There is No Escaping the Hero 15

There is No Escaping the Hero

Chapter 15: If I Say It’s the Royal Road, It’s the Royal Road!

(Solo isn’t the kind of man who would abandon his comrades and run away. Having traveled this far together, I should have grasped his personality somewhat. However, however—)

The single reason floating in Schutz’s mind.
That was shaking his conviction, his trust in Solo.

“We don’t need a man like that; we’re enough!”

Soare was snorting with anger, already full of motivation even with this number of people. Her anger meter had blown past the limit, to the extent that blue flames were mixed in her breath.
Well, that was only natural.

“Hey, you woman over there!”

“I have a splendid name, Soare Azul, you know?”

“…?”

Weiss, who simply lacked manners without intending to provoke, and Soare, who had zero tolerance, were quarreling at the speed of sound while continuing to fight firmly in the present progressive tense.

“So, what!?”

“Ah… how long have you known that Solo guy?”

“It just ended now, you know? If I meet him next time, I’ll end his life too.”

“…Guess that’s a no.”

Including the follow-up last night, she thought there might be some connection, but it seemed there wasn’t a trace of it. Rather, they even looked like enemies.

So—

“What about you, old man?”

“Mm, let me see. Roughly three months, perhaps.”

“…Did you get along reasonably well during that time?”

“Probably, reasonably so.”

“Then, it’s fine.”

Weiss was convinced. Setting herself aside, she judged that Schutz, who had been with him for about three months, had a reasonable relationship with him.

Then,

“He’s scum, loose with booze and women, a hopeless bastard… but he doesn’t betray guys he considers comrades. He’s that kind of guy.”

Solo absolutely would not betray. No, he couldn’t betray.
He couldn’t be completely cold-hearted. To the extent of changing his way of life while carrying someone who was clearly just holding him back, and a complete stranger at that—

“R-Really?”

“You’re probably outside that range.”

“Being outside the range is fine by me!”

Weiss’s strong words. To Soare, who doubted that conviction, Weiss replied that she didn’t care about her.
However, she thought he might have some feelings regarding the sister.
Not this one. To reiterate.

“However.”

“Huh? You don’t believe me? Well, that’s fine too, isn’t it? Not really—”

“There is no betrayal. I understand that. But, if he was sulking… what do you think?”

“Sulking?”

Question marks floated above Weiss and Soare’s heads.
What does sulking mean?

“Because he was the only one not given a blessing.”

“Ah.”

Schutz’s concern clicked with the image of Solo in both their minds. It clicked perfectly.
Being the only one not given a blessing and left out, he sulked and went home.
This was,

“H-How is it? Speaking from the perspective of an acquaintance—”

“…He probably ran away, that guy.”

It was a reason more than sufficient to blow away her conviction.

“Right!? It fits his image perfectly.”

“As expected, he’s shit.”

“Well, I feel like you just should have given him a blessing…”

“…”

“W-Well, let’s win by ourselves! In this chaotic battle anyway… he might have been surprisingly useful with his maneuverability.”

What floated in Soare’s mind was that perverted duel. She didn’t accept everything, but she honestly thought that mobility without magic was wonderful.
Using mobility to disrupt the battlefield.
Soare thought, albeit too late, that he might have actually been quite useful.

“I’ve never seen that guy fight, though.”

“The Holy Sword is strong.”

“I should have just given it to him without being stingy. Doesn’t change much between three or four people.”

“…True.”

Well, it wasn’t confirmed that he sulked as a result of being left out.
It wasn’t confirmed, but—

**

“Seriously, not giving me a blessing is totally out of line!”

『Now, now.』

In fact, he was holding a grudge fiercely. Such a Solo was currently running with great effort. Thinking, It would be a little easier if I had a blessing.

“Are we really going to be okay?”

『Leave it to me. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I sacrificed Partner’s hair, after all.』

“I’m not dead, you know? Just became an afro?”

『Looks like critical damage.』

“U-Ugh… stop it, no more.”

『Don’t cry, Partner. You’re a boy, right?』

“Yeah.”

Running while putting on such a skit, they were running in a place far removed from the battlefield. Objectively speaking, they were running away full tilt.
It was an escape with no room for excuses.

**

“Haa, haa, how many of them are there!”

Enemy forces enough to make Soare fed up. No matter how hard they worked to whittle them down, they kept pouring out from that tree one after another. Second wave, third wave, fourth wave.
Moreover, they attacked only with magic that fire magic had difficulty penetrating.

Thanks to that, Schutz became a little easier, but he was originally a main shield, with magic specialized in protecting, and didn’t possess wide-range, high-power magic. He was fighting well like a veteran warrior, but the situation wasn’t playing to his strengths.

And one more miscalculation was—

“Haa, haa, haa.”

Sister Weiss, despite having that much power, didn’t have that much stamina. She was exposing a disgraceful state as if to say, Yankees have no stamina.
Anyone could see she was stalling.
Also, the blessing had run out. It was convenient and appreciated, but even Soare understood that asking for it from her, who was gasping for breath, was cruel.

“…Schutz.”

“…It is about time, it seems.”

If Solo were here—it wasn’t a discussion on that level. A coordinated horde of monsters, or rather an army. Even if each one was weak, was it this troublesome when operated efficiently? It gave her a headache. To fight this horde head-on, a corresponding number of people were needed.
They needed to throw an army against them as well.
And pay a corresponding sacrifice—

She understood that.

“Sister! We’re retreating!”

“Ah? What are you saying?”

“You’re totally out of breath. It’s your limit.”

“Idiot. The fight starts from here.”

“Who’s the idiot!”

They had defeated a considerable number. However, according to Schutz and Solo, as long as that tree existed, forces could be replenished.
Then, they needed to assume more than this next time.
They had to convey that to this country’s army—

“We are retreating!”

“Roger.”

“Tch.”

“You listen to what Schutz says!?”

The three took a stance to retreat.
At that moment,

“Ga-Roka Breakn.”

Magic was released from out of nowhere, and along with an earthquake, the footing of the three shattered, rose, cracked, and above all, the dust cloud made the positions of the three unclear.

“A lifelong blunder!”

Solo had investigated beforehand that the enemy had Mega-class magic. He had assumed it would be fired at their retreat destination, but if it was just one shot, he could protect everyone with his own magic. He had thought so, but like this, he didn’t know who to protect or how.
Bad, Schutz grimaced.

**

“Gyaggyaggya, fools. If you fight that leisurely, I can tell you have some kind of plan. But I won’t let you. Surprise attack upon surprise attack, and it’s the end!”

The King of Small Ogres laughed loudly,

“Mega-Proc—”

And struck down the lower life form humans with maximum firepower. Someone might survive. He judged that the one manipulating fire had considerable knowledge about fire.
But at best, Ga-class firepower.
They couldn’t withstand Mega-class. Now, how many would remain?

The laughing King,

“Excuse me for a sec.”

His neck was grabbed by someone’s left hand.

“Kohyu!?”

Interrupting the spell chanting.

(Why, why is this guy here!?)

“Shh. Right now, the guys below… my dexterous partner is handling them.”

『Fuhee, autonomous flight is tiring.』

“Good work.”

A sword danced in the sky and returned to the man’s right hand. Wafting from below was the scent of blood. They were taken out—his elites lying in ambush below.
Certainly, the high-ranking species of Mage Goblins, Mage Red Goblins, specialized in magic. They weren’t strong in hand-to-hand combat. That said, they weren’t something that could be defeated just by throwing a weapon. Most likely, he aimed for the opening when they launched magic into that battlefield.

That applied to him as well.

In addition, although he couldn’t tell from a distance—

(Goddess’s weapon. Gu, nuu, I blundered. Bad, in the first place, how was this place discovered? They should have thought I was inside the tree. And yet, why—)

Under the tree, deep in the nest, sitting on the throne—that is the standard move for a King.
They should have thought so too.

“Surprisingly not that physically strong. Even though your magic is amazing.”

『Well, he’s a Small Ogre tribe. That’s how it is.』

And yet, why—

『Making a face like ‘Why’.』

“Why, you ask… well, if I had to say.”

Judging that he couldn’t chant magic, the King of Small Ogres attempted a counterattack with monster strength. Mere lower life forms; no matter how much of a Small Ogre tribe he was, he would overturn this.
Like hell I’ll die in a place like this, he thought.

But,

“Hunch.”

Sensing that, the human, Solo, released his left hand without hesitation, retreated without accepting the grapple, and left the rest to his partner as if to say, “You handle it.”

The slash of the Demonic Sword Sein Troll beheaded the King of Small Ogres.

(Impossib… le. I… in this Azul… an Ogre’s paradise… was supposed to become King… I… in a place… like this!)

『Splendid.』

“Right back at you.”

“『Hehehe.』”

Praising each other, blushing at each other.

In the forest a little away from the battlefield, exactly at a place where one could overlook the battlefield from the side and see the formations of friend and foe well, the Small Ogres were there. That was exactly why they could wield such skillful military tactics. Thinking isn’t that the case?, Solo withdrew from the battlefield, took a huge detour to circle around, and executed a surprise attack from downwind, brilliantly finishing them off.

The moment he was convinced of victory, the Hero and the Holy Sword struck that opening.
This is a Royal Road victory.