18

Einhart, known as the heart of the Empire.

And within Einhart, a certain grand mansion.

It was a mansion bestowed by His Majesty, the glorious Emperor Valre de Magstia, to honor the deeds of a hero.

In that place, once again today, Bordin, a middle-aged man, seeks visits his lord.

With news in hand that he believes might pique her interest.

Hoping that she does not lose her interest in the world.

"My Lord. It's Bordin."

"Come in."

With permission granted, he opens the door to see her seated in a chair, looking bored. In her hand, she holds a gem that gleams with a brilliant blue light, like a sapphire.

"It seems you've hunted a Blue Wyvern this time."

At Bordin's remark, she tosses the gem into the air a few times before catching it, only to then throw it carelessly onto the desk, as if bored.

"The gem embedded in its forehead was beautiful, so I decided to catch it. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't much."

"Haha… Only you, my Lord, would hunt a Blue Wyvern for such a reason."

She shifts her gaze from the gem to Bordin.

"So, have you found the dragon's trail?"

A dragon. A nearly omnipotent being, often called the ruler of the skies.

It is said that their wingbeats stir up hurricanes, and their breath can wipe nations off the map.

"My Lord, dragons are not beings that can be found just by searching for them."

"Hmm. They say all kinds of gems are hidden within a dragon's nest."

"That too is just a rumor."

At Bordin's words, her eyes rapidly lose interest. Soon, her face twists into a smile, more akin to a sneer, as if mocking him.

"Did you come here just to inform me of your incompetence, Bordin?"

Completely unfazed by her harsh words, he slowly approaches and places a metal object on the desk.

"Of course not. I bring news that may interest you, My Lord."

"A magical video device, huh. Is there something entertaining inside?"

"My Lord, do you recall the city of Drax?"

She fiddles with the magical device as if molding clay, pausing briefly at Bordin's words.

"Drax? I don't remember."

"It is the place where you once defeated the monster Argentina."

"Ah. That big lizard."

"Yes. And it is the territory His Majesty bestowed upon you as a reward for vanquishing the monster."

"Bestowed, huh. More like tossed at me because it was a bother."

If they were going to give me something, they should have just given me gems.

Hearing her muttering, Bordin chuckled softly.

"About half a year ago, I heard rumors of a girl with remarkable strength appearing in Drax."

"Hmm."

She barely reacts, her disinterest palpable, as she half-listens to Bordin's words while activating the magical device.

The device emits a bright light.

"It wasn't a particularly significant matter, so I let it pass, but she turned out to be more exceptional than expected."

Receiving no response, Bordin continued speaking alone.

"She conquered both the western and eastern sides of Drax and even took care of the monsters near the city. Despite her young age, she possesses considerable magical power, so I decided to investigate further."

"But surprisingly, there was no evidence that she had ever learned mana application in the past."

Now, as if reaching the crux of his point, he widened his eyes.

"So, in my judgment, I am certain that she possesses an innate ability."

With a somewhat exaggerated gesture, Bordin raised his hand high.

"She may very well be the Empire's third innate ability wielder, following the Crown Prince and the Saintess! If this is-"

"She's as beautiful as a gem. I must have her."

"Indeed, if that's true… Pardon?"

Bordin stopped speaking. Glancing cautiously at his Lord…

She seemed almost entranced, unable to take her eyes off the light emitted by the magical tool.

As I followed her gaze to the light, I saw an image I had already seen before.

A woman with black hair was grappling a monster with her bare hands.

"Bordin."

At her serious voice, the head butler immediately lowered his head in a show of respect.

"Yes, my lord."

She pointed to the girl in the image and commanded.

"Where is she?"

The eyes of the lord as she spoke were eyes filled with a deep, greedy desire, unlike anything I had ever seen in all the time I'd served her.

***

"The hero of the empire. Lady Athena is looking for you."

At first, I thought I had misheard.

So I asked him to repeat it.

"Lady Athena is looking for you."

As if to assure me it wasn't a mistake, his words echoed the same.

"Come on… Are you playing a joke?"

"What…?"

Charlson's deeply flustered expression seemed to say that this situation wasn't a lie.

'No, that can't be true.'

What reason could Athena possibly have to show up here?

But no matter how many times I confirmed, Charlson's answer remained the same.

"Is this for real…?"

"Yes. She's waiting for you in the city now."

For real?

Athena? Looking for me? All of a sudden?

A flood of questions started to overwhelm my mind.

Athena. A character of overwhelming power and the one I had deduced as the mastermind.

She was never the type to care about others.

Although it hadn't yet been fully written, an incident from her past had made her lose interest in human relationships, and she had instead started to crave beautiful jewels.

'That's why she took an interest in Robin.'

The golden eyes of the protagonist that shone like gold. When Athena first met him, she was curious about his eyes.

And soon after, while watching his actions, she would sometimes step in to help him when he was in danger.

But that was it. She showed no further interest beyond that.

She hadn't even shown much interest in the protagonist.

What reason could she possibly have to come to such an abandoned city?

'Is this a story that wasn't in the novel?'

Just as Drax was a city that had secretly formed an alliance with the Empire to catch criminals, there were incidents that, though not written in the novel, naturally emerged as the gears of the world turned.

It meant that events not mentioned in the novel could still happen.

But despite that, I had decided to stay in Drax because of Athena's exclusive nature.

She had abandoned this city from the beginning as if she couldn't be bothered. So why would she suddenly be interested in it now?

'There's no end to this if I keep overthinking.'

Whatever the reason may be, once she's started looking for me, there's no escaping it.

I figured I'd have to go and talk to her for now.

"Please, let this be something unrelated to the original story…"

Somewhere in this world, I prayed to the goddess.

When I returned to the city with heavy steps, I was met by Dania, who had been waiting at the entrance.

"Lily!! Hera!!"

"Unnie."

Her face, as she ran toward us, was filled with deep bewilderment.

"Hera… In the city… She… she's here…"

"I heard from Charlson."

I could no longer believe that Dania was lying.

"Why is she looking for you?"

Dania gazed at me with a worried expression.

"…I'm not sure either. I think I'll only know if I meet her."

As I said that, Lily grasped my hand tightly from behind.

"Unnie… I feel uneasy…"

I stroked Lily's head to reassure her.

"It's okay. She's a hero. She won't harm us."

As I comforted Lily, we headed further into the city.

There, a crowd gathered.

And in the midst of it, I saw her.

Sitting gracefully in a chair, looking as though she was waiting for something.

Her platinum blonde hair shone brilliantly, and her golden eyes held an intelligence that seemed to pierce through anything.

She was Athena Caladbolg, the strongest human in the novel Indomitable Hero. At the same time, she was the mastermind behind it all.

'What kind of atmosphere is this…'

A daunting aura surrounded her, making it seem impossible to approach.

With heavy steps, I slowly walked towards her.

Noticing my approach, she turned her head towards me.

Then, in an instant, she disappeared and suddenly appeared right in front of me.

"Uh!"

She gently placed both of her hands on my cheeks, staring intensely at me as if she were enveloping me.

"So beautiful…"

A primal fear crept up from within me as her golden eyes burned with an intense gaze.

"What… what are you doing?!"

Instinctively, I pushed her hands away and took a step back.

Athena looked down at her hands for a moment before shifting her gaze back to me, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Oh. Sorry. Did I scare you? I must have lost myself for a moment. It's nice to meet you, Hera."

She reached out her hand to me, calling me by a name I hadn't even told her.

But the inexplicable fear emanating from her made me ignore her hand as I spoke.

"…Why are you here?"

Her eyes widened at my question.

"Even your voice is beautiful…"

"I asked you why you're here."

Like a hedgehog raising its quills in front of a predator, my tone instinctively grew sharp.

She smiled as though finding my reaction endearing, raising one hand towards the sky.

"Hmm… First of all, isn't there too many people here?"

Golden mana began to flow from Athena's hand, slowly enveloping both of us.

With a snap of her fingers, the surroundings suddenly changed.

Before my eyes now stood countless trees and plants.

It was like being in a dense forest.

"Teleportation…?"

I muttered while staring blankly at the sky, and Athena chuckled softly.

"No, this is a space I created. Think of it as a barrier."

She slowly began walking towards me, one step at a time.

"Don't come closer."

Ignoring my warning, she approached me until she was right in front of me.

"…Do you not know who I am? It's been a while since I've heard someone speak so casually to me."

"I only speak casually to those who do so first."

"Heh… But hearing it from you, casual speech doesn't sound so bad."

"…What is it you want to say?"

"You asked why I'm here, didn't you?"

She pointed at me and said,

"You. Become my slave."

To be continued…