were panties in various colors, styles, and materials... including lace, silk, and cotton varieties.

Multiple bras of different sizes, several crop tops, and all manner of intimate apparel.

It honestly made Kōya wonder with growing concern what exactly this man had been using all of this for.

"However, since he’s dead now, all of these items legally belong to me as spoils of combat," Kōya said to himself pragmatically.

He dove into the clean water one last time, washing every remaining bit of soap off his body thoroughly then he emerged and wrapped a towel securely around his waist.

He looked over toward Victoria and saw she was completely focused on carefully washing the raw meat for the Fried Ox-tail soup she’d mentioned earlier.

Kōya lifted up one of the larger bras from the basket, examining it. They smelled distinctly like quality detergent... the same specific brand that his sister Misora used to wash clothes with back in the Academy so it was clear that these items had been relatively well taken care of and maintained.

He looked at the bra’s size tag, then glanced at Victoria’s chest from a distance, making a quick visual comparison.

It should probably fit her reasonably well.

Victoria seemed to notice that he was looking at her intently and she immediately appeared directly in front of him in a blur of supernatural motion.

"Kōya, why exactly are you holding another woman’s bra?" she asked while giving him an extremely dead-eyed stare.

From the dangerous aura that was radiating off her entire body like heat waves, it seemed like she genuinely wanted to kill him right now.

"I was simply testing whether you could wear it," Kōya explained calmly, lifting it in front of her for inspection. "You need proper clothes."

Victoria gave the undergarment a critical look.

"I would much rather prefer if you bought me a completely new one from a proper store instead of giving me used ones from other women..." She averted her gaze with clear discomfort. "Besides, don’t you personally like the fact that you can feel my breasts directly without any restrictions or barriers?"

"I do genuinely like it..." Kōya admitted honestly. "However, what if there are more creeps like him watching us from a distance right now? I don’t want other men seeing you."

Victoria puffed out her cheeks with annoyance while taking off the oversized shirt. She flashed him with her complete nakedness once more without any shame.

However, Kōya didn’t have nearly as strong a reaction this time... he was becoming practically used to seeing her naked constantly.

And as a wise man had once philosophically said: if you couldn’t successfully run away from something, why not just jump directly into it?

And by that profound wisdom, he meant breasts.

Victoria took the bra from his hand and attempted to put it on properly however, it immediately puffed out awkwardly, clearly several sizes too small.

It seemed she was too generously endowed for these particular bras.

She gave him a victorious smile.

"See? My breasts are simply too big for normal undergarments," Victoria said smugly, clearly pleased with this outcome.

She placed the bra back in the basket and wore Kōya’s oversized shirt once more then she laughed happily as she walked back toward the cooking pot.

However, a strong wind suddenly blew across the area, pushing her shirt up dramatically.

It also caught Kōya’s loosely tied towel.

Victoria’s bare ass was now in full view, and Kōya could even see the pink of her most intimate area.

Kōya gritted his teeth in frustration as he fumbled desperately through the basket for panties.

"At least put on some panties!" he yelled out after her retreating form.

She just kept laughing without any shame whatsoever.

...

Later that night, both of them were cuddled up closely together inside their tent. These specialized tents had a protective enchantment built directly into the fabric itself.

Once it was properly closed and sealed, a three-meter radius around the tent would activate a defensive barrier.

Kōya let out a relaxed breath as Victoria slept peacefully beside him.

One of her legs was draped casually over his own, but at least she was finally wearing purple lace panties now... taken from the basket.

Her generous breasts were pressing warmly against his side, and she was quietly muttering his name in her sleep. It made him smile genuinely and he had to admit honestly, she really knew how to cook exceptionally well.

The Fried Ox-tail soup, which ironically didn’t contain even one ounce of actual ox meat had been incredibly delicious.

She was far, far better at cooking than him.

’Alright, System... Eliminate the curse she planted.’ Kōya thought seriously.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Victoria at all but rather, he found it extremely suspicious that she would just willingly let herself die automatically when he did without demanding something substantial in return.

After requesting a full body scan earlier, he’d discovered that she had secretly implanted a curse in his heart.

It would kill him instantly the moment she died. Doing that without even telling him or asking permission was genuinely crazy behavior so he was going to remove it immediately.

He gritted his teeth slightly as he felt the dark effects of the curse gradually receding from his chest.

「The Heart Detonation Curse has now been successfully removed from Host’s body. An inactive duplicate will be kept in place for her to detect if she checks...」

’Ah, the System actually gave me a bonus for once?’ Kōya thought with surprise.

However, once he checked his current FP balance, he understood immediately that it had still ripped him off substantially with the pricing but he didn’t complain further.

Instead, he gently pulled Victoria’s sleeping face closer to his chest.

"I think I can actually sleep peacefully like this..." he muttered softly.

There was a strong protective barrier extending for three meters in all directions around them.

It was supposedly really powerful and durable.

Besides, he didn’t fully understand why, but Victoria just had a natural scent that made him feel genuinely at home and safe.

What could his cursed Fate trait possibly do to him right now?

There had to be some kind of reasonable break or cooldown period to the trait’s activation, right?

Just as his eyes were finally dropping closed, his Danger Sense suddenly rang loudly and urgently in his mind.

He immediately grabbed onto Victoria tightly while rolling several times rapidly to the right.

From somewhere outside the tent, a distinctive black arrow streaked through the night air at incredible speed.

However, it was clearly not a normal arrow.

It caught black flames along its shaft as it flew, and the instant it made contact with the protective barrier, the entire barrier shattered like glass then the flaming arrow streaked directly to the tent, blasting completely through the fabric.

It created a massive crater where they had just been sleeping, and the force even broke through the small abandoned house structure positioned behind their tent.

"We’ve finally got those fuckers now," a black-haired woman with a scar across her cheek gritted her teeth with satisfaction.

Behind her stood an organized band of ten professional archers, all with their bows drawn and ready.

"Let’s go collect our loot and equipment."