What Kind of Man Was Noah?
The mood in the Hero Party as they headed toward the Ashtar territory was utterly dismal. And for good reason—they had lost to Pector again. Worse, they had been completely outclassed by the Ashtar young lady. Of course, the Hero Party knew next to nothing about Olivia Ashtar. Still, it was hard to accept that a sheltered noblewoman from a greenhouse could be stronger than them, after all the battles they had fought against the Demon King’s army.
“No matter how you look at it, is it even possible for the Ashtar young lady to face Pector?” Eugene was especially shocked. Did that even make sense? How could a woman who had probably spent her days attending fancy tea parties be stronger than the Hero? No matter how much he had slacked off, this was ridiculous. He had spent years watching from behind Noah. He had learned a thing or two just by observing. And yet he was weaker than some noble girl? She was even a Saintess! She wasn’t even a combat class!
“It’s not impossible. After all, even the Light Sword is said to be capable of rivaling Pector with pure swordsmanship alone,” Noel offered.
It wasn’t impossible if one overcame human limits. She herself had already transcended humanity. Born in the worst land in the world and surrounded by people who could only be described as “dog-like,” she could understand it to some extent. Still, the idea that a noble young lady had done so was bizarre.
“Wait, that Ashtar young lady is from a noble family? Can someone really grow that strong?”
“Hey. Hero. You really shouldn’t assume everyone is as useless as you, you know?”
“What?”
Ella let out a deep sigh. Even she had wasted her time fooling around with this trash of a Hero and tarnishing her body, but she wasn’t completely ignorant. The Ashtar family was the greatest house in the Empire. Their reputation hadn’t lasted this long for nothing.
“The Ashtars have always possessed enormous mana vessels and exceptional physical abilities, making them one of the finest bloodlines in the Empire. Long ago, they were even nominated as the imperial family in place of the Armenia royal house.”
Even back in their nomadic days, they had possessed outstanding bodies and mana capacity.
“Still, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
“The real abnormality is a Hero who possesses the Holy Sword and still can’t even reach the Ashtar young lady’s level,” Noel shot back.
Eugene’s face twisted.
“Besides, she’s a Saintess. She must live up to the title.”
“Right. You said she was a Saintess.”
“Yes. You’re not having weird thoughts again, are you?”
Both Cyria and Ella were growing tired of Eugene. How long was he going to keep thinking with his lower half? Did he even plan on defeating the Four Heavenly Kings? This was getting ridiculous. Though this time, even Eugene felt unfairly treated.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Still, if she’s a Saintess, wouldn’t she help us against the Four Heavenly Kings?”
Logically, when the gap in skill was this obvious, it was natural to think she might lend a hand. That was how Eugene saw it. He couldn’t keep relying solely on the Holy Sword anymore. The Noah he had trusted was gone. The two who could actually fight were useless against a Heavenly King. Noel seemed somewhat useful as a mage, at least.
“Do you really think so?” Cyria asked skeptically.
“She’ll help. The Empire would suffer losses too.”
“That’s not the issue. Would anyone follow a Hero who lost to a Heavenly King? What exactly is trustworthy about him?”
The Empire would cooperate to oppose the Heavenly King since they would suffer damage as well. But that wasn’t the problem. Who would follow a Hero Party that had been pathetically defeated by a Heavenly King? No one. Now that the veil had been lifted, Cyria was so disgusted by the nights she had spent with this worthless Hero that she felt like she was going insane. Come to think of it, he was completely useless.
“Hey, do you have to phrase it like that?”
At this point, she should really stop.
“Am I wrong?”
“In normal adventurer life, people of the same gender fight as equals and cooperate. But when a female adventurer follows a male adventurer, it’s because she judges that he can protect her. That’s the reasoning.”
Wasn’t that a subtle jab? They themselves had trusted and followed him, and look where it got them. Would the young lady really follow them?
“Do women really want to be protected? If that’s the case, they should just stay home.”
“Are you even listening to yourself? And weren’t you the one saying you wanted the Ashtar young lady’s help? Why bring up staying home?”
Ella flared up at the Hero’s words. Who was the one who had coaxed her out of her forest home in the first place? How dare he say something like that.
“Anyway, I’m saying we should exclude that woman. We need to think rationally. Doesn’t it mean she’s strong enough to fight a Heavenly King? Noel, what do you think?”
“Ah, I’m against it.”
“Against?”
The Hero was surprised. He had expected Noel to be in favor.
“She would certainly be helpful against a Heavenly King. However, you must not forget that you are a representative of the Kingdom. The Empire is an ally to the Kingdom, but if an Empire-born noble—especially one from the prestigious Ashtar family—takes all the credit in place of the Hero, that would be problematic.”
“Hmm. That’s true, but…”
It was true that the Kingdom had only received help from the Empire so far. In such a situation, bringing in the Ashtar young lady—who belonged to a noble faction rather than the Seven Stars tied to the alliance against the Demon King—would cause issues for the Kingdom. It might be fine for the Hero personally, but it would become a political problem. As a citizen of the Kingdom, if the Hero tried to use the Empire, it would inevitably lead to political entanglements. The Ashtar young lady was a delicate person to recruit.
‘Still… white hair at that age? It’s not premature aging. She looked exactly like my brother.’
Mana Fusion. Although she had run away from home, Noel had heard news about her brother. The proof of Mana Fusion was that white hair. It was close to the platinum blonde of the imperial Armenia family. It meant one who had mastered mana. A being who had already surpassed human standards. In any case, that woman was no ordinary person. If they brought her into the Hero Party, she might actually hinder the Hero’s growth. Their personalities were also completely incompatible. The young lady and the Hero were polar opposites.
“Besides, there isn’t just one Heavenly King. If we’re going to cooperate with the Empire, it would be better to work with the Seven Stars according to the treaty between the Kingdom and the Empire. Not the Ashtar young lady.”
“That makes sense too.”
“If you had seen her, you’d understand. She’s not an ordinary woman. You remember that Yuria girl, right?”
“Yeah.”
Of course he remembered. Wasn’t she the one who got beaten up by the Ashtar young lady? She was pretty, though. Honestly, if the situation hadn’t been so chaotic, he would have wanted to hit on her.
“It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but she’s a commoner fiancée chosen by Prince Aslan to win public favor as he aims for the position of Crown Prince again.”
She was the Prince’s fiancée? Then she was untouchable.
“And?”
“Even though she’s a commoner, her position can’t be ignored. If the Ashtar young lady is someone who could become a Saintess, she would definitely know Yuria’s status. And yet she beat her like a dog.”
“Yeah. She really did.”
She had gone at her without holding back. All sorts of curses had flown. After seeing that, the Hero Party became convinced. The Empire’s Saintess was a fallen being. And somehow, it reminded them of a certain mage’s demeanor.
“That woman’s temper is no joke. If we force her into the party, there might be bloodshed every day. She gives off a familiar smell.”
“R-really?”
They decided not to ask what that smell was. It was obviously connected to Noah.
“By the way, I have a question for everyone.”
“What is it?”
“What kind of person was my older brother Noah?”
“Ah, well…”
Eugene thought about what had been good about the mage Noah. They already knew he was strong, so there was no need to mention that. Besides, as the Hero, he couldn’t brag in front of girls that a mage was stronger than him. If he had to pick something else…
-Eat your damn food, you pig.
-You managed to make something this good with almost no ingredients.
-You crazy bastard. Do you know whose fault it is that we have no budget for ingredients?
-When you eat, you should eat quietly.
Yeah. He was a great cook. Especially when they were low on money, he often made Eastern-style dishes. The food made with rice—which the people of the Land of Destruction ate often—wasn’t bad at all.
“Right. Noah was really good at cooking.”
Good at cooking? Noel glanced at Ella after hearing the Hero. At her gaze, Ella thought back to what she had liked about Noah. Come to think of it, even though they fought together all the time, there were things she appreciated.
-Has the noble elf of the World Tree finally gone insane? Do I have to wash your underwear too?
-It’s because when you do it, it comes out like brand new.
-Am I a porter or a servant? If you mix mine with yours, I’ll kill you for real.
He was really good at laundry. Normally everyone did their own, but Noah was so skilled at it that he was perfect for the World Tree elf who valued cleanliness.
“He was good at laundry.”
“Laundry?”
“Yeah. Insanely good. Good enough that even nobles would hire him. If he opened a laundry shop, he probably would have succeeded.”
Noel tilted her head. Just what the hell had her brother been doing in the party?
Next was Cyria. When Noel looked at her, she recalled it almost reflexively.
-Give. Me. The. Money. You. Bastard.
-I-I’ll give it!
-Why is this all there is?
-I gave you the principal, didn’t I?
-Ah, cut the bullshit. Once the deadline passes, interest gets added, you know!
She had once been scammed. Noah had noticed and personally recovered the money—plus far more than the interest. That day, not only had he taken the interest, he had used the authority of the Hero Party to throw the scammer in jail. If he ever fell to the demons, he would probably be the most dangerous one. She even remembered him extorting money from the Pope himself when they visited the Holy Kingdom.
“Um, so… Sir Noah was really good at getting money out of people.”
“M-money?”
“He would lend money and take back several times the amount. Or help someone and demand several times the reward. That sort of thing.”
“That’s… kind of scary.”
Her brother had been like that? Really? She hadn’t expected it to be that bad. Still, it was clear that her brother had done the most work. Looking at the current state of the Hero Party, it seemed they had really needed someone to squeeze money out of people. The real question was whether he was truly dead.
‘I’ll look into it later.’
It wasn’t like her brother had been a sunny person for just a day or two. More importantly, the Ashtar young lady was the problem. She was curious how she had managed to achieve Mana Fusion, something even she couldn’t do. It wouldn’t be bad to get close to her.
The carriage carrying Aslan’s group toward the main Ashtar estate was deathly silent. That was because every single one of them had lost consciousness. Yet all their faces were twisted in discomfort.
Prince Aslan tossed and turned violently.
Thud! Crack!
-You must have had a great time playing with that succubus, huh? Thanks to you, I’m wandering the nine heavens right now, you know?
-You need to get beaten even in your sleep. They say a mad dog needs the stick, right?
“Stop, stop it! Olivia! I was wrong!”
In his dream, Olivia was shedding tears of blood as she beat Aslan senseless. After taking blow after blow, her club finally struck bone, and Aslan jolted awake with a scream.
“Uwaaaagh! Bone! She hit my bone! Olivia! Bone! Huh?”
Coming to his senses, Aslan looked around. Lailer and Shariel were sleeping with equally uncomfortable expressions.
‘Inside the carriage. But where are we?’
Looking outside, he saw Ashtar knights escorting the carriage. Aslan called out to one.
“Ugh. Where are we? Excuse me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Where is this place?”
“We are entering the Ashtar territory.”
The Ashtar territory? Ah, so they had been rescued.
“I see. Right. Pector was definitely struck by that massive lightning bolt. And then…”
Aslan recalled what had happened. His former fiancée Olivia had caught the lightning falling from the sky and slammed Pector down with it. The lightning had been so fast it should have been only a fleeting moment, yet for some reason, that one scene had burned itself clearly into his eyes.
-If you hadn’t been prancing around and screwing everything up, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this damn trouble.
-Kuhk!
-Is what I’m saying fucking funny to you? Listen, even if you insult the imperial family, you’re still just the deposed Crown Prince, you bastard. On the other hand, I am the Imperial Tutor personally appointed by the Empress. And you dare ignore my words?
He remembered. He had been beaten by Olivia. After skillfully defeating Pector, she had somehow tracked down him, Lailer, and Shariel the moment Pector fled. There were parts he couldn’t remember, but he definitely remembered getting beaten by Olivia. Punched, kicked—his entire body had been smashed to pieces.
“Hiiik!”
Aslan flinched and nearly fell forward. So that was why he had the nightmare. He never imagined Olivia could be such a vicious woman. Were the others okay, then?
A quick glance told him they weren’t. Yuria was curled up in a corner with her head down, while Lailer and Shariel were…
“O-Olivia! Please stop! Hit me instead! Ack!”
“Lady Olivia! Why do I have to get hit? I didn’t do anything wrong—ack!”
It seemed he wasn’t the only one having nightmares.