I Am Not the Heroine

Currently, the distribution of gates for the Hero party is as follows:

Hero – Eastern Gate.
Rapirie – Southern Gate.
Serelin – Northern Gate.
Ariya – All-around.
And lastly, me – Western Gate.

Reports indicate that the Eastern Gate is experiencing the most appearances of magical creatures, followed sequentially by the Northern and Southern Gates. The Western Gate has some activity, but it’s at a level where mercenaries and adventurers can manage it.

In other words, heading to the Western Gate right now doesn’t mean I’ll be rolling up my sleeves.

‘But that’s actually a good thing.’

Thanks to that, I can execute various plans to prepare for the twilight Fortress.

‘The western wall collapsed, causing significant damage.’

The original Hero party moved as they are now even in my absence. When the twilight Fortress appeared near the Western Gate, they gathered, and during that time, the wall crumbled.

As a result, many civilians and western troops suffered severe damage.

[If the Hero had been just two days late, we would have all been dead…]

The soldier said that because the Hero saved the city, which was about to be overrun when the Western Gate fell.

Due to the Hero’s talents, strength, and speed, he quickly came to the West and minimized damage, allowing them to prepare for subsequent battles, ultimately leading to victory.

‘This time will be different.’

Simply because I am here.

In this chain of events, the Hero party learns no lessons or growth experiences.

Rushing to the West with all one’s might to save the weak?

So, gaining lessons from the dead?

That’s been the norm for a long time. That’s how Heroes have always been.
Even after fighting Akutras in Intrel Village and falling into a ditch, it was like that.

So there was no need to leave it alone.

‘I have enough time.’

Furthermore, I can find the fastest route and buy about two more days, making me feel leisurely.
If I reinforce the walls with a master key instead of a pen, I’ll be able to stop it in time.

Creak!

Summoning the master key, I slowly exited the Western Gate.
Currently, Alphares is under a ban on entry for ordinary citizens.

Only those with special permission can come and go, so hardly anyone uses the gate.

I could see guards, mercenaries, and adventurers chatting among themselves. They shot a few glances in my direction but quickly focused on their own work.

I passed by them and completely exited the city.

“Lux, can you let me down?”

Knight Lux slowly found a place to land and lowered his body gently.
I jumped down and inspected the walls that rose above me.
The pure white stone, produced in this area, was truly beautiful.

“Whoa.”

Phew.

I almost lost my balance and fell backward while craning my neck too much to look around.
Fortunately, Knight Lux caught me just in time, so I avoided disaster.

“I’ll give you something delicious later.”

Knight Lux also seemed to appreciate words, especially since he loved carrots. Recently, I had been hiding the region’s special carrots to cook soups, which was a bit troublesome.
I figured he would be glad to receive a set of Alphares mountain carrots and fruits as a thank-you later.

“For now, let’s only do about a third of the wall… Should I go with Mithril-like for the materials?”

While I had original Mithril, which is strong in magical power and durability, there wasn’t enough to cover the entire wall of this size.
Instead, I had developed a liquid metal with similar strength, Mithril-like, so that would be usable.

So I took out the master key and summoned a space of space beside me to prepare for reinforcement work.

“Excuse me, who are you?”
At that moment, a guard approached me and cautiously asked.

It seems he mistook me for a high-ranking individual because of the robe I was wearing.

“I’m a mage. I’ve been assigned to the Western Gate.”

“Mage…? Well, I am the captain of the guard here at the Western Gate, but I haven’t heard such an announcement.”

Ah, so he was the captain of this gate. He seemed to be near middle age compared to other guards.
Since he was in charge of one of Alphares’ four major gates, reports from all troops deployed here seemed to go through him.

With the captain’s words, some guards’ expressions turned sharp.
Considering the circumstances, it seems their vigilance has risen.
‘I should have gone with the caretaker.’
Right now, the fact that I am a mage from the Hero party is poorly known, and the only ones who can confirm my identity are from the Alphares Count’s household.
Otherwise, there are only the Hero party members, and they have already moved to their respective positions.

“Unless you have related documentation…?”

“Wait, I can guarantee the mage’s identity.”

At that moment, a savior appeared.

“Serelin?”

The blue-haired female knight. It was Serelin.

*

“What? If it’s Serelin…”

“The Serelin from the Hero party…?”

At my reaction, the guards, mercenaries, and adventurers buzzed with surprise.
And so did my inner self.
‘Why are you here?’
I thought she should have reached the Northern Gate by now.

“I see you recognize me.”

“Of course. Serelin’s past achievements, not to mention her actions in the Hero party, have become a standard for all inspectors.”

“I don’t really need such compliments… But anyway, you can trust this mage.”

Serelin came right over and hugged my shoulder.
“Because he is the mage of our Hero party.”

“Wait, the Hero party’s!”

“No wonder the robe looked expensive…”

Just her single phrase made everyone nod in agreement.
However, the captain still looked troubled.
“I don’t doubt you, Serelin. But I still need related reports…”

“Oh, about that. The butler from the Alphares Count’s household is on the way. Just ask him.”

Perhaps feeling for the middle management’s woes, the captain’s expression brightened significantly when he heard the butler was coming.
“Understood. Then we will take our leave!”
“Thank you.”
I looked up at Serelin, who had quickly sorted things out.
“Serelin.”
“Hmm?”

Once the guards and others had left, Serelin quickly reverted to her familiar tone.
I asked her why she was here.
“Ah~ that’s… Aswel asked me to come.”
“Hero Aswel?”
“Yep. He thought you might be in trouble and came to ask for my help. He said it would take too long to move from the opposite side.”

So the Hero had foreseen this situation.
“But wouldn’t that leave the North unguarded?”
“Oh, that part? Ariya is visiting the North first. There are quite a few injured up North.”

Hmm, if she puts it that way, there’s really nothing more to say.
I had been worried about a possible vacancy in the Hero party, but with Ariya, it should be just fine.
‘They won’t all die or get injured and pop out like that…’
Ariya, with her outstanding beauty, gentle personality, and healing abilities, is incredibly popular among the combat forces.
As long as Ariya heals them, they’ll be able to muster close to thirty million magical power just from that fact alone.
‘Seems like it’s working out well.’
Before the twilight Fortress appears, it might be better to give Serelin an event.
If that happens, I might be able to see her engulfed in a fighting spirit while annihilating magical creatures and demons.

“Anyway, I’ve roughly organized the situation… Do you need any more help?”
“Well, not at the moment.”

She wouldn’t be of any assistance for wall reinforcement or other plans.
However, I truly need her help for the Hero party’s harem.
“Really? Then, can I head North now?”
“Sure, go ahead. As expected, Serelin, you’re just as Hero said.”
“…Huh?”
“Then see you later.”

In conversations with Serelin, timing is key.
After I make a clingy remark first, it’s crucial to bounce off as if I’m leaving.
That way, Serelin, who’s caught the phrase, won’t leave, and after a moment, she’ll come back to me…
“Ugh.”
“W-Wait, could you elaborate on what you just said?!”

And thus, I’d end up begging for praise.
I barely escaped from Serelin’s ferociously overwhelming presence, finally regaining my breath as I began.
“What did you mean?”

Clearly, if I don’t specify, she won’t tell me.
“About what Aswel told you.”
“Oh, sure. But will you wait just a moment? I need to set something up first.”

She took the bait. Now I just need to cleverly adapt the Hero’s lines from the novel and convey them to her.
However, I had a feeling that saying that might take a while, so I needed to input commands into the master key in advance.
Vroom.
“Judgment. Restore. Reinforce. The material is… Mithril-like.”
I input a simple command and leaned the wall sideways to look at it.
Phew!!
“Ah, Lux. Stay still.”
Without suitable stones or wood, I sadly propped up Knight Lux as a support.
His face brimming with dissatisfaction can later be solved by sharing some of the special carrots I’ve been saving instead of the Alphares carrots.

“Serelin, I’m done.”
“Uh-huh.”
Now was the time to play with the knight’s mind.

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