I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [247]

"Hm! Then I suppose I'll explore the royal capital a bit," Nero decided.

Though she had been in the royal capital for several days, she realized she hadn't ventured much beyond the castle.

The only time she had stepped outside was on her first day, when she whisked Alice off to the battlefield against the Demon King's army.

As Nero strolled through the city, she organized the information she had gathered about this world.

First and foremost, she had figured out which world this was.

"Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World"? I recall this world is supposed to be full of eccentric people, isn't it?"

Yet, the first person she encountered in this world—Alice—was such a sweet and lovable girl.

Despite being an isekai story, Konosuba was a refreshing take amidst the flood of genre tropes, its absurd humor like a breath of fresh air.

She reminisced about the general plot: the protagonist, Kazuma, had died from the shock of seeing a slow-moving tractor and ended up in the afterlife. There, he was mocked by the goddess Aqua, only to drag her along as his "cheat item" to the new world as revenge.

Joined later by a chuuni mage who could only cast one explosion spell per day and a masochistic knight with impeccable defense but abysmal accuracy, Kazuma's party embarked on a chaotic adventure.

Back when Nero followed the series, the story hadn't progressed to the royal capital yet, so she hadn't recognized Alice at first.

However, Nero vaguely remembered reading a fanfiction where Alice had appeared.

As for Alice's companions… Nero recalled there was a pervert and a miser, though their names escaped her.

Now she knew: the pervert was Claire, and the miser was Reine.

And the protagonist's name? Kazuma Satou, if she remembered correctly.

Thinking of the infamous "Trashzuma," Nero's expression turned complicated.

Truth be told, Nero didn't dislike Kazuma.

Sure, he was shameless, greedy, lazy, lecherous, and constantly getting into trouble…

But he always managed to rise to the occasion when it truly mattered.

That said, Nero's most negative impression of Kazuma came from another crossover work, Isekai Quartet.

In that series, Kazuma had encountered Subaru Natsuki, the protagonist of Re:Zero, on the school rooftop. Their conversation ended with Kazuma accusing Subaru of being a "harem lord" and a "class enemy."

Having seen Re:Zero, Nero knew how much Subaru had endured throughout his journey. Even if Subaru did end up with a harem, many would agree it was well-deserved.

Admittedly, Subaru couldn't share his struggles openly due to the curse preventing him from discussing his powers. Kazuma's misunderstanding of Subaru was akin to Rem's early hostility toward Emilia—it stemmed from ignorance.

Still, Nero had found Kazuma's words at that moment deeply irritating.

Even so, she acknowledged Kazuma's struggles.

Much like Subaru, Kazuma had also died countless times.

Besides his initial death from the tractor scare, Nero recalled his other deaths: being beheaded by the Winter Shogun, blown up by Megumin's explosion, dissolved by a poisonous slime, strangled by a cursed magic collar at Wiz's shop, falling from a tree and landing headfirst, and being beaten to death by kobolds, to name a few.

While the comedic tone of Konosuba softened the impact of these deaths, the terror of facing death wouldn't vanish just because resurrection was possible.

Now that Nero had confirmed this was Konosuba's world, she felt a growing urge to visit Axel, the "Beginner Town" where much of the story took place.

"Though… if I were to leave for Axel without saying anything, Alice might look so lonely," she mused.

"A beautiful girl should always be smiling. I don't enjoy making lovely young ladies cry."

When Nero snapped out of her thoughts, she realized…

"…Why have I ended up by the city walls?"

The towering walls protected the capital from external threats.

Looking up at them, Nero idly wondered, Could there be a Colossal Titan hiding within these walls?

No, probably not.

This world didn't have titans requiring strikes to the nape to kill them.

While there were no titans, there was magic.

Nero noticed traces of enchantments—or perhaps barriers—woven into the walls.

It was only fitting for a royal capital to have such protection.

She wondered if all cities in this world had barriers or if it was a privilege reserved for the capital.

Still… this particular barrier seemed crude.

Running her hand along the wall, Nero walked a few dozen steps before commenting aloud, "For something meant to protect the royal capital, this barrier's design is awfully primitive. It's like trying to race with a clunky old carriage that should've been retired years ago."

"Hey! You over there! What are you doing sneaking around?"

Startled by the voice, Nero realized she had been so focused on examining the barrier that she hadn't noticed the guards approaching her.

Sneaking around? Me?

What a baseless accusation. Moreover, it seemed these guards didn't recognize her.

Given her role in the recent battle, she had assumed most people in the capital would know her by now.

Just as Nero was about to explain herself, another voice cut in.

"Oh, I know her! She's a friend of the princess. She's not suspicious."

The newcomer was a man clad in dark blue armor, and he seemed familiar to Nero—she vaguely recalled seeing him at the banquet.

"Ah! It's Sir Mitsurugi!"

"Sir Mitsurugi says she's the princess's friend?"

"Well, if Sir Mitsurugi says so, it must be true."

The guards, apparently holding this man in high regard, immediately backed off and even apologized to Nero for the misunderstanding.

"Nero-dono, may I ask what brings you here?" the man asked with a warm smile.

Hmm… he was decently handsome.

Though he barely qualified as a "pretty boy" by Nero's standards, Nero herself wasn't purely Nero. Her essence as Phoenix Plume gave her a more discerning eye.

While Nero appreciated beauty in all forms—male or female—her true preference lay solely with beautiful girls.

"Ah, I nearly forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me," the man said, his expression turning apologetic.

"My name is Kyouya Mitsurugi, a Swordmaster and the wielder of the cursed blade, Gram."

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T/N: AH ITS KONOSUBA! thank god i can fix names now :3c

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