Can Someone (Anyone!) Please Turn Off the Auto-Skill Setting?! - Chapter 1
Prologue
Ring! It’s all because of that dazzling diamond ring that dazzled me! I should have thrown that ring away long ago!
***
Nancy hummed cheerfully. It had been about a week since she had washed herself with just a splash of water from a river or stream. Today, she was able to scrub her body thoroughly with soap. Although it was a low-quality soap with a cheap scent, she was grateful that it could create bubbles at all.
“Choosing this inn was the right decision.”
In most inns, you had to spend a lot of money to buy soap, even if it was cheap. But this inn provided handmade soap that they cut into small pieces and gave to the guests.
Who would have thought there would be an inn with such good service!
Nancy felt proud of her choice to stay at this inn tonight. People often said she had no eye for judging people, but it seemed she at least had an eye for choosing inns.
She stepped out of the communal bath feeling refreshed and headed up to her room. Somewhere, the delicious smell of food wafted through the air.
A bath, a delicious meal. It seemed she could finally escape the dusty life of camping out and enjoy a day of civilization.
“Maybe I should even have a drink while I’m at it.”
She hadn’t had a single drink since the adventure began because Aaron kept worrying that they might get attacked by demons. But what was the point of living if you couldn’t enjoy a cold beer on a day like this?
Just one glass. I’ll convince him to let me have just one glass.
“Aaron!”
She licked her lips and flung the door open.
“Tonight, let’s drink— ack…!”
As soon as she opened the door, a large shadow loomed over her. The shadow grabbed her and shoved her roughly against the wall.
Could it be another demon? She was startled and checked the identity of the shadow. The attacker wasn’t a demon—it was Aaron.
“What the heck, all of a sudden!”
Nancy shouted in disbelief as Aaron’s eyes glinted through his wet hair. It seemed he had bathed first and returned to the room. But she couldn’t understand why he was attacking her. Did he mistake her for a demon?
“Aaron, it’s me.”
Nancy tried to calm him down by showing him her face clearly, believing that he would back off once he realized his mistake.
However, he stared straight at her with sharp eyes.
“Is this ring yours?”
Aaron opened his fist. A chain he was holding fell and clinked as it hit the ground. It was a diamond ring with a familiar luster.
Nancy instinctively reached for her neck the moment she saw the ring.
Then she realized.
She had just lost her chance to deny it wasn’t hers.
If she tried to lie now, it would only raise more suspicion. Nancy took a deep breath to calm herself and answered.
“Yes, it’s mine.”
“That’s strange. This is a ring my grandfather lost a long time ago.”
“What? That can’t be. This is the ring of a hero…!”
She had heard it was a hero’s ring.
Nancy quickly swallowed her words. But it seemed Aaron had already guessed what she was about to say.
“That’s right. It’s also a hero’s ring. Because my grandfather was the hero who stopped the Demon King’s resurrection 50 years ago.”
A warning window appeared in front of Nancy’s eyes.
“So, answer me. Where did you get this?”
Aaron’s glare was terrifying, as if he would kill her if she didn’t answer correctly.
Nancy’s mind was in a state of emergency. She had never imagined that he was the grandson of the previous hero. If she had known, she would never have asked him to join her in raiding the Demon King’s castle.
If she had known, would she have been crazy enough to take him as a companion? He might find out her secret!
“I don’t know anything about it being a hero’s ring.”
Nancy tried to deny it, but Aaron twisted his lips into a smile.
【 If hostility reaches a certain level, conflict with him will be unavoidable! 】
The repeated warning windows were a bad sign. Nancy racked her brain, searching for an excuse.
“If you don’t know, let me tell you. My grandfather lost this ring. The demons stole it.”
“Listen, what does it have to do with me that the demons stole that ring? It happened before I was even born!”
Nancy raised her voice, hoping some skill would activate to get her out of this situation. But the system informed her of a different outcome than she had hoped for.
“How do you know whether it happened before you were born or not?”
A fleeting expression of regret crossed Nancy’s face.
【 Aaron’s hostility towards Nancy greatly increases. 】
【 Aaron’s hostility towards Nancy becomes uncontrollable. 】
Aaron finally drew his sword. Nancy’s spine tingled with fear as she stammered.
“W-Wait! What are you doing! Do you even know who you’re threatening right now? It’s me. The hero Nancy!”
“I’ve often wondered about you while watching you.”
Even as a hero, she could only fight for thirty seconds before collapsing and complaining that it was too hard. Despite her poor stamina, she was always talking about drinking. He had told her time and again that if she had time to drink, she should work on improving her stamina, but she never listened.
And that wasn’t all. She was greedy for money. Whenever someone asked for help, she never offered it out of goodwill—she always asked if there would be a reward.
“Even so, I trusted you. I thought you trusted me too. But you made a deal with the demons? Are you a fake hero who gained your title through illegitimate means?”