The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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“Ugh, this damn…! Heroes…!”

Poison bugs, annihilated.

Amutar was furious that the legion of poison bugs he had painstakingly created had all drowned in water.

“At this point, there’s no choice but to use the last resort.”

Among the enemies, the ones to be wary of were not just the hero wielding the Holy Water Sword and the witch of the enemy faction.

Amutar knew.

That there was a ‘Real Hero’ using the Holy Wind Sword among the enemies.

Thus, a last resort was necessary to defeat them.

“I really didn’t want to use this…!”

The ultimate weapon he received from Zephar, the leader of Asydia.

He had intentionally used the poison bug unit because he didn’t want to use this ‘weapon.’

“Since it has come to this, I’ll take care of them myself.”

Amutar stepped deeper into the cave.

Inside the deep, dark cave, countless bugs were crawling around before Amutar’s eyes.

Each one was roughly the size of a goblin like Amutar.

Even if you combined hundreds of the poison bugs sent earlier, they wouldn’t equal the size of just one of these bugs.

And their characteristic? They were armored like steel.

“Damn it. I really didn’t want to use it…!”

Clank.

Amutar approached the giant golem among the steel bugs.

The steel golem, resembling a lycanthrope, was as huge as a typical four-story building.

Clank.

Amutar pulled out a sword from his back.

The sword, engraved with Asydia’s emblem, held Zephar’s magical power, and as Amutar approached the steel golem, the shell on the golem’s head opened sideways.

Pshh.

Inside was a seat shaped like it could accommodate a person.

Amutar sat in the seat, leaning back against the backrest, and regained his ragged breath.

“Haah, haah….”

The sword in his hand matched the hole and shape protruding from the cylindrical part in front of him.

Screech.

Amutar pushed the sword inside, then extended his foot towards the pedal below.

“Heeek…!”

It was hard for a goblin’s physique to press down, but Amutar was a wise goblin.

“I expected this, so I added heels to my shoes…!”

Amutar’s shoes had heels added that were three times the length of his foot.

Thanks to that, he was able to awkwardly press the pedal, turning the sword to the right as he pressed down with his right foot.

Weeeing—

The hatch that had been open above Amutar began to close.

A red light began to sparkle around the seat Amutar was in, and soon the previously invisible inside became transparent, revealing the outside.

Clank, clank.

Before his eyes, various signals sparkled on a rectangular magic stone plane.

The signals were urging him to cry out the ‘start phrase’ in Demon Language, and Amutar shouted loudly as he had learned.

“For the Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor!!”

Weeeing—!!

With the sound of machinery whirring inside, the steel golem slowly began to rise.

Amutar’s body in the seat became one with the steel golem, allowing him to control the golem freely.

“…For the revenge of my hometown friends.”

Amutar raised his head toward the ceiling.

“…Launch!”

With a flash.

Alongside the steel golem, the steel bugs all simultaneously glimmered with red eyes.

*

Heroes are beings that can pop up at any time, anywhere.

Sometimes, the one who locks eyes with you while walking down the street is a hero, and at other times, a bum of a person might actually be a hero.

It would be most fitting to say it’s like being struck by lightning out of a clear sky.

Even without summoning lightning from the sky with thunderbolt or thunder calling magic, heroes are truly unpredictable beings.

Therefore, in situations like this, it’s not too surprising to find that a suddenly appearing hero has solved all the problems.

“The Great Demon Lord, who could have made humanity surrender in just a day, got stabbed in the heart by a hero overnight, so what can you do?”

Since coming to this world.

I thoroughly investigated what happened after my death at the Adventurer Guild.

And I found out.

That at the moment I was stabbed by the hero, the heads of the Human Alliance were drafting a surrender agreement while the heroes faced off against the Demon Race on the front lines!

How unfair is that?

Suddenly, a hero appears, defeats evil, and disappears.

For the demon race, it’s truly heartbreaking and infuriating…

“But it’s great.”

If it’s not me who’s suffering, that’s something to be pleased about.

Seeing the poison bugs getting swept away and annihilated in the waters, I was so happy that I didn’t have to replenish the mana in the barrier.

“…This is the power of a hero.”

Lucius clenched his fists, watching the Water Hero, Liriez, display her overwhelming power.

As a fellow hero, he probably had his thoughts.

…I’m a bit worried that she hid her status as a hero, but perhaps it’s just something we were unaware of.

“I’ll make my escape if it comes to that.”

Thinking of taking the magic stones and teleporting away, I slowly moved forward.

Swoosh— Kwang!

Landing right in the center of the plaza, one knee on the ground and thrusting the Holy Sword into the earth was a woman who raised her lips in a grin as she stood up.

“I am Liriez Cesarcross, the leader of the Holy Knight Order of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess. I rushed here upon seeing the monsters.”

“O-oh…!”

The villagers instantly began to cheer for Liriez.

“Lucius. Don’t make that unfair expression. It’s not like I missed out on all the action.”

“…I didn’t.”

“It’s obvious you’re thinking like that.”

Lucius scratched his cheek awkwardly as I approached her slowly and bowed my head in greeting.

“It’s been a while. I didn’t know you were a hero.”

Alright, let’s see how she handles this.

“I also didn’t expect you to be the Demon King.”

Or,

“A witch trying to use a hero is here.”

Considering all possible outcomes, I was prepared to deal with any situation—

Bump.

“?!”

Liriez hugged me.

Due to the height difference, my face was buried in her chest, and her actions of holding me tightly sent shivers down my spine.

‘Could it be a self-destruct?!’

Is she trying to blow me up using the power of the Holy Water Sword?

Or is she trying to explore me by flowing divine power through my body?

“Huuh, haah, sniff….”

“…Uh, excuse me?”

She showed no signs of exploring, instead just breathing roughly, leaving me dumbfounded.

“What are you doing!!”

Instead, Lucius got angry and questioned Liriez.

“What are you doing to my master!!”

“I wanted to express my thanks.”

“Thanks?”

“Yes. I’m overjoyed at being saved in Normans. That place is my hometown.”

“Ah.”

The puzzle clicked into place.

“Were you the one who followed us from Normans?”

“No, I came to Odrone’s Territory for another reason, but it seems fate has brought us together again.”

By coincidence, but perhaps it could be fate.

“…Let’s save the thanks for later and discuss something important for a moment, shall we?”

Liriez subtly gestured toward Lucius with her eyes.

“…What do you know so far?”

“Witch. I’m not fond of playing coy. How about we go somewhere quiet and talk just the two of us?”

“…….”

Is it dangerous?

It shouldn’t be.

Thanks to the token she gave me, I could enter Normans easily, so it’s safe to say she’s rather fond of me.

“…Understood. Villagers! With the hero’s arrival, the village should be safe. However, there may still be poison bugs left, so please be cautious in your actions! And Lucius!”

I pointed out Rosmas and Black Lotus, who exhibited anxious expressions to Lucius.

“You three, please search the sorceress’s house a bit more. There might be some clues.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“More than leads, I just want to cut off any variables. I’ll talk to Liriez while you search.”

“Master.”

Lucius displayed an anxious look, like a lost puppy.

“If something goes wrong….”

“I’ll call for you, so just trust and wait.”

“…Understood.”

I patted Lucius’s arm to reassure him before stepping towards Liriez.

“Saintess.”

Shwing!!

When Liriez stabbed the Holy Sword into the ground, a small barrier spread around us.

‘I expected this much.’

A space where conversations with the outside are blocked.

Without the need to go far, Liriez created the barrier using the Holy Sword.

“What is it you wish to discuss privately?”

“You seem to be a cautious one, so if you don’t mind, may I go first?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ll condense it down for you.”

First. The saintess and the leader of the Holy Knight Order learned about our actions during the attack on Normans.

Second. Since the whereabouts are unclear, she has come to look for another survivor from Hero’s Village, ‘Droniel Odrone.’

Third. She discovered the attacking poison bugs while exploring the dark powers in the territory of Count Odrone.

“Is that explanation sufficient??”

“…Concise and neat.”

Despite telling quite a lengthy story, her points could be remarkably summarized.

“I haven’t met Droniel Odrone yet, but the saintess and I have a certain suspicion.”

“What is it?”

“That Lucius is the Hero of the Holy Sword, and that the witch is the one who awakened the Holy Sword.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Isn’t that a rather flimsy suspicion?”

“…The saintess told me to keep it secret, but to gain the witch’s trust, I must reveal this: there’s one more survivor.”

“What?”

“We heard something specific from him. After meeting the witch, we secured his allegiance when we arrived at the Village of the Holy Sword.”

“…….”

It definitely fits together neatly.

“…It’s a bit suspicious how smoothly everything is going.”

“I swear by the Moon Goddess. There’s not a single lie in my words.”

The leader of the Holy Knight Order wouldn’t lie while swearing by the goddess, so this is the truth.

“So what do you want from me? To appoint Lucius as a knight of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess? And take him away? I can’t allow that. Lucius—”

“Will you not form a party with me?”

“…What?”

Liriez knelt before me, took my hand, and lifted it to her chin.

“Please, appoint me as your hero.”