Volume 2 illustrations:
Map illustrations:
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This is Iris, and it's now the day after Asura killed Pietro. Moon Blossom is apparently going to take the day off, so I decided to follow them and see how they spend their time.
Let's start with Lumia Canarre, their vice captain. She's been relaxing in her room at the inn, drinking tea and reading. She's so laid-back that it reminds me of a cat napping in the sun. Since it doesn't look like she plans on leaving, I'm going to go check out the other members!
By the way, I'm writing this at the same time I'm watching them!
I went to Marx's room and saw him doing some strength training. He's pretty buff now, but I believe that in the future, he'll become as super-duper macho as you, Sir Axel! After observing him a little more, I saw him start practicing his magic. Marx is really studious! But since it doesn't look like he'll do anything else, I'm moving on.
I entered Jyrki's room and saw him sleeping. He's really handsome, and he's blond just like me. He often checks up on me, so I think he's the nicest person in Moon Blossom! But I can't get over that he treats me like I'm a child! Anyway, I'm moving on.
I entered Iina's room and she said, "Here comes the idiot." I got really angry and we started arguing. Iina's terrible. She said a lot of mean things and made a lot of lewd comments about me, and made me want to cry, so I left her room.
Reko and Salume aren't in their rooms. I looked around for them and saw the two of them in Asura's room. But Asura isn't inside. Reko looks really happy. He's saying something about "Boss's smell" and is lying on Asura's bed. Salume said hi to me. Salume's such a sweetheart. I wonder why she's in Moon Blossom. How bizarre! But they're not doing anything else, so I'm gonna leave.
It's night now. All of the Moon Blossom members went to the pub, and they're drinking it up. They even called for courtesans!!!
Even though Asura's a girl, she seems to like them a lot. She's been acting all lovey-dovey with a courtesan, and Lumia looks really mad! After they partied it up, they went their own ways. By the way, the food was really yummy!
And that concludes Moon Blossom's day off!
***
This is Iris, and it's the day after Moon Blossom's little pub party. Today's the day that Asura and Lumia get their punishment. It's for how Asura lost control while they were on a mission, and how Lumia disobeyed orders. I wondered what they were going to do, then I saw Asura and Lumia dress up in maid costumes, complete with an apron over their dresses. They kind of looked like the maids at home.
Apparently, for today only, Asura and Lumia will act as the group's servants. I don't know whether to call it "light" or "wholesome," but it's nothing like the extreme punishment I imagined. Considering who we're talking about here, I thought that they would punch the two until they were covered in blood so I'm pretty relieved.
Er, wait a second, they're not treating them like servants at all!!!!!!!!!!
The group suddenly ordered the two to prostrate themselves on the ground and now, everyone's stepping on their heads! They're apologizing nonstop! Or, I should say, they're being forced to apologize nonstop.
Apparently, this is Jyrki's idea! I have no idea why they're wearing maid costumes! Lumia looked really humiliated, but Asura didn't look bothered at all.
After they finished kicking them, it was time for Marx's idea. The two of them are doing strength training. Marx is forcing them to do so, and they're still in their maid costumes! They're covered in sweat and even though they look ready to collapse, Marx isn't letting them off the hook!
Not only that, but he's forcing Lumia to repeat, "My muscles get sore way after a workout. My muscles get sore way after a workout." It looks like this is super embarrassing for her. Her expression is terrifying.
As for Asura, Marx is making her say, "I love strength training so much I'd even die for it. I love strength training." Asura doesn't look like she likes strength training at all!
It was only after they both collapsed to the floor that Marx finally gave them the all clear. But now it's Iina's turn. Iina's sitting in a chair with her legs stretched out, and she's ordering them, "Lick..."
If I had to describe Lumia's face when Iina said that, I'd say it looked like that of a Demon Lord!
I'm pretty surprised that Asura started licking Iina's foot as if it's normal for her to do so. I didn't expect anything less from their leader! It feels like she's assertively accepting her punishment! She looks kind of like a puppy when she's licking Iina's foot, and it's a little cute.
Lumia started licking too, making a face like it's the end of the world. When he saw that, Jyrki said, "Vice Cap'n, you're so hot, I can't even watch this anymore. Y-You're all sweaty and you're licking with your tongue and..." After he said that, he kind of leaned forward. I wonder why he can't stand up straight?
"I wonder if I can withstand this temptation..." Marx said, looking like he's doing his best to hold something back. But I have no idea what the problem could be.
"How about me?" Asura asked.
"You do nothin' for me, Boss," Jyrki said.
"I don't feel anything at all," Marx said.
Iina made them lick her feet for a very long time. She looked very happy!
"My feet are gonna get wrinkly...so you can stop now..."
It looks like she's finally forgiven them. Next is Salume's turn.
"I'm sure it's embarrassing, but please take off your clothes."
As soon as Salume said that, the two of them immediately started to strip. AHHH!!! AHHHHHH!!! AAAAHHHH!!! Why didn't the two of them even hesitate?! Even Salume looks surprised!
"We undergo torture resistance training naked, so it doesn't matter at this point," Asura said. "This actually feels great, since we can finally take off those sweaty clothes."
"I agree. I'm already used to being naked," Lumia said.
"I'm so used to starin' at your naked bodies that it actually calmed me down!" Jyrki exclaimed.
"Same here. Salume, this is hardly a punishment at all. Don't you have anything else?" Marx asked.
"Huh? What? Oh dear, I didn't think of a second one."
"Then, let's skip Salume and go to me," Reko said. "Ah, sorry. I got so turned on by Boss's sweaty, naked body that I forgot what I came up with." Reko couldn't seem to stop staring at Asura.
"You're so stupid..." Iina muttered.
"Hmm. It was a pretty lukewarm punishment," Asura said.
"No, it wasn't. I can't take any more of this. Can you all forgive me? Please?" Lumia clasped her hands before her chest and looked at us with tears in her eyes.
Oh my goodness, my heart skipped a beat! I'd forgive her! I'd definitely forgive her!
"C'mon, let's let the vice cap'n off the hook. She didn't cause any real harm, and Boss was more at fault."
"Oh, yes, we don't need to punish the vice captain anymore. I agree that Boss isn't done with her punishment yet, though."
"You guys are all idiots..." Iina sighed.
Personally, I can understand how Jyrki and Marx feel.
"Hmm. Well, this has been a terribly humiliating experience for Lumia, so that's fair. Lumia, you're done. Now, the problem here is me. To tell the truth, I don't feel remotely bad about what I did, even if the strength training was exhausting."
She just came out and admitted that she hasn't been repenting at all!
Salume handed Lumia a towel and Lumia is wiping off her sweat with it. Then, she started to put on her clothes.
"What should we do?" Jyrki asked Marx.
"Hmm..."
"Boss won't cry...no matter what we do... This is boring..."
"Sh-Should we try tickling her?"
After Salume's suggestion, everyone made a face like "Oh, I didn't think of that!"
Then, everyone started tickling Asura. I joined in. Asura began to cry. Granted, it was from laughing too much.
"I thought I'd die while laughing... I see, this truly was a hellish experience. Not even I could deal with that."
After we finished, Asura nodded with a really impressed look on her face!
***
"I did order her to keep an eye on Moon Blossom... But is she an idiot?!" Axel screamed after he finished reading Iris's letter.
"Calm down, Axel. Iris may have unparalleled talent, but she's a little weak in the head, isn't she?" said a woman sitting across from Axel.
"Elna, you really don't mince your words, huh?"
"Hee hee. That's one of my virtues, isn't it?" Elna Heikkila giggled.
She was a forty-two-year-old woman with her long cream-colored hair tied in a low ponytail. There was a gentle expression on her face, and her clothes were neat and tidy. It wouldn't be wrong to describe her appearance as one of a noble lady.
"I guess..."
Affixed upon Axel's left arm was an artificial hand made of steel. Since the prosthetic constantly had its fist clenched, he could punch someone with it if he wished.
"Now then, Axel, has there been any progress? I haven't come up with anything on my end!" Elna sighed.
In between Axel and Elna, there was a small round table. And upon that table, they'd placed the map of Arnia Kingdom and its surrounding areas.
"Same here. Truthfully, we're stuck."
"We're neeever going to find Matty's murderer." Elna shook her head. She was East Felsen's other Great Hero.
"We don't even know which direction the arrows flew from," Axel said frustratedly. "Just two arrows. Can you imagine that? Killin' Matias with nothing more than two arrows? Do you think you could pull that off, Miss Demonslaying Huntress?"
Elna used her archery skills to become a hero, and it was through her prowess with a bow that she'd been promoted to a Great Hero. Prior to her accomplishments, archers had been viewed with disdain and mocked as "cowards." But Elna changed the general perception. Now, everyone had archers in their armies.
"If we're talking about Matty, then no, that's impossible. If it was a youth who only recently became a hero, then perhaps."
"Someone managed to turn that impossible into reality. And I can't even find them to get them to pay for it."
"Plus, we can't come up with any countermeasures against assassinations without knowing how it was done."
"Asura told us to hide ourselves in a sturdy underground room. Tsk, she doesn't get that we heroes have our own lives to lead."
"Yup. Heroes are humans too, after all. An arrow through the head is more than enough to kill us. If it was an arrow that not even Matty could detect, then there's nothing that he could have done. I'm sure that it'd be possible to kill off the rest of us with the same tactic!"
"That's exactly the issue. What kind of arrow could it have been that Matias couldn't detect it?"
"Now, this is just my hypothesis, but..." Elna looked down at the map and pointed at the forest drawn upon it. "If the archer was here, then it'd be impossible for anyone to see or detect them."
"Stop joking around, Elna. Do you realize how far away that is? No one can aim for Matias's head from that distance. It wouldn't even reach him."
"What about with magic?"
"Magic?"
"That's right. Perhaps the archer used some spell we don't know about. Didn't you say that the mercenaries of Moon Blossom use magic? I hear they call themselves 'soldier-mages.'"
"I know that too, but they're not behind it. You haven't met Asura, so you probably still have your doubts, but she's seriously the type who would go around bragging about it if she'd done Matias in."
"Are you suuure that she wasn't just tricking you?"
"Positive. I was seriously freaked out by her. Can you believe that? Intimidated by a thirteen-year-old girl. She's a terrifying brat. She truly thinks it'd be fine to have an all-out war against the heroes. So she wouldn't have hidden it if she killed him."
Axel had already removed Moon Blossom from the list of suspects. However, they were still a dangerous existence, so he continued to monitor their activities.
"Hmm... Then, do you think the culprit was a peak-tier monster?"
"I'd prefer that. It's better than being killed by a human."
"But if the culprit was a peak-tier monster, we'd neeever be able to find them!" Elna sighed with a shake of her head.
"It's our complete and utter defeat."
"Yup, it sure is. If the culprit was a human, then I truly, from the bottom of my heart, fear them."
"Yeah. It's the perfect crime. I don't wanna admit it, but they're the type of genius who's born every few hundred years. That's only if they were acting alone, though."
"A genius...you say? I still suspect Asura, to be honest."
"She's a scary brat, but I wouldn't call her anything more than that. She was just fearsome. She smiles like a Demon Lord does."
"Oh, reaaally? I hear that they use a basic combat tactic called 'fire and maneuver,' but its description sounds like something I've been utilizing my whole career. If that was something a thirteen-year-old girl conceived and implemented on her own, I think it's accurate to describe her as a 'genius.'"
"I don't get what you're talking about, except that you consider yourself a genius."
"Hee hee, that's because you fully specialize in combat, Axel," Elna laughed. "Think about it. Asura is using magic, which we all looked down on, on the battlefield. The only spell that could've ever been considered 'strong' was Jeanne's Divine Retribution."
When Jeanne was in the prime of her power, magic briefly became popular. However, everyone reached the same conclusion: Jeanne was special, not magic. After that, magic returned to the bottom of the hierarchy.
"I changed my view on magic. How could I not, when it kicked my ass like this?" Axel said, raising his arm.
"Twenty years from now, wars will be fought with soldier-mages. And I suppose that half of the heroes will be warrior-mages?"
"Are you saying that Moon Blossom will change the world?"
"That's right. If they continue to achieve victories on the battlefield, then it's inevitable. It's just like what happened with archers."
"Then she's truly a terrifying little brat. Some kid like her, change the world?" Axel shrugged his shoulders and huffed a soft laugh.
"And that's why she should be a suspect. We should always suspect her, Axel. Asura is a genius, I'm sure of it. She can come up with angles we would never even begin to think of."
"Even so...I don't believe she was the one who killed Matias. Why don't you try meeting her yourself?"
"Yes, I will. It just so happens that I have a job I'd like to hire them for. I can also use the chance to train Iris."
"What's the request?"
"I want them to investigate the Great Forest in the south. To be more precise, I want them to protect the surveyor."
"Hey, are you serious, Elna?" Axel glared at her. "The Great Forest is too early—way too early—for Iris. Do you plan on letting a candidate for your replacement die?"
In the south of Felsenmark, there was a vast forest. However, no one knew what was beyond its borders. No one had ever entered it and reached the other side.
"This is technically a job for Moon Blossom! It'd be convenient if Iris can gain some more combat experience on the side...is how I feel about it."
"I-If it's an investigation, then that means you want them to go into uncharted territory, right? Powerful monsters might appear. I'm sure Moon Blossom will be fine, but there'll be trouble if they're up against a large number. Another hero should accompany them."
The majority of monsters came from the Great Forest, so there was a high chance that an unprecedented threat lurked among the darkness. During investigations that required journeying to unmapped areas of the Great Forest, more than two heroes were assigned to act as guards. Depending on the situation, a Great Hero would go with them. That was how it had always been.
"Huuuh? It's fiiine. If we're only looking at combat strength, then isn't Iris on your level, Axel? And Moon Blossom will be with her! They'll make up for her inexperience. If Iris ends up dying alongside them, then that simply means she's got rotten luck."
"You... Whose luck are you testing? Iris's? Or Moon Blossom's?"
"I'm testing both, Axel. I believe that Iris will become a Great Hero who'll make her mark on history. In terms of raw talent alone, she's better than even Jeanne was. All that's left is whether or not she's got fortune on her side. Am I wrooong?"
"Tsk... Fine." Axel, too, had high expectations for Iris.
"As soon as Iris matures, I'll give her my position as the Great Hero and then I can finally retire," Elna said cheerily.
"Lemme retire first. My body's already falling apart thanks to all the battles I've been through. I'm nothing like what I was in my prime. I don't even think I'm worthy of my title at this point." Axel had been planning to give his position to Matias at the end of the year.
"All I can say to that is good luck finding a replacement for Matty. Besides, it'll take about five years for Iris to mature! In any case, I sure would like to retire before I'm fifty."
"At this point in time, none of the heroes in East Felsen are on Matias's level. The closest one would probably be Milka Ramstead of the Azure Skies."
It was a given that even among the heroes, there was a ranking based on their strength. And when it came to choosing who would be a Great Hero, one had to carefully consider the hero's personality and aspirations. At least that was Axel's opinion on the matter.
"Milka's real handsome, so that sounds good," Elna said with a smile. "My personal recommendation is to have Asura Lyona become a hero."
"Don't joke about that, Elna. She's the type who would only take advantage of her privileges and neglect all of her duties."
"Be that as it may, I believe that her natural talent would be useful in defeating Demon Lords!"
"You've always been the type to look at things from a different angle than warriors. I'd say you're more similar to those Moon Blossom folks."
"Well, I did defeat alllll the people who mocked archers, didn't I?" Elna chuckled. Though she exuded a calm atmosphere now, Elna had been the aggressive type prior to becoming a Great Hero. "Well, in any case, Axel, if Asura really is as scary as you say, then she's the type who's more useful on our side. I'll ask her if she's interested in participating in the next Hero Selection Exam, okaaay?"
"I highly doubt she'll be..." Axel sighed. It was impossible for him to imagine Asura as a hero.
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