Chapter 165: Forming the New Hero Party (1)
The investigators sent to the Kingdom of Terracia continued their work in the dead of night, even as the city’s fires were being extinguished one by one.
The Knights of the Golden Lion were not the only major anti-demon organization in the realm, but their loss of a major force had temporarily stranded the Alliance’s enforcers in Terracia.
Bernice gave them a blessing to ward off the fatigue of a long day and night’s work, then slipped out of the Inquisition’s temporary headquarters.
Finding a quiet clearing to rest, she held a small crystal ball in her hand.
She listened to Zetto’s voice.
“…So I don’t think it’s all going to be solved by eliminating the Knights of the Golden Lion, because it won’t change the underlying cause.”
Bernice wanted to talk about something more mundane, but she had been talking about work for the umpteenth time in response to Zetto’s questions about the situation.
[Hmmm… a succession plot, maybe the First Prince wasn’t such a good guy in your eyes.]
“Well, it’s a bit much to talk about that, but…I could sense a bad aura.”
[…black magic, for example.]
Zetto’s answer came a little later, and she gasped slightly.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, it was just the distance, but it felt like my powers were being interfered with somehow, though it’s strange that a human would carry something that interferes with divine power in the first place.”
Bernice continues to talk, unperturbed.
[Haha, I see. An object that resists divine power…]
Zetto interrupted.
‘Hmm…’
Come to think of it, she had a similar feeling about Zetto once.
That was about the time that thought flashed through Bernice’s mind.
-Crackle!!!!
A roar came from the crystal ball, it was a terrifying sound, like the earth shaking, the sky tearing apart.
‘Again…?’
This was the third time and unable to take it anymore, Bernice asked.
“…Zetto, what are you doing? Why am I hearing a roar…? Are you having trouble concentrating on the conversation…?”
[That, that…]
It was then.
-CRACK!!!
Another booming sound came from the crystal ball.
[…I almost got hit this time.]
[I told you, getting hit doesn’t kill you.]
[More than that, when is this going to end…?]
[I don’t know, only God knows.]
Next, Bernice heard Zetto whispering with a woman.
It was quiet enough in the clearing that Bernice was able to hear it without missing it, and she immediately asked a question.
“…Excuse me, who are you?”
[…what?]
Zetto’s voice, trying to sound nonchalant.
He was trying to play it cool.
Bernice’s eyes narrow as she realizes this.
“I heard a woman’s voice, but… Is there anyone else around?”
A woman’s voice.
Zetto was with another woman?
It’s a voice she seems to remember hearing somewhere.
Question marks filled Bernice’s face as she squatted on a rock in the center of the clearing.
[Did you hear that…?]
But even Zetto, the culprit, was questioning.
[ …Why did you hear it?]
“You can’t ask me that, can you?”
You’re not supposed to be surprised.
Bernice bit her lip in disbelief.
He was with a woman.
He was having a conversation with a woman next to him.
She was mortified.
Bernice was about to say something when she heard Zetto’s voice.
[The woman next to me is… none other than my teacher.]
There was no falsehood in his voice.
“Your master? Surely… I’ve heard of her, but…Aren’t you at the Academy now, and when did you meet her?”
[Around the academy, I guess…]
“Ah, so your master was around the academy, because if you had told me, I would have come to visit you.”
[Well, that complicates things a bit, I was going to tell you when I saw you anyway…]
“There’s nothing complicated about it, but even if I did meet with her, I’d rather talk to you separately…”
-Cackle!!!!
“…Wouldn’t that be better?”
[It’s…it’s hard to get away…I’ll make sure to tell you about it next time, because I don’t think I’ll be able to explain it in this state.]
“No need to apologize, you said you were Zetto’s teacher, this is the first time we’ve met, my name is Bernice, Saint of Innocence. I’ve heard good things about you from Zetto, and I’m grateful that he had a teacher who has helped him to walk well even when he couldn’t see, and to handle a sword well…”
[Uh, well… yeah.]
“Hmph, you can say whatever you want.”
Bernice smiled faintly, but she was also feeling a bit odd.
‘This woman, Zetto’s teacher, doesn’t have any power.’
It was not for Bernice to test Zetto’s teacher, after all, her powers were uncontrollable.
She should have been able to sense the truth or falsity in the answer, but there was none in the woman’s voice just now.
I wonder if this is part of what Zetto is trying to explain.
“And what was that roaring noise from earlier?”
Bernice, who had a pile of other questions, asked.
[Ahaha…maybe some lightning is falling…]
“Lightning?”
During the conversation, Bernice looked up at the sky.
In her eyes, the night sky was peaceful and tranquil, with the stars and moon clearly visible.
It was the surroundings of the Academy, and the distance between the Academy and the capital of Terracia kingdom shouldn’t be so great that the weather would be so different…
“Lightning in a dry sky…”
It’s like a divine punishment, isn’t it?
It’s not like Zetto is going to be punished for suddenly offending the gods.
The more questions Bernice asked, the less she understood what was going on.
Just then, another voice came from the crystal ball.
[Brother, what are you doing there?]
It was the voice of a child, an infant girl.
She was calling Zetto her brother.
This time, however, her voice was a little quieter, as if there were some distance between them.
[Rei, you can’t come this way now!]
Zetto’s urgent voice immediately followed.
[Huh? What…]
The young woman called Rei let out a confused voice, and at that moment, a booming sound once again poured through the crystal ball.
However, it was a different sound than before.
ㅡKwadwadwad!!!!!!
The sound of something slicing through the air traveled through the crystal ball.
[Oh, my brother…!]
It was Rei’s voice.
“What’s going on…?!”
For a moment, Bernice worried that something had happened to Zetto.
[…You cut the lightning……!]
She could tell that wasn’t the case by the answer that followed.
“…”
Bernice listened in silence, deeply perplexed.
Who was Rei, what did she mean when she said he cut the lightning, and what the hell was going on in Zetto’s place?
It was a total mess.
“Somehow I don’t think we’re going to be able to talk anymore today…”
Bernice shook her head.
She had given up trying to understand.
[…Yeah, I guess so.]
Zetto’s voice sounded a little tired, as he gasped for breath every now and then.
“You can explain it all to me the next time we meet, right?”
[I’ll do that, I’m sorry, Saint, I feel like I’ve taken up valuable time…]
“No. I had a feeling you had a lot of secrets, so let’s make it about getting to know each other.”
Bernice had to hide her disappointment that she hadn’t gotten the relaxed conversation she’d hoped for…but at least she’d heard Zetto’s voice.
She decided to stay positive.
As the conversation was winding down, she heard Zetto’s voice.
[…Still, it was nice to hear the saint’s voice. ]
“Uh…”
Bernice trailed off.
“…”
She quickly withdrew the mana she had been channeling into the crystal ball and hastily ended her conversation with Zetto.
What else would she do so suddenly?
Still, even if it was a bit of a mess, his last words had made her feel better.
She knew that the sweet voice that said it was good to hear Bernice’s voice was a solid ‘truth’.
“…I, I liked it too……”
Bernice, who had been staring at the unlit crystal ball, finally told the truth.
***
“Sister? Sister?”
I called out to Bernice, but no answer came.
[I think we’ve lost the connection.]
“This is sudden.”
[I wonder if the saint wouldn’t be sudden too.]
Sierra’s words made me turn my head and look around.
The forest was dotted with lightning strikes.
Tonight, I’d been doing my own research on the three chapters of Reverse Heaven, including Rei and Geppeti’s training.
‘It just so happened that Bernice contacted me after I used the third chapter…’
Rei was sprawled out on the floor, her eyes glazed over, and Geppeti, approaching from the other side, was tilting her head as if to ask what this was all about.
[I wonder what it sounded like…?]
“I was wondering about that myself.”
Sierra’s voice traveled through the crystal ball, a mana-enhanced power.
[Would she recognize a lie…?]
“I don’t think so, though I can’t be sure.”
If there’s a reason, it’s that Sierra’s body is truly dead, so it doesn’t work.
“…And I told you not to come near it.”
I then turned to the small girl at my feet.
“…”
Rei scratched one ear as she listened.
I had to dodge a lightning strike as Rei jumped out from the direction it was coming from.
The arm holding the Spectral Sword was still tingling and trembling from the lightning bolt, but it hadn’t stopped.
“…If you’re just going to leave me with that, I should be able to hold back my curiosity as lightning falls from the sky.”
Rei picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off her clothes.
Rey was curious but she was also a hero, with a soul as clear and pure as any.
Innocence and curiosity.
“What… I guess a hero is a hero.”
At my rambling, Rei glances at me and opens her mouth.
“What do you mean, all of a sudden… a saint? Brother knows a saint?”
“Not just an acquaintance, I’m actually a knight of the Saint.”
Though I was far from holy to be called a knight of a saint.
“Hmm? If you’re a Knight of the Saint, isn’t that the Order of the Silver Wings, which only women can join?”
No.
I thought so, too.
“Not necessarily.”
“…Well, never mind. What kind of saint is this one?”
“What do you mean?”
“Powers, powers. A saint must have it.”
“Aha, power…”
“…Cerise had some unusual powers, and I’m wondering what power this one has.”
Cerise was a saint back when she was the Hero Leon, in other words, a former colleague of Rei.
“You’ll find out when you meet her.”
“You’re going to meet her? Does that mean I have to go?”
“Yes, since she will be one of Rei’s allies one day… I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you.”
“Is that suddenly okay?”
Rei shrugged and looked at me nervously.
“She’s trustworthy, and most of all… lying doesn’t work around her.”
I didn’t mean to lie, and I don’t need to.
I didn’t have a choice about Rei in the first place.
Bernice had already met her at the Academy, which meant she was allowed to roam the grounds.
It would look even more suspicious if we went later and found out she had a sister, and was then questioned.
“Hmm, I think I know what her power is. I guess that makes it easier to talk to her.”
“Yeah.”
“Hero party… I miss it…”
“Well, there will be a new one soon enough.”
“Hehe, when that happens, I’ll bring brother along.”
Rei scrunched up her nose as she said that.
“You mean me?”
“What’s wrong with you? This is a hero party, and we get to share in the greatness.”
“Then what’s my role in the party?”
At my question, Rei purses her lips and begins to think seriously.
“A swordsman is kind of… I guess it overlaps with my role as a hero… An assassin doesn’t seem like it would belong in a hero party…”
“…”
“……How about a porter, you’ve got a subspace pouch, right?”
“Oh, there was a porter.”
“That’s good, right? It’s safe.”
Rei laughs at the bash.
“No.”
Her smile was cut short.
“Why?”
“I won’t be a porter.”
I rejected Rei’s offer coldly.
As far as I could tell, the porters of the Hero’s Party fell into two categories.
Either they were wronged, or they were villains.