Is It Just My Imagination?
I'd known for a while that the heroes had a communication network among themselves.
Unlike the current generation, the heroes of the past each had their own parties—but that never meant they refused to cooperate. Sometimes they competed. Sometimes they joined forces. Either way, they faced monsters and demonkin together.
Past heroes mostly stayed in touch through messenger birds, crystal orbs, or by gathering at outposts they visited often. This generation, though, was different.
Something. There's something there.
They didn't use messenger birds. They didn't use magical crystal orbs that could reach across continents. They didn't use telepathy or transmission magic, either.
And yet the heroes could communicate anytime, anywhere, simply by staring into empty air—without spending a single drop of mana.
I'd asked my disciples about it before. All they ever did was exchange awkward looks and insist, "It's the Goddess's power!"
"It's a really convenient ability. Nothing like this existed in the past."
"...Yes. It is quite convenient."
"So what is it?"
"An ability bestowed by the Goddess. It lets you communicate with fellow heroes—people in the same situation as you—anytime, anywhere."
"I don't sense any mana from it at all."
"Doesn't that just prove how incredible the Goddess is? Of course, you're incredible too, Lady Lea..."
"Hmm... enough of the flattery."
I nodded. No matter how much that old hag whined or how pathetic she looked, she was still a goddess of this world—a transcendent being who could grant power to thousands of heroes to stand against the Demon King, the enemy of the world itself. Creating a private communication space only heroes could access? Sure. That was well within her reach.
I yawned without much concern and stretched long and hard. I still had some time. Maybe I'd sleep for about three days.
"Ugh...! So."
"Yes?"
"What's it called? And how do you use it?"
"......"
"Why so quiet?"
"...Everyone calls it something different. You write what you want to say in a virtual space, and it gets delivered to the intended recipient."
"Really? From what I've seen, it delivers almost instantly."
"Because it's the Goddess's power."
Evan nodded with a somewhat stiff expression as he said it. Even just hearing the description, the ability felt incredibly familiar. Had I used something like this somewhere before?
"Hmm..."
"......"
"Hmmm..."
"Would you mind taking a look at me as well?"
"What?"
"I may not look it, but I'm the sole hero who possesses two cores and has been granted a knighthood. Since you're already teaching the knights, how about teaching me too?"
Whoosh!
Evan drew a training sword and requested a spar. I set my questions aside for the moment and took out a wooden sword of my own.
"Ah, stop! Time out for a second!"
"Time out, my foot."
And then I thoroughly beat him up.
Clang!
"Too slow!"
"Ugh..."
Clang! Screeech...!
"I said too slow."
"I am going fast...!"
"Still too slow."
It had been about a month since I'd started overseeing Adela and the knights' training. Adela and I were exchanging blows with unsharpened blades. Airi's sword was far too much for her, so I'd forbidden its use for the time being. In a real fight she'd have to use it no matter how it turned out—but there was no reason to bring an overpowered weapon into training.
Thud!
"Gah!"
"Your side was open."
"A kick is—"
"I told you to account for everything."
Adela staggered back, clutching her side where my kick had landed. There she went, wobbling again.
"Fragile. Way too fragile."
"...It's because you're strong, Fire Dragon."
"I'm holding back. Holding back."
"You're still strong."
"Hmph."
I was already putting serious effort into not cutting her. Even with a dull blade, one wrong move could easily turn Adela into A-dela. The reason I wasn't using a wooden sword was to keep Airi-style swordsmanship from destroying the weapon. Real enemies wouldn't be wandering around with wooden swords, after all. You could cover that by wrapping thicker mana around the blade, but there was no point sparring under such special conditions.
Crash!
After about an hour of getting thoroughly worked over, Adela collapsed face-down on the sparring ground.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
"Lying down now? Is this your bedroom?"
"...No."
"Then get up. Get up already."
"Urgh..."
Adela used her sword like a cane and pushed herself to her feet. Good. That was the fighting spirit I wanted to see. If she was going to just collapse the moment she got tired, she ought to quit being knight commander.
"Demonkin aren't going to go easy on you just because you're exhausted. Take every single moment seriously. Seriously."
"...That doesn't sound like something the Fire Dragon should say while eating candy."
"I don't have to be serious."
Munch munch.
I crunched down on a sweet marble candy and nodded along. If I got serious, Adela wouldn't last a second, let alone an hour. So this was a kind of consideration, really. Adela's expression grew complicated at those words—then she plopped straight down onto the floor.
"Oh?"
"...I have one question."
"What is it?"
"Don't you teach this kind of training to the heroes—to your disciples?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"They're not ready yet."
Sparring only worked with kids who could already walk and run to some degree. Sparring with toddlers who'd just started taking their first steps was completely pointless.
"That's why I sent them out to grow a bit. But they keep doing useless stuff."
"Useless stuff?"
"They keep looking for me. They should be training in that time."
"...In that case, what about bringing them here?"
"Huh?"
I'd come here specifically to avoid the heroes, and now she wanted to bring heroes in? I looked at her with open doubt, but Adela's eyes were firm.
"Setting other heroes aside, the one named Haring has potential. If she trains here, not only will her Airi-style swordsmanship improve—her skills as a hero will rise considerably as well."
"What if a bunch of heroes come swarming in?"
"Don't worry. This is the Legion royal castle. Anyone who causes a disturbance will be locked in the dungeon for a minimum of three months, up to several years."
"Hmm..."
Well... it might not be bad. I was already looking after Evan from time to time, so one more like Haring shouldn't be a problem. If she caused a ruckus or spilled anything outside, I could just kick her out then.
"Fine. I'll tell Evan to call her over."
"Yes. Then I'll take charge of Hero Haring's training. I will definitely make her worthy of the name of the Fire Dragon's disciple."
"You suddenly look happy."
"You're imagining things."
After finishing training with Adela, I called out Evan, who was practicing among the apprentice knights. He held a knighthood, but only because of his special status as a hero. He was still weak, with plenty left to learn, so he trained right alongside the apprentices.
"Yes! Fire Dragon! What is it?"
"I want to call Haring over."
"Pardon?"
"You can contact them, right? Do you know the exact situation with my disciples?"
"I know to some extent."
"What are they all doing?"
I gave Evan a moment. He turned his gaze this way and that through empty air. After about three minutes, he spoke.
"Currently, only Haring, Nya-nya, and Yugi are still looking for you, Lady Lea. The rest have essentially stopped searching."
"Why?"
"Well, you've been missing for four months, so they've probably given up?"
"Good for them."
You needed to know when to quit if something wasn't working. If they kept chasing after me like they had separation anxiety, they'd fall behind—and they wouldn't catch a single demonkin, let alone become legion commanders. I crossed my arms, nodded, and looked at Evan.
"Then contact only Haring in secret. Tell her to come alone."
"Yes. Understo— wait a moment."
"?"
Evan went silent again. It was oddly frustrating, but I waited.
"Ah... it might not work?"
"Why?"
"Haring and Nya-nya. The two of them have been searching together for four months. If one drops out, the other will notice immediately."
"Hmm..."
I pondered for a moment. Two people. Two people... Adela would look after Haring. For Nya-nya, maybe a royal mage could take over? There had to be at least one royal mage who could teach her. Nya-nya always picked things up fast once she received proper instruction.
"Fine. Call both of them."
"What about Yugi?"
"Leave him."
Something about him was creepy, and I didn't like it. If all three had been stuck together, I'd have had no choice but to call him too—but that wasn't the case. Evan said he understood and focused on empty air again. Normally I would have waited patiently, but after intensively training Adela today, I was oddly tired. I wanted to finish this quickly and go sleep...
"Done?"
"Uh. I'm receiving a reply no— done. Got a reply from Haring. She says she'll come right away without telling anyone."
"And Nya-nya?"
"When I asked, she said they're currently separa— no, apart right now. She'll arrive in about twenty minutes."
"...Hmm."
"If you wait, she'll be here soon..."
"You could just tell Nya-nya directly."
"Uh, well, I'm not exactly close with her. Direct delivery doesn't work well..."
"......"
I roughly sat down in a chair and waited twenty minutes. Nya-nya never arrived, and contact couldn't be made. Evan looked awkward and glanced at me sideways.
"W-well, it shouldn't matter. Haring is close with Nya-nya. As long as she passes the message along properly..."
"Forget it. I'll try it myself."
"Pardon? This is exclusive to the heroes—"
"I was curious about it anyway. Let's see..."
I hopped lightly and grabbed at the empty air in the direction Evan had been looking. I couldn't sense any mana—but something was definitely there. Something formed by the Goddess's power that I didn't understand...
Crack-zzzt...!
"?"
I thought I'd just seen something.
"Is it just my imagination?"
"......"
"What's wrong?"