Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

33 – Something that cannot be left alone

“……”

“……”

The throne room was engulfed in silence.

Neither the crown prince nor ministers nor officials could say anything.

Everyone was so shocked that they couldn’t speak properly, but there was one person who was especially shocked.

That’s right, the three hero party members who participated in the battle against the demons…And very strong demons.

I was just gaping at the soldier’s experience.

With great difficulty, Princess Es opened her mouth and spoke.

“No… This is ridiculous… Just one person trampled thousands of soldiers? At least the Four Heavenly Kings… No, there are more than that…!!”

“But… It’s true! While the soldiers were in confusion due to that one person, monsters and demons attacked… We fell without even having a chance to launch a joint attack.”

“That can’t be possible…There were still such strong demons left…?”

Saint Ciela also had a white-faced expression.

The fight against the devil’s army.

Although they mostly just watched or assisted, they also participated in the fight.

That’s why they also knew how strong the top-level demons, including the Four Heavenly Kings, were.

…I could definitely say that.

If it weren’t for the warrior Hans, they would never have been able to defeat them.

So this situation was very dangerous.

“Has the surviving powerful demons rallied the remnants…?”

“This isn’t normal… If there are such powerful demons, wouldn’t the surrounding cities be dangerous…?”

“Your Highness, we must focus our efforts on defending the surrounding cities rather than recapturing Harbilitz!”

Naturally, various opinions emerged from nobles who recognized the seriousness of the situation.

If there was one thing that the opinions had in common, it was that the recapture of Harbilitz should be given up first.

With the enemy being this strong, there was a high possibility that it would not end with Harbilitz alone.

“Ah… I understand. First, let’s go in the direction of dispatching the National Guard to Ordis and Madeleine around Harbilitz, and then…”

Prince Freud coordinates the opinions of the nobles and devises a plan.

He is a man who likes to show off and have fun with women, but as the crown prince, he was dutifully educated, so he continued the discussion while hiding his agitation.

Then, a nobleman shouted.

“Your Highness, is there one thing you don’t mind?”

“Hmm? You clearly…”

“This is Count Railof, who is currently working in the military department. I participated on behalf of the absent general.”

The absent general was General Furius.

General Furius was leading the force that recaptured Harbylitz, so it was highly likely that he would have been killed.

However, since the transcription had not yet been confirmed, it was expressed as ‘absent’.

“Yes, Count Railof. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Yes, actually, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to dispatch His Majesty’s wives to defend the city.”

At those words, the expressions of the three women, including the crown prince, hardened.

However, without noticing the change in their expressions, Count Railof continued to speak.

“The three of you are heroes who defeated the demon kings, including the Four Heavenly Kings, along with the warriors of the past. If such people join us in the defense battle, not only will we be able to boost the morale of the soldiers, but we may be able to intercept the demons, right?”

“Indeed, these three are definitely the heroes of the Great War a year ago! If you fight together, I can’t be more reassuring than this!”

“The fact that the three of you are currently in the empire wasn’t literally guided by the goddess?”

At Count Railof’s words, the surrounding nobles also nodded and agreed.

As the nobles talked about the three men’s expedition in excited voices, the crown prince secretly turned his gaze towards them.

Unsurprisingly, all three people had white faces and were trembling slightly.

The crown prince sighed inwardly.

The crown prince also knew.

They only assisted the hero in the fight against the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King, but it was the hero who actually defeated them.

It must be difficult for them to go head-to-head in a fight against an opponent who might be at the level of the Four Heavenly Kings or higher.

And there was something the crown prince did not know.

In fact, they were of little help, let alone assistance.

“Your Majesty Rain! Could you please come forward?”

Following the nobles, public opinion was forming among ministers that they should go to war.

On behalf of those women who could not answer right away, the crown prince opened his mouth.

“…I think it’s still too early for them to step forward. Let’s look at the situation first.”

“But if something happens, it’s too late!”

“Quiet! It has not yet been confirmed whether the annihilation of the recapturing army is true. For now, the formation of the National Guard is enough.”

Afterwards, nobles raised objections, but the crown prince stubbornly ignored them.

In the end, when the nobles left without being able to erase their dissatisfied expressions, the crown prince sighed.

Only the crown prince and her three wives remained in the throne room.

After a moment of heavy silence, Prince Freud opened her mouth.

“…Didn’t you say that the hero killed all the dangerous demons?”

“I…I guess so…I must have seen with my own eyes the warriors being executed as they toured all the occupied areas.”

The crown prince held his head at Es’s words.

However, the crown prince soon relaxed his expression and smiled bitterly.

“…But there is one person, and only one person. There is a chance of victory if we just deal with that powerful demon. It’s not like the demon lord came back alive.”

The crown prince said this as if to reassure himself.

From that day on, the National Guard was organized in Ordis and Madeleine, cities adjacent to occupied Harbilitz, and work was done to strengthen the walls and build moats.

However, a few days after strengthening the defense, the crown prince received unbelievable news.

“Then, I will also go after the master!”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Rune.”

After fighting against a large punitive force in Harbilitz, a mountain of corpses and wounded were collected.

After the recovery was over, the surviving soldiers were taken prisoner and their bodies were burned with magic and disposed of in a demonic manner.

Zikrune, who had stayed in Harbilitz while participating in the battle, was about to leave Harbilitz while receiving greetings from the demons he had been with for a few days.

In the first place, Zikrune decided to fight together in Harbilitz only for a short time.

After the occupation of Harbilitz, the Four Guardian Kings, Frey, who was scheduled to come to Harbilitz immediately, was delayed due to unavoidable circumstances, causing some problems in the Harbilitz defense line.

In this situation, the timing coincided with Zikrune’s desire to participate in the battle.

In addition to Zikrune’s request, Ruri also asked the hero to borrow Zikrune for a while, so they could fight together for a while.

And after one battle, the Four Heavenly Kings Frey arrived in Harbilitz.

That’s why Zikrune also left, following the heroes Hans and Rossweisse, who had left for the Republic first.

“Thank you again from my side. Mr. Rune, I was wondering what to do if the ship had trouble en route…”

“No, I was happy that I was able to fight satisfactorily!”

Fray, a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, bowed his head and expressed his gratitude.

Then, after a while, she took out a package from her arms.

“And wouldn’t you please pass this on to the hero?”

“Huh? What is this?”

“…This is something the Demon King is sending to the hero. I heard you were in Harbilitz, so I brought it here.”

Originally, this would have been delivered directly to the hero upon arrival before he left.

But since the warrior had already set off first, Frey left it to Zikrune.

She nodded her head and pushed her package into her arms.

“Then Rune, let’s meet again sometime! Say hello to the hero!”

“Okay! Take care! Ruri!”

Zikrune leaves Harbilitz, greeted by a succubus and a vampire.

She tied the large halberd she had received as a souvenir on her back and set out alone.

Nevan City, west of the empire.

It is a medium-sized city that is essential to stop by when going to Al-Hait Republic.

When I arrived there, I presented a fake status card with my name changed to the soldier checking.

“The name is Leor, a merchant… Who is the girl there?”

“Ah…This way…”

“I’m your wife~”

Rossweisse is holding his arms tightly and holding his body close.

Seeing that, the soldier chuckled and returned the status card.

“Did you come to Nevan to do business? I guess I don’t have much luggage for something like that.”

“hahahaha, actually, I’m planning to buy some goods from Alhait Republic.”

“Aha, well, if you want to go from the Empire to the Republic, you must stop by Nevan.”

I asked the soldier, who seemed to understand the reason given, as if he deliberately did not understand.

“But it looks like the inspections have become much tighter. What’s going on?”

“Ah… We don’t know, but orders have been given to strengthen inspections on merchants…”

The soldier scratched the back of his head and continued to open his mouth and speak.

“Really…No one is as noisy during inspections as merchants…Why on earth was this order given…”

“hahahaha, thank you for your hard work…”

“Well, this is our job. We can’t help it.”

I waved to the soldier who waved to me and wished me a good trip, and passed through the gate.

“…Hey, Rossweisse? How long do you plan on sticking around?”

“Huh? It doesn’t matter~”

No, it does matter.

I’m really worried because something soft touches my arm.

I somehow managed to shake off Rossweisse, who was still close to me with my arms crossed, and looked around the city.

「It’s peaceful.」

“…That’s right.”

As Reinforce said, the inside of the city was peaceful.

People walking around the city, and street vendors seen here and there.

It was a peaceful cityscape itself, something I often see whenever I visit any city these days.

The city to the east, directly opposite, may be completely different, but it seems that the situation in the east has not yet been conveyed to the west.

Or they are deliberately controlling the news so that it does not reach here.

Anyway, I didn’t plan on staying in Navan for long.

I was about to hurry on my way to leave for Alhait Republic immediately.

Boom!

“Oh, be careful there.”

“S-sorry!”

A boy in shabby clothes was running from the opposite direction and bumped into me.

At first glance, it looked like he had been starving due to his skinny body and gaunt face.

…Well, there are bound to be poor people in any city.

Somehow, I couldn’t leave it alone.

“You there, wait a minute.”

“Yes…Yes?”

“I have to leave my wallet behind.”

No matter how starving the child was, I couldn’t just leave him alone and run away with my wallet.