I strolled casually toward the girls.
"Hey! It's good to see you all well!" I greeted them with a bright smile.
My greeting brought the girls out of their shocked state.
Angelica was the first to address me. "Franz... What happened here?"
"Well, it's a long story, and you might not believe it, but to summarize, we were drugged by the villagers. However, thanks to my hero status, I wasn't really affected, so I had a heated fight with them to protect you guys. Though, to be honest, the most surprising thing was finding out that they worked from the very beginning with the criminal group."
I lied, yet at the same time, I spoke some truth.
But Angelica seemed more concerned about another aspect. "Indeed, it's really surprising that they were cooperating with the criminal organization, but did you actually end up killing all of them? Please, don't lie to me, Franz. We just witnessed how you used the Gluttony skill to dispose of the bodies and improve your physical condition. You'd only use that skill if all of them were dead; otherwise, you would've made the survivors bury the dead bodies."
Though Angelica was initially shocked by the villagers' betrayal, the revelation that I had slaughtered them all took her aback even more.
"Yes, I did. And to be honest, I don't regret having done it at all, Angelica. They not only betrayed us but collaborated with this criminal organization for many years. They even had hidden detention and torture centers throughout the whole village."
My tone turned serious as I spoke.
"What they did was unforgivable, Angelica. Moreover, I couldn't even use teleportation to take them to prison in the capital. So, I felt that the best solution was to eliminate the source of the problems. Killing them all."
The expressions on the girls' faces were hard to describe.
'It's hard to believe that Franz has changed so much, that he can already do this kind of thing so nonchalantly.'
For a hero, killing enemies was commonplace in any world. After all, a hero's primary characteristic is combat skill and effectiveness in killing. When the girls first met me, I was an extremely kind and peaceful person. However, various unpleasant experiences during my time in the military had left a mark, making it difficult for them to consider me the same person as before.
"Franz-!"
Before Angelica could scold me for my actions, Natasha chimed in, "Unbelievable! So you gave that old hag what she deserved?"
"You mean the village chief? Yes, I did! You should have seen the look on her face when she had nowhere to run. She was so desperate, hahaha!"
"Too bad I woke up so late. I would've loved to see her!"
"..."
To Angelica's surprise, Natasha happily discussed the massacre I had just carried out in her village.
"I-I can't believe it. Natasha, don't you feel bad because Franz just murdered all the villagers you've lived with every day?" Angelica asked.
Natasha looked at her with an expression of not understanding what she meant.
"What are you talking about? Didn't Franz just explain that the villagers collaborated in the kidnapping and death of all the men in the village? I came to live in this place with my father not long ago, and if Franz could avenge him by killing those responsible for his death, well, of course, I would be more than happy!"
Angelica was speechless in response to Natasha's statement. After all, Natasha had spoken the truth.
"B-but you still don't think he overdid it?" Angelica asked.
Natasha, with an annoyed expression, replied, "If it weren't for Franz, all of us would've been in grave danger. In fact, I would most likely have already died. Previously, I was hit so hard that I ended up losing consciousness. So, it wouldn't have been unusual for me to end up dying solely from my injuries."
Angelica had nothing more to say. If the main one affected by this situation supported me fervently, she had no place to criticize me in front of her.
"Well, that settles it all!" I said with a smile when I saw Angelica speechless.
"By the way, how are you feeling now, Jessica? They told me that before you'd been very ill. Eva was so worried about you that she even cried."
"I-It's not true! Tell her it's a lie, Franz!"
Jessica laughed at Eva's desperate reaction to denying my words.
"I'm fine now, Franz. Thanks for caring~ <3" Jessica said, giving me a flirtatious look. She even came up to me and kissed me on the cheek.
"..."
Well, no matter how much time had passed, I still hadn't gotten used to Jessica's behavior. She constantly took every opportunity to flirt with me! Unfortunately, I couldn't assume that she did it with some hidden meaning due to her personality.
To be honest, Jessica tended to act seductive and flirtatious in general, visible both in her behavior and her way of dressing casually.
Of course, she usually kept it in check to some degree most of the time. For example, in the army, a military uniform had to be used, and hierarchical codes of conduct had to be respected in public to avoid creating problems in the chain of command. However, when I'm alone with Jessica, she used to be somewhat aggressive in her methods of getting closer to me. So, though I knew that she only acted like this to make fun of me, I couldn't help but get incredibly uncomfortable.
"N-No problem, Jessica. We all care about you, ESPECIALLY Eva, so you DON'T have to pay special attention to me," I said while sweating profusely because Jessica had been trying to grab my arm for a while.
"Well, now that there should be no more threats nearby, we should investigate within the village for any kind of leads that might help us gather information. We could also take a short break, of at least one day, before continuing our journey to Winterland."
I said while trying to change the topic of conversation and thus deflect Jessica's futile efforts.
Jessica, who couldn't continue her flirtation with me, pouted but finally resigned herself. In the same way, the other three girls nodded to my words.
We first decided to visit the village head's residence together.
Honestly, it was the most obvious place where there could be any kind of important document or another kind of clue that would allow us to find out about this unknown criminal organization. Also, even if we didn't find information linked to that organization, at least getting information about the region would be of great value to us. We were on an unofficial mission to get information about the current situation in South Herssian, to begin with. Considering that I could no longer rely on teleportation due to the magic blockage in the area, being able to return to the capital would be a huge inconvenience due to the great geographical distance.
In a nutshell...
'We're on our own until we figure out a way to use magic again.'
We headed toward the residence where Cristina, the late village head, used to live.
"So, you guys plan to continue your journey after a single day of rest here?" Natasha asked.
"Yes, we will. We have to head to Winterland as soon as possible. As you must have already
noticed from our earlier conversation, my true identity is the hero of this kingdom, and we are on a top-secret mission on which the future of Herssian depends," I replied.
With an expression between irritation and confusion, Natasha said:
"If you guys are on a top-secret mission, why are you telling me all that valuable information?"
"Ah," I scratched my head.
"Well, you seem trustworthy, so there should be no problem!"
"You can't be careless with these matters, Franz! You and I have only known each other for a few hours!"
Due to Natasha's comment, I fell into deep thought.
'Well, indeed, It's true that we've only known each other for a few hours. But in that short time you not only helped me, but you even protected Jessica, even though you ended up with such serious injuries.'
"By the way, Natasha, what are you planning to do from now on? I mean, there's no one else left in this place, so living here alone must be difficult."
My question took Natasha by surprise because it seemed that she hadn't thought about it.
"I'm not actually sure. I hadn't started to think about it. My father was the last family I had left, and I just kept living in this place hoping to see him again. However, now that I know he's dead, I don't feel like living in this town anymore..."
She had no place to call home anymore.
"In that case why don't you just come with us?" I casually offered an alternative to Natasha.
"What?"
Not only Natasha but the rest of the girls also reacted in the same way.
"Franz, I know we are in debt with Natasha, but right now we are on a very important secret mission. Bringing a civilian with us can be dangerous for everyone," Angelica said.
She wasn't trying to be ungrateful or rude to Natasha, but her argument made a lot of sense.
Our journey would undoubtedly be fraught with dangers that could clearly endanger Natasha's life.
Therefore, she was only expressing her concern.
I didn't really agree with her statement, though.
"I understand your concern, Angelica, but the benefits of Natasha's presence outweigh any eventual danger that might arise. First of all, she is a native of this area so she can serve as a guide and teach us various things about the culture here. She's also a mana user so her ability to protect herself isn't as small as you think."
The rest of the girls were shocked to learn that Natasha had awakened her mana.
The number of mana users in the world is considerably small, so just being one of them guarantees you a bright future in almost any profession in which you have some talent.
Seeing that the girls were still not completely convinced, I also said:
"What's more, she already knows about our presence and mission here. She was even in direct contact with the members of that strange criminal organization. It might be even more dangerous for her to stay away from us right now."
The girls seemed much more convinced after realizing that it could be even more dangerous for Natasha to travel alone.
"I don't have a problem with Natasha joining the group," Jessica said.
She felt indebted to Natasha for having saved her before.
"Natasha was a great help to us, so I agree too!" Eva said excitedly.
Angelica, seeing how everyone else had already accepted Natasha, said:
"If everyone agrees, I won't object either."
"Well, we have talked a lot, but actually the final decision it's up to you Natasha," I said.
Natasha thought for a moment about what we were proposing, and after a brief moment of silence, she made a decision and said:
"...If you four agree, I will be happy to accompany you guys."
So, in this way and with a bright smile on my face, I said:
"Welcome to the Hero's party!"