Chapter 124
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The Hero Stops the Demon King. (1)
“What? What's going on?”
Scarlett and Mersen wore expressions of confusion just like mine as they stared toward the source of the massive explosion.
There...
“Big Brother Kane!”
“Instructor Kane!”
Jenny and Rin were standing there.
No way... this fast?
And smashing through the main gate so boldly like that...?
“Isn't that Jenny and Rin?”
“Oh, the goddess has arrived!”
I'd figured it would take quite a while to wrap things up in the Pacific Kingdom.
And then even more time to travel from there all the way here.
I never imagined they'd arrive this quickly.
“Now that those two are here, we're scrapping the earlier plan, right?”
Scarlett turned to me with a serious look on her face.
“Yeah. With them joining us, escaping should be more than feasible.”
She let out a sigh of relief only after I nodded.
“Seriously... we'll talk about this later once it's all over, Big Brother.”
She shot me a quick glare before rushing off toward Jenny first.
I followed behind her.
She must be pretty pissed.
I'd thought it was the best option when I suggested it.
Was it not...?
“Hey, Jenny. We're over here.”
“Scarlett sis! You must be exhausted!”
“Nah, you've done all the hard work.”
“By the way, where's Big Brother Kane?”
Even while chatting with Scarlett, Jenny was searching for me first.
Watching her like that made my conscience twinge a bit.
“Listen up, Jenny. About what Big Brother Kane said!”
“Huh? What happened?”
Ah, no.
This wasn't something to bring up here...
“What? He said he was going to sacrifice himself?! That's ridiculous!”
“Instructor Kane... sacrifice...?”
Both girls' eyes went completely wide.
“No, everyone, calm down. What I said was only the last resort.”
“Even as a last resort! Big Brother can't do that!”
“Exactly! Even in the worst-case scenario, Instructor Kane has to survive!”
With both Jenny and Rin yelling at me from either side, I was even more flustered and could only stand there taking their scolding.
“A world without Big Brother Kane... I can't even imagine it! I'd just die too...!”
“Same here. I have no intention of living in a world without Instructor Kane.”
For some reason, my shoulders felt heavier.
It was like the weight of so many lives was pressing down on them, but...
That feeling wasn't so bad.
I, who once couldn't embrace anything, was now holding so much close.
And yet I'd tried to throw my own life away first.
“I'm sorry, everyone. I thought it was the best choice, but I was shortsighted.”
Jenny and Rin, who had been teary-eyed at my apology, along with Scarlett—all of them smiled.
“I'll forgive you just this once. Don't ever say that again, Big Brother.”
Jenny said with puffed-up cheeks.
“If you ever say something like that again... I'll give my life to stop you...”
Rin made her threat—not quite a threat.
“I can't just let this slide~ We'll settle it after everything's done!”
And Scarlett, laughing heartily but clearly still sulking.
“Got it. I promise I won't say anything like that again.”
I hoped my firm resolve would ease their hearts a little.
“Instructor, what do we do now?”
Mersen, who had been quietly watching us without interrupting, finally spoke up.
Ah, right...
This wasn't the time to be standing around here.
“First priority is heading back to the Empire and delivering the image crystal to His Majesty.”
One section of the castle gate had been completely shattered by Jenny and Rin's strike.
The guards and Councilor Nain who had been defending it were out cold, so for now...
“Let's just deal with the downed councilor and get moving right away.”
At my words, Scarlett drew her greatsword as if she'd been waiting and finished off the fallen councilor.
He went down easily since he was unconscious, but...
I had a feeling Chairman Stick and the other councilors wouldn't stay quiet from here on out.
“We need to head to the Empire as fast as possible.”
No more time to waste.
“Let's move out!”
Chairman Stick headed to the main gate upon hearing the news of Councilor Nain's death.
“What happened?”
“...They killed Councilor Nain while escaping.”
Cracks began to spiderweb across his formerly calm face.
“What were you all doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Councilor Nain gets killed. They escape. What exactly were you doing during all that?”
Furious to the point of no return, Chairman Stick grabbed one councilor's shoulder roughly and demanded answers.
“...We're sorry.”
“Sorry? Damn it, you shouldn't have let it get to the point where apologies were needed!”
The plan had hit a massive snag.
The image crystal they had contained secrets that could utterly destroy the Mera Alliance and themselves.
And they'd let those carrying it escape scot-free.
From Chairman Stick's perspective, this was unforgivable.
“We'll deal with the punishments later. Catching them comes first.”
“They're heading to the Empire anyway, so we'll block all routes.”
“Send the army to...”
“No.”
Chairman Stick cut off the councilors' discussion.
“Just us will go.”
“Why...?”
“You want full-scale war with the Empire?”
Kane's group was heading to the Empire.
If they sent the army after them, the Empire wouldn't sit idly by.
Besides, this operation required secrecy.
“We'll go, grab them, kill them, and make it look unrelated to us.”
The Demon King hadn't revived yet.
No need to spark needless casualties with the Empire before then.
They just needed to recover the image crystal.
“They died en route to the Empire. How would anyone know we did it? Right?”
“Quite right.”
“That should work perfectly.”
The councilors naturally aligned with Chairman Stick's opinion.
“Then let's track their trail starting now.”
“Understood.”
Among the councilors, the one wrapped head to toe in bandages—Councilor Rune—was skilled in magic.
Not on Jenny's level, but he could wield various elemental spells.
One of them was a tracking spell to follow a target's trail.
“This way.”
It hadn't been long since their escape.
Activating the tracking spell was simple.
The councilors and Chairman Stick swiftly followed behind Councilor Rune.
'Damn pests... making this such a hassle.'
Chairman Stick ground his teeth.
'When I catch them this time, I'll make them suffer properly.'
He had no intention of letting them go alive.
But he wasn't planning to kill them painlessly either.
“Parus, we'll hold you accountable for your son after this is over.”
Parus had no choice but to join.
The image crystal had been recorded by his son, Mersen, in the first place.
'Damn it... I shouldn't have brought that kid along.'
Parus ground his teeth inwardly too.
But he didn't show it in front of the chairman.
He simply nodded silently.
“Let's rest here for a bit.”
I didn't sense anyone pursuing us.
And night had fallen deep.
We still had a long way to go.
Pushing too hard could backfire.
Though, I'd probably be the first to collapse anyway.
“We'll replenish our stamina and rest briefly before heading out again.”
I planned to rotate sleep shifts on the move.
But we weren't spending the full night here, of course.
By now, Chairman Stick and the other councilors were surely hunting us with fire in their eyes.
“No campfire—that'd just announce our position. We'll stick to preserved rations.”
We pulled out our usual portable food, ate lightly, and decided to catch a quick nap.
“I'll take first watch, so everyone else can sleep.”
Jenny volunteered right away.
“Then after an hour, I'll sleep and we can head out.”
She was the strongest here by far, so even if everyone else slept, it wouldn't be an issue.
“Sure, but standing watch alone would be too lonely for you, Miss Jenny. I'll join you.”
“Eh, with Big Brother Kane? Oh, sure... but... umm, yeah... okay, I'll stand watch with you...!”
Right, I could nap an hour later anyway.
And leaving her alone felt bad.
“I want to stand watch with Instructor Kane too...!”
Rin suddenly piped up, insisting on joining.
“No, Miss Rin. We need at least one person to guard against demons once Miss Jenny sleeps.”
Rin's magic was optimized for slowing demons.
And her magical prowess was top-notch regardless.
So with Rin, Scarlett, and Mersen watching after Jenny slept, she could rest easy.
“A... alright...”
Her disappointed expression tugged at me, but there was no helping it.
“We'll have plenty more stops like this on the way. Next watch, we can do it together.”
“...! Yes! Sounds good!”
It'd be great if we reached the Empire by tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately, the distance between the Mera Alliance and the Empire was considerable.
We'd have several more rests like this ahead.