Chapter 144 - 46

While the teachers were discussing their situation. Hikaru and the other heroes felt uneasy when they saw Merlick and King Gustave having to fight against that many elven knights plus Niberus who had extraordinary strength. Their anxiety increases when Princess Reina and Prince Albert want to go out to help their father. They kept asking the teacher to be allowed to come out and join the battle but kept on being refused because it was an order from the principal and King Gustave.

"Hikaru, what should we do now?" Sintaro asked Hikaru. He was also worried about King Gustave's situation. The Kingdom of Rubelia is where heroes are summoned. They are given special treatment by the people there. They also know King Gustave very well. Moreover, Hikaru and Sintaro have been training partners for King Gustave several times.

"I don't know either. The Principal and King Gustave have already given orders for the students to stay in this building while they negotiate with the elves. I also didn't expect them to end up having to fight with the elven knights. What's more, that silver-haired man. Isn't he very strong?" Hikaru felt helpless with their current situation. He saw King Gustave and Merlick being overwhelmed against Niberus. Hikaru could only clench his fists tightly.

"Are we not able to do anything? Are we just going to hide here!? But how long!? They could enter the building at any time after the barrier was broken!" Princess Reina became more and more impatient after seeing her father's fight. She wanted to get out of the building immediately and fight with his father. Prince Albert was calmer. But in his heart, he was as worried as Princess Reina. But he couldn't do anything right now.

"If you're worried like that wouldn't it be better for you to go out and help him. You're a hero after all, aren't you?" Prince Fritz suddenly spoke and looked at Hikaru and the other heroes.

Prince Fritz's words made the heroes tremble. He reminded them of their purpose in being summoned to that world. If they just stood still, their summoning would be in vain. They are aware of their strength which is still weak at this time. But that doesn't mean they can't do anything. But there was someone among them who didn't listen to their conversation.

"Kyouka, what do you think?" Hikaru asked Kyouka. For something like this, he needed her opinion. He could not rashly decide something that would eventually harm them all. But Kyouka didn't respond to Hikaru's question. He looked around the room like he was looking for someone in the crowd of students.

"Kyouka, what are you looking for?" Hikaru called out to her once again. He also looked in the direction where Kyouka was looking. There Hikaru saw Princess Freya and Princess Iris chatting with the other two girls.

"Kyouka, Kyouka!" Finally, Hikaru called out to her for the third time in a rather high tone of voice. Kyouka was surprised and looked at Hikaru who had called out to her.

"What's wrong, Hikaru? Don't you need to raise your voice like that?" Kyouka was annoyed that Hikaru was interfering with what she was doing. Kyouka's words made the heroes and princesses give her strange looks.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Kyouka added her question.

"Hikaru has called you several times, Kyouka. But you didn't respond at all. That's why he raised his voice a little. He was afraid to pat you on the shoulder and repeat the incident with Princess Freya." Megumi explained what happened to Kyouka to calm her annoyance. Hikaru smiled bitterly when he heard Megumi's last phrases.

"Ah, is that so? I'm sorry then. I was focused on looking for someone earlier. So I was annoyed when someone suddenly bothered me. When you called me, I still couldn't find him anywhere." Kyouka honestly told them what she was doing before.

"Who are you looking for, Kyouka?" Megumi asked curiously. The people around her were also waiting for her answer.

"I'm looking for the butler who served our previous tea party." Kyouka answered Megumi's question but her eyes still scanned the crowd of students.

"What are you looking for?" Sintaro frowned after hearing Kyouka was looking for Ziel. He felt displeased if Kyouka got too close to another boy.

"I'm still curious about the answer to a question I asked him in the Dwarven Kingdom. I didn't get to ask him at the tea party. Besides, I'm sure he wouldn't answer it in a place like that." Kyouka explained the reason for looking for Ziel.

"Kyouka, didn't I tell you not to think about it too much? You're going to be obsessed with him if you keep like that." Megumi teases Kyouka. He had reminded Kyouka about it before but Kyouka just ignored his words.

"Nonsense. I just thought the boy was a little weird." Kyouka refuted Megumi's words and said what she thought about Ziel.

"Weird? What do you mean by weird? I thought he was just a normal boy." Megumi didn't understand her words. She and the other girls know Ziel a bit. They were also present at the tea party earlier and judged Ziel to be just an ordinary boy except for his tea brewing skills.

"Don't you guys feel there's something strange about him? Every time something like this happens, he always disappears. When the problem is over he comes back. Things like this also happened in the Dwarven Kingdom. Do you still remember?" Kyouka explained her conjecture about Ziel. But their response is still normal.

"Hmm... you're right. But didn't he come back unconscious and was helped by Miss Kalya? I thought it was just a coincidence and you don't have to think about it too much." Prince Albert said his opinion on Kyouka's conjecture.

"You're right. That's one of the things I still have doubts about with my speculations until now." Kyouka nodded slightly. She doesn't have any evidence of her suspicions about Ziel.

"Alright, let's put that matter aside for now. Kyouka what do you think about the current situation?" Hikaru cut them off and started to re-explain what they had been talking about when Kyouka was focused on finding Ziel and wasn't paying attention to their conversation.

As everyone focused on Hikaru's explanation, one person from their group seemed to be deep in thought.

(That's true. I didn't see him either during the incident at Alba Mountain Range. Then, the reason Freya had approached him all this time was that she knew him. Could it be that he was... Ziel? If Freya already knew about it but didn't tell me, wouldn't she betray me!? No wonder I feel like he's been hiding something from me this whole time! I should have thought about this a long time ago! I'll figure this out right away!) 

Princess Aishia trembled after hearing Kyouka's conjecture. All the pieces of the puzzle begin to connect. She gritted her teeth after realizing that she had been lied to by Princess Freya all along. She stared daggers at Princess Freya who was chatting and laughing with Princess Iris. When Princess Freya noticed Princess Aishia's poisonous gaze, she just waved her hand with a smile. This made Princess Aishia even more annoyed.

"Aishia, what happened to you?" Prince Fritz asked worriedly after seeing the look on her face.

"Ah, I'm fine. I'm just a little depressed about this situation." Princess Aishia smiled weakly and didn't say anything. She quickly realized that she was being the center of attention by those around her. Currently, she is in a very bad mood and does not want to talk to anyone. So she just ignored their gazes.

"What do you think, Kyouka?" Hikaru returned to the important topic they were talking about.

"So, you want to go help the principal and King Gustave? But you're afraid the teachers will stop you?" Kyouka frowned and asked them. She did not agree with the plan they wanted to carry out.

They nodded at Kyouka's question. Their answer made Kyouka ponder for a while before she finally told them her idea.

"I can help you guys get out of here quietly." Kyouka reluctantly had to help them. Otherwise, they would sneak out without her knowing.

"Ah! You're right! Why didn't I think of that!? We can use that!?" Megumi quickly understood what Kyouka meant. Hikaru and Sintaro nodded after hearing Megumi's words.

"What do you mean?" Princess Reina and the others still don't understand what the heroes are talking about.

"This is how we get out of this place..." Hikaru started to explain about one of Kyouka's magic that made them invisible and could help them out secretly.

The Princes and Princesses agreed after hearing the plan. They decided to leave that place immediately. Kyouka could only sigh heavily and cast her magic at them. The ones who decided to leave were the heroes, Prince Fritz, Prince Albert, Princess Reina, and Princess Aishia. Princess Rinne won't come because she's not fighting oriented and the others understand that.

[Cloak of Invisibility]

The heroes, Princes, and Princesses are covered by a thin membrane of Kyouka's magic. Not long after, they slowly disappeared from the room without anyone noticing.

***

The heroes, Princes, and Princesses were finally able to get out of the building without being noticed by the homeroom teacher. In front of the building, they saw the elven knights attacking the barrier Merlick had set up. The barrier wouldn't be able to hold them back any longer.

"Hikaru, what should we do now?" Megumi asks what action Hikaru will do next. Right now Hikaru was like a leader to them.

"Of course preventing those elven knights from breaking the barrier. We will fight them." Hikaru answered without hesitation. They walked slowly through the barrier. Merlick created a barrier that prevented outsiders from entering but allowed insiders to exit. Merlick did it so the students could quickly escape when they were in danger. They agree on Hikaru's decision.

"Let's get started. Please, Megumi." Hikaru asks Megumi to give her blessings to them.

"I understand." Megumi nodded slightly and started chanting her spell.

[Give Your Blessing to overcome all evil in this world]

[Strength Up]

[Agility Up]

[Dexterity Up]

[Intelligence Up]

This time the Megumi increased all their strength, including mana and aura. They felt power overflowing from their bodies. After they exited Merlick's barrier, they were immediately spotted by the elven knights who were attacking the barrier.

"Look! Someone's out! Hurry and catch them!" One of the elven knights shouted and pointed at Hikaru and the others who were running towards them. The elven knights quickly shot various elemental magic arrows at them. But the heroes and the others didn't just stand still either.

[Mercury Spear]

[Flame Wave]

[Fire Tornado]

Kyouka, Prince Albert, and Princess Aishia attacked first with magic to pave the way for the others. Hikaru and the melee attackers were already holding weapons in their hands. They charged forward towards the crowd of elven knights that were attacking them at this moment.

On the other hand, Merlick and King Gustave were shocked when they saw the heroes coming out of the building and joining the battle. Merlick looked around and couldn't find any teachers with them. He concluded that the heroes left without the teachers knowing and had disobeyed his orders.

"Those kids!" King Gustave clicked his tongue when he saw his two children were also in the group. Now his anxiety is increasing. He was worried not only about himself fighting Niberus, but also his children fighting the elven knights.

"Hee...so, they're the heroes? That's good! I don't have to bother going inside. Then, you guys die!" Niberus stretched out his hand and turned it into a cannon. Merlick and King Gustave were shaking because they had seen the cannon before. It was the cannon used by the golem Rosier to blow up the entire Dwarven Royal Capital in one hit. It's just that the size of the Niberus cannon is much smaller. But they couldn't help but worry about its explosive power.

[Divine Canon]

The compressed divine power that formed a huge ball of light shot towards King Gustave and Merlick's place.

Booooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

"Father!" Prince Albert and Princess Reina screamed hysterically after seeing their father swallowed up by the huge explosion.