Episode 190 Settler (1)
"Thank you for letting me rest comfortably in such a nice place, Princess. I'm indebted to you."
"Don't mention it. You're my lifesaver. I'm only sorry that I couldn't do more for you."
In front of the main gate of the imperial palace,
Riley, who came to see off the departing hero party, was exchanging farewells with Heinrich.
Although there was no grand farewell party at the Saint's request, the princess, who was personally indebted to him, came to see them off as the representative of the imperial family.
She talked to each of them individually, wishing them luck, starting with Heinrich.
And after holding Isea's hand for a while, expressing her regret, as they had already talked at length the day before…
"Sigh— Heron, I'm most worried about you."
She finally stood before Hesperon and sighed deeply.
"Ahaha! What are you talking about, Your Highness? Where else can you find someone as reliable as me! Even Master was surprised by my talent and couldn't stop praising me yesterday! It'll be fine, so don't worry too much!"
He confidently puffed out his chest, laughing nonchalantly, even though Isea was grumbling next to him that it wasn't quite like that.
He was being polite because the princess's attendants were watching, but his tone was still casual, as if he was talking to a friend.
Some of the attendants frowned slightly…
"…Well, you're not ordinary, so I'm sure you'll do fine. It's not like you'll be there for long anyway."
Riley just nodded slowly, ignoring his tone.
"But—"
However, she wasn't finished.
"It seems like you need to fix that excessive confidence. You seem to be mistaken about something, you're just a low-ranking mage. That means you're a weakling compared to them. And you're following them to a battlefield where even they have to do their best, and that baseless confidence…"
His bravado, intended to reassure her, had backfired and turned into a massive nagging session.
Hesperon immediately shrunk back, as if he had never been confident, and had no choice but to listen to her.
"There's no need for you to try to do anything. You're just an extra burden. You'll be useless at best and a hindrance at worst, so just stay out of the way, learn what you can learn… Heron? Are you listening?"
"Ah, yes! Of course. Yes, ma'am."
He hurriedly answered, staring blankly at her.
'Isn't that a bit harsh…'
But he didn't protest, as it would only prolong the nagging.
Seeing the worry in her eyes as she spoke nonstop, he understood why she was saying this…
…And so,
Riley finally stepped back, seemingly satisfied, after nagging for several times longer than the combined conversation time with the others.
Leaving behind Hesperon with a dazed expression.
"…Then, we'll be going. See you soon."
"Yes, Saint. Please be safe."
And so, the farewell, which had gone on longer than expected, finally ended,
And the party, boarding the prepared carriage, headed towards the Jeron Cathedral on the outskirts of the capital to use the gate.
Unless it was unavoidable, there was no need to trouble Isea when they could use the Church's well-established infrastructure.
'It would be more difficult to teleport with one more person.'
As Princess Riley had worried, Hesperon had decided to join the hero party for the time being.
To be precise… it would be about ten days.
'We agreed that he would stay with us until right before the second summit.'
The first reason was for him to properly learn magic from Isea, the Archmage.
Of course, his fundamentals were already impeccable.
He also had the "Introduction to Magic" skill, and there was no way he would struggle with the basics when he had the Immortal King's influence, even though their magic systems were different.
And since it was only a matter of time before Riley ascended to the throne, she could provide him with an education that surpassed even what Isea had received if she wanted to.
'But even considering all that, it's still not as good as learning directly from Isea. He'll be able to grow much more efficiently this way.'
It was only natural, as Hesperon and she could be considered the same type in a way.
…The so-called 'geniuses'.
'Of course, he's a bit different from Isea, who's a natural-born genius… But the result is the same, isn't it?'
All sorts of growth bonuses, superior stats created by pouring in a massive amount of Karma, and indirect support from Hans with skills like "Path of Magic" and "Wicked Wisdom".
This was the true nature of Hesperon, the artificially created genius mage.
'An ordinary curriculum is a waste of time for someone like me.'
If Isea, his senior, taught him only the essentials, skipping the 'unnecessary' parts she had experienced while learning magic, he could drastically reduce the time it took to learn.
And he would even receive her know-how as an Archmage…
'Good. Of course, he won't be able to learn everything in just ten days, but he'll continue to meet her even after returning to the imperial palace. There's no need to rush.'
Clank—!
The carriage, which had been traveling through the capital, finally arrived at the Jeron Cathedral.
The group was immediately guided to the gate room as soon as they got out of the luxurious imperial carriage.
And there was another reason why Hesperon decided to follow the hero party—.
"Then High Priest, to the Glatan territory in the Lesque Kingdom, please."
"Understood, Saint. Now then, everyone, please come this way. I'll activate the gate."
Coincidentally, the next destination of the group led by Saint Heinrich was the Lesque Kingdom.
And that place…
Was spear knight Geos Calkin's home country…
And the land where the self-proclaimed 'otherworlder' he mentioned was living in seclusion.
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The wager between Saint 'Heinrich Saint Landguard' and Immortal King 'Hannibal Strauss', established at the end of the battle in Jeron, the Empire's capital.
The gist of it was a battle between the Immortal King's forces, who would attack randomly chosen locations, and the hero, who had to defend them without any prior information.
It could be called a battle between spear and shield.
The rules were overwhelmingly advantageous to the Immortal King, but it wasn't a bad deal for the hero, as it could dramatically reduce the casualties among ordinary citizens.
Although those who were still suffering from monsters consumed by madness wouldn't agree.
'Of course, this would only work if there was someone who could detect the attacks in advance.'
Otherwise, they would just be unilaterally attacked.
And 'attack' didn't just mean large-scale air raids.
"…Found them."
In Glatan City, the central city of Viscount Glatan's territory in the Lesque Kingdom,
Isea, who had been standing in an alley away from the busy main street with her eyes closed, opened her eyes and spoke softly.
"Where?"
"I'll link them to you."
The moment she finished speaking, specific coordinates started to appear in their minds as their consciousnesses were connected.
"…Three places?"
"That's what I found. One seems to be the clock tower in the square over there, but I'll have to go to the other two to find out."
The type of attack this time was indiscriminate terrorism, carried out by activating a large-scale ritual using magic tools that had been smuggled into the city.
It was a method that had happened several times before, and the types also varied depending on the attackers' tendencies.
From explosions that physically destroyed the surroundings to contamination that spread deadly energy to humans, and even sacrifices that offered all living beings in the area as tributes.
There were all sorts of bizarre forms.
"But the ritual hasn't started yet, so I couldn't identify the type. I just selected places where the flow of magic power is suspicious."
"Good. I hope we can keep it that way."
"Haha! Then shall we move right away? Let's crush them before the ritual even begins! There are three places, so the three of us can split up! You stay here and prepare for any contingency, missy!"
"······."
Geos, who had been quietly standing next to them, tightened his grip on his spear at Harley's words.
He was trembling, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, as if he was about to jump out at any moment, as he faced the Immortal King's subordinates… the 'enemy'.
"Please wait a moment. Let's confirm it first."
But Heinrich stopped them, shaking his head.
He couldn't just cause a scene without any warning in someone else's territory, unless it was an emergency.
He turned his gaze to the man who was repeatedly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
It was the knight sent by the territory after receiving their message, the person in charge of the city's security.
"…Those locations aren't where our territory's facilities are. They're all ordinary places…"
The knight, who had received the coordinates from Isea, took out a map from his pocket, examined it, and then closed his eyes tightly with a sigh.
Even though they were able to grasp the anomaly beforehand thanks to the hero party's visit, the current situation wasn't good news for him either.
Even if this incident was resolved without any problems, it was clear that the city's defenses had been breached, so he couldn't avoid responsibility.
'Whew— But at least we found out now. What if a real disaster had occurred?'
The punishment wouldn't have just ended with a reprimand, depending on the extent of the damage.
They were lucky this time.
"Ah! We'll provide support from our security forces. The more troops we have, the better to handle them."
"No, if we mobilize too many troops, they'll notice something's wrong. And we don't know what they'll do if they're cornered."
"Th-then…?"
Heinrich smiled gently at the knight who was looking at him with unease and spoke in a serious voice.
"Hmm, it's better to be prepared, just in case. Could you please deploy a small elite force around the target locations and have the rest of the troops guide the residents nearby to evacuate if something happens?"
"Ah! That won't be a problem. B-but what do you mean by 'if something happens'…?"
The knight trailed off, feeling an unknown anxiety, and cautiously looked at the Saint.
His smile was as benevolent as before, but it felt eerily chilling.
"Of course—"
Before Heinrich could even finish his sentence,
"Hahaha! We'll barge in and crush them all!"
Harley, who was gripping the handle of his battle axe, chimed in with a menacing laugh.
"…Huu."
And Geos Calkin, holding his long spear and chuckling eerily.
Gulp—
The knight unconsciously gulped and subtly stepped back.
As expected of the expedition members, they were strange… no, extraordinary.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Isea frowned at his gaze, which had unconsciously turned towards her, and the knight quickly turned his head away, wiping off his cold sweat.
The little girl with them didn't seem ordinary either.
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Once they had grasped the locations where the enemies were hiding, it wasn't difficult to eliminate them.
Slash—!
Heinrich's holy blade always cut through his enemies cleanly.
"Hahaha! Come at me, you bastards!"
Harley, as usual, tore them apart with gusto.
"Die!"
Geos, enraged at the sight of the dark mages, vented his anger by piercing their bodies.
And Isea, who was in charge of rear support, was grasping the situation in case of any unexpected events.
They tried everything they could, from overdriving magic circles to self-destruct attacks, but…
It was all a meaningless struggle against the party, who had become accustomed to such tactics after months of repeated battles.
"This time was easier than before. Maybe they started preparing in a hurry, so it feels a bit lacking."
Isea tilted her head curiously after the incident was resolved without any major damage and the party gathered again.
"Hahaha! Well, it's good that we stopped them without any major casualties! Maybe we just barged in before they were ready?"
"Hmm, that's possible. It happens sometimes."
"Haha, good work, everyone! I was just watching from the side, but it was still exciting, you're all amazing!"
And as the other party members were chattering,
"Saint."
Geos, who had returned to his usual gloomy expression and was lost in thought, quietly approached Heinrich.
And his next words were…
Something Heinrich had been hoping for.