Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

13 – Lost Light

Dragging my weary body, I left the inn as morning came.

Well… physically, I wasn’t exhausted.

If I had to be specific, it was a mental exhaustion.

“…Hero, are you okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’m surprised. Ortrinde, you’re surprisingly active.”

“……”

No, um…

What good is being active when there’s hardly any change in her expression?

Coming from me, who was sympathetic, it was mentally taxing.

“Ortrinde is waiting at the inn, are you okay with that?”

“She stands out too much. As long as there’s even the slightest possibility, it’s better to stay hidden.”

“Well, that’s true.”

I instructed Ortrinde to stay at the inn.

Of course, she objected, arguing that she needed to protect me. But she reluctantly agreed when I pointed out that I wouldn’t be leaving the city and instead asked her to guard my stuff.

Until yesterday, I thought the probability of running into Anies, Cierra, or Alesa was virtually nonexistent.

However, things have changed.

In the imperial capital, a rumor was spreading like wildfire.

That rumor was that the Saintess Cierra was suffering nightmares every day.

Of course, the imperial palace dismissed the rumor as false, but the gossip that had spread through the palace maids’ mouths was already causing an uproar in the imperial capital.

The palace swiftly fired all the palace maids and replaced them, but that action only added credibility to the rumor.

Among the rumors was one that Cierra was desperately seeking any solution to her problem.

She was praying to the Goddess, seeking reputed physicians, and even frantically searching for medicinal herbs believed to be beneficial to the body.

There was even a rumor that Cierra had been seen outside the palace, so I vigilantly moved around as there was a chance I could run into her.

“But why did the Saintess suddenly start having nightmares? If she’s having them daily, they don’t seem like ordinary nightmares…”

“Well, it is possible for succubus to interfere with dreams, but Cierra isn’t weak enough to be completely unable to resist a succubus’ dream interference…”

Even if Cierra were lacking in her abilities, she is a Saintess.

How could she be completely unable to fight off the nightmares that a succubus induces? No matter how you look at it, that doesn’t make sense.

Initially, it’s possible for anyone capable of using a certain level of white magic to resist against the abilities of a succubus, not just a Saintess.

“Well, it’s for the better. If she’s suffering, isn’t it a good thing? The cause is none of my business.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“Rather, let’s go to the library. We need to sort out the information.”

Last night, after soothing Ortlinde, I heard a story from her.

Some of the information was lost, likely due to being sealed for a long time, but I was still able to gather various pieces of information.

Her creator, whom she was made by, Erda.

Although there were various conjectures, Ortlinde did not have many memories of Erda.

However, Ortlinde did remember Erda referring to the beings she’d created, including Ortlinde, as her ‘children’ and treating them as such, lovingly.

And, there were stories about the sisters who shared the same birth time.

Inclusive of Ortlinde, were the warriors. Among them, the Valkyrie series comprised a total of nine created by Erda.

Each of the nine had different specialties, and all possessed impressive fighting abilities, they assisted Erda in battles against the demons, protecting humans.

After the war with the demons ended, all nine fell asleep by Erda’s command, but what happened afterwards is unknown as Ortlinde too fell asleep.

The information obtained from Ortlinde was about this extent.

What is left is to go to the library and search for related information and gather facts from other ruins.

Indeed, I had a feeling of déjà vu about the mention of the nine warriors.

“Welcome, can you please show me your status card?”

“Here it is.”

“Alright, there are no problems. It’s a rule to leave your weapons at the reception, but if it’s a valuables, you can carry it with you under the condition of applying a locking spell to your sheath.”

Well, a locking spell can be unlocked easily if power is applied, or Reinforce can undo it itself.

I nodded, letting them apply a locking spell to Reinforce’s scabbard obediently.

“There are so many books.”

“Considering it’s the continent’s largest library, I suppose all of the continent’s books would gather here?”

Indeed, even if it’s a scholarly book by an authority-less scholar, or a novel by an unpopular writer, the Great Library acquires it.

The only exceptions might be magic books that individuals have created themselves, but it’d take a god to track each of them.

The Great Library was almost deserted.

Although it was surprisingly so for such a large library, it was early, so it was inevitable.

In reality, around midday or afternoon, the situation changes dramatically as the academy students swarm in like locusts.

Well, I chose to come around this time specifically to avoid the crowds.

I went to the section where various history, goddess traditions, and archaeology-related books were gathered, picked a few that looked interesting and sat down.

While flipping the pages, the atmosphere inside the Great Library became noisy all of a sudden.

Looking at the time, it wasn’t even lunchtime yet, so it wasn’t the students’ time to come…

“Hero.”

“…Hm?”

“There’s a smell.”

“…A smell? No way, hang on.”

“Yes, it’s the disgusting smell of that woman.”

At Reinforce’s words, I quickly rose from my seat and peeked towards the entrance of the Great Library.

There, in a flashy outfit and flanked by what looked like guards, a woman was conversing with the reception staff.

I suppressed the sudden rage boiling up inside of me, quickly hid, and returned to my seat.

The Saint, Ciella Frost was at the Great Library.

‘Damn… what a timing!’

As if her visit wasn’t unlucky enough, she had to turn up right when I was at the Great Library.

“I’m anxious, I’m anxious,” I admitted, but who knew that spoken words may indeed turn into seeds.

…Well, the Grand Library is vast so the possibility of running into each other should be negligible…

However, cruelly, Ciel and her escorts came to where I was.

“Oh my, there’s someone here at this hour.”

“Hmm, the Lady Saint did deliberately choose a time when people are scarce, but there can’t be no one around.”

…So they had thought the same as me and thus had come at this time.

Something made me slightly ill at ease.

I quietly stood up, bowed my head slightly, and planned to pack my books and leave.

Then, one of the guards spoke.

“Ah, no need to mind us. Our Lady Saint simply came to find some books.”

Don’t care about me excessively, it makes me uncomfortable.

Suppressing these words that were about to blur out, I settled down in my seat again.

They went as far as saying that, but if I insisted on leaving, it could raise suspicion.

Rubbing the mask on my face to ensu

The saint retains her innate power, but this power, ironically, only serves to make her miserable.

Recently, she has been plagued by horrible nightmares and is finding it difficult to sleep.

Even as she hit her head and held back her laughter, she had to be careful not to shrug her shoulders.

Even a saint is now a foolish traitor. Ciel.

Whether the goddess really abandoned her, or if there was another factor…

No matter how she begs, there will be no more divine intervention from the goddess.

While Ciel desperately prays, I can’t help but laugh silently.