​Chapter 2: The Hero of [Resurrection] Revives the Heroes

After taking a short break to recover our strength, we went looking for the remains of a Hero to resurrect.

"Onii-san, let's go with this skeleton."

"The bones are perfectly intact. This should keep the stamina drain to a minimum."

My [Resurrection] could bring a target back to life even if they were nothing but a skeleton.

However, the more damage the corpse had sustained, the more exhausting it was for me.

Until we had more breathing room, it would be best to try reviving corpses with all four limbs intact.

I touched the corpse Ciresta brought over and activated [Resurrection].

The next moment, blinding light erupted from the corpse, forcing me to shield my eyes, as it gradually transformed back into a living human.

When the light finally subsided, a woman with short emerald-green hair stood before us.

Her long bangs hid her eyes, but from beneath them shone the golden gleam that was the undeniable mark of a Hero.

...And she was very well-endowed.

"Eh? Where am I...? Hweh!? W-Why am I completely naked!?"

"Onee-san, if you're embarrassed about being naked, want to wear this?"

"H-Hold on, if you give her that, you'll be the one naked, Ciresta!!"

"I don't really mind being naked, you know? I'm fine with you seeing me, Onii-san."

Ciresta casually brushed off my panicked attempt to stop her.

"A young girl shedding her clothes without hesitation, and a half-naked young man... this reeks of a crime scene!"

"N-No, it's a misunderstanding!! Please listen to me!!"

I calmed down the resurrected Hero and explained everything that had led up to this point.

"I see, I see. I understand the situation now."

"I-I'm glad you understand."

Upon hearing my story, the mekakure girl nodded repeatedly.

Then, she suddenly threw herself into a forceful dogeza on the spot.

"I humbly apologize!"

"Eh? W-Where's this sudden apology coming from?"

"W-Well, um, I was unaware that you had been falsely accused of assault, Elott-shi, and went off about crime scenes and such, so, um..."

"A-Ah, so that's it. You were panicking too, and given the situation, it's only natural you'd assume the worst. So please, don't worry about it."

"E-Elott-shi, you're too much of a saint!"

"I'm a Hero, after all."

First things first, having a stark naked woman doing a dogeza left a bad taste in my mouth, so I made her stop.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Elott."

"I'm Ciresta. Just Ciresta is fine, Onee-san."

"I am Imuru! For the record, my combat power is absolutely zero, like a trash slug, so I apologize if you were expecting a fighter! I am fully prepared to dogeza again if necessary, so just say the word!"

The Hero who called herself Imuru seemed to have zero hesitation about prostrating herself.

It was almost refreshing.

"So, Onee-san, will you help us out?"

"Of course! I hold a grudge against Ixion Kingdom as well! If it means getting revenge on the kingdom, I couldn't ask for a better opportunity! I'll also assist with your wish to apologize to the Demon King as much as I possibly can, Elott-shi! However, on one condition!"

"A condition? If it's something I can do... just name it."

"Oh, it's nothing that difficult."

The next moment, Imuru's entire demeanor changed.

Her previous cheerfulness vanished, replaced by a low voice and a sharp gaze that sent shivers down my spine.

Was this the real Imuru?

"You must absolutely never betray me. That is my condition for cooperating with you."

"...May I ask what happened to you?"

Usually, it's better not to pry into these things.

But Imuru seemed to harbor such intense hatred for the act of 'betrayal' that I couldn't help but be curious.

Imuru shrugged and smiled self-deprecatingly as she answered.

"It's nothing major. I was simply betrayed by everything I believed in, and ended up here. I absolutely will not forgive betrayal, that is all."

"...I see."

Did Imuru have a background similar to mine?

All I could do was nod.

"Understood. I swear I will never betray you, Imuru-san."

"Mm, I don't betray my allies either."

"—Then we have a deal! Well, I can't guarantee how useful I'll actually be! Nuhaha! ...By the way, do you have anything I could wear? Having my breasts out in the open like this is getting embarrassing."

Even if she asked, we didn't have any spare clothes, so it couldn't be helped.

Giving her the pants I was wearing wouldn't hide her exposed chest, anyway.

While I was racking my brain figuring out what to do.

"I have a great idea."

With that, Ciresta used [Slashing] to slice the rags she was wearing.

The rags split into two pieces of cloth, and Ciresta handed one to Imuru.

"Wrap this around your chest and you can hide your boobs."

"Ooh! Much obliged, Ciresta-shi!"

The two of them wrapped the fabric around their chests, covering the bare minimum of what needed to be hidden.

However, I felt like this just made things even more erotic.

The rags I had given Ciresta were originally too big for her, so they managed to cover her lower half as well.

But since she split it into two to use as breast wraps, a lot more skin was exposed.

I didn't know where to look.

"Now that my top is covered, I'm starting to worry about my bottom!"

"Onee-san, we're out of cloth, so you'll just have to deal with it."

"Ah, then how about we tear Elott-shi's pants into three pieces and use them as loincloths! ...Elott-shi? Why are you slouching over like that?"

"N-No, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

"...Oho?"

Imuru's lips curled into a teasing smirk.

"Elott-shi~"

"A-Ah, yes. What is—nnng!?"

When she called my name, I looked over at Imuru, only to see her bouncing up and down, making her large breasts jiggle suggestively.

Jiggle♡ Bounce♡ Jiggle♡

I stared for a split second, but quickly wrenched my head away to avoid looking.

"W-W-W-What are you doing, Imuru-san!!"

"Nuffuffu, so you're a growing boy after all, Elott-shi! Uriuri~, feel free to look all you want~!"

"...I knew you liked boobs, Onii-san."

"N-No, I mean, it's not like I hate them!!"

And right at that moment.

"Nuowa!?"

"Eh? Waph."

Imuru tripped over a rock or something while bouncing around and fell toward me.

It was so sudden that I couldn't support her in time, and...

Imuru ended up pushing me to the ground.

In the process, my face was squashed by her massive breasts, suffocating me.

I'll say it again, but Hero Elott (seventeen years old) has never even held hands with a girl.

Naturally, having my face buried in a woman's ample bosom was a first for me, and my brain completely shut down.

"Gununu, I let my guard down. —Hyoa♡ W-Wait, Elott-shi!? Breathing right there is foul play!"

"M-Mugah, mugagah, gah... (S-So soft... and she smells so nice... but I can't breathe)!!"

"Nn♡ Oh♡"

"Puhaah!! I-I thought I was going to die... ah."

"Eh, ah♡"

When I finally managed to pull my face out of Imuru's chest to gasp for air, my eyes met her golden ones.

They were usually hidden behind her long bangs, but seeing her up close, Imuru's features were just as beautiful as Ciresta's.

We stared at each other for a while. How many seconds had passed?

Then, an intruder appeared.

"Are you two going to have sex?"

"Hweh!? N-N-N-No we are not!?"

"T-T-T-T-That's right!!"

"Oh. That's a shame."

"What do you mean by that!?"

A shame? Just what was Ciresta expecting from Imuru and me?

"Onii-san, Onii-san. Here, my boobs."

"!?"

"C-Ciresta-shi, what are you doing!?"

For whatever reason, Ciresta had undone her breast wrap and exposed her chest.

Purun♡ Her perfectly shaped breasts spilled out.

"It's an experiment. Because you never try to lay a hand on me, Onii-san."

"T-That's..."

"Am I not your type, Onii-san?"

"T-That's not it at all!!"

If we were talking about my type, Ciresta was right in the strike zone.

But this just wasn't the time for that sort of thing.

"I respect you, Ciresta. But right now, we have other things we need to do."

"...I see. I think I might've just fallen even more in love with you, Onii-san."

Ciresta's lips relaxed slightly, leaving me even more flustered.

"Eh? Huh? L-Love!? W-Why!?"

"Why I fell for you? That's a secret. But I'll do anything for you, Onii-san."

With that, Ciresta took my hand and gently guided it to her own breast.

Monyu♡ Ciresta's breast warped under my touch.

"S-So soft."

"Nn♡ Your hands are big, Onii-san♡ Getting touched by you is making my heart race♡"

"T-This is ridiculous! Just a second ago, Elott-shi and I were having a textbook lucky lecher rom-com development, and now it feels like the main heroine just snatched it all away!"

While I was frozen by the sudden turn of events, Imuru interjected with a retort.

Ciresta, however, remained unfazed.

"Hm? I don't really get what you're saying, but do you want to join in, Onee-san?"

"Fweh? A-Ah, n-no, it's not like I want to join in or anything!?"

"I wouldn't mind, you know? It's a shame I can't have Onii-san all to myself, but it just means there are that many more people who love him, which makes me happy too."

"E-Elott-shi! This girl doesn't listen to a word anyone says!"

Imuru shook me violently.

...Hah!

"T-That's—enough!!"

Coming back to my senses, I delivered a swift chop to both their heads.

It had absolutely zero effect on Ciresta, but seemed to deal massive damage to Imuru.

"Ow."

"W-Why me too..."

"Because you started it, Imuru-san."

It was Imuru's fault for intentionally jiggling her breasts when she noticed my little brother reacting.

"And Ciresta, I'm very happy that you harbor such feelings for me. But normally, these sorts of things happen after taking the time to get to know each other better. I'm truly glad you want to be close, but that doesn't mean you can just go around showing or letting people touch your boo—breasts so carelessly!!"

"Understood, I'll be careful. But if you ever feel like doing it, Onii-san, just tell me anytime."

...I was seriously worried she hadn't actually understood.

I had only snapped out of it by pure chance just now, and if we kept this conversation going, the same thing would likely happen again.

Time to change the subject.

"Come to think of it, I haven't asked yet, but what kind of power can you use, Imuru-san?"

"Ah, I haven't mentioned it yet, have I? I can utilize the power of the [Grand Library]!"

...[Grand Library]? I couldn't imagine what kind of power that could be.

"And what does that do?"

"Nuffuffu, I can summon copies of any book that has ever existed in history! Like this!"

"Eh? O-Ooh!"

Imuru snapped her fingers, and a small hole opened up right above her hand.

A single book fell out from the hole.

"Even books burned or lost to history! Even books from civilizations lost to ancient times! I can even read the diary of that girl you're curious about to my heart's content!"

"...Isn't that last one crossing a line?"

"It's only a crime if you get caught. Though, if you read a diary and find an entry like, 'That creep stared at me again today,' you might never recover from the shock."

"Then why read it?"

"Because there's nothing more thrilling than snooping through someone's diary!"

This Hero was beautiful, but she had a terrible personality.

"But with that power, we might be able to find a way out of the Great Hole."

"Exactly! Well, searching through a seemingly endless number of books is going to be incredibly difficult! I'll need your help, Elott-shi, and yours too, Ciresta-shi!"

"Yes, understood."

"Mm, I'll help."

Ciresta and I went through the books Imuru summoned, checking their contents one by one.

At the same time, we continued to secure our surroundings and map out the terrain.

Thanks to our efforts, we found a small river, so we wouldn't have to worry about drinking water.

For food, we ate the monsters Ciresta hunted down raw.

Monster meat was poisonous to begin with, and eating it raw would normally give anyone a terrible stomachache, but...

You shouldn't underestimate the sheer sturdiness of a Hero's body.

Unless it was an incredibly potent toxin, a Hero could eat practically anything and be perfectly fine.

And so, we spent nearly a full day silently devouring books.

"I-I finally found it!!"

Imuru discovered a book that contained information about the Great Hole.

At first glance, it just looked like an ordinary, ancient book.

"That's a really old book."

"It's from roughly four thousand years ago, during the mythological era when the Goddess was said to still live on the surface."

"Y-You can summon something that old?"

Imuru opened the book and pointed to a certain page.

"Right here!"

"...Can you read it, Onii-san?"

"No, the text is too ancient. I have no idea what it says..."

"Haa, good grief. Neither Elott-shi nor Ciresta-shi have studied enough."

"Imuru. Which boob do you want me to rip off, the right one or the left one?"

It was terrifying how Ciresta could say things like that completely deadpan, making it impossible to tell if she was joking or not.

Imuru's shoulders jumped at Ciresta's threat, and she quickly diverted the topic by explaining what was written in the text.

"It says, 'The Great Goddess sealed the Calamitous Dragon deep underground, in the Abyss connected to the Great Hole, and bestowed a trial upon Her beloved children. To the brave soul who overcomes the trial, She shall grant vast wealth, the proof of a great king, and the beautiful Celestial Princess as a reward.'"

"The Great Hole... the Abyss... There are definitely some commonalities."

"But what's the Calamitous Dragon?"

"It most likely refers to the dragon described in this book."

With that, Imuru pulled out another book she must have found while searching for the previous one.

On one of the pages was an illustration of a dragon drawn in the unique style typical of ancient peoples.

It was a pitch-black dragon with nine heads.

"This was also written during the mythological era. There's an entry here about the 'Calamitous Dragon'. Apparently, it's a 'dragon with nine heads that regenerates infinitely'."

"Sounds strong. I want to fight it."

"Ciresta-shi sure is a battle junkie!"

"Putting the dragon aside, there aren't any clues about how to escape written in there..."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Eh?"

Imuru opened the first book again.

She pointed to the section that read, 'To the brave soul who overcomes the trial, She shall grant vast wealth, the proof of a great king, and the beautiful Celestial Princess as a reward.'

While I tilted my head, wondering what that line was supposed to mean, Imuru smirked.

"It's hard to imagine she'd go out of her way to offer a reward without providing a way to return to the surface from the Abyss. Telling someone to live in the Abyss for the rest of their life after they went through all the trouble of clearing the trial would make the Goddess one hell of an evil deity."

"Ah, that's true."

Somewhere in this Abyss, there was a way to return to the surface.

We hadn't found it yet, but knowing it was out there was much better than being completely in the dark.

"So, realistically speaking, the 'Calamitous Dragon' is somewhere in the Abyss, and defeating it will allow us to return to the surface?"

"Then our first step is to find this 'Calamitous Dragon'!"

"Onii-san, Onii-san."

Just then, Ciresta grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle tug.

What was it?

"I saw the place where that 'Calamitous Dragon' might be earlier."

"Eh!?"

"Ciresta-shi! Tell us more!"

"I told you how I was cleaning up the nearby monsters after resurrecting me while you were unconscious, right?"

Right, I think she mentioned she did it to kill time and secure the perimeter.

"Did you see something then!?"

"Yeah, I found a place that looked like a temple where the dragon might be. I thought it'd be a bad idea to stray too far from you while you were sleeping, Onii-san, so I only saw it from a distance."

"Excellent work, Ciresta-shi! Let's head over and investigate right away!"

Guided by Ciresta, we headed toward the location where she had spotted the temple.

It was so dim that we couldn't see it until we were quite close, but there it stood, a temple shaped uniquely like an hourglass.

Then, Imuru and I stopped in our tracks.

""Ah, nope.""

Imuru's voice and mine overlapped.

We were still a considerable distance from the temple, but she must have sensed it too.

Only Ciresta tilted her head in confusion.

"What's wrong, Onii-san, Imuru?"

"...Are you alright, Ciresta?"

"Hm? I feel completely fine."

"Ah, I see what's going on. Ciresta-shi is strong enough that it doesn't affect her."

"I agree. Imuru-san and I can't even get close to the temple."

The presence we felt as we approached the temple.

It was a terrifyingly malevolent aura that made the Demon King feel like a joke in comparison.

An instinctual terror stirred within me, as if my very soul was screaming of danger.

I couldn't stop the cold sweat. A chill ran through my entire body.

Imuru and I couldn't get any closer to the temple, forcing us to abandon our investigation.

Ciresta tilted her head at our reaction and said she'd go take a look, getting even closer, but...

She suddenly stopped in front of the massive doors and hastily scurried back.

Then, she gave us a single comment.

"Yeah, that's impossible."

And so, we distanced ourselves from the temple and returned to where we started.

We discussed our future course of action.

"That presence belongs to The Calamitous Dragon, doesn't it?"

"It might be projecting its presence to weed out anyone who doesn't meet a minimum level of strength."

"Ciresta-shi's deduction is most likely correct."

Imuru hung her head.

"As long as that thing is there, investigating the temple will be difficult. We have no choice but to give up and look for another way..."

"...No, we will investigate the temple."

"Wha!? Elott-shi, that's completely impossible!! We couldn't even get close to it!?"

"There are plenty of monsters in The Abyss. If we defeat them and undergo 'Growth' little by little, we should eventually be able to get inside."

"Well, that's true, but... The Calamitous Dragon is in the temple! To defeat it, you'd need hundreds of Heroes stronger than Ciresta-shi!!"

"Then I'll resurrect hundreds of Heroes like that."

"!?"

So far, we hadn't found any clues for escaping The Abyss to the surface other than the temple.

If so, we would pour all our efforts into conquering it.

Of course, I didn't intend to neglect investigating other possibilities.

After all, there was no guarantee that all the Heroes I resurrected from now on would have combat-oriented abilities like Ciresta.

Some of them would surely have abilities unsuited for direct combat, much like Imuru.

I would ask those individuals to help investigate The Abyss.

"Anyway, let's resurrect Heroes one after another and ask for their cooperation."

"Then Onii-san, I'll go find a nice-looking corpse."

"That's the first time I've ever heard such a powerful phrase as a 'nice-looking corpse'!!"

A few minutes later.

Ciresta returned, carrying a nice-looking corpse.

"I sensed an extraordinary aura from these bones."

"No, I don't think bones give off an aura or anything like that."

"A-Anyway, let's try resurrecting them."

When I lined up the bones Ciresta brought and cast [Resurrection], a dazzling light filled the area.

As the light faded, a good-natured young man who looked slightly older than me stood there.

"Oh my, where is..."

I explained our circumstances to the seemingly confused young man and asked for his cooperation.

"I see. If that's the case, please let me help you."

"Thank you so much!!"

The young man gladly accepted the offer to cooperate, and we introduced ourselves to each other.

"I'm Elott. This is Ciresta, and that's Imuru."

"Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you!!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you all. I'm Rokoro. It looks like I'm the oldest here, so if you ever run into any trouble, you can rely on me for anything."

He was incredibly reliable.

If we kept resurrecting Heroes one after another like this, we'd definitely be able to defeat The Calamitous Dragon someday.

"By the way, do you have any clothes? It's honestly a bit embarrassing being completely buck naked."

"...Then, should I tear my pants to make a loincloth for you?"

"Eh, ah!! No, no!! You don't have to go that far!?"

"But we don't have any other fabric..."

"In that case—"

It happened right at that moment.

Several large, ape-like monsters burst out from behind the rocks and suddenly attacked us.

I immediately took a combat stance, and Ciresta also moved to intercept them.

However, Rokoro just briskly stepped forward and—

"Hmph!!"

"Ugya!?"

He grabbed the head of one of the attacking apes and forcefully slammed it into the ground.

The ape's brains splattered from its head, killing it instantly.

"Gyahah!! Gyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!"

Then, Rokoro licked his blood-soaked hand with a quick swipe of his tongue, a brutal smile forming on his face.

"""Eh."""

My voice overlapped with Ciresta's and Imuru's.

"Come at me, you trash!! If you wanna devour Rokoro, the Hero of Slaughter, bring it on!! Gyahahahahah!!!!"

Where had that dependable, good-natured young man from just a moment ago gone?

Rokoro slaughtered every last one of the apes.

Moreover, every time he killed one, he grew faster and stronger, to the point where he was crushing their heads with a single hand toward the end.

Whoa, scary.

"Gyahahahahahahahahahah!!!! ...Phew, I might have gotten a little too excited. Ah, sorry about that. Is anyone hurt?"

"""Ah, no, we're fine."""

...Is he the type whose personality completely flips when he's fighting?

While we were pulling back slightly in dismay, Rokoro grabbed an ape's corpse and forcefully tore its skin off.

"U-Um, Rokoro? What are you doing...?"

"Oh, since it's convenient, I thought I'd skin it and make a simple loincloth. I'll make some for the rest of you too, so just wait a bit."

Rokoro continued skinning the ape corpses barehanded while keeping that good-natured smile plastered on his face.

Watching that gruesome sight, Imuru covered her mouth and gagged, while Ciresta frowned in disgust.

And I, well. I cringed a little too.

As I learned later, Rokoro's Hero ability, [Slaughter], temporarily enhanced his physical capabilities every time he killed an enemy.

He was actually a Hero with abilities far more suited for combat than anyone else among us.

And so, I decided to ask Rokoro a favor.

"Hmm, so that's the temple where The Calamitous Dragon is supposed to be."

"Yes. Imuru and I couldn't get any closer, and even Ciresta wasn't able to get inside."

"I see. I feel like I'd be able to get inside."

"So, I know it's dangerous, but I was hoping you could investigate the interior, Rokoro."

"Understood. I'll go take a look."

Rokoro easily agreed and headed into the temple carrying a small amount of food and a canteen made from a monster's stomach.

...I'm the one who asked him to do it, but is he going to be okay?

I figured he was fine since I could hear a maniacal laughter echoing from the temple at regular intervals, but I couldn't help being a little worried.

Putting that aside.

"Well then, it's time for today's segment of 'Let's Resurrect a Hero'!!"

"Um, Imuru. Could you please take this seriously?"

My stamina had recovered, so we were going to resurrect another Hero today.

Today, it was a corpse chosen by Imuru.

"Nufufu. To tell you the truth, I found a human skeleton that looks absolutely formidable!!"

"A formidable skeleton..."

Nah, I won't nitpick.

"It's this way!!"

Imuru beckoned to us with excitement, and Ciresta and I followed behind her.

After walking for a while, Imuru stopped in front of a certain corpse.

Sure enough, there lay a set of bones that truly looked formidable.

That was because they were human bones about three times the size of a normal human's.

"It's over five meters long."

"Onii-san. These might be the bones of a Giant."

"A-A Giant? But aren't they just fictional creatures..."

"Giants are real, you know? As far as I knew, you could count them on one hand, so I'm pretty sure they're extinct by now."

Ciresta lived in a completely different era than I did.

Naturally, it wasn't strange for her to have knowledge that I lacked.

Even so, to think that Giants really existed in the past, and that there was a Hero among them...

Well, I've heard there were Elf and Dwarf Heroes in the past too, so it stands to reason there'd be a Giant Hero as well.

"If they really are a Giant, they should possess incredibly high combat power. If we can get their cooperation, I'm sure they'll be of help to you, Onii-san."

"Come on, Elott-shi!! Please, work your magic quick!!"

"Alright, here I go."

I touched the enormous corpse and used [Resurrection].

The next moment, the corpse released a blinding light and began returning to how it looked in life.

When the light faded, the one standing there was—

"""I-It's huge in more ways than one!!"""

It was an adorable young girl with striking long pastel blue hair and the Golden Eyes that marked her as a true Hero.

She had fair skin and an outstanding figure, but standing at five meters tall, she was definitely huge.

Well, her height was something I had already anticipated.

The issue was that, even setting aside her sheer size, the girl possessed a pair of undeniably massive breasts.

Feeling a piercing glare from Ciresta, I quickly averted my eyes from the girl's body.

"Hue? A-Are? What in the world am I..."

"Allow me to summarize and explain the situation concisely!!"

"Eh, ah, behind you!! Look out!!"

The girl suddenly cried out.

I turned around to see what was wrong, only to find a colossal centipede monster clacking its mandibles together, mere moments away from taking a bite out of me.

It had probably tunneled through the ground to sneak up on us.

I couldn't dodge this.

I wasn't sure if I could resurrect myself if my head was bitten completely off. At this rate, I was really going to di—

"Ei!!"

It happened in a flash.

The girl grabbed the head of the centipede that was about to bite my head off and forcefully tore it right off.

A visceral squelching sound echoed out.

Gross green bodily fluids erupted from the centipede's torso, splattering all over the surroundings.

However, insects could sometimes keep moving even with their heads crushed.

Monsters were no exception to this rule, and the centipede wrapped itself around the girl's body in a final struggle of resistance.

"Wawa!! This bug isn't dead yet!?"

Even so, the girl panicked while calmly tearing the centipede's body into even smaller, finer pieces.

Rip rip riiiiip!!!!

When the centipede stopped moving and only twitched spasmodically, the girl—now completely drenched in green fluid—let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, f-finally it died... Ah, um, are you okay?"

"A-Ah, yes. You saved my life."

"E-Ehehe, I'm glad you're not hurt. Um, by the way, what exactly is the situation—hyaun!!"

The girl slipped on the centipede's bodily fluids and suddenly collapsed forward, right toward me.

It was so sudden that I couldn't even attempt to dodge, and I ended up getting pinned underneath her.

...Crushed beneath her massive breasts, to be exact.

"Fugya!?"

"Elott-shi!?"

"Onii-san!!"

"Hawa, hawawawa!! I-I just killed someone with my boobs!!"

"I-I'm not, dead... My bones, are probably fine too..."

The girl hurriedly stood up, sat straight up on her knees on the spot, and slammed her forehead against the ground over and over again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!! I-I've always been clumsy and I'd trip over absolutely nothing!! I'm really so sorry!!"

"P-Please don't worry about it... I'm Elott, a Hero."

"Eh? You're a Hero too? Ah, it's true. Your eyes are golden!!"

I explained the circumstances that led up to this point and asked for her cooperation to help us escape The Abyss.

In response, she furiously nodded her head multiple times.

"T-That's unforgivable!! What terrible people!! Destroying Elott-san's homeland and discarding you after they'd used you up like that!! I don't know if I'll be of any use, but please let me help you!!"

"T-Thank you so much. Uh, so, what's your name?"

"Ah, I-I'm late with my introduction!! I'm Tiara!!"

Tiara. What a cute name.

"Oh, also, I have an ability called [Gigantism] that can increase my body size by up to ten times, so if you need any heavy lifting done, please tell me!! I'm sure I'll be of use!!"

"Eh, ten times? Did you use [Gigantism] to get to that size?"

"Ah, no, I haven't used it yet. I'm a Giant, so this is my normal size."

Tiara's height was roughly five meters.

Ten times that meant she could reach a maximum height of fifty meters.

The taller one got, the more muscle mass they had, and the stronger they became.

It was simple, and therefore, it was strong.

She might actually turn out to be a fighting force on par with Rokoro.

"U-Um, excuse me."

At that point, Tiara realized something and spoke up with a blush on her cheeks.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's very hard for me to ask, but, u-um, do you have anything I can use to cover my body?"

...This is a problem. We don't have any cloth left.

While I was racking my brains over what to do, Imuru suddenly raised her voice.

"Leave it to me!!"

Imuru asked Ciresta for help and began dismantling the centipede Tiara had just killed.

Using a piece of the centipede's carapace and the intestines from the apes Rokoro had slaughtered, she crafted something resembling simple underwear.

"Now your boobs are covered up!! As for your bottom half... just wrapping some fur around it should do the trick!!"

"T-That's amazing, Onee-san!!"

"Hmm, so Imuru isn't just a pair of huge tits after all."

"Nufufu. It was nothing... Huh? Did I just get insulted?"

I was also taken aback by Imuru's unexpectedly clever idea.

However, perhaps because she was still bothered by how much skin she was exposing, Tiara fidgeted while glancing at me and spoke in a tiny voice.

"U-Um, please don't stare too much, okay?"

"O-Of course not!!"

The dimness of The Abyss's bottom is my only saving grace.

If we were out in the sun, I'd be able to clearly see all sorts of things on Tiara, and looking for a way out of The Abyss would be the last thing on my mind.

Just then, Imuru put on a wicked grin.

"Tiara-shi, you'd better be careful, because Elott-shi absolutely loves massive knockers. Just the other day, he was completely engrossed in staring at my fiercely bouncing breasts—mukyu!?"

Before she could spout any more unnecessary nonsense, I instantly clamped my hand over her face.

She flailed around, but I was much stronger.

And here I honestly thought she was amazing just a second ago...

No, more importantly, I need to explain myself to Tiara first.

"I really won't stare, so please rest assured."

"T-Thank you very much. ...Ehehe, you're very kind, Onii-san."

"N-No, it's not a matter of being kind, it's just common sense."

Being called kind by such a cute girl is making me blush uncontrollably.

"Tiara."

"Y-Yes. Um, and you are..."

"I'm Ciresta. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you too, Ciresta-chan!!"

"Yeah. By the way, could you stop calling Onii-san 'Onii-san'?"

"Eh?"

"I'm the only one allowed to call him 'Onii-san'."

"Um, what exactly do you mean by... Ah!!"

Taken aback by Ciresta's sudden demand, Tiara looked back and forth between the two of us until she seemingly realized something.

Her face reddened, and she panicked with a "Hawawa!!" while appearing somewhat amused.

"I-If that's the case, then I'll stop calling him 'Onii-san'!! Don't worry, Ciresta-chan!!"

"Yeah, glad you understand. Once again, nice to meet you, Tiara."

"You're quite the ladies' man yourself, Elott-shi!! By the way, could you please stop gripping my face so hard!! It's ruining my beautiful visage!!"

"Please don't call yourself a beautiful girl."

Well, I suppose she isn't entirely wrong, but still.

"Now then, now that Elott-shi has released me, I have a proposal for you right away, Tiara-shi!!"

"Y-Yes, what is it?"

"Would it be possible for you to enlarge your body to its maximum size using [Gigantism] and scale the walls?"

Imuru's proposal made me gasp in realization.

Climbing the walls was something I had considered initially too, but I knew my stamina would give out halfway up.

But what if Tiara, who could increase her height to fifty meters, did it?

Doing some simple math, Tiara would be able to climb the wall nearly thirty times faster than my measly one hundred and seventy-five centimeters of height.

We might actually be able to escape The Abyss without defeating the dragon in the temple!!

"I-I'll give it a try!!"

And so, it took us several hours to reach the edge of The Abyss. Moving around was a pain with so many monsters.

Tiara enthusiastically scaled the wall after using [Gigantism] to multiply her height by ten.

...I felt bad looking up at her from below when she's so large in so many ways, so I made sure to avoid looking directly at her.

"Heave, ho!! And a, up we go!! —Kyaun!?"

She was probably about three hundred meters up.

Suddenly, I heard a loud snap—like something repelling her—and then Tiara came plummeting down with a scream.

Imuru screamed.

"Uwoah!! A massive butt is falling from above!!"

"Now's not the time for that!! Retreat, retreat!!"

We scrambled to get away, and Tiara crashed right into the spot where we were standing just a moment ago.

If we had stayed there, we would've undoubtedly been turned into stains on the ground.

"Tiara-shi~!! Are you all right~!!"

"E-Ah, y-yes. I'm sorry, please let me try again!!"

Saying that, Tiara-san began to scale the wall once more.

However, when she reached about three hundred meters up, she was repelled by something with a snap and fell straight back down.

...I see.

It seems some unseen force is at work, preventing escape even if you climb the wall.

"I-It's no good. Right around three hundred meters up, I get knocked back by some weird force."

"Mmm, it seems conquering the temple is our only path of escape."

"I-I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help..."

"No, no!! That isn't true at all!! Thanks to you, we now know that we can't escape this way!!"

Imuru-san was right.

"Please don't let it bother you, Tiara-san."

"E-Elott-san..."

"Thanks to you, Tiara-san, we've shed light on the unknown. That's a step forward."

"Au, y-you're so kind, even to a useless girl like me... Uu, sniff, hic."

"Eh, wait."

Tiara-san suddenly burst into tears.

Just how poorly has she been treated until now to cry over a single word of comfort?

It seems Tiara-san has lived a grueling life as well.

While soothing the sobbing girl, we started discussing things anew.

"I think conquering the temple really is our only option."

"I agree with Ciresta-shi. Even if we search for other methods, that's still going to be our main focus."

"In that case, our lack of combat power is going to be a problem. There's a limit to what Rokoro-san can investigate alone, so we need to [Resurrect] Heroes one by one."

"You should get stronger too, Onii-san. If you do, the number of Heroes you can [Resurrect] in a day will probably increase."

"...You're right."

Above all else, I need to get stronger for the sake of my own revenge—to crush the Ixion Kingdom.

I can't just rely on everyone else for everything.

"Alright!! Let's revive one more person today!!"

"Onii-san, you shouldn't push yourself, okay?"

"I'm fine. My body might feel a bit sluggish, but I can endure that much!!"

"...Understood. I'll go look for some nice bones this time."

With that, Ciresta ran off, returning a dozen minutes later carrying a nice-looking corpse.

I found myself staring intently at the body.

"Onii-san? What's wrong?"

"Something caught my eye."

"Hahahn? Could it be that Elott-shi is feeling uncomfortable because we're all beautiful girls, and you're thinking 'What if it's another beautiful girl...'?"

"No, it's not really like that... And isn't it embarrassing to call yourself a beautiful girl?"

"I'm just constantly desperate to find a reason why a trash slug like myself is allowed to exist."

That reason was heavier than expected, so I think I'll refrain from prying any further.

More importantly, there's the corpse Ciresta brought.

"Could this person be a beastman? Look, there's something like a tail bone right here."

"Mumu? ...Oh, you have a good eye. That is indeed a beastman's tail bone. They might be a beastman Hero."

A beastman Hero, huh.

I hadn't had any contact with beastmen since my time on the surface.

The Ixion Kingdom itself is a country where non-human races are a rare sight.

I'm a little curious about what the first beastman I talk to will be like. Thinking that, I revived the corpse.

"...Huh? Where am I?"

Following Tiara-san, it was yet another girl.

She was a cute, delicate, and petite beautiful girl with scarlet hair and the Golden Eyes that proved she was a Hero.

She had perky cat ears and a tail, and I felt an intense urge to fluff them.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

"Ah, I-I'm sorry."

"...Hmph."

I apologized to the cat-eared girl and explained the situation.

At that, she let out a deep sigh, sounding thoroughly annoyed, and took on a prickly attitude.

"Hmph, that has nothing to do with me. Go handle your revenge on your own. I'm not helping."

"Eh, ah, wait!! Where are you going!!"

"I like being alone. I have no intention of clumping together with you guys."

"No, that's not it!! There are tons of strong monsters here, so it's dangerous to be alone!! I won't force you to cooperate, but you should avoid acting independently!!"

"Hah? I'm a Hero, you know? There's no way I'd fall behind against some measly monsters—"

The next moment, as if waiting for the perfect timing, a massive spider monster leapt at the girl from behind a rock.

"Look out!!!"

"Kyaa!!"

Acting on reflex, I pushed the cat-eared girl down and shielded her from the spider's attack.

Not yet!! I have to prepare for the spider's follow-up!!

I thought that as I turned around, but Ciresta had already shredded the spider with her [Slashing], and a gigantic Tiara-san was stomping it flat.

I-It's already over...

Battles really end in a flash when you have combat-oriented Heroes around.

"H-Hey."

"Ah, I'm sorry for suddenly pushing you down..."

"I don't need your apology... Just move your hand."

Only when she said that did I realize.

My hand was gripping 'something' faintly soft.

Dropping my gaze slightly, I saw my hand groping the cat-eared girl's modest, yet undeniably firm chest.

...I messed up.

Breaking into a cold sweat, I leapt back from the spot and apologized with everything I had.

"I-I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to do that just now!!"

"I-I'm not mad or anything... So, thanks for saving me."

Even as she thanked me, the cat-eared girl's face was beet red.

S-She's definitely mad!!

"Um, I really am sorry."

"I-I told you it's fine!! Hmph!! ...A-And also."

"Y-Yes?"

Fiddling with her hair, she spoke in a small, vanishing voice.

"...I-I guess it can't be helped, so I'll cooperate with you for a while!! But let me be clear, it's not for your sake!! It's so I can escape from here!!"

"Eh, ah, thank you...?"

Watching this sequence of events unfold, Imuru-san simply offered one comment.

"I thought she was a tsundere, but she's just a total pushover!!"

"W-Who's a pushover!!"

The cat-eared girl perked her ears and tail straight up, hissing, "Shaa!!" as she intimidated Imuru-san.

It's kind of cute, like a real cat.

"...I'm Meimei. The Hero of [Cat Affinity]. And you?"

"I'm Elott. The Hero of [Resurrection]."

Thus, the cat-eared girl—now introduced as Meimei-san—joined our ranks to conquer the Abyss.

Then, an unexpected stroke of luck occurred.

It seemed Meimei had experience with tailoring. Using the bones and fur of the monsters Ciresta hunted to craft needles and thread, she was able to make simple clothes.

However, there was one problem.

The clothes Meimei made were traditional garments passed down among beastmen, specifically the cat tribe.

What was problematic about this was the extreme exposure of their shoulders, cleavage, navels, and thighs.

Thanks to that, the sex appeal skyrocketed, making it even harder to know where to look.

"My, my~? I've been feeling a certain gaze for a while now, Elott-shi~? —Mukyu!!"

"Please be quiet for a bit, Imuru-san."

I'm already surrounded by beautiful girls and women as it is.

To be blunt, as a man, this is tough in many ways.

If the number of girls increases any more, I feel like I'm going to make a mistake eventually.

If there was at least another man around, I might be able to bear it, but...

Was it a mistake to send Rokoro-san to investigate the temple first?

That was when it happened.

For some reason, Ciresta walked over to me, made a ring with her fingers, and lightly moved them back and forth with practiced ease.

"Onii-san, want me to use my mouth to relieve you?"

"Ueh!! Ah, I-I'll pass..."

"...What a shame. Let me know whenever you can't hold back anymore. I'll do anything for you, Onii-san."

Ciresta softened her lips into a faint smile, deliberately sticking her tongue out to provoke me.

C-Calm down.

Ciresta is just teasing me. Now isn't the time for things like that.

...I have to endure. I just have to endure this!!

"Hawawa!! Ciresta-chan, that's so lewd!!"

"I'm amazed you can resist Ciresta-shi's temptations, Elott-shi. If I were a man, I would've pounced on her in a second."

"I love that about you, Onii-san—how you cherish me and hesitate to lay a hand on me."

"L-Lewd acts are forbidden!!"

After that, I continued to resurrect Heroes day in and day out.

Occasionally, I would listen to reports from Rokoro-san when he returned from investigating the temple, search for any escape clues other than conquering the temple, and trigger 'Growth' by defeating Abyss monsters...

About a month had passed since we started living at the bottom of the Abyss.

◇

Around the time Elott was slowly gathering allies at the bottom of the Abyss.

The First Princess of the Ixion Kingdom, Melia le Ixion, was making preparations for a ritual to summon Earthlings according to a fortune teller's prophecy.

Standing beside her was the princess's fiancé, Grain.

"Phew, it certainly was a hassle gathering the sacrifices required for the ritual."

"Geez, you're a cruel woman, Melia. Attacking beastman villages and elf settlements to secure sacrifices... It hurts my heart."

"Oh my, and I've heard there's a certain warrior out there who raped beastman girls and married elven women, despite having me as his fiancée?"

"Whoops, so you found out."

Grain wrapped his arm around Melia's shoulder, laughing as he groped her bountiful breasts.

There was no love between the two of them.

Grain merely wanted to secure his position as prince consort in the future, and Melia wanted to avoid marrying a troublesome suitor when she became queen.

It was a relationship built entirely on mutual benefit.

That relationship included a release for their lust, and they had slept together many times.

From an outsider's perspective, they probably looked like an affectionate engaged couple.

"..."

A girl silently watched the two of them.

She was Hero Elott's former lover, and currently one of the candidates for Grain's concubine.

It was Nia, the Saint of the former Hero party.

"Hm? Hey now, Nia. What are you staring at? You want me to hold you too?"

"...No, please don't talk to me."

"Cold as ever. I freed your little sister, just as I promised, didn't I? Ah, or are you regretting letting your lover die to prioritize your only flesh and blood?"

"Tch."

Nia's face contorted.

Seeing that, Grain flashed a malicious, mocking grin and approached Nia.

Then, he forcefully lifted her chin.

"Just forget about that dead guy already. He'd want you to be happy too, you know."

"Don't touch me!!"

"Whoops."

Nia slapped Grain's hand away and stormed out of the ritual chamber.

"Oh my, it seems you were rejected."

"I enjoy forcing rebellious women like that into submission, so it's fine."

"You're absolute trash. I don't hate it."

"You say that, but you can't defy me at night."

"S-Shut up. ...Now then, let's cut the idle chatter and begin the ritual."

Melia stood before the massive magic circle and chanted an incantation for over ten minutes.

Then, the dozens of beastmen and elves lying within the magic circle began to writhe in agony.

Some spat blood, others tore at their own bodies, and still others went mad, smashing their heads against the floor until they died.

However, Melia paid them absolutely no mind, continuing her chant.

Eventually, all of the sacrifices ceased their life functions, their corpses melting away into mush as they were absorbed by the magic circle.

"—!!"

The next moment, the magic circle glowed with a sinister light.

The blinding glare forced Melia and Grain to cover their eyes. A short while later, when the light faded, four youths stood in the center.

"Eh!! W-What is this!!"

"One second the classroom was enveloped in a weird light, and now... where are we!!"

"C-Calm down, you two!! It must be a movie shoot or something!!"

The three girls were bewildered, unable to grasp the situation.

However, one boy among them was looking around with a calm demeanor.

He had black hair and black eyes, giving off a somewhat plain impression.

After observing his surroundings, the boy nodded silently and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"ISEKAI IS HEREEEEEE!!!!"

"Y-Yamada-kun...? Why did you scream all of a sudden?"

"Shizukuishi-san!! This is an isekai!! The magic circle under our feet, the beautiful princess over there—it has to be!!"

"Um, wasn't isekai a genre of those novels you read, Yamada-kun?"

"Yeah, exactly!!"

Melia, her mood lifted by the boy called Yamada's 'beautiful princess' remark, stepped before the four of them with a smile.

"Everyone, I cannot thank you enough for answering my summons. Please, I implore you to lend us your aid to repel the disaster that threatens our nation!!"

"""""D-Disaster?"""""

Melia pleaded, tears welling in her eyes.

Though they couldn't fully grasp the situation, the four Earthlings who had answered the summons decided to hear Melia out for the time being.

Of course, Melia's story conveniently omitted anything that would reflect poorly on her.

"In other words, you want us to lend you our wisdom to protect the Ixion Kingdom from a disaster that will soon arrive, right?"

"That is correct, Shizukuishi-sama."

Shizukuishi, a dignified, beautiful girl with long, glossy black hair tied into a ponytail, shook her head with a solemn expression.

"I apologize, but we won't be of any help."

"Eh?"

"We're just high schoolers without any specialized knowledge."

"B-But..."

Melia cast a sorrowful expression at Shizukuishi's unexpected refusal.

Though her true thoughts were—

That old hag!! She spouted such nonsense even after I paid her a fortune!! I'll have her executed for the crime of deceiving royalty!!

She was contemplating how exactly she would execute that old fortune teller.

Right then, Yamada's fearless laughter echoed out.

"Heheheh, you're naive!! So naive, Shizukuishi-san!!"

"Y-Yamada-kun? What's gotten into you? Were you always this kind of character?"

"Don't sweat the small stuff. More importantly, there have to be plenty of things that are commonplace in our world but don't exist in an isekai. Just teaching them the mechanisms and principles behind those things might be meaningful!!"

With that, Yamada began boasting about the civilization of his own world.

"I see. Iron boxes that run without horses, iron ships that float using buoyancy, iron birds that fly in the sky... What else is there?"

"Telephones, and for weapons, maybe guns?"

"Weapons... Please, tell me more about these 'guns'!!"

"Eh? Ah, sure!!"

Melia latched onto the mention of otherworldly weapons, learning about 'guns.'

If she could replicate their vicious capabilities, the Ixion Kingdom might just evade its impending doom.

No, they wouldn't just evade doom.

If they could also replicate the 'tanks,' 'aircraft,' and 'battleships' Yamada spoke of, the Ixion Kingdom would become the rulers of the world.

Melia smiled to herself.

For a superpower like the Ixion Kingdom, gathering the necessary engineers to reproduce otherworldly weaponry wouldn't be difficult at all.

To start with, 'guns.'

First, they would manufacture 'matchlock muskets,' which seemed relatively easy to reproduce, and distribute improved versions to the entire Ixion Kingdom military.

Melia took Yamada's hands in hers and expressed her gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Yamada-sama!!"

"W-Well, it's really nothing!! Ahaha!!"

Feeling great about himself, Yamada revealed even more otherworldly knowledge.

However, Melia's true thoughts were—

(These Earthlings still have their uses. I'll wring out every last drop of otherworldly knowledge from them before disposing of them. Heheh, you'll be of utmost use to us.)

Melia was fully intending to work these otherworldly teenagers into the ground.

All she had to do was act a little troubled, say a few words of thanks, and they'd readily spill all sorts of knowledge.

In a way, they were even easier to manipulate than Heroes consumed by a desire for revenge against monsters.

Then, Shizukuishi spoke up.

"Excuse me."

"Yes, Shizukuishi-sama. Is something the matter?"

"We'll be able to return to our original world, right?"

Melia froze for a split second, keeping her smile plastered on.

"...Heheh, naturally. Rest assured, it's not as if we could summon you without a means to send you back. Please just relax and think of this as a sightseeing trip to our country."

"As long as that's true, then it's fine."

Melia's words were a lie.

It was true that the technique to summon Earthlings was written in a book resting in the royal castle's underground forbidden archives.

However, there wasn't a single word written about how to send those Earthlings back.

At Shizukuishi's sharp question, Melia's inner calm evaporated.

It would be best to dispose of this girl sooner rather than later.

Melia was quick to make decisions.

However, she had no idea that Shizukuishi had simultaneously marked her as an 'untrustworthy individual.'

ToC