Chapter 27

"A hero...?"

In response to my question, Shuna nodded slightly.

"Yeah, that's right. Do you know about Zeros, the [Empress of Magic] -- Lady Scarlet?"

"......"

A name I hadn't anticipated came up, and I couldn't help but stop in my tracks.

Seeing this, Shuna seemed to misunderstand something and smiled with a hint of sadness.

"Well, she's not as famous as Lady Zeronity. Lady Scarlet is said to have been a mage who served as Zeronity's right-hand during the demon god's defeat a thousand years ago."

"...I see."

I responded awkwardly, but my mind was far from there.

Scarlet -- known as the [Empress of Magic].

I naturally knew of her existence.

After all, in my previous life as Zeronity, she was the companion I formed parties with most frequently.

(So that's how it is. Not just Zeronity, but the companions from back then are also remembered in this era...)

I once again realized that this is a thousand years after the 'Cleon' world.

Still, I was somewhat surprised to hear her name from Shuna's mouth.

I tried to maintain my composure and asked Shuna.

"S-so, why do you admire Lady Scarlet?"

I felt some resistance in addressing her with the honorific, but since she is a great person in this era, I tried to be appropriate.

Shuna opened her mouth with a delighted look.

"Lady Scarlet has many legends! It's said that she overwhelmed hundreds of soldiers alone, and even defeated a powerful dragon single-handedly. Considering that mages are generally said to struggle in solo battles, she must have been truly amazing. She must have been a noble person who bravely stood up to protect someone..."

"......"

Shuna's eyes sparkled.

In contrast, I was recalling the conversations I had with Scarlet in 'Cleon'.

"Ah, I want to relieve my stress! How about it, I'll provoke that PK guild, lure them to my base, and then wipe them out with the highest-level magic! Yes! This way, everyone will be happy, so there's no problem!"

"Listen, Zeronity! I finally developed a new magic, but I can't experiment with it because I die too quickly against regular monsters! What? 'The dragon in that town's event quest is quite tough, so it's perfect for testing. I often use it as a test subject for my sword skills'...? ...That's great! I'll go check it out!"

"Why isn't the greatest contributor to the demon god's defeat me? I can't accept it, I can't accept it, I can't accept it!"

...

There is likely a significant gap between Shuna's ideal and reality.

Knowing this fact, I felt quite awkward.

Well, I myself did similar things, so I can't really say much.

While reminiscing about the old days, I let out a laugh, as if to escape from reality.

Suddenly, Shuna said, "Hey, Zeros. According to the legends, Lady Scarlet was always accompanied by Lady Zeronity... Could they have been in love?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"It's definitely not the case, so don't worry."

My relationship with Scarlet was never bad, but I never wanted to imagine it in that way.

She was more of a bad friend, a comrade in our shared goal of playing 'Cleon' to the fullest.

"Why not? Even though Zeros couldn't possibly know, your words feel very convincing..."

Shuna seemed confused by my statement.

Oops, I might have been a bit too forceful.

I reflected on this for a couple of seconds.

After a moment, the atmosphere calmed down, and Shuna continued.

"Where did I leave off? Oh, right, the reason I admire Lady Scarlet. I've been reading her legends since I was little, so I was really happy when I was given the same [Magic Emblem]. Well, as you know, Zeros, I had a hard time joining parties... Not only that, but there were other situations that made me change direction..."

At that point, Shuna turned to me and looked straight into my eyes.

"Thanks to you, Zeros, I had a lot of fun today. Thank you, Zeros."

"......You're welcome. Well, the toughest boss battle is still ahead of us."

"Huh? What are you saying all of a sudden?"

Shuna scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

Just then, our MP fully recovered.

I stood up and extended my hand to Shuna.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Okay."

We made our final preparations and headed to the boss room.

A few minutes later, a massive entrance stood before us.

There was no door, and it was wide open.

In hidden dungeons, it's often difficult to enter, so the design usually allows for escape even during the boss battle.

The [Spirit Temple of the Underworld] was no exception.

I turned to Shuna, who was gripping her staff nervously, and said,

"It's the boss battle. Are you ready?"

"Yep. I'll do my best according to the plan."

After the final check, we entered the boss room.

Waiting for us was a dark-robed spirit mage.

With a recommended level of 35 and troublesome skills, it's a formidable enemy, but we should be able to defeat it without any problems.

Thank you for reading this far!

If you enjoyed it, I would be grateful if you could bookmark it or rate it with the stars below the ad.

It would boost the author's motivation, so please consider it!