Lurein's Sigh
Under the warm sunlight, a blonde girl shook her tousled hair and stretched with a yawn.
"Ughhh—!"
If this were her family home, she might have been scolded for unbecoming behavior as a noble lady, but right now, she was in the royal capital—and not a single ant stirred nearby.
Boring...
It had been a month since she'd parted ways with the other party members, which meant quite some time had passed since joining the Hero's party.
It was just a temporary arrangement until Tanas returned from his Goddess's Judgment, but...
"Yawwwn... So boring."
She hadn't started out this unmotivated. Lurein, a graduate of the Magic Tower, was a fairly well-known mage in the kingdom. If she dipped her toes into the adventurer or mercenary world, merchants would line up to scout her for her skills.
And yet, what she was doing now was...
"......"
Guarding a mansion.
For an entire month...
Lurein glanced around to confirm no one was nearby, then whispered bitterly.
"...This is insane, right? Making me do crap like this!"
But she didn't have the guts to say that in front of the Hero's party members. After all, even as a somewhat famous mage in the kingdom, she was the weakest in the hero party.
Feeling offended at being assigned such menial work, she ruffled her hair wildly with both hands.
What’s Tanas up to right now?
There was one surefire way to relieve this building stress.
That was... dishing out punishment to Tanas.
"......"
The soft feel of his cheek when she slapped it. At first, when Seria had asked her to do it, she'd hesitated a bit, but now she couldn't hold back.
I should smack him at least once a day...
Seeing the red handprint left on his pale cheek always gave her a strange sense of conquest and pleasure.
She'd denied it in front of Lein and Arshe, but the truth was...
Aah... I miss Tanas so much.
But to see him again, she'd have to wait at least two more months. Maybe that's why she remembered it— she kicked at the innocent ground and let out a long sigh.
"Haa... Arshe must be getting along fine with the Hero... Why are Lein and I stuck like this...?"
She'd joined the Hero's party, but they hadn't cleared a single quest yet.
Why?
It wasn't because she was being bullied or deemed useless.
The Hero had simply suffered a major injury.
Ironically, it happened on the very day Tanas's trial ended. The Hero claimed he'd gotten into a fistfight with the Hero.
It was so intense that bones broke and his whole body was bruised.
He'd fought desperately and was eventually found by a maid...?
Thinking about it now, it's kinda weird... They're not even enemies.
Everyone knew the five heroes competed with each other, but the and Heroes were different.
I heard those two heroes are from the Allied Kingdoms and pretty close. What happened...?
With nothing much to do, she rested her chin on her hand and sat down when...
"Lord Dario, are you feeling better now?"
"I'm fine now."
"Why on earth did you fight with the Hero?"
"W-Well... It just... happened."
"Hahaha! Dario, fighting with fists instead of your spear... I thought you were just a coward, but you’ve got some manly guts after all. I like it!"
"Shut up!"
Voices drifted from inside the mansion.
He’s finally awake?
Thank goodness. She'd thought they'd be stuck on guard duty next month too.
Lurein immediately stood and greeted Dario in accordance with royal etiquette.
" Hero, sir. I'm Lurein Argent, who joined your party as a temporary companion."
"Hm? Who are you...?"
Surprised by her sudden appearance, he tilted his head. The woman holding a staff beside him whispered in his ear.
"Lord Dario, she's..."
"What? The incompetent hero's... Tanas's party's mage?"
"Yes. We'll be in your care for a while, so—"
But sensing something off mid-sentence, Lurein glanced up.
"Perfect... Heh heh..."
For some reason, Dario clenched his fist, glaring at her with eyes full of deep hatred, as if he might strike her any second.
"...Huh?"
**********
What the hell happened? That baron bastard... Did he forget to report on time?
I wasn't supposed to ally with lowly noble trash!
The deputy tower master bit her nails anxiously, scanning her surroundings.
It wasn't just the severed connection with Prisone Prison.
Communications via crystal orb often cut out over long distances.
"......"
But the magic portal closing unilaterally meant something had happened. No doubt about it.
Something bad.
"......"
Inhumane experiments, forbidden magic... Did they get found out?
If so, she was done for. No longer the continent's top tower master—she'd rot in prison forever.
She couldn't let that happen...!
"...No."
Her panic was brief. She calmly shook her head.
It didn't make sense. The rotten kingdom wouldn't bother with a remote outpost like that.
The most plausible was...
If the kingdom's special investigators moved? ...No, those incompetents couldn't uncover my experiments.
And that's not all. The Magic Tower donated massive sums to the palace and the three goddess churches every year.
Nobles blocking info weren't few, and high priests turned a blind eye knowingly.
Even if it was by royal order, she'd hear first.
So maybe just a fire or earthquake?
"......"
Possible. The latter was more realistic.
By process of elimination...
That was it.
Those idiots! Don't tell me something happened to my research records too?!
She racked her brain frantically and headed to her study.
"No... No!"
She hadn't finished modifying the giant magic beast, and the biological experiments were far from done. Ending now would be catastrophic losses.
And lately, she'd gotten her hands on prime material: a hero.
She'd acted fast on her idiot ex-disciple's tip to snag him...
She couldn't waste this hard-won chance.
Fine... Annoying as hell, but... I’ll request aid from other towers.
If worst comes to worst, beg the first or second prince's factions.
For her, just recovering the data would do. She could stomach some losses.
"It's still fine."
She soothed herself and stopped before her private study.
The '10-Layer Barrier Protection Magic' that made her deputy tower master young. No one in neighboring countries could match her in barrier magic.
Proof I'm a genius...
Seeing the ten layered magic circles eased her mood; she smiled faintly.
No need to worry. A few dead peasants were nothing.
They should be grateful to fertilize her research.
Shoooong—
As she stepped inside the barrier,
"......Huh?"
A dazed voice echoed from somewhere.
"Took you long enough?"
Realizing it was her own voice only took...
"H-How? The 10... 10-layer barrier protection magic..."
...a moment.
A white-haired man sat cross-legged on her desk, grinning cheerfully.
I-It can't be!
Why was he here? She knew him well—better than most.
She'd seen that face every day for a month.
The incompetent hero, Tanas.
Why isn't this guy locked in solitary...?
"Gotta say it myself? Door was open, so I came in."
The hero shrugged casually and stood.
"......Ugh!"
Cold sweat trickled down her back; alarms blared in her mind.
"Not as surprised as I thought? Quick on the uptake—good."
"......"
Always the taker, she could tell. That wasn't some incompetent hero.
It was a predator.
A higher one than her...
"What're you doing? Kneel."
"......"
His commanding voice carried oppressive pressure, sending chills down her spine.
I-Intuition was key above all.
"I keep promises. Kneel now, and I'll spare your life."
Especially for her, who'd dodged danger countless times on gut feeling.
No way he slipped past traps and guards with power that barely beats one soldier...
The unknown bred fear; knowing him amplified it tenfold.
But
"......"
"Decided?"
Regrettably, her core was researcher.
She'd trust reason over instinct!
"Thunder Spear!"
The deputy tower master thrust her hand out. Lightning spears surged from all directions, charging at the hero!
"Really..."
"Die!"
At this range, even a hero couldn't survive.
"...A foolish choice."
With those words, he vanished before her eyes.
"...Huh?"