The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 556

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 556   Demon King vs. Hero Battle・2

“Canon, Lina!”

“——Roaring Heavens!”

The hero and Darado turned back at the screams, and in that moment, Kyle thrust his fist forward.

Immediately, a thunderous sound reverberated as if lightning had struck, sending the two flying.

“What were you thinking, looking back in the midst of battle? Even though you fought the Demon King, surviving with such naive moves. Did others around you do their best?”

“Ugh… you!”

Despite being sent flying, Darado seemed to have taken minimal damage.

Perhaps he did something, but it didn’t seem like he put up a shield. Is his role as a tank to take damage for others?

“You focus on attacking. I’ll handle defense! So, go and slay those villains!”

“Y-yes… That’s right. I just need to do as usual… Ah, what about you two? Are you okay?”

The hero, worrying about Canon and Lina as if recalling them while being cautious of us.

Currently, the two are immobilized by the liquid that fell from above, but there’s hardly any damage, or rather none at all, so apart from being unable to move, everything seems normal.

“Yes, please don’t worry.”

“Yes. ——Sacred Armor.”

“Then, let’s do this. ——Fire.”

The two nodded at the hero’s words, but it seemed like it was to release the restraints. They engulfed themselves in flames.

“Burning the restraints with self-inflicted damage. Quite gutsy… No, considering they have protection and healing, it’s not such a strange method after all.”

Canon used magic before using fire, probably to protect themselves. Even if they were to get injured, if they heal afterward, it’s quite an effective way to remove the restraints.

“If this is vegetation, then we just need to burn it all!”

“Is that alright? Doing something like that. The historic cathedral will be in trouble, won’t it?”

Even though this area is away from the general section of the cathedral, using such a powerful technique wouldn’t harm civilians or non-combatants.

But still, if this place burns, it will spread to other connected areas. Is that alright? Even if it’s the hero’s party, I think it would be quite problematic if someone other than the hero did something like that.

“It’s already in a dire situation, so it won’t matter if it burns a bit more now, right?! Besides—”

While shouting, Lina continued to construct magic and unleashed dozens of fireballs towards me and the surrounding plants.

“Flora!”

“Yes!”

The fiery spheres flying towards me were intercepted by vines and branches extended by the plants manipulated by Flora, shielding us.

As the plants used as shields burned away, we could once again make eye contact…

“If you bear all the blame, my conscience won’t be troubled.”

With those words, Lina casually met my gaze again.

Certainly, if they were to say that I did it here, or that it was inevitable to defeat the Demon King, most things would probably be forgiven. Even if the church managed to settle this incident safely, there would still be inevitable chaos, and they wouldn’t want any trouble with Bastok in such a situation. Blaming it all on me would be the smoothest way to resolve things.

But would the members of the hero’s party say such a thing?

“…As expected of a witch. Aren’t you on our side rather than the hero’s? I’ve said it before, but if you’re coming over here, you’re welcome, you know?”

“In terms of being able to conduct research without worrying about the law, that might be true. Depending on the situation, going there could be an option. It didn’t seem as uncomfortable to live there as I had thought.”

Ah, so she herself thinks Karakas is more suitable than a normal place.

But in the end, she discarded that idea.

Well, it’s an individual’s freedom to become our enemy, so there’s no helping it, and I don’t intend to force her to be our ally, so it’s meaningless. Still, I’m a bit curious why she changed her mind.

As I checked on Lina, her gaze shifted away from me to something else.

At the end of her gaze, there’s the hero who seems nervous listening to our conversation.

“But unfortunately, I don’t dislike this team either. No, rather than a team, perhaps individuals?”

Why is she talking about him? Could it be because she likes him?

…No, this feeling doesn’t seem like romantic love, right? Then what could it be? I’m not sure, but the reason must be the hero. And I think it’s driven by personal emotions.

Of course, being a love-struck idiot, I could be wrong.

Anyway, it’s clear that Lina isn’t siding with us. She herself has made that clear.

So, there’s no choice but to defeat her.

“Well, that’s too bad. In that case, I’ll have to kill you, but here’s a piece of advice. Stop with the fire.”

While saying that, I scatter seeds in front of me.

The scattered seeds spread between us and the hero’s partry, and by applying skills to them, they start sprouting.

In a matter of seconds, it grew thick like a wall, blocking our path.

“You can’t expect me to listen to such words!”

Although we can still see each other, she must have thought that if left alone, they would be surrounded by plants again.

With a slightly panicked expression, Lina activated her magic again and sent flames towards us.

In response, the hero, as if hiding behind the approaching flames’ shadows, heads towards us. Darado, trying to divert the attention from the hero hidden in the shadows of the flames, runs alongside a bit further away.

It’s a clear strategy. While I deal with the flames, the hero attacks, Darado provides support, Canon strengthens allies and prepares for healing just in case. As a team coordination, it’s fairly decent.

But…

“Whoa!?”

The flames reached the grown plants from earlier, they burned— or so they thought. In an instant, those plants made a popping sound as they rapidly expanded and flew towards the hero who was approaching from behind the flames.

“I told you to stop.”

It might not cause significant damage to him, but it has enough force to dent steel. And to face it from all directions, especially engulfed in flames with impaired visibility, must be mentally taxing. It’s not just a matter of being startled; I think it goes beyond that.

And then, taking advantage of his momentary shock, a plant with a fruit-like iron ball attached to it struck the hero, manipulated by Flora.

With the hero being knocked away, Darado, who had been running alongside, stopped, and that’s when Kyle attacks.

However, that alone would just repeat what happened earlier. Kyle can’t defeat Darado, let alone fight on equal terms; that’s already been proven.

But, that’s only if it’s just Kyle.

While Kyle is engaging Darado in a brawl, someone is sneaking up from the shadows. — It’s Bell.

Exhibiting her talents as an assassin, Bell approaches from behind Darado. She’s about to strike.

However, as expected of a member of the hero’s party. He’s said to be a Tenth rank under the Church’s jurisdiction. Despite Bell’s attack being an ambush, she could only leave a faint mark on Darado’s neck.

However, she did leave a mark. Even with an assassin’s surprise attack targeting vital spots, it seems a shield bearer of the Tenth rank would still sustain some damage.

Well, they’ll manage somehow over there. Sofia is keeping an eye on them as insurance, and she should inform us if anything happens. Plus, Sofia can be quite a nuisance to the enemy as well. Like scattering seeds towards their eyeballs.

“What… did you do?”

Observing Kyle and the others, Lina, who seems to have been caring for the knocked-down hero, asked as her position was different from earlier.

“What… she’s probably referring to the previous attack. Well, it’s understandable that she’d want to know. After all, it was her flames that caused damage to the hero.”

“Some plants, when rapidly heated, have the moisture inside their shells expand rapidly, causing them to burst. This one did too. That’s why I told you to stop with the flames.”

Chestnuts are a good example. When heated under certain conditions, they pop with a sound.

Well, I’ve modified them a bit to make them more flammable and prone to bursting, and adjusted them so they all hit instead of randomly bursting as they normally would.

“Eat this!”

As Lina and I were talking, the hero charged in, screaming.

His speed was incomparable to just a moment ago, likely using body enhancement skills.

Certainly, this attack would have been quite troublesome if used as a surprise attack. But, isn’t shouting kind of pointless?

Well, in my case, as long as there are plants around, I can notice even without shouting, so it doesn’t matter.

“It’s fine to take advantage of the opportunity while I’m talking to the witch, but why shout? If you want to surprise someone, kill them quietly.”

“Take this!”

He swung his sword from the side, but it seemed like he avoided Flora, who was standing next to me. He swung the sword with great difficulty, as if feeling extremely uncomfortable.

There’s no way I would get hit by such a sword, of course. But still, he desperately, or rather, stubbornly kept swinging the sword, trying to hit me.

Truly worthy of being called a hero. His physical abilities are incredible. There’s no comparison between him and someone like me.

But… he’s weak.