Chapter 106
#Chapter 106: Demonic Sword Forte (8) - I'll Leave Once This Is Finished
“Where the hell is that idiot Balzares, and what is he doing?”
Divana, one of the three demons deployed for this operation at the command of 『Deception』, grumbled.
Her role was to lead the hero’s descendant astray and incite her to destroy the seal.
For the operation to proceed smoothly, Balzares and his contractor needed to raise a ruckus and attract the faculty’s attention, but for some reason, Balzares had not appeared at the academy.
It could not simply be a matter of playing hooky or laziness.
It was true that demons were capricious and cruel, but even that depended on the circumstances.
It was not as though this were some other matter. How could he handle an order given directly by their lord so carelessly? Not unless he wanted to die.
There was only one possibility.
Whatever had happened, he had ended up in a situation that made it impossible for him to carry out the operation.
“There’s no way that sly bastard would be taken down so easily.”
The first candidate who came to mind was Delphinaris, the Great Mage of Lavellocia, but Divana soon dismissed the possibility.
It was not because Delphinaris was weak.
In a head-on fight, she could easily overwhelm Balzares.
But that was something Balzares himself knew.
There was no way that demon, who would sooner throw fair play to the dogs, had agreed to face Delphinaris head-on.
He would certainly have avoided any confrontation and fled immediately if he sensed even the slightest danger.
Yet the fact that there had been no news meant that Balzares had been caught off guard by an unimaginable opponent in a situation he had never anticipated.
“…Tsk.”
Even knowing that, however, Divana did not think she had to halt the operation immediately.
This was a mission her lord had personally assigned to her.
If she stopped the mission now and returned to the Demon Realm, Balzares would of course be the greatest culprit, but she could not completely avoid responsibility either.
Above all, Balzares’s role was to serve as a lure that drew everyone else’s attention.
Having him around would make the mission safer, but it was not impossible to carry it out without him.
Besides, Divana was confident.
“Hero’s descendant or not, she’s just an ignorant little girl in the end. Corrupting her will be no trouble at all.”
The martial prowess she had displayed during the entrance exam was worth taking note of, but in a sense, that was also an advantage.
Acquiring that level of strength at such a young age meant that she had trained steadily from childhood instead of wasting her time playing around.
The clearer and purer the water, the more it was affected by even a single drop of ink.
Divana knew very well that the more single-minded a person’s life had been, the more recklessly they would fall the moment they stumbled.
“You can do it, right?”
“Yes, Lady Divana. Leave it to me.”
At Divana’s single word, the blond, blue-eyed young man nodded with a resolute expression.
He was Divana’s contractor, possessing respectable skill, a decent background, and, above all, a handsome face more than sufficient to win the goodwill of those around him.
The operation would not be difficult.
After all, seduction was effective regardless of gender.
And sure enough, the hero’s descendant—
Pina Vallestia readily accepted the young man’s proposal.
If the young man had made the proposal alone, she would have been wary no matter what, so forming a mixed-gender party had been worth the effort.
“For now, let’s lightly get a feel for one another on the lower floors. Would that be all right?”
“Y-yes, yes.”
The young man smiled at Pina’s obedient nod, while Divana, hiding inside one of the young man’s accessories, also cheered inwardly.
If Pina had acted prideful or prickly, it would have taken time to soothe her, but she was following their lead so obediently that things could hardly have been easier.
Besides, did she not look timid at a glance?
First, they would slowly get used to one another and raise her favorability—
Shhk!
Shhk!
Shhk!
【You have exterminated the skeleton!】
【You have exterminated the ghoul!】
【You have exterminated the lizardman!】
“……”
The young man’s eyes twitched.
Although he somehow managed to maintain his handsome expression, he could not completely hide his agitation.
The other companions recruited to reduce Pina’s psychological resistance seemed just as surprised, each of them staring with wide eyes.
Before they could do anything, Pina had stepped forward and slaughtered every enemy, so it was only natural.
“Huh?”
Pina seemed to feel their gazes on her and tilted her head in puzzlement.
Then she asked anxiously,
“D-did I perhaps do something wrong?”
“No, not at all. A mistake? Of course not.”
The young man quickly waved his hands.
“We’re just surprised because you’re far more skilled than we expected. As expected, the Vallestia family is on another level.”
“Ah, yes.”
Rather than puffing out her chest proudly at the compliment, Pina only looked awkward.
The young man’s eyes gleamed sharply.
‘She doesn’t seem to like excessive praise. Something more understated should work.’
“Then let’s go to the next area as well. We’ll take the lead this time, so please wait behind us, Miss Pina.”
If they left everything to Pina, she might suspect that they were merely trying to leech off her.
Here, the young man also had to prove that he was not just an extra.
Pina obediently nodded, and a battle broke out between the young man’s party and the newly appeared enemies.
The young man’s sword cut down the enemies, the warrior’s shield guarded the front, the priest’s blessings strengthened the party, and the mage’s spells set the surroundings ablaze.
The fact that they had passed the exam and officially become students meant that they possessed a certain level of skill, so their battle proceeded very smoothly.
After they had fought alongside Pina several times, the young man said,
“Phew, I think this is enough for today. What do you say? Would you like to head back together and have a meal?”
“Well, um, you can go back first. I still have a little farther to go.”
“Is that so?”
Since the party had secured the initiative by using money, family influence, and appearance, the young man held the real power of choice.
‘They never showed the slightest sign of struggling during the battles so far. She must have ventured into more dangerous areas alone. If we withdraw now, she may decide that she’s fine on her own and never accept our invitation again.’
“Then we’ll go with you. To be honest, we were just thinking we could use a little more exercise ourselves.”
“Really? But, um, I tend to wander around quite a lot.”
“Haha, no problem. I’m confident in my stamina.”
At the young man’s firm declaration, Pina’s expression brightened a little.
She seemed happy, perhaps, that she had found someone willing to spend time with her.
What an easy target, the young man thought with a smile.
That is, he was able to keep smiling for about thirty minutes.
Shhk!
【You have exterminated the lizardman!】
Shhk!
【You have exterminated the metal slime!】
Shhk!
【You have exterminated the mandragora!】
Shhhhhhk!
【You have exterminated the zombie!】
【You have exterminated the zombie!】
【You have exterminated the zombie!】
【You have exterminated the zombie!】
【You have exterminated the zombie!】
Combat was an act that wore down both physical and mental strength.
In particular, during actual combat, even an ordinary person could become exhausted after just a few minutes.
The young man and the others had trained to some extent before entering the academy, so they had a certain amount of resistance, but no matter how strong they were, they could not keep fighting against more than several dozen monsters.
But Pina was different.
One strike, one kill.
Every time she swung her sword, one monster’s life was extinguished without fail.
In contrast, none of the monsters’ attacks reached Pina, whether they were club swings, headbutts, or sprays of poison.
In many cases, the battle ended before the monsters could even attack, and even when several appeared at once and it became their turn to act—that is, even when they attacked while other monsters were being killed—Pina simply evaded them without a care.
Those who had initially joined in the fighting eventually ended up standing behind her and staring blankly.
At the one-hour mark, the young man thought,
‘She’s far stronger than I imagined. Before receiving Lady Divana’s power, the person I used to be wouldn’t even have been able to stand against her.’
At the two-hour mark, the young man thought,
‘I can’t even imagine how much effort she must have put in to obtain that strength. That’s good. If she’s worked that hard, she must surely harbor a longing for rest and an ordinary life like everyone else. I just need to target that.’
At the three-hour mark, the young man thought,
‘…This is taking a while. Still, she should be getting tired soon.’
At the four-hour mark, the young man thought,
‘……Damn, I spaced out for a moment without realizing it.’
At the five-hour mark, the young man thought,
‘……. When, exactly, is this going to end?’
There was a limit to how long he could ignore the fervent looks from his companions pleading for him to do something.
The young man asked Pina in a trembling voice,
“M-Miss Pina. Are we done yet?”
“Ah, n-no! I was just about to finish anyway!”
“I see!”
“We have to eat dinner and then come back in, after all!”
“……”