Chapter 91 – Freeloader and Hero, Night and Day
91 – Freeloader and Hero, Night and Day
It was night time. I slipped out of the bed the little ones were sleeping on, and headed out to the balcony. The night wind softly caressed my skin and blew through my hair.
「Can’t sleep?」 said Mika in human form as she walked up to me.
「…Is your mana alright? Transforming so frequently like that?」 I asked
「Oh, this bracelet improves that aspect too. Instead of me creating a new human body every time, the body is stored within the bracelet. On the flip side, the holy sword is stored in the bracelet right now.」
「You’re transferring your soul to and from the holy sword and the human body?」
「Yeah, that’s it.」
Indeed this way, she wouldn’t have to go through the process of using vast amounts of mana to construct a human Mika body each time. It bears repeating, Monana is an amazing Magic Tool engineer.
「Are you contemplating tomorrow’s battle, Rain the Freeloader?」 The white fox in human form also came to the balcony.
「Guess so. The kids are in your care tomorrow, White Fox.」
Looking like a beautiful girl with silver hair, the white fox nodded. 「Leave them to me.」
I cannot bring the kids along to battle. They should be safe in this country, but they would be a hundred times safer with the white fox with them.
「…Are you still worried about what the enemy’s true goal is?」asked the fox.
「Yeah. Things would be simple if it was just a strong enemy launching an attack, but…」 It’d be an enormous threat to humanity, but it’d be easy to understand. Their having an ulterior motive underneath that is what makes it troubling. Also, it’s something that most likely only we can stop.
「O Rain the Freeloader, I cannot imagine how many lives rest on those young shoulders of yours. When I lost the village I swore to protect, it felt like my body was torn to pieces. Equate that to the scale of all of Humanity, I believe that to be far too much pressure for one child to bear.」
「Well, It’s hard to go to war and not have anyone die, but I’m not that worried about that.」
「…Truly?」
「Yeah, the world won’t end. Cos I’ll defeat all the enemies, no matter how many thousands they have, no matter where they come from. Humanity calls the living thing that can do that…the Hero.」
「I…see.」
Both Mika and the white fox were silent.
But eventually, the white fox spoke. 「Then, Hero Rain.」
「Hm?」
「After the world has been saved, allow me to call you Rain the Freeloader once again.」 The white fox patted me on the head, smiling warmly.
「Ahaha, I think it’s better that way.」
「Hero, freeloader, whatever, I’m with you for life, got it?!」 Mika raised her voice in opposition to the white fox.
「Yeah, I know. Let’s do our best together tomorrow and, and beyond.」
「Hmph, it’s fine as long as you get it!」
We continued to chit-chat on the balcony for a while longer, then we went back to bed.
◇
If you know the enemy’s plan of attack, you might be able to surprise them ahead of time – but that would be difficult. That’s because it’s meaningless to use the marching speed of an ordinary human army as a standard.
Much like that time when the Saint Marie busted her way through Demon Territory to head straight for the country of Jarsti alone, there are beings that transcend that of an ordinary human; to whom vast distances and mountains are not obstacles. Even knowing where the enemy is coming from doesn’t make calculating where they are currently lurking any easier.
Still, if the enemy is moving as an army, that should narrow down the places they are likely to hide, but… not even Madge or Vivi was able to grasp any more information other than the day of the attack.
The Sage Alchemy appeared bearing the words of the War God, but he simply said to prioritize handling the enemy invasion. Even he found it difficult to take preliminary measures.
「Maybe they’ve been planning this for several years.」 It was morning, and Mika said that quietly on our way to the dining hall.
「Maybe.」 I replied. The five Saviors nurtured me as the strongest Hero over the course of ten years. If there is a chief of staff on the enemy side that hasn’t been twisted by the miasma, perhaps summoning a God isn’t a plan, but a longstanding desire. If that’s the case, then there’s something I’m a little worried about.
When I learned that they were gathering beings with enormous amounts of mana, like the white fox… it reminded me of five years ago – about the incident where a certain country’s princess and Humans with excellent mana were kidnapped.
When we, the Six Saviors, entered the culprit’s castle, the young Seven were there too. We defeated the culprit, a skeleton mage, but his aim remained a mystery. Maybe he, too, was gathering mana in order to summon a God.
Well, that’s just one of the possibilities.
Anyway, the current actions of the enemy may not be due to the sudden orders of their Goddess, but instead, be a result of a long-term plan.
「Thinking about something, Mister Hero?」 The rabbit-eared Carro looked up at me.
「Yeah. Just wondering what’s for breakfast.」
「Ahaha, you’re looking forward to it, huh?!」
「You said it.」
When I got to the dining hall, Eleanor was already there waiting.
「Good morning, Sir Rain. You too, children.」 Eleanor said. She smiled sweetly. One of the Big Four, Eleanor’s face is one of beauty and dignity.
「Morning, Eleanor.」 In that case, I’ll smile too. I wonder if it looks Hero-like.
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