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Chapter 306 – Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle (Part 3)

306 – Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle (Part 3)

The “Silver Hero” – that is, me – is surrounded by villains in the middle of the wasteland.

Those villains are the ones who kidnapped her ally, the “Thief” Leila — that’s the setting for this Hero Show.

From this wasteland, a space formed inside a dungeon.

Although it is not as large as the All-Sky Festival Contest, there are spectator seats.

「Nicola! Help me…!」

Leila is very energetic.

She seems to enjoy being called the “Thief Princess” because of her relationship with me, so maybe that’s why she’s getting into the role so easily.

「– “Snow-Covered Strong Arm”」

I make my arms gigantic with the Earth Spirit Art, “Silver Manipulation”, and blow away the villains who had come to attack me all at once one after another.

However, the cornered villains then hold a knife against Leila and order me not to resist.

Unable to abandon her ally, the “Silver Hero” seems to be caught in a dilemma — but at that moment!

「Waah…!」

A gale rages, and the man who was holding Leila hostage scatters into magic particles.

He had been torn apart by the Wind Blade unleashed by our helper that had just appeared.

The beautiful woman who appeared now carries Leila in her arms and smiles fiercely.

「Really, people who don’t have anything to feel proud of aren’t beautiful at all!」

It was the “Undefeated Hero” Ellie.

That’s right, today’s show is a collaboration between her and me.

「Hyaa… your face is such a natural gift!」

Leila covered her face with her hands while revealing such impressions.

Yeah, Leila, that line wasn’t in the script…

「Oh, thank you very much. But natural gifts aren’t just about one’s face, right?」

After putting Leila down, Ellie snaps her fingers, and a total of four handsome men in black suits and white suits appear out of nowhere.

The two “White Sorcerers” are Kent and Jean.

The two “Black Sorcerers” are Lyner and Ryan.

「Well, dogs, there is a beautiful “Hero” who fights to take back any ally from the enemy despite being outnumbered, you know? Of course — you’ll help, right?」

「Yes!」, the voices of the four sorcerers echoed in unison.

「I’ll ask you again today: Who is the most beautiful?」「Lady Ellie!」「Who is the strongest?」「Lady Ellie!」「And, who will win this battle?」「Lady Ellie!」

「You idiots, it’s 『We will』!」

「Yes!」

Then, Ellie’s Wind Magic bares her fangs.

I want to resume the battle and defeat the enemy, but — there’s so many of them…

At that moment, Ellie flies up to me and says:

「Lend me your strength!」

「Yes, of course,」

I scatter minuscule “Silver Blades” around.

Ellie then uses her Wind Magic to carry the sparkling blades at super high speed towards the villains.

The grain-like Silver Blades immediately cut through the enemy formation, and their brilliance mixed in with the villains’ magic particles.

「Look at that, they died along with that beautiful wind.」

The few remaining enemies attack Leila and the others in a last-ditch effort to retaliate, but it ends in vain.

「Give us the speed of a strong wind! “Quick”!」

「Give us the speed of lightning! “Quick”!」

「Know that through my magic, you feel like your feet got stuck in mud! “Quick Down”!」

「Know that through my magic, you feel like you’re carrying a boulder on your back! “Quick Down”!」

The speed of the five of us, including Leila, increases, and the speed of the remaining enemies goes down

The remaining enemies are defeated in no time.

The audience gets excited by the activities of the “Heroes” and her companions.

And then, after the end of the show…

We meet again in the waiting room.

By the way, this place is separated by gender, so none of the four sorcerers or the other performers are here with us.

「That was good, “Silver Prince”.」

「T-thank you. You did great out there too, Ellie.」

「Hey, hey, Nicola! Let’s make a signature phrase for ourselves too!」, says Leila excitedly while sticking to me.

「Eh…」

「Oh, that sounds good. The Fenix Party has a good one, though I haven’t heard them say it too much lately.」

「Ah, 『Our battle will not end in defeat』, right? Yeah, a phrase that symbolizes the party would be nice…」

Setting aside whether it will be as good as Ellie’s phrase…

「Let’s do it! You could say something like 『I won’t forgive anyone who hurts Leila』.」

「We’re not going to be able to use that in every situation…」

After that, we prattle on about this and that for a while.

「Come to think of it, everyone from Ellie’s party participates in these shows.」

I suddenly wondered about that, so I brought it up.

Even Leila doesn’t appear in many of our shows, and it feels like it’s just as an advertisement for the “Silver Prince”.

I’m glad that people are pleased, and I understand the importance of being notorious, so I’m able to perform with more emotion than before.

All of this is thanks to Lem, who gave me the opportunity to take on new challenges based on the “Silver Prince”.

「Yeah, as for us, there’s not much of a point in being part of this party otherwise.」

It seems that the four of them are doing their best for Ellie, but if you look at how all of them work, it’s clear that Ellie herself needs them as well.

In order to take advantage of Ellie’s extremely free trajectory, the four sorcerers assuming a supporting role seem to be working pretty well for them.

That said, I don’t think there would be a problem if she makes a big impact by herself on a standalone show…

「It’s because of those four, right?」

Ellie makes a soft smile that is different from the one her usual determined spirit would show.

「Well, now that people are paying a lot of attention to “White Sorcerers” and “Black Sorcerers”, it’s a good chance to have the dogs appear all over the place」

That’s right. Recently, there’s a tendency to re-evaluate “White Sorcerers” and “Black Sorcerers”.

People are starting to think that the idea that those “Jobs” are unnecessary in the modern adventurer industry might be wrong.

In addition to the active participation of “White Sorcerers” and “Black Sorcerers” on TV, there was also a program in which a mysterious Black Magic researcher commented on the matter.

「You really think of your companions, don’t you, Miss Ellie?」

Before I knew it, Leila was calling Ellie a “Miss”.

「That goes without saying, doesn’t it? The “Hero” has a responsibility.」

「A responsibility…」

「You can’t register an adventurer party without a “Hero”. So that means that those who didn’t awaken as “Heroes” and still want to be adventurers will have to stake their futures on a “Hero”.」

I feel a pain in the depths of my chest.

It’s just as Ellie says, and I was once unable to fulfill that responsibility.

As a result of pursuing the image of the Hero that I wanted to be, the video we made ended up not being appealing at all, and it ultimately led to the party’s disbandment.

Leila, who was also a member at that time, seems to remember that as well, as shown by the mixed feelings on her face.

「There’s no “Hero” that doesn’t stand out, so it’s only natural. The personality of a “Hero” greatly affects the impression people will have of the entire party, so it’s only natural. Then, it’s also only natural that we as “Heroes” have to show that it’s worth it. Making others feel glad that they’re following us and devoting themselves to us is the bare minimum of our duties.」

Despite being a free-spirited person, Ellie has a strong sense of responsibility.

If there is a place where my companions can shine, of course I’ll go there with them.

This is probably the reason why I participated in the show this time.

Even Leila, who was set to be caught once, mowed down the villains with the support of the four sorcerers. Although it was all part of a script, our intention should have been perfectly conveyed to the audience.

「– And!」

「…And?」

「The more my companions shine, the more I shine as I lead them! In other words, working for them is the same as working for my own sake!」, she said with full confidence.

…Amazing.

She does not perceive the idea of “working for others” as dedication and hard work.

It’s all about her ego, about working for her own sake.

「You’re really cool, Ellie.」

「Haha, yeah, I know. And you have a good eye for seeing that.」

Until now, I had entrusted many of my duties to my brother.

From now on, I want to become a hero who can naturally think of not only her own way of being but also the way a party ought to be.

And I want to be able to make a lot of people go crazy with my friends and maybe give someone something to dream about.

Just like him.

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