Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

57 – Decision to intervene

“Ugh…The blood is sticky…”

Zikrune grumbles as he shakes off the halberd that has Vernon’s blood and brain matter on it.

The expression on his face was as if the weapon was stained with dirt, not blood.

“The blood also looks like real blood.”

…I’ve been thinking about it, and it seems like his speech is becoming more and more dirty.

Who is it that taught him that way of speaking?

「…No matter how much you think about it, didn’t you learn that way of speaking from the hero?」

It’s me.

Well, I did swear a lot next to Zikrune.

That lively and bright kid shouldn’t turn into a kid who speaks dirty talk a lot.

I felt like I needed to be a little more self-respecting.

“…We’ve wasted time needlessly. Let’s go up.”

“Yes. Miss Luciena, are you okay?”

“Ah…Yes, I’m fine.”

Lucie, her face slightly pale, nodded to her Ortrin de who was worried about her.

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Well, it’s not unreasonable.

Even though we were by no means friendly and even to the point of disgust, someone we knew had his head split open before our eyes and died.

If you have ordinary sensibilities, you may not feel sorry, but you will never be okay.

At the side of the hole, there was a rope ladder that appeared to have been set up by them and climbed down.

As I raised my body using Rossweisse’s gravity magic, I cut the rope ladder in the middle.

And when we came out through the hole, quite a few people were waiting.

First of all, the soldiers who were managing the historical site.

I heard a report that an artificially created hole had been discovered, and it seemed like I came to check.

And, a few women dressed as maids and a few people who appeared to be escorts.

Probably the maids and remaining guards that Vernon left behind on earth.

One of the soldiers approached us.

“You came back safely, thank you for your hard work.”

I thought it was a face I had seen before, but it turned out to be a soldier who had checked our entry permits when entering the historical site.

He looked at the container we brought up and said.

“Is that the relic you secured inside?”

“Yes, there were a lot of empty ones… That’s about all the contents there were.”

“Yes, can I check for a moment? First, I need to record the contents and quantity…”

“Of course.”

With that said, he and some soldiers opened the container.

Then, I checked the rusty swords inside and started recording them.

In the meantime, one of Vernon’s maids approached.

She hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“Hey…There…!!”

“…Are you, by any chance, a person related to Vernon Lessington?”

“Yes…Yes…I am Leila, the exclusive maid…So…The master…”

Hearing her words, I made a dark expression.

Of course it’s acting, but you have to put in this much effort to avoid saying something else later.

“…I really feel like I have to tell you that…Unfortunate news…”

“…!!”

“Mr. Vernon Lessington… Was killed by a guardian who appeared from inside the ruins while trying to forcefully explore the inside.”

“Ah…That can’t be possible…!!”

Layla, the servant girl, seems to be truly sad.

Well, Vernon Lessington was a rotten human being, but maybe not for her.

The remaining guards also shouted with surprised expressions.

“No… This is ridiculous!! Are you saying Mr. Solit was also victimized?”

“Mr. Solit…?”

“He’s our leader!! With a great sword…”

Ah.

Are you talking about the giant who blocked Zikrune’s halberd, even if it was only once?

As expected, I thought he had skills and was good at conducting, and he was a captain.

I nodded and continued speaking.

“Yes… He also tried his best to protect Mr. Vernon…”

“Ugh…”

“…Please accept this.”

I held out his great sword that I had prepared in advance.

A greatsword that was dented in the middle to block Zikrune’s halberd.

“This…This is Sollit’s…!!”

“…You fought and withstood the Guardian’s attacks several times…But you couldn’t withstand the numerical inferiority and stopped…”

“hehehehe… Mr. Solit…!!”

He was probably popular among his subordinates.

…But he had the wrong employer.

Furthermore, no matter how much he was hired, when he tried to carry out the absurd order to kill and steal the woman, he was also the same person.

「You’re good at acting.」

‘Have you forgotten what I did in front of those b*tches during the warrior party?’

「…I was in a vague state of consciousness at the time.」

After acting appropriately sad in front of them, the soldiers approached me and told me that the list had been completed.

Now, all you have to do is deliver these rusty weapons, or relics, to Representative Verdimont.

For containers that were locked and could not be opened, let’s find a way to open them later on our own.

Anyway, the empire and those b*tches will fail on their own even if we leave them alone, and we have plenty of time.

…There was a time when I thought that way too.

When I returned to the Republic, I had the opportunity to speak with Rep. Verdimont when I handed over the container and its contents.

He looked very busy, and he was on his way out of the mansion, saying he had to attend the council immediately.

And, I was able to hear why he was busy.

“…They say the empire has summoned a new hero.”

“Yes?”

The hero is here.

Was it possible to summon multiple times?

“It is said that the Empire and the Demon King’s army are currently in a tense standoff due to the actions of that hero… So we are going to discuss what to do next.”

I wondered if it would be okay to tell such an important fact to me, a mere merchant, but they say it is a story that will spread soon anyway.

It is natural that the Empire has summoned a new hero and is doing well in battle, and that they are working hard to promote it.

I thought about this when I saw Representative Verdimont hurriedly leaving the mansion after saying hello.

…I guess I can’t just leave this like this?

If things continue like this, the empire will think it has a chance of victory, and other countries that missed the battle may try to participate again.

I thought that if I left them like this anyway, they would only fall, so I left them alone. But if I leave them like this, isn’t it obvious that, instead of falling, they will fall into joy again?

But even if you go to the empire from here at full speed, it will take several days.

Of course, it wouldn’t be impossible if I flew at full speed with super acceleration in the air using magical power, but if I did that, it would 100% be discovered that I was a hero.

What should I do…

As I was thinking that, there was a hand pulling my clothes.

When I turned around, there was a girl with blue hair standing there with her eyes sparkling.

It was Zikrune.

She looked at me with her sparkling eyes and spoke to me.

“Master! Are you planning to go to the battlefield?”

“Uh…Right?”

…I tried not to interfere for most of the time, but I feel like I have to interfere this time.

At my answer, Zeke Rune’s eyes sparkled even more and she raised her hand.

“Then I!! This Zikrune will go as the advance guard!!”

“Huh?”

“I haven’t gotten my weapon back yet… But my armor is functioning properly, so I can go right away!!”

… Come to think of it, Zek Rune regained his armor and his flight function this time.

And, the speed is quite fast and there is no need to use super acceleration using inefficient magic explosion like me.

Probably, you can reach the skies of the empire in just half a day.

At least, it may be possible to avoid a situation where the Demon King’s army suffers a crushing defeat.

I looked into Zikrune’s eyes and said.

“Can you do it?”

“Of course!!”

“Okay, is there anything you need?”

At my words, Zeke Rune lifted his eyes upward as if thinking for a moment.

And then, he looked at me and smiled broadly.

“I…That’s right, master.”

“Okay, if you need anything, please let me know in advance.”

“Then, for long-term flight and combat endurance, I want to supply ether!”

He was smiling brightly and speaking with a bright face, but his face was slightly red.

I found it oddly cute, so I burst out laughing and said.

“It’s easy. Come here.”

“The hero has appeared!!”

“Everyone, retreat!! Retreat!!”

The hero Kenji appeared on the battlefield again today.

However, both camps had now learned about it.

Both allies and enemies retreat back when a hero appears.

For those who cannot withstand the aftermath of the hero’s attack, it is better to just get out of the surrounding area.

If that happens, the structure of the hero and his party members VS the powerful members of the Demon King’s army is completed.

Of course, it is obvious that they are the ones who become heroes.

They are the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army.

Confronting the hero Kenji today were two Four Heavenly Kings.

Red-blooded Roselia, white-blooded Frey.

Her direct combat is handled by the Vampire Queen, Rozelia, and Frey supports her by giving her instructions.

While responding flexibly to the magical sword winds thrown by the hero at random, they smoothly put pressure on the hero Kenji.

Rather, the warrior’s comrades who came forward to help the warrior had to fall behind due to the warrior’s sword wind.

There, a problem occurred.

“aaah!!”

“Frederica!!”

Frederica, a scout moving behind to support the hero.

When the opportunity arose, she was active in hindering the Four Heavenly Kings by shooting arrows aimed at their gaps.

However, because he was distracted by the movements of the Four Heavenly Kings, he could not see it.

One of the attacks that the hero threw at random came towards him.

“Frederica! Are you okay?!”

“Ugh…Ugh…”

Frederica, wounded, held her arm and let out her divine voice.

Selicia, who ran straight to her Frederica and gave her first aid, raised her head and glared at her hero, Kenji.

Even though his comrade was injured by his attack, he did not care at all and was focused on attacking the Four Heavenly Kings.

“You son of a b*tch…!!”

Since she couldn’t hear it anyway, Celicia let out her inner feelings and sprinkled her medicine on Frederica’s wounds.

Anyway, the hero Kenji continued his battle with the two Four Heavenly Kings.

However, soon the warrior Kenji began to be pushed back.

In a situation where the odds were against the odds at best, with Frederica injured and Selicia heading to the rescue, the victory was in the hands of the two Four Heavenly Kings.

If things continue like this, we will be defeated.

Iola, who had this intuition, approached Kenji, the hero who was continuing his fighting actions.

“Hero, we must retreat…”

“Retreat…Retreat…?”

“Yes, we can’t win at this rate.”

“Yeah…Yeah…”

Iola smiled at the sight of the warrior Kenji answering incoherently.

However, we had to immediately prepare for the attack of the two Four Heavenly Kings.

The warrior’s companions mobilized to confront the Four Heavenly Kings and held on, but the two Four Heavenly Kings intensified their offensive as if they were determined not to let go of the hero.

Iola, who was looking around her and assessing her situation, saw Frederica, who was lying on the floor and moaning, and Selicia, who was nursing her, come in.

A deep smile spread across Ola’s lips.

“Hero, hero.”

“Uh…Yeah…”

“…We need to retreat, but the enemy is too persistent. I think we need bait.”

“Beat…Beat…Beat…”

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“Yes, there’s something good over there.”

The hero Kenji turned her head to follow Ola’s finger and immediately moved.

The moment when Selicia was surprised to see the warrior Kenji running towards Frederica.

“aaah!!”

“Hero! What are you doing…?”

The hero Kenji immediately grabbed Frederica by the back of her neck and threw her towards the Four Heavenly Kings.

However, the two Four Heavenly Kings, who had no idea that she would throw their companion like that, caught her by surprise.

“Retreat!! Retreat!!”

“Quick!! Everyone move!!”

When the two Four Heavenly Kings, who had somehow managed to catch the girl and placed it on the floor, looked up again, the hero was no longer there.

There were only the girl who was used as bait, the two Four Heavenly Kings, and one female knight sitting down with a vain look on her face.