# 169. The Hero Party Without Uncle (2)
The desert city of Abrom.
Sand winds swirled, and people wore relatively thin clothing.
And the sun was so painfully hot that it was hard to breathe.
Mainly, it was Saten with her hood pulled deeply over her head.
"My mana and soul feel like they're burning to death..."
"I knew there was going to be a war! But why didn't I think it would be hot here!?"
"I know... But I can't take off my hood..."
"Why not!?"
"The outside is scary..."
Luna couldn't hide her surprise at Saten's sincere words.
The Saten she knew always hid the truth and never showed weakness.
But now?
She had developed social anxiety and couldn't even take off her hood.
She was in such a serious situation that even while suffering from deadly heat, she couldn't remove her hood because the outside was scary.
"At this rate, the Hero Party will all die before we even catch the Demon King."
"...That's why I'm suffocating to death. We need to use our strength to revive Uncle. What are we even doing right now?"
Just wasting energy pointlessly.
*Grind—*
Hare couldn't stand watching Saten's foolish behavior.
So Hare made a choice.
"...You idiots move together. I feel like your stupidity will rub off on me."
"Hey, what am I supposed to do alone if you leave!"
"...You're the Hero. You should save people."
"What kind of nonsense is that—!!"
As if she didn't want to hear Luna's outcry, Hare immediately climbed onto the roof of a house made of sand.
Then she turned her head and began surveying the surroundings.
It was to confirm whether a Demon King was involved in this war.
"Tsk— This, this mean Hare... What am I supposed to do if you leave me alone..."
On her back was the mentally broken Estia.
In front was Saten who couldn't do anything.
*What would Uncle have done in this situation...*
In the end, Uncle wouldn't have abandoned everyone.
He would have waited until they could stand on their own.
Just like he waited for me to become strong.
"...But Uncle, you should have known this. Even if you can stand on your own, you can fall again."
You can't just break all the pillars that help someone stand.
That's behavior I can't understand no matter how much I think about it.
"It just means I'm someone who can't do anything without Uncle..."
Resenting Uncle is similar to resenting myself in the end.
Luna walked through the desert city of Abrom, blaming herself once again.
"...Let's follow."
"...Yes."
Without noticing that there was someone following her from behind while she was lost in sadness.
Luna was calmly walking the streets of war-torn Abrom.
For lodging, they just picked the first place that caught their eye while walking.
Originally they should have checked other places, but since Saten's life was at stake, they had no choice but to enter.
Because of that, the atmosphere and facilities of the lodging were quite poor.
"Ugh, what's this? Why is there so much sand!"
"It, it seems they didn't close the window..."
"Hey, Saten, don't talk! Just lie down quietly next to Estia!"
"..."
Saten lay down on the bed covered in sand as Luna said.
Then naturally, Uncle's face came to mind.
"If it were Uncle, he would have cleaned up all the sand with Non-elemental Magic..."
"Y-yeah. Uncle could do everything."
"I miss... him... Even just one more time..."
"..."
After leaving those words, Saten closed her eyes, perhaps exhausted from the heat.
Judging by her breathing, she seemed to have fallen asleep, so Luna didn't say anything more.
Just as she put down all the luggage they brought in the room and sat in a chair to rest for a moment.
*Knock knock—*
"Excuse me, I have something to tell you about the lodging. Could you come out?"
A man's voice that sounded like a servant was heard.
That voice was definitely not the voice of the lodging owner they heard on the first floor, but Luna approached the door without any suspicion and opened it.
"Yes, I'll open it now!"
*Creeeeak—*
When she opened the old door, a desert man with copper-toned skin was standing there.
Not just one, but three men.
*This lodging has poor facilities, but lots of servants!*
Having such a one-dimensional thought, she was about to complain to the man who appeared to be a servant about all the sand.
However, Luna could tell through the instinct gained from repeated training.
That those men's presence was definitely not that of servants.
*This feeling is definitely...*
When Uncle wraps mana around his sword...?
An instinctively felt sense of déjà vu.
Before they reached for their waists first, Luna struck first by pulling out the Holy Sword from her heart.
"Kugh—!!"
The men couldn't even resist and fell back.
They had let their guard down thinking she was a child, but their opponent was the Hero Luna.
The copper-skinned men ground their teeth and pointed their swords at Luna.
"To stop the war... you must die..."
"What?!"
"It's all to end the war... So please, die for my family..."
"For my family too..."
"Please just die..."
The copper-skinned men shed tears that didn't match their appearance.
At that sight, Luna felt her brain shake for a moment.
*I, I'm the Hero though...? I should protect the citizens...!! B-but why...*
Why are the citizens attacking me while crying and angry like that...?
Th-they're citizens I should protect...?
Luna was very confused by the current situation, but she couldn't just let the men attack her.
"No matter how much you beg, I can't! My friends are behind me! Absolutely not!"
*Whack—!!*
Appropriate force control.
Luna struck the men's bodies using her hands and feet.
They were close to knights who could use mana, but they couldn't beat Luna who had been training every day.
Looking at the men collapsed outside the room, Luna had no choice but to put the Holy Sword back in her heart.
—*Those men will continue to attack you, Hero. Killing them wouldn't breed hatred or anger.*
"...Still, I can't."
—*Why?*
"I'm the Hero. I have to protect people."
I promised Uncle that.
I'll definitely keep this promise.
Luna resolved herself as she closed the door.
However, making a mockery of Luna's resolution.
From when night came until morning rose again.
Luna received over 10 attacks without being able to sleep.
However, the Hero couldn't even fight back against them.
Because they were really just ordinary citizens with no connection to the Grimoire at all.
*...I'm the Hero who protects citizens.*
Luna repeated this to herself alone while holding the Holy Sword.
The one consolation was that BlackMeow was watching over her struggles.
Hare didn't return to the lodging even when morning came.
The first reason was that she didn't know the location of the lodging.
The second reason was that she had seen important evidence.
"...Found it, traces of the Demon King."
The Demon King is definitely here in Abrom.
"A battlefield and a Demon King. Perfect match."
Hare roamed the battlefield gathering information.
She asked dying warriors and also inferred from the circumstances of incidents.
Though the smell of blood from corpses and their dead appearances flashed through her mind.
Hare roamed the battlefield all day with the single determination to revive Uncle.
"...This war started with an invasion from the neighboring country. But it's suspicious. There's too little justification."
If there's a war, there should be some benefit.
One side must definitely gain something.
However, right now both the Empire and the neighboring country 'Mabel' are suffering damage.
With no benefit at all.
Something didn't add up.
"...If neither side is benefiting. That means someone else is the culprit... There must always be someone's benefit in an incident..."
Humans are beings who die if they only suffer losses.
When loss occurs, profit happens somewhere.
"That's society... If only loss occurs, that's not the world..."
That balance of profit and loss is an absolute truth that never breaks.
While thinking 'Who benefited?' and following the traces of profit.
Hare finally reached close to the truth.
"Hey, kill all the desert people except one."
"Who should we spare, Commander?"
"The strongest one. Spare that guy."
A middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth, arrogantly shouting and looking full of complaints.
That man had tied up Abrom's warriors in a line and blindfolded them.
It resembled a scene of execution.
"Pl-please... spare me... At least my family..."
"Hmm, is this guy the strongest one?"
"Yes, he can wrap mana around his sword."
"Hoo, then he's the right one."
The middle-aged man approached the strongest warrior.
Then with a vile smile, he whispered in his ear.
"Your family will all die here today."
"Wh-what...? Wh-what do you mean... I-I'll pledge my loyalty...!! I-I'll lick if you tell me to be a dog...!! Please, just my family—"
"No, that's not possible. You must deliver words and actions."
The middle-aged man dropped his cigarette on the ground and signaled with his eyes.
At that moment, without any sounds of pain or screams, executions occurred in silence.
Even Hare's pupils couldn't help but shake at that merciless sight.
*...That's insane behavior. Deliberately sparing the strongest person.*
If he does that, hatred will grow and they'll come for revenge later.
Isn't that foolish man afraid?
The middle-aged man approached the warrior shedding tears of rage and whispered in his ear.
With her excellent hearing, Hare heard that voice clearly.
"Now, go to the village and spread the word. That all the men's families will die because of the Hero Luna."
"Wh-why should I do that...? Y-you're the one who killed my family—"
"No, no. I didn't kill your family. I just killed your kinsmen."
And if you don't deliver the message, I plan to keep killing your kinsmen.
"If you couldn't protect your family, how about protecting your acquaintances this time? By killing the Hero Luna."
"..."
"Now, release this guy."
Following the middle-aged man's words, his follower freed the warrior.
He glared at the middle-aged man while shedding tears of blood.
However, perhaps knowing he couldn't change this situation, he turned his body toward the city.
*That man...*
Seeing that, Hare clearly understood.
"He's provoking people's anger... and turning it into hatred..."
And he's spreading it far and wide.
So that anger and hatred reach Luna's heart.
*Quickly, I have to tell Luna. I have to let her know this Demon King is really dangerous...*
Hare turned her body toward the city center to inform Luna.
At that moment, her gaze briefly fixed on that middle-aged man.
One thing was certain.
*...He was looking at me.*
I was detected by that fool who seems to have zero combat ability.
Perhaps because of that, Hare was certain.
That man with the appearance of a pig was the Demon King.
The Demon King of Wrath, Wrath.