I Played the Role of a Hated Hero, but for Some Reason, I'm Loved by the Last Boss and Living W

Chapter 56

TN: It’s late to mention this, but the word with TN includes both the Kanji and Katakana/Hiragana/Furigana(if there is) whatever you call it and the translation.

Early morning―――

When the sky was still beginning to dawn, Sofia sent a letter to Toka.

While she was wrapped up in her futon in her room at her parents’ house, an unexpected visitor―――Sofia’s messenger―――came outside the window and woke Touka up.

The messenger looked like a canary and had a white envelope in its beak.

“Nnn…?”

Tohka tilted her head slightly in front of the small guest who had arrived just as the sun was about to rise.

She was a warrior from the Kamui Kingdom, and she was now a princess, a somewhat unique position.

―――The official name of the『 Princess 』is『 Sword Maiden Princess 』.

In Kamui, it refers to the person who unites those who are called sword guardians.

These are the people who are in charge of keeping an eye on the swords stored in the Kamui Kingdom. It is said that there are about 200 of them, all of whom are skilled in martial arts and academics.

A『 demon sword 』is a general term for a weapon with a unique power that is considered to be the same as a『 magic sword 』. In the Kamui Kingdom, most of them are sealed at the Izanami Shrine.

Compared to holy swords and divine swords, demon swords have a lot of evil power, and most of them are capable of harming even the user.

Therefore, the people who manage these swords need to be highly skilled.

In particular, there is no end to the number of people who try to take the swords outside. The sword guardians are also responsible for protecting the swords from those who try to take them out of the house, and they must have excellent fighting skills to fight off intruders.

Some are responsible for maintaining the wards that seal the swords. All of them are excellent Onmyoji masters and exorcists.

Incidentally, there is a clear difference between mages and sorcerers in the outside world and Onmyoji masters and exorcists.

If mages use the mana inside their bodies to activate their magic, Onmyoji masters use the mana in the air to activate their magic. Another characteristic is that they are good at giving powers to objects and strengthening them. For example, they can increase the strength of a sword itself, or implant techniques to strengthen the body.

Some are disposable and can only be used once, and others continue to work as long as the mana is replenished, with the warding that seals the sword falling into the latter category.

However, this warding is a nasty thing that consumes a considerable amount of mana, and an ordinary magician cannot maintain its effect for more than an hour.

It can only be maintained by ten or more excellent magicians who constantly pour mana into it. And they do so in shifts.

And at the top of the position of managing the demon sword is the『 princess 』… Touka, who oversees the sword guards.

In other words, she is the one in charge of the sword.

In addition, two years ago, she was a member of a party of heroes who traveled around the world with Ares and others to defeat the demon gods.

Because of her achievements in defeating the demon god Demiurge, she had been given her current position and entrusted with an important role.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was the catalyst for the rebirth of her fallen house.

“Muu… Sofia’s errand boy…? …What the heck, it’s this early in the morning…”

Touka is not a good sleeper.

She slipped out of the futon, the collar of her undershirt had fallen off, leaving her looking disheveled.

It was a stark contrast to her usual cool and crisp appearance.

With low blood pressure, she opened the window in a daze of sleep and invited Sofia’s messenger in to receive the letter.

Then the messenger disappeared as if he had finished his task.

All that was left was a plain white envelope without any decoration.

“A letter? Maybe she make any progress in investigation…?”

And yet, so unreserved, It’s not like the sun hasn’t risen yet, and sending a letter early in the morning is a little less than polite.

“…Maybe, you’ve got some important findings…? Or maybe the phantoms are in full swing…”

While fixing the collar of her undershirt, Touka observed the letter closely.

She carefully opened the envelope and took out the letterhead from inside.

As soon as she did, Touka’s eyes widened, and all the sleepiness he had felt earlier blew away.

『 ―――Ares-san might still be alive. 』

That was the beginning of the letter she opened.

Just by seeing this sentence, Touka’s mind was completely awake.

He is alive…

The fact that she was presented with this possibility unintentionally made her heart beat faster, and she strained her hand so hard that the letter crumpled and distorted.

At first, she thought it was something related to the phantoms she was investigating.

However, when she opened the package, she found that the letter was written in an uncharacteristic way for Sofia, skipping the greeting and starting with the main topic.

However, Touka understood the reason for this.

She could tell from the letter that she could not be particular about the style of the letter because of the content.

“Don’t tell me… still alive, that person is…?”

She could hear her voice trembling.

However, there is a possibility that he might still be alive.

The letter said that they had found traces of Ares’ use of magic.

They sensed the presence of Ares’ mana in the large installation magic. However, if it was an installation type, there was no possibility that it had been planted two years ago and left unused.

However, Sofia had written a very clear rejection of Eagle’s concerns.

First of all, installation-type magic can only be activated if the person who installs it passes mana to the magic circle that activates it.

Also, before the phantom beast riots, no such magic circle was ever detected outside the town…

If such a large-scale magic circle has been left unattended for two years, there is no way that a person with magic class would not notice it…

If this is the case, then the magic circle must have been set up around the same time as the appearance of the phantom beast, or even sooner… afterward.

At the very least, Sofia’s opinion was that the magic was installed within about a month.

However, there was still no guarantee that Ares was the one who had installed the magic.

This world is a big place.

For example, it would not be surprising if there was someone who possessed mana similar to Ares.

That was the only thing that concerned Sofia.

Perhaps another person with similar mana had triggered it.

However, even if the probability was low, Touka was certain that she hoped Ares would survive.

“I have to check…”

Touka changed her clothes with such speed that she didn’t feel her usual bad sleep, and ran out of the room.

She walked out onto the porch, which overlooked a beautiful garden, and called out to the garden.

“Lily! Kaede!”

““―――Yes, over here.””

Instantly, two girls with a thin presence appeared in front of Touka, kneeling in front of her, as if they had been formed by shadows.

The two girls looked very similar, they were twin sisters.

They had been assigned to assist Touka in her position as princess, and to serve as her bodyguards.

They both had different colored hair and had side-tails pulled up separately on each side.

Lily had white hair tied up on the left and jade-colored eyes.

The one with red hair on the right and aquamarine eyes is Kaede.

They are Touka’s aides, and also play a role in the shadow side of the sword guard, gathering information on those who are after the sword and, if possible, assassinating the ringleaders before they strike.

To these two, Touka gave an order.

“The two of you will now be assigned to investigate a certain person.”

“Search?”

“Is it something to do with the sword?”

“Assassination?”

“Find and kill?”

The twins took turns speaking.

Lily was the one who started with a simple statement. And Kaede who spoke later as a supplement.

“No, this time I simply want you to go and find the person. If you find a target, please treat it with respect. And bring them to me at once.”

The twins tilted their heads at the instructions from Touka, which are not related to the demon sword. They swallowed their doubts quickly and bow their heads once again.

“Your will.”

“As you wish, Touka-sama.”

“I promise.”

“I will find that person.”

“Please do. I will inform you of the details as soon as possible. However, this investigation will take place outside the country. It’s in the Leengard region within the Kingdom of Gald, which I used to be a part of. I’m afraid this will be a long search, and I want you two to be ready.”

““Understood.””

“Also, I believe my former companion, Sofia, will be there. You can count on her. I’ll write her a letter to let her know you’re there. I want you to help with this investigation.”

Touka gave brief instructions to the twins and urged them to return to their homes once to prepare for their journey.

After watching them disappear, she returned to her room to write a letter to Sofia and prepare a memo for the twins outlining the characteristics and appearance of the target of their search.

Touka unconsciously exerts strength on her fingers.

‘Ares-dono…”

In the face of such a faint hope, her inner heart could not remain calm and she could not control the pounding of her heart.

“If you’re alive, then…”

The words spelled out by Touka’s brush were considerably rougher than usual.