Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

8 – The Goddess’s Relic

The hero party defeated the Dark Lord, and several months had passed. The world regained peace, and within that peace, countless nations sought tranquility.

The heroines of the Dark Lord’s conquest, Princess Anyaes from Chloeti Kingdom, Saint Ciera, Wizard Alessa, were no longer in the kingdom.

That’s because they got married to the handsome crown prince, Floyd, from the neighboring Halifax Empire and moved there.

There were rumors in neighboring countries about how the prince comforted the heroines after they lost their lover, the hero. But in the Chloeti Kingdom, there were rumors that Prince Floyd had saved them from the trashy hero.

Either way, everyone blessed the union of them and the prince.

Laughably, the rumor about the hero being trash only circulated within the Chloeti Kingdom, primarily within the royal road.

After all, how many foreign people would’ve witnessed the hero fighting bravely?

It is not possible to obliterate something that has been seen firsthand just with mere rumors.

In a world where even things like the internet don’t exist, it’s not easy for rumors to spread widely.

However, it is uncertain whether this fact will become known within the kingdom of Cloeti someday.

Even so, there was no chance that it would affect Princess Anies.

The princess had already dismissed the matter as just groundless rumors and that it was a problem that could be passed over as the citizens simply being mistaken and talking excessively.

Nonetheless, at least until now, there were a few months during which the fact that the brave man had actually fought bravely had not been made known within the kingdom of Retium.

And the protagonist of the rumor, the Brave…

“Ugh… ah, my head.”

When he woke up from his sleep, his head ached to the point where it was throbbing.

But once he realized the pain, the pain disappeared rapidly, like the tide going out.

It seems that the Brave’s healing ability works for headaches as well.

“It’s pathetic. Aren’t you supposed to be used to camping by now?”

And then, a sharp voice entered his head as he sat there in a daze after the pain was gone.

When he turned his head towards the voice, he saw a shining sword.

It was the Holy Sword Reinforce.

“…I can’t help it, I can’t sleep properly without a pillow.”

“Phew, you’re incredibly powerful, but you have a weird weakness.”

Yes, that’s right. It was the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword was now speaking.

Honestly, he was surprised when this guy suddenly started talking.

Because this guy had never spoken to him before even until he had defeated the Demon King.

But after he started traveling alone, this guy started talking to him.

He was so surprised that he asked when did he get the ability to speak.

And, the response was hilarious.

He said, “I didn’t have enough power at first, and later… your smell was too bad for me to say anything.”

Well, at least with him now able to talk, he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

Surprisingly, he was quite interesting to talk to, so there was never a dull moment.

Though, there is a small issue with his attitude.

After cleaning up his bed, he sheathes Reinforce around his waist.

“Ugh?!”

After sneakily glancing at Reinforce making a strange sound every time he was sheathed, he left the spot.

“So, where are we going now?”

‘Lindium Mountain, there are ruins of a goddess there.’

There was a small objective for him who chose to travel alone.

That was to quietly raise a family and live a peaceful life.

However, that was extremely difficult.

For him, to have a family was now impossible.

Because…

“aaa!! Help!!”

A young girl’s scream.

Kicking into gear, he ran towards the sound and found a pack of thieves threatening a little girl.

He surveyed the masks covering their faces and stepped forward.

“Hmm?! Who is this!?”

For such lowlifes, he didn’t even need to draw his holy sword.

A swift punch, enough to make the thieves flinch and run away.

As the thieves ran away, the girl approached him.

She was a rather adorable girl, seemingly full of aegyo.

“Tha… thank you!! You saved my life!!”

“No… it’s nothing…”

“Um… do you have time? If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to my house.”

“Uh…sure, I’m Hans, and you are…?”

“Ah, I’m Benea!! Nice to meet you.”

…Mission accomplished.

Profile skill activated.

Name: Benea

Age: 32

Class: Thief

A female gang leader leading a group of thieves in the forest near Mt. Lindium.

Known for deceiving men with her youthful looks, luring them to their deaths, and stealing their possessions.

Ah, damn it.

I knew something was up.

The thieves who seemed to run away were probably lurking nearby.

“aaa!!”

At the same time, Reinforce screamed a scream only I could hear.

“She’s not a virgin!! This woman is not a virgin!!”

‘Don’t shout in my head, that’s not important.’

“There is nothing more important in the world than virginity! It’s disgusting!! Get rid of her now!!’

…Yeah.

This guy has an abnormal hatred of non-virgins.

On the journey, he once mentioned that her smell was so putrid that he couldn’t speak. It now made sense that these betrayers were non-virgins, resulting in that foul odor.

Then, those guys, when they stopped at the Halphas Empire, already had relations with the Empire’s prince…

No, thinking about it again makes me angrier.

“Um… Excuse me?”

The girl in front of me… no, the lady thief’s voice brought me back to reality, and I silently drew my holy sword.

“…Alright, Lady Thief, let’s get this over with, quick and easy.”

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“What…? How… how do you know…”

“Pay for my wounds in the afterlife!! Repent in hell!!”

Lady Thief Benea was split into two by the holy sword’s slash, spurting blood from her body.

“Uwah!! Boss!!”

“Kyaaah!! The virgin’s blood!! The blood on my sword!!”

The hiding thieves panicked and fled the scene as the Holy Sword Reinforce screamed madly.

After shaking off the blood from the glowing Reinforce, he looked blankly up at the sky.

Damn it all. This is just how my life is.

I left the royal road, dreaming of meeting a good, honest bride and starting a family.

And instead, I got involved with various women.

The first woman was a dancer I met at a tavern.

She seemed nice and pretty, but after using my profile skill, I found out she was a habitual scammer, using men and tossing them aside.

The second woman was a cunning girl I met in the city.

We journeyed together for a brief moment, but after using my profile skill, I found out she had a knack for deceiving men and selling them as slaves.

…These things happened time and time again.

I went through similar situations again today.

Due to these accumulated betrayals, I’ve become so distrustful toward women, I can’t trust the female species altogether now.

Of course, I understand not all women in this world are like that.

However, whether I was simply unlucky or not, most women I got involved with all turned out to be flops.

Eventually, my plan to find an honest bride and start a family pretty much fell apart.

Having given up on my family plan, I decided to visit the divine ruins in various parts of the continent, which I heard about a few times from the Saint Ciel during our travels.

Maybe if I learn about the goddess from the ruins, I could somehow find a way back, that was the vague hope I clung onto anyways.

The ones who summoned me here in the first place have said they don’t know how to send me back, after all.

I had been prepared to lay my bones down in this world, but now I don’t have that intention anymore.

So, today, I returned to the kingdom in hopes of visiting the goddess’ ruins situated near Letium, on the Lindium mountain.

The only place whose exact location I knew among the goddess’ ruins is here.

I came here once during my hero party days.

I had to carry out some sort of ritual with the church to inherit the Holy Sword Reinforce there.

Because of that, I didn’t get to look around the ruins in detail, so I thought I’d take this chance to visit.

While climbing up the Lindium Mountain, I suddenly looked down at the mountain’s base.

Far off in the distance, I could see the royal road of Letium.

“……”

I never thought that after traveling around the continent for several months, I’d end up returning to Letium again.

Every nation was always full of festive vibes.

Given that humanity had been exposed to the threat of demons for years, it’s natural they were celebrating now that they’d broken free from those threats.

…Well, this festive atmosphere would probably be ruined with the passing of this season.

At least, I would like to take comfort in the fact that no harm would come to the nations that didn’t get involved with those women.

“Why are you suddenly lost in thought?”

Pulled back to reality by Reinforce’s voice, who had been spacing out.

“It’s nothing.”

Even now, the people of that city must be chewing up the valor of the hero and going on about their peaceful lives.

Those women are likely living well in the Imperial Palace of the Halphas Empire.

…Several months have passed, and several months remain.

The Demon King, in preparation for a thorough and definitive invasion, was said to be executing a plan to increase the military strength of the Demon Kingdom, in collaboration with the Four Heavenly Kings.

Incubus, who were still scouting the human lands, occasionally contacted me to pass on news about the Demon King.

When dealing with the Incubus, I was worried that this unicorn holy sword, Reinforce, might start to shine, but surprisingly it was quiet.

Later, when I asked about it because I was intrigued, it said, ‘That’s just how Incubus is’ or something.

… It was a strange creature that had discernment in strange places.

“Oh, we’ve arrived.”

Lost in thought, I had reached my destination, the Goddess’s ruins.

Last time I was here, the church had carefully placed guards, but now there was nobody.

… Well, after the Demon King’s army disappeared, the church grew considerably slack.

They don’t even want to manage the ruins anymore.

Well, it’s good that I can enter it easily.

There were no significant changes in the ruins since the last visit.

The only difference I could point out was that there was a bit of dust on the ruins, once so sparklingly well-maintained.

They must have left the ruins with no maintenance for a few months.

While looking around the ruins, I arrived at an altar inside.

“Where is this place?”

“This is where I became your master.”

“Um… I’m afraid I don’t notice because I was dazed when you certified me as a hero…”

In front of the altar, there was a statue of a beautiful woman, hands pressed together and raised towards the sky.

The goddess Erdia.

She is the goddess widely worshipped in this continent.

And also, likely the goddess who summoned me to this world.

“……”

I quietly looked up at the statue of the goddess.

The goddess statue had an evidently beautiful but somewhat sorrowful face.

… Come to think of it, Ciel, who was a saint, said she had a conversation with a goddess.

A bit of anxiety arose about whether the goddess would interfere with my revenge plan but I shook my head.

If the goddess has a conscience, even if she won’t help me, she won’t help them.

As I thought this, I felt something trembling at my waist.

“Huh? Why are you trembling?”

“Eh? Why am I doing this?”

Suddenly, the holy sword Reinforce began to tremble.

It seemed not to know why it was trembling.

Feeling something was not right, I pulled out the Reinforce that had been hanging at my waist.

And I lifted up Reinforce, moving it this way and that.

“Oh… oh…?”

The closer the holy sword got to the goddess’s statue, the stronger its trembling became.

Being very careful, I approached the goddess statue and brought Reinforce close.

…Thrumming…

And then, the sound of something moving.

At the same time, the vibration of Reinforce stopped abruptly.

“What… What’s this? What on earth has happened?”

“No, what are you going to do if you don’t know?”

“Ah… It can’t be helped. I’ve been asleep for a long time, and due to the poor upkeep, most of my memory has been lost!”

After grumbling, Reinforce was put back into its scabbard and hung at the waist, and the surroundings were searched.

Then, after confirming a hidden passageway behind the statue of a goddess, I set foot inside.

Halphas Empire, Imperial Palace.

Within it, there was a subsidiary palace slightly distanced from the palace proper.

In a luxurious room of the subsidiary palace, a woman was sitting on the sofa with a deeply furrowed brow.

Anise Dela Cloeti.

The first princess of the Cloeti Kingdom and originally the fiancée of the hero.

And, she is now married to Prince Freud.

To her, Alesha, a woman in a similar situation, approached.

“Anise? What’s the matter?”

“Alesha…”

Awakening from sleep, Alesha, draped in a sleep dress, looked around.

“Is Ciela still asleep?”

“Yes, I saw her in her room a while ago.”

“But what’s got you so angry?”

At Alesha’s words, Anise slammed the floor, bowing her head deeply.

“It’s because of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…Surely, he’s not courting another woman?”

Indicating she was aware of the situation, Alesha asked, and Anise nodded her head.

Freud, the crown prince of the Halphas Empire.

During the journey to subdue the Demon King, according to the proposal of the prince she ran into in the Empire, everything was fine until she pushed aside her original fiancé, the Empire’s aristocratic princess, to marry him.

She didn’t care much when the aristocratic princess went missing.

She didn’t doubt that a glorious and dazzling life awaited her.

But just as expected, he was a man who wooed all three women of the hero’s party.

Prince Freud had bad habits towards women.

It was routine for him to chase after any beauty he found, and his three wives suffered from their husband’s wandering eye.

Despite this, he was the crown prince, and they couldn’t openly criticize him…

“Who is it this time?”

“The princess of Jorne Kingdom, Milene. It seemed unusual how he looked at her yesterday. Looks like he went looking for her this morning.”

At Anise’s words, Alesha also sighed.

…When you think about it, it had been about a month or two after their marriage.

Since then, she’d felt the time spent with Crown Prince Freud had considerably reduced.

Alesha herself hadn’t spent the night with Prince Freud for quite a while now…

Crash!!

At that moment, a loud noise resounded from the suburban palace, startling the two.

Alesha hastily stood up, and Princess Anise instinctively reached for her sword.

Heavy footsteps echoed, and suddenly, the door swung open and someone stepped in.

It was Ciel, the saint.

The two who verified it was her relaxed their vigil and exhaled deeply.

“Ah… Don’t surprise us like that, Ciel.”

“Hu…huff…s…sorry. But it’s urgent…”

“Urgent? What on earth is going on?”

Ciel, her face pale, opened her mouth.

“Th…that is… In my dream…”

Ciel’s words abruptly halted midway.

“Wh…what…”

“What’s wrong?”

Agnes stared at Ciel, who had stopped talking.

Her face remained pale, but she responded with a blank expression.

“In my dream… That… Wh… What was it? Why can’t I remember…?”

Ciel had observed a horrifying scene in her dream.

But not long after waking from the dream, she completely forgot what it was about.

Seeing this, Alesa chuckled lightly.

“hahahaha, if you can’t remember it, wasn’t that dream insignificant?”

“Is… is that so…? Uh…uhmm…”

But there was one thing Ciel remembered for certain.

That in the dream, she was consumed by tremendous fear and despair.

However, as she couldn’t remember it, the fear and despair gradually evaporated like illusions.

Perhaps it really was insignificant, thought Ciel, smiling awkwardly.

The other two also laughed, and the three of them merrily chatted about the whimsical prince.

Sharing a secret and being in the same situation, the three of them always got along well.

But they were unaware.

The dream Ciel had was about a future that was soon to come.

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