Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

18 – The Ninth Child

Lucia. No, after Luciana’s story ended, I closed my mouth.

At first, I wasn’t even asked, but she talked on and on about her situation. But this story was not entirely unrelated to me.

Indeed, it seemed somewhat connected now.

At first, I thought Prince Freud, known for his womanizing tendencies, had been seduced by their appearances and acted on his primal instincts, like a beast.

Their appearances were indeed top-tier among the women I’ve seen in this world, so it was understandable.

But upon hearing Luciana’s story, it seemed that Prince Freud’s purpose was their backgrounds.

In fact, during the hero party era, the landscape of the Halphas Empire was quite different when I visited.

There was a strong tendency to push Prince Jaden as the successor over Prince Freud, and the emperor did not object to such atmosphere.

Perhaps, Prince Freud himself must have been in quite a predicament.

Therefore, he gambled.

After defeating the Demon King, he gambled to recruit the members of the hero party to his side.

Since he had nothing to lose, he had probably thought to at least grab onto the straw.

Of course, considering his womanizing ways, the appearance of these girls also captivated him.

Anyway, he succeeded spectacularly with his gamble.

He managed to recruit those who were not on his side by winning over the hero party members, and with their power, he brought down his fiancee’s family, who were wealthy nobles, and inherited all of their property.

Considering that the emperor was not present due to severe illness, one could even say that luck was on his side.

Thus, he solidified his position, secured his spot as the next emperor, and ousted Prince Jaden.

“hahahaha…”

A laugh automatically came out.

That horny golden-haired monkey-like guy, I’ve disliked him from the moment I met him.

When I found out he was one of the reasons those women betrayed me, I can’t even begin to tell you how I cursed him in my heart.

It’s not without reason that I chose the Empire as the primary target of my revenge.

And now, after hearing this girl, Luciana’s story in front of me, my determination became even stronger.

“I thought he was just a sh*tty bastard, turns out he’s a great sh*tty bastard?”

“But… aside from that… why is the hero in a place like this? No, I heard you had returned…”

“Ah… I had various circumstances…”

Telling his story seems to have calmed his emotions a bit.

With a somewhat composed voice, Luciana opened her mouth.

“Is this something to do with the hero party?”

“Yes.”

While her words shook him slightly, he managed not to let it show and answered honestly.

From her perspective, it was an plausible assumption.

…And to some extent, it was also his fault that she had been through this ordeal.

Luciana, realizing there were likely no good incidents between him and the hero party, no longer asked about it.

But she just bowed her head, seemingly lost in thought.

“Master.”

Breaking the awkward silence, Ortlinde spoke up.

“There’s been some movement on the surface.”

“Did the unconscious guys break free?”

“No, it’s a new response. They are releasing the imprisoned ones.”

This is a hassle.

I tapped Luciana’s shoulder to wake her from her thoughts and hurriedly went down the passage.

Luciana quickly followed us down.

“What’s the status of the church guys?”

“They seem to be searching the area. Thankfully, they haven’t discovered this entrance yet.”

While I could clearly sense their presence on the surface, it was difficult to understand their movements.

But Ortlinde seemed to have a good grasp on it.

Even when it came to detecting visitors, she seemed to be more sensitive than me.

The passage was quite long.

It felt even longer than the ruins in the Lindium mountain.

The length of the journey made Luciana’s breathing heavier.

Just as I was thinking of having Ortlinde carry Luciana, the end of the tunnel came into sight.

“Hero.”

“Ah, just as I thought.”

We came out into a wide room after the passage. What met our eyes was a door made of metal.

This place was somewhat different from the ruins of Lindium, which were filled with various shattered utensils and dirtied with rubble.

Unlike that place, this room was very clean.

Actually, beyond being clean, there was nothing in this wide room except the door made of metal.

Perhaps that’s why there came a confused voice from behind.

“W…where exactly is this…? Where’s the destructive weapon…?”

Luciana, looking perplexed as she glanced around the room.

There was a light in her eyes, in her face, that expressed desolation itself.

“If the weapon isn’t here, then I… can’t avenge everyone…”

“Luciana.”

“How can I avenge my unjustly killed family and…Queen Hwangbi…”

Luciana stammered, trembling and sinking to her knees.

Her expression was empty, as if she had completely lost her mind.

I tried to calm her down, grasping her trembling shoulders.

“Luciana, calm down.”

“But…there’s nothing else…for me…the only way left for me…”

“Luciana!!”

Upon hearing her name shouted loudly, Luciana flinched and the trembling of her body gradually subsided.

When I could no longer feel any tremors from her body through my fingertips, I let go of her.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

“Y…yes, I’m sorry for showing you this horrible state…”

Horrible? Not at all.

She may bear a much vaster amount of vengefulness than I do.

I was forewarned and prepared for the betrayal and attacks, and had the strength to seek revenge.

But Luciana, caught off guard by the sudden betrayal, losing everything and not having the strength to seek revenge on her own, has spent the painful journey seeking the means to do so.

Even if I were in Luciana’s shoes, I might feel the same looking at this empty room.

But, it’s not yet decided that there’s nothing here.

Because we haven’t seen what’s beyond that steel door.

“Reinforce”.

“Yes, I sense the same reaction as before.”

A ‘weapon’ that can change everything from the earth to the atmosphere.

And a room shaped similarly to where Ortlinde was asleep.

If my guess is right, what lies beyond…

I looked at Ortlinde as if to confirm.

Ortlinde, who had been watching me, approached me immediately upon making eye contact.

“Ortlinde, what do you think?”

“I can’t be certain which entity it is, but it is definitely present beyond there.”

I gained Ortlinde’s arrogant affirmation.

I picked up Reinforce and approached the steel door.

Reminiscent of the ruins of Lindium Mountain, a red light shone dimly on the door that still had power. I held Reinforce up to it.

Beep-

The steel door made a sound similar to the electronic lock coming undone in the original world.

The shaking steel door made a loud noise as it slowly moved to the side.

Even though it seemed to move slowly and noisily, as if it had been there for a long time, it didn’t stop.

“Master, those on the surface are approaching here.”

“…They must have discovered the passage, we’re running out of time.”

It took us about 20 minutes to walk down this passage, excluding the time we stopped to talk.

I didn’t know how quickly they would come down, but I had to check beyond the door quickly.

The door finally creaked open all the way, illuminating the space beyond.

“Eh…?”

“As expected…”

Beyond the door, a girl, bound hand and foot, sealed against the wall.

The girl had long, silvery-gray hair, similar in appearance to Ortlinde.

If any difference could be identified, her hair was a bit longer and slightly brighter in color, with a slightly more mature appearance than Ortlinde.

“Rosweise…”

“…You’re sisters?”

“Yes, she is the youngest of those made together with me.”

…Youngest?

No matter how you look at it, she appears older than Ortlinde.

“…I am indeed the older one.”

Noticing the doubt in my eyes, Ortlinde asserted.

It seems she cares about this, unexpectedly.

“Ortlinde’s right, ‘Rosweise, the ninth child wielding a thousand magics’… it’s written here.”

As if to confirm Ortlinde’s words, Reinforce spoke.

On the sealed girl, Rosweise’s lower half, just like with Ortlinde, totally incomprehensible characters were engraved.

Rather than that, this guy is now fluently reading the mysterious characters.

Before, it seemed as though he read more hesitantly…

“Um… Hero Sir?”

“Hmm?”

Turning to the slightly trembling voice, Luciana stood with a pallor-stricken face.

She was pointing at the girl sealed in the wall, Rosweise.

“Was…was that girl… always here in this ruins site? No…but her condition seems a bit too…”

“Ah…I’m not certain myself, yet…”

Oh dear.

Upon reflection, I was unsure how to explain this situation to Luciana.

Still, I hadn’t told her anything about Ortlinde yet either, so it’s not surprising for her to be shocked after suddenly seeing a girl who has been hanging naked on a wall for thousands of years.

“Master, the reaction of those who invaded this place is getting closer.”

However, it doesn’t seem like there’s much time for explanations.

I turned my attention to Ortlinde.

“Ortlinde, so how do you wake her up?”

“Since you have already received authentication, you simply need to establish an interlink with her.”

“Interlink?”

What’s that.

I’ve never heard of it before.

Ortlinde looked straight at me and opened her mouth.

“It’s similar to when you first met me.”

…When I first met Ortlinde?

How did I do anything then…

“Ah.”

I remembered.

I clearly approached Ortrinde and was lost in thought for a moment.

And then Ortrinde, who suddenly came to, grabbed me and brought her lips to…

“Uh…Hmm…”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“No…I just feel suddenly embarrassed because there’s an audience this time.”

“You’re not a naive bachelor anymore, nor is this your first time!! Hurry up, because we don’t have much time!!”

I’ve thought it all along, this guy, who is supposed to be a holy sword, has quite a sharp tongue.

I became curious about what kind of reactions the people from the church, who almost worshipped the holy sword, would have if they knew about his true nature.

…Well, I will think about it later.

“Alright.”

Taking a deep breath, swallowing once, I approached the girl. Rosbyse, who was sealed against the wall.

Her face looked somewhat similar to Ortrinde’s, but on comparison, it was evidently different.

…Well, both are beautiful in their unique own ways…

“!!”

And then, the girl standing in front of me, opened her eyes, dazzling blue.