Nuclear Bomb
"She was someone we were truly grateful for. When she asked for help, she threw herself into the fray without hesitation, risking her life."
"Yeah, that's right. It was an incredible battle. She swung her sword once, and the mountain split in two."
"Her name? I think it was... Sisilia. Yeah, Sisilia."
The hero party—Ruby and her companions—listened to the villagers' tales in stunned silence.
...What the hell has Sisilia been up to?
Her name echoed everywhere they went. They'd deliberately stuck to remote rural areas, yet it kept coming up relentlessly.
Sisilia had clearly said, "Come to Carmot after saving people in crisis..."
But every place she'd passed through had been turned into demon wastelands. Thanks to that, all they'd done so far was menial chores like cleaning bathrooms and fetching water from wells.
"I dunno what this is about, but once we're done here, I'm heading out. Met a cute girl earlier."
"Are you an animal?"
"I hate guys with glasses. They'd probably demand double the money if I hit 'em."
Even the party members were a bit off. One was a punk who still looked like a middle schooler, the other a narcissistic med student.
"Ruby, I wanna go to the magic shop, so gimme money."
"W-we're all gonna die. We're all gonna die..."
A mage obsessed with money to an eerie degree, and Sia who trembled at everything. Sia was at least cute, so that helped...
Ruby was confident she could boldly declare that traveling with these people was hell.
I miss Sisilia...
With those gloomy thoughts, Ruby decided to head to the next territory.
"We did make some progress, though... Shall we try the next territory? There are magic shops in Carmot too."
They'd done what they could along Sisilia's recommended route. Most threats had already been cleared by her, but oddly(?), they still claimed the subjugation rewards.
Thanks to that, they were definitely stronger now, giving them something to report.
Alright. Carmot's not far now. Can't wait to meet her and get some praise.
On the way to Carmot by rented carriage, Ruby's group encountered a man.
"I was traveling with my daughter when thieves stole our carriage."
He wore a black tailcoat, accompanied by a young girl.
"Mind if we travel together just until our paths align?"
"Mister. That hat looks ridiculous. No way it'd attract any girl's attention. Calling yourself 'Ada' at your age? Embarrassing."
Ruby gladly accepted the man's proposal. He introduced himself as Cain.
Cain was handsome—very handsome. From a former idol's eye, he'd be cast as an actor rather than a singer. Of course, after seeing so many good-looking people in Liannen, it wasn't that shocking.
-For reference, even Ruby had been mesmerized staring at Edward when they first met.-
What stood out was that Cain looked similar to Ruby's group.
Like East Asians. No matter how I look at him.
Maybe that's why his looks hit harder? Edward felt like a sculpture, but Cain's appeal was more relatable.
Seeing Jay pick fights out of jealousy confirmed it wasn't just Ruby's imagination.
"My daughter picked the clothes. Guess they weren't great."
"Oh, no wonder they looked cool."
Jay, failing to get his digs in, huddled in the carriage corner. It suddenly hit him that a guy with a daughter couldn't possibly be "Ada."
Ruby awkwardly smiled at the scene.
"Y-you must've been flustered, traveling with your daughter and running into trouble like that."
"Thanks to it, I made some good connections. It's fine."
Something's off. Why...?
Ruby glanced at her arm, struck by an inexplicable foreboding.
The girl was licking her arm. Repeatedly.
"Gasp."
Ruby jolted in shock.
"H-hi? Little miss."
"Hi, sis."
"...N-not scary?"
"Yeah. It was super scary. Hug me."
"O-okay."
Ruby pulled the girl between her legs for a hug. Her body stiffened.
...Cold.
The girl's skin was shockingly cold. Like she wasn't from this world.
Then, the girl looked up with transparent silver eyes.
"Sis's hand is cold."
"Ah. S-sorry."
Oh, my hand's the cold one.
Ruby apologized, pressing her hand to her cheek. The chilly weather had made it ice-cold.
"Where are you all headed?"
"To Carmot. Meeting someone there."
"What a coincidence. We're going there to meet someone too."
"Really? Great. We'll escort you safely until then."
"You seem pretty confident in your skills."
"Haha, confident... or rather, I have to be. We're actually adventuring to take down the Four Heavenly Kings."
Cain smiled faintly.
"I see. That must be a tough journey."
It was tough. For Ruby, it was a nonstop nightmare beyond imagination.
What if I hadn't been summoned here?
Even positively, it wouldn't have been good. A failed idol's end was brutally harsh—especially tangled in a suicide scandal.
But Ruby sometimes wondered. What lay at the journey's end? What happened after killing the Demon King?
Does becoming a real hero put me above Sisilia...? Nah, probably not. Or like a cliché, I go back to my original world?
Ruby smiled bitterly. Even if that chance came, she didn't want to return.
Unless I could take Sisilia to Earth.
Ruby chuckled at her own silly thought. But she kept imagining. It was a survival tip in medieval times—daydream or time dragged.
What if Sisilia appeared in Korea...
-What's your panty color?!
-No manners? Execution.
A few rude reporters would definitely die first.
-You have the right to remain silent...
-If it's the right to rule this country, I'll use it now.
Sisilia becomes Korea's president.
-300% tariffs!
-Tariffs...? You're the ones going in coffins—why should I pay taxes?
Sisilia, clueless about that stuff, assassinates the US president.
-This is Black Hawk. Black Hawk. Coordinates confirmed. Permission to use.
Missiles and nukes fly, world ends in chaos.
Something like that, right?
Ruby's eyes sparkled.
Sounds like it'd be hilarious.
As Ruby indulged in pointless fantasies—night fell.
"We'll camp nearby tonight."
They spotted a cave and decided to spend the night there. A month-plus into adventuring, their setup was efficient.
"...Ruby. Enemy ahead. Some kinda monster I've never seen."
Just as they finished, they sensed approaching presences—demons drawn by the noise.
The hero party synced up to fight the monster. It crumbled to ash, but it wasn't easy.
"Used all my mana healing Jay."
Jay and Ruby were injured. Jay's wounds were severe, leaving Ian low on mana.
Ruby forced a smile.
"Can't be helped. We'll tough it out. Smart monster smashed the potions first..."
"No. We can't just tough it out. Doesn't even need mana to treat."
Ian pushed up his glasses and fetched bandages and medicine.
"It's just a light incised wound anyway. ER would stitch it in five minutes."
"In... what?"
"...Weren't you an idol? Can't even handle that English?"
"...Cough. Didn't do much in the US."
"Absolute legend. Means a laceration."
Luckily, with remaining mana, Ian could stitch it up. He treated Ruby's wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it.
"Rest tomorrow morning when mana recovers."
A bit of a jerk, but yeah—healer's essential in a party.
Ruby grinned, forgetting the pain.
"Thanks. Might be the only useful one in this party."
"...Ruby?"
Ariana looked a tad hurt. But Jay behind her openly sneered.
"Why the face, you hack mage who collapses after one fireball?"
"...It was Hellfire, not Fireball? And I'm a top-tier mage!"
For reference, Ariana collapsed from exhaustion after one high-tier spell. She'd cast flashy magic this time too, but a minor coordinate glitch made it miss—leaving Ruby to handle most demons solo.
Jay, with barely any combat skills, just got banged up.
...Sisilia believes in us, but if this were a college group project, I'd resent them.
Practically carrying dead weight solo.
Clap clap.
Then came light footsteps and small applause.
The girl approached clapping innocently. Cain followed with a somehow cold expression.
"Such a cool party with real personality...! Right? Right? M-Ma—no, Cain."
"...Don't use casual speech."
Ruby felt a bit embarrassed. But the girl's eyes sparkled even in the dark night.
Ruby took comfort there.
We're a ragtag mess who can't even handle one monster properly, but maybe we look cool to a kid and a regular adult guy.
Then Cain, standing beside Ruby, spoke.
"...That was truly impressive. Lost for words."
"We're a hero party, after all."
Ruby puffed up instantly. Cain chuckled softly.
"I see."
As Ruby beamed and looked up—her eyes caught a puddle by chance.
The girl's reflection in it caught her eye.
A face she'd seen before. No—unforgettable.
How had she not realized sooner?
The girl in the puddle was—the demon from the tutorial.
Color drained from Ruby's face.
"What a disappointment."
Darkness fell.
Not natural darkness, but one that shouldn't exist.
The air turned shockingly cold. And heavy.
"Does Sisilia Windsor call this a hero party?"
Ruby instinctively lunged toward Ian.
Kwachuk!
Two black spears stabbed precisely where they'd stood.
Ruby yelled urgently. The staff Sisilia gave Ariana had emergency magic.
"Ariana!"
"...Sorry."
But Ariana just sweated coldly, fingers frozen.
"Can't move."
Kwachuk!
A chilling sound made Ruby whip her head around.
"...!"
Jay was dead.