Chapter 104: Hero (3)

A strange sound emerged from near the entrance.

Soon after, a stream of white energy rose up.

And then…

Flash—

Light swallowed the world.

Startled by the immense brightness, the elderly couple squeezed their eyes shut.

Bang.

“Ugh?!”

An enormous impact was followed by screams.

After opening their eyes again, they saw an invader whose head had broken through the floor, along with a giant standing beside it.

The giant had its foot on the invader’s waist as it flailed its limbs.

Bang— Crunch.

Unable to help themselves, the old couple flinched at the sound of something breaking.

Having dealt with yet another invader, Pablo turned his attention back to them.

“You alright?”

“Oh…” The elderly couple looked gratefully at Pablo.

The old lady rushed towards Pablo and grasped his hand tightly.

“Thank you so much! How can we ever repay such kindness…”

“It’s done. In times of crisis, we must help each other, don’t you think?”

“Thank you. Thank you very much.” The old lady bowed repeatedly in gratitude.

At that moment, an elderly man approached her side and spoke up.

“Savior… We are deeply grateful.”

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t do anything extraordinary.”

“Not extraordinary at all! You are our hero!”

To them, Pablo had appeared in their time of need and saved them, making him a hero in their eyes.

Pablo smiled awkwardly at the continuous praise.

“Heh-heh, w-what… a hero indeed.”

When had Pablo ever experienced such treatment while robbing people on the Winter Continent?

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

But even that didn’t last long.

Huh? What’re you doing? Playing by yourself?

The grating voice sent a shiver down Pablo’s spine. He quickly grabbed the leg of the unconscious attacker who had crept up behind him.

Pablo addressed the elderly couple:

“Go to the dining hall.”

“The dining hall?”

“I’ve gathered everyone I could find there first. It’s safe now. The path is clear; no more attacks will come your way. Trust me and go.”

“We understand.” The old man nodded, pulling his wife close as he watched Pablo drag the unconscious attacker away.

He called out after him:

“Savior! Your name… what is your name?”

A calm voice replied:

“Pablo.”

With that, Pablo vanished completely from sight.

“Pablo… Pablo,” the old man repeated softly.

The elderly couple, still repeating the name of their savior, turned towards the dining room—the safe haven as described by the hero.

”…What is this?!”

Page was left in disbelief.

She had instructed Louis’s group not to kill their attackers, but she never thought it would go so smoothly.

There was a clear difference between killing an enemy and completely incapacitating them without causing harm.

Moreover, there were at least ten people who had attacked the airship.

Overpowering all of them couldn’t possibly be easy.

But her expectations proved wrong as if they were made fun of.

“This one’s done!”

“I’m finished here too!”

The twins brought over each subdued person with cheerful expressions on their faces.

Wh-what the heck?!

Pablo did his part well enough, but the twins’ performance was overwhelming.

Those kids are monsters!

Page had always thought only old men with white hair were formidable. But she was wrong. Those silver-haired kids who looked like they didn’t know their own strength were actually fierce monsters.

She couldn’t even begin to follow how those twins moved. One moment there was a flash like lightning, and the next, the attackers crumpled to the ground. In other words, they’d been taken care of in one blow each.

It hadn’t even been twenty minutes since Louis left the room when he returned, having cleared out all the nearby rooms of intruders.

Was I really trying to take on these guys?

What if things had gone wrong? What then…?

A shudder ran through Page at the thought.

Meanwhile, Louis confirmed that all the unconscious assailants bore tattoos on their shoulders.

Every single one has a tattoo.

What’s more, they’re all on their shoulders, as if stamped according to some pattern.

Louis casually flings aside the intruders he’d checked with a whoosh. At this sight, Page’s already pale face grows even whiter.

…Who exactly are these people?!

While Louis barks orders at her, Page can only stare like a deer caught in headlights.

“Page, what’s wrong with your hands? Hurry up and tie them tightly!”

“Oh—yes, sir!” Startled awake by Louis’s scolding, she gets busy restraining the unconscious attackers.

Where is all this rope coming from anyway?

It isn’t ordinary rope either. Thanks to Louis continuously pulling it out of his pocket, Page barely has time to rest.

“I’m keeping them alive because of you. If they cause trouble after being released, it’ll be on your head.”

“I-I’ll do my best to tie them up!”

Having witnessed the twins’ abilities earlier, Page used all her strength to bind the ropes securely so they wouldn’t come undone.

Just as Page had finished tightly restraining all the intruders, something dropped from above.

Thump.

Kai landed in front of Louis, with Fin flying into his arms simultaneously.

“We’re back!”

“You checked?”

“It seems like these are all the ones who attacked the cabins. The rest of their group was gathered in the bridge.”

Page focused intently on the voice conversing with Louis.

“The bridge… How many?”

“There were seven of them! And one appeared to be their leader.”

“You know what they’re after?”

“I’m not sure about their exact objective, but I did find out where they’re headed!”

“Oh? Where’s that?”

“They mentioned something about the Frenche Kingdom on the Summer Continent.”

Louis grimaced at Fin’s information and turned to Page with a question.

“Just checking here—this Leon Revolutionary Army or whatever it’s called, is it active in the Frenche Kingdom?”

“…Yes.”

“It can’t possibly be aiming to overthrow the tyrannical king and restore order within the kingdom or some such nonsense… right?”

“…” Page couldn’t answer; her silence was affirmative.

Seeing the complexity written across Page’s face, Louis decided not to press further and instead changed the subject.

“We’ve done all we need here. Let’s head to the bridge now.”

After all, his ultimate goal was to seize control of the ship during this chaos. Everything he had done so far had merely been preparation for this final move.

“You lead the way, Page.”

“Yes…”

Following Louis’s command, Page began guiding them toward the bridge, having already memorized the route for their infiltration.

Louis’s group had climbed up a spiral staircase in the private area of the airship. They were now just around one corner from the bridge.

Shhhk.

Suddenly, Page stopped dead in her tracks.

“What is it?” Louis asked, but she put a finger to her lips instead of answering him. She wanted silence. Then she whispered very quietly:

“There’s a guard outside the bridge.” Her expression hardened as she took out a small mirror and held it up to reflect the door ahead.

Two men with swords appeared in its surface, standing at attention before the entrance.

“It won’t be easy to sneak in…” Page bit her lip hard.

Seeing this, Louis scoffed softly.

“Sneak in? What do you mean by that?”

“Pardon me?”

“You seem to have misunderstood something—we never planned on coming here quietly or leaving without making noise.”

“…?”

Louis stepped forward, leaving Page’s puzzled gaze behind him. As he did so, a black energy emanated from his feet, swiftly spreading across the corridor floor and enveloping both the bridge and hallway.

Space Division.

The sacred scripture Louis invoked created a rift in the space between the bridge and hallway. Now, even if an explosion occurred in the corridor, those on the bridge would be completely oblivious to it.

With all preparations made, Louis grasped the twins’ wrists and turned the corner.

“Huh?!”

“It’s alright.”

Pablo calmed the startled Page.

Meanwhile, the sentries on the bridge spotted Louis and the twins.

“Kids?”

“What kind of idiots let this brat approach without stopping them?” annoyance was clear on their faces.

The twins’ expressions changed in an instant.

Whirl!

Louis grabbed their hands and spun around with them on the spot like a top. Once he reached a certain speed, Louis flung the twins away from him.

He cheered as he did so: “Go! Thunder Twinmon!”

With both his dragon strength and centrifugal force propelling them, the twins flew through the air like bullets.

“What?!”

“Wh-what’s going on?!”

The guards had underestimated the children but quickly drew their swords at this sudden turn of events. However, Louis and the twins were faster than they could react.

When the twins reached the middle of the hallway, Louis called out again:

“Thunder Twinmon! One million volts!”

“One mil-lion!” they cried together.

As they soared through the sky, lightning crackled around them. The bolts stretching forth from their bodies struck down upon the two guards.

…?!

The guard couldn’t even scream as a searing pain exploded in his head. His mouth gaped open while white smoke billowed from him before he crumpled to the ground.

Page, who had witnessed the entire scene unfold, felt like her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

“What… was that…?”

“If you keep reacting like this every time, you’ll just waste your energy… Just let it go,” Pablo offered wisely, having learned to accept Louis and the twins’ antics after dealing with them for so long.

Meanwhile, the twins dashed over to Louis.

“Louis! Louis! That was fun!”

“Do it again!”

“Louis, what’s ‘million volts’?”

The twins mimicked Louis without knowing what “million volts” meant. It was mind-boggling how they managed to hold back enough power not to kill the guards outright.

With the sentries neatly dispatched, Louis waved at Pablo and Page, implying, What are you waiting for?

“Let’s go.”

“Oh…right.” Now that Pablo had become immune to Louis and his twins, he calmly followed as Page shuffled along behind them.

Louis gestured with his chin at the bridge’s door ahead of them.

We’ve taken care of two already, so there should be five left inside.

He scanned the situation within via perception magic and nodded.

I guess it’ll just be Pablo then?

The strongest presence felt similar to Pablo’s level.

Perfect. This is a good chance for Pablo to get some exercise and improve his skills.

What could be better than real combat experience when it came to honing one’s abilities? Lately, Louis and his twin brother Ron had been handling everything themselves while Pablo hung back like a freeloader—though only Louis thought this way, of course.

With a grin, Louis turned to Pablo. “Hey, Pablo.”

“Yes?”

“You seemed pretty pleased with being called a hero earlier.”

Pablo cleared his throat awkwardly. When did you see me like that?

Regardless of Pablo’s confusion, Louis continued talking.

“Now that we’re here, why don’t you try being a real hero for once?”

“Huh?” Pablo tilted his head, clearly not understanding what Louis was getting at.

Seeing this, Louis’s smile widened mischievously.

“Heh heh, don’t worry. I’ll set everything up for you.”

”…?”

“Just do as I say. Start by lifting one leg.”

”…Like this?” Something seemed off, but Pablo decided to follow Louis’s instructions anyway. This obedient behavior could be attributed to the slave mentality deeply ingrained in dwarves from generations of servitude.

“Good. Now bring it over to the bridge entrance.”

Pablo positioned his foot against the castle gate. As Louis scrutinized his posture, he gave additional commands, seemingly unsatisfied with what he saw.

“Hold the hammer more convincingly. And pull your chest out too!”

”…Done.”

“And make it convincing!”

“Like this?”

“Oh! Perfect, perfect! Just like that! Hold still.”

Louis clapped in delight at Pablo’s startled expression.

“All right, you two, step back here.” Louis pulled the twins and Page toward the wall.

“…?”

“What’s going on?”

“Louis, what’re you doing?”

The twins and Page looked perplexed, but Louis didn’t answer them. Instead, he reached out his hand toward the door of the bridge.

Space freeze.

Creeeeeeeak.

As soon as the sacred scripture was cast, an unsettling noise came from the door. Sensing something strange, Pablo tried to pull his leg away, but it was already too late.

Crush!

Bam!

With a loud noise, the door flew open inward.

“Huh?!” Caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, Pablo froze in place.

The moment the interior of the bridge was revealed, Louis seized his chance. With a wave of his hand, four streams of black energy swiftly shot forth.

“Ugh!”

“Gak!”

Accompanied by exactly four groans, those who had been controlling the bridge crumpled to the ground. Simultaneously, Louis rendered himself transparent and took cover behind Pablo.

Mimicking a deep voice, he bellowed, “What kind of bastard are you?! Get out here right now! I’ll split your head open!”

Pablo could only blink rapidly at the thunderous roar echoing through the bridge. He hastily glanced back, realizing with a gape that he was alone.

Meanwhile, the leader of the attackers briefly surveyed his fallen comrades before drawing his sword.

”…Whatever kind of bastard you might be,” he muttered,

Shing!

“I’ll make you regret coming this far.”

Staring at the coldly gleaming blade, Pablo muttered as if pleading innocence, “B-but… surely this can’t be happening to me?”