Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 395 Rat Trouble
Bi'an sheathed her sword, casually tossed her ponytail, and bent down to pick up the packed lunch. She decided to buy a ticket for an airship that night. Since there was no convenient teleportation magic in this world, she would have to spend three days on an airship.

Although she didn't know what had happened to the Oath and the Sword of Victory, she was relieved that they seemed to still work.

Besides indulging in feasting throughout the day, Bi'an also kept an eye on this place that was almost a carbon copy of the Empire.

The downside of advanced technology is that the faith in Taoism is almost emasculated. Gear City has no astrological guild or cathedral, nor do it have the clergy preaching around the streets. Compared to the extraordinary power brought by Taoism, the people here believe more in firearms and various technological creations.

The hero and his companions are among the very few extraordinary individuals who have received royal recognition.

Moreover, supernatural powers were subject to strict control by the royal family. During the reign of Henry III, a special law was introduced targeting supernatural beings, prohibiting private fights between them within the empire. If a supernatural being was injured or killed in a private fight, the empire would, in accordance with the law, impose the death penalty on the person who committed the crime of murder.

The only exception is the Hero Squad.

Royal authorization grants them discretionary power.

After a series of laws were introduced, a large number of superhumans left the Empire, gradually leading to the current situation of the decline of superhumans. This is in stark contrast to the place where the other side lives, where any high-level superhuman can be respected by the locals in any city, and the local rulers will even provide them with preferential treatment in order to retain them.

"Miss Beyond the Shore".

Not long after she left the police station, someone blocked her way.

The visitor was dressed very respectably in a well-fitting tailcoat, looking like a butler in a noble mansion. "Grand Summoner Hetia heard about your deeds in Riverside Town and specially invited you to her home as a guest."

Upon hearing this, the girl who had been rescued from the other side hid behind her.

"What's wrong, Lacey?"

This is a little girl's name, which is quite common in small towns in the Empire.

After taking a shower and getting dressed at the hotel, Lacey's complexion became much rosier, and she gradually regained the vitality of a young girl her age.

"I feel...not quite right."

"Lassie said timidly."

Heitia's invitation stirred up painful memories for her.

Riverside Town was originally a peaceful and tranquil town, until the hero and his companions arrived. From that day on, their lives changed dramatically. Her parents opened an inn in town and warmly welcomed the hero and his companions.

But they never dreamed that one day, armed imperial soldiers would storm into their inn and plunge their weapons into her parents' hearts. Before they died, they hid her in the closet, thus escaping the imperial army's search.

"do not be afraid."

Bi'an patted Lacey on the shoulder, and out of politeness and to ensure a smooth journey ahead, she accepted the butler's invitation.

Even before accepting the invitation, she had already learned a lot about Hetia.

After all, as the hero who defeated the Demon King, and with Hetia being a native of Gear City, people on the streets are now talking about their hero. When the barbecue was served, I encountered nine residents discussing Hetia. They had obviously seen the morning interview and firmly believed that Hetia would create a better tomorrow for them.

Heather was born into a noble family and developed a strong interest in becoming a summoner from a young age. She had an enlightened couple who, in order to satisfy Heather's hobby, invited renowned summoners from far and wide to be her teachers, and Heather showed her talent early on.

Legend has it that she surpassed her teacher as soon as she came of age and was awarded the medal of a high-ranking summoner by the Summoner Association. After that, due to an incident related to the Demon King, the young Hetia met the hero Solan, who had just embarked on his journey. Together they cleaned up the poison left by the Demon King, and then she accepted the hero's invitation and became a member of that great team.

These are all interesting stories related to Hetia, and a publishing house is already compiling a biography of the Great Summoner Hetia.

A living legend, in the prime of his life.

This is the general opinion of the residents of Gear City regarding her.

Before long, led by the butler, Bi'an entered Hetia's mansion in the most bustling area of ​​Gear City. It was easy to see that Hetia was a woman who knew how to enjoy life. She had carefully cultivated many plants in the garden of the mansion, and you could smell the refreshing fragrance of flowers as soon as you got close.

The maids have prepared fruit tea for the guests.

"These were all planted by Lady Hetia herself."

The maid smiled and explained to the two of them.

Lacey appeared very wary; despite the enticing aroma of the fruit tea, she silently lowered her head and refused to glance at the cup.

The gaze on the teacup lingered for only half a second before the thought of drinking tea was abandoned.

She heard soft footsteps in the doorway and saw Heitia herself, still wearing the bubble dress she wore for the interview, with a beautiful face, seemingly forever 18 years old.

"Is the fruit tea not to your liking?"

Hetia smiled and took the initiative to ask.

"I'm full."

Bi'an adopted her own "business voice," a flat yet impolite tone. This was what she, as the Empire's Knight Commander, usually used to deal with the nobles of the capital who would suddenly appear out of nowhere and try to get close to her. In reality, she couldn't remember any of those families with complicated noble surnames.

If not for Heitia's invitation, Bi'an would never have made a special trip to visit her.

“I heard about you from the residents of Riverside Town. They said you led them out of town during the fleet’s bombardment.”

"It's just a matter of effort."

He waved his hand from the other side.

"Please come with me."

The residents of Riverside Town were here. They were put into the basement of the mansion. Unlike the bright and warm-toned environment upstairs, the basement of the mansion was cold and damp. Various spellcasting materials were placed on both sides of the road, and the top of the bookshelves was covered with cobwebs. The parchment books on them were already covered with a layer of dust.

"This is from when I was learning summoning magic. Because what they mentioned was somewhat unusual, I had no choice but to place them here to prevent them from being persecuted by the army."

Those on the other side can only sigh in their hearts.

She could only lament that the residents of these riverside towns were so naive and trusting of others.

If they lingered in Gear City a little longer and learned about Hetia's background from others, they wouldn't place all their hopes on this great summoner.

Hetia is a noblewoman of impeccable lineage, having received aristocratic education from a young age, and her stance naturally aligns with that of the great nobles of the Silver Empire.

Orders to bombard Riverside Town and wipe the entire town off the empire's map must have come from the highest levels of the empire, and were even very likely issued directly by the Henry royal family. Even if they investigated thoroughly and eventually found the culprit who gave the order, what could they expect Hetia to do?

They pinned their hopes on the upright and benevolent Grand Summoner to sacrifice his own family for the greater good, and to join forces with a few survivors from Riverside Town to fight against the entire Empire.

Upon seeing Bi'an enter, the survivors excitedly greeted her. The scene in the basement immediately made Bi'an frown—they were setting up some kind of unknown ritual array. The older survivor had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his palm from a dagger, and he used his blood to outline the shape of the array. "Miss Bi'an, you've arrived. Lady Hetia has taught us some summoning techniques, and we're practicing."

Summoning ritual?

This is indeed some kind of summoning spell, but it's definitely not summoning anything legitimate.

In the understanding of the other side, only followers of evil gods would resort to self-harm.

"Lady Hetia said this is a long battle, and we must learn to protect ourselves."

The survivors had unwavering faith in Hetia, but when Lacey saw the blood and the wounds on the older survivor's hands, she trembled violently. She suddenly raised her voice and said, "Stop, stop now!"

She gasped for breath, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at Hetia, “...It was you! It was you back then!”

"Lassie, you must not be rude to Lady Hetia!"

The older survivors scolded.

Upon learning of their plight, Hetia not only offered to house these refugees in her mansion but also taught them summoning magic. She promised to investigate thoroughly and that if the laws of the empire could not deliver justice, she would personally punish those who had committed numerous crimes.

Without a doubt, Grand Summoner Hetia is one of the most upright people in the world.

"Lassie, that's a really nice name."

Heitia tried to gently stroke Lacey's head, but the little girl dodged away. Heitia smiled and asked Lacey, "Who are you referring to?"

"I saw it all! You're the one who taught them those spells!"

"What kind of spell?"

"A spell to summon the Demon King."

Lacey hid behind the other shore, refusing to look Hetia in the eye again. Even though Hetia was wearing a black cloak that covered her face with the hood, Lacey still recognized her.

The soldiers had killed her parents, and while they were patrolling the attic, someone suddenly called out to them, preventing them from entering the guest room where she was hiding.

Later, the person shrouded in a black cloak found her; that person seemed to have known from the beginning that she was hiding in the closet.

Do you want to end all of this?

At that moment, Lacey seemed to hear the devil's whispers.

……

"Please forgive her, Lady Hetia. Lacey's parents were killed by the Imperial army, which may have caused her to have delusions..."

"So, do you still remember how to do it?"

Hetia ignored the survivor who spoke. Her smile remained unchanged, yet it appeared extremely eerie at this moment. Even the residents of Riverside Town, who had previously trusted her implicitly, felt a chill for no reason.

"Drag the corpses into the house, arrange them in a circle, and then use their blood to draw those symbols..."

"You remembered it all."

Hetia seemed thoughtful. "If you are carefully nurtured, you might become an excellent summoner."

"Lady Hetia, you—"

The light emanating from the magic circle interrupted the sounds of the riverside town residents. Before they could react, a gaping maw burst forth from the ritual magic circle.

What emerged from the magic circle were not the allies Hetia had told them about who would fight alongside them in the future, but some kind of large monster that treated them as food. They could even see bits of flesh remaining between its sharp teeth, as well as human tissue that resembled knuckles.

Extreme fear froze them in place, leaving them helpless to watch as the gaping maw of blood swallowed them whole.

Then, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked their way.

He raised his right hand and pressed down on the monster's upper jaw, forcibly stuffing the enormous creature back into the summoning circle.

"No wonder there were two bodies that were only half-dead at the police station last night."

The other side suddenly realized, "Now I know why I don't like you."

Hetia's smile vanished; the surviving toys had ruined her good mood for the entire day.

"I don't like you either. You remind me of an annoying face."

Hetia's voice turned cold as well, "Another fool indulging in fantasy of being a hero."

The residents of Riverside Town could hardly believe their ears.

The Grand Summoner in the hero's team actually called the hero a fool!
It is important to know that in the Silver Empire, insulting a hero is a serious crime and will result in being wanted by major cities.

"Lady Hetia, why, why did you..."

"Don't talk to me like a rat in the gutter!"

Once the facade of a smile was gone, all that remained on Hetia's face was disgust. Her patience was nearing its limit. Only after learning of the existence of the Other Shore did she tolerate a bunch of rats from the gutter moving into her mansion.

Seeing scurrying rats, the normal human reaction is to beat them to death with sticks, but there are always some oddballs in this world who like to associate with rats in the sewers.

Whenever Hetia sees the other side, she is reminded of that hero who always smiles like a dim-witted idiot, and she has to suppress her nausea and go against her own heart to praise his integrity with others.

Fate chose Solan, making him take up a sword and become a hero.

"But you were just now—"

Would you feel guilty for stepping on a few rats?

In Hetia's view, it was precisely because of the existence of the hero that the empire's rat infestation had become increasingly severe. These were clearly just a group of filthy creatures living in the gutter, yet they arrogantly believed that they had the right to negotiate with the empire. Just like this nest of rats in front of her, they now came to her, shamelessly hoping that she would find the culprit and judge his crimes.

"Ah, this is all Solan's fault."

A surge of immense magical power erupted, and in an instant, the six-pointed star magic circle enveloped the entire basement. "Blame him if you must. He actually made you believe that justice and fairness truly exist. What sin could be more heinous than this?"

(End of this chapter)