Honey Trap! ~The Honey Trap Encirclement to Ensnare the Summoned Hero~ - Chapter 73 & 74

Chapter 73: Turmoil in the Royal Capital (9)

“A g-giant…”

The colossal figure rises, its roar shaking the air. Sonia feels her spine freeze at the sight. The giant’s face is featureless—a blank, eyeless, noseless expanse with only a gaping mouth. It’s unlike any monster she’s ever seen, radiating an ominous aura. Instinct screams, soul weeps: This thing cannot be tamed by human hands.

A walking calamity, its maw opens, revealing a crimson glow from within. Even recognizing it as a harbinger of ruin, Sonia’s legs tremble, rooted in place. Her eyes can only stare at the encroaching destruction.

So why is he laughing?

“Whoa, this thing’s huge! Check it out, a giant! A freaking giant!”

Yuri flails his arms exaggeratedly, visibly thrilled by the threat before him. His baffling enthusiasm rivals the giant’s incomprehensibility. But as the crimson light surges, threatening to engulf everything—

“Ah…”

It’s over.

Or so she thought, in that fleeting moment.

“Whoops, close one! Gotta love that classic attack pattern!”

“No way…”

Once again, a princess carry—this time, floating midair. Far above the giant’s head, Yuri, having teleported in an instant, chuckles brightly, as if this were no big deal. Argos clings to Agamemnon’s leg, hardly a dignified way to hover. Zahel and Dominic fare worse, dangling from ropes in Luwi’s grip. Lily soars on her own, eyeing the giant with a serious expression. Beside her, Luwi’s usual grin has vanished.

Everyone, to some degree, is rattled by the situation. Everyone, that is, except the Troublemakers’ quartet, whose energy remains infuriatingly unchanged.

“Hmm, this giant feels familiar somehow… When was that? My memory’s fuzzy…”

“You senile dragon, what good’s your age if you can’t remember a thing!”

“Says the guy who forgot his tab from two days ago! Alright, Eremia took down a Heavenly King, so it’s my turn to shine…!”

“Hold on, I haven’t taken out a single Heavenly King yet! I wanna make a splash here!”

“Excuse me, I didn’t know that guy was a Heavenly King! That doesn’t count! I’ve got just as much right to smash this big lug!”

“How about we settle it peacefully with rock-paper-scissors?”

Peacefully. What does that even mean…?

As the four actually start playing rock-paper-scissors, Luwi heaves a massive sigh. Lily, muttering, “Dragons can play rock-paper-scissors…?” seems oddly impressed, perhaps tinged with escapism.

The result?

“Alright! Your star player, Yuri, takes the stage!”

“Yuri-san!?”

“Honestly, I’m kinda pissed off. Thinking you can mess with my friends and get away with it? Big mistake!”

His grip tightens around Sonia, a reassuring strength that sparks an inexplicable calm in her. Amid this disaster, a conviction blooms: As long as I’m here with him, everything will be fine.

“Gonna start chanting. Lucius, Eremia, handle defense! Agamemnon, don’t drop the guildmaster!”

“Ugh, chanting? You don’t need to go that far for this oversized brute.”

“Seriously? Give me a break…”

“Hmm, guildmaster, if my claws slip, I’ll pick you up, so don’t hold it against me…”

“Hey!”

Chanting. The word alone makes the trio’s faces twist in identical grimaces, lips pursed in genuine dread. Sonia, judgment clouded by the suspension bridge effect, misses it, but Argos and the others sense something worse than the giant looming.

“…To stand so brazenly before the tomb’s guardian, I’ll give you credit for your nerve.”

Marukion, perched literally on the giant’s shoulder, sneers up at them. But his mockery is short-lived.

“Magic type definition: Aqua, Laser. Import relevant modules. Entry point: Aqua Trap. Callback: Crossfire Laser. Spawn actors zero to 255. Subprocess: Cage creation.”

Yuri’s eyes close, his chant a true spell—words incomprehensible to all present. The effect is immediate: the ground beneath the giant turns to swamp, miring its massive frame. Marukion’s face twists in shock, the air thick with an uncanny presence. As Yuri’s incantation continues, lines of light trace the air, forming a bizarre geometric lattice of interconnected triangles.

“Shoot! Don’t let him finish that spell!”

The giant’s maw opens again, obeying Marukion’s command. But the crimson beam never reaches Yuri.

“When I’m trusted with a job, I deliver. Think there’s anything my fists can’t shatter?”

“Hahaha, my darkness engulfs all…!”

Lucius spreads a black barrier like an umbrella, while Eremia punches the beam, scattering it with raw force. The shattered light explodes outward, shaking the earth.

Marukion freezes at the absurd defense. At the worst possible moment, Yuri’s spell completes.

“Thanks, Eremia, Lucius! Here comes the big one—watch out!”

“Hold back a little, will you!?”

“Hey, hag, max out your barriers! This idiot forgets what ‘limits’ are sometimes!”

“Everyone, close your eyes! You’ll go blind!”

The light lines solidify into turrets—256 of them, encircling the giant.

“Ah…”

Marukion’s mouth hangs open in despair. A blinding flash, as if the sun itself descended, whites out the surroundings. A deafening roar follows, less sound than shockwave. From afar, it might look like a towering pillar of light piercing the sky.

“W-What in the world…!? What kind of magic is this…?”

Luwi, of all people, is dumbstruck. Even the Dark Continent’s sage, versed in countless spells, has never seen anything like it.

“Kyaa!”

Sonia instinctively clings tighter to Yuri, her ample chest pressing against him. Yuri’s face briefly melts into a dopey grin before—

(Whoa, focus, focus!)

Gotta look cool! He forces a steely expression, though his mind lingers on her softness. That distraction proves costly: the lasers keep firing, carving the earth far beyond necessity.

“No… Impossible…”

Marukion, courteously teleported to safety, floats in a cage of light, forced to witness the carnage. The giant vaporized in the first strike; now the lasers mindlessly gouge the earth, carving a chasm like the abyss itself.

The team, meanwhile, is full of complaints.

“Argh, so loud! It’s already gone, idiot! Shut it off!”

“M-My claws are shaking…! Guildmaster, if I drop you, don’t demote me…!”

“Don’t you dare! Drop me, and you’re F-rank!”

“Ouch, I peeked at the light! If my eyes are ruined, you’re paying for it…! Use magic that’s kinder to bystanders!”

“Whoops, my bad! Just, y’know, being thorough! What if there’s two or three more down there?”

He can’t say it. I was distracted by Sonia-san’s chest—absolutely not! Yuri’s flustered excuses are pathetic, but the results are devastating. Marukion, utterly broken, slumps in his cage, motionless.

※

The spell, decried for deafening ears and blinding eyes, leaves a different mark on two souls.

“Yuri-san…”

Sonia, cheeks flushed from an overwhelming suspension bridge effect, clings tighter.

“Heh, heh heh… I’m all tingly…”

Luwi, meanwhile, awakens to a rather unfortunate fetish.

Thus, breaking countless spirits, the battle with Attra Kura, which shook the capital, draws to a close. And the guildmaster swears to himself: That massive hole? We’ll call it an ancient ruin’s malfunction.

Chapter 74: Sneaking Out to the Nighttime Capital (Part 1)

“Cheers!”

In the heart of the capital’s downtown, the clink of adventurers’ mugs rings through a lively tavern. It’s a modest joy for those fresh off a job, a raucous celebration of survival among comrades. Tonight’s stars, however, are a bit… unconventional.

“Hmph, what a pity I couldn’t complete the Four Heavenly Kings set… That ‘Night Breeze’ Al—I’d have liked to meet him. Quite the dashing moniker, no?”

“Heard from Mikel-shōgun that he went down pretty quick. A cool name doesn’t mean the guy’s cool, y’know.”

“Dream-killer…! Ugh, my head’s still pounding! That’s what you get for firing off that spell!”

“Right? My ears are still ringing. Gotta chug some booze just to cope.”

“You lot, the unsung MVP this time was me! If I’d dropped the guildmaster, we’d all be F-rank right now!”

Loud, conspicuous, and tossing around dangerously casual remarks—this quartet of troublemakers has just wrapped up a job.

“Here ya go! Five ales, two wines, and for the little miss, apple juice.”

A familiar waitress approaches the Troublemakers’ table, her face practically screaming, These guys again?

“Ehh? I ordered ale, I’m sure of it!”

Luwi, handed the apple juice, protests the mix-up, but the waitress isn’t having it.

“Look, kiddo. If you start drinking at your age, you’ll end up like those adults.”

She points at the four “adults” guzzling ale, letting out sloppy “Kuuu!” and “Fwaa!” while demolishing their snacks with gusto.

“Those guys? Sometimes they’re like that in broad daylight. I don’t want you turning out like them, got it?”

“Wow, that’s kinda harsh…”

“If you don’t like it, quit gambling in our tavern, alright?”

Yuri flinches under her icy smile, quickly looking down. The other three duck their heads in sync—teamwork at its finest.

“Ugh, I’m way past grown-up…”

“Now, now, Luwi. You’re adorable, so it’s no wonder they say that.”

“Lily’s so kind… Unlike those rotten bōzu from the Dark Continent…”

Usually, the Troublemakers’ drinking sessions are just the core four, but tonight, Lily and Luwi join the fray. Meanwhile—

“Sigh… How am I supposed to write this report…?”

“G-Guildmaster… I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”

Slumped at the counter is Argos, the guildmaster, with Sonia consoling him nearby.

※

For the two of them, this incident was less a “storm” and more a cataclysm. Sonia survived an assassin’s blade, witnessed the capital’s underbelly get flattened, and capped it off with a front-row seat to giant-slaying—a battle straight out of myth. Argos isn’t just fretting over excuses for the giant fiasco; after today’s spectacle with the Troublemakers plus two, he’s convinced they’re hiding something big.

“It’s gotta be abnormal, right?”

“Completely agree.”

Obliterating a golemancer’s fortress with ease. Vaporizing a mythical giant with a spell of godlike scale.

“They” are undeniably major players, whether they like it or not.

“And why does everything go so smoothly for them? It’s weird.”

“Almost like someone was waiting for it all to happen.”

Returning to the capital with Attra Kura’s leader and executives in tow, knights and bigwigs swooped in at breakneck speed to handle the cleanup. Despite the earth-shaking battle, no one bats an eye.

“Are those guys actually connected to the higher-ups?”

“They don’t act like agents, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they had ties.”

Their skeptical gazes drift to—

“Alright, so no betting money! Let’s wager food instead!”

“I’m in! C’mon, Yarichin, deal the cards!”

“I told you, my name’s not Yarichin! So, what’s the game? Daihinmin?”

“Hmm, since Lily and Luwi don’t know the rules, how about Old Maid to start?”

“I said no gambling in my tavern!”

““““Eek!””””

The quartet gets a solid whack on the head from the fuming waitress’s tray. Hard to imagine a crew this oblivious to “high connections” holding their own with nobles. In a way, their cluelessness is the perfect disguise—except it’s entirely genuine, much to the Prime Minister’s eternal headache.

※

“Phew, those guys are going at it. They’re definitely hungover tomorrow.”

“Oh, Yuri-san. Taking a break?”

“Sonia-san. Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

Yuri steps away from the rowdy crowd, now roping in other patrons, and slides up to the counter. There’s Argos, passed out drunk, and Sonia, sipping wine delicately.

“Thanks for today.”

“Hm? Those Attra Kura goons? No big deal.”

“You serious?”

“Huh?”

Sonia leans in close, her large eyes sparkling as she fixes them on Yuri. Up close, her cheeks are flushed, clearly tipsy.

“Taking on a dangerous syndicate, fighting that giant—and it’s no big deal?”

“Well, stuff like that happens pretty often, y’know.”

A slip of the tongue, a damning phrase.

Happens pretty often. Only one person in this world could say that so casually.

In that moment, Sonia knows. She sees through the goofy grin to Yuri’s true identity.

“…The Birdcage Hero.”

“Fweh?”

“Hehe. Ever heard this rumor? They say the hero who saved the world was so scarred, he locked himself in the palace. Like a wounded bird, they call him the Birdcage Hero.”

“No way, really?”

“But the real one’s brimming with energy, huh?”

“…I’m busted!?”

Yuri panics. His adventurer gig is supposed to be a secret. A guy recklessly “spreading his seed” while chasing “big bucks for his dreams” doesn’t exactly scream reputable.

“It’s fine. I won’t tell a soul. I mean, who’d believe this…?”

“Phew, what a relief… I started adventuring for some pretty dumb reasons…”

Yuri exhales, then catches a faint, pleasant scent. Sonia’s face is right there, close enough to brush cheeks, startling him.

Up close, she’s stunning. Her otherworldly pink hair, those wide, charming eyes. Tonight, she’s in stylish casual clothes, her ample chest accentuating her curves. Yuri’s always stolen glances at the cleavage peeking from her guild blazer. This proximity sends his heart racing—especially since he touched that chest today. How could he not be hyper-aware?

Then comes the finishing blow.

“Hey… Wanna slip out? Find somewhere quiet, just the two of us?”

The hero nods reflexively.