Chapter 42: Conclusion and Panties

"...What is this?"

Deep in the forest clearing, a man’s murmur dissolved into the air.

"What... is going on?"

Dodging enemy laser fire and mowing down the massive demonic guards that ambushed him on the way, Karl had finally reached the magic cannon’s launch point.

What he found there was the wreckage—larger than a small house—of a fixed artillery gun.

"The cannon’s already destroyed... Did someone else attack this place before me?"

Karl furrowed his brow in suspicion. He looked around, but there were no signs of movement aside from himself.

The ground was soaked in the blood of demons he had cut down, and the few survivors had already fled in a panic.

But the objective he had worked so hard to reach... had already been destroyed.

"Could there be someone besides me or Aldebaran trying to defeat the demons?"

It was the only explanation. At the very least, someone else had definitely smashed this cannon.

Karl stood in place, staring at the cannon's remains, which had been destroyed from the inside. All he could do was pick up a broken piece and stand there silently.

"...I should check the area, just in case."

There were no more signs of demons near the cannon.

With nothing else to do, Karl decided to search the surroundings in hopes of finding something useful—some clue about the enemy.

Maybe he could discover evidence of whoever had done this. He hadn't come all this way for nothing—he had to bring back some kind of intel.

"The cannon was blown apart. Most likely the work of a mage."

The fragments were warped by heat, severed by fire.

This clearly wasn’t the result of brute force. No weapon or blade caused this—it had been blasted apart by flames.

That pointed squarely to a mage.

"It's a huge cannon, but... there's some kind of control panel on one of the fragments?"

Karl picked up a hunk of twisted iron, likely part of the cannon.

And then he noticed—welded to the thick metal was a small panel with a set of fine buttons.

"Hmm? That’s... human language!?"

To his shock, the panel was labeled in human script.

"There's even a button labeled 'Fire'... No doubt about it, this is the control device. But then... does that mean a human was operating this cannon?"

The enemies Karl had fought on the way here were definitely demons.

But the weapon they had deployed... was of human make.

Could it be that a human had sided with the demons? If so, they couldn’t be allowed to live.

"...A dwarf? No—maybe a goblin."

As Karl examined more of the debris, he uncovered a crushed corpse buried beneath it.

The grotesque sight made him avert his eyes.

Crushed by the cannon’s barrel, the body was severely mangled, but it was likely a representative species of the demon race he’d heard rumors about—a goblin.

"Goblins are said to be dexterous, and according to legend, some even understand human language."

Karl recalled the information he'd gathered about the Hero’s legend in this town. Goblins were known for their cunning—monsters that were relatively close to humans in behavior.

Maybe it wasn’t a human. Maybe this goblin had been the one controlling the cannon.

"Hmm. Black lace... with pink ribbon accents... and see-through."

And then Karl picked up a pair of women's panties from between the rubble.

They appeared to be used.

"I don’t see any human or non-goblin corpses besides some giant demon apes. And considering I didn’t see any goblins on the way here, maybe this goblin was the cannon operator after all?"

Looking more closely, Karl found several goblin corpses scattered around the cannon.

At least a few of them had been stationed here. It only made sense that the goblins were the ones operating the artillery.

"Hmm. This is silk. Fairly high-quality fabric... Was the woman who wore this someone of noble status?"

As he surveyed the area, Karl ran his fingers across the panties’ fabric.

It seemed to be made of silk.

"Hm. There's evidence of a campsite a short distance from here. Could it have belonged to the goblins?"

As he casually looked around, Karl spotted clear signs that someone had recently eaten here.

Crude, dirty tableware and carelessly handled weapons were piled up in a corner.

It was likely the remnants of an enemy encampment.

"A faint scent of perfume... Light and cool, with a restrained elegance. The owner of these panties must be a modest and graceful woman."

Karl sniffed the panties.

They had a pleasant floral scent.

"Oh, a magic circle. I’m no expert in magic, but there are plenty of specialists back in town. I’ll take it with me."

For now, he decided to try reassembling the cannon like a puzzle, restoring it to its pre-explosion form. As he did, a large magic circle appeared on its outer wall.

It was likely the core of the cannon’s magic system. This, too, was worth bringing back.

"The panties can go in my pocket. The fragments... I’ll wrap them in my coat..."

He had investigated the area thoroughly. The raid had turned out to be a bust, but he’d still managed to gather a decent amount of information.

Now, he just needed to bring it all back and discuss it with Maika and the others.

---

"Stop snooping through my underwear, you pervy Karl!!"

"Go explode, damn it!!"

Maika’s fist sent Karl flying high into the sky.

Strangely, by the time Karl arrived, the enemy had already been annihilated.

Apparently, someone else had stopped the demon tribe’s artillery before him.

"...The turrets had already been destroyed. Which means there’s someone besides us who stands against the Demon King."

"Probably. Haven’t met them, so I can’t say for sure."

"Could it be a Hero we’re unaware of? I must confirm with the Goddess."

Aldebaran sank back into deep thought.

Aldebaran, the monster who neutralized the enemy’s strategic weapons with her bare hands—twice. If she could speak with the Goddess, it would be valuable to share that information.

Karl’s goddess is kinda shady, after all. I’d rather hear Aldebaran’s goddess’s take.

"...Anyway. So we can say the enemy’s been wiped out?"

"That seems to be the case. And should they attack again, I shall repel them once more."

"Aah, that’s what I mean! Irine, what the hell was that!? If you could use something like that, you should’ve done it from the start!"

"Jeez, I already made peace with dying for nothing!" Sakura scolded while giving Irine a flurry of light punches.

Ah, my bad, really. I only just barely managed to learn it in time myself.

"I'm curious too. Irine, what was that magic?"

"It was a spell detailed in the thesis Yuma brought. A spell his father dedicated his life to researching."

"Hmm. And what is the name of this spell?"

"It's called Muscle Heaven: Muscle Musical, apparently."

——!?

Huh? Did someone just gasp somewhere? Eh, whatever.

"What’s with that ridiculous name?"

"Eh? I think it sounds pretty cool. Supposedly, it was a spell used in ancient coliseums to suppress magic and force hand-to-hand combat. That’s why it has such a name, or so I read."

"Hehh."

——Wait, hold on. That’s not the name I remember!

Inside my head, Grandpa’s panicked voice rang out.

Ah, don’t worry about it, Gramps. If anything, this way I can brag about it to everyone. Leave it to me.

I’ll make sure this spell gets remembered with a name full of flair and coolness.

——No, wait a sec—

"Hmm... So originally it wasn’t a defensive spell. That explains why it’s so awkwardly structured."

"Awkward?"

"Yes. I was shocked by how inefficient the formula was. It can hardly be called a defensive spell."

——What!? You too fail to comprehend the brilliance of my magic!?

Gramps lost it inside my head, enraged by Aldebaran’s words.

Calm down now, let’s at least hear her out.

"This barrier only blocks magic. Meaning any physical object with mass shot by magic—like fire arrows or stone bullets—won’t be stopped."

"Ahh."

"And on top of that, a physical barrier to block such things can’t be deployed, thanks to the anti-magic field itself. A spell that only works against pure magical projectiles—can that truly be called a defensive spell?"

Now that she mentioned it, yeah.

If someone lobbed a huge rock from outside the barrier, the defense spell wouldn’t be able to intercept it at all.

I wonder what happens with magically created fire? Would it vanish?

...If it’s a flaming object, like a fire arrow, I doubt it’d be stopped. Even if it was ignited with magic, once it’s burning, it’s just fire.

——That kind of thing can be handled with muscle!

True that.

"This time I used it to block external attacks, but originally, I believe it was meant to trap the enemy within."

"...I see."

"The idea is to trap both oneself and the enemy in a magic-less field, and then win through close combat. That would be the ideal usage."

"Ahh, so it’s meant to be used in battles against mages, supporting someone like Karl. In that case... yes, it’s extremely effective."

Eh? I was planning to fight them myself without Karl’s help, though.

"It’s weak to outside physical attacks, but if you trap the enemy inside, you completely shut down magic users. It might actually be a pretty solid spell."

"Right?"

"...Still, it’s probably beyond me. Just how many attributes are involved in this? And the mana cost is... outrageous."

Muttering to herself, Aldebaran began reading through the thesis.

Even the heroic Aldebaran couldn’t manage to learn Muscle Heaven: Muscle Musical, it seemed.

Well, it was supposed to be super difficult to begin with. I guess I’m just the kind of guy who pulls it off first try.

"Al, you’re our main offense. If you learned a barrier that seals magic, wouldn’t it just hold you back more often than not?"

"True enough, Inon."

Persuaded by the handsome teammate, Aldebaran casually tossed the thesis aside. Grandpa’s gonna be mad—treat it with more care, would you?

"...You saved us back there. I owe you, Irine."

"What are you saying? It was only because you, Aldebaran, held off the bombardment and bought us time."

"I’m a Hero. That much is only natural for me."

As I bent down to pick up the discarded thesis, Aldebaran turned toward me—and then, with a dramatic sweep of her red cape, stood tall.

"The Demon King is drawing close. We may well need your strength, Irine."

That... I could feel. The Demon King's army had just tried to kill us with a massive laser attack. That was no illusion.

"You can be trusted. We’ll meet again, Irine."

"...Yes. Until we meet again, Aldebaran."

In response, the Hero of Demonic Flame flashed a sharp, dashing smile.

It bloomed like a flower—so radiant, it caught me off guard. I never knew Aldebaran could make a face like that.

Bathed in the clear blue sky and smiling with fearless confidence, she looked just like a hero out of a grand adventure tale.

"...Alright! Let’s move out, everyone!"

Aldebaran gave the command to her companions behind her.

And behind her, the clouds blasted away by the magical artillery revealed a wide, clear sky that shone down upon us all.

——

"You filthy heat-struck lesbian maid!! This time you’ve really crossed the line!!"

"H-Hieee! It was a moment of weakness, I swear! Forgive meee!"

"Shut up!! Just shut up!! I was ready to die and wanted to hug my big sis goodbye!!"

And beneath that same shining sky, two bunny girls were enthusiastically engaged in what could only be described as an SM scene.

"...G-Gulp."

"What do you think, Rajikka? Can you tell anything?"

"The owner of these panties is a seriously lewd woman. Like, super pervy."

"That bad, huh? That much of a perv?"

"Yeah, no doubt about it. Full-on sexy, curvy, bouncy."

"F-Fuwaaahh..."

The men of Aldebaran’s party, together with the ever-pervy Karl, were critically inspecting the panties they'd found.

——

"I said we’re leaving already, you horny idiots!!"

 "I-I can’t even see straight anymore..."

"S-Sorry..."

The fools were swiftly disciplined by Aldebaran.

Yup. Compared to our party, Aldebaran’s crew definitely has a lot more personality.

---

After that.

We, Karl’s party, reported the events to Garius.

We were originally planning to flee this town, but couldn’t bring ourselves to leave and stayed behind to confront the Demon Lord’s army.

And as a result, it was Yuri’s grandfather’s magic that saved the town.

"…Haaah! Yet another great achievement, Karl and company. Once again, you’ve come to our aid."

"No. The ones who protected this land weren’t us, but rather Aldebaran and Yuri’s family. I merely took the final credit at the end, that’s all."

"Yeah, just like Irine said, we didn’t do anything."

In truth, Karl really hadn’t done anything.

"By the way, Lady Irine, might I ask you to teach me the spell you used to save the town from the demonic forces?"

"Why, of course."

Garius was astonished when the topic of Muscle Heaven came up and eagerly requested the research paper from Yuuri’s grandfather.

Upon reading its contents, Garius let out a contemplative groan.

"I see… This is… Quite difficult to accept as a mage."

"Is it really that bad?"

"It’s terrifying. The moment an enemy casts this, you become a weak and helpless fool. Anyone intelligent enough to grasp the value of this spell would go out of their way to brand it a 'useless magic' just to keep it from spreading."

Garius looked over Yuri’s grandfather’s paper with fascination.

So that’s why this magic never became public—there might have been such a backstory behind it.

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating. This technique… it might even be worth installing in the royal prison. But if an enemy were to use it, the palace guards could be completely neutralized... We can’t let this spread carelessly."

"Um, Lord Garius?"

"Very well, I’ve decided. This magic is indeed valuable, but it would be best to keep it hidden. Irine, this spell is now designated as a 'forbidden curse.' As of this moment, the paper is a state secret. You must never let it leak."

"Huh!? W-Wait, seriously!?"

Wait, is he seriously calling this a state secret!?

"Yes. This magic is extremely dangerous and shall henceforth be under royal control. Sir Yuuri, your grandfather Souma shall be remembered as a great mage in the royal lineage."

"…The legendary joke mage… has become a true archmage."

Uhh, whaaat?

I mean, yeah, it’s a crazy cool spell that’s totally my style, but… they’re calling it a state secret?

So that means… I can’t just use it whenever I want!?

"Now then, I fully understand your contributions and the threat of the Demon Lord’s army. I shall report everything to the king at once."

"Th-Thank you very much."

"Having seen that massive magic cannon blast, there’s no room to doubt the enemy’s existence. Rest assured, the kingdom shall offer you its full support."

And with that, we were officially promoted to state-recognized heroes.

Losing Muscle Heaven was a painful blow, but perhaps meeting Lord Garius was an unexpected stroke of fortune in itself.

"I’ll prepare some travel funds as well. With a noble lady of Velmund in your group, managing a large sum shouldn’t pose any issues."

"Yes. We shall gratefully make good use of Your Excellency’s generous aid."

And thus, our battle in Yowin came to a close. We decided to rest for a while before heading toward the next fight.

Incidentally, Garius also handed us a dazzlingly large sum of money as a reward and travel fund—causing Maika’s eyes to sparkle like stars.