Volume 8, Chapter 8: I met a Hero, Part 2
The Hero of Flame: Minkichi, 2X years old. But of course, she was eternally 15. And very clearly, that wasn’t her real name.
Minkichi, who was a junior high student at the time, was a sober and modest girl who was, at the time, unhappy.
“I am a Chosen One, after all. I would be getting strange looks if a child could do it and I couldn’t.”
Being summoned to another world, she’d had a grand misunderstanding.
If the girl’s appearance had been plain and her character had been serious, then she would have been able to lead a happy life making friends with those of the same hobby. But thanks to the terrible ideas of the adults, she had been summoned at a mentally immature age, and feeling ashamed of herself, she’d abandoned her real name and began to call herself [Minkichi].
Minkichi, who hadn’t managed to make a “high school debut”, tried to make an [Otherwold Debut], and stopped fearing conversation with others for fear of being hurt, and began to talk to others more actively.
This was the result of yet more misunderstandings by Minkichi.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Minkichi had great apt.i.tude as a [Hero]. Suzaku, a large nation founded by a hero, needed a hero, and with the appearance of Hero Minkichi, they treated her like their “princess”, and praised all of her work. It was to the point where even if she had been villainous, they would have called it virtuous.
The n.o.bles and their children would have approached her even if she were silent. Every night, they would hold banquets, and the world’s jewels and gourmets were dedicated to Minkichi.
At that time, Minkichi was just a middle school student. It might have been impossible for the result to have changed, even if she hadn’t misunderstood. …… But if she had just a little more self-respect and empathy, it might have been different.
In this world, [Tess], which had been summoning people for more than a thousand years, the efforts of otherworlders had already brought cuisine and commercial goods close to that of the modern world.
As a result of this horrific misunderstanding, the king of Suzaku, who was thinking of having Minkichi marry the prince to carry the blood of the hero into the royal family, immediately gave up and returned to square one once he saw her walk around the castle with bleached hair, extravagant makeup and in sensational underwear-like clothing.
When the royals began to distance themselves from her, so too did the n.o.bles, and once Minkichi’s strange behaviors and apt.i.tude became clear, the young people in the castle began to abandon her.
Some of the knights were in charge of guarding Minkichi in the castle. They never mistreated Minkichi as a hero, but still, the knights were only human. Minkichi hated to bathe, since she would have to re-do her hair and nails and reapply all of her makeup. So, in an attempt to mask her body odor, she wore loads of perfume, but the knights, especially the younger ones, began to avoid her.
“I-I already have a sweetheart!”
“……………”
Mikichi suffered her first setback. After confessing to one of the handsome knights who had been relatively kind to her, Minkichi’s dreams were beautifully crushed, and finally realized that she was being avoided.
If she had taken a good look at herself and changed her mind, it might not have been so bad.
Minkichi began to think that [it was not I that was in the wrong, but women who seduce men who are wrong], and began to hang out with the others who had similar thoughts.
Like Minkichi, these women gathered information about the knights they loved, and would inform Minkichi about it, letting her threaten those maids who had knights as lovers with her authority as a hero.
“Are you sure you want to have your lover sent to the frontlines?”
“Pl-please, don’t…… Please, I’ll do anything.”
But that was not all. She would even threaten the young knights and officials who had taken maids as their lovers.
“It’s alright to take the maids on this trip, but the security is bad, you know…… I wonder who would be better?”
“Please…… please, she only……”
“Then in that case, you…… do you **understand**?”
If the king of Suzaku had taken this into his hands at that point, there might not have been any lasting damage.
But, since Minkichi was the [Hero] that Suzaku had longed for, and her power was greater than any hero before, the King of Suzaku was unable to reprimand her strongly, especially given her popular support from those who did not know better.
Minkichi, who had become arrogant, stopped polishing her femininity, and greedily searched out cooks who could make gorgeous cakes and dishes for her, gradually deviating from the appearance of a ‘woman’.
Although the officials of Suzaku began to fear this person who had abandoned being a ‘woman’, only one person advised Minkichi as a “hero”.
“Why do you behave so poorly? If you continue so, everyone will eventually leave you.”
“Sh-shut up!”
The Hero of Wind, Fortellis. His casual words gave Minkichi a greater shock than she had ever thought possible.
In her heart of hearts, she knew that she was ‘drifting’ through this world, but she had locked herself in so tightly that she didn’t notice.
She had been summoned to this world unilaterally, dependent only on her own power. Being unable to ever return to earth, having been abducted to this world, shouldn’t she be allowed to play the victim as much as she wished?
Fortellis, unlike the other three “Otherworlder Heroes”, was beloved by the people, regardless of nation, even though he was weaker than they were.
If he was going to become even more popular…… and if he strengthened as a Hero any further, then what would the point of her existence be?
It was Minkichi’s sole fear, having been cut off from her family and home, and being so reliant on her ‘own’ power.
* * *
““““What, this s.h.i.tty brat!””””
The other people who were with the Hero of Flame were all cut to their core by my words and drew their weapons.
“Oh my, oh my, what an annoying bunch of adults.”
I smiled, covering my mouth with a half-open fan.
“I was just talking about pigs. Whoever said anything about you all?”
“What the h.e.l.l!”
A female knight who stank like an orc wearing perfume threatened me with the heavy axe she was carrying.
“Wait a minute, Chi-chan. …… What guts, little girl. You know what’s going to happen if you go against us?”
*Bounce*… As her stomach jiggled, the hero of flame pointed her strange magic blade at me.
Ohh…… that female knight is called Chi-chan? Unless the other heroes, she seems to have good relationships.
“Oh my, a knife that looks perfect for cutting cheese. Are you not done eating?”
“Huh? This flamberge…… for cheese…… oi, Fia-tan, bring me some cheese!”
“Yes”
“Now of course I’ll forgive you once you kneel in front of me stark naked in the courtyard of this castle!”
“………”
If I thought this was an average Earthling, I would find it unbearable too.
Kan-chan told me she hated this person and said that she was prettier…… but sorry…… it seems I only heard about half of the truth. Certainly, Kan-chan was much more feminine and pretty.
However, for some reason I can’t find it in myself to forgive someone like that of the same s.e.x. Kan-chan, who was pursuing femininity, probably had the same feeling.
When I glanced sideways, Tina’s cheeks were twitching slightly even though she maintained an emotionless expression. Well, it seems that Tina was bottling in her anger too since she liked pretty things.
Well, if either Tina or I were to be their opponent…… I can’t be sure I can rely on my Demonic powers.
“Fannie…… go play a little.”
“…… I’ll leave it to you, Fannie.”
“Nn? Okay~”
I left it to the only one among us who didn’t see her as a person at all from the start, Fannie.
Tina, sensing that I was enduring it too, also gave away the role quickly.
It might not be a good result, but it would probably end better than if Tina and I did it and this country vanished.
“Haah!? You’re going to leave!”
“Fannie, remember to go easy on them.”
“Yes~”
““““KILL them!””””
Even though we’re like this, we’re all called heroes and saints.
“Argh!”
The brawl opened with that sumo-wrestler-like female knight. It looks like fat, but it’s also like muscle…… It might be different, or maybe it’s just marbling.
Maybe, a mithril gauntlet…… she stretched out her log-like arms as she moved to strike Fannie’s face.
Fannie tilted her head to dodge, and as she did so, several of her beautiful silver hairs were shredded. With an unchanging smile, Fannie kicked out.
*Buyoyoyon!*
Fannie’s ogre-pulverizing kick that looked incredibly light was stopped not by the female knight, but rather by the fat of the Hero of Flame, who shielded her.
Her fat rippled up and down as it carried the shockwave, absorbing and distributing the force of Fannie’s strike.
“Kyahaha, your strikes are ineffective against me!”
So laughed the Hero of Flame as the thick foundation on her face cracked off in large drops with her laughter.
Aah, I see…… it’s like the Hx.x.x person from the end of the century. (Note: Hokuto no Ken reference) Speaking of which, their appearances are similar too.
…… to be able to absorb various things, I’m kind of impressed.
“Hiya, Explosion!”
Suddenly, the female knight behind, whose skin had become thin and dry raised her voice strangely, and incanted the aria for the typical fire spell, [Explosion].
Kabooooooommmmmmm!!!!
Part of the castle was blown away by the fire and the blast, whilst Tina protected me from it, destroying the wall behind us as we jumped out of the castle.
How unreasonable…… Did you even think about the fact that your allies would get caught in the crossfire by your advanced fire magic?
“Tina, what’s going on?”
“Everyone seems lively.”
“Ahh.”
On the other side of all the smoke and flame was the tiny silhouette of Fannie and the Hero of Flame, who had flown onto the roof of the castle and continued fighting.
As the screams came from all over the castle, the soldiers were left stunned by the devastation, and some of the maids sank to the floor in fear and shock, unable to move.
“My Master, would you like a cup of tea?”
“I guess……”
I sat spectating the fight at the white table that Tina plucked out of nowhere. Perhaps she’s become able to use [Subs.p.a.ce Storage] from the [Hero’s Secret Arts]?
Anyway……
“Surprisingly strong.”
The Hero of Flame’s party seems to have pretty high combat power. Although they were all fighting as they pleased, they had good coordination.
The Hero of Flame saw through the fact that Fannie wasn’t an ordinary person instantly and received the attack in lieu of their subordinates. They probably also knew that they were all flame-resistant, so they trusted each other to survive the fire.
Just eyeballing it, it seems that the battle power of the [Hero Party] was roughly equal to that of an [Arch Demon].
Purely on magic power, humans wouldn’t be able to even compete with a Lesser Demon. So as to how humans could fight Demons was because Demons’ battle power was directly proportional to their magic, so once they destroyed a country, for example, both their life force and battle powers would be significantly reduced.
In short, it was difficult to get Demons to go all out, so even humans could fight them somewhat.
On the other hand, humans fought with the combined power of their body, their minds, and their magic, and even if they fought and were hurt in their full strength, their companions could heal and return again.
The ultimate card on the human side was the [Hero], whose overall individual fighting power surpa.s.sed that of a Greater Demon, and the [Hero Party], the companions whose combined powers acted as a force multiplier.
My attendants were all stronger than normal Greater Demons, but the Hero Party of Flame was stronger than a normal Hero Party, and Fannie was being forced to limit her output.
…… It might be a little disadvantageous for Fannie.
“Mistress, should I partic.i.p.ate too?”
“Hmmm…”
Seeing that my attendants are like this, it’s likely that they’re all battle-frenzied. In the current situation, if I were to send one more of them out, then the twins, Noa and Nea, would also surely move.
I don’t want this to turn into a big incident. …… Also, I was lining up the various sa.s.sy lines I’d prepared, but more importantly, I wasn’t going to let Fannie lose to That thing.
As I gently traced the lip of the teacup with my finger, I quietly muttered to myself while I watched the Red Tea boil over with my feelings.
“Fannie, first limiter release.”
“Yes~”
““““!?”””
Without revealing her true nature as a Demon, nor using her miasma or abilities, Fannie’s suddenly overflowed with magic power, tossing the Hero Party of Flames aside in an instant.
Even while the Hero of Flames was wary of Fannie, I could see her glaring at me.
“Girl!! What are you doing! This is clearly not any decent human magic!”
Thinking that my attendants could only have the magic power of maids at most, the Hero of Flame might have thought that I was giving her power by some “unfair means”.
“Oh, but you can run away if you’re scared, you know? I’ll keep it a secret.”
I drank my tea, smiling gracefully as I spoke. …… oof, it’s hot.
“You can’t be joking! Everyone, prepare to use the extreme magics!”
“““Yah!”””
It seemed that she didn’t like my att.i.tude more than Fannie’s return strike and wanted to go on the offensive right away.
Even though she was rotten to the core…… literally, ‘rotting’, it seems that she was going to use the ‘large scale destruction magic’ with her party, just like a hero.
… But, what are you even thinking of, using a magic in a place like this?
At this rate I’m totally going to have to get involved. Was it because they thought that Fannie’s power was greater than I thought……?
If I didn’t do something about this, the castle might vanish. Fannie somehow……
“…… Ah, that’s no good.”
Oh no, Fannie’s got a really good smile on.
Whether she was being serious or not, Fannie was about to use spatial magic to summon magma directly from a volcano or from the mantle.
If it hit, the castle would be destroyed. As I rose to my feet naturally to prevent this unnatural disaster from happening,
[Dragon Squall.]
The sky became overshadowed in an instant, and the silhouette of a storm dragon appeared, pouring down a torrential rain.
“““““…………”””””
The ma.s.sive fire magic was interrupted with the deluge, and both Fannie and the Hero Party of Flame were soaked, blinking their eyes in puzzlement.
“Princess Yurushia and Miss Minkichi, just what are you doing to the castle of another country?”
Even as Kyoji appeared, heaving heavily with the exertion of large-scale magic, he raised his eyebrows at us, scolding us both with “reason”.
…… I tried to stop it, okay.
Author’s Notes:
There’s no steam explosion since it’s magical flame. It’s convenient.
Everyone remember to be good children and not fight in other peoples’ houses.
Next time, the dinner continues.