Symphony for the Insect Princess

……No.

Look above.

...No, no, and still no.

"strangeness……"

she muttered.

It was obvious that a great battle had taken place here. It would have been fine if there were no pedestrians, but there were no corpses to be seen, not even someone who had fainted on the ground.

Where are you going?

As they were thinking, the two of them had already crossed the street and were about to arrive at——

""--teacher!!!""

At the same time, they saw the figure half-kneeling with his back to them, and—

"Shull? Erwin!?"

The two classmates who had previously run away in strange positions, thought to have died under the astrological magic, were actually here, standing next to Rodrigo with their backs to them! It turned out that they had already found Rodrigo!

"...Clara? Qimila?"

Rodrigo's shoulders shook slightly, then he stood up a little unsteadily and turned around.

"Teacher...! Your injury..."

Rodrigo's clothes were a little torn, and there were many small wounds on the exposed skin. There was a burn mark on his face, and his glasses were broken.

"No... Don't worry about me... Tsk, it was really painful. I finally managed to shake off the pursuers... Don't worry, this is just a minor injury. I can heal it with healing magic as soon as I rest."

"That's good... By the way, where are the other three people?"

"..."

Rodrigo's face darkened.

Feeling something, Clara opened her mouth and her eyes instantly filled with tears.

"No... Impossible... How could they...?"

"Carlo, Kokoro, Kokoa... they acted very bravely. It's my fault... I didn't... protect them well... wu..."

As Rodrigo spoke, he began to sob, his face full of regret and self-blame. Shul and Erwin, who were standing with their backs to him, had their shoulders trembling slightly, and seemed to have burst into tears.

"But... fortunately... fortunately you're all still alive, and things haven't gotten to the worst yet," Rodrigo managed to stop sobbing. "We failed, so we... shouldn't think about the great treasure anymore... Let's leave Kasol quickly. If we get out now, there's still time!"

Rodrigo extended his hands to Clara and Qiumila, his face filled with deep sorrow.

"Teacher... yes, let's... not stay here any longer... let's go back to the academy..."

Clara sniffed hard, wiped away her tears, and reached out her hand, walking towards Rodrigo.

——cool!

"...?"

Drag! Drag!

Someone was pulling at her clothes.

(…Qimira-chan?)

Qiumila looked straight ahead with a normal expression, but she kept trying to tilt her head slightly and wink at Clara.

Pull! Pull! Pull, pull, pull!

The two of them were standing close together, and her hand behind her back would not be seen by the people in front. Qimila pulled her clothes hard, with increasing strength, and seemed to be more and more anxious.

(You want me to stay away? Why?)

We must leave here as soon as possible! Together with Rodrigo, Shul and Erwin——

"Hmph! I don't want to just walk away like this!!!"

Qimila suddenly shouted, which scared Clara, and the question she was about to ask was forcibly blocked.

"Ms. Qiu, Miss Qiu Mira?"

Rodrigo was also surprised, but Qimila didn't care and just spoke angrily.

"Since you're here to find the great secret treasure, you should do it to the end! If you leave now, all the hardship and exhaustion you've endured will be wasted!"

"I... yes, I understand how you feel... but the truth is, we're no longer able to move. Evacuating now can preserve our manpower, but forcing ourselves to continue will only result in greater casualties... so we have to leave. Miss Qimila, please come with us."

"That's just an excuse! Teacher, you're just scared! You're looking for a reason to run away!"

"Hey, Qiu—"

Clara couldn't stand it anymore. She was about to stop Qiumila's nonsense, but Qiumila quietly pulled her clothes hard.

"No, this has nothing to do with courage or anything like that. It's based on the current situation..."

"Alright! Since you want to leave, teacher, then you can go! Clara and I will stay here and continue the operation! We won't give up easily! Let's go, Clara-chan!"

"Eh? I——"

Before Clara could respond, Qimila forcibly grabbed her hand and turned away.

"Qimi——"

(Don't talk!)

But she was stopped in a low voice by Qimila. Her expression was no longer as arrogant as before, and she was extremely nervous and terrified!

(Anyway, run! Run! Run! Don’t say anything unnecessary!)

"Wait a minute, you two..."

Rodrigo's shout came from behind, but he ignored it.

Qimila dragged Clara, who was still in a daze, and walked faster and faster, leaving them behind.

"You're so perceptive, Miss Qimila! It would have been great if you could have escaped earlier."

““!?”

"But I also told you, just two fat guys... stop right there!"

The moment they turned back,

"Shule" and "Erwin" opened their mouths wide, and two green vines emerged from their mouths and flew towards them!

Chapter 72 Heresy

A sound was heard.

Is that the sound of children playing?

It is impossible to hear because it is just a sweet dream, an unrealized ideal.

It's crying.

Every time, every time, as soon as I use this forced power and touch this taboo, I will hear the cry of a child, coming from far away, passing through the eardrum and diving deep into the brain.

Remind yourself over and over again, don't forget.

It doesn’t matter if I forget my life fourteen years ago.

Even if you don’t want to forget the life seven years ago, it will eventually fade away with the passage of time.

But, only that moment, that instant.

Until now, it appears in my dreams every night.

This must be God's will.

Let this old knight of the Pantheon appear before him.

If there is a God in this world, thank you.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to vent my hatred.

----------------

"I saw Stella pouring artillery fire here from afar. I thought something must be wrong, so I rushed over..."

The old knight was half-squatting here, with no joy or sadness in his eyes.

“In the end, I saw something truly remarkable.”

In front of him was Ailian, lying unconscious on the ground.

At this moment, Ailian looked extremely weak, completely lacking her usual spirit. A layer of black air was faintly covering her forehead, her skin was pale, large drops of sweat were flowing from her forehead, and her body was trembling slightly.

Probably a nightmare.

"She was subjected to extremely intense death shock, yet she still retained basic vital signs... You saved her life."

"It was not my intention to kill her."

"Is it out of kindness? Or is it purely rational judgment? Or are you just too lazy to do it?"

"...perhaps, a combination of all three?"

Taking advantage of the breaks in the conversation, Charlotte repeated deep breathing, as this was the only way she could calm herself down.

It was so sudden. Just after Ailian had completely lost her ability to move, and before Charlotte could even breathe a sigh of relief, the old knight appeared. He streaked across the sky, plummeting down, his appearance reminiscent of the domineering style of a great war spirit.

"Are you the rumored leader of the Pantheon Investigation Team, Mr. Saint Anthony?"

"My name is not something worth remembering."

The old knight stood up and faced Charlotte.

His eyes are very gentle, like the calm surface of the water, and have the tranquility of an old man.

But the oppression he exudes is constantly increasing.

"Then, tell me, you woman who manipulates corpses and desecrates the dead..."

Click!

The knight held a long sword in his hand, the tip of the sword pointing at Charlotte.

"What's your intention in coming to Kasolu City, severely injuring the magician of the Tower of Babel, and brazenly appearing before me, the Blessed Knight of the Pantheon?"

"You can't say that, right? It was you who found me... No, to be more precise, we ran into each other by chance."

"Since we've all met together, what's the difference? Answer me, are you here also for the source of this dispute, Zelah's great secret treasure?"

"I guess so... If possible, I'd like to borrow your magic scar sample."

"That's true, but—"

"But I have a more important purpose!"

Although Charlotte tried to control herself, her tone still became hurried.

The sound of a child crying came to my ears again.

From far to near, it penetrated the eardrum and reached the brain.

Don't cry.

Please, stop crying.

Don't push me anymore.

I'm going to ask this question clearly -

"Let me ask you, since you are a great war spirit, your status in the Pantheon must be quite high!"

"Being strong in combat doesn't mean you have a high religious rank. My status is not as high as that of the high priests."

"That's enough. I can't possibly capture someone at the high priest level, so... someone like you should be the highest-ranking person I can find."

"...Desecrating the dead is the greatest of sins, the most forbidden of taboos. And now you are committing the sin of arrogance?"

"I just want to ask a question! How much do you know about the campaign against the 'Demon King of Blasphemy' seven years ago?"

“…………Huh?”

The old knight frowned, not expecting the woman to ask such a question.

"The campaign to subjugate the blasphemous Demon King? How much do I know? Why bother asking me? For such a great feat, just go to a larger temple and ask someone. They'll definitely tell you enthusiastically—"