CH 34

Vampire Princess and Council of the Hero

Translated by AmaLynne

「The『hero』had finally been deployed to the front lines.」

Hearing these words, the faces of everyone present turned grim at once.

「The last time they were seen was on the plains near the coast of Akane. A combined force of the mermaid tribe led by Natsume and the dragon tribe led by Luz was attacked. The damage was minimal because they retreated immediately…」

「Wai… Natsume and Luz didn’t answer the call!?」

「Natsume tried to fight back, but she gave up when she realized that it was impossible. The reason being, there were two《Twelve Holy Apostles》near the hero.」

「Geez… That’s a lot for Natsume to take on… What about Luz? That freak who doesn’t seem like a demon, wouldn’t he have gone into it?」

「He is not so foolish as to take on a hero and two Twelve Holy Apostles at the same time, is he? He retreated when he heard Natsume’s report.」

「Ah… Well, that’s as it should be.」

I knew from the conversation between Rain-san and the Demon King-sama that it was going to be very troublesome.

I didn’t realize that two Twelve Holy Apostles were attached to a hero with executive-level strength.

「……Um, Demon King-sama. By the way, who are those Twelve Holy Apostles?」

「Aspar, the tenth in the order, and Thrust, the ninth. They are low in rank, but they are originally brothers, and they use a combination that is so nasty that it is abominable.」

「Wow,《Twin Walls》and《Twin Axes》……what a pain in the ass…」

…I guess it wasn’t Noin and Edith.

Well, maybe it was a good thing. If those two were in sight, I would have ignored the hero and pounced on them.

「The rest are not the Twelve Holy Apostles, but they are high-ranking… The other five are warriors, magicians, martial artists, and support, making a total of eight. This is the full strength of the heroes’ party.」

「But, Demon King-sama.  Even with the blessing of the moon, isn’t it too much for Lean-sama to handle by herself」

「I understand. I know that. I am not thinking of sending Lean on a suicide mission either. I plan to attach Feria and Tiana to her.」

「But won’t they be able to escape by transfer? They won’t cross any dangerous paths, will they?」

「I know that too… I’m going to send Lean alone to kill the magician by surprise.」

Ah, I see.

We’re going to block the means of transfer first, and then Tiana-san and Feria-san will surprise them.

「Can you do that, Lean?」

「Yes, I can.」

「…But, what if they have a high-level transfer magic item? They will escape you know?」

Oh, if you put it that way, that’s true.

「It’s simple. Just after Lean kills the magician, the two most troublesome members of the Twelve Holy Apostles will be transferred. If anyone has a magic item of the transfer type, it would surely be those two, who are the strongest in the party aside from the heroes.」

「But, once activated, transfer magic requires a cooldown time proportional to the distance traveled, right? If they’re transferring from outside the bio-sensing range, it’s going to be tough, isn’t it?」

「First, either Tiana or Feria should use the first transfer, and immediately after that, the other one should transfer involving the Twelve Holy Apostles. This way, the cool time can be ignored.」

「…Ah, I see.」

In other words, the most important thing is to kill the magician as fast as possible.

It’s a very important mission…

「The mission will be carried out on the night of the next full moon. That’s eight days from now. After the sun goes down, they will transfer and return to the capital city. In other words, the moment the sun goes down, when they are preparing their high-level transfer magic, is the best moment to aim for them.」

「If we miss this, the next time we will be able to do it will be next month. The key is whether Lean can kill the magician at super speed.」

「Lean-san, I will support you, so please do not be tense.」

「It’s the culmination of three years of hard work. I have high hopes for you, Lean-sama.」

「…..Good luck…」

「Most of the work is on your shoulders. Please do.」

…I’m glad for the support, but you know what? Can you please stop bombing the hurdles, executives?

On purpose? Is this on purpose?

◆◇◆◇◆

The emergency meeting was over, and I was about to get back to my training,

「Wait, Lean.」

I was stopped by the Demon King-sama.

「…? What is it?」

「Mm, it’s not much of a problem…」

I wonder what it is, she seems to be clamming up, which is unusual for the Demon King-sama.

「That…are you all right? Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard? If you don’t like the situation with the hero, you can decline, right?」

「…Ha?」

「No, that’s… The main part of the operation was to get Lean, who has no prior information, because the executives, whose faces are well known, they might be put on the defensive before we could surprise them… You still a child…and…」

……Oh, I get it.

You’re worried about me, Demon King-sama.

No matter how strong I’ve become, she must have had some resistance to incorporating me, a young girl of only 8 years old, into the operation.

You are kind after all.

「Don’t worry, Demon King-sama. I don’t know how far I can go, but I will make the operation a success. Besides…I am strong.」

「…I see. Yes, you are. I’m sorry about that. You can go now.」

「Okay, I’ll leave you to it.」

Well, eight days to go. I have to do what I can.

First, talk to Tiana-san, Feria-san… Then, I’ll ask Mr. Zedd to call up a strong undead…

「(……Communicating with your grandchildren is a difficult thing to do.)」

「……Mm? Did you say something just now, Demon King-sama?」

「Oh, nothing, I was just talking to myself. Don’t worry about it.」

「I see.」

Soon, the operation to protect the heroes will begin.

Three years, that’s fast, isn’t it?

◆◇◆◇◆

「…..Mwah, how can I..」

「So much so, Lean-chan… If you care about your grandchildren, why don’t you tell her?」

「This mistress is presumed dead in the village! I don’t want to confuse Lean as much as possible… It’s before an important mission…but I don’t want to put Lean in danger…」

「Then why don’t we just force her out of the mission?」

「…For this time only, it’s most probable that Lean would be the key to the operation… As the Demon King, it’s not a good idea to mix public and private… And besides, how can I do that when you’re told with such determined eyes that she’s going to make it succeed!?」

「Oh my God, you’re such a pain in the ass, you idiot grandma!」

「You’re so noisy! Even the Demon King has a sensitive heart or two! Vinel, as the chief executive of our army, do you have any ideas for a peaceful solution?」

「I think it would be better if the Demon King-sama said,「I’m your grandmother」.」

「That’s impossible…and if she blames me for not being able to return to her hometown…」

「That would be too sensitive… Lean-chan, she’s a smart girl, and she’ll understand…」

「……I’ll tell her in my own time, don’t tell her, okay?」

「Haaaa…… I understand…..」