Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

38 – First, let’s start with organizing the surroundings

On that day, it could be said that the imperial castle was truly an eventful day.

The declaration of war written in the name of the Demon King, who was thought to be dead, was delivered by the hand of the Four Heavenly Kings, Frey, who was thought to be dead.

The reactions of those who heard that fact were different.

Those who believe that and insist that thorough preparations be made.

A person who claims that the Demon King’s survival is a lie and that he is telling lies to buy time.

A person who falls into confusion and despair and returns to his territory.

However, the people who were most panicked in this situation were definitely them.

Princess Anies.

Saint Ciella.

Mage Alessa.

Those who call for thorough preparations against the Demon King’s army believe in the power of the ‘heroes’ in the empire.

And they themselves knew very well that they were not ‘heroes’ who could deal with the Demon King’s army, the Demon King, or the Four Heavenly Kings.

“What should I do?”

“Is that really the Four Heavenly Kings, Frey?”

It was the mage Alessa who spoke with a suspicious look in her eyes.

And as if agreeing with Alessa, Ciela also nodded her head.

“I don’t know, but I knew what we did to the hero.”

Of course, even if Frey knows that fact, there is no guarantee that it is the real Frey.

More than anything, I definitely saw them a year ago.

The holy sword Reinforce, imbued with the light of the warrior Hans, destroys the Four Heavenly Kings Frey with light.

“Siela, does Goddess Erdiya say anything?”

“…Not at all, I haven’t even heard the goddess’s voice in over a year…”

If the resurrection of the Demon King were to happen, it would seem that the goddess would have said a word to her saint, but the goddess was still silent.

As well as the saint, she immediately inquired with the bishop of Erdiya through the church, but she said that no one had heard the words of the goddess.

Those who claimed that the resurrection of the Demon King was merely a bluff by the Four Guardian Kings, Frey, cited this fact as evidence.

“What’s worse is…We might have to go into battle.”

Both Ciela and Alessa didn’t look very good at Anyes’ words.

A year has passed since they left the battlefield.

No, if we are to be specific, it has easily been more than a year, considering that there was virtually no proper fighting even during the time of the hero party.

If you go to battle in such a situation, isn’t it obvious that you will only be laughed at?

“The nobles’ dissatisfaction is reaching its limit, and your Majesty can no longer protect us.”

“Ugh…I guess I have to be prepared.”

“…The Empire still has the overwhelming majority in terms of number of soldiers. And since it is revealed to be the Demon Lord’s army, it may be able to hope for cooperation from other countries.”

Alessa offers hopeful observations.

But in a way, it was just as Alessa said.

In fact, since the enemy is calling themselves the ‘Demon Lord’s Army’ and not just the remnants of the Demons, there is a possibility that they will be able to convene the Continental Alliance again.

In that case, it might be worth trying against the Demon King’s army, which would have been weakened compared to before.

“So, what was written in that declaration of war?”

“…Well, no one knows that except Your Majesty.”

The declaration of war that Frey had left behind was entrusted to Prince Freud after being thoroughly inspected to see if it had been cursed.

Because the throne room was so chaotic, the crown prince did not open the declaration of war right away, but said he would read it alone and then announce the contents tomorrow.

So, Anies also does not know the contents of the declaration of war.

“Anyway, let’s prepare for the expedition. We may have to go.”

After the church door became quiet, I quietly opened the door.

As expected, a hellish island was spread out with dozens of young men lying here and there.

Some of them were dead, and at least one or two limbs were torn apart.

“Ah! Master!!”

Jikrune spots me and comes running towards me with a bright smile.

Yes, it’s a very cute face and gesture, but it’s quite creepy because it’s covered in blood.

…First of all, this is definitely not something I would show my kids.

When I looked back, Rossweisse was covering Rudy’s eyes.

After shouting “Good Job” In my heart, I looked at Zikrune.

It was looking up at me with sparkling eyes, like a puppy waiting to be praised.

…Covered in a lot of blood.

“Zikrune.”

“Yes!!”

“…First, shall we take a shower?”

It’s time for the other kids to wake up too.

“I barely caught up with the master! I thought there were some strange people there.”

Zikrune, who had washed himself at the well in the corner of the garden of the abandoned church, was sitting in front of me and chattering.

“Not only did he suddenly attack, but he even pulled out a weapon… I thought this might fall under the ‘legitimate defense’ the master was talking about!”

…Well, actually, the actual law is so terribly strict that going to this level would be considered excessive defense.

Well…They are trash who are blinded by women and threaten children.

Here, let’s be honest and praise them for doing a good job.

“Still, you should have thought about the future, Zikrune sis.”

Although grumbling, Rossweisse is digging the empty ground with magic.

Of course, it was to bury her body.

In an instant, their bodies were thrown into the deep dug ground.

There are some who are still alive…

“Ugh… These guys… Knew who we were and committed such atrocities…”

“You guys are dead…Do you think you can turn the Balsam family into an enemy and get away with it?”

“Brother Lloyd will come out soon and kill you guys…”

…Yes, let’s leave only one person and bury him alive along with the corpse.

They only cleaned up one guy who seemed to be of relatively high rank and threw the injured and chattering guys on top of the corpses.

As the hole they were thrown into begins to gradually fill up thanks to Rossweisse’s magic, the idiots finally understand the situation and their faces turn pale.

The voice, which first started screaming, then turned into a plea, and then a scream, soon became unheard.

Yes, it’s very neat.

The hole was dug and filled with magic, and the site was so clean that it made you wonder if a hole had been dug.

I turned my eyes away from the hole that had been satisfactorily filled and looked back at the guy who had saved one person.

His face turned pale, as if he was very frightened.

“Hey”

“Heek?!”

When I spoke to him, he was startled and stood up with his broken leg and tried to run away.

The guy who was trying to escape with his broken leg looked very desperate.

…But they just buried it all, so that’s all that’s left.

I couldn’t miss it.

“Zikrune.”

“Yes?”

“Destroy the other piece as well.”

“Yes.”

After a while, the guy screamed desperately and fell to the floor.

“Now, don’t run away… Answer the question and I’ll spare his life.”

“You…You crazy guy…”

“Oh, it’s okay even if you’re crazy, so let’s just answer the questions.”

I pulled out the dagger I had been wearing on my leg and stabbed it with all my force next to the guy’s face.

…This is a technique often seen in movies, but in reality, it was very effective, so it is a method often used during interrogation.

“Are you going to answer me?”

“……”

The guy nods his head frantically with a stiff face.

As I nodded in satisfaction, I heard Reinforce’s tired voice.

「Did you ever raise a child when you were young? “You’re very familiar with this.”

As expected, he seems to have been in a fairly high position, so he blew up the location of the Balsam Family’s headquarters.

… He thought he only knew about Lloyd Balsam’s residence, but he was surprisingly high-ranking, so he even knew about the headquarters.

Hmm, is this a bigger harvest than expected?

Even close.

It was natural since it was a slum, but I had no idea it was only three blocks away.

Changguan is located above ground, and the headquarters of the Balsam Family is located underground.

That very building was the headquarters of the Balsam Family.

Well, of course, it would have already been known over there that we… But mainly Zikrune, killed and buried all the gangsters belonging to the Balsam Family (except for one).

With this much commotion, of course someone among the slum residents must have seen this situation.

And the fact that the slum dwellers saw it means that it reached the ears of the Balsam family.

So, if we take the time, they might prepare well and attack this side.

It was necessary to quickly sort out the Balsam family first, before the children got into trouble again and before the children’s mother came to her senses.

…I’m not doing this because I can’t think of a way to solve the children’s mother problem.

“Rosweisse, can you watch over the kids and the church for a moment?”

When I looked at Ross Weisse while saying that, she bowed her head politely.

“Of course. Please leave it to me.”

Well, protecting a few kids at the church would be an easy task for Rossweisse, who is well versed in magic.

I put aside my worries about the kids and looked at Zikrune, who had just changed his clothes.

…Jikrune went out to defend the city, then ran back and fought again for several days without rest.

I would like to tell Zikrune to rest and not to overexert himself.

“Zikrune.”

“Yes! Master!!”

“While I’m out and coming back, take a break…”

The moment those words came out of my mouth.

It was as if I saw in Zeke Rune the image of a puppy, with her ears that were standing upright and drooping.

“…Shall we not stay and come with me?”

“Yes!!”

…This time, I thought I saw a puppy wagging its tail.

Zikrune, whom I met again after a long time, was still an honest guy who could tell what he was thinking without using his profile skill.