This Hero Is Invincible But Too Cautious

Chapter 73: Rebellious Monster

The Next day .

The horse beast man came to my room on the first floor of the Fool Tower .

「Have you tried to torture her? 」

「Glu . 」

「So, how was it? 」

「Glu…」

I moved my shoulders up and down . The horse beast man just sighed . After all, he wasn’t that surprised by my answer .

「No one has succeed in making her feel pain . There’s no rush . 」

And then, he left the room .

—

At the top of the Fool Tower, in the prisoner’s room .

When I offered Queen Carmilla an apple she twisted her head in confusion .

「…Aren’t you going to torture me today? 」

「Glu! 」

I tried to give her a smile…But, I wasn’t sure if I was able to smile properly as a fish-man .

「I wonder what are you planning to do with me, you filthy fish . 」

After she said that, the Queen didn’t eat the apple immediately . She probably thought the fruit might have been poisoned with some weird substance . She was a little bit more cautious about me than she were yesterday .

Seiya warned me “don’t do any unnecessary actions” . He was worried that I would be a hindrance to his Six-Hexagram preparation . Therefore, it would be a wise choice to remain with the Queen until he defeats the Grand Lion . I will have to continue doing this pretend torture act until then .

「…Do you have more? 」

「Glu? 」

「I mean…that…fruit . 」

The Queen was a little embarra.s.sed to ask for more fruits . Therefore, the earth snake-turned-fish vomited an orange and a freshly apple from its mouth . And, I tried to give them to the Queen…

「Glu!? 」

My legs stumbled on a chair and I fell over . When I tried to get up quickly, my head hit against the desk .

「What are you doing? You’re such a clumsy fish . 」

I tried to clean the dust from the fruits that fell on the floor . On that moment, the Queen raised her voice and started to laugh aloud .

「*laughs* Somehow, I suddenly remembered my daughter when I saw you like that! 」

Ehhh!? She remembered her daughter by seeing a clumsy fish-man!? Well…Well, that reasoning might be a little distorted, but in a sense, she was not far from the truth!!

「She was clumsy like you . She was a child who couldn’t do anything else other than healing magic . Ah, but she was pretty good at it . She was a fine mage and, the veterans and the townspeople called her the “Funny Razor Princess” . 」

…The people didn’t think I was stupid, but funny!?

However, the Queen spoke in a slightly somber tone .

「But, that “Funny Razor” didn’t come back after she went with the chosen hero to fight against the Demon King . Afterwards, I heard that the Demon King killed everyone…」

「…Glu . 」

I glanced at the Queen’s face . She was probably crying…But, I was wrong . The Queen raised the corners of her mouth and smiled at me .

「You know, I don’t believe on that story at all! That girl is pretty strong against bad luck! She probably escaped her death just like me! I bet she is living somewhere out there!」

Then, she burst a cheerful laugh .

…Hmm…Well…She was right about half of that story though…

Anyway, I was glad to see the Queen more energetic than yesterday .

After eating the fruit, I ma.s.saged the Queen’s shoulders . At first, she was reluctant, but eventually, she accepted it . After I ma.s.saged her whole body as well, she felt asleep on her tattered bed .

I put a blanket on the Queen . Then, I returned to my room .

I was worried about only one thing when I was alone in my newly beastly room . Seiya .

…Seiya…Was he okay? He was probably fine given how cautious he usually is… surely he was okay…

—

And then, the next day .

I felt uneasy when I thought about Seiya . I was worried about him and I couldn’t just ignore those feelings . But, there wasn’t anything I could do . Therefore, I did what I was supposed to do in the Fool Tower . I took the bread with me and went up to the spiral staircase .

After unlocking the door, I entered the Queen’s room and offered her the bread and a fruit .

After eating her meal, the Queen asked me the following .

「…What about torture? 」

I shook my hand and head at the same time .

「Glu, glu . 」

「Is that so . 」

The Queen began to talk a bit more openly with me . She probably unlocked her heart, even if just a little .

「I didn’t live without pain my whole life . However, my body became painless after the Demon King conquered this world . No matter how much they torture me, I won’t feel any pain . I think what happened to me is a gift that G.o.d gave me . 」

…Exfolia fell to the hands of the Demon King Artemaeus only a year ago . Even so, Tarmine became such a horrid place that quickly . The enemy killed all members of the royal family except the Queen . Moreover, the va.s.sals became morbid toys and the townspeople became food . It wasn’t hard to imagine the living h.e.l.l made into reality .

She said it was a gift from G.o.d, but I wondered if her situation was due a mental symptom . I wondered if the Queen’s sense of pain dulled after the wounds she received on her heart .

Still, the Queen uttered an energetic voice from her seemingly frail-looking body .

「I am sure that G.o.d is telling me “not to succ.u.mb to torture” . 」

Then, exactly at the same time…

「…You have such an extreme disheartened G.o.d . 」

I heard an unexpectedly thick voice! When the Queen and I looked behind to see who talked, I became petrified immediately!

…It…It can’t be…!!

The Grand Lion was standing by the door!

「So, your G.o.d gave you the power to endure torture instead of giving you the power to defeat the Demon King, huh . What a useless G.o.d you have there . Well… I wonder if such G.o.d exists in the first place…」

「Grand Lion…! 」

The Queen changed her complexion and glared at the Grand Lion with hatred .

For…For how long as he been standing there!? I didn’t feel his presence at all!!

However, he started to emit an overwhelming evil aura as soon as he spoke . It seemed that he could control both his aura and presence by his own free will .

The Grand Lion tried to approach me . But, on that instant, he frowned slightly and stopped walking . The horse beast man told me that he despised the smell of fish-men .

「Hey, fish-man . I’m sure that you heard the instructions before . I won’t eat this old hag until I give those orders . 」

「…Glu . 」

「Seriously…It means that I won’t kill this old hag until I see her miserable crying face . 」

「Hmm . Would you kill me immediately after you see me cry? 」

The Grand Lion looked at the arrogant Queen and became irritated . Then, he approached her furiously and grabbed her chest . The Queen’s body slightly floated in the air .

「Shut up, you vixen . I hate your att.i.tude . You’re just skin and bones . I don’t even know if you can beg for a life that doesn’t even exist . 」

The Queen fell to the floor when he opened his hand abruptly .

「Fish-man . You must find a way for me to see this old hag’s miserable face . If you do so, I’ll gladly give you and your species extra opportunities . Let’s see…I’ll give you a position in the royal palace and select you as a leader of a fighting unit . I’ll make you as my aide . 」

「Glu… 」

「I’ll come see you again next time . 」

And then, the Grand Lion went out of the room .

…I…I wondered if he left for real…

I tried to check beyond the door for a few times carefully, just like Seiya would . But, I didn’t see him anywhere .

I felt relieved that he was finally gone . When I looked back, I noticed that the Queen was giving me a needle .

「Glu? 」

「C’mon . Do as your boss says you to do . You should start torturing me quickly and seriously . Otherwise, you’ll get hurt if you don’t comply . 」

「Glu, glu! 」

Still, I shook my head negatively . The Queen was surprised with my answer .

「The Grand Lion gave you that order, but you’re still willing to refuse him! 」

After making an astonis.h.i.+ng face, the Queen approached me promptly .

「I will tell you this because you seem like a beast with free will . Listen carefully . The Grand Lion promised you a place in the royal palace . But, you mustn’t allow yourself to become the leader of a fighting unit . It will only accelerate your death time . 」

「Glu? 」

「Do you know why the Grand Lion is creating fighting units of elite beasts in a world that was fully conquered by the Demon King? Because he is ambitious . He plans to kill the Demon King Artemaeus and become the true ruler of this world . 」

…What!? Oh gosh, that’s crazy!!

「I know that it’s possible . The Grand Lion certainly has that power . I heard some beasts say that he is the “vessel to rule the world” . Artemaeus tried to create an excellent subordinate . Yet, he created a terrible monster instead . 」

I started to feel increasingly anxious . The Grand Lion’s was a.s.sembling groups of fighting units which were deployed in the royal palace, just where Seiya was .

…Are you all right…Seiya…!

The Grand Lion’s status wasn’t the only thing that was outrageously fearsome . He also had a vicious and abysmal goal . Queen Carmilla confirmed that the “power of the vessel” was equally strong when compared to the Demon King Artemaeus .

—

The final day came . Today was the appointed day I had with Seiya . Seiya was supposed to reach the final stage of his Six-Hexagram plan by this evening .

It was a little earlier than what I agreed with Seiya . Nevertheless, I headed to the courtyard of the royal palace .

I went to the gra.s.sy corner of the devastated garden as I did once before…

*slurping sound*

I fell into the hole of Cave Along .

「…Lista . You’re quite early today . 」

I felt glad that Seiya was safe . His usual bored demeanor remained unchanged .

「Seiya! I’m relieved! I thought that something bad happened to you! 」

「What are you talking about? I prepared the set up the Six-Hexagram stones around the temple within the royal palace . I also got some of the Grand Lion’s hair without him noticing . The preparation has been done smoothly and the final stage is completely underway . After everything is ready, I will hide in the underground of the royal palace to perform the “Sword Dance of Crus.h.i.+ng the Evil” . After three hours, the Six-Hexagram will be completed, and the weakening of the Grand Lion will be successful . 」

「I…I see…But, even so! The Grand Lion can hide his aura and presence as he wishes! I know that everything will get easier if the sword dance is successful, but until then, you shouldn’t let your guard down…」

「I don’t need you to warn me about that . I already knew it . There’s no problem . 」

And then, Seiya looked at me as if he were looking at an idiot .

「The only problem remains the same, Lista . You . 」

「M…Me!? 」

「That’s right . From now on, I’ll be performing the “Sword Dance of Crus.h.i.+ng the Evil” from about 10 meters above the ground inside of Cave Along . Normally, there would be no problem . Except for your existence…」

「Wha…What do you mean by that? 」

「It’s just as Isister said before . You cannot open the portal to go to the G.o.d’s realm while the power of the evil G.o.d is still activated . Still, it is possible to use the portal to move within Tarmine . In other words, you can break into my Cave Along area if you use the portal . 」

Seiya stared fixedly at me with hawk eyes .

「The reason I asked you to come here at this imminent timing was to warn you about this . I must warn you until the very last minute that I don’t want to be disturbed by all of your stupid actions . 」

「Why say it like that!! 」

「Just to be sure, I will tell you this one more time . The secret of the Six-Hexagram is the only chance I have to defeat the Grand Lion . However, the sacred energy will be scattered the moment a third party sees the sword dance . If that happens, I won’t be able to use it for the same enemy ever again . Failure is not acceptable . 」

「I already know all of that!! 」

「Finally, one last word . 」

「There is still more!? You’re so noisy!! 」

「I’ll give absolute priority to the Six-Hexagram plan over anything else . That’s all . 」

「Oh, is that so!! Speaking of which, I also have something to say to you!! The fish you inserted within my body doesn’t have eyes to see what’s happening in the surroundings, or am I wrong!? It’s frustrating to think that you can see all of my actions!!」

「I didn’t create it with that kind of specification . I’m not interested in your private life . However…」

When Seiya snapped his finger, I felt that something fell from my crotch .

*boing boing boing*

Fifteen fishes fell abruptly from my crotch .

「How many fishes did you put inside of my body!? 」

「I can put them inside of you again if you’re that worried . You should be fine for only three hours . Well, I’ll leave just one fish inside of you just for precaution . 」

「You should just take them all out of me!! 」

「I refuse . I’ll leave that one in you . It’s not for your well-being . But, yes, for my own sake . 」

 —

…I got out of the Cave Along in a fury . I didn’t even look back at Seiya and walked away from the garden of the royal palace . While I climbed through the spiral staircase of the Fool Tower, I felt that my mind was going crazy .

…Ah, how frustrating! What’s wrong with him! He treated me as an idiot once again! I didn’t have any reasons to get on his way! Absolutely none!

That’s right . Only three hours left . I just had to wait that long without doing absolutely anything, so that the Six-Hexagram could be completed without any problem .