“Celestis-chan, that’s also a bit strayed from the main topic.” (Karen)
“Ah, so you are not going to be talking formally to me anymore huh. Well, that makes it feel as if we are pals now, so it makes me happy though.” (Celestis)
Celestis-chan at times nonchalantly says embarrassing things.
“Damn it! Until now, the only one that Karen could speak so casually with was me!!” (Mirack)
“You should leave it at that, or people will begin calling you lesbian, you know?” (Celestis)
At any rate, I…I want to help Haine-san who has gone to defeat the Mother Monsters.
But I don’t know where Haine-san went. That’s the problem.
I should have tried asking Yorishiro-sama when she was here.
“Karen-chi as well, how about not getting so worked up and just give it up this time around? It is not like this is your only chance to do go with him anyways.” (Celestis)
“That’s true, Karen. The duty of us heroes is to protect the people. Shouldn’t you think of it as Haine-san being able to leave without worries thanks to you fortifying the defenses of Apollon City?” (Mirack)
“Those words you said just now, I wish I could have recorded it to send to the people of the Fire Church.” (Celestis)
The two of them are kind.
Right, Haine-san will be returning after a few days anyways.
In that case, I should act as a faithful wife that waits for the return of her husband. Let’s proceed with the other things that should be done.
“And so, there’s actually another thing I would like to consult you two about…” (Karen)
“Fumu?”
“What is it?” (Celestis)
The two of them casually get ready to listen. So kind.
“I want to form a hero alliance!” (Karen)
The reaction of the two was similar.
“Hero Alliance?” (Mirack)
“What’s that?” (Celestis)
It looks like they haven’t digested the meaning of it.
“You see, the heroes have been acting separately, right? Shouldering their respective Church on their back, and at times, quarreling with each other. But lately, because of a lot of things occurring, we have been reaching compromises, right?” (Karen)
“That’s mostly the deed of one specific person though.” (Mirack)
“Now that you mention it, little by little, we have begun getting along.” (Celestis)
Being able to have tea and speaking with each other like this is, in a sense, a sign of progress in itself. And by pushing it even further…
“In this occasion, I want to expand the circle of cooperation between heroes. In other words, I want to create a cooperative structure with us light, fire, water heroes, and also the earth and wind heroes!” (Karen)
That’s the Hero Alliance.
Even if we are to help Haine-san’s plan in defeating the Mother Monsters, it would be better to have more allies.
Now that there are more than half of the heroes in this side, this is the best opportunity to give shape to a cooperative structure.
“I see. If it’s something that Karen-san wants, I have no objections.” (Mirack)
“Isn’t that fine. If we manage to defeat those so called Mother Monsters, no doubt we would be heroes that carved their names in history. Increasing our allies as preparation for it, I think it is fine. I want results, but I don’t like risks after all.” (Celestis)
Ooh, the two are more into it than I thought!
“Then, I would like to contact the earth and wind hero! Mirack-chan and Celestis-chan, have you met them?!” (Karen)
“No.” (Mirack)
“Nope.” (Celestis)
Uwa…
We suddenly fell into a pit already.
“No one here is acquainted with the earth or the wind hero?” (Karen)
“That way of putting it must mean that Karen-chi also isn’t acquainted with them huh. But, it can’t be helped, right? To begin with, the place where the Earth Church’s headquarter is located, Ishtar Blaze, is crazy far and a national isolation has formed naturally. It seems the Church itself has not had contact for several years as well.” (Celestis)
“And we don’t even know where the Wind capital Rudra State, where the Wind Church’s headquarters is, is located.” (Mirack)
It is just as Celestis-chan and Mirack-chan explained.
The Wind Church is specially secretive, and their activities are strictly hidden. It is that type of doctrine. Because of this, the location of Rudra State has not been revealed, and there’s even scary rumors that say people who have tried to reveal it have died unnatural deaths. The wind hero that protects this Wind capital has also been shrouded in mystery for a long time.
“Leaving aside wind, as long as we have the resolve to travel a long distance, it is possible to meet the earth hero, but even with a flying machine, it will still be a journey that will take several days, you know.” (Mirack)
“Totally a no then. If we were to leave to somewhere so faraway, in the moments where a big monster were to attack our city, we wouldn’t be able to assist. Thanks to the flying machines, we heroes have gained quite the freedom in movement, but there’s limits to that.” (Celestis)
Groaning with an ‘ueee’, the upper-half of my body falls onto the table.
What’s with this. Everything that I have thought of has been falling into pits one after the other.
We don’t know where Haine-san has gone to, so there’s no way we can chase after him, and there doesn’t seem to be any hope in meeting the earth and wind heroes.
“Ah, right. There’s no real need for all three of us to go, right? In the time one of us goes to Ishtar Blaze, the other two can assist in protecting that person’s base.” (Mirack)
“The Church wouldn’t allow that. As I have been saying over and over, the hero has to protect their own base.” (Celestis)
I once again groan with an ‘ueeee’.
So we have reached a dead end.
Just when I was thinking about ending this meeting as just a tea party where we simply feasted on cake…
A knocking sound reverberated in the parlor room we were relaxing in.
“Pardon the intrusion. Is the hero, Karen-sama, here—”
The one who entered the room was Captain Vesage.
A knight of our Aurora Knight Corps, and a Captain at that, so he is reasonably important.
“Hm? Who is this?” (Mirack)
“Could this be those so called light knights of the Light Church?” (Celestis)
Mirack-chan and Celestis-chan showed interest in Captain Vesage.
In this scenario, I should be introducing them.
“This person here is one of the members of the Aurora Knight Corps, Captain Vesage. And Captain Vesage, you know the people here, right? The fire hero, Katack Mirack; and the water hero—” (Karen)
“Celes-taaaaaaaan?!!!” (Vesage)
Eh? What?!
Captain Vesage fell on his knees the moment he saw Celestis-chan?!
“Eh?! What’s this?! Is he the type that overreacts as a punchline?!” (Celestis)
Celestis-chan was also bewildered.
“Ah, isn’t it that? The one in command when Haine-san was doing that idol hunting thing.” (Mirack)
With the remark of Mirack-chan, I remember that something like that did happen.
“In order to restrain the idol proselytizing of Celestis, they would go to the houses of the metropolitan area, and confiscated all idol goods found. As they got in touch with those items, they were slowly infected as well, and by the time they noticed, they had become fans of Celestis themselves.” (Mirack)
“What, if you are my fan, just say so. It is rare to meet fans of mine outside the Water capital, so I am super happy about it. How about I splurge a bit here and give you an autograph?” (Celestis)
“Stop i~t! Don’t tempt me! But, thank you very much! Thank you very much! To think there would be a day where the picture frame I bought would be of use!” (Vesage)
…I didn’t know Captain Vesage was this kind of person…
Well, that’s fine. All people have an unexpected side to them.
“And so, Captain Vesage, did you have business here? Could it be that monsters have appeared?” (Karen)
“Uwaaa~! I have obtained a heirloom! I am happier than the time I was promoted to captain!! —I mean, excuse me for that, Karen-sama. It is not that big of a matter, but I was searching for assistant Haine, you see. I was wondering if his direct superior, Karen-sama, would know of his whereabouts.” (Vesage)
…Haine-san has become quite the popular one.
But too bad. Haine-san is absent. Hmph hmph.
“Uhm, did you need something from Haine-san? He is unfortunately absent at the moment. If you are okay with me substituting him, can I ask what’s the issue?” (Karen)
“Troubling hero-sama in a small matter like this is unthinkable! It is just that, there’s a report stating that there have been sightings of a suspicious individual walking around the Light metropolitan area, and we wanted the help of assistant Haine to investigate this matter.” (Vesage)
“A suspicious individual?” (Karen)
“Yes. According to the report, ‘a girl that is shouldering a scythe bigger than her own height is walking around the city’.” (Vesage)
That is indeed a suspicious individual.
- 104: Capture
“A scythe bigger than her own height?”
“Moreover, she is shouldering it? What’s with that?”
Mirack-chan and Celestis-chan, who were together with us, naturally ended up hearing the conversation as well, and furrowed their brows at the weirdness of it.
“Hah…hah… Celes-tan in the flesh. Hah… hah…” (Vesage)
“Uhm, Captain-san?” (Celestis)
“Ah, sorry about that, water hero-dono! Though, I have simply received the report and don’t know the details of it. We were thinking of gathering members to head to the location in question.” (Vesage)
A giant scythe huh.
As a weapon, it is on the rare side, but it is true that shouldering something like that and walking in the middle of the city would be dangerous.
“So, you were thinking of adding Haine-san to those members?” (Karen)
“That’s right. It might be unpleasant for Karen-sama to lend your direct subordinate, but I think that there’s the need for assistant Haine’s help in this.” (Vesage)
“Eh? W-Why?!” (Karen)
“It is a loli that is shouldering a giant scythe like the ones used to hunt down lives, you know? No matter how you think about it, this is definitely the job of a straight man to retort to. And when you talk about retorts, it is of course our church assistant, Haine.” (Vesage)
That statement of yours in itself is worth retorting though.
“I see, so that’s how it is.” (Celestis)
“I agree. I agree completely.” (Mirack)
Celestis-chan and Mirack-chan agree to that?!
“B-But Haine-san is currently out because of a task and is not in the Light capital at the moment. This is a problem. If we talk about a person that has retort power on the level of Haine-san, it would be…” (Karen)
In a corner of my heart, I was thinking ‘What the hell am I even saying?’.
“There’s one right here.” (Mirack)
Is what Mirack-chan says as she places a hand on the shoulder of the water hero, Celestis-chan.
“Wait! Stop that. Are you trying to turn me into a straight man character?! An idol is the opposite of that, a profession that teases! And you are telling me that I am a straight man…the role of being teased? In order to survive the entertainment world, this is a technique that I have to refine for my incoming inauguration day. The most important stance as a professional! …Okay, let’s go.” (Celestis)
Celestis-chan seems to be proactive about this.
“Celes-tan in the flesh will be descending in this day to our Apollon City?! ……..No no, that’s not the issue here. No matter how you put it, isn’t this bad?! Troubling the hand of a foreign hero to assist in the territory of the Light Church is just…!” (Vesage)
Captain Vesage had a point.
“Celestis-chan, I will be going. The Light Church should be the one dealing with the incidents that occur in Apollon City. In this time when Haine-san is absent, I as the hero have to work hard for his share as well!” (Karen)
“But, will you be okay? No matter how I see it, you are more like the type that receives the retorts, right?” (Celestis)
“Moreover, the airheaded type.” (Mirack)
Eh?
Am I being seen in such a way?
****
And so, the tea party between heroes was temporarily suspended.
We are now in the metropolitan area of Apollon City.
“In the end, Mirack-chan and Celestis-chan came along with us… You could have stayed in the room.” (Karen)
“What are you saying! Karen, if you are going to be heading out to a fight, then I can’t just relax about! If there’s the chance, I will save you from crisis and gain points!” (Mirack)
“Also, that suspicious individual has piqued my curiosity. Why is she shouldering a giant scythe? I feel like I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I hear of the reason clearly.” (Celestis)
The two of them are so carefree.
But it is true that this is a matter that feels like we can take it more at ease than fighting monsters. Can’t lower my guard though. Let’s catch that suspicious person quickly and return to our tea party.
“But, now that we are searching…where should we tackle first?” (Karen)
We have divided in groups with Captain Vesage to cover more ground, but for now, we haven’t even seen a shadow of where she could be.
According to the information, she should stick out like a sore thumb, so I was expecting we would find her immediately but…
“Oi, Karen.” (Mirack)
“Yes?”
“Isn’t it that?” (Mirack)
As expected, we easily found her.
There she is, that’s certainly her. At the place where Mirack-chan is pointing, there’s a scythe.
When I saw it at first, I thought that it was a scythe walking on its own. But that’s not it. There’s a small girl carrying that giant scythe at its base.
Her age should be around 12-13 years old. She is a lot younger than us. And her body build is small. That’s why, the giant scythe that would normally be held by a large build man had so much left over when held by such a small body. Her every step while shouldering that thing is dangerous.
Staggering to the right, staggering to the left; just holding it makes it a dangerous weapon, and the people in the surroundings are scared off their wits.
Looks like we have to hurry and secure her.
When I was about to approach her… the sound of a big bell resounded.
It was the bell of the clock tower that informed of the time.
It is a tall building in the main street of Apollon City, and it has a big clock that can be seen even from afar. A bell tower that rings at a specific time.
The architecture of the building is already a few decades old, and its design has charm, so it has become one of the sightseeing spots of Apollon City.
The clock tower was emitting a *gon, gon, gon, gon* sound, and yet…
“Hiwawawawawawa?!”
The scythe girl reacted excessively at it.
She grew flustered, lost her wits, and the scythe that was already dangerous just by holding it, was now shaking heavily to the sides.
“Watch out!!”
All the heroes reacted to this.
The fastest one was the water hero, Celestis-chan.
“[Water Bag]!” (Celestis)
The water stream that was released from Miki Moses coiled around the scythe girl like a snake and envelops her.
It was a feat that can only done with high control of water divine power.
By imprisoning the scythe girl inside a cell of water, we eliminate the damage it might cause.
Is what I thought but…
*Pang*!
With a single swing of the scythe, the water prison was broken and became small droplets.
“Wa?!”
Celestis-chan was shocked by how her own technique was broken.
“My ‘Water Bag’ was destroyed?! Could it be…earth divine power?!” (Celestis)
In that time, Mirack-chan and I didn’t stop our legs.
The preemptive strike of Celestis-chan was broken, but it served as an effective diversion, and we succeeded in getting a pincer attack on her.
The holy sword, Saint-George, and the fire knuckles, Barbarossa, pressure the scythe girl from both sides.
Yeah, it was good timing.
We may bicker a lot, but the team coordination of us three has gotten better.
“Don’t move. If you get violent here, you will be immediately shot with fire and light divine power.” (Mirack)
“Sorry for being rough with you here. But having you wielding such a dangerous thing in the middle of the city is troubling.” (Karen)
Will the girl be obedient?
After remonstrating her, we waited for the other side’s reaction, and…
“……Ah’m sorry.”
As the girl apologizes, she began to cry a river.
“Waaaa~n! Ah’m sorry! I just got scared with th’ sudden big sound-dasu! In mah village, th’ only time a big sound like that be made is when the fields be catching fire-dasu yo~!”
“E~h?!” “W-What’s going on?!”
Mirack-chan and I were both surprised by this disgraceful behaviour.
“I suddenly got attacked-dasu! Scary! The city be seriously scary-dasu yo! So country bumpkins be getting their heads chopped off-dasu ka yo~!”
After she said this, we tried to soothe her, and the name we somehow got was…
Gonbee Sasae.
The earth hero that was dispatched by the Earth Church in Ishtar Blaze.