Recruiting the Perfect Newbie Hero
208. Windsor Knights HQ, Vice-Captain's Office.
Beatrice tensed up and swallowed hard at the appearance of this stranger.
"Some middle-aged creep tossed his cigarette out the window while I was delivering. I flipped him off in rage, and he chased me down. I bolted, crashed into something, and when I came to... I was here."
Sisilia's eyes sparkled as she listened to the cute newbie's vivid tale.
"It looked like you were under threat. How did things escalate to a fight with them?"
"No idea. They suddenly demanded I hand over everything if I didn't wanna die?"
Beatrice spoke quietly from the side. "There've been more crimes targeting tourists in the slums lately. She probably got caught up in that."
"Tough break."
Yeah, this newbie had one hell of a rough start. Getting summoned to an unfamiliar world and immediately running into a gang of about ten thugs? Anyone would panic.
But what was intriguing was that this newbie in front of her—
"Why'd you kill them? You could've just handed over your stuff."
—had killed people with the knife she carried. The wounds weren't exactly professional craftsmanship, but there was no hesitation in her strikes.
The newbie pointed to her own heart. "This was all I had."
She yawned, acting like it was no big deal. "They tried to kill me, so I killed them."
Beatrice's expression hardened at that line, but Sisilia smiled.
The story only made her like the girl more.
"So," the newbie said, crossing her arms and nodding toward Sisilia. When Sisilia tilted her head, she pointed at the plate in front of her. "Hand it over now. I told you everything honestly."
An apple pie sat on the plate.
Truth be told, they'd brought her here yesterday after she passed out and let her crash at Edward's mansion.
Edward hated it.
Come morning, she'd tried to bolt. Even when they asked to talk, all she gave back was the middle finger.
That's when Sisilia asked her favorite food, and she'd said apple pie.
That was why she was answering so diligently now.
Sisilia slid the plate over smoothly and kept questioning. "Name?"
"Jay."
"Age?"
"Dunno. The mom who dumped me never registered my birth. Got left at an orphanage late, so even God doesn't know for sure. But... roughly 19?"
Sh-She's older than me.
Sisilia's eyes blurred. The girl seemed like she'd grown up in the land of manners and propriety from the East. Revealing she was two years younger might weaken her leverage.
...But if I add my past life, I'm plenty old too.
She couldn't lie about her own age, so Sisilia decided to fudge Jay's instead. "You look 16."
"Huh? Eh, whatever works."
Jay shrugged indifferently and munched on the apple pie, sneaking glances at Sisilia the whole time. She stole peeks at Beatrice's chest now and then too.
"Ever played a game called Another World?"
"Game...? Tried the 'steal from the convenience store without getting caught' game once."
Brand new, perfect blank slate.
Shocking stuff, but Sisilia focused more on the fact she'd never played games.
Calming her excitement, Sisilia continued. "This is the Liannen Empire. You're a user summoned from another world. To give you the basics quick: right now, the Liannen Empire is at war with the Demon King's army... and the goddess's power is fading..."
Sisilia paused mid-sentence and smiled. "You listening?"
As Beatrice's shoulder twitched, Jay waved her pie around. "Dunno what any of that's about, but it won't change my life anyway. This pie's good, though. You hiring delivery folks?"
Sisilia smoothly snatched Jay's fork, stabbed a piece, and shoved it into her mouth. Jay's eyes widened in surprise as she chewed.
"It might."
"It... might?"
"Yeah. You could enjoy things you've never had before. Get everything you ever wanted."
Jay scowled. "Don't treat me like an idiot. I'm street-smart, y'know. This is that 'trust in the Lord' scam, right? Pretty girl chats you up outta nowhere? That's all it ever is. I'm just gonna eat this pie and bounce."
Exactly. Jay couldn't buy any of this situation, but the hardest to believe was that a girl as stunning as Sisilia was talking to her. Had to be an ulterior motive. Definitely some organ-harvesting cult yelling "trust in the Lord."
I'll play along and see.
She'd come along from the start for one reason: the apple pie.
Those kinds of groups always start nice, buying you stuff. Jay was a pro at eating their bribes and ghosting.
"Jay's smart."
"Took you long enough, dummy. Great pie, I'm out."
Jay turned to leave leisurely.
Beatrice was baffled. She'd seen plenty of users before, but this behavior pattern was a first.
"Too bad. I thought we could've been good friends. Guess we have to kill you now."
Jay froze mid-step. "What?"
"Murder's a capital offense."
Killing intent flickered in Jay's eyes. "And I've got enough social clout to pardon you."
He bolted right back and plopped onto the sofa. "Murder's the death penalty? You should've said that upfront! What do I gotta do?"
"See? Jay's smart."
...Not sure that's 'smart,' Sisilia ma'am.
Beatrice was dumbfounded.
Sisilia propped her chin, staring intently at Jay. Jay averted her eyes, embarrassed. It was her first time being this close to such a pretty girl.
"Become a hero, and I'll not only pardon your crimes but grant any wish."
"Hero...? What's that?"
Sisilia explained simply. "The one who kills the Demon King."
"Kill? You turning someone else into a murderer?"
"He's evil enough for it."
"Eh, fine. But I don't trust it. Never met an honest post-pay deal."
Sisilia nodded. "Then I'll give you a down payment."
Sisilia tilted her head. "What do you want?"
Jay answered without hesitation, a sleazy grin spreading. "Obviously."
"A woman. Make her pretty."
A heavy silence filled the vice-captain's office.
Beatrice finally snapped. "Lady Sisilia, your taste in people is hopeless."
She was already eyeing Jay like Jerryway. "He's trash on sight. Hero? Ridiculous."
"Yeah, I'm trash."
Jay didn't deny it. "You providing women means I'll hero up and fight for Liannen?"
Sisilia asked, and Jay grinned. "Let me hold her hand, and I'll risk my life."
Sisilia just smiled. "Jay's got great cost-performance."
She extended her hand for a shake.
"..."
Jay stared silently at Sisilia's hand. Tiny and delicate. From an insanely pretty girl.
But Jay couldn't take it. "...You're too much for me."
"?"
"Looking at you five seconds makes me dizzy. Hold your hand? Sorry, I know my place. Grab yours, and I'd die happy—literally."
Sisilia silently looked at Beatrice. Beatrice was too busy wondering if she was the weird one to react fast. This girl would risk her life over a handshake...?
"Her too. Boobs are too big, too intimidating."
Unique tastes in newbies.
Sisilia rubbed her chin, pondering seriously. She genuinely thought Jay fit as a hero, so she wanted to accommodate if possible.
Unique tastes... unique tastes?
If it was that, she could fill the bill.
Sisilia stepped out briefly, saying she'd be right back, then returned holding someone's hand.
It was Liliana.
"Wh-Why me...?"
"!"
Jay's eyes bulged as she shot to her feet, approaching Liliana in disbelief. "Whoa, total babe. Wait, bringing her right now? You mean—"
"Yes. As long as you both consent, do whatever. But only with Liliana. Touch another woman carelessly..."
Sisilia placed a finger on Jay's forehead with a cold smile. "Death penalty."
Jay didn't care about that at all. By her standards, Liliana was plenty pretty and cute. For a girl like this? She'd risk her life!
And so, while Sisilia was toying with the innocent newbie—
The Liannen central noble council was hastily convened. But since it involved some secrecy, only key figures were called.
"Tower Lord. Share what you've uncovered with everyone."
At Lydia's words, the tower lord sighed and read from his report.
"...Several hours ago, word from imperial field investigators."
Edward sensed something ominous and lowered his gaze.
"Detection of bizarre mana wave signature."
"...The subject is confirmed as Demon King Cain."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. They had to doubt their own ears.
If true, it was a catastrophe.
"C-Could it be a mistake?"
"...No. I wish it were, but it matches the waves from the civil war near Demon King Castle. Nothing else emits mana on that scale but the Demon King."
"Wh-What the hell? Why's the Demon King all the way in the empire?"
The nobles fell into chaos. Why? Why appear in the empire's remote west, farthest from Liannen?
What was the intent?
Either way, action was needed.
"Your Majesty! Dispatch the Windsor Knights to the empire at once. We're next after them!"
"Are you insane? Send Windsor there to get wiped out?!"
The meeting devolved into as much chaos as the situation.
Lydia dismissed them and returned to her office.
"Your Majesty, why not summon Lady Sisilia?"
"She'd grab her sword and charge the second she heard."
"...Fair point."
"You know this, Sir Erterion. We must be cautious this time."
It came right after the mess with the Holy Nation—too risky. Sure, the Demon King inflicted the fatal blow on the empire, but other nations couldn't fathom his existence. They didn't have Liannen's mana data on him.
...Which pointed to one possibility.
Lydia's instincts screamed it too.
Send Windsor to the empire as "aid," and—
World war erupts. So, is the Demon King's goal this time a global conflict?
Lydia bit her lip. In her reign—no, human history—the Demon King had never moved first.
A scheming Demon King.
She sensed brutal battles ahead.
Meanwhile, in Edward's office.
Edward raked back his blond hair roughly, piecing together his own theory.
"...The ambiguous location suggests he targeted that spot itself, but the Demon King wants more than that."
Simplest read: he'd moved to "eliminate someone." Another mana on Demon King level had been detected, after all.
But Edward couldn't shake a nagging dissonance.
Why did Sisilia's Ashumar subjugation flash in his mind?
Ashumar's fall was basically Sisilia solo. Sending her alone to the east wouldn't have changed the outcome.
"...Perhaps."
Edward broke into cold sweat at the worst-case scenario that flickered by.
"It could be a message."
Truth be told, he'd found it odd all along. Two Heavenly Kings down, yet no Demon King retaliation or all-out war.
Liannen's current state was even relaxed compared to past Demon Kings.
For this Demon King to move personally? It screamed warning.
"'Stay out of it'?"
The target of that warning was unmistakably the blatant irregularity: Sisilia.
Edward smirked, placing his hand on the table. Only after a long pause did he mutter with a self-deprecating smile.
"...Humiliating."
If his hypothesis held—
The Demon King had eyes only for Sisilia.
...Other figures weren't "threats."
That fact grated on Edward unbearably.