I'm Not the Heroine-Chapter 78

"Uh, yeah. You're right."

"I feel like I’m the fool here for brooding alone in the mansion..."

"......"

"You guys are too much~. I'm just doing my best to cheer on the Hero's Party."

Tania, twirling her cloak with a playful attitude. I didn’t want to see her anymore, so I quickly stepped behind Aswell.

"You’re Tania Astraea, right? Let me properly introduce myself. I am Hero Aswell."

"Hmm... Your expression’s different. Looks like your mindset has changed, huh?"

At those words, Aswell’s head slightly turned in my direction.

"I’ve realized my true purpose."

"Hmm, okay. Then I should introduce myself too. I’m Tania Astraea, of the Empire's Mage Tower."

Her introduction was still cold, but Aswell managed to successfully shake her hand.

"So... I have a question."

"What is it?"

"You said you would separate us. Could you explain that in more detail?"

Tania, who had been resting her chin thoughtfully for a moment, pointed toward the mansion.

"Shall we go inside and talk?"

Snap.

We didn’t have to walk in. When Tania snapped her fingers, the mansion door opened, and a strong wind pulled us inside.

Kuurung...

As we entered, the mansion began to rise.

"Ugh."

"Ahhh...!"

The party members, unfamiliar with levitation or flying, looked visibly tense.

For me, though, having flown on planes in my previous life, it wasn’t all that strange.

"Alright, sit here."

Six chairs, one for each member of the Hero’s Party, had already been set up. We cautiously sat down, with Aswell leading the way, and soon after, papers appeared before us.

The papers had different patterns and materials.

Among them, there was a platinum-white letter and one with a steel pattern.

"Ugh."

Lafiré groaned when she saw the wooden-patterned letter placed before her.

‘That’s... the royal crest of Yggdrasil, I think.’

"To support the Hero’s Party’s growth, three places have agreed to cooperate."

That’s when I understood the identity of the three letters.

"Zertolt’s Sword Mountain, Yggdrasil, and the Headquarters. These are the places the knights, archers, and saintess need to go."

Shuffling.

The contents of each letter appeared.

Aria, Serelin, and Lafiré, who had been called by Tania, began to carefully read them.

"Sis, what about Aswell, me, and Niabella?"

"That little fiery one will be trained by me."

"Eh...!"

Niabella quickly looked between Tania and me, her expression like a child being separated from their parents for the first time.

"Uh, sis...!"

"Niabella, she’s a bit strange, but I’ll vouch for her magic skills. Despite that, she’s a better mage than either me or my master."

"......!"

"Louis, better than your master?"

"Ugh... Yes, that’s right."

Aswell asked, looking at me, and I quickly looked away, nodding. I still couldn’t meet Aswell’s eyes.

"Don’t worry, she won’t kill you or anything."

"Kill...? So, does that mean everything else is fair game...?"

Tania looked at me and Aswell while Niabella seemed despondent.

"What about me? I thought you’d be the one teaching me. I thought Niabella would be left to the great witch."

"She’s busy these days. I’m reluctantly taking over. As for you... you’ve got a place to go."

Tania pulled out a letter from her pocket.

When a golden-patterned letter appeared, the entire mansion was bathed in its glow.

"This is...?"

"The Emperor. He personally selected you."

"........."

The Emperor? Me?

I was confused. I had never met the Emperor, nor did I have any real connections with him.

At most, I knew that my master, Kundel, and Tania met with the Emperor on occasion. Essentially, they were acquaintances of acquaintances.

‘And he's the Emperor...’

What business could a mere mage like me have meeting the leader of a country?

"The Emperor has chosen Louis...?"

I heard Aswell mutter beside me. I glanced at him, and his face looked incredibly handsome.

No, it wasn’t just handsome—he looked serious.

Could he be worried about me meeting the Emperor?

A smile unconsciously formed on my face.

"By the way, the hero is coming along too."

"Eh."

"Really?"

Aswell’s voice, first low and then rising, reflected his mixed feelings. I was curious as to why he seemed so happy, but I was also wondering about the reason.

"Is it true?"

"Well, you can read the letter for yourself."

[From the Emperor.]

Just one sentence.

But no one in the Empire would dare question the true meaning behind it.

Hero Aswell and White Smith Louis will be escorted to the Imperial Palace.

It was true.

A fake? No one would dare doubt it.

"Do you know why the Emperor is calling me and Louis?"

"How would I know his intentions?"

"That person?"

Aswell looked flustered at the overly familiar reference to the Emperor, but this was something Aswell had to get used to.

"Anyway, you all should go to the designated places. Now, did everyone read it?"

Shwsh!

The four letters were quickly sucked back into Tania’s pocket.

Aria, Serelin, and Lafiré all had different expressions as they checked the letters.

Aria’s face showed a mixture of tension and resolve.

Serelin’s had a firm determination, along with a yearning for strength.

Lafiré’s expression was... dark.

‘Did something unpleasant happen back home?’

Lafiré had practically fled Yggdrasil, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

"From now on, you need to grow stronger. We don’t have much time. You have to accomplish your goal in a short amount of time."

"Wh-what’s the goal...?"

"The fiery little one, the goal isn’t something I decide. You all decide that. But you have an idea, don’t you?"

We all had a rough idea.

Probably, we each had different thoughts.

For me, it was about...

‘Developing Oplite.’

As for the other party members... I wasn’t sure. I didn’t even know why the Emperor had asked Aswell to accompany me.

".....Understood."

"Then now..."

I had made up my mind ever since Wintergard, but now that it was time to part ways, everyone’s expression was grim.

"Hero, I’ll do my best too. So...!"

"Aswell, let’s cheer each other on. And... let’s get stronger and meet again."

"......We’ll see each other again, even if it’s in a short time."

"Ugh..."

Even Niabella, who looked like she was about to cry.

"Thank you, everyone..."

I was also moved by the sight, and my eyes started to water.

"What’s going on with you all?"

Crash!

Boom.

A loud noise suddenly erupted from the mansion as it began to split and reform, and before us appeared four doors.

On top of each door...

[Zertolt’s Sword Mountain]

[Headquarters]

[Yggdrasil]

[Imperial Palace]

These were the places we had to go.

"Eh...?"

"Did you really think I was going to make you all scatter? Why would I ask you to come all the way to the East for that?"

Come to think of it, Zertolt’s Sword Mountain, where Serelin would go, was the closest place to Wintergard.

That meant...

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"Do you think I asked for cooperation for nothing? To use spatial magic, we need their permission, and that’s why we got it."

In a sense, this was just a form of commuting, wasn’t it?

"And do you think I’d break up the Hero’s Party for no reason? That’s exactly what the Demon Lord would want."

"Mm..."

"Uhh..."

In an instant, everyone, including Niabella, looked like they had just dried up, and then awkwardly looked at each other, covering their faces.

"......Are you all really idiots?"

"Ugh...!"

"No, it’s because you’re saying it like that."

I tried to act nonchalant, but honestly, I was also feeling excited and nervous about directly going to the Imperial Palace with Aswell.

Clunk.

As Tania drew a magic circle, the four doors opened, each showing a different landscape.

"Alright, go ahead. And every once in a while, gather and share your progress."

By doing so, each person would be motivated and continue to improve.

Tania Astraea.

Maybe I had misunderstood her all this time.

A mad sorceress, one that even the Emperor couldn’t control. That’s what I thought.

But there were parts of her that were more normal than I expected.

‘Sorry, sis.’

I silently apologized, realizing it, and then went to meet the three who were leaving through the doors.

"Then, see you later...?"

"Yeah... we’ll see each other soon!"

"Ugh..."

It looked more like they were running away in a hurry than actually going, but anyway, the three of them left through the doors.

"Sis, I’ll do my best too!"

"Yeah. Work hard. If she’s being too harsh, let me know."

"Louis, what do you mean by that...?"

I reassured Niabella, who was shaking, then stood next to Aswell by the door.

And just as I was about to cross over to the Imperial Palace, I stopped in my tracks.

".....Aswell, wait a minute."

Then, a good idea came to mind.

Instead of going directly to the Imperial Palace, I wanted to move to the System and investigate it.

"Sis. Did the Emperor ask you to come quickly?"

"No? Why?"

"I want to find out something as I go to the System."

"Louis?"

"Directly? Well... it should be fine. Anyway, we won’t meet him right away even if we go now."

The last heroine of this harem party, and the one we need to meet in order to travel to the Demon Realm.

I was going to meet the assassin heroine.