Episode 4: Hero's Departure 2
"Hey, Maria. How's the armor working out for you?"
It had been a week since they left Grabalt.
After resting in various places and checking the situation in the country, the hero's group heading for Fonteau finally reached the border.
It was the same checkpoint they had passed a few months ago, where the dwarf with the reddish-copper hair had been.
A wooden structure with a simple but solidly built gate. It looked the same as it did a few months ago, just as it was.
However, there was no sign of people and no sign of the good-natured female dwarf.
Mariabelle and the others didn't know it, but shortly after they passed through the checkpoint, the place was attacked and the female dwarf was abducted.
"Yes, it's very good. It fits me perfectly and I can move around easily."
"But what kind of material is that?...... It was originally men's armor, but it shrunk when Mariabelle-sama tried it on."
"You can just call me Mariabelle or Maria, Kara-sama."
"No, no, that's not how it works, princess."
At Mariabelle's friendly words, however, Kara looked around, lifting her beloved black-rimmed glasses lightly with her fingers.
An escort consisting of more than a dozen people.
Half of them were mages from Fonteau, as it was the slime's stronghold, it was their home country.
They were not intimidating Kara, but they were curious to see how she would respond to the princess of their country.
As a scientist researching the power of the goddess, she was used to being shunned or outright disliked by those around her, but she didn't want to be disrespectful to the princess of a country and use that as an excuse to escalate discord with her companions.
From now on, they would share hardships together, and Kara was aware that cooperation was the only and best way to survive.
That was why――.
"Well, we'll get back to that later. So, that armor..."
Diverting from the topic of what to call her, Kara looked at the armor that Mariabelle was wearing.
On top of the black clothing that emphasized ease of movement, there was a blue armor that looked like it reflected the blue color of the deep sky. A breastplate and heavy armor on the left arm. On the right was a hand armor that seemed to be designed for ease of movement.
The rest of the armor was knee-high anklets.
In the past, it was almost a full-body armor, but now it seemed as though it had been changed to match Mariabelle's fighting style―― to use her speed and push through with a number of moves.
The fact that it could change not only in size but also in shape strongly attracted Kara's interest, a scientist.
Whenever she found a suspicious place like that and stop, she tend to call out for confirmation over and over again.
"It's so light, it's like I'm only wearing clothes. And it's easy to move around in."
The "Hero's Armor" was stored in the holy kingdom of Lishlua. It was a divinely made armor made by the power of the goddess Fasalina.
It was said to protect against all kinds of poisons and was the best armor that had ever been used to protect the wearer's companions from the insane miasma emitted by the demon king.
"But that's what it means to have the blood of the hero...... The weapon and armor that defeated the Demon King can only truly be used by those who have the Hero's blood."
"That's true. Even in the royal castle of Fonteau, only Mariabelle was able to get close to our father's shield."
"Was it a "shield" that is supposed to repel all attacks? One day, I hope to retrieve it before we settle this."
"Yes."
As she replied, Mariabelle touched the hilt of the sword that hung at her waist.
Hero's sword and armor.
And if one had the shield, one had the equipment of a hero who had defeated the demon king.
"The location of the shield is that it's where the slimes gather the most, so it's a bit tricky."
"But still, it's a path that can't be avoided."
"That's true. You're a lot more determined than I am, princess."
The reason why she said it in a somewhat amusing way was that she realized that the "inevitable path" that Mariabelle mentioned was very far, long, and steep.
The royal castle of Fonteau.
From the border they were at now, they only had to follow the road for a week or so to get there―― in normal times, it was nothing but a flat, quiet road.
But now, slimes were everywhere, and sometimes it mimicked the ground or pebbles to hunt their prey.
If they were to take that path, what would be the cost......
Just thinking about it made Kara sigh.
It could be said that she had a kind of bad habit to think about the future strangely and realistically.
"I don't see anything here that we can use...... there are beds, so we can stay here overnight and then go to Fonteau."
"That's right. I asked the warrior priest from Lishlua to use "Talisman of Light", so I wonder if it's safe. We'll be on the lookout."
The ones who said that were the escorts that were gathered to protect Mariabelle and the others.
Half of them were mages from Fonteau, and the other half were warriors with excellent fighting skills from Grabalt and warrior priests from Lishlua.
Grabalt warriors gather edible plants and berries from the nearby forest, while the warrior priests use the Goddess Fasalina's miracle, the "Talisman of Light"―― a power that monsters hate and revealed the slimes mimicry to make sure the border was safe.
"Shall we prepare a meal?"
"Okay, onee-sama."
"I'm going to go into the forest for a bit, see if I can find some herbs I can use."
Mariabelle and Meltia prepared dinner a little early, while Kara went into the forest with the beastmen from Grabalt to collect herbs.
The right person for the job.
They did the best they could, and the group of nearly twenty people worked as one party.
After a week, each of them had established their own role, and Mariabelle, who at first did not have anything to do in the group, now helped her sister cook quickly and efficiently.
The weapon she used was not the holy sword of the hero, but a pocket knife that Fornelis gave her for self-defense.
Mariabelle used her dagger to cut up vegetables, wildflowers, and nuts.
Meltia started a fire with her magic, boiled water in a pot, added the ingredients that Mariabelle had cut up, and flavored them with seasonings.
Then Kara and the others came back, and then they ate.
At night, the three of them would take turns getting up and keeping the fire going. Naturally, Mariabelle and Meltia were included in that group.
Here, there was no special treatment for the daughter of the hero or the princess of a country.
At first, their companions were reluctant, but Mariabelle and Meltia volunteered.
They thought that since they were a group, they should share the hardships together.
It was not special treatment, but because they were a group, trust was born and the bond was strengthened.
Before dawn, they all woke up, had breakfast with the leftovers from dinner, and left the camp after finishing their preparations.
Surprisingly, Mariabelle was the first one to finish getting ready.
She changed her clothes and put on her armor. The armor had been changed to fit her body, making it very easy for her to put on and take off.
On the other hand, even though it was a traveling outfit, the skirt, and the pretty dress, Meltia, who cared about caring for her long hair, woke up earlier than anyone else to prepare herself.
Kara, for example, left with her unkempt hair, so much that Meltia now combed her hair.
After getting ready in that way, they proceeded again.
――Mariabelle and the others had been nervous since this morning because they were going through Fonteau.
"Well, watch your step and your surroundings―― and don't go too close to the forest where visibility is poor.
Kara said with a thoughtful caution.
She thought they all know that much, but it was still good to remind them and make sure they were aware of it.
Especially since they hadn't encountered any slime for the past week or so.
The most dangerous thing was loosening up because of that kind of carelessness, and it was not "the same before".
Kara, who had spent her days experimenting in the research tower of Lishlua, was trapped helplessly due to the sudden attack, so her nervousness was a definite "advice" for the group.
"Because we are riding a horse, the slime that mimics the ground will attack the horse first, and we can escape in the meantime if that happened."
"...I feel sorry for the horse."
"There's no substitute for life."
Kara smiled at Mariabelle's words.
Life―― Well, were there any dangers to themselves as women?
Being held captive by the slime meant that they would be subjected to indescribable disgrace, but so far there was no information that the slime had "killed" a woman.
They may weaken them with paralyzing poison and take them away, but no matter how many of their companions were killed, the slime would not kill a woman.
On the other hand, if it was a male, it would kill them without hesitation.
She wondered which one was "better" than the other.
"Well, I guess it's worse either way."
"What's the matter, Kara-sama?"
"...I'm not a fan of that "sama" thing, Mariabelle-sama."
"If so, you can call me Mariabelle―― That is?"
The sun had risen around noon.
They were about to repeat their usual light-hearted question and answer, when......
Mariabelle spotted a village in the distance. It was a village so far away that it seemed to be swallowed by the horizon.
Whether it was because she was wearing the equipment of the hero or because her blood was trying to awaken her to the dangers of the world, her physical abilities were gradually improving.
It was not only physical strength and stamina but also eyesight and intuition, which could be called "sixth sense"―― that was uncertain to others.
"You can see well, Maria. Even with my deep elven blood, I can only see vaguely."
"I'm a little curious about that direction...... Is that village on the map?"
When she called out to one of her companions, she took out the map from her luggage and check it.
There was no name.
The map only showed the location of the village, so she could immediately tell that it was probably not an important place for the country of Fonteau.
If she looked at the map in detail, she could see that there was a mithril mine nearby, but it must have dried up.
When a village was located near a mithril mine, it inevitably attracted people from all over the country. So, if the village was deserted, they could assume that it had withered away.
"Are the people still there......?"
"Hmm, I don't think they're here anymore, but are you curious?"
Kara stopped her half-hearted respectful tone and asked Mariabelle a question in her usual tone.
Mariabelle nodded to her question.
"Let's go."
"Um, Kara-sama? Our mission is to look for the Valhari flower. It's not to search an abandoned village......"
The mage from Fonteau said to Kara, who easily agreed with Mariabelle.
It was true that they should prioritize their own mission.
There was a high probability that no one would be there, and if they were to enter a village within Fonteau, there was also a high probability that they have to fight the slimes.
......If they were to go there and something unexpected happened to Mariabelle.
With that in mind, it was natural not to engage in battle as much as possible, and the opinion of the mage should be respected.
"But if the villagers were to fail to escape......"
"Are you willing to risk it all for one or two people? Our mission depends not only on the people of Fonteau, but also on the future of Grabalt and Lishlua, Mariabelle-sama."
The mage said then looked at Meltia.
"Yeah, Maria. We have to think about the future of this world first......"
"Onee-sama."
Mariabelle understood what they were saying.
Save the world.
She knew the reason for their journey, but she was still curious. The abandoned village in the distance. There was something that appealed to Mariabelle, as though something was asking for help.
She just didn't have the words to explain it.
It just bothered her somehow. She couldn't put her companions in danger just because of that.
"Then I'll go check it."
"Kara-sama!?"
"If we're going to keep going, we're going to pass by that abandoned village anyway. If that's the case, we'll just have to scout it. Three of us will go ahead and check out the village.
Then we won't have any problems, right?"
"......Kara-sama. Don't spoil Maria too much."
"I'm not spoiling her, Meltia-sama."
Meltia's words, however, were interrupted by Kara, who anticipated them.
"The "hero" who defeated the Demon King is not only superior on the five senses but also the sixth sense―― it seems that he had an excellent intuition. That's why he even acted as if he knew the future ahead of time, which even Fornelis-sama and Jenna-sama could not understand.
It is the intuition of Mariabelle-sama, who has the blood of the hero in her veins. Don't you think it's also dangerous to just ignore it because it's dangerous?"
"Hmm... that's true."
"That's why I'll go ahead and check it. Unfortunately, I've had the experience of being trapped by the slime, so if anything happens, I'll endure it until you guys save me."
It was a simple and clear confession.
Meltia and the mage, who had been opposed to it, choked on their words.
"And also. It's not that I'm defending Mariabelle-sama.
I'm curious if the hero's sixth sense is really as accurate as predicting the future―― it's called a disposition. So don't worry too much about it."
With that, Kara left the group, taking with her a beastmen and a warrior priest, one of each who could detect danger.
The three horses galloped to the abandoned village, which was still far away.
How free. How carefree.
Her back...... that looked like she was enjoying the journey a lot more than the royalty and the hero's daughters.
"...I'm sorry, onee-sama. I'm being selfish."
"No. There's nothing wrong with it, Maria. Just remember―― our journey is not just about us, but about the future of this continent and this world."
"Yes."
Honestly, Mariabelle apologized.
And the importance of the trip was again deeply etched in her mind.
It was not just about them, but the future of the continent was at stake in the defeat of the slime. There would be sacrifices, big or small.
Meltia and the rest of her companions did not oppose her because they did not trust her.
In fact, when they said they were opposed to the idea, their expressions were distorted in a painful way.
If there were lives that could be saved, if there were people, they want to help them.
At the same time, by helping others, the journey would become more difficult―― not the determination to return to Fonteau, but rather the victims of captivity.
The more victims there were, the more restricted the movements of Mariabelle and her group would be.
If they wanted to continue their journey and fulfill their purpose, they have to think about that aspect as well...... So, she reminded her.
(Still, I......)
She touched the hilt of the holy sword of the hero at her waist.
(... I want to save a lot of people like my father. If I could, I would save them all.)
To think that she had a naive idea for her immature self.
With that in mind, she apologized to her companions for stopping her from speaking her mind, and she would apologize to Kara and the others when they safely got back.
Mariabelle and the others' horses moved slowly, had a light lunch on the horse, and then joined Kara and the others who were ahead of them.
"I knew it, the slimes are gathering. And――."
On the outskirts of the abandoned village. Kara, who had been checking out the abandoned village using the tall reed grass as a cover, explained to Mariabelle and the others who had joined her.
The abandoned village had become a den for slimes.
And that a woman's scream could be heard from a building in the back.
The scream was so weak that even a beastmen with excellent hearing could barely pick up.
"...There are people there?"
"It's a young woman. It's amazing what a hero's intuition can do. It really works."
Kara was more surprised that Mariabelle's intuition was right that there were people there.
While listening to Kara's words, Meltia and the others looked at Mariabelle as they dismounted from their horses.
It was a village that didn't even have a name on the map. It was only natural that they thought that there were no people in the village.
"Maria and Kara were right, weren't they?"
"How can you be right......?"
"No, let's decide whether or not to help the people, regardless of the merits of our decision―― there aren't that many as far as I can see, but they're still slimes."
Kara said as she put her hand on the sword at her waist.
Whether to fight or not.
And if they fight, they make it clear that there would be casualties. The tension rose, and everyone took a slow, deep breath.
"Let's fight. There are people right in front of us who need our help, and we came here with the determination to fight."
Mariabelle said in a quiet but firm tone.
She pulled out her holy sword.
The white-gold blade glowed with a pale blue light, as though reacting to her fighting spirit.
"Yeah. I can't pretend that I didn't know what's going on here―― I was taught tactics in a few days in Grabalt, but I'm still young. So please help me."
"I'm in charge of the whole thing. What? It's only about ten slimes, and with the blessings of the heroes, we can't lose."
Kara, in her same light tone, said to ease everyone's tension.
Once they decided on a course of action, the reaction was swift.
The vanguard was Mariabelle, Grabalt's beastmen and Lishlua's warrior priests.
Fonteau's mages, Meltia, and Kara were on the rear who would overlook the battle from behind.
The division of troops had been decided before they left, but it was the first time they were actually fighting. Kara knew well that training was not the same as actual combat, as she had actual combat experience.
(We're lucky we got to fight before we hit the big one.)
It was not that she hadn't thought that far ahead, but she thought that following Mariabelle's intuition turned out to be a good thing.
(This is also the hero's intuition...... I guess we are lucky.)
"Then we'll start the battle―― onee-sama will take cover, and Kara-sama will take command."
"Yes, be careful, Maria."
"Then...... the goal of the operation is to destroy the slime and rescue the people. But don't overdo it―― our journey has only just begun.
As though on cue, Mariabelle and the others jumped out of the tall reed grass where they had been hiding.
With a shining blue holy sword in her hand, a dark-haired woman clad in sky-blue armor led the way.
The beastmen and warrior priests were also fast on their feet, as they had been training. However, Mariabelle was faster than any of them.
When the beastmen took two steps forward, she took three. As she did so, she jumped over the low fence that protected the village from the beasts, and her holy sword sliced through the first slime that was slowly roaming around the village.
"Haaa!!"
In return, she slashed away the tentacles released by the slime that sensed the danger.
The holy sword was untainted.
The mucus that was supposed to cling to the blade was purified by the blue light and disappeared in the blink of an eye. The light of purification was emitted when she first held the holy sword.
The slime's mucus disappeared without a trace.
"Amazing!"
The beastmen warrior with the magic mithril sword shouted in admiration as he saw that.
His sword was covered with flames that vaporized the slime's mucus.
However, it produced a stench, but the hero's holy sword did not even have that. The air around Mariabelle was filled with clean air, as though even the air around her was being purified.
"Please gather around me!"
The slimes reacted quickly.
When they determined that it was an enemy attack, the slimes gather around Mariabelle, who they judge to be the strongest among them.
There was no scream, but the speed of their reaction was as though the group was moving with one will.
Not only the individuals that had been wandering around the village but even the slimes that had been inside the buildings came out.
Feeling frightened by the sight, but not nervous, the priest-warriors who joined together set up a barrier around Mariabelle.
It was not as strong as Jenna's, but it was still a strong barrier. The slime's tentacles were repeatedly repelled.
However, the true meaning of the barrier was not to prevent the slime's attack.
"Unleash the spell...... on a place where everyone is not gathered――!!"
First, Mariabelle and the others charged in and drew their attention, and now the bombing of magic from a distance.
From a distance, flaming bullets strengthened by their undisturbed chanting rained down on the village, and the slimes that were unlucky enough to take a direct hit were blown away with its weakness, their "nucleus".
The heatwave vaporized the mucus of the slimes not hit by the magic, and the liquid became so thin that the nucleus could be seen in the faint but dirty mucus.
The barrier of the warrior priests was meant to protect them from the heatwave.
"Now, charge――!!"
At Mariabelle's command, the beastmen and the warrior priests from Lishlua stepped forward.
Aiming at the faintly visible "nucleus", two people gang up on each slime.
The beastmen slashed their magic swords covered in fire and ice, while the warrior priests strike with maces that emit purifying light.
Although it was a surprise attack, the battle was over in a flash.
On the other hand, if it became a long battle, Mariabelle and her team have decided in advance to retreat without hesitation.
The biggest and worst attack of the slimes was poison. Paralyzing poison was overwhelmingly advantageous in a prolonged battle, and there was a limit to the number of herbs they could use for an antidote.
They were not all-purpose, so for now, the best and only way to fight was to defeat them all at once in a short battle.
"Warrior priest, please make sure the village is safe, and beastmen, please guard them. I'll go check on the houses."
Giving simple instructions, Mariabelle hurried to the hut where the woman's scream could be heard with a speed that did not show any tiredness of having just experienced a real battle.
There was no such thing as a door.
Inside was a simple structure, with only straw on the floor. She immediately thought it was a livestock shed.
There was a lone slime and a woman trapped in its mucus.
"This is!"
As soon as she grasped the situation inside the building, Mariabelle held up her holy sword without hesitation and pointed its purifying light at the slime.
The slime fled from the holy sword and peeled away from the woman's body as though a hot stick had been brought near it.
"――"
The slime, however, had no intention of letting its prey escape. It extended its mucus like a spear and fought back, but Mariabelle cut it down with her amazing speed.
In the darkness indoors, the pale blue light from the holy sword left a trail, and black mucus, as deep and massive as the darkness, scattered.
The part that had been cut flew away with great force, purified by the holy light in the air, and disappeared.
After repeating it several times, the slime finally released the woman and it was drove to the back of the hut.
"There is no way out now."
Mariabelle thrusts her holy sword without hesitation.
It pierced the slime's "nucleus" in a dingy mucus, but surely―― in the next moment, the mucus body of the slime, which had maintained its oval shape, collapsed and became like a puddle.
"...Fuu."
After confirming it was dead, Mariabelle exhaled.
A complete victory with no danger.
However, for the first time in what could be called an actual battle, she was able to wield the sword techniques she had learned so well and fight without letting her guard down.
She was more exhausted than she had expected, and although it didn't show on the surface, Mariabelle's heart was beating fast with tension.
"Ah... are you okay!?"
......Mariabelle rushed over to the woman who was trapped in the slime.
Her red dress and skin were as white as snow.
She was a woman whose beauty was reddened by excitement and violation, so much so that even Mariabelle, a woman, was taken aback.
Her clothes were in disarray, and her breasts and lower body...... were exposed in all their embarrassing glory.
"Ah……"
It was not the beauty of the woman that made her hesitate to help her up for a moment, but the recognizable horns on her head, the small wings on her back, and the long, thin tail.
It was not human.
She could tell at a glance......
"Are you okay, umm!"
However, Mariabelle called out to the woman...... a succubus――.
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