No Need to Fear, Hero of the Chicken Heart ♡
Just don’t be scared, Hero of the Chicken Heart♡
Chapter 30
It had been a full week since I was stuffed into the temple as a squatter. Finally, the Saint’s mark had arrived from the Papal Court. The Saint summoned me and Cloe, then led us to the Cardinal’s office.
“Is this where we finally leave?”
“Yes, that’s right. We can’t stay in the temple forever, can we?”
...I wanted to stay.
I wanted to live here as a squatter. I didn’t want to be the Hero.
While I was daydreaming about that, the Saint smiled with her eyes and said,
“We have to go, Hero♡”
“...Yes.”
...I’m scared.
The Saint was wearing her black priestess robes today as usual. I heard there was no white one sized for her, so there was no choice. But since the Saint had black hair, this black one actually suited her better.
“Welcome, Your Holiness. And Hero and your companions too.”
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
Cloe seemed quite tense about meeting the Cardinal. After all, the Cardinal was a high-ranking official...
“The mark?”
“Here it is, Your Holiness.”
Cardinal Antonio smiled faintly at the Saint and pulled out something glittering from his pocket. It was a bracelet decorated with a transparent gem that sparkled like glass.
“...Diamond!?”
“No, Hero.”
“Ah.”
...I thought it was diamond because it was so transparent and shiny. Then what was it?
“It’s a mark made of the mineral known as heliolite. It shows that the one wearing it is the Saint of the Solaria Church.”
“I see.”
...What was heliolite?
At that moment, Cloe was surprised beside me.
“Heliolite, you say? It’s not as famous as diamonds, but this is still a rare gem, Hero.”
“R-really?”
“It’s a special ore that can absorb sunlight, so it’s used in magic tools.”
“It absorbs sunlight? How interesting.”
There must be moonstone that absorbs moonlight too! Haha!
...Is it really there?
The Saint took the mark from Cardinal Antonio and thanked him. The Cardinal then asked the Saint and us,
“Are you leaving immediately?”
“Yes, that’s what we intend to do.”
“I see.”
The Cardinal crossed himself and offered a prayer.
“May bright sunlight shine upon your travels.”
The Saint replied with a blessing, and Cloe and I bowed respectfully. After the Saint and Cloe left the office first, I followed them out. But Cardinal Antonio called me back.
“Hero.”
“Yes?”
“Please ensure the Saint does not exert herself too much.”
“...Huh? What do you mean?”
Was he saying not to use Holy Spirit?
“I wasn’t asking you not to use Holy Spirit in the first place. You just use it naturally...”
“No, not that. It’s the power used to purify Cloe.”
“...Ah.”
The thing that made my hair turn red?
“Is there a problem with using it often?”
“Yes, there is.”
“...Does something happen?”
Could it be... like shortening lifespan? That would be too cliché. If it really is that, it’s cliché but unfortunate.
But the words that came from Cardinal Antonio were surprisingly different.
“The Saint will gradually grow weaker.”
“Yes?”
The Saint would grow weaker?
“She will permanently lose the divine power she carries in her body. For someone born with divinity to lose divine power, it also means something is wrong with her health. Please be careful.”
...There was such a problem?
If the Saint grew weaker, that was absolutely unacceptable. Who would kill the monsters for her then?
“I’ll be careful.”
“It would be best to awaken the Holy Sword as quickly as possible.”
“The Holy Sword?”
“Once the Holy Sword is fully awakened, you’ll be able to restore people who have been turned into monsters by mutation stones back to their original forms, just like the Saint.”
The Holy Sword has such a function?
“Do other Holy Swords have that too?”
“...It’s possible only because Abel the Hero’s Holy Sword is the Holy Sword of Order. It’s fortunate that someone by the Saint’s side is the Hero.”
The Holy Sword of Order is supposedly difficult to awaken its ego, so it must have something special.
I’ll have to awaken it soon. I’m also curious about the ego sword.
I thanked the Cardinal for his advice and bowed politely.
“Thank you for the advice, Your Highness.”
“It’s nothing. The one who should thank you is me.”
“Why would Your Highness...?”
“You have made the Saint very happy. I could feel a lot of joy from her.”
“...Hmm.”
Haha, she was having fun while teasing me.... Damn it.
Conversation had gone on too long, and I heard Cloe calling for me.
“Hero~! What are you doing~?”
“Then I’ll go first.”
“I look forward to seeing you again soon.”
#
We boarded the carriage provided by the temple and headed toward the border region. Of course, people need to ride something to travel. After a while without walking, this felt so comfortable and good.
Thud!
“Ouch.”
“Oh♡ Hero, you’re going to become as dumb as a gorilla if you keep doing that~♡”
...Everything else was fine. Except these occasional head bumps. Fortunately, the body I had transmigrated into didn’t get motion sickness. Head bumps plus motion sickness would have been real torture.
“Your Holiness, when we reach the border region, are there any things we need to be careful about?”
“Hero asking such a nutritious question, the sun would rise in the west~♡”
“...So there is?”
“Mm~♡ Just act like Cloe isn’t a foreigner. That’s all.”
“It’s the border region. Aren’t there any risks of monsters appearing?”
Probably not as many monsters outside the country as inside. Thinking that, the Saint shook her head.
“That’s not true. There are quite a few monsters living in the neutral zone between borders, and sometimes monsters try to cross over. But they periodically exterminate them, so monsters above middle-class are mostly gone. Middle-class monsters are handled well enough by the border guards.”
“I see.”
She spoke smoothly. As expected, the Monster Encyclopedia.
“As long as no upper-class monsters pop out, there won’t be anything too dangerous. So don’t be scared, Hero of the Chicken Heart♡”
...What’s wrong with preparing in advance, you brat?
The carriage took us through relay stations and dropped us at the border checkpoint facing the Minerva Kingdom.
“Wow, so many people.”
It wasn’t as crowded as Thracian, but still, quite a few people were lined up in front of the checkpoint to cross the border.
I was admiring the crowd when the Saint suddenly popped up beside me and smiled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re cute~♥ People looking at it in surprise is so adorable♡”
“...Don’t tease me.”
You’re the one who’s adorable!
...No, there’s another adorable one next to me.
“...? Hero, why do you look at me like that?”
“...I was just looking.”
“Your eyes had a hint of malice....”
...Why does my intuition like this so much. Is this what women’s intuition is?
“Originally, so many people pass through the border?”
“This is the gateway to the Minerva Kingdom. The three countries of the Mars Empire, Minerva Kingdom, and Vesta Kingdom originally have a lot of exchanges. Idiot♡ How didn’t you know that? Did you not study when you were in school~♡”
“...I didn’t go to school.”
“...Eek.”
In reality I didn’t know. How could I know if this body had gone to school or not?
But if I said I went to school, I’d become someone who doesn’t know anything despite having gone. So I just said I didn’t.
And a country bumpkin like me going to school? I probably didn’t even get proper elementary education. Looking at how I can’t read the letters, that’s obvious.
The Saint said with an apologetic look.
“...I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Feeling a bit sorry, the Saint fidgeted beside me and cautiously spoke to me.
“...Hero, I’ll teach you how to read when we cross the border.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
“Really really?”
“Yes, really really.”
“...What are you two doing?”
Cloe’s tone of disbelief snapped me and the Saint back to reality. Cloe stared at us for a moment, then suddenly clung to me.
“...Cloe?”
“I can teach you how to read too!”
“Wait, that’s my role! Who gave you the right to claim you’re the teacher!”
“It’s my heart~!”
Cloe and the Saint immediately started arguing again.
...Stop fighting, you crazy girls.
“...Even if you don’t teach me how to read, there’s something I wanted to ask Cloe.”
“Huh?...Me? What do you want to ask?”
“Mana.”
Rune characters. So, Chinese characters. I know a lot of Chinese characters, but I don’t know how to handle mana. I’ve never done it.
If I had mana, could I draw Chinese characters and cast magic?
So I was going to ask Cloe if she felt mana from me. If she did, I planned to learn the usage and rune characters from her.
“Can you feel mana from me?”
“Yes? Of course you have mana, Hero. Because you’re the Hero.”
“...?”
The Hero obviously can use it?
Thinking about it, back when Elfride was fighting monsters, she was flying through the sky. That wasn’t the Holy Sword’s power, it was mana’s power.
“Uh... Then how do you use rune characters?”
“You draw the rune characters in the air with mana. Like gathering mana on your fingertips....”
...What does that even mean. If I say ‘you can do it,’ I’ll get yanked by the ear.
“You two, finish up to there and come here. You can learn after crossing the border.”
“Oh, okay.”
“...Too bad. I’ll teach you later, Hero!”
“...Yeah.”
I’m glad she doesn’t say anything shitty when teaching.
...I’m not going to learn from the Saint and always get told I’m lacking, am I?
I joined the long line behind the Saint. All these people were trying to cross the border. There were a lot.
“...Eh?”
What was that door? Besides the iron gate people were still going through, there was another gilded door beside it. But the door was tightly shut and no one was using it. There wasn’t even a line there.
“Your Holiness, Your Holiness.”
“You can hear me even if you call once, Hero♡ Or did you want to call twice on purpose~♡ I had no choice if that’s what you like♡”
...What are you saying, you crazy brat.
“...Why isn’t anyone using that door?”
“Ah~♡ That door? That one is....”
“It’s called the Golden Gate!”
When I asked the Saint, Cloe beside me answered first.
The Saint narrowed her brows at Cloe, who completely ignored the look.
...It seems like the only strange woman around here is me.
“What is the Golden Gate?”
“It’s the entrance only royals and nobles like can use.”
...A dirty noble society.
“But you and the Saint can use that door.”
“Huh? We’re not nobles. Nor is the Saint.”
“Even if you’re not nobles, the Saint of the Church and the Hero of this era can use the Golden Gate. Since the Hero and Saint are treated as nobility no matter which country you go to.”
“Then why...?”
When I looked at the Saint, she gave a simple answer.
“To prevent noise from reaching you. And because I have to cross the border with Cloe.”
“Noise?”
“Previous heroes were nobles before you. So using the Golden Gate was no problem for them. But you’re different. Although you’re the Hero, some nobles might not like it if a commoner uses the Golden Gate. To avoid trouble with nobles, we prevent it beforehand.”
“I see.”
She was worrying about me. And about taking Cloe.
“...I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
“...It’s not like that. Even if Cloe weren’t here, I wasn’t planning to use the Golden Gate with you. So you don’t have to apologize.”
Cloe seemed a bit surprised by what the Saint said. Even if she spoke like an idiot, she was secretly kind. I was the same.
With so many people trying to cross, the line took a long time to shorten. After waiting about two hours, the summit finally came into view.
“We’ll be next after three more.”
“Oh, finally.”
“I want to go quickly. I’m tired of waiting~.”
Cloe squatted on the ground and whined. She really was like a little kid.
“Just hold on a little longer, Cloe.”
“Can’t you pick me up, Hero?”
“No.”
“Mean.”
I’m tired too, you brat.
“...Hey, that...”
“Shit, hurry and report to headquarters.”
The border soldiers started making a commotion. What were they looking at?
“Close the gate! Entry is sealed!”
They had serious expressions and began closing the gate. Wait, if they close it, how do we leave?
Then, from the gap where the gate hadn’t closed yet, a front leg resembling a lion’s came out, and everyone who saw it panicked.
“U-uh ah! It’s a monster!”
“What?”
“A monster!?”
“R-run! Hurry!!”
...It’s a monster?
Crack! The sound of the gate breaking came. And just like planned, the gate didn’t hold and was pierced right through.
“...Tch.”
The monster that appeared was huge. With its massive size, lion head and paws, goat body and goat heads on its torso, and a tail that was a snake with a head, it was a bizarre monster.
Someone who had read children’s textbooks and Greek-Roman myth comics in the past could only know its name.
“...Chimera.”