I Am Not the Heroine

All battles have ended.

When battles end, traces are usually left behind.

But this time, it wasn’t so.

“Hero! I’m certain I saw the mine get destroyed…”

The once chaotic mine with the giant magical creature and the duke, along with the city’s buildings and roads ruined by countless insects from the battle, were all perfectly intact.

It was as if the recent battle was nothing but a dream.

And so, Aswel could only respond to the questioning Marquis Lakr.

“…I don’t know either. It must be thanks to my companions.”

Over there, the Mage who was basking in Ariya’s divine power stood, having cast some unknown magic that made everything revert back to before the battle.

But one thing remained unchanged… Merkadié.

“Be careful. It’s certain that he’s dead, but as a high-ranking demon, even a corpse can have adverse effects.”

“…I see.”

Upon hearing that, Marquis Lakr and the guards hesitated and stepped back.

“We’ll dispose of this corpse.”

“…I’m truly sorry, but please do.”

After finishing the conversation with the marquis, Aswel returned to his companions.

“Hero.”

“Where’s Rui?”

“She hasn’t woken up… No matter how much divine power we inject into her…”

There, nestled in Ariya’s arms, was the sleeping Mage.

If she had merely fainted from injury, Ariya’s divine power would have roused her.

But since there was no sign of her waking, he wasn’t sure whether to be glad that she hadn’t been hurt or worry about why she couldn’t wake up.

‘Last time in Alfarese, it was a mana exhaustion-induced fainting…’

This time was different.

Nia and Rapirie felt mana emanating from her body.

“…”

Could it be related to ‘that’?

Could it be something significant connected to the white space he felt when her unique magic was being manifested?

[If you see a white space while casting magic, please do not look at it.]

She must have definitely known the nature of that.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have given such a warning.

That meant she used that magic knowing this situation would ensue.

For the sake of the city and us, she had put herself to sleep.

“What if… she doesn’t wake up like this…?”

Nia’s tear-filled voice echoed.

Given how close she had been with Rui and how much she had relied on her, Nia appeared to be the most affected emotionally.

“…It’ll be okay. A similar situation happened when you weren’t around, and she woke up quickly then.”

Serelin comforted Nia by recalling what happened in Alfarese.

But Nia’s response was different.

“But… I can’t see the flame from my sister.”

“…Flame?”

“The flame of will to wake up. I can’t feel anything from my sister’s heart…”

The question of how Nia knew that quickly vanished.

If her words were true, it meant a much graver scenario.

“Is that really true? So, Rui is… Haah… not trying to wake up?”

“Yes… I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t want to wake up or if other factors are involved.”

The expressions of all the party members grew serious.

“…First, it’s probably not because of Merkadié.”

“Exactly, if it were, her divine power would have responded!”

It became increasingly clear.

The reason she couldn’t regain consciousness was, in the end, due to magic.

‘So how should we resolve that?’

No one in the hero party possessed greater magical knowledge than her.

While Nia was a great witch, she wasn’t as knowledgeable as Rui.

At that moment, a thought came to mind.

Someone whose name he didn’t even know. It was unknown whether that being was human, from a different race, or something completely different.

In fact, he knew nothing about it at all.

But there was one thing he was sure of.

“…I have to take Rui to her master.”

Her master.

The one who helped her acquire overwhelming magical skills and knowledge.

If it was that master, they might know the answer.

“But how…?”

The issue was that no one knew where that master was.

“First, Aswel, I think we need to report to the royal family. If possible, we should get their cooperation…”

At that moment, the being suddenly appeared.

“Ugh…”

“…”

Everyone cleaning up the city.

Those guarding against further battle.

Marquis Lakr and his attendants.

And the hero party.

None of them moved an inch.

An aura of dominance.

Something was approaching.

Kuugugugu…

The once clouded sky from the battle with Merkadié transformed into a clear sky through her efforts.

However, that sky began to darken once more with storm clouds.

“Hah… Hah…”

Nia expelled rough breaths and began to sweat.

Aswel, with trembling hands, drew his holy sword, but the shadow of the storm dulled even the sword’s brilliance.

Kwarung!!

“Gyaaaa!!”

A bolt of lightning struck strong enough to destroy part of the mine.

Simultaneously, something descended between the hero party.

It was a man.

Dressed in a thick white coat, he gazed with a stern expression upon the sleeping figure before him.

Small bolts of lightning crackled around him, and his mere presence pressed down upon all members of the hero party.

“Looks like you’ve used it after all.”

Then, his eyes, elongated like slits, fixed upon them.

Serelin spoke in a trembling voice.

“S-Stormblast Duke…”

Stormblast.

The moment Aswel heard that word, it felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Only then did he realize from where the being had appeared and why the storm had begun to rage.

The eternal guardian of the northern part of the Empire.

The Stormblast Duke’s lineage.

The true identity of that lineage was none other than a dragon.

In that case, the man before him was the Stormblast Duke, Kunder Stormblast.

“So, you are the hero.”

His golden eyes turned towards Aswel.

Without pulling out the holy sword he had meant to unsheathe, he replied to him.

“…That’s correct.”

“You’ve slain the blood-colored duke Merkadié and Behiraja. Impressive for a demon duke.”

His metallic voice praised the hero party.

Yet no one could smile or express gratitude.

“With the current strength of the hero party, you would have been incapable of dealing with such a being… But is that so?”

Again, the duke’s gaze fell to the ground.

His shadow loomed over the figure with white hair.

Then, disregarding Ariya, he lifted her with both hands.

Seeing her appearance, lost in slumber in the duke’s hold, Aswel instinctively stepped forward and asked.

“Do you know… Rui? Please, she’s in a critical situation right now…!”

“Hero.”

In a low voice.

Then, as if he had suddenly descended to this place, the duke casually dropped a word.

“Rui is no longer part of the hero party.”

Kwarung!!

With those words, lightning struck down upon the mine once more, and the duke disappeared before the hero party.

“…Rui?”

Amidst the stillness and unconsciousness of all, only Aswel’s powerless voice resonated.

*

Wooooo…

The faint cry of the master key echoed.

I petted the master key in my embrace to reassure it.

It seemed to have calmed down a bit, as no more sounds were heard.

A pure white space.

I was sitting alone in the middle of it.

I knew why I was here.

Since it was something I chose myself, I had anticipated this outcome.

Swoooosh…

From afar, the sound of waves could be heard.

This wasn’t an ordinary sea.

It was a sea made of blue letters, not water.

The letters crashed into each other, producing the sound of waves, soaking the massive beach made of paper.

Beside it flowed a river.

The river was comprised of a long sentence, flowing continuously.

And beyond that, beyond the horizon, loomed a gigantic cliff.

Kukung…

The cliff, resembling a shelf made of countless books, was breaking and fracturing, and also rising anew as it underwent change.

This pure white space was filled with knowledge.

The small letters of the sea, the one sentence of the river, and one book of the cliff all represented the world’s information.

The reason this space came into being was because of my unique magic.

Infinity Atelier.

A magic that transforms an entire area into a ‘workshop,’ true to its meaning of infinite workshop.

Once it happens, that area becomes ‘materials’ that move according to my will, allowing me to make the wishes I desire.

And to carry out such tasks, it was necessary to have the foundational knowledge.

But I wasn’t omniscient.

So this world was born.

A new world that appeared for some unknown reason to fill in for my incomplete knowledge.

And.

[— — —]

‘That kid’ is no different.

Despite its inorganic appearance, it was a being filled with pure curiosity and goodwill.

Nevertheless, it held the opposing power and presence that dominated this world.

A gigantic mechanical eye composed of electricity, metal, and light was fixated on me.

Every time I made eye contact with that child, knowledge of this world would invade my mind indiscriminately.

Truth of the world offered without discrimination to those who sought knowledge and to those who did not wish to know.

If I stared endlessly into that eye, my mind would eventually be burned alive by the overflow of knowledge.

But that was all.

It doesn’t show hostile actions on its own, so as long as I dodge its gaze, I’m unharmed.

‘When can I get out of this space?’

Last time, when I noticed the existence of this world and that child, I was small enough to easily exit.

However, due to the battle with Merkadié and the magic I used, it had grown to the size of a small city.

It became exceptionally difficult to leave through conventional means.

In such cases, the best solution is to be pulled out from the outside, but for that, I need a magician of a level similar or above to mine.

Nia… isn’t ready yet.

“Hmm… Huh?”

At that moment, I felt my body slowly begin to rise.

Someone was starting to pull me out from the outside.

‘Could it be Nia?’

If she were to pull me out that quickly, it would be likely that Nia was nearby.

Kwakakakaka!!

Like a waterfall, the sound grew louder as my rising body started to get sucked somewhere.

Then, the moment I spotted the light emerging from the darkness getting closer.

“…”

My eyes opened.

In a white blanket, an accustomed chandelier welcomed me.

‘Surely… that’s northern decor…’

I expected that my party and I would be in the northwest, so had the marquis perhaps set something up in style?

“Rui. You’ve woken up.”

However, with the voice that soon followed, all my thoughts came to an abrupt stop.

I slowly turned my head towards the source of the voice and was greeted by a familiar face.

A woman with light blue hair and a gentle smile was looking at me.

“…Master.”

It was none other than my beloved master who had awakened me.

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