I Became a 6★ Gacha Character-Chapter 496: Home Visit to the Kid’s House 1

The dark knight lay sprawled on the fortress floor, looking almost like a pinned insect with the holy sword piercing his chest. His limbs were splayed in an X-shape, having been twisted sideways before being pinned down by Roland's overwhelming strength.

But for Han Se-ah and her viewers, that wasn't the important part.

"Is it here? Ah, so that's how you use the zoom."

Zhing-

Geeng-

As Han Se-ah's fingers fidgeted, classic camera lens sounds played while zooming in on the dark knight's body. Through what she called an "autopsy," his scheme gradually became visible to Han Se-ah and hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Between his crumpled cape and the armor pressed against the floor, something dark writhed at 4x magnification. Thinking they'd found a lead, they zoomed to 8x, then 16x--

The image now showed just a portion of his armor and cape edge rather than his whole body. Thanks to the magnification, they could finally faintly make out dark magic crawling like a snake between the crumpled cape and shattered fortress floor debris.

In the dim fortress, lit only by Grace's alchemy arrows, the black magic moving purposefully through shadows under the cape of the knight who lay like a corpse was barely visible even with an advanced camera's zoom - they had to analyze it pixel by pixel.

"Ahhh! This bastard! We thought he was dying peacefully but he was setting up door blocks! Really!"

-Already missing our honorable knight who kept biting the cheese runner's ankles to the end sob

-Thought the dark mage blocked the gate but it was the boss, didn't see that coming lololol

-We regretfully return the cheese runner, we regretfully return the cheese runner, we regretfully return the cheese runner

-Are the AIs trying to force-send them to the Empire since they're not progressing the Empire storyline?

-How much did they have to cheese and brute force for a Heavenly King to sacrifice himself just to block the entrance

Rather than creating weapons like swords and spears for an ambush, he appeared to be making something like a magic circle, spinning round and round under his cape and armor.

Though only part of the circle was visible and they couldn't confirm if it was actually a magic circle due to the dark knight's body blocking the view, the blocked gate to floor 61 proved the result. Perhaps because of this, everyone either teased Han Se-ah or praised the dark warrior without arguing.

"By the way, the Empire's territory is much larger than the Kingdom's - where do you think he was aiming?"

"We won't be able to find out first - we'll have to wait for reports of strange monster wave activity. I've already notified the Adventurers' Guild and Magic Tower."

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While Han Se-ah cursed and stomped her feet in the corner of the carriage, reviewing the "autopsy" with viewers, the other party members whispered among themselves, saying they wouldn't disturb Hanna's meditation.

The dark knight who claimed he'd done everything he could while secretly blocking the gate. And the countless depleted dark magic crystals piled behind him. Sharp-eyed Grace had noticed them, and he'd confessed to sending less than a tenth of his planned forces.

Given the previous orc incident, it seemed the fake monsters inside the tower could incorporate real monsters outside into the Demon Lord's army like an infection. How much trouble would the Empire be in if the Demon Lord's army joined forces with the monster waves?

"So should we stay at the Magic Tower until then?"

"We don't have any noble connections anyway. Though we'll get flooded with invitations through the temple, so let me know if there's anywhere you want to visit."

Plus there was all sorts of unexplored Empire content, so with floor 61 blocked, heading to the Empire was our only option.

As if the whole world was trying to send Han Se-ah to the Empire, the mid-boss and boss monster byproducts became both materials for the floor 60 direct gate and free Kingdom-Empire gate passes for our party.

The boss battle reward being Empire teleport gates felt like unspoken pressure to stop messing around and go clear some Empire quests.

"...Wait, where are we going? Aren't we taking a gate to the Empire?"

"Hanna, you were really focused, huh?"

"We're stopping by Katie's mansion in the Kingdom's north first."

Before that, we had to pay our kid a home visit.

Grace and I kindly explained to Han Se-ah, who was too busy chatting with viewers to notice where our carriage was headed.

※

Arthur Wesley, Guardian of the North, had two beautiful daughters.

The first was Ann Wesley, called the Rose of the North, and the second was Katie Wesley, known in her youth for her swordsmanship.

But while Grand Duchess Ann Wesley was praised in social circles for her beauty, excellent swordsmanship, and bravery in patrolling with knights for northern security, stories about the second daughter Katie Wesley were strangely scarce.

Well, how could nobles gossip about someone who ran away disguised as a man at her coming-of-age ceremony?

Unless you were crazy enough to directly insult the Guardian of the North - a superhuman who'd reached the highest ranks, a duke with royal blood - it was more sensible for nobles to praise Lady Ann's achievements as the next duchess than discuss the runaway Katie.

But much changed after it was revealed that Kaiden, the brown-haired mercenary who'd tagged along with the hero party, was actually Katie Wesley, the precious troublemaker of the northern ducal family.

Naturally, in places our party didn't know about.

"Have you heard? The Wesley family's second daughter, who never showed her face in society, was actually conquering the tower with the hero."

"My word... I'd heard she was hiding in the mansion due to facial scars from a grave illness."

"How could a duke's daughter live in hiding without even a single maid?"

"I heard that story too. They say she beheaded orcs that escaped the tower and sent an iron giant to her family as spoils."

The gossip naturally spread first among loose-lipped nobles in social circles. Katie Wesley's name spread from small baronial gatherings where they loved gossip to ducal social meetings where every word and gesture carried political meaning.

When nobles of all ranks started talking about Katie, naturally the bards hired for their parties picked up the stories.

Not the ones who sang for cheap drinks from commoners, but idol-level bards formally invited to noble gatherings who eagerly sold Katie's name to capture the northern market.

Regional pride has always been powerfully effective when utilized in any form.

They say the hero party handled orcs that invaded the royal sacred forest

They say they excavated an iron giant from endless caves in the tower

While the holy sword's owner led the charge, Katie protected their backs

Katie, Katie Wesley, the North's blade chosen by the Goddess!

The Ice Rose and Frost Blade raised by Duke Wesley!

Tales of Katie's heroics inspiring northern pride spread faster than spring snow melting.

"Miss? Isn't that Lady Katie?"

"Then is that the hero beside her?"

"Katie, why don't you at least wave?"

"...That's a bit embarrassing."

The result was people calling out like idol fans gathering in crowds.

Clop clop - answering Han Se-ah's stupid question, what greeted us outside the Magic Tower gate wasn't Empire scenery but the north's cool air. From the Harpy Archipelago, we'd told butler Sebastian to prepare a carriage and headed straight for the Wesley mansion.

Though we'd planned to go directly to the mansion, the cool air and roads turned muddy from melted snow slowed the carriage, naturally drawing attention.

Though the driver was hired by Sebastian and the carriage bore no Wesley family crest or hero party symbols, onlookers instantly gathered. The brainy Han Se-ah and Irene sat facing forward side by side, while the three physical types who never got motion sick sat facing backward in a row.

People spotted Katie's face as she peeked out the window to view her hometown while I watched Han Se-ah making a fuss with viewers between Grace and Katie.

Beautiful silver hair symbolizing the ducal family and jewel-like blue eyes eagerly taking in the market streets. How could northerners not recognize a beauty with flawless pale skin and delicate features as their duke's daughter?

"...But won't this keep the carriage from moving? Should we walk?"

"Or I could use Earth Control to clear a path? I think I can do it from the driver's seat."

The muddy road that kept freezing and thawing grabbed at the carriage wheels, and gathering crowds slowed us even more. Though magic made the carriage interior as comfortable as a luxury foreign car, that didn't make the wheels float over mud.

Then we heard a strange noise approaching.

Geeng--

Weeng--

"Eh, ehhh?!"

The iron giant, reduced to farm equipment, pushed through the crowd and lifted our carriage.

...How had they used it for the market crowd to naturally make way?

Enjoy the chappy!