Chapter 109: Those Who are Relied Upon and Those Who Follow

Mariabelle acted quickly.

As soon as she returned to the castle, she met up with the knights who had been patrolling the area, informed them that the slime had appeared in the city, and had them gather all the knights and soldiers who could move.

She had the soldiers surround the castle and blocked the way so that not a single monster would escape.

The knights were given command of the soldiers, and patrols of the royal capital were reinforced.

The royal capital of Fonteau suddenly became noisy, and by going around telling people that the slime had appeared, everyone remembered the fear and threat of the Black Ooze and gathered at the church designated as a shelter.

While entrusting the people's safety to others, Mariabelle moved independently and went inside the royal castle.

With only a few knights in tow, she headed to the queen's room as fast as she could―― and found two women being violated in front of the door.

"'Okaa-sama!!"

Mistaking it for her mother, Mariabelle exclaimed, and for a moment she stopped and hesitated at its presence, an incubus with a black mucus in the shape of a man which was violating a woman――.

She thought of Fenelieka's words.

Even in the turmoil of her mother being attacked, she remembered the threat of the incubus―― its gaze and voice, which have a strong seductive effect on women but she approached the incubus without hesitation.

She was not overconfident due to the hero's armor.

She did not look at the body of the incubus but recognized the figure that was on the floor by the light of the magic lamp. She then slashed the head of the incubus that was violating the head maid, Lyna, and sent it flying.

"Mariabelle-sama!!"

The knights who had been chasing the black-haired female hero shouted behind her.

They too were desperately chasing after her with all their might, but they were still too slow.

Mariabelle neutralized the gaze and voice that Fenelieka was talking about by beheading the incubus with god-like speed, and she was careful not to smell its scent by holding her breath.

――With the current Mariabelle, she could move for a few minutes without breathing.

In the meantime, she checked the torso of the incubus whose head was blown off, and looked for its "nucleus" which was the absolute weak point common to slimes―― destroying it and cutting the torso in two at the same time.

(One.)

She counted the numbers in her mind and next turned her attention to the incubus that was violating Tiana.

She didn't check Lyna's condition.

She might get upset if she saw the beauty of the maid who was being violated and revealing her lasciviousness―― with that in mind, Mariabelle cuts both incubi in the same manner.

In no time at all, the two slimes were eliminated.

She cleaned the stain on the sword and checked to see if there were any other threats in the area.

"Please bring them to a safe place!"

Mariabelle, alarmed by the scent of the incubus that filled the hallway, held her breath and broke the hallway window with the hilt of the holy sword to let fresh air inside, albeit a somewhat violent action.

From there, she waited another dozen seconds before finally taking a deep breath and issuing the next instruction to the knights.

The knights were also fierce survivors of the decisive battle with the Black Ooze and were capable of easily defeating ordinary monsters.

However, it was overshadowed.

Mariabelle's decisiveness, stamina, and energy.

All of them were on a different level from those of the knights, and they feel as though they have been made aware of that, the knights followed Mariabelle's words and checked on Lyna and Tiana's safety.

There was no time to be disappointed by it.

If they could not be as strong as the hero, they aim to be strong enough to protect their backs.

That was the desire and strength of the knights who lived in Fonteau, witnessing the strength of the hero.

"Both are fine!"

"――Tch."

At the sound of the knight's voice, however, Mariabelle clicked her tongue.

Her gaze was not on the two maids lying on the floor, their whole bodies convulsing with the afterglow of pleasure even though they have been released, but in the queen's room.

The third incubus was standing by the window, holding Queen Leticia, who was sleeping while Mariabelle was killing the two incubi.

She clicked her tongue at it.

"Wait!!"

The third monster broke the window and flew out at the same time as Mariabelle's words.

The third incubus leaped up using its wings on its back and flew away into the darkness.

"Okaa-sama!!"

Mariabelle screamed as she rushed to the broken window and leaned forward.

――A moment later, a slime fell from above toward the upper half of her body.

A trap.

Mariabelle was so dismayed at the sight of Leticia being kidnapped that her reaction was momentarily delayed, and for the first time tonight, her head was covered by the slime.

The magnificent black hair, inherited from her father was wet with mucus and stuck to her cheeks and neck, while the slime adhered to the blue armor blessed by the goddess.

"Kyaa!?"

Mariabelle screamed, pulled her body away from the window, and fell flat on her buttocks on the floor.

Holding the holy sword, she tried to grab the slime with her hands, which were attached to her body and were now trying to penetrate inside the armor.

Even though she knew such things were pointless, people instinctively try to keep the creepy things away from them.

She was still a woman, regardless of her superior abilities as a hero.

Mariabelle tried to shake off the slime that tried to defile her out of disgust, but soon, however, a slight glow from the hero's armor repelled the filthy monster.

The slime splattered on the floor, and Mariabelle did not hesitate to smash the exposed pebble-sized nucleus with the hilt of her sword.

"Mariabelle-sama, are you okay!?"

"Yes―― More importantly, okaa-sama... the queen."

One of the knights rushed to Mariabelle with a bottle of "Valhari's Blessed Water" that she had been carrying for protection, and put it on her head.

It cleaned off the remaining mucus with the blessed water, moved her water-dripping bangs, and looked again out the window.

"I can't see it anymore――."

The knight muttered, but Mariabelle found it suspicious.

Tonight was a bright night with a full moon.

With such brightness, it should be impossible to miss a flying monster in the sky.

If it disappeared――.

"Below. That slime may be fleeing from the ground, not the sky."

As there was no slime flying in the sky made Mariabelle thought that it jumped up to escape using its wings, but it was really trying to escape on the ground.

It was such a bright night.

If it flew in the sky, it would stand out even if it didn't want to.

Perhaps it understood that it could be shot down by magic or an arrow.

If it were a new moon or a rainy night, that might be possible, but it thought that tonight, it would be better to run on the ground where it could not be seen and could escape.

Mariabelle thought so, and now, where would it escape?

Before coming to the queen's room, Mariabelle gave instructions to the knights and had the royal castle completely sealed off.

"Wake onee-sama up――."

"Maria, what's the matter!?"

From here, they would need magic.

No sooner had Mariabelle thought of that and instructed the knight to wake her up, Meltia heard the commotion and came into the room.

Meltia seemed to be still awake, perhaps anxious that Kara was missing and Mariabelle had not returned.

She was dressed in a gown over a negligee that revealed her pretty blue underwear, a little too revealing to be out in public, and held in her short staff that she used when she was still a student.

"Onee-sama―― Okaa-sama was kidnapped."

"Eh...... eh!?"

"This way. From here we may need onee-sama's magic―― seal off the royal castle. Do not let anyone or anything head out!"

"H-ha!!"

Mariabelle gave the order, and the knights left the place with Tiana and Lyna.

And Mariabelle herself took Meltia to the first floor...... there, to the large bathroom reserved for the royal family.

It was the same passageway where they had entered during the decisive battle with the Black Ooze.

"I knew it."

When Mariabelle and Meltia entered the bathroom, the first thing they saw was a bathtub that had been drained of water, and when they look up, they saw that the window above near the ceiling had been broken.

It must have flown from the queen's room and landed directly in the bathroom.

One could see a piece of mucus mixed with the shards of glass that have fallen to the bathroom floor.

"No way, the secret passage that only we know... why?"

"Kara said that the slime could absorb a human memory it absorbed. Do you remember, onee-sama?"

"Eh, yeah."

The hidden passageway was closed, but if one strained one's eyes, one could see that the walls were covered with a thin layer of mucus, which normally would not be seen in the bathroom reserved for royalty.

The wall was carefully designed to open a door that led to the hidden passageway.

Mariabelle activated the mechanism in the wall where the mucus could be seen, and a hidden passageway appeared.

"As I recall, you were talking about before we fought the Black Ooze."

"Yes. And among those who have been taken in by the Black Ooze is the former Knight Commander who knows the hidden passageway so okaa-sama could escape in case of emergency...... onee-sama, please light it up."

"No way, from that knowledge, this place――?"

Meltia waved her short staff to create a magic light, and Mariabelle led the way into the hidden passageway.

It was an escape route in case of emergency, but the mere thought of it being used by monsters and the queen being kidnapped―― just thinking about it made Mariabelle's steps quicken, and Meltia hurriedly followed behind her.

"But why okaa-sama..."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of her high amount of mana, or something......"

Inside the hidden passageway, the ground had been dug up and reinforced with rocks.

If one puts one's hand against the wall, one could feel the cold surface. After a while, luminous mycelium began to decorate the wall, glowing faintly in the darkness.

In the midst of that, Mariabelle, fully equipped, and Meltia, in her nightgown, ran.

The underground was colored by magical lights and luminous mycelium that would be somewhat fantastic if it were not for the current circumstances.

But now was no time to enjoy the scene.

"Maria, are you okay?"

"Yes―― onee-sama, be careful on where you step."

Meltia was worried about Mariabelle's stamina...... probably because she had been searching for Kara without rest all day and now she was chasing after their mother.

Even with her superior physical abilities as a hero, Mariabelle's physical strength was finite.

Just because its limit was much higher than that of a normal person did not mean that she would not get tired.

Meltia, who traveled with her, knew about that and was concerned because she knew very well that Mariabelle was a reckless person, but her attention was on their mother who had been kidnapped.

Even the people who thought the heroes were all-powerful beings with inexhaustible physical strength, once they travel together and spend time together, they would realize that they were all "people" as well.

(Maria―― she's out of breath.)

Although she may not have realized it, Mariabelle was slightly out of breath.

The up-and-down movement of her shoulders was also more noticeable than usual.

In fact, after a day of moving around and releasing the power of the holy sword, Mariabelle was visibly fatigued from the continuous battle.

――Still, her gait was undisturbed and her awareness was firm.

"Shouldn't we call someone else to join us?"

"No―― I wouldn't let it go, onee-sama."

That was true, Meltia thought.

It would be absurd if they waited for someone when their mother was kidnapped. she, too, was Leticia's daughter.

With her silver hair that she inherited from their mother, voluptuous limbs, and questions about why her mother was targeted and not herself...... and the upsetting information that her mother had suddenly been kidnapped, Meltia's steps were so much heavier.

Still, Meltia was worried that Mariabelle would be overburdened.

But―― she switched her mind as she didn't have time to worry about it now.

Help their mother.

She focused her thoughts on just that one.

"...No, you're right. We must definitely help okaa-sama."

The hidden passage was narrow.

That was probably the reason why they could not bring the knights.

She recalled that even when they fought the Black Ooze, they were to pass here with fewer people.

"Is Kara and Fenelieka all right?"

"Yes. Kara is currectly resting... and Fenel-san is watching her."

"I see――."

"Onee-sama―― we're almost there."

As Meltia was following Mariabelle's back, asking her about Kara for something to talk about, she was interrupted by Mariabelle.

Beyond their line of sight illuminated by the magic light was an old rope ladder.

It led to the ground, and Mariabelle noticed that the rope was covered with a thin layer of mucus.

Until now, though Meltia could not see it, there were footprints on the floor.

Even though the slime was good at hiding, its body was mucus.

If it walked on dry ground, it would leave footprints.

She was worried about a trap after the one in the room earlier, but it seemed that her fears were unfounded.

Perhaps, though, tonight's action was sudden even for the slimes, the hero thought.

(Because I realized. The cause of the "nightmare"―― no, because I came back to Fonteau.)

Maybe, but she thought they were trying to get Fonteau again while Mariabelle was on Grabalt.

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By putting the people to sleep while inducing "nightmares" rather than by numbers and force as the Black Ooze did.

Even Mariabelle would took off her armor when she slept.

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If she was attacked while she was asleep―― Mariabelle would not be able to resist.

She thought that was how it intended to catch her.

But it failed.

Mariabelle returned from Grabalt and Kara and Fenelieka noticed the presence of the slime.

She believed that it had destroyed their plan and kidnapped Queen Leticia.

The existence of a slime that manipulated "Nightmares" that even Mariabelle would not have been aware of without Fenelrieka's knowledge.

Thinking that such slime was making the mistake of being chased by Mariabelle, Mariabelle climbed the rope ladder to the ground.

"Onee-sama, please be careful."

"I'm fine. You take care of yourself."

She went outside of an old well.

The water was dry, and the well was closed with a wooden plank and weighted down with a rock on top.

Mariabelle effortlessly moved the heavy lid and stepped out, checked her surroundings, and immediately found what she was looking for.

"Onee-sama, I'm going ahead!"

"W-wait, Maria!!"

As Meltia had left the well, Mariabelle was running across the meadow under the moonlight in pursuit of a fleeing figure.

With her beautiful silver hair and white negligee shining in the moonlight, the queen on its shoulders stood out in the darkness of the night, making it easy to locate her.

Like with Tiana and Lyna, it was an incubus slime that resembled a human man.

It was slow on its feet, fleeing while using sleep magic to keep Leticia asleep.

Mariabelle thought she could catch up with it soon, but she was on her guard and sprinted as fast as she could.

She tried to get close to it at the fastest speed possible, but―― she stopped in her tracks as she felt a bad feeling.

She pulled the holy sword out of its scabbard and was on the alert.

(Something...)

Beyond the darkness of night, where the incubus flees.

Under the bright moonlight...... the endless bluish sky and grasslands adorned the ground.

There was no place to hide, but she had a hunch that something was in front of her, and the "hero's intuition" was ringing a warning bell.

Following that intuition, she gripped the sword tighter and soon found out what was causing it.

The meadow was shaking even though there was no wind―― slime.

Small slimes, a herd of slimes, moving under the low, ankle-high grass.

Countless small slimes were gathering around the slime holding Leticia.

(Not ten or twenty...)

Quite a few―― at the same time, she remembered the countless slimes crawling out of the hole the slimes had made in the basement of the orphanage.

They must have prepared it in advance, she thought.

They might have seriously tried to get Fonteau again...... without a single battle.

Surprised by their ability to act, but not letting her upset show on her face at the moment, Mariabelle was on high alert.

"Onee-sama, please cover me!!"

As the incubus stopped to absorb the slimes, Mariabelle also stopped and turned to her sister, who was running up behind her.

She had expected to be able to catch up and defeat it soon, but she had never imagined that so many slimes had gathered outside the Royal Capital.

Mariabelle slightly changed her perception that the hero's intuition was not all-powerful.

――In front of Mariabelle's eyes, the small slimes, which had no choice but to crawl low to the ground, gathered.

The incubus, with Leticia in its arms, bloated and soon could no longer hold its shape.

It was also the same as the minotaur she saw in the basement of the orphanage.

It absorbed too much slime and was unable to retain its original form―― its body became huge and its arms stronger.

They gather, combine, and strengthen one individual, just as they strengthened the individual in the basement of the orphanage―― it changed shape, it bloated, and at that time, only about five slimes were absorbed. This time, twenty...... or even more.

"Fire magic! To the left leg, so that it doesn't hit okaa-sama!"

"I-I understand!!"

"Give it all you've got!!"

Meltia caught up and stood behind Mariabelle as she told her to use fire magic.

"Blow its legs off so it couldn't escape!!"

"――――!!"

At the same time as she said these words, a scarlet magic circle appeared in front of Meltia, shining brightly in the darkness.

The magic circle woven with mana further amplified the seemingly inexhaustible and powerful magic she inherited from their mother in accordance with Meltia's will, and then a fireball...... appeared at the tip of the short staff, only the size of the girl's fist, absorbed the mana from the magic circle, amplified, and became huge.

It grew into a large fireball as though the sun materialized in the night, and Meltia swung the huge fireball with her staff.

"Go!!!!"

With a loud shout, she swung down her staff, and the fireball, bright as a small sun, struck the growing slime.

With an impact that shook not only the air but even the vegetation in the area, the bloated mass of mucus―― the left leg exploded.

Meltia clutched her ears and braced herself against the impact, but even in the midst of the shock, Mariabelle rushed forward with the holy sword at the ready.

"I'll end this at once!!"

As she put her absolute will into words, she approached the huge body, whose left leg was blown off by her sister's magic, and which was falling.

Once tonight, she had used the holy sword's power.

Mariabelle did not release the power for the second time, considering the possibility that any unforeseen circumstances might appear after.

With the small sword, which was rather meager in relation to the huge, bloated body of the slime, she jumped up with her right foot, passed her mother trapped on its right shoulder, and leaped over the slime's huge head.

Floating for a few moments―― then falling down toward the giant body of the slime, pulled by gravity, tentacles extended from all parts of the giant body toward Mariabelle, whose limbs were exposed defenselessly in mid-air.

At the same time, the gradually enlarged body took shape.

Not an incubus.

It was a huge monster with one eye and one horn on its forehead―― a cyclops.

Even more gigantic than the minotaur, it was one of the largest monsters among the races classified as giants.

However, Mariabelle flashed the holy sword faster than the giant could get up.

She slashed away every single tentacle that swarmed her in mid-air, and then she swung the holy sword down with the momentum of falling.

"Haa!!"

With a single blow, the head of the Cyclops fell to the ground.

"Kuh! Too many [nucleus]!!"

Perhaps because it had absorbed countless slimes and grown to giant size, there were countless "nucleus" inside the Cyclops' body, its weak point.

Mariabelle understood that from the previous attack and changed her mind.

She couldn't afford to go easy on it.

She could still fight, but she couldn't take her time when she didn't know when it would take her mother again.

"Fuu..."

Focusing. She put power into the holy sword.

Imagining the power of the world would gather in the untainted blade, the holy sword, which received the blessing of the goddess who created the world.

The power of the world gathered and a light colder than the moonlight emitted from the sword.

The light gradually became stronger, and faster than its power could build up, the Cyclops raised its upper body with its arms.

――It was huge.

Even the minotaur was big enough for Mariebelle, a tall woman, to look up at, but the cyclops was so big that the minotaur seemed like a baby―― about the same size as the walls surrounding the royal capital.

However, Mariabelle was not afraid.

Rather than being intimidated by the huge body in front of her, she concentrated and slowly, over time, gathered her strength.

(I've already used it once tonight......)

In the basement of the orphanage, she had used up all the power she accumulated in the holy sword to save Kara.

The second time, the light was more feeble than the first.

Unbeknownst to Mariabelle, who had not officially received the blessing from the Goddess, the Holy Sword only accumulate power.

It sucked up power from the world and stored it in the blade.

Once it was used, it could not release that much power until it accumulate power.

Although she had not received an explanation for that, the second and third shots were slower in activation―― Mariabelle, who knew that from her experience in previous battles, gripped the holy sword raised above her head tightly as she looked up at the cyclops, which was raising its huge body before her eyes.

(It won't be in time――...)

In front of Mariabelle's eyes, the cyclops, which had lost one of its legs, raised its right arm while standing on its knees.

Mariabelle braced herself.

She looked for the moment to attack and leaped back.

But the elbow of its right arm exploded.

The heat from the huge fireball evaporated the mucus, making it brittle, and the impact of the explosion blew off the elbow.

It was Meltia, holding a short staff, who blew off the right arm of the cyclops with the perfect amount of heat so that the heat wave would not reach Leticia on its right shoulder.

"Onee-sama, target its left arm next!!"

"Kuh!!"

However, if the fire magic was enough to destroy such a huge slime, it would take a long time to prepare.

Meltia kneaded mana with all her might and wove a magic circle with her short staff to increase the power of flame magic, which she was not good at.

However, the fireball created in the little time was twice as small.

The cyclops raised its remaining left arm.

The movement was slow, though the force was probably stronger due to its size.

――After observing the entire body of the Cyclops, which raised its left arm, and understanding its balance, Meltia shifted her aim to the remaining right leg, which was supporting its entire weight.

She fired the fireball at its ankle, which was much thinner than its elbow, and which, although small, looked as though it held a large amount of power.

"How about that!!"

The fireball struck the defenseless Cyclops' right ankle―― not hard enough to blow it off, but still enough to blow off more than half of its mucus, causing the Cyclops to tilt, unable to support its massive body.

The left arm that was swung down, missed Mariabelle and struck the empty ground.

The impact shook the ground like a small earthquake, making it impossible for Meltia to stand, but Mariabelle put all her strength into both legs and aimed at the cyclops, which was falling.

"Give―― okaa-sama back!!"

Losing both legs, the cyclops fell forward.

Aiming at its defenseless body, she swung down the holy sword, which was emitting light.

The light was so bright that it turned the darkness into daylight, but the radiance that overran the slime had little effect on anything but the monsters.

The monster's disappearance was only enough to shake the grass and trees―― once the light subsided, only the slime disappeared, as it did when it happened in the orphanage's basement.

If it had taken longer to defeat it, and if the cyclops had gained momentum, it would not have been so easy to defeat.

It had a tough skin, a constitution that was resistant to magic, and the strength to destroy even the walls that protect the royal capital.

Its huge size made even a single step give a small earthquake, and it had the knowledge to use weapons.

When the Demon King existed, the Cyclops was considered one of the worst enemies.

But this time, its body was fragile as it tried to take its form right in front of Mariabelle, and Meltia's magic easily blew it away.

The fact that it was slow also gave Mariabelle an opportunity to accumulate power―― in that case, they might have had a better chance of winning if countless slimes had attacked her from all sides.

A large number of "nucleus", too numerous to count, had fallen to the ground.

And in the center of it all was Leticia, still asleep, as Mariabelle rushed over to her.

"Okaa-sama!!"

Mariabelle picked her up and shook her body.

Leticia―― still asleep.

She was put to sleep by the incubus' magic and would not wake up.

"Maria, okaa-sama!?"

"...She's sleeping. This is..."

"If she is asleep due to magic, I think she will wake up when the effect wears off―― let me see."

Kneeling beside Mariabelle, Meltia peeked at Leticia's sleeping face.

Her breathing was irregular and her cheeks were slightly flushed, but there was nothing unusual about her.

When she checked the flow of mana, it was also calm.

"I think okaa-sama's probably fine―― but it might be better to bring her to someone who knows curses."

"Understood. Then we'll go to the association."

Saying that, Mariabelle lifted her sleeping mother lightly.

She put her arms around the back of her neck and behind her knees in what was called a "princess carry".

Without feeling any embarrassment because she was family, Mariabelle headed towards the royal capital with the queen in her arms.

......The passage was known only to the royal family, located on the outskirts of the royal capital, quite a distance away if one walked.

But Mariabelle did not show any complaints.

"Okaa-sama, I'm glad you're safe..."

"――――"

Mariabelle breathes a sigh of relief, but Meltia's expression was dark.

(Why did it try kidnapping okaa-sama? More importantly, we relied again on Mariabelle......)

Her sister didn't mind, but if they relied only on Mariabelle in a battle against a strong enemy, Mariabelle would get tired when she fought a really strong enemy.

(More, I must become stronger......)

With that renewed feeling, Meltia followed Mariabelle and started walking toward the royal capital.

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