Heroes and Machine Girls Looking at Profiles

41 – Current Situation of the Magic Tower

The movements of each force were swift.

First of all, the magic tower.

The Magic Tower declared its non-participation in the alliance itself.

The reason was that many young mages had been lost in the previous war, and that they could not put too much effort into nurturing talent at the moment.

The next magic tower lord, Alessa, who is currently serving as the wife of the crown prince in the empire, came forward and tried to mislead her into participating in the war, but the current magic tower lord shook her head.

In the end, even his disciple Alessa was unable to break the stubbornness of the Magic Tower, so the Magic Tower was never involved in the war.

However, by recruiting some magic tower magicians who were opposed to the current magic tower lord system, they were able to receive cooperation in the ritual of summoning heroes.

And the church.

The church chose to hold off on participating in the union itself.

They declared only about half of their participation in the war, saying that they would focus on providing relief to civilians and wounded soldiers rather than having priests go to war.

The fact that Goddess Erdiya did not say anything about the Demon King’s army’s actions also contributed to this decision.

However, in order to confirm Goddess Erdiya’s will, she said she would cooperate with her ritual of summoning heroes.

And, the country of origin of Princess Anies. Kingdom of Cloeti.

Of course, the Kingdom of Cloeti accepted to participate in the union.

In the first place, the Cloeti Kingdom was a country that was explicitly mentioned as a target of invasion in the Demon King’s declaration of war.

There was no reason for them to not participate in the alliance.

The Kingdom of Cloeti prepared to hand over the ‘Holy Sword’ that the princess brought back after the hero’s death to the next hero.

The Halfas Empire was passive about summoning warriors, even though Prince Freud showed confidence in this war.

However, in accordance with the nobles’ opinion to prepare for an emergency, they expressed their intention to cooperate by investing capital in the summoning ceremony itself.

The preparation for the hero summoning ritual to summon a new hero was going smoothly.

Most of the people involved were expecting the success of this new hero summoning ritual.

While preparing for the summoning ceremony, Saint Ciella Frost was unable to return to the Empire.

In the past, like when she was training as a saint, she was spending her days confining herself to a large church.

But her practice had no effect at all.

Even though she prayed hard to the goddess, the goddess never answered her prayers.

Even though she trained diligently using her divine power, her divine power did not increase further.

Siella became anxious.

Ahead of this war, Anyes and Alessa also began training again.

Aniess began to re-forge his sword, and Alessa returned to the Magic Tower and resumed his magic research.

Both of them are improving their skills, but if things continue like this, they will only become a burden among the former warrior party.

‘Erdiya…’

At this point, even Siella will notice.

Goddess Erdiya, that she has abandoned herself.

What was the problem?

Even though she thought about that question for a moment, she quickly shook her head.

Ciella is already aware of what she has done.

She betrayed and killed the warrior who had been personally given to her by the goddess Erdiya.

… No, strictly speaking, she was not the princess of Es who killed her, but the same goes for Ciella, who aided and neglected her even though she knew that fact.

There is no way that Goddess Erdiya did not know what she had done.

The terrible actions she committed, blinded by her love, blinded by happiness and greed, were now increasingly oppressing Ciella.

As she is like this, she asks the goddess Erdiya to give her a new hero. Even if she asks herself, will Erdiya give her a new hero?

It couldn’t have been that way.

Siela had already seen that this hero summoning ritual would fail.

There is also a story that after the death of the hero, the demons, including the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings, were resurrected.

In fact, isn’t it like a divine punishment that the goddess gives to herself, the hero’s party members, and the people of this world?

I even had such extreme thoughts.

Already half-given up, Siella continued her prayers to her goddess.

Then, from behind Siella, someone spoke.

“Siella.”

“…Ah, His Holiness the Pope…”

When Ciella learned that Pope Francesca was approaching, she hurriedly tried to get up from her seat.

Pope Francesca dissuaded Siella.

“No, you don’t have to stand up. Prayers to the goddess take priority over anything else. There’s no need to stop because of me.”

“Yes…Yes…”

Siella answers weakly.

Pope Francesca looked at her for a moment and opened her mouth.

“Siella, are you hiding something from me?”

“……!?”

Siella is clearly shaken.

Seeing her like that, Pope Francesca raised her eyes.

“I see it’s there.”

“That…That…”

“What on earth are you hiding? Judging by your reaction, it seems like it’s a pretty serious problem.”

Pope Francesca approached Ciella.

Ciella opened her mouth to see her like that, but then she stopped.

Because I was speechless.

Then what do you say?

Did she betray the hero and cause him to die?

Is all of this a divine punishment from the goddess upon oneself?

There was no way I could say it.

If this truth were to be told, Ciella would be finished.

The fact that she betrayed the hero and caused his death cannot be undone, and as long as the hero is dead, the war against the demons becomes difficult.

Even if it were true that the Demon King and the other Four Heavenly Kings had all been resurrected, there was no chance of victory.

In this situation, what if it was the three people who were members of the hero’s party at the time that caused all of this?

Of course, all the criticism would fall on those who betrayed the hero.

It was clear that great trouble would come not only to them, but also to Prince Freud, who had instigated the murder of the hero.

…I couldn’t do that.

In order to alleviate his guilt, he did not want to harm the crown prince.

“…I’m sorry!”

“Siella!!”

Ciella stops praying, passes by the Pope, and leaves as if running away.

In the end, Ciella didn’t say anything, and she stayed in her room all day.

Magic Tower.

In the past, it was a place where many magicians devoted themselves to improving their magic skills, but the current state of the magic tower was very different.

First of all, the number of magicians in power was small.

A year ago, the Magic Tower that participated in the Continental Alliance lost many young magicians in the Great War.

The magic tower lost many talented juniors, and only the old men who had retired from the front line remained.

In order to overcome that situation, the current Magic Tower created children with magic talent from all over and taught them magic.

In such a situation, a request for participation in the Continental Alliance came from the Halfas Empire.

The elders of the Magic Tower were divided in their opinions regarding the continental union.

The older senior magicians, including the current magic tower lord, were passive in participating.

The Magic Tower is currently experiencing a talent shortage, and has already lost too many young and passionate magicians.

The Magic Tower was originally a place where magicians worked to improve their magic skills and achieve their dreams.

The true intention of senior magicians is that they do not want to be involved in war in the first place.

However, the new generation of magicians who rebelled against the current magic tower owners were different.

They have publicly criticized the Magic Tower for being passive in participating in the current coalition.

If the empire falls, it is obvious that the demons will show their teeth even at the magic tower, but they are afraid of the demons and are cowards who do not fight for humanity.

There were even people who said that the hero, Alessa Lately, should overtake the title of Magic Tower lord and retire.

Matapju didn’t say anything about him.

Because what they said made sense.

If the empire and kingdom collapsed and the magic tower became adjacent to the land of the demons, they might reach out to the magic tower as well.

However, the current situation in the Magic Tower was not good enough that even such anxiety had to be ignored.

And one night, something happened that made Mtap Lord solidify his thoughts.

Mamtop Lord, who couldn’t sleep that day, was sitting at his desk and stretching.

In his eyes, someone came into his room.

Without even a trace, he suddenly entered his room like a magic tower lord.

Without letting go of his tension, the magician slowly stretched out his hand with his staff.

Then, the intruder opened his mouth.

“I don’t want to fight, I just want to talk.”

Women’s voice.

A beautiful woman with long gray hair tied in a braid.

There was a small horn on her head.

Demons.

At that fact, the Mage Tower raised his nerves, but stopped his hand reaching for his staff.

“…Who are you?”

“Nice to meet you. I am Roselia. I am one of those who serve the Demon Lord.”

Roselia.

Four Heavenly Kings, Roselia of Red Blood.

Vampire Queen under the direct control of the Demon King.

A being who commands all vampires.

At the thought of her appearing before his eyes, Matabju felt like he was going to faint.

I don’t know if another senior mage was nearby, but it wasn’t an opponent I could defeat on my own.

“Actually, I came here because I had a proposal from the Mage Tower Lord.”

“Did you say offer…?”

“Yes, right here…”

Roselia put her hand between her own breasts and took out her envelope.

The envelope, sealed with wax stamped with a luxurious emblem, flew like a bird and arrived in front of the Mage Tower.

When the Magic Tower Lord held it in her hand, the magical energy disappeared from the ordinary envelope.

“This is a letter from His Majesty the Demon King to the Demon Tower Lord.”

“…Can I read it now?”

“Sure, as much as you want.”

After taking a quick glance at Zelia, Mabju carefully opened the envelope and checked her letter.

We are already aware of the circumstances of the Magic Tower.

This war, I have no intention of fighting with anyone other than the empire or kingdom.

If the Magic Tower does not participate in this battle, the Demon King’s army will never touch the Magic Tower.

On the name and honor of the Demon King, I promise you this.

To summarize, it was like this.

As a magic tower owner, this is a situation I would not want.

The situation at the Magic Tower was not good for participating in the competition, and I was worried about the future because I should not participate.

But now that the worry about the future has disappeared, the worries of the Magic Tower owner are as good as disappearing.

“…Is what is written here true?”

“Since the Demon King has pledged his name to us, we, the demons of the Demon King’s army, will definitely follow that promise.”

The demon tower owner was well aware that the demons placed great importance on name and honor.

But there was still one worry for the magic tower owner.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted, but there’s one problem.”

“Hmm, are you saying it’s a problem?”

“…Even if I am the lord of the magic tower, I am only the representative of the magic tower, and I am not in a position to lead all magicians.”

The Magic Tower owner is, after all, the representative of the Magic Tower.

His voice can have a big impact, but it is not compulsory.

“So, even if I do not participate in the alliance, there is a possibility that some mages may participate on their own.”

“Aha, is that so? That doesn’t matter.”

“Hmm?”

As the magic tower lord looked at him curiously, Roselia smiled and answered.

“However, all mages who entered the war on their own may die.”