Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Settler (1)
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“Thanks to you, Princess, we got to rest comfortably in such a fine place. We owe you a great debt.”
“Debt? You’re the one who saved my life. If anything, I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you.”
In front of the imperial palace’s main gate.
Riley had come all this way to see off the departing hero’s party and was exchanging farewells with Heinrich.
There was no grand send-off at the saint’s request this time either, but the princess—who had personally received his grace—had stepped forward as the imperial representative to see them off.
She spoke one by one with Heinrich first, then the others, wishing them luck.
And with Isea, whom she had already caught up with thoroughly the day before, Riley held her hand for a good while, reluctant to let go…
“Haa— Heron, you’re still the one I worry about most.”
Finally, she stood before Hesperon and let out a deep sigh.
“Ahaha! What’s that supposed to mean, Princess? Where else are you going to find someone as reliable as me? Even Master was blown away by my talent yesterday and couldn’t stop praising me! No big deal, so don’t worry too much!”
Isea muttered softly beside him about how that wasn’t quite how it happened, but he brushed it off lightly, pounding his chest proudly with a carefree laugh.
The attendants escorting the princess watched from behind, so he was more polite than usual, but his tone was still as casual as if speaking to a friend.
A few of the attendants frowned faintly at that…
“...Well, whatever. You’re no ordinary person, so you’ll manage. It’s not like you’ll be there that long anyway.”
Riley paid no mind to his speech and simply nodded slowly.
“However—”
But her words didn’t end there.
“You could stand to tone down that excessive confidence. You seem to be misunderstanding something—you’re just a low-rank mage right now. That puts you leagues below them. And yet you’re tagging along to a battlefield where even they have to give their all, with that baseless self-assurance…”
What was meant as bravado to ease her worries had backfired into a massive lecture.
Hesperon deflated instantly, as if he’d never been cocky, and had no choice but to listen intently.
“There’s no need for you to step up and do anything. You’re just extra baggage. You won’t be much use even if you’re there, and you’ll only get in the way if you try—so stay out of sight, learn what you can… Heron? Are you listening?”
“Ah, yes! Of course. Yep.”
He snapped out of his daze at her words, replying hastily with a subtle expression.
‘No, even so, isn’t that a bit harsh…’
But arguing would only prolong the scolding, so he held his tongue.
Besides, seeing the worry in her eyes as she rattled on nonstop, he could guess why she was saying it.
…Afterward.
Riley unleashed a tirade several times longer than all her other conversations combined before finally stepping back with a relieved expression.
Leaving behind Hesperon, who looked utterly drained and dazed.
“...Then we’ll be off. We’ll meet again soon.”
“Yes, Saint. Safe travels.”
With that, the overly prolonged farewell finally came to an end.
The group boarded the prepared carriage and headed to the Great Jelon Temple on the capital’s outskirts to use the gate.
There was no need to tire Isea with spatial transfer when the church’s well-established infrastructure was available—unless absolutely necessary.
‘With one more person, spatial movement requires even more attention anyway.’
As Princess Riley had worried, Hesperon would be traveling with the hero’s party for the time being.
To be precise… about ten days.
‘Right up until just before the second grand conference.’
The first reason was to receive efficient instruction from the archmage Isea and properly solidify his path in magic.
Of course, his fundamentals were already impeccable.
He had the skill Introduction to Magic, and with the Immortal King’s influence, there was no way he’d struggle at the basic level, regardless of the school.
Moreover, with Riley’s ascension to crown princess imminent, if she wished, he could receive education in the palace surpassing even what Isea had gotten.
‘But even accounting for all that, it won’t match learning directly from Isea. This will let him grow far more efficiently.’
And that made sense, for in a way, Hesperon and she were cut from the same cloth.
…The type called ‘geniuses.’
‘Of course, her innate genius is a different flavor from his… But if the results are similar, it’s all the same, right?’
Layered growth buffs, superior stats forged by pouring in massive karma, indirect aid from Hans with skills like Path of Magic and Wicked Wisdom.
This was the true nature of Hesperon—the manufactured genius mage.
‘A standard curriculum would just be a waste of time for this body.’
If his senior Isea skipped the ‘unnecessary’ parts she’d experienced and passed on only the essentials in compressed form, he could drastically cut learning time.
Plus, she’d share the know-how from reaching archmage level…
‘Perfect. He can’t absorb all her knowledge in just ten days, but he’ll keep meeting her after returning to the palace anyway. No need to rush.’
Rumble—!
The carriage finally arrived at the Great Jelon Temple after crossing the capital.
Stepping down from the lavish imperial carriage, the group was immediately escorted to the gate room.
And here lay the second reason Hesperon was joining the hero’s party—
“Then, High Priest, to Glatan Territory in the Kingdom of Lesk, please.”
“Understood, Saint. Everyone, this way. Activating the gate.”
By sheer coincidence, the hero Heinrich’s party’s next destination was the Kingdom of Lesk.
And that place was.
The hometown of spear knight Geos Kalkin, a member of the hero’s party…
And the land where the self-proclaimed ‘otherworlder’ he spoke of was in hiding.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At the end of the battle in the Empire’s capital Jelon, a wager had been struck between Saint ‘Heinrich Saint Landgard’ and Immortal King ‘Hannibal Strauss.’
Its core was the Immortal King’s forces ambushing randomly selected sites, while the hero had to defend them without prior intel.
A true clash of spear and shield.
The rules heavily favored the Immortal King, but it drastically reduced civilian casualties, so it wasn’t a bad deal for the hero’s side either.
Though those suffering from madness-crazed monsters might disagree.
‘Of course, it only works because someone can detect the ambushes in advance.’
Otherwise, it’d just be a one-sided beatdown.
And this ‘ambush’ didn’t mean just large-scale assaults.
“...Found them.”
In Glatan City, heart of Viscount Glatan’s territory in the Kingdom of Lesk.
In an alley off a busy street, Isea—who had her eyes closed—muttered curtly, her gaze sharpening.
“Where?”
“Linking now.”
As she spoke, the group’s minds connected, specific coordinates surfacing in their heads.
“...Three places?”
“That’s what I’ve found so far. One seems to be the clock tower in that plaza over there, but I’ll need to check the other two in person.”
This ambush type involved smuggling magic tools into the city for large-scale rituals causing indiscriminate terror.
A method they’d seen several times before, varying by the attackers’ tendencies.
From explosive blasts shredding surroundings, to contamination spreading lethal energies to humans, to sacrifice rituals offering up all life in an area.
And countless other bizarre forms.
“But since the rituals haven’t started, I couldn’t pinpoint the type. I just flagged places with suspicious mana flows.”
“Good. Hope it stays that way.”
“Kehung! Shall we move out right away? Smash them before the rituals even begin! Three spots means we split up—one each! The young lady stays here as backup!”
“……”
At Harley’s words, Geos—who stood quietly beside—gripped his spear tightly.
Facing the Immortal King’s minions… the ‘enemy,’ his eyes burned with murderous intent as usual, his body twitching to charge.
“Hold on a moment. Let’s confirm first.”
But Heinrich reined them in, shaking his head.
No sense causing a ruckus in someone else’s territory without contact, unless things had already gone down.
He turned to the man beside him, who was wiping cold sweat with a handkerchief nonstop.
The knight dispatched by the territory after their prior notice—the city’s security chief.
“...Definitely not our facilities. They should all be ordinary spots…”
Having received the coordinates via Isea, the knight pulled out a map, checked, sighed, and squeezed his eyes shut.
The hero’s party visit had let them detect it early, but this wasn’t good news for him.
Even if resolved smoothly, the breach in city defenses was clear—he couldn’t escape responsibility.
‘Phew—still, better caught now than a full disaster.’
Depending on the damage, punishment wouldn’t stop at reprimand.
This time, they’d been lucky.
“Ah! We’ll provide security forces. More troops make thorough cleanup easier.”
“No, mobilizing many will tip them off. Who knows what desperate measures they’ll take.”
“Th-then…?”
Heinrich smiled softly at the anxious knight, continuing gravely.
“Hmm, better safe than sorry. Position small elite teams around the targets, and have the rest ready to evacuate nearby residents if things escalate?”
“Ah! That’s no problem. B-but by ‘escalate’ you mean…?”
The knight trailed off uneasily, eyeing the saint cautiously.
His smile was as benevolent as before, yet somehow chilling now.
“Naturally—”
Before Heinrich could finish.
“Kahahahat! We charge in and smash them all to bits!”
Harley followed up, cackling menacingly as he gripped his battle axe’s handle from his back.
“...Heh.”
And Geos Kalkin with his long spear, letting out an eerie chuckle.
Gulp—
The knight involuntarily swallowed, stepping back slightly.
Truly befitting the suicide squad… no, extraordinary, he thought.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, nothing.”
As Isea frowned at his averted gaze, the knight whipped his head back, wiping sweat.
The little girl with them seemed no ordinary sort either.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Now that they knew the enemies’ locations, cleaning them up was simple.
Slash—!
Heinrich’s lightsaber cleaved foes cleanly as always.
“Kahaha! Come at me, you bastards!”
Harley tore through them with his usual ferocity.
“Die!”
Geos, eyes wild at the black mages, vented rage by riddling their bodies with holes.
Isea handled rear support, detecting any anomalies.
The foes threw everything—magic circle overloads, suicide attacks—but…
To the party, seasoned over months of repeats, it was futile struggling.
“This one felt easier than before. Rushed prep made it sloppy, maybe?”
With the incident resolved bloodlessly, the party regrouped. Isea tilted her head suspiciously.
“Uhaha! No casualties means success! We hit ’em before they finished setup!”
“Hmm, could be. Happens sometimes.”
“Haha, great work, everyone! Even just watching from the side had me on edge—you’re all amazing!”
As the others chattered noisily.
“Saint.”
Geos approached Heinrich quietly, his gloomy expression returning post-battle as he pondered deeply.
And what he said next.
Was exactly what Heinrich had inwardly hoped for.