Chapter 94 – …Meow.
Chapter 92
“…Huh…Huh…”
I was exhausted after carrying the two saints on my back and running as fast as I could. The body of a huge Agareth-class monster landed on the floor with a thump and began to shrink like a deflated balloon. Something like gas was leaking from the wounds in the eyes I stabbed.
“…What is that?”
“…You have to see it to know.”
“Please drop me off…”
This time, the hips are talking from both sides. The butt here on the left…Is skirted. Come to think of it, I think Estelle was talking about skirts.
“Estel, your underwear is pink today.”
“Kyaaah!? What are you talking about, you perverted hero!!”
Estel slapped me on the back.
Oh wait. It hurts so bad
I thought my back would break first, so I dropped off Estelle and looked at Celine.
“I think this hip is the older sister. It’s a little bigger.”
“…Hero, did you like that joke?”
From noble mtl dot com.
…Caught.
I also put Celine down lightly. And she asked Estelle.
“Look at that. Something is leaking from the wound in the pupil.”
“…I wondered how that huge body was floating around, but it must have been filled with steam.”
“Steam?”
No matter how you look at it, it just looks like gas. Come to think of it, people these days don’t know what gas is.
“That’s why it shrinks.”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
…You really did it anyway. The three of us subdued such a large monster.
“It was fortunate though.”
“Yes?”
“The Agares-class monsters that appeared had high firepower and were large, but the pattern was simple. You couldn’t cope because Abel actually climbed on top of her head, right?”
“Well, that’s right. So I was a bit puzzled.”
“Perhaps it can be solved by being escorted by other high-risk monsters, so I think I focused only on firepower. There were a lot of high-risk monsters under the command of the North Queen.”
“Ah.”
That means it wasn’t a monster suitable for solo action in the first place. Well, if the high-risk monsters I saw when I was captured by that f*cking firepower were attached as escorts…
…It’s horrifying to even imagine.
“…Still, the firepower is too strong, so I’ll have to check how much damage it’s done. Abel, could you check if there are any survivors among the soldiers and paladins? Celine and I will go to the border.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After Estelle and Celine left, I walked across the charred ground. It was still hot with heat coming up from the ground. The only sound I heard on this vast land was the sound of my footsteps and my breathing as I walked, so it felt strange.
…There were obviously a lot of people who came with me. The sound of their shouts and shouts resonated across the land.
It was said that most of them did not even know their faces properly, but nonetheless, they were all people I had to protect.
Estel said I didn’t have to blame myself. It can’t be helped, she said. But can we just dismiss it as an excuse that we couldn’t help it?
How many people died? I cried aloud to wash away the bitter, melancholy feeling of such thoughts.
“Hey!! Anybody there!?”
I shouted into the air, but the only words that came back were my own voice reflected in the mountains and returning as an echo.
“……f*ck.”
I ran wildly. In case there were survivors who couldn’t hear my voice because they passed out, I started looking around every nook and cranny.
I didn’t have to run around like this, because the vegetation was all burned down, so I could see everything from afar. Still, I wanted to find at least one. If even one person is alive…
But I couldn’t find anything there.
#
I caught Agares-class monsters surprisingly easily, but that didn’t mean I didn’t pay the price. It’s just me, Estelle, and Celine that weren’t harmed, but after all, we’ve suffered tremendous damage.
The Holy Knights of the Vatican of Solaria are destroyed, and the northern border guards are annihilated except for some soldiers. Northern border collapse. About 200 private houses near the border were destroyed. Civilian casualties cannot be accurately identified….
The number of times Agareth-class monsters fired powerful beams was only three times. One of them was shot high into the sky, so it was actually the first two to do this much damage.
There was also an opinion from military experts that if I really made a mistake and lost time without being able to subdue the Agares-class monsters, even Delphi might have been damaged.
“Still, thanks to the warriors and saints, we were able to finish with minimal damage. You are really amazing, Hero Abel.”
“You are the hero of our kingdom.”
“Goddess Solaria will be very happy too.”
Nevertheless, they praise me. I treat this devastating damage as insignificant, and try to cheer me up.
Maybe it’s not the packaging. Originally, the scale of damage is always relative. It could mean that it was insignificant compared to the appearance of the disaster of Agareth-class monsters.
Either way, I couldn’t help but react to them praising me. I nodded slightly to them and said.
“…Thank you.”
Now I am in the palace. The royal palace of the kingdom of Apollo. He had come to report the news of the appearance and subjugation of Agareth-class monsters and Barbatos-class monsters.
The ministers gathered at the palace to hear the report, and even the king of the Apollo kingdom expressed their gratitude to Estelle and Celine, but to be honest, I didn’t feel good even after receiving such thanks.
“…Abel, are you okay?”
Then Estelle asked in a worried voice.
…Does his expression look too gloomy? I deliberately raised the corners of my mouth slightly and said.
“It’s okay.”
“…….”
The palace ministers made a fuss about holding a banquet to celebrate the victory. Some people are not in the mood to enjoy a banquet at all.
But remembering that banquets like this were held in Habsburg cities, this might be a way for nobles to express their gratitude.
“How is the hero? If you are very tired, we may cancel the banquet.”
Now I understand that the possibility of cancellation is a polite addition. It’s not like I can’t fight the issues that have already been decided. I nodded my head in an okay way.
“I am fine.”
“Oh, I see. Then….”
After parting with the ministers, I entered the room assigned to me as a lodging and collapsed onto the bed. I placed the Holy Sword roughly nearby, and just buried my face into the pillow.
“…Ha ha.”
Why am I not used to the fact that people die next to me? Is it because I lived in a very peaceful era?
Now I know who the hero is and what he does. In the future, if you want to live as a hero, you will need to become a little insensitive to these deaths.
“…That doesn’t work.”
When will you get used to it? I was thinking about that when I heard someone knocking.
An opponent who timidly knocks twice. I think I already know who it is. I struggled to get out of bed and went to the door.
And he said without opening the door.
“Estel?”
“…Uh, how did you know?”
It was her too. I turned the doorknob and greeted Estelle. For some reason, Estelle was not wearing priestly clothes. Comfortable clothes close to pajamas. It was a pretty cute pink nightgown.
At that cute figure, I naturally smiled slightly.
“What happened?”
“Ah, Abel… you know.”
Estelle gently closed the door and she came over to me. I waited patiently to see what she was up to.
“Si, if you’re not rude, I’ll comfort you.”
“…Yes?”
Estelle kept her mouth shut as if she had made up her mind about something, and then she suddenly unbuttoned her clothes.
“Estel!?”
I hurriedly grabbed her hand. Then, as if Estelle was slightly startled, she said with round eyes and reddened cheeks.
“Why, why are you blocking me?”
“No…”
I let out a small sigh. You have no choice but to stop it when you spit out strange sounds that promise to comfort you with your body. Where the hell did you learn this method…Is it Celine?
Estelle looked slightly dissatisfied. Instead of letting her get her way, I grabbed her hand and dragged her.
“Whoah!?”
And then I hugged Estelle. Estelle trembled as if taken aback by my sudden action, then she slowly reached out her hand and patted her on the back.
“…It’s okay, Abel.”
“…If I had been a little stronger, I could have defended it.”
“A little would have been insufficient. You should have been much stronger than you are now.”
“…I am too weak, I am.”
“Okay. I don’t think so.”
I asked, feeling Estelle’s touch.
“Why? I can’t do anything without Estelle. Without the Blessing, I can’t even reach the tip of the high-risk monsters, and I can’t even subdue them without Estelle’s help…”
“I am too greedy. Abel.”
Greed…?
Estelle spoke in a friendly but slightly serious voice.
“Abel grows up so fast that I am amazed. To be honest, if you gain more experience like the other warriors… You’ll probably become much stronger than me.”
“…But not now.”
“So with time, you will become stronger on your own, but Abel is too greedy. Blessing is to fight while receiving all the other warriors, and you did very well in subjugating Agares-class monsters just because I helped you a little in the first place. Didn’t you see their reaction? You can see it.”
I remembered the reaction of the ministers and the king to Estelle’s words. But even so, her mind was not relieved.
Because one thought was constantly in my head.
“…It’s a major built on the basis of countless people’s lives.”
“Then what about it? Protecting everyone against monsters in the first place…Is a delusion. That is impossible unless you really are God.”
“…Heroes have to protect people, but is it right to build a major based on their sacrifices?”
“Abel.”
Estelle grabbed my face and made me look straight at her. Moonlight amber eyes were staring at me with a serious expression.
“A hero is not a god. Also, it is true that a hero is someone who has to save people, but he doesn’t mean to save everyone.”
“What…”
“Abel saved the many by sacrificing the few. A hero always stands at the crossroads of that choice. Using the sacrifices of the few soldiers and knights as a stepping stone, to save the many civilians. But most warriors choose the majority. Do you know why?”
“…Is it because there are more of them?”
“No. Even though the few soldiers and knights are weaker than the warriors, they are the ones who set out to protect the majority.”
…….
“They were all prepared to give up their lives. In the face of mighty monsters, even if they live like ants, they all advance without fear. Warriors need to respect the determination and choices of those in the minority. If the hero gives up the majority to save the minority, how will the soldiers and knights react?”
“…You must be very angry.”
“The hero’s role is to fulfill the wishes of the fallen soldiers and knights, and comfort them in their deaths. If you feel pity for those who died honorably and arrogantly say that you should save them all… That is an act that tarnishes the value of the sacrifice of the few who gave their lives.”
Estelle cleared her serious eyes and smiled slightly.
“Well, Abel is as stupid as a goldfish, so he might not have understood what I was saying~♡”
I thought over Estelle’s words. I didn’t mean to take the sacrifice of a few for granted. I nodded my head at the words to respect the choices of those few knights and soldiers.
“…Thank you, Estelle.”
“…I’m glad you feel better&”
“Then let’s do it.”
“…Yes?”
Why are you trying to get rid of me now? I didn’t let go of Estelle who was sneaking away. And she asked her whispering to her.
“Don’t you want to?”
“Ah, no…”
I laughed. I tried to seduce you first, but I’m so shy.
How did such a person come up with such an idea… Was it Celine’s fault?
I gently caressed Estelle’s cheek. Estelle then rubbed her cheek against her hand like her cat.
“You are cute like a cat, Estelle.”
Estelle stared at me silently, then she opened her lips, which were dyed pink like cherry blossoms, and she said.
“…Meow.”
“…Ah, really.”
…I just felt so bad for my heart.
“Why are you so cute?”
“…I only do this to you.”
“That’s nice.”
I hugged Estelle. Then Estelle made a small squeaking sound, and she wrapped her arms around my neck to keep from falling.
I was going to bed like that when I heard a smart knock.
“…Who are you?”
“…Abel, don’t open it.”
“Yes?”
Estelle glared at her door like a cat wary of trespassing on its territory. When I didn’t respond to the knock, the door suddenly slammed open.
“!?”
“Oh, really! How did you know!”
“Isn’t it too much for the saintess to break promises?”
The one who burst open the door and appeared was Celine, a beautiful woman with a pouty face.