Sentenced to Be a Hero (勇者刑に処す 懲罰勇者9004隊刑務記録)

I'll find you.

I'll find the one who set up me and my Knights.

The one responsible for Senerva's fate.

I'll find you...

and I will kill you.

Xylo! Xylo!

Were you dreaming, perchance?

A wisp of a man named Venetim asked me to wake you.

Express your gratitude and shower me with praise.

Tell him I'll be there in a minute.

Unacceptable. You intend to return to your slumber the moment I leave.

Yep.

Bah. Your honesty is commendable, but your behavior is not.

Tell me why.

Why what?

Why you're still here.

They told you about us, right?

Yes.

They say the hero penalty is reserved for the most grievous of crimes.

They have told me about your past as well.

So why—

My knight!

You had a reason, did you not?

My reason doesn't matter.

I killed a goddess.

That's the truth.

The pact can be canceled by the goddess's death or by mutual consent. So just—

I will not.

What?

I have named you as my knight.

Xylo! Are you awake? Everything's a real mess!

Quit shouting, Venetim. I'll kill you.

I'm afraid I may die before you get the chance.

Seems our next mission is in.

Seriously?

We are disposable heroes, after all.

Still, I'd prefer not to die, so could you come discuss the details?

Son of a bitch.

My knight!

We must go. My power is needed, is it not?

Take them down!

Don't let mere winged insects interrupt our rest!

Wh-What is the meaning of this?

It's Tatsuya and His Majesty.

Tatsuya? His Majesty?

Yeah. They're heroes like me.

Xylo! The river has turned to ice!

Who would have believed even one of this size could freeze?

Xylo, come to my side and take a look.

Come, come! Look yonder!

Here.

"Thirteenth goddess transport mission suspended."

"You are hereby ordered to clear the Zewan Gan Tunnels."

Have they been affected by Demon Blight as well?

Since the Fourth War of Subjugation began

with the appearance of Demon Blight Number One, the Serpent,

our forests have been corrupted, and the soil has continually degraded.

Over the course of those twenty years, humanity has lost half of its habitable land.

We must not let it progress any further.

We've sent the hero unit to Zewan Gan.

On horseback, you can meet up with them quickly.

We'll depart at once.

Please do.

Oh, that's right.

If you run into High Priest Marlen, pass on my regards.

It occurs to me I have seen no sign of that rogue named Dotta.

Dotta's in the repair shop.

Because Xylo hit him, I'd wager.

Honestly. As my loyal subjects, you need to be more careful.

Yeah, yeah. As you wish, Your Majesty.

Pardon me. May I ask why you call him "Your Majesty"?

It's exactly how it sounds.

Norgalle's seriously convinced he's the king of the Federated Kingdom.

He committed a large-scale terrorist attack against his "usurpers," and as a result,

he was sentenced to be a hero.

He was a terrorist.

A-And who is that?

That's Tatsuya.

Dunno what he did, but he's been in the hero unit longer than any of us.

He appears rather detached.

Every time a hero is resurrected, they lose parts of their mind and their memories.

We'll be like him if we're not careful.

Dammit. Everything about this sentence is garbage.

Well, isn't this a cheery welcome?

Let's go.

The town appears to be under a pall.

Well, they're on the verge of getting swallowed by the Demon Blight.

There's not much time left.

Is there really nothing you can do?

I'm afraid the army's decision is...

Normally, they'd all have been evacuated.

I wonder what's with all the holdouts.

Hey, question.

You're...

a hero?

You're not in any danger from me.

We're here to get the tunnels under control.

If you've got any digging tools, we'd appreciate—

Why even bother now?

It's far too late.

Why didn't you come sooner?

Excuse me.

What? This isn't a show.

The tunnels are that way.

Thanks.

Will my dad come back?

It's my birthday.

He said he'd be back!

Dammit.

Don't look at me like that.

The Zewan Gan Tunnels produce good-quality iron used in sacred seals as a catalyst,

so it seems Verkle Development Corporation and the military poured in lots of money.

So yeah, pretty ironic that the Tunnels themselves got faeried.

Huh. My knight, what is a "sacred seal"?

According to the Temple guys, they're wisdom bestowed on us by the gods.

Though the way my body is now, there's only two I can use.

They're King Norgalle's specialty.

He's a genius who can singlehandedly do the kind of tuning that'd usually take several people.

Goddess, the sacred seal inscribed on an object is powered by the light of the sun,

and invoked by a person's life force and will.

They have various effects.

To call lightning from above. To crack the earth below. To unleash heat.

Is it not incredible, Xylo?

But we can't beat our enemies with sacred seals alone.

They say it was about a month ago

that the miners were turned into faeries and began attacking indiscriminately.

A Demon Blight, huh?

Yes.

The details are fuzzy, but it seems Number Fifty-One is being referred to as "Lotus."

Our mission is to excavate a direct route for the Holy Knights to attack.

Still, I must reveal with some regret

that as your commander, I'm forced to remain in the town.

Huh? You'd better be kidding me—

So...

I beseech you...

to promptly...

proceed inside!

This might be our own graves we're digging here.

I inscribed those sacred seals myself, and that's the best you can do?

Dig faster.

We're doing our best here.

You appear to be struggling, Xylo.

In that case, may I step in?

Hell no.

I'm not gonna go wastin' a goddess's stamina.

But I have yet to contribute to this mission.

How am I going to earn your praise like this?

Just shut up and sit down.

I'm glad to see you're doing your job, at least...

Xylo Forbartz.

Yeah, I'd be dead if I weren't.

Goddess, would you prefer to rest with our unit?

No, I must watch my knight at work.

I am a goddess.

But—

The goddess wishes to remain on the front lines with us.

As sovereign of this realm, I reject your request.

Xylo, what's wrong with this man?

Is it resurrection madness?

Nope. All him.

I see.

They told me how Dotta Luzulas stole the goddess.

Why didn't you explain yourself then?

Like you would've believed me.

I didn't exactly have time, anyway.

In the future, tell me everything.

If we're assigned to the same mission, it's your obligation.

Yeah, right.

While you're giving out missions like this?

What do you mean?

It's a faeried mine. Most of the time, they'd just leave it be.

Especially with winter on the way.

What are you getting at?

I don't know what the military or Temple folk are thinking,

but it's a pointless mission on the face of it.

What are you after? Assuming you're not just torturing us for the fun of it.

Are you planning to use Teoritta for something?

Well?