I'm Not the Heroine-Chapter 74

“Then we should destroy it as quickly as possible,” Aswell declared.

Click.

Both Serelin and Aswell drew their swords simultaneously.

“You won’t be able to destroy it with normal means,” I warned.

A faint stain might be easy to clean with a cloth, but a deeply ingrained mark required far more effort.

“Master Key,” I called out.

Whirrr!

The magical device roared to life, designating Aria and Aswell.

“Both of you, use your strongest techniques.”

Unfortunately, Serelin, Lafiré, and Nia couldn’t contribute much in this situation. Though they possessed powers similar to holy energy, theirs weren’t strong enough to neutralize miasma of this intensity.

We had to rely on Aria’s divine magic and Aswell’s mana, which closely resembled holy power.

“I understand,” Aswell replied.

“Understood!” Aria chimed in enthusiastically.

The two began chanting their respective spells and prayers.

That’s when the pool reacted.

Crack. Crack.

The jagged rocks around it split apart as the bubbling intensified, and from within the churning liquid, something began to emerge.

It was a monster.

“They’ve noticed us!”

“Hold them off!” I commanded.

“Leave it to us,” Serelin replied, gripping her weapon tightly.

“Let the light imbue my blade…”

“Oh goddess, I beseech you to bring your light down upon this place…”

As their voices rang out, I used the Master Key to augment their techniques.

The key role of my intervention was to stabilize their flow of energy, ensuring their spells and skills were executed smoothly.

“Watch out!” Lafiré called out.

“Y-Yes! Aahh!” Nia shrieked.

I momentarily lost focus when Nia’s panicked cry echoed, failing to complete part of the formula. Some of the Star Mana I’d been channeling flowed directly toward Aswell.

“…Huh?”

I watched in confusion as the Star Mana was absorbed into Aswell’s back, causing an unexpected reaction.

What’s happening?

The Sun Mana radiating from Aswell began to flare more intensely, pulsating with an even greater force.

Is there some kind of interaction between Star Mana and Sun Mana? I wondered. It would definitely require further research.

“Formula complete. Everyone, gather here!” I called out.

The others quickly regrouped behind Aswell and Aria. Serelin helped free Nia, who had been struggling against an insect-like monster, and brought her to safety.

“Aswell, Aria!”

At my shout, the two unleashed their combined power.

“El Triaxia!”

“Sacred Spear Karsha!”

Aswell’s glowing mana, brilliant like the sun, and Aria’s divine energy, pure as the clouds, surged forward.

Their attacks took the form of a slashing strike and a piercing spear, ripping apart the monsters protecting the pool and crashing directly into its core.

“Master Key, amplify shield!” I commanded.

Though the energy was pure, it still had physical force behind it. The cavern began to shake violently as debris rained down. I quickly formed a dome-shaped shield to protect the party.

Boom… Boom…

Rumble…

Even if the pool isn’t completely destroyed, this should weaken it significantly.

As the dust settled, I lowered the shield and threw a glowing magical tool into the pool’s remains.

The miasma that had once filled the space was gone.

Even the monsters had completely vanished.

“Let’s wait and observe for any changes,” I suggested.

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Serelin agreed.

We waited, but no new monsters appeared, confirming that the wave had been eradicated.

“Hah… Hah…”

“Cough! Cough!”

Aswell and Aria, however, collapsed from the backlash of using their strongest abilities. They weren’t physically injured but had clearly overexerted themselves.

This wasn’t even the final technique from the original story, and its power was lacking…

The issue of the Hero’s awakening—and that of the Hero’s Party—felt increasingly pressing.

“For now, we should rest,” I decided.

“Yes, they’ve overworked themselves. I’m sorry,” I said, feeling guilty.

“…It’s fine,” Aswell said with a weak smile. “We resolved one problem, didn’t we?”

“True…”

I couldn’t say anything more, only nodding at his words.

Serelin and Lafiré carried the exhausted Aswell and Aria back to the city. Seizing the gap between attacks, we returned to Wintergard and reported to the Earl.

“Is it true?!” the Earl exclaimed, astonished.

“Yes. Once the Hero and the Saintess recover, they’ll handle the remaining waves,” I assured him.

“Ah, I’ll have my servants prepare restorative meals for them—”

“No, there’s no need to go that far. Just keep things normal,” I interrupted.

For the first time, I took on the task of reporting directly to the Earl. It was something Aswell usually handled, but with everyone else busy or recovering, I had to step in.

“I estimate we’ll neutralize the remaining waves within a week.”

“Then I’ll inform the citizens accordingly.”

“Yes, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Ah, wait! About that steel soldier—thank you so much for it!”

“…I only did what I needed to do.”

“No, thanks to it, the guards and citizens are far less anxious.”

Unable to endure the continued stream of praise, I finally used the excuse of needing to check on my magic to make a hasty retreat.

***

The next mission took place three days later, early in the morning.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage today.”

From what I’d heard, the techniques they used last time weren’t ordinary ones. They were closer to raw, unfiltered releases of mana and divine energy.

“I just thought it would be better to make sure…”

“Ah, haha…”

“You can’t do that again. What’s the point of prayers and techniques if you’re just going to ignore them?”

If that kind of approach were feasible, I could just pour Star Mana directly onto the target as well. But we don’t, because it’s not efficient and, more importantly, it puts immense strain on the body.

“So, don’t do that again today.”

“…Alright.”

“…Understood.”

Despite their promises, the situation made keeping those vows impossible.

Boom!

BOOM!!

“The attack is way too strong!”

“Aria, let’s do it like last time!”

Destroying one of the pools had apparently caused the remaining pool in the canyon to spew even more monsters to compensate.

The unending wave of creatures overwhelmed the three fighters holding the line, forcing Aria and Aswell to once again resort to their taxing, destructive techniques.

“Huff… Huff…”

“Haah… Hah…”

There has to be a better way.

The Magic Tower’s Sovereign had used an easier method to handle these situations. Surely, there was something more effective than watching two of my comrades exhaust themselves.

“Their breathing seems even rougher than before,” I observed.

“They might need a longer recovery period this time,” someone remarked grimly.

“I’ll go into the city to find herbs!” Nia volunteered, her voice filled with determination.

Was this really the right way?

After returning to the city, I checked on the party’s overall condition and filed a report with the Earl.

“I see… If that’s the case, there’s no helping it,” the Earl said with a mix of regret and resignation on his face.

Surely, there had to be a more efficient, quicker way to neutralize the last pool without pushing anyone to their limit.

I was pondering this as I stepped into my room.

“Louis~.”

A familiar voice greeted me.

The problem was that it belonged to someone who shouldn’t have been here.

Sitting on my bed was a sharp-eyed woman with short black hair, her cape as dark as her hair draped elegantly over her shoulders.

She smiled mischievously and spoke.

“Did you miss me?”

“…What are you doing here, Tania?”

The woman sitting before me was the one who had helped me before I joined the Hero’s Party—back when I left my master and set up my research lab.

And she was the very person who had once eradicated Demon Pools with ease.

The Magic Tower’s Sovereign.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Tania Astrea.

And now, she was here, greeting me with a playful grin.