Heroes Don't Abandon Their Comrades (1)
The human mage Kaira, who had journeyed with us to slay the Demon King—a trek that felt endless when it dragged on and fleeting when it passed quickly—had vanished.
It was the human saint Azalea who formally brought the news.
I, who sometimes watched over our short-lived companions through the eyes of forest insects, city rats, and birds soaring above mountains and plains, had already suspected as much before the saint's letter arrived.
Far from the imperial capital, beyond the empire's eastern border where unsubjugated kingdoms and duchies still lingered, near the mountains teeming with those unpleasant mountain folk, in the northeastern frontier kingdom of the human realms, the so-called "heroes" the human emperor had once exalted—along with our short-lived comrades—gathered once more.
"Never thought you'd show up so willingly. Didn't expect that from anyone else, least of all you, pointy-ears."
The first to arrive, since he lived closest to our meeting place. Kadros, already deep into his foaming fermented drink and clouding his mind, spoke first. I didn't bother replying.
Saint Azalea, unlike the dwarf, opened her mouth in a voice heavy with worry.
"Once Glazalus arrives, we'll all be here. I'm a little concerned, though. I wonder if he received the message……."
I answered briefly.
"I sent it."
Finding the ogre nomadic tribes that shifted their camps with the seasons was no easy task for imperial messengers.
After reading the saint's letter, I copied its contents and tied them to the legs of several hawks to send to Glazalus. My birds would have delivered the message faster than any imperial cavalry.
While I endured Kadros's endless talk of drink, I felt a familiar heavy thudding and vibration outside the tavern. Speak of the devil.
The other two, dull as ever, seemed not to notice.
The tavern door burst open. Everyone inside, busy dulling their minds with drink, turned to stare at the noisy entrance.
Glazalus stood there in magnificent armor that covered his shoulders and arms, not the usual belly-only plating. Ceremonial gear, permitted only to the highest warriors.
The ogre spotted us and bellowed with foolish delight.
"It's been a long time, my small friends!"
I muttered under my breath.
"Far too conspicuous a group."
The other two understood at once. We left the drinking hall on the first floor and climbed to a private room upstairs.
The moment Glazalus forced his massive frame through the doorway and slammed the door shut like a pot lid, Saint Azalea got straight to the point.
"As you read in the message, Kaira has gone missing. The disappearance itself happened nearly a year ago. I didn't notice right away because I rarely kept in touch with her……. Three months ago I happened to pass through the count's territory where she worked, and only then did I learn what had occurred."
I added a few words after her.
"And the message came to me first. A wise choice. Only I could scour the entire empire with rats and flies."
"Hey, so that's why you gathered us like this."
Kadros cut in, as if he'd guessed the rest.
"Yes. We've confirmed Kaira's location."
"But the explanation's lacking. What the hell is all this fuss? Kaira vanished—so what? What's that got to do with us? Why did we all need to meet? You could've written it properly in the letter."
Kadros grumbled in typical dwarf fashion. The short-lived fool. Some things simply couldn't be committed to paper. Normally Azalea's impatient nature would have snapped back at him, but given the gravity of the matter she held her tongue and continued.
"As you all know, young Kaira's mind wasn't strong enough to endure our journey unscathed. The moment she returned, her spirit broke and she nearly became a wreck. I pitied her ruined state at such a young age, so I helped her start over in a count's territory near the Church of Light's main seat. As a friend."
Everyone nodded silently. No one could argue that we'd given an impossible burden to a mage fresh out of the academy, little more than an inexperienced child.
"But that was a mistake. From what I've gathered through the church's information network and the letters Mervin and I exchanged, it seems word of Kaira's abilities somehow reached the empire's powerful and wealthy merchants."
Kadros suddenly flared with anger.
"What the hell does that mean? Are you saying one of us leaked the secret? If it's one of us…… Hey, beer-barrel head! Did you blab about our bakery kid while you were drunk somewhere?"
Glazalus growled at the sudden insult.
"Glazalus does not do such things! Well, I've drunk and enjoyed myself before, so I can't swear I never have, but still…… that's right! Glazalus is not at fault!"
"Both of you, calm down."
After shooting me a reproachful glance while I stood with arms crossed, the saint stepped between them and cooled the heated air.
"I don't believe the leak came from us. Kaira ran a magic workshop in the count's territory. She occasionally repaired tools for the locals and, without realizing it, crossed a line—restoring ancient antiques to look brand new, for instance. Someone who knew her must have heard and quickly pieced together the truth about her powers."
Azalea looked around at us before continuing.
"When I asked around the count's territory, they said Duke Mittenburg had introduced a replacement mage and recruited Kaira. But the church's investigation found no one in the Mittenburg lands who had actually seen her. Something's wrong."
She turned to me, clearly expecting a report.
"So I searched with the city's rats and swarms of vermin. From the servants' whispered rumors inside the duke's mansion in the capital, I occasionally heard talk of a female mage imprisoned there since about a year ago. I believe that mage is Kaira."
"Interesting."
Admiration flickered across the dwarf's face.
"You got to do something fun, pointy-ears?"
Not worth answering. I ignored Kadros and went on.
"But it's no simple matter. The imprisoned mage is held inside the ruling duke's mansion. That mansion lies within the fortress at the city's center. A fortified residence of a powerful ruler means we can't simply hire a few adventurers or thieves to confirm anything."
"So,"
Kadros interrupted. Always an unpleasant dwarf.
"The great heroes who beheaded the Demon King are going to storm a mere human noble's mansion in grand style, figure out who the poor trapped mage is, and if it's the kid, drag her out. That the plan?"
His reaction was lukewarm. True to his stubborn, independent nature, he probably wanted nothing to do with problems that weren't his own blood.
"Ha!! That's the craziest nonsense I've ever heard. A plan like that……."
Even as he spoke, the dwarf flipped the iron helmet beside him onto his stocky head.
"I like it. Let's do it right now."
Glazalus grinned widely and rumbled his support.
"Haha! Good. I like a mess!"
'Good grief.'
I felt a surge of unease about working with these fools.
The human city after sunset was no easy place to move about. The streets reeked with the particular stench of short-lived beings' dwellings, and soldiers patrolled enforcing curfew.
We waited at the wall of the inner fortress where Duke Mittenburg resided, biding our time. Using my power for this sort of thing sat poorly with me in many ways, but all of it was merely a minor hardship to endure if it meant saving a comrade.
"When's it gonna be done, pointy-ears?"
The dwarf pressed me while I kept my eyes closed, observing the fortress interior.
"Does a short life also mean short patience? It'll be finished soon."
Kadros muttered an incomprehensible dwarf curse and quieted.
Around the time Glazalus began nodding off and the dwarf's flask of strong liquor was nearly empty, I opened my eyes.
"It's done."
"Really? Everything according to plan?"
"Yes. As planned, I mixed the spores of freshly bloomed purple mushrooms into the mosquitoes' bites. I've confirmed every human inside has been stung. They'll all fall asleep. As a bonus, the city residents near the fortress have also succumbed. The spores carry hallucinogens, so they'll dream pleasant dreams. They won't wake easily."
Admiration shone in the dwarf's eyes.
"You know how to do frightening things, pointy-ears."
"You may praise me honestly."
Now the problem was the firmly shut fortress gate. We lingered before it, wondering if we'd have to scale the wall. Then the ogre stepped forward boldly.
"Glazalus knows magic. Learned it from the cute mage. Clany? Scansy? Anyway, it was called something like door-unlocking."
"How are you going to cast magic when you don't even know the name?"
Ignoring the grumbling dwarf, Glazalus strode straight up to the gate.
"Hey, beer barrel. No matter how strong you are, a wooden door several inches thick with your fist……."
Punching wasn't the plan. The ogre spat sticky saliva onto the gate and smeared on some suspicious powder. I had a bad feeling about what that hulking brute intended. That looked like gunpowder used in scrap cannons…….
"Wait, don't move so rashly. Just hold on a moment…… ugh!!"
Before I finished speaking, Glazalus struck the powdered section with the back of a cannon. The barrel slammed into the door, sparks flew, and an explosion that seemed to shake the entire city erupted. Glazalus was hurled backward in the blast. The wooden gate tore apart helplessly.
Covered in ash and soot, the ogre lay sprawled on the ground and grinned.
"The cute mage told me about similar magic. Same performance. Same noise, too."
"I…… see……."
We could only stare blankly at the ogre's blackened, smiling face.