No to Being the Suffering Heroine! – Chapter 55

“It’s all because of Gunther.”

Friede, who had finally found an answer to the questions she had every time she looked at Brunhilde. Having found an answer, she no longer needed to waste time pondering.

She pressed down the hostility towards Gunther in her heart, laid Hilde carefully on her cloak, and then headed back to the undead giant.

There, three troublesome corpses were lying face down amicably.

The headless undead giant, the red-haired magician half-submerged in the blood it had spilled, and the traitor collapsed with a greatsword stuck in the back of her head.

It was a sight that gave her an instant headache.

As long as Brunhilde remained unconscious, all the cleanup of this mess fell solely on Friede herself.

‘First… we need to get out of here before the paladins arrive.’

The top priority was to avoid encountering the paladins.

If it became known that a copper token adventurer party, especially one where three out of four were newcomers, had subjugated an undead giant and an Abyss Priest, it would inevitably cause a huge commotion.

Everyone who heard the story would be curious about their identities.

Some would go beyond curiosity and become suspicious.

Wondering how such skilled individuals had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as if they had fallen from the sky, without any background.

In other words, the moment the subjugation of the undead giant became known, people would try to dig into Friede’s and Hilde’s pasts.

‘…That’s dangerous.’

In the worst case, information about ‘Hilde’ might reach the Rhine Kingdom, Gunther, or the hero’s party here.

If that happened, the peaceful and uneventful life that Brunhilde now desired would be out of reach.

So, those who had subjugated the undead giant and Abyss Priest needed to remain unidentified.

‘The problem is that woman….’

Friede clicked her tongue as she looked down at Amy lying on her side.

A witness to the undead giant’s subjugation. A woman who had seen ‘Hilde’s’ bare face and might have overheard Gerda’s words, making her a potential risk.

If thinking of safety, it would be right to kill her here.

If she opened her mouth, Hilde’s identity would be exposed to the whole world.

“…”

Therefore, Friede stared down at the red-haired magician girl with an expressionless face and-

‘…No, let’s deal with this corpse first.’

She clicked her tongue again and turned her gaze towards Gerda.

Unlike the troubled gaze when looking down at Amy, her golden eyes were filled with contempt and hostility as she looked at the fallen corpse.

A woman who, forgetting the grace of saving her life from the undead giant and Abyss Priest, had immediately attempted betrayal when the opportunity arose.

A being not worth sympathizing with, and in the current situation, nothing more than a troublesome piece of meat.

If not disposed of here, the identity of the one who killed the undead giant would be immediately identified.

‘It’s too wet to burn… I’ll have to just throw it into the forest.’

Friede lifted her greatsword that had been stuck in the back of Gerda’s head, and flung Gerda’s corpse that was hanging like a skewer far away.

The corpse of the sturdy-built woman flew lifelessly through the air and crashed into the undergrowth.

After disposing of Gerda like that, Friede grabbed Amy by the back of her neck and dragged her over next to Hilde.

Although it was uncertain what would happen later, she had decided to keep her alive for now at least.

It was a decision made after much deliberation.

Although she was a woman Friede disliked in many ways… honestly speaking, it’s not like she had committed a crime deserving death.

Unlike Gerda who had betrayed them, she couldn’t take a life just on the suspicion that she might have heard about Brunhilde’s identity.

Even for Friede’s sense of justice, which had become quite lax after giving up on being a hero, that would be an evil deed impossible to excuse.

‘So… for now, let’s just watch her. If she tries to reveal Brunhilde’s identity, it won’t be too late to kill her then.’

Having reached this conclusion, Friede looked alternately at Hilde and Amy, then let out a faint sigh as she hoisted Amy onto her back and secured her with the hem of her robe.

“Hnngh…!”

With her hands now free, she carefully lifted Hilde into her arms.

A small-bodied girl carrying two women much larger than herself, one in front and one behind. It was an incredibly bizarre sight, but for Friede this was the best option.

She needed to leave without being discovered by the paladins, and if she dragged Amy along while walking, it would leave traces completely different from escape footprints.

“Huu….”

Fortunately, Friede was able to walk forward while carrying both women.

Her tiny body housed enough muscle strength to easily carry two people.

To begin with, if her strength had been weak, she wouldn’t have been able to fight swinging around a large greatsword.

So for Friede, while balancing was somewhat tricky, leaving the place itself wasn’t too difficult.

“Ungh….”

…Although it seems it was still a bit heavy, as her arms and legs trembled slightly.

* * *

Anyway, in this manner, Friede walked deep into the forest with the two women slung over her, turning her back on the undead giant.

-Thud!

While kicking Gerda’s corpse forward with her right foot.

For her, this was natural. Hilde and Amy were already cumbersome enough to move, so she had no intention of carrying a traitor’s corpse as well.

After walking like that for about twenty minutes.

“Phew….”

Thinking this should be far enough, Friede stopped and leaned Hilde and Amy against a tree trunk, then carefully tidied up Gerda’s corpse.

To make it look as if she had died not from being killed by Friede’s greatsword, but from failing to dodge an enemy’s attack while fleeing.

Well, it wasn’t such a grand operation.

It just involved brushing off and erasing Friede’s own footprints left on her body, and smashing the pierced skull with a rock to remove traces of the greatsword.

So that anyone who saw would mistake it for her head being blown up by magic rather than being struck by a sword.

After finishing all that work, Friede once again carried Hilde and Amy on her back and walked for another hour.

Until she found an uninhabited cave after heading straight towards the edge of the forest.

“Haaah….”

A space perfect for using as a temporary shelter. Friede put Hilde and Amy down inside the cave, and while soothing her tired body, waited for the two to wake up.

* * *

After resting for about ten minutes.

Friede got up again and untied the wire rope binding Hilde’s body, then took out a cloth piece she had stored in her backpack, dampened it with water, and carefully wiped Hilde’s face.

A face dirtied by the undead giant’s blood and dust.

Although to Friede even that appearance was indescribably beautiful, objectively speaking, it was honestly quite filthy.

When you think about it, it was the blood of a rotten corpse, so it couldn’t be good for the skin.

Therefore, now that she had the leisure to wipe it off, doing so immediately would be good for Brunhilde as well.

That’s what Friede judged. Although it was half filled with self-interest.

“Ungh….”

Brunhilde let out a faint groan, slightly furrowing her brows at the sensation of the cloth touching her cheek.

“Ah…!”

At this sight, Friede unconsciously held her breath for a moment and hesitated. She thought Hilde might be waking up.

Although she wasn’t doing anything particularly wrong, there was a strange sensation as if she was doing something that shouldn’t be seen.

With a tension that even she found difficult to explain, Friede quietly observed Hilde’s expression while lowering even her breathing.

“…Nnngh….”

However, Hilde showed no signs of waking up, merely nuzzling her face against the cloth piece and muttering groans mixed with sleep talk.

As if fascinated by the coldness touching her cheek.

“Uh, ah…?”

It was an utterly bewildering situation for Friede.

To think that Brunhilde would rub her cheek against her hand as if being affectionate. It was something unimaginable in the past.

However, the soft sensation transmitted through the cloth was undeniable reality.

Friede unconsciously wiggled her fingers, kneading Hilde’s cheek.

“Uh…!”

Quickening heartbeat. Reddening cheeks. Her breathing becoming increasingly rough.

She couldn’t take her eyes off it. Off Brunhilde’s lips glistening with moisture.

Friede unconsciously stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

While blankly staring at a stream of transparent, viscous saliva flowing down between Brunhilde’s slightly parted lips.

“…Uh.”

Thirst rose like fire.

The desire she had been forcibly suppressing all this time, not wanting to drift apart again after finally being able to reunite.

‘This… this much should be okay, right…? It should be fine?’

Her golden eyes trembled, repeatedly dilating and contracting. Convenient excuses filled her mind swaying with desire.

‘This is, well… right, just wiping! Since I’m just wiping…!’

Friede defended herself like a criminal on trial, as she traced the saliva flowing down Hilde’s mouth to her chin with her index finger.

While barely stopping the movement of her finger that was unconsciously trying to delve into the inside of Hilde’s lips.

“Ungh….”

After wiping Hilde’s mouth like that, Friede stared as if entranced at her own index finger now glistening with Hilde’s saliva and…

“Hup.”

She put it into her own mouth, savoring the taste of the saliva on her finger with the tip of her tongue.

“Huungh…!”

A sensation like an electric current springing from her tongue tip, flowing down her spine and reaching the inside of her pelvis.

Friede moaned with her eyes closed, arching her back slightly. Tightly pressing her inner thighs together with her legs neatly aligned.

‘Sweet….’

A sweetness like fruit preserved in honey. A slight saltiness mixed in. A lemon-like scent filled her nostrils.

Friede trembled in ecstasy.