Vol 1 Chapter 39 – He Did Something, Nya!?

Ruru didn’t bother to hide the bitter look on her face.

Antares. Her beautiful, long, shimmering golden hair was elegantly done up in rolls.

She had a good figure and wore something like a glamorous dress, giving her the air of a nobleman’s daughter.

Her features were beautifully composed, and her manner of speaking was polite and calm.

She gave the impression of someone who lived a happy life, chatting with birds while enjoying tea every day and admiring flowers.

Yes, that was the impression you got. Until you looked into her eyes.

Chaos. If you had to describe Antares’s pupils in one word, that would be it.

There was no light in them, only a spreading, pitch-black darkness.

Because it was so utterly different from the rest of her appearance, it created an unstable and distorted impression.

That’s why she was terrifying. That mismatch was unsettling and repulsive.

Unlike Alan, Antares never made sarcastic remarks or attacked her, but she was by far the hero Ruru found most difficult to deal with.

Though a certain self-proclaimed hero had recently jumped into the running.

It was a dead heat.

“It has been a while, Ruru-san. It makes me so happy to see you looking well again.”

“Ah… yeah, me too, nya…”

“Ufufu. Such a liar.”

Antares smiled sweetly. Well, it is a lie, but still.

Even so, don’t you think she’s got a nasty personality, asking me when she already knows the truth?

It’s this kind of thing that I can’t stand about her.

“Yo, Antares. Looks like you’re still doin’ whatever the hell you want. The bigwigs from every country are comin’ to us, half in tears, askin’ for help.”

“If they are asking for help from everyone, does that not mean they are aware that they themselves are evil? If that is the case, then I must kill them. Who are these ‘bigwigs’ you speak of?”

“Like I could tell you. You’d actually kill them.”

“If they must be killed, then I shall kill them, no matter who they are. Be they noble, or royal, or even a god.”

“You’re freaking nuts, you know that?”

Alan laughed in exasperation.

He couldn’t make fun of her, because he knew she wasn’t lying or bluffing. Antares would really do it.

This is what happens when you make anyone and everyone a hero just because they can use a Holy Sword, Alan thought.

“I have also confirmed that you murdered the noble Taris just the other day.”

“Ah, yes, something like that did happen…”

“What!? That was your doing!?”

Ruru stared, aghast at the shocking revelation.

The murder of a noble was an incredibly serious crime in the kingdom.

On top of that, it was an act that made an enemy of The Vortex, the rulers of the underworld who had roots all over the globe, by slaughtering a huge number of their members.

It was something an ordinary person could never do, even if they wanted to.

Well, if they tried, they’d normally just be killed in retaliation.

But to have the power to pull it off, and the horrifying judgment to execute it without a single thought for the consequences…

Right. If it was Antares, it all made sense.

“Oh my, did our paths happen to cross? If so, I do apologize. It seems I killed the target you were meant to kill first, Ruru-san…”

“No, I wasn’t going to kill him, nya…”

A profound lack of ethics.

That was another thing about Antares that Ruru couldn’t stand.

Why do I, a cat beastkin who’s supposed to be on the side of doing whatever I want and stirring up trouble, have to be the one playing the common-sense straight man?

Ruru found it baffling.

“Seriously, she’s insane. It’s laughable that someone like this can call herself a hero.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Antares’s philosophy was Evil must be slain.

The problem was that she never considered if something was truly evil in the first place, and she killed without any foresight, giving absolutely no thought to the later consequences.

Alan, who was acting like the sane one, also used the immense power of his Holy Sword and the great authority granted to him as a hero to enjoy himself as he pleased.

Alan was perhaps the most human and worldly of them all.

Booze, money, and women! He was a man who enjoyed his status as a hero to the absolute fullest.

From Ruru’s perspective, they were both as bad as each other.

“It is quite alright. Alan-san may act like a villain, but he has yet to cross a decisive line. He is little more than a wannabe edgelord punk, I would say.”

“Alright, that’s it, I’m gonna kill you right now. And then I’ll be a fine criminal, too.”

A vein popped on Alan’s forehead as he stood up.

The irritation was unbearable. I’ll kill her.

As he rose to his feet with his Holy Sword in hand, Antares stood up as if in response.

“Oh, this is a problem! We cannot allow Alan-san to become a worthless fool of a criminal who deserves to live no longer. Before you do something so rash, I shall do you the kindness of killing you myself.”

For the record, there was no sarcasm in her words whatsoever. They were one hundred percent goodwill.

A terrifying thought process that involved killing someone for their own good, out of kindness.

Ruru couldn’t comprehend it at all. Go ahead and do whatever you want, idiots, thought Ruru. This does not concern me, thought Lois.

Therefore, there was only one person left to stop them.

“W-Wait, please! If two heroes clash, the damage to the surroundings will be immense! Please stop!”

It was Melia, the sole conscience among the five heroes.

She was so good-natured that officials from every nation probably thought the world would have ended by now if not for her. She was the only one who could properly admonish them.

Because she was a hero on the same standing, even they showed some willingness to listen.

“Besides, even if you’re going to fight, your reasons are too ridiculous! How do you plan to explain this to everyone!?”

“Ah, who cares? The fact that we’re even gathering here like this is consideration enough for ‘everyone.’ This meeting is just to make the heroes watch over each other, anyway.”

“That’s not…!”

“No need to deny it. Every single person here understands that and is playing along.”

Alan let the hostility he’d directed at Antares dissipate, as if he’d lost all interest in the fight.

“Alright, well, I guess that’s a wrap. I don’t know if we’ll see each other in a few months or a few years, but let’s meet again then.”

He said his piece and was about to leave.

Just then…

KABOOM!

A massive sound echoed as a tremor ran through the ground.

The huge explosion made even the heroes’ eyes go wide with surprise.

But among them, only one person wore a look of pure panic—Ruru.

“He went and did something, nya!?”

“‘He’…?”