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“Hahaha, just kidding. Surprised?”
Hero Klein laughed cheerfully, as if it had all been a joke to surprise us… while still holding a blood-soaked sword in his hand.
“Snow…”
“Yes, Aria.”
…It’s not a joke. Not that Klein killed his comrade. It’s that he didn’t show any killing intent before or after doing it.
Aria and I don’t hesitate to kill enemies, but even so, there’s a reason for taking someone’s life, and there’s a “will” to do it.
But Klein did it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And then he calls it just a “joke.” But Klein frowned slightly at us as we cautiously distanced ourselves from him.
“…Huh, that’s weird. I thought it would get a better reaction.”
Klein muttered, scratching his head with the hand not holding the sword, looking dissatisfied.
What he said about “wanting to kill” was probably his true feeling, not a joke. But if I may speak from the perspective of someone reluctantly called a “murderer,” it seemed like only a “part” of him.
He performs “murder” in the same way he “enjoys light drugs” or “enjoys malicious jokes,” which are generally unacceptable, and makes it a joke, like making an excuse to “offer alcohol to a naive girl.”
I shouldn’t be the one to say this, but… is this guy crazy?
“Oh well…”
Klein sighed at us, who were exuding a paralyzing tension, and suddenly pointed the fingers that had been scratching his head at us.
“Well, it’s enough if you’re shaken up this much.”
““――!?””
At that moment—my thoughts, which had been on guard without any carelessness, were paralyzed as if covered in a haze, and I felt a new “emotion” seeping in like poison.
This is――――
＊＊＊
Klein was born in a certain kingdom on another continent.
The kingdom was a small country that had never been attacked by a major power, a pastoral and peaceful country, and Klein, as the third son of a middle-class noble family, was excluded from the succession battle and raised relatively freely.
But Klein had always harbored a strange dissatisfaction since he was a child.
A mysterious “memory” he was born with…. A strange world he saw in his dreams many times since he was a child.
A peaceful, unstimulating world full of convenient things, where various ingredients were available, and where you could live a comfortable life if you lived normally.
In that “dream” world, Klein lived as another person, but that person, like the current Klein, was always dissatisfied.
A dreamlike world where everything could be obtained for money, and where there was no inconvenience as long as you had money. There, the young man who was Klein sought all kinds of stimulation, reached out to everything, and ended his life addicted to drugs without obtaining anything in the end.
Just a “dream”…. But the thirst he had learned in that dream burned the heart of the young Klein and cast a dark shadow.
Suddenly, a “Spirit” appeared before Klein, who was unable to do anything in such a pastoral environment and was burned by dissatisfaction and thirst.
『――I grant you the qualification of “Hero.” Receive the Spirit’s Divine Protection (Gift) and save this world――』
『――Defeat the “evil” that will appear in this world and strive to maintain the world――』
He knew of the existence of “Heroes.” He had heard such stories from the priests at the Holy Church he had attended since he was a child, read fairy tales, and children of the same age longed for the existence of Heroes.
But Klein was irritated by such a sudden and one-sided statement, and demanded of the Spirit, who selected Heroes to maintain the world and granted them Divine Protection (Gift).
“Give me the power to freely control this world”—he said.
The six great spirits of light, darkness, earth, water, fire, and wind, unlike the spirits of dungeons that are sublimated from human thoughts, have no interest in the human world as long as the world is maintained, and give Klein the power he desires.
The reason the Spirit chose Klein as a Hero was because of the strength of his soul that crossed the world and worlds.
Klein was convinced when he learned that the dream he had been having since he was a child was another world, and decided to become a Hero.
The power of that Divine Protection (Gift) was immense, and Klein gained several times the Status of a normal person and a body that allowed him to develop his skills quickly.
In order to obtain what he—the Klein in the “dream”—was seeking….
＊＊＊
《――You fool――》
The Fire Dragon, who had retreated into the sky after receiving Hero Klein’s preemptive strike, returned and unleashed a fiery breath. But――
“――――”
At that time, one of the two girls behind Klein—the white-haired girl—released a wall of ice that clashed with the fiery breath.
As if ignoring the burden on the human body, the white-haired girl’s capillaries burst due to the high output, staining her white, delicate hands with blood.
The next moment――
Clang!!
“…………”
《――Nuu!――》
Suddenly, the Pink-Haired Girl, who appeared as if leaping through space, swung down a Black Knife, damaging the Fire Dragon’s horn, which had received it in the nick of time.
“Ahaha! That’s right, Snow, Aria! You two are worthy of being my companions!”
《――You――》
The Fire Dragon glared at Hero Klein, who was laughing loudly, as if growling.
The Fire Dragon frowned irritably at the sight of the two girls wielding unnatural power beyond the limits of their bodies, as if protecting the man who had slashed his comrade.
It’s not like the Fire Dragon would go easy on them just because the opponent was still a young individual that had just emerged from its infancy. The world is a place where the strong eat the weak, and it has always slaughtered those who challenged it as warriors, and eaten those who were strong.
But――
《――What have you done to these girls?――》
The Fire Dragon’s “Dragon Eyes” can capture Spirits. The girls seen with those eyes were trapped in powerful dark Mana Particles as if they were bound.
If they were enemies, it would kill them. But the girls’ eyes were lifeless, and it was clear that they were not attacking the Fire Dragon of their own volition.
The Fire Dragon was born on this continent and has lived for nearly a thousand years as an Elemental Dragon.
In the distant past, it simply fought as it went, and ate as its instincts dictated. It had fought to the death with the now-extinct Iron Elves, and had destroyed human settlements.
But this millennium has given the Fire Dragon a “pride” as the apex of living creatures.
It cannot allow anything to defile the Fire Dragon’s battle. It sympathizes with the girls who are interfering with it, but the existence of an Elemental Dragon is not so weak that it can be defeated by attacks without will.
《――I’ll at least let you die in one fell swoop――》
The moment it inhaled a large amount of fire Mana Particles while waiting, and was about to exhale it――
“Is it okay to be looking away?”
Just a slight—a momentary gap that occurred in the Fire Dragon.
Hero Klein, who had jumped in in an instant, raised his one-handed sword and unleashed a slash with a huge amount of Mana Particles.
“――【Conqueror】――”
――Slash!!
『Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?』
The flash of light that was released deeply slashed the Fire Dragon’s thick neck.
It is a Combat Art (Sengi) of swordsmanship that boasts high power, but it should not have enough power to inflict a deep wound on an Elemental Dragon. The Status of the “Hero”… the power of the Divine Protection (Gift) given by the Great Spirit of Light made it possible.
“Ahaha, it’s fun to torment strong guys after all.”
『Gugaa…』
Klein smiled as the Fire Dragon, which had survived thanks to its tough scales, glared at him.
Everything is a game for Klein, but the words he uttered were not a lie.
Even though he had agreed to become a Hero in order to do whatever he wanted, the Holy Church, which gave him funds and authority, did not allow it and only forced him to do troublesome things.
Klein had come to think of the hot-blooded, fussy Nighthalt and Douglas as obstacles, and was looking for an opportunity to get rid of them.
But even they are “Hero-class,” the pinnacle of humanity. They cannot be easily eliminated in terms of ability or reputation. However, with the appearance of two beautiful girls of the same Hero-class, Klein came up with a plan to abandon his current two companions.
If it’s a Fire Dragon, it can’t be helped if a Hero-class is killed. Even if there are those who are reluctant to accept the joining of young girls, the Hero’s request for missing companions cannot be refused.
And, the conditions were barely met with the sight of him slashing his own companions in front of them.
The Hero possesses the Divine Protection (Gift) of the mighty “Light” and even manipulates the power of “Darkness,” which is the opposite of Light.
He didn’t bother to learn light or dark Magic because it didn’t seem interesting, but the light he possessed constantly restored his vitality, and the reversing power of darkness could even interfere with people’s hearts.
It can only be used if the heart is not wavering even slightly, but as long as one is a living being, it is impossible to completely control the heart. By using the “killing of companions” that Klein showed as a starting point, he interfered with the hearts of the girls.
“It’s finally about to get lively, but if you’re killed, all my hard work will be for nothing, right? It’s a pain, so just die already. I have to train the two of you from now on.”
Klein said, raising his sword again.
He shouldn’t be able to use Combat Arts in succession, but it might be possible if he’s a Hero whose life force recovers. The moment Mana Particles gathered again on the one-handed sword he raised—
Clang!
I heard the sound of something striking, and when I turned my gaze towards it, the Pink-Haired Girl, who had struck her fist against her own forehead, and the White-Haired Girl, who was bleeding from her mouth, glared at Klein at the same time.
““—You have become the enemy of ‘us’—””
They’re furious at the Hero, who has revealed his true nature.
What is their true strength…?