[12th Round] Unification

'Trainee Teacher, I don't know myself!'

For me, in general, the idea of ranking people was an unfamiliar concept. If
it weren't for the Second Demon Ssosia, I wouldn't even think about the
order in which I loved someone.
It was pretty confusing.
The first girl I married was the Sword Princess in round 8, making her,
obviously, the first wife. However, her being my first love was a different
story.
A lot of women come to my mind besides the Sword Princess. Objectively,
she might not even be the first woman. Then who was it? The women,
whose names I remembered, were too complicated. Mom, Daughter of
Mom's Friend A, Daughter of Mom's Friend B, Lanuvel, Sylvia, Factoria,
Aqua, Ssosia, etc. There were even more of them than that.
► Confusion: That question is puzzling, but I understand. I was treated
well by many of the seniors, making it hard to choose one that I like more
than the rest.
Is it because Trainee Teacher dreams of becoming the greatest teacher? You
pay more attention to education, not love.'
► Modesty: While I know that's flattery, it pleases me.
As I spoke with Trainee Teacher, the situation developed.
The hens, whom I ordered to surrender, didn't agree to my demands so
easily. Instead, the angel that replaced their leader flew up to me after their
previous one died because of Captain Fantasy's bottom.
The chicken was wrapped in a white translucent cloth that resembled
bandages.
At the Festival of Heroes, I saw on angel in a similar outfit. I didn't know
much about them despite my 61 years of experience, but I knew for sure
that such a defiant outfit was only allowed to be worn by high-ranking
angels.
Why? There were many high-quality bandages in the treasury of angels.
They healed with and through Divinity, so they didn't need real bandages.
Instead, they used them as clothing. "Bock off, Earthen King," She glared at
me insolently. I didn't like the way she spoke. "Know your place, you ill-
mannered angel." Captain Fantasy fidgeted, and the angels screamed. In
addition, their city immediately tilted like a sinking boot. The chicken grew
paler as she hastened to answer.
"Stop! Many innocent lives are in this city! The heroes on the ground below
will never forgive you for such violence! Aren't you afraid of their
judgment, their wroth? You'll lose everything just because of one mistake...
"I am a Hero." "What?" You should show at least a little interest in what's
going on downstairs, chicken." She talked about heroes, but she didn't even
know who they were. Regardless, I understood her reason. I> Race:
Archangel I> Level: 999+ I> Job: Exorcist [Demons —> Damage 1') I>
Skills: Divinity ZZ, Whip Mastery Z, Purification Z, Endurance Z, Blessing
MAX... I> Status: Frightened, Confused The skills were outstanding.
From my perspective, these were laughable skills, but in secondary
education, her stats were the best thing I hod seen. Her combat power was
comparable to that of the Guardians who hid on different continents.
"Then why are you invading us?"
"What's so surprising about that? There is no law prohibiting heroes from
attacking angels."
"Th-that's blasphemy!" That is for me to decide." They took credit for
Master Mollon's achievements so shamelessly. If not for his generosity, then
the angels themselves would've been subjected to God's judgment.
"I'll say it again. Bow down or die." "Don't underestimate us." "Don't
underestimate me. Those who still have their heads held up will now meet
their tragic end right here." Captain Fantasy followed my order.
The cute baby got up on his plump legs, trying to keep his balance, and
began waving his arms in different directions. That wasn't some new
technique. It was just that his huge body, which was more than enough to
fight Noebius himself on equal grounds, was already powerful and
dangerous in itself.
BOOM! BOOM! POW! The angels at the naked body of Ssosio from the
skies turned to smithereens. They weren't even blown away by the impact.
This wasn't a billiards game, so they didn't react like in mangos or mime.
The angel's bodies were unable to cope with the overwhelming moss and
speed of Captain Fantasy. After all, he also possessed the new technique of
the Demon Lord, Dark Matter.
They were simply torn apart by the pressure that slammed on their flesh.
The obscene angel wrapped in bandages was no exception.
Divinity's normal attack deflection effect didn't work because Captain
Fantasy was for from ordinary.
Not even a body was left of the enemies' leader.
"A-aaaaaahh!"
Frightened by the small child, the angels immediately bowed down. There
was no longer any brave man that dared stare at Ssosio.
Their crime was the thievery of other people's merits!
Just for the fact that they wonted to claim the achievements of Master
Mollan, whom the Holy Mallon Empire served, was enough for their
feathers to be plucked out and for them to be enslaved.
But I was a merciful hero. I just decided to pluck some feathers from them
instead. "Drug Hero, where are you going to use them?"
In pillows and blankets. I don't know if their feathers are softer and wormer
than the ducks down there, but vain aristocrats and royal families will
definitely buy them regardless of price. This is a very special item that con
only be purchased in the Holy Mollan Empire!
"I see! Hoha!" The First Spirit laughed awkwardly. "Addicted Spirit, why
are you so happy?" "I'm just glad that my wings won't be ruined as well."
The city of angels, El Molando, was peacefully annexed by the Holy
Mallon Empire. When the Holy Empire learned of this, on uprising
immediately occurred. The sick emperor and his heir, the First Prince, were
publicly executed in front of an angry mob. And the imperial princess, who
led this uprising, placed the Holy Empire in my hands. After that, it
immediately began to rain. And that wasn't even caused by the universe. At
the right time, when I visited "Lake Mollan," I killed the "Guard Ullullu,"
who was sleeping at the bottom of the lake. I attacked him without even
giving him a chance to wake up!
During the 2nd Round, it rained for ten days because of that catfish-headed
giant, which gave me problems.
But this time, it was different. "Rain! Rain is coming!" The Emperor of the
Holy Mollan Empire is a real God! "Long live His Majesty the Emperor!
Hooray!" I announced that it would rain for ten days. Indeed, the rain
stopped on the tenth day. After that, my Reputation and Glory reached
MAX rank.
Even if there were people who resented the fact that I forcibly annexed
small principalities, now they huddled in a corner in silence. They realized
that they couldn't resist the will of God, who could control nature itself.
There were more reasons. All paths led to Mollon.
All the towns and villages of the Holy Mollan Empire, which united the
entire Central Continent of Fantasy, were connected by roads to
Mollonpolis.
Thus, the trade turnover accelerated, due to which the economies of the
losing states began to grow again. That wasn't all either. "I'm a gigolo,
living off a rich bride. This is the dream of all men." "I may be the happiest
demon in the universe. I'm ready to go crazy with happiness." Ssosia smiled
at me, revealing her soul and her wallet. She was the head of the Dark
Commerce. And I was her husband. Everything that belonged to her was
mine, and everything that belonged to me was hers. But because of the
boundless love of her beautiful husband, Ssosio was so moved that she
abandoned everything, making her assets my property. Finally, my kindness
had been reworded! 'Trainee Teacher, I've been thinking.' ► Interest: About
what? 'Friendship and hope are still useless, but love, if used correctly, con
be useful on a hero's journey!'
► Difficulty: It seems to me that the love that you're talking about and the
love that is expected from the heroes in the educational course ore slightly
different... But this con also be considered the power of love.
'Trainee Teacher, you're not only both beautiful and quirky. You'll also make
an excellent educator.'
► Blush: 0-of course. Hmm-hmm!
By uniting the Central Continent, which was the economic center of the
Fantasy World, I had announced a major national project for this year
Trade routes? That was a simple task.
There was something more important than that. If I hadn't taken possession
of Dark Commerce, I wouldn't hove been able to solve this pressing
problem. "It's time to equip everyone with flush toilets to make this world a
better place!" Finally, after 63 years, I was able to fulfill my little dream.
The eighth hero was called up for secondary education in Grade F on my
64th-year of being a hero.
The new hero was a young girl. She was different from the seventh Foolish
Hero, who announced that he would start a coup d'etat (challenge me).
Although she looked young, she was actually at least 300 years old.
I> Type: Personal file I> Nome: Lulu I> Alignment: Lawful Good I> Main
Quality: Coquetry I> Experience: 308 years I> Record: 2
I> Overall Rating: Lulu is an honorary student who uses love and friendship
to her advantage. However, she foiled due to her excessive utilization of the
aforementioned concepts. She's so used to solving problems by relying on
lovers and companions that her skills are low. There ore different opinions
on her account among teachers. Regardless, it would be better if she con
learn independence from the strange student.
Who was that strange independent student they kept mentioning? How
pathetic. Well, love was the trend right now. In any case, I needed to deal
with the hero in front of me first. "Welcome to the Holy Mollan Empire."
"Wow! You ore truly incredible. You started as a hero but then became
emperor in a short period. I really respect you, Han Soo."
How dare she, a 300-year-old granny, address me, a single- no, a married
man who wasn't even 80 years old, so familiarly?
Regardless, I didn't show that it touched me in any way. I hod the secret
ability to view the personal files of other students, after all.
"Everyone's capable of respecting me."
A true hero could easily control these savages.
And I heard that you invented a flush toilet. That's just amazing! This is a
bit embarrassing, but going to the toilet was really hard for me until I got
used to the bushes.
After I finally annexed the Holy Empire, the last free country on the Central
Continent, I was able to start the flush toilet's mass production with the help
of Ssosio, who knew the structure and construction procedure of it
I didn't invent anything.
The cowardly demoness hid this greatest invention in her room and used it
all for herself. She even had a bidet too! For such a crime, I forbade Ssosia
to use the flush toilet. Therefore, she secretly began to use the slime toilet. I
pretended not to see or hear her groans and suffering. "Eighth Hero, Have
you said everything you've got to say?" "Huh? Oh, uh, yes..."
"I am also a hero. Therefore, I can say that I understand the feelings of our
kind better than others. I will give you enough funds for equipment and a
journey. All you'll have to think about is overcoming one of the Five Great
Disasters on the Southern Continent.
"Wow! Thank you so much! Who will go with me?" "Do you need an
escort?" "I-I n-need... just a few..." I remembered the overall rating of the
eighth Hero, "Lulu." Perhaps that's what the file meant when it stated that
she relied too much on love and friendship. Companions?
I didn't know if anyone would want to go with such a burden. But all the
same, she would need someone with whom she could talk to on the way to
the Southern Continent. Maybe a porter as well.
I showed her my heroic and righteous smile.
"Tell me who you wont to go with If the companion is from the Central
Continent, then I will try to help."
"Wow! Then can I get Prince Nasus?" He is the busy governor of the
western province, which used to be the Elf Kingdom." "Then Alex and
Lanuvel!" "Those two died on the Western Continent." "T-then the Saintess
and Commander Thomas of the Holy Knights."
"Saintess A has become the busy governor of the eastern province, formerly
known as the Holy Kingdom and the Trade Republic, and Tomato died
three years ago after falling off a cliff."
"Um... and the mermaid princess Aqua?"
"I raised her as a pet in an aquarium in my office, but she is unlikely to
agree to go with you since you are a girl."
"Then who's left?" Lulu sounded bewildered.
I thought about it for less than a second before answering.
"How about Sylvia, the elven princess? She is now pregnant, so it is
difficult to go with her now, but I think it will be possible for her to join you
next year after giving birth."
"Don't be so disappointed. If you want a big sleeping bag, I can introduce
you to amazing men. 31 people. What do you think? Not a bad variety for
the trip." "N-don't..." Wow! So she refused government assistance?
It seemed that the overall assessment in her personal file was rather biased.
Just looking at her, I already knew she didn't rely so much on others.
[12th Round] Rebound Controller
I thought Lulu would go to the Southern Continent alone, but she managed
to persuade Hero Lemon, my self-proclaimed rival, to go together.
I wonted to send Lemon on an expedition to the Northern Continent, but his
two-year mercenary contract had come to an end, so I let him go. Either
way, for me, there was nothing wrong with those two killing one of the Five
Great Disasters, Phoenix of the Southern Continent.
The other four heroes went to the Western Continent, except for Almond,
for the same objective. An angel had joined them this time, so the chances
of success were high. As for me... "That's huge." I went to the U-shaped
mountain range that surrounded the capital of the former Holy Empire. In
the primary education course, I never got to see this view. After all, it wasn't
just a simple mountain range. That was the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion,
Noebius, slumbering while disguised as a mountain.
But he didn't just sleep. Time for the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion,
Noebius, whose life was coming to an end, had simply stopped. Therefore,
until one removed his seal, no attacks would do him any harm.
I called Green Cake to compare their sizes, but he looked too small in
comparison. It was like comparing Everest to an ordinary hill! Today, I
came to deal with my friend. "Drug Hero, how are you going to defeat
him?" As quickly as possible." "Didn't you say he was your friend?" "He'll
burn down the empire and the world otherwise." This problem couldn't be
solved with simple conversations.
Despotic to his core and bones, the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius,
would immediately rush into battle as soon as he opened his eyes.
And his rampage wouldn't stop until his death.
It would be nice if his seal could be saved, but there was a time limit. If I
were too late, then all of Fantasy would be destroyed by a fog so corrosive
that it would melt everything it touched!
Hence, I had to solve everything here and now.
"Your Majesty, all preparations for breaking the seal have been completed,"
said Old Mage A, the archmage of the former Holy Empire.
Only a few people knew that what actually surrounded the capital of the
former Holy Empire wasn't a mountain range but one of the Five Great
Disasters.
The wizard had an artifact in his hands. They looked like beads, but it was
the key to removing the seal.
They were kept and strictly guarded in the treasury of the Imperial Palace of
the Holy Empire.
Warming up, I gave an order.
As soon as I give the signal, remove the seal."
Your Majesty! As I've stated before, maybe it's better to wait until the
situation in the country has stabilized and attack when all the heroes have
gathered? No matter how I think about it, he'd be difficult to destroy even
for you!"
"It's up to me to decide what is difficult and what isn't." "I apologize!" I
gathered all of my strength.
I turned the level and experience points I had into power. Due to the large
amount, it took about 5 seconds.
The plan was simple. As soon as the seal was broken, immediately launch a
preemptive strike! The spirits of Fantasy had already told me about the
structure of the body of the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion Noebius, covered
with earth.
"Remove the seal." Have mercy upon us, 0 God!" The impudent Wizard A,
begging for mercy, not from Master Mollan, removed the seal. The brightly
shimmering beads turned into ordinary glass.
And my dear friend woke up.
The earth and sky trembled. All the animals and monsters that lived on the
mountain scattered in fright.
Right now! Bang! Concentrating all my strength, I created a bright green
beam that pierced through the huge rising mountain.
And it became quiet.
The Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius, didn't even have time to shake
off the ground before he had already lost his heart and left for eternal rest.
I didn't even give him time to take his other forms!
I was able to verify that my dear comrade was dead when my level went
back up from Ito 999.
When the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius, fell, the outline of the
mountain he was disguised as began to disappear. The height of the
mountain gradually began to decline, and in the end, only a small hill
remained.
There was the risk that the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion's dissolved body
could flood the city with a deadly poison, but Boris quietly sorted it out
with the help of Purification.
"Without his transformations, my friend is weak!"
But he was still the leader of the Five Great Disasters. How weak were the
others? I didn't even know what word to use to describe the heroes that
couldn't defeat them.
"Drug Hero, I think attacking the old man suddenly as he was just about to
wake up is a little cowardly."
"Hey, Addicted Spirit, you haven't been punished in a long time, have you?
I'm not a hypocrite. Unlike him, who's ready to make sacrifices for the sake
of his duty, I am not willing to sacrifice anything."
With this, my duty as a hero was fulfilled.
Ten heroes were summoned to each class. Therefore, ideally, they should
gather in groups of 2 to eliminate each of the Five Great Disasters as
quickly and efficiently as possible.
Yet, I single-handedly dealt with the most powerful of those monsters.
Therefore, I had fulfilled my duties as a hero.
What was left?
"Saintess H, remember the list of assassins I filled out? Gather an army of
these people and send them south to the Phantom King. Those who'd try to
escape should be declared traitors and sentenced to death. If you send an
angel, a demon hunter, with them, they probably won't criticize me."
"Yes, Master," Saintess H replied politely. I left the northern part of the
Central Continent to the imperial princess. She didn't become the empress,
as she dreamed, but nevertheless, I appointed her governor of the province,
so there should be no complaints. ... But there were.
She wanted to be both governor and empress at the same time. Then I told
her to resign from the post of governor, to which she easily agreed, which
made me confused.
She wanted to become an empress and give birth to an heir who would take
the empire, making her so easily ready to give up her position.
But I wouldn't marry her in any way. "Drug Hero, are you going there?"
"Yes. Finally." It's time to head to the Northern Continent of Fantasy. There
were two years left before the initial call of the Hero. The Holy Mollan
Empire, under the patronage of Master Mollan, first offered the Demon
Lord and the rulers of the Northern Continent to surrender and then
declared war!
A sea and a canal separated the Northern and Central Continents. It was
somewhat similar to North and South America on Earth. Sea route and land
route. There were two options, but it was better to refuse overland
movement since the path through the canal was rather narrow. The Northern
Continent was teeming with highly skilled Wizards. If we went for the
cramped path, then any entire army would be destroyed by spells of mass
destruction.
There was only one way for us to go. They probably think we'll use the
waterway." They expect us to take advantage of the vast expanse of water to
reduce the number of casualties from magical attacks.
But I knew perfectly well that neither by sea nor by land was the most
efficient mode of transportation.
By manipulating the weather, mages could cause typhoons and tsunamis,
causing the empire's ships to sink before reaching the shores of the
Northern Continent.
"Then what are you planning to do, Drug Hero?" "I'll start a civil war." My
popularity in the Central Continent of Fantasy had reached sky-high
heights. There was no need to make women widows and children orphans
and receive criticism for that.
I had declared war, but I wasn't going to fight.
I just needed to collect a lot of ships in the port and train soldiers, just to
pretend that there was a war.
What about the rest? The Clark Commerce will sort it out." The Scarlet
Golem would soon go into mass production.
Many countries preparing for the attack of the Holy Mollan Empire would
buy these golems en masse, competing with neighboring countries and
overpaying, as a result of which their treasury would quickly empty.
And the only way to replenish the state treasury in an instant was to either
fight or plunder.
I knew this from my own experience.
The Dark Commerce intervened in the politics of the Northern Continent,
creating conflicts and selling the Scarlet Golems. They demonstrated their
effectiveness by participating in golem battles in the arena in the Sage
Tower.
And the result became visible in the sixth year of the initial call of the Hero.
The Northern Continent was engulfed in war.
But this time, a strong country had united the entirety of the Central
Continent, providing the countries of the Northern Continent a reason to
buy the products, significantly accelerating this process.
And this had nothing to do with the owner of the Dark Commerce Ssosia.
After all, she was only their leader in words. She herself did nothing. "What
did you say about me?" Ssosia got angry after hearing my plan.
"So it's true. You are just their leader on paper. Your competent subjects are
the ones engaging in all activities while you keep messing around."
"Do not ignore my contribution! It is precisely because I am their head that
an organization as large as the Clark Commerce continues to exist without
any internal disagreements."
Ssosia was the Second Demon. She was always second.
But in this case, that curse even played into her hands.
The founder of the Dark Commerce was the first, and he died at a young
age from overwork. But thanks to his management over his workers that
treated him as their "mental mentor," he remained number one even after
death.
From that moment, the fun began. Usually, students fought among
themselves over who would inherit the will of the teacher. But because of
the curse of being second, Ssosia became his heir. Thanks to that, she could
manage the Dark Commerce with absolutely no fear of dismissal. Are you
saying that it is enough for you to keep your shares intact without dying for
the company to prosper?" "Something like that. I wasn't even lazy, to begin
with."
Ssosia told me that there were times when she used the power of the Dark
Commerce to supply the heroes with food. But due to the endless repetition
of it, the same actions bored her.
Soon enough, she grew tired of having fun as well, forcing her to sleep
nonstop... "So you admit that you are lazy?" "Hmph!" Who do you think
you're giving an attitude to? [lance." "Huh?!"
In the northern part of the Central Continent, naval ships were built at the
shipyard, and the soldiers busied themselves with training. Meanwhile, in
the south, a real war broke out.
Many lives were lost.
Exorcist Boris, the natural predator of all demons, Saintess H with an
immortal army, Holy Mollan Empire's Guardian Golem D.
I could send any of those three, and they'd be able to end the war
immediately.
But I didn't do it. There was no better excuse than the Demon Lord to get
rid of all my disgruntled opposition.
If you continue to do this, I will spread the rumor that the Demon Lord is
your father-in-law," the flushed Ssosia threatened me to stop herself from
dancing.
"Go on and try. I will prove that all these rumors are lies. There are many
ways one can deny this. Maybe for a start, in front of everyone, we will
inflict trauma on the Demon Lord's daughter, from which she will never be
able to recover."
"Naha .,. Just kidding, just kidding. After all, I'm your wife," Her
complexion had grown paler.
I didn't know what was funny, but the First Spirit laughed, clutching her
stomach while sitting on my head.
"Hee-hee! Oh, my belly! Hee heel"
"Hey, Addicted Spirit, stop laughing like you're insane."
"I'll do what I want! Drug Hero, where do you plan to go now that you've
said you're not going to storm through the Northern Continent?"
Good question.
"I just killed the giant Ullullu just to solve the drought problem, which
reminded me of something."
The secret place where the Holy Sword B was hidden. I didn't even know
its exact location since there were no memorable signs on the sandy beach.
If I knew that I would come again, I would have been more attentive last
time, but in the 2nd round, I couldn't even think that I would reach the 12th
round.
But everything was fine. If everything was the same as in the primary
education course, it should be on the beach... "Ullullu..." "Aw0000000..."
"Aw000000000000000..." As in the 2nd round, faint howls were heard,
mixed with the sound of the waves. Just like last time, the "Titan of Chaos"
became my experience points. And the "Mermaid of Chaos" sang in
response to my power. I jumped into the water without any hesitation. And
"again," I met the mermaid who protected the Holy Sword B. I> Race:
Arch-Mermaid I> Level: 999+ I> Job: Guardian [Protection Damage
Received I> Skills: Defense MAX, Spear Mastery SSS, Evasion SS,
Leadership SS, Immunity SS... I> Status: Interested, Calm Her skills were
higher than before. But still laughable. "Hero of the present, I ask you to
leave." "What will you do if I refuse to leave?" I kept my answers the same
as the ones I used in the second round. "Unfortunately, you have no choice
since you won't even remember anything. The hero wakes up on the ocean
shore and embarks on another wonderful adventure. Lololo - .1" "Hmm...
You sing well. You're better than the one I nurture at home." "Thank you...
Kh?!"
I grabbed her by the fin, turning her upside down, and she immediately
began thrashing about.
"Take it easy. Otherwise, I will tear off your fin and shove it into your
mouth." She immediately did as instructed. At that moment, Ssosia, who
arrived a little later than me, folded her arms over her chest and coldly
asked. "Why did you come here? Need a mermaid concubine again?"
Jealousy is ugly, Eternal Second Ranker." "I'm not jealous!"
I shook the sea mermaid in front of the angered Ssosia like a fisherman and
replied, "Whoever controls the sea mermaid controls naval warfare."
Business is done not with noise, but with the mind.
[12th Round] The Little Mermaid
But I wasn't here to meet this mermaid. As the name of her job suggested,
she hod to actually guard something to be a guardian.
My goal was further into her territory.
The entrance, covered in seaweed and blocked by coral, opened like on
automatic door as she approached.
One could, of course, simply break down this door and enter. But then the
anti-theft system would work, which would ruin everything.
Safety should always be one's top priority. I was able to reach my
destination without any problems. "Phew... I already thought about it
before, but I want to put this mermaid in formalin and keep it with me." A
deceased mermaid was hugging Holy Sword B, the real reason I was here.
I> Race: Mermaid of Chaos I> Level: 1 I> Job: Sea Queen (Sea Patronage
i) I> Skills: Patronage Z, Destruction SS I> Status: Petrified, Protected,
Dead, Storage If Ullullu was the "King of Freshwater," then the mermaid
hugging the Holy Sword B was the "Queen of the Sea."
They were full of ambition, like my dear comrade Noebius, which was why
they became kings. Moreover, Ullullu and this mermaid received their jobs
due to the geographical features of their environment.
► Surprise: That is truly a Holy Sword! It's the same one you inserted into
the secret socket of the golem. There seems to be nothing that you don't
know, cadet Kong Han Soo.
'Trainee Teacher, did you not know about this?'
► Confirmation: I didn't see it in my school years. Even in the collection of
materials that I can view as a trainer, I saw only one Holy Sword with
automatic functions, although I hove heard from friends and seniors that
there ore different types of Holy Swords. That aside, I don't understand why
the sword intended for training was hidden and sealed here.
'Trainee Teacher, don't worry about that. Otherwise, wrinkles will appear on
your forehead.'
Someone could explain everything to us anyway.
The Holy Sword Lavade (Love Aid)'s name, in ancient languages, means 'a
sword that makes a loved one stronger.' It is made of a special alloy, with
the help of which its power increases in proportion to the owner's love.
However, it has been divided into parts. In its current state, it can't even
display 1% of its true strength anymore. You probably already know since
you've already used it, but it has a strengthening effect. It was split between
dimensions since they didn't want to destroy it, but at the same time, it
shouldn't fall into unwanted hands."
"That's how..." I understood what Ssosia was trying to explain. It was as if it
wasn't really needed, but it was a pity to throw it away.
But I don't know who this mermaid is. She is beautiful, as befits her race,
but she feels somehow special. Even her appearance... Regardless, I can't
identify her. How about asking the mermaid you're holding?"
"Really? Hey, fish, talk." "Kh? A-a-ah! I won't say anything!" The mermaid
closed her lips tightly, so I tore her fin a little. She immediately screamed,
and tears flowed from her eyes. Even though she was in incredible pain, she
still didn't say anything. "How troublesome." She kept whimpering, but it
didn't matter. This MAX-Class Hero didn't like torture. I preferred getting
information straight from the brain. This time, I chose an even simpler
option. "Saintess H." "Resurrect, my servant." Saintess H, whose Divinity
reached the level of God, was different from ordinary saints.
If the victim had only 1 level, then they were treated with traditional
medicine or medicines. They couldn't even dream of resurrection if the
worst happened since the patient didn't have enough experience points for
it.
But she was different.
She resurrected using her experience points.
But the resurrected one would be under complete submission to Saintess H
until they could return all experience points they owed to her.
"Oh?" Slowly opening her eyes, the mermaid's refreshing voice echoed,
reminding me of
sea waves. I> Race: Royal Mermaid I> Level: 999+ I> Job: Sea Queen (Sea
Patronage i) I> Skills: Patronage Z, Charm MAX, Captivity MAX, Singing
F, Seduction F... I> Status: Resurrected, Protected, Storage, Confused,
Submission
Previously, Boss K died at the Festival of Heroes, and when he was revived,
the "Chaos Elf" race disappeared, and he became a "High Elf" instead. The
same was true for this mermaid.
In addition, once she was resurrected, due to her incredible beauty, her
Charm had reached MAX.
Even her puzzled face was charming. But the face of the guardian, on the
contrary, looked grim. "Tell me, what is your name?" asked Saintess H in a
calm tone, but it was just an order disguised as a question. The sea
mermaid, who couldn't remain silent, replied immediately. "I am the
nineteenth Mermaid Queen Porseranions and the keeper of the sword
Lavade, which was left to me by my comrade from Earth." "Nice to meet
you, Pomeranian. Amazing. This mermaid had the same name as the dog
breed that my neighbors raised. "My name is Porce..." "Silence. Do not
interrupt the Hero when he speaks." "I-I apologize..." Pomeranian
apologized, cringing. This mermaid was more polite than the one who tried
to erase my memory.
"Congratulations on your resurrection, Mermaid Queen Pomeranian. I don't
know if you still have the right to control mermaids, but even if you don't, I
will be raising you in a special saltwater bath that will be built by next year,
so you have nothing to worry about."
"Ah, okay... Thank you? I probably should be grateful to the Hero who will
raise me. It's just that I just revived, and I don't know how to behave in this
world yet..."
"I see."
"That's how it should be My race succumbed to sexual attraction and
eventually sank to the point of being human pets... Since this is our destiny,
I just have to accept it..."
This sea fish was smart. No wonder she was the Queen of the Mermaids.
Can you still control your kind?" "It's possible." That should never be
allowed, o' great mother!"
As soon as the Mermaid Queen Pomeranian confirmed my belief, the
guardian mermaid immediately intervened.
"Traitors should be quiet."
As soon as she gave the order, the guardian mermaid immediately fell
silent. Her body shook at first as she tried to resist, but she soon found
herself frozen.
Pomeranian replied with sorrow in her voice.
"My race, like squid going to spawn, strive to get to men, driven by sexual
attraction. Whenever sailors caught my relatives, some of them would be
butchered and eaten, while others were tied to the bows of ships, turning
them into tourist attractions. That caused a storm of hatred in me, which in
turn made me order all mermaids to refrain from following their desires
from then on. However, I was betrayed and killed. Now that I have
resurrected, I shall become the Hero's slave. Give me any order. All the
mermaids of this world are yours."
It seemed that the mermaids killed their queen because of their excessive
sex drive. And the queen became disillusioned with her people. Will they
follow your order?"
"Yes. Any mermaid in the water will follow me. After all, all the seas of the
world are connected. Through the waves, they will hear my song and obey."
"What about the mermaids in freshwaters?"
If I go to the freshwaters and sing there, they will have no choice but to
follow me. I'm of royal blood. I care not if I'm in freshwater or seawater."
"I see..."
I was worried that it would be difficult to get seawater, but it looked like
raising her in the imperial palace wouldn't be a problem.
I let go of the mermaid that I had been holding in my hands all this time.
After all, since I had the Mermaid Queen, who had such a fraudulent ability,
I could calmly control the rest of the mermaids.
Yet, what was more surprising than that was that her ability wasn't
displayed in her racial traits.
I> Type: Race I> Name: Royal Mermaid I> Rank: Legendary I> Ability 1:
Never disappear when in water. I> Ability 2: Gifted with incredible beauty.
I> Feature 1: Increased charm effect. I> Feature 2: Increased seduction
effect. I> Feature 3: Ability to transform the lower body. I> Race 1: Perfect
singing skills. I> Race 2: Beauty is inherited. The Royal Mermaid race was
much better than the regular Mermaid. Never disappear when in water?
That was why her corpse had stayed intact here all this time. She had the
protection of the waters on her side. To think she was far from being
patronized by the universe!
"I learned the mermaid submission song from the eighteenth Mermaid
Queen. Even if an ordinary mermaid learns it, she still won't be able to use
it. She will simply die for touching the forbidden. Only mermaids from the
royal family can use it since we have the protection of the waters. Once I
die, the song will be lost forever."
What an interesting explanation. Can humans learn it?"
"I'm afraid that's impossible, Hero. After all, humans and mermaids have
different vocal cord structures."
"So it's all about vocal cords?" "Huh? Yes, probably..." A song that could
subdue all mermaids... Wasn't it tempting? ► Query: Disciple Kong Han
Soo, do you want to take possession of all the mermaids? 'Trainee Teacher,
your suspicion saddens me!' My mother wouldn't forgive me. She'd beat me
until she'd destroyed her tennis racket. "I'll learn it when we get back to the
palace, Mermaid Queen." As you desire, Sir Hero."
"Command all the sea mermaids to gather on the seaside in the northern
part of the Central Continent.
"Everyone? Can I find out the reason?" Carefully stroking the queen
between the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae, I replied. "War." Sea mermaids
would serve as fine marines.
The Mermaid Queen got scared because I decided to collect them not for
the harem, as she expected, but for war, but she was under the rule of
Saintess H, removing her right to refuse.
Hearing the Queen's song, the sea mermaids gathered in the port.
In the waters, beautiful mermaids with naked upper bodies gathered,
weapons made of huge fish bones or monster ribs in their hands.
If I took into account that more mermaids were completely submerged in
the waters, it would become impossible to even count how many of them
actually gathered here.
Moreover, their number continued to grow. "I didn't know there were so
many mermaids living in the sea." I watched this picture from a ship that
was five times the size of the rest of the fleet. I wasn't the only one
surprised by it "Wooh!" "Hehe... Oh?!" The idiots on the ship stared at the
mermaids as they drooled. Some of them even fell overboard.
Mermaids swam up to the knights and soldiers who fell into the water from
all sides and pulled off all their clothes. An hour after, they'd be found
exhausted on the shore not far from the port.
That wasn't surprising at all.
After all, the fighting skills of mermaids, who specialized only in seducing
men, were negligible, while the monsters living in the sea were incredibly
strong compared to those living on land.
Therefore, like anchovies and other small fishes, mermaids had no choice
but to reproduce as many offspring as possible. I clicked my tongue. If they
were born human, they could become mistresses of wealthy merchants or
aristocrats and live happily ever after. Otherwise, they'll have a hard time
surviving."
"Hmphl They have such beauty only because they were born mermaids. I
don't feel even a bit of pity for them." Ssosia reproached me after hearing
my monologue.
You are not in a position to say that."
"What about me?" Your chest can't be real. That's one of the antics of your
race, isn't it?" "Why do you keep insulting me? You touched them all night,
and now you say that?!" "Those two are completely different topics." "It's
the same, beast!"
Listening to Ssosia's tantrums with one ear, I pointed north with the cane in
my right hand.
There was no need to wait for everyone to get together. After all, there were
already enough mermaids gathered. "Forward!" "Order of the Emperor! We
are sailing away!" "Forward!" "Forward!" Doo-oo-oo-oo-oo! Doo-oo-oo!
Having received my order, the soldiers blew into huge pipes made of huge
shells. And all the ships deported and sailed. The mermaids swam alongside
them! What a great sight. Babakh! Thunder and lightning had blessed our
way into battle. The wind was so strong that it could tear our sails, but the
ships of the Holy Mollan Empire didn't need sails at all. It was all about the
beauties of the sea.
We sailed smoothly with the help of their power, making the storm
dangerous only for our enemies.
"What a good day for war." I would show the son, whom the Sword
Princess gave birth to, what a real ruler should be "Real ruler? You mean
Demon Lord." "Keep dancing." Even the cowardly demoness, unrequitedly
in love with the Hero, blessed the armada of the Holy Mollan Empire with
her dances. But... "Enemies!" "Their navy is here!" The troops of the
Northern Continent attacked first.
[12th Round] Northern Continent vs. Central Continent Boo! Bang! Boom!
The huge enemy fleet released fireballs and lightning in an arc, overcoming
the storm and directly hitting our ranks.
Looking closely, I noticed more than two countries in their army.
Many mages lived on the Northern Continent, which meant more mages
were on their ships than actual naval weaponry. What mode matters worse
was that their spells reached a greater distance than gunpowder projectiles.
Meanwhile, our army... "Here comes another volley!" "0-oh no!" "Put the
flames out!" "Aaaaghhh!" Their surprise attack hod thrown our people into
chaos.
No one imagined the army of the Northern Continent would break through
the typhoon and meet us halfway.
Furthermore, the Holy Mollan Empire wasn't founded on warfare.
I colonized the entire Central Continent through a peaceful method. As a
result, the skill level of the soldiers was low, and the knights and
commanders locked combat experience.
But none of it fazed me.
After all, I was a hero with 63 years of experience.
I hod been betrayed, agitated, and almost died several times because of the
manipulative and deceptive Lanuvel.
"I didn't wont to do this because it's not entirely fair, but..." I hod to show
the stupid savages of the Fantasy World all the greatness of Master Mollon.
I reformed my vocal cords into those of mermaids and song. "Fight- Fight
back-: Justice always prevails-n"
I took the theme song of a cartoon familiar to everyone for inspiring hope in
children and remade it to a military song.
Both versions hod similar visions anyway: defeating villains with the power
of justice. "I give my love to Sir Hero-n" "For the sake of His Majesty's
justice-r "My life belongs to you-J" "I offer my life to you-J" All the
mermaids song together in response. With the help of my song, I instilled
hope in the mermaids. Cheerfully wagging their fins, they rushed into
bottle. Barn! BZZZZ! Many of their kind died from the explosions of spells
and projectiles, but they didn't scream in pain. Not even fatal injuries could
stop their melodies. My song wasn't done yet, after all. They couldn't
retreat. "Rejoice, people of Mollon-n Praise his good name-n" "Mollon-J"
"Mollan-J" "Mollan-J" Master Mollan gave us courage. How could anyone
hope for victory without praising him? "May his patronage and mercy be
with those who ore foolish to against his will!" The mermaids launched a
massive counterattack. They pierced the bottoms of ships with spears, and
with ropes used to kidnap sailors, they dragged enemies into the water. The
mermaids were a little confused because of the shallow depth of the sea
near the coast, but as soon as they soiled away, the advantage passed into
their hands. In case of danger, they would simply submerge into the depths
of the water and strike once more from where they weren't expected to
appear. "H-how con a man sing like us..." The Mermaid Queen was
dumbfounded. She had replaced her toil with her legs and was now standing
next to me barefoot and in a dress. "For a student of Master Mollan, this is
as easy as pie. The moment I learned the foundations of this technique, the
rest proved easy." "Did you imitate the vocal cords of mermaids?" "Not
imitated, but completely adopted it." That was the fruits of Master Mollan's
teachings.
Due to the fact that all mermaids were female, there were side effects. My
Adam's apple disappeared, and my voice become thinner. Regardless, the
skill's effect itself was no different from the Mermaid Queen's ability.
All the mermaids obeyed me. "And what of our extinction..." "It's a secret."
"The Drug Hero is legendary." "Be quiet, foolish spirit." Sitting on my
head, the First Spirit immediately began to argue against me.
"You misunderstand me, Drug Hero. The one who has become legendary
will never disappear unless he's forgotten. In other words, the more rumors
there ore about you, the better. After all, if they consider you as a legend,
then they will remember you. At that point, even if only one person knows
of you, stories about you will sooner or later spread."
"Is that so'?" This old spirit nodded. "The hero I knew was nothing like
you..." Pomeranian uttered carefully. "Don't compare me to amateurs."
After all, at the age of 1, I already become the emperor of the Northern
Continent.
I didn't think I was superior to the rest. However, while still in the womb of
a nurse and princess of a fallen state, I already hod clear awareness and
understanding.
Shouldn't heroes be able to at least do that? ► Confusion: I'm not sure
about that... 'Why?'
► Answer: They say that there was another hero who hod a case similar to
yours. He pretended to be ordinary until the age of 15, but at the age of 20,
he become independent and founded his own country. At 25, he destroyed
his homeland and become its emperor.
'What about marriage? He probably got married early.'
► Explanation: He was 23 when he first married a princess who ran away
from home because she didn't want to hove a marriage of convenience. The
second time he was wedded...
'You can stop now, Trainee Teacher.' I didn't wont to hear anything about
the wedding of those who hadn't adapted to societal life. Each job had its
own role and responsibility.
Princes and princesses born with a golden spoon in their mouths had to
somehow repay the locals who could barely make ends meet yet were still
forced to pay taxes.
And those who complained that they were born into a royal family or a
family of aristocrats not because they wonted to should be sent to the
guillotine.
People didn't always wont to do what they were currently doing. The some
went for me. I am a hero! I couldn't just do whatever I wonted since that
would damage my Reputation and Fame. If I were a former, I would
personally join the bottle and make fertilizers out of enemies. I am also a
victim. I was abducted into this wild world and was forcibly made into a
hero that would volunteer every day. To battle! For the glory of the Holy
Mollan Empire!" I commanded. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to soy that
the birth of the Holy Mollan Empire, which I would one day give to my
son, was the golden age of the Central Continent. In just three years, the
GDP increased 200 times, and sewers and flush toilets were installed,
improving the hygiene of the continent.
Roods were built, thus reviving trade and lessening the travel time of
mercenaries and knights to their destinations, hence allowing them to more
efficiently kill monsters and other enemies.
As a result of their lives being stabilized, the people of my empire quietly
married and gave birth to children.
Although due to the sudden growth of the population, the feudal lords and
officials howled from the work that fell on their shoulders.
"For the empire!" "For family!" "For His Majesty!" "For Mollon!" The
soldiers of the Holy Mollon Empire, once discouraged by the surprise
attack from the enemy fleet, now screamed with excitement.
I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to flee out of fear, but our current
atmosphere didn't allow that.
Can we say this is a man's dignity?
In my eyes, mermaids were just stinky fish, but the locals and heroes sow
them as beautiful
women. In other words...
There was no way their pride would allow them to just hide behind the
women's backs as they fought bravely.
In the Fantasy World, men were taught never to surrender. Dying in combat
to defend his country and family was for more honorable than dying of old
age here.
In this world, where terrible monsters could attack at any moment, that was
normal. That was why enslaved W0111015 here were much more expensive
than beauties. "We seem to be winning," Ssosia smiled, standing next to me.
I laughed.
"Victory was already ours from the very beginning. All we hod to focus on
was reducing the number of victims they could claim."
I knew the size limit of the Northern Continent's army and formed my army
based on that. Common strategists determined their chances of victory
based on the numbers on both sides. They would bring more soldiers than
the opponent and crush them with numbers. I agreed with that tactic, but
only partially so. Only narrow-minded people would think it was
completely right. If all men were summoned to war, then agriculture and
production would stagnate. More troops required more food and funds for
maintenance. They would also be harder to control and command. Larger
numbers weren't always better, especially in long wars like this one. It
would be difficult to capture the Northern Continent in a short period of
time.
The climates of the continents, separated by seas, were very different,
which meant we would need to give the soldiers time to adopt. Transporting
goods also brought forth more factors to consider.
► Surprise: You know so much, cadet Kong Hon Soo. In the 1st round, I
worked hard. Heroes, disguised as mercenaries, directly participated in the
battles. The moment it seemed that the bottle was lost, they turned the tides
of war to their favor.
They would even argue who got the most kills with bright smiles on their
faces. But not me. It was funny. The heroes, which were supposed to strike
the Demon Lord, took sides and intervened in the war between the
countries. They even mode bets!
They didn't think about the wives and children of the soldiers they killed but
only flattered their pride or profited from it. They couldn't even core less
about the dire consequences of the murders they committed.
So I studied.
When the heroes didn't enter the war, I studied the situation to understand
the victor and the defeated, how they won or lost, and what the
consequences of their actions were.
If their chance of losing were higher than 90%, I would meet with that side
and offer them a peaceful surrender, explaining everything in detail.
Although my companions often interfered with me.
They often said that if they entered the bottle, then it would be possible to
win.
I thought I'd go crazy. They would often side with the woman who had
given birth to thousands of widows in the country just because she didn't
want to get married.
The Imperial Princess was a good example of this.
"But I can understand her. In order not to marry such a scoundrel like you, I
wouldn't core who becomes a widow there." My wife began to point out my
flows when she heard my complaints.
"Ssosia..." "Hmph! Hit me if you wont! Do it! It'll just serve as proof that
you're a lousy husband." "You keep making a victim out of yourself. I didn't
force you to marry me."
"Do you still hove something to say?"
"Hmm, I guess you're right. Thinking about selfish girls who refuse
marriages of convenience makes no sense. For the sake of their own
happiness, they are prepared to make others unhappy. Husbands must teach
them to be logical and rational."
Women's hearts were too fickle... Even her firm convictions changed so
quickly. "Drug Hero, you won't join the war?"
"I think I've intervened enough by bringing in the mermaids. The number of
casualties should be small enough. Those fishes will help both foes and
allies that's fallen overboard from drowning."
For their salvation, they 'squeezed them dry' first, but that was better than
death.
The savvy soldiers of the Northern Continent deliberately fell into the
water. They had already lost the battle anyway, so they decided to save
themselves and succumb to ecstasy in the process.
I looked over the scene from the huge ship I was riding. At that moment,
the water was covered with ice. Although the waves quickly froze, it wasn't
severe enough to kill the soldiers and mermaids. "Help! I'm stuck! I can't
get out!" "W-what is this?!" Their upper body was stuck in the ice, turning
them immobile. Those underwater were unlucky, but the mermaids gave
them artificial respiration, allowing them to survive for the time being. Of
course, it wasn't a natural phenomenon. Magic. One designed for a large
area. That was exactly what could turn the tide of war. I knew of only one
person from the Northern Continent who could do this. "The Sage also
joined the bottle." I immediately discarded thoughts of gaining an easy
victory. From a ship hovering in the air with the help of magic, the Sage
mode a proud declaration.
"Rulers of the Northern Continent! I have come to help you with my
knowledge over the abyss of magic! Let us slay the greedy emperor of the
Central Continent, and together we will return to the Motherland... Kh?!"
Before he could finish his monologue, he began to bleed.
It seemed that the appearance of ordinary mermaids couldn't affect him, but
Ssosia and the Queen of Mermaids were on another league,
His boat, supported by magic, fell into the frozen water.
Bang! "He hasn't changed..." But the bottle wasn't over yet. Before it
crashed, some people managed to jump off it, all of whom but one I had
already met. Sword Princess, Ice Princess, Saintess C, Mercenary King, Ice
Dragon... They began shouting all at once. I politely replied. "Shut up. You.
Soy something."
I couldn't take my eyes off the cute boy in the clothes of a nobleman who
stood next to the Sword Princess.
The boy spoke slowly:
"Mom said you killed my father. Therefore, I cannot forgive you." "That's
not true." After glaring at the Sword Princess for a moment, I looked at the
boy again and solemnly declared, "I am your father."

“Then, the game starts!”

At the start of the match, the three Nords took off their cloaks.
At the same time as the cloak flew in the air, three people in gray military
uniforms were holding metal weapons that glistened in black.

–A gun …! ??

That’s dangerous! Only I know that it’s a ranged weapon!

“Senior! These physical objec-” “Fire !! “

 Shortly after calling attention to Senior Zion and Senior Christel the
opponents pulled the trigger on the command.

Immediately I used Blitz accelerator To accelerate thinking.

An assault rifle is in the hands of Shohama standing in the center, and a

handgun is in the hands of the two on both sides.
Fortunately, the assault rifle, which seems to be the most threatening, was
aimed at me.

–Don Don Don! !!

Since I can only put one of them under protection, I go forward without
hesitation so as to block the line of sight to senior Christel.
Senior Zion will do something on his own. surely.

――Gigi Gigi Gin! !!

I unleash Rainagi, and slash at the approaching bullet.

The constantly fired bullets and Rainagi collide violently, and countless
small sparks dance.

When I turned my gaze to senior Zion next to me, I held my right hand
and got ready to support him .He used “Spiral drive” and I can see the
bullets being prevented, and I breathe out relievedly.
There is some bleeding from a single wound on his cheek, but it doesn’t
seem to interfere with the fight.

Seeing me stopping a bullet, Shohama widened her eyes for a moment

and immediately shot the revolver that she had pulled out of her waist.
 However, the aim was off because she pulled it out in a hurry, and it
landed on the ground in front of me.

“Cha !?”

At that moment, I heard the scream of Senior Christel from behind.

Looking back, Christel was bleeding from her right arm and left thigh.

-Did you aim at Senior Christel with a ricochet?

Is it possible to aim for such a thing? ??
Even so, how did he break through the barriers that she was creating?

Many questions go unnoticed, but shortly after considering this situation,

a myriad of bullets struck again.

“Ku!”

I blow them away with gritted teeth.

“Sirius, I’m okay. I understand that weapon and can deal with it.”
“Yeah. I was surprised at first, but it seems that it’s just a straight line of
metal lumps. Let’s go on the offensive.”

That alone is threatening enough, but … As expected, Zion-senpai seems to

be able to counter it.

“Okay. I’ll go for the woman in the center, so please handle the other two!”

“I understand!”
“Oh, leave it to me!”

Hearing their powerful replies, I approached Shotama while she was

shooting.

“Ku! Pattern Beta!”

Shohama screamed and quickly stepped back.

The command of Shohama echoed, and the other two jumped out like a
conditioned reflex.
with a knife and handgun and a small boy with a longsword attacked me
to protect her.

“Icicle Rain! !! “

A dignified voice echoed from behind, and an ice spear poured down to
prevent the two of them from approaching me.

“Your opponent is us! Ice pillar ! “

The two were blocked with “Icicle Rain”, Multiple icicles lined up with
me.
It should be difficult to concentrate on magic due to the pain of being hit,
but it is a stone’s throw to release such magic accurately.
The two of them seem to be distracted by seniors.

◆
 Shohama began to run away, blocking me with a storm of bullets to keep
me away.
The ponytail sways violently as she moves quickly.
Moreover, she wore plastic black-rimmed glasses. There seems to be no
intention of hiding her being summoned.

“Cho! The middle boss is suddenly too strong!”

Shohama shouts, but at the last minute she dodges my attack and shoots
accurately.
Great dynamic vision and reflexes.

“A mistake in one frame will result in a game-over impossible game in

reality … Hey!”

Shohama, who kicked the ground strongly and kept a distance from me,
threw a grenade in front of me.

There are firearms, it’s not strange to have a grenade. It is within the
expected range.
I didn’t care and used Wind barrier, And kicked the grenade at Shotama,
who had a surprised face.

“Eek, ha–“

The grenade explodes in front of Shohama, and the roaring sound

deafens her ears. At the same time, I heard the sound of glass breaking. I
didn’t feel the magical power, but it’s probably a barrier like skill.
As it is, he plunges into the blast and attacks Shohama.
 A flash accompanied by Shiden also tore through the blast, causing fatal
injury to Shohama bringing her outside the venue.

Alright, only two remain!

When I turned around thinking that way, my seniors never played a game
at almost the same time.

“Hmm, it’s an interesting weapon, but it’s not so hard if you get used to it.”
“I was barely …”

They were reliable seniors, and they controlled the match without
difficulty.

“The match is over! The Central Adventurer School wins!”

“” Oh oh oh !!! “”

“Cha !!!! Zion-sama !!!!”

“Sirius Kuuuun !!!”
“After all, Central is awesome!”
“Last year was strong, but that little boy who entered this year isn’t he very
strong!?”
“No, Central was crazy, but this year’s Nord is also strong !?”

The arena is filled with cheers, and Senior Zion and Senior Christel are
smiling and waving their hands. It’s like a celebrity.
I gave a small bow and left immediately.

◆
 “Hey, you! !! “

As I walked into the waiting room, two black-haired people, Shohama

and another girl rushed from behind.
Speaking in Japanese, Senior Zion and Senior Christel were angry.

This kid, like I did earlier, talks in Japanese in a place like this …
I also changed my expression and turned around.

“you……”
“You are Japanese, right? “

It seems that he reacts to those words, but she manages to endure it.

“That foreign language …?”

When I was out of focus, Shohama looked in trouble.

The other girl is glaring at me all the time. scared.

“Huh, I’m sorry. You looked like my hometown … I’m Aim Ihama. The
last match was a complete defeat, do your best in the final.”
“I’m Sirius Astel. Thank you for your time.”
“That’s why this is–“
“I’m Minori Aoki. To put it straight, I have something to tell you, but can I
have your time tonight?”

It seems that even Japanese people are almost confident in this child.
 At first glance, I saw the nature of the gun, and I’m suspicious.
However, there are also many things I would like to know about these
two people.
There seems to be no hostility, and it may be possible to exchange
information here.

I look at them with a salesman like smile.

“Okay, I’ll leave some time tonight.”

“… I’ll be saved”
“Thank you, Sirius!”

The two bowed and left for Nord’s waiting room.

When I looked back on whether I would return, my seniors were
grinning.

“Sirius-kun, you’re popular. Are you looking forward to tonight?”

“I didn’t think Sirius-san was like that.”
“No, that’s not the case, I’m sure …”

I quickly returned to the waiting room, avoiding their eyes.

The arena was done, and the match between the Swordsman School, Sud
Adventurer School, and the Wizard School, Isten Adventurer School, was
about to begin.
We also wiped our sweat, changed our clothes, and came to the
audience.
The player seats are located in a place where it is easy to get in and out of
the waiting room, and since they are usually used as VIP seats, they are
wider than other seats, and the seats are equipped with cushions.
“Now, the brave man is here.”

Welcomed by the most cheers today, [Hero of the Holy Sword] Luke
appeared in the arena.
The word [Brave] and Luke still do not match, and I am confused.

The moment I came up to the arena, I felt like he looked at me.

However, he immediately turned his eyes away and yawned in a bored
manner.

The two women who are Luke’s companions did not cling to Luke, but
they are behind Luke with a very proud face.
At first glance, they look like mobs, but they each have considerable
magical power and energy, and it can be seen that they are quite powerful.
Even if they are said to be representatives of different schools, there is no
sense of discomfort.

On the other hand, at Isten Adventurer’s School, in addition to the leader

Celine who gives off very high quality magical power, two women who
possess magical power as good as that, and all the players were women.
Furthermore, it is equipped with many ornaments using magic stones,
which seems to raise the magic capacity.
If three magicians of that level release magic intermittently, it seems that
it will be difficult for a swordsman to approach.

“That guy has a rude attitude.”

Senior Christel muttered with a disgusted face.

Certainly, as my seniors say.
 There is no sense of motivation from the attitude, and there is no
fragment of respect for the opponent.
The opponent also has an angry look.

What happened to him that Luke, who was so straightforward, changed

so much in a short period of time …
Luke’s arrogant attitude seems to me to be stronger, and I feel sad.

“Then we will start the match between Soud Adventurer School and Isten
Adventurer School.”

“” Wow !!!! “”
“” “Brave-sama !!!!” “”

Luke looks like he’s grinning from that.

“Then, the game starts!”

At the start of the game, the two Isten members fired magic with haste,
and the remaining Celine began to increase her magical power behind
them.

“You guys, go down”

“”Okay!””

Meanwhile, Luke lowered his two companions back and grabbed the
handle of the sword.
“Huh !!”

When it was thought that the magic would reach Luke, a powerful
magical power was released from Luke, and the magic released by the two
was scattered.
No matter how much the chanting is shortened, it is an intermediate
level.
The adventurer is shocked when he sees Luke, who does not even use
magic and disperses it only with the magical power released from his body.

“What !?”
“What a magical power …!”

Luke was looking bored with his holy sword, holding his weight like a
stick.

“Hey, did you think you could hurt a brave man with this kind of weak
magic? I’ll wait, so let’s get along and shoot the maximum magic. I’ll
take only one shot to commemorate.”

“Cha! Luke is cool!”

“Luke is kind!”

The two surroundings give off a cheer.

In contrast, Isten’s three could no longer hide their anger.

“It was broken … Okay. Millie, Sue, don’t hesitate to put it out with
maximum firepower!”
“I understand!”
“I understand!”
 Three people increase their magical power and fill it with magical
power.
It seems that the magical power of the magic stone is fully filled, and it
gives off a tremendous magical power.
No matter how brave you are, it’s not good at all …

“I’m going !!”

“Blaze Nova! “
“”Water Dragon Waterfall! “
“”Wind Dragon Breath! “

Three advanced magics with tremendous magical power fly to Luke with
a dragon wearing each attribute.
Each dragon is entwined and resonates, increasing its power.
And in a blink of an eye, magic lands on Luke, who seems to be bored.

Even though the arena is a pseudo space and is isolated from the
audience seats, the explosion and vibration have been transmitted to here.
The venue was quiet and you could hear Christel’s breathing sound.

When the smoke cleared, Luke stood unscathed and drowsy.

Furthermore, the two behind were also intact.

“What, what …!?”

The person from Isten quivered with his eyes wide open and quivered,
squirming back.
“Oh, it’s disappointing. Well, I did expect it from the beginning.”

Luke began to pluck the holy sword.

“Ku !? Well, not yet! –Ogoo !?”

The moment Celine held her cane, Luke quickly closed the gap and beat
Celine’s abdomen with the handle of his sword.
Celine crashes into the barrier of the arena. Consciousness seems to
remain and she is coughing violently.
At that speed, the opponent would feel like Luke appeared in an instant
…

“What !? No way space transfer !?”

“Are you losing to such a guy!”WindAir strike―― ”

Immediately after they noticed Luke, Luke was already behind them.

… and the dominant arm holding the two canes fell to the ground with
the cane without realizing it.

“Ahhhhhhh …!”
“Good, wow … !!”
“Goho, Gehogoho …”

In a blink of an eye, no one was standing in the arena except Luke and
his companions.
“Oh, I’m sorry”

Luke was bored and yawned, looking down at the three with his eyes
without any emotions.

“I’m a brave man like this. Even though it’s a pseudo-space, it’s not
impressively good to kill the general public. Let’s give up.”

Luke broke the cane that had fallen to the ground with his hand holding
it.

Along with the sound of the cane breaking, the hearts of the three Isten
also broke.

“Goho … I’ll give up …”

Celine, who was angry, managed to raise her upper body and declared
that.

“Nah …!”

Next to him, Christel clasped her hand and was still looking away.
I think there is something I think of as the same magician.

“‘Sacred magic’ seems to be more troublesome than I expected …”

 Senior Zion was staring at Luke with an unusually rugged face.

I could only stare at Luke without saying anything, with mixed feelings
about Luke circling in my chest.

Side – Amy (6):-

“Imp-Impossible…!”
Wait! Karl-sama! What are you doing?
Fight back quickly and kill him, kill him!
“eh, eii (TL:- getting up noise). Don’t rely on the power of dubious
magic tools! Fight openly with swords and magical powers without
doing cowardly things.”
Right! That’s right! So this duel is not valid!
“Pfft. Your Highness, what are you talking about? The first rule we
agreed on is that anything goes, right? And if I’m a coward, aren’t
Your Highnesses, and others are cowards for trying to win with 5 to
1 advantage?”
Shut up! Didn’t you recommended it!
“Furthermore, what about trying to force Anastasia to admit her
false charges by surrounding her with five, no six people, while
in a powerful position as the Crown Prince? Anastasia-sama was
Your Highness’s fiancée, and because of your status, she couldn’t
go against you. If you don’t call this cowardice, what can you call
it?”
Oh, shut up, shut up! What the hell is wrong with you?
“That’s, she was…”
Yes, that’s right! It’s her fault. She’s the villainess, so it’s her fault,
of course!
After that, he kept saying things that weren’t manly and being
sarcastic.
Really, What the hell is wrong with him? That guy!
“Ugh. Shut up! You lowly commoner! Shut up!”
That’s right! It’s Karl-sama’s orders, so shut up!
“Hmph. And now you’re going to use your status as a shield to
order me around? Before that, do you remember what you said?”
Ah, not again! Listen to Karl-sama’s orders properly! Isn’t he the
Crown Prince! You, a commoner, can’t disobey him!
“Generally. If you want to be a commoner so badly, why don’t
you elope with Amy-sama? Then you can live as a commoner,
right?”
Of course, that is a no! What are you talking about?
According to the scenario, I will become a saint and then a queen.
I’m going to live the five of them happily!
“If you can’t even do that, then Your Highness will be dealing with
Anastasia-sama. It may be too late, though.”
He said that in an admonishing tone.
You’ve got to be kidding me! Why would the villainess take my
Karl-sama!
“Ugh, shut up! Shut up! Someone like you! to someone like you!”
Saying that Karl-sama starts using extreme flame magic!
Wow! This was supposed to be something he will learn around the
final battle!
That’s right! This is the force of the game! It’s destined to follow
the absolute scenario!
Suck it up, shitty nerd!
Though he defeated the four of them by cowardly means, in the
end, he is destined to lose to Karl-sama!
“To make Amy win, I will! I will!”
Oh, I’m so happy! Karl-sama really loves me.
With the power of love, you’re going to take down this mid-boss
who wasn’t supposed to be in the scenario!
That’s what I thought!
That is what it should be!
It had to be like that!
Karl-sama’s magic … went out of control …
A very large flame was spreading around Karl-sama.
Then the flame spreads more and more …
Ahh, why …
My Karl-sama is … like that …
My mind went blank, and my eyes started to blur. ……
“His Highness!”
Then I heard the villainess’s voice.
When I look up, she was trying to do something.
That’s right. This Kingdom will not survive without Karl-sama.
Hurry up and help him with your ice magic!
But that shitty nerd stopped her.
What are you doing! Didn’t you said that killing is prohibited!
You, Liar!
However, that nerd used wind magic before I knew it and blew all
of Karl-sama’s flames away in no time.
What’s going on? Really what the hell was that?
Then he put his sword to Karl-sama’s neck.
Noo! stop!
Why don’t you lose!
But he just stared at the judge.
Then
Then …
“His, His Highness Karlheinz is unable to fight. Therefore, it’s
Allen’s victory.”
Ahhhh … it’s over.
Why?
Why did this happen?
That guy smiled at me when I was despairing like that.
Eh? Could it be that he hates me?
Even though I’m the heroine of this world?
Then, for some reason, my knees suddenly gave out, and I slumped
to the ground.
Why? Why?
Hey, where did I make the wrong choice?
“A-Allen?”
Don’t do this. For a talent like you to get destroyed here is
unacceptable.
And yet, despite that! Like this!
“Rather than that, Anastasia-sama. Please acknowledge me as your
representative as soon as possible.”
“Eh? Ah, um, I admit.”
When Allen told me, I admitted it. But soon realizing it, I felt like
crying in self-loathing.
However, Allen nonchalantly set the terms of the duel. Allen was
monopolising everything. He asserted that he would win in a one-
on-five match and further provoked his five opponents one after
another to make them lose their calm.
Before I knew it, negotiations had been concluded, and a duel had
been scheduled at the training grounds.
“Well then, Anastasia-sama. I’ll go back to the dormitory and get
my weapons, so please go to the training grounds first.”
Allen’s words brought me back to my senses, and I tried to
convince him to get out of this reckless duel. But, I was easily
outdone.
Allen is the youngest C-rank adventurer to ever conquered the
Goblin Dungeon. He is also an Orc Slayer and has even defeated
the Blizzard Phoenix, an almost legendary monster, by himself.
Honestly, it doesn’t make sense. Why would such a person be in
high school?
“So you should relax like you do in a big boat because I’m sure you
will win this duel.”
Allen said with a smile and quickly left.
Then I went to the training grounds to wait for Allen. Margaret and
Isabella stay with me, even though they don’t need to follow me as
everything is over for me.
I have good friends, but to stand next to me here is to declare a
clear rebellion against His Highness. I’m very sorry to have
dragged such good friends into this.
As I was thinking about this, Allen appeared in the training area.
He was dressed very lightly and carried only one weapon, a dagger.
“Allen!”
Why don’t you bring a more proper weapon!
I was going to say that, but the only words that came out of my
mouth were his name.
But Allen responded by saying, “Good”.
“What is good, you idiot!”
I couldn’t help but say that to Allen.
“Oh, no. I just thought that Anastasia-sama is well taken care of by
her friends.”
“Wha”
I’m sure I was blushing when he told me that.
What are you thinking? Allen! Even though you’re in a situation
where your life is at stake, you’re worried about me!
“Then, Anastasia-sama, I will win for you.”
“Oh, yes. And, one more thing, Allen. That witness is from a
faction that’s hostile to my family, the Ramslett. Be careful.”
“Yes. Thank you very much. But there is no problem. I have no
intention of relenting.”
Allen stepped forward in an aloof manner and incites his
highnesses to take advantage of it.
And with his highnesses pissed off, a desperate one-on-five duel
began.
But the end result was a one-sided battle that none of us could
have even imagined. No, it was not even a battle.
In just a moment, the three of them were down, and the next thing I
knew, Markus and His Highness were being lectured by Allen.
His Highness’ excuses were especially childish and unbearable to
listen to. Allen could have settled the matter immediately, but he
secured the upper hand and refuted His Highness in front of the
public in a duel.
Could it be that Allen had been preparing to rebuke His Highness
like this from the beginning?
I had a suspicion like that, but that would be impossible.
Who could have imagined that such a duel would happen in the
first place?
Allen, however, seems to make a mistake at the last moment. His
Highness forgot himself and tried to use extreme magic, causing
his magic power to run out of control.
I hurriedly began to prepare to use my ice magic to offset the
flames.
Originally, my ice magic was incompatible with His Highness’ fire
magic, so it was highly doubtful that I could suppress it. However,
if I don’t suppress it at this point, not only will His Highness’
safety be at risk, but Allen, Margaret, Isabella, and the crowd will
also be in danger.
If I fail to suppress it, I will be the first to be burned by His
Highness’ fire magic.
However, it originally happened because I was not able to hold
the reins of His Highness.
So I have that responsibility.
As I prepared myself while thinking this, Allen gestured to me to
not worry.
Then, he activated the wind magic so quickly that I couldn’t tell
when he was chanting and rolled up all the runaway flames and
blew them into the sky.
“Alle … n?”
No words come out, as there was too much of a difference in level.
I see. From the beginning, Allen never had a vision of losing.
“His, His Highness Karlheinz is unable to fight. Therefore, it’s
Allen’s victory.”
Allen bowed and came to me, then knelt gracefully. Looking at
him, I felt my heart flutter strangely and my face heats up.
“I dedicate this victory to Anastasia-sama.”
“Tha-Thank you.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t kill anyone. His Highness just used up all his
magic power, so he shouldn’t be in any danger of death. The magic
flames that went out of control were all blown upwards by my
wind magic, so there should be few injuries. I’m sure he’ll wake up
after he sleeps for a while and recovers his magic power.”
“Is, is that so.”
Good, then Allen won’t be executed.
I was relieved, but Allen’s next words made me feel as if my heart
would stop beating.
“Well then, Anastasia-sama, I’ll be going now. Thank you very
much for everything. And thank you, Margaret-sama and Isabella-
sama. It’s a little regrettable, but I’ll leave you now.”
“Hey, Allen!”
Wait, please! Don’t say goodbyes!
I called out to Allen, but he didn’t respond to my call and strode
away.
But I couldn’t take the option of chasing after him as I had to clean
up after this stupid duel.
That woman collapsed unconscious and was carried away, so she
can’t even speak properly. His Highness will probably not wake up
for a while due to the effects of exhausting his magic. Markus’s
nose is broken and his face is covered in blood. And Oscar is still
suffering from the inability to even open his eyes.
Claude and Leo regained consciousness after a while, but they
didn’t seem to understand what had happened at all.
And even though I was condemned to break off my engagement,
there were some fools in the royal court who wanted me to
accompany His Highness as part of my fiancee’s duties.
I made sure they understood, but they wasted a lot of time.
When I finally finished cleaning up the mess, I went to Allen’s
dorm room and found that his room was already a hollow shell.
“Alle … n …? Wh …y …?”
Chapter 1, 2: Prologue 1, 2
When I woke up, I was in a different world.
I could not even move my body as I wanted to, and when I tried to speak, I
could not do it properly and there were only “Aaa–” or “Maaah!” sounds
that came out from my mouth.
It was strange.
Just the other day, I was playing an otome game in order to become popular
with the girls.
When I was thinking about the otome game, I gradually got angry, and
regardless of my intention, I started to cry out loud. “Ogyaa– Ogyaa–”
But for the time being, it did not matter.
After all, I might have just been dreaming.
I did not need to think too much about it.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent

theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please
support our translators by reading on the
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Ysal kxrsavydvzu, ycswv vbl svsxl tyxl.
Ebyv xyel xl ydtau oyp vbl valyvxldv sq vbl hkzzykdlpp kd vbl svsxl tyxl.
Mbl hkzzykdlpp, Skpby Skrzvsd Ihkpv, bye ds qallesx lhla pkdnl
nbkzebsse. Tla blzz-zkjl nbkzebsse oyp qkzzle okvb “Mbl Oewnyvksd yp
vbl Valryayvksd vs Yyaau vbl Ssuyz Wyxkzu” yp pbl oyp vbl eywtbvla
sq bla xsvbla.
Let alone her parents, not even the maids who served for her were allowed
to spoil her. She was not even allowed to play with another child of the
same age for a reason that it would be a negative influence for her. In the
middle of the strict education, she would be often abused verbally by her
parents if there were bad results from any of the subjects.
And as the last whip, her sister who was younger by 3 years old was raised
overly kind by her parents and smoothly grew up as a selfish girl.
The affection towards both daughters of the family was equal, but in both
cases, the way they expressed it was just too overwhelming.
However, from the point of view of the receiver, it was not a laughing
matter.
Surprisingly, Risha who was raised in such an environment was able to
grow up into a good girl who never was the embarrassment of her family.
And it was the long-awaited academy life.
The engagement with the first prince, who was the same age as her, had
been decided.
It was the only place where she was permitted to speak with other people
outside the family members and the maids.
To Risha, they all looked brilliant.
However, the academy life Risha had been waiting for was nothing but
another place to slam her into the bottom of hell.
Up until that time, Risha was in a state close to confinement, so she was not
able to measure the distance she should take between people and had the
tendency to say what she thought as it was.
And the ones who were told the truth by her were not happy about it.
Sometimes, there was a time when a just argument was not the solution and
in contrast, make the other party feel unpleasant.
The more perfect Risha was, the more the words coming from her mouth
felt painful to the others.
And until she noticed it, she was alone.
Since the situation became like that, the only salvation she got was her
fiance, the first prince, only.
But, the first prince was secretly dating a commoner.
Risha who knew about it didn’t break there, but, although it was allowed for
the first prince to have a concubine, the person must have a minimum
education that was necessary to stand at the position, and because of that,
Risha was always acting strictly towards the heroine.
I saluted that she didn’t break at this point.
If I were her, I would ask myself, “What is my life up until now?” and
definitely shattered that person into dust.
Put it aside, what makes it worse is that Risha had never been taught kindly,
so she only knew how to teach people strictly.
The rest of the story was just as you expected.
Her attitude was interpreted as bullying by the heroine, and as the behavior
was reported to the first prince, the furious first prince broke the
engagement with Risha in front of the people at the dance party in their
third year, and then he disappeared in front of Risha. It was a happy ending,
and then the ending movie was rolled.
Later in the epilogue, only one statement was stated there which said,
“Risha committed suicide,” and that was the end.
This was not supposed to happen.
I searched for the way so that Risha could live happily in the walkthroughs
etc., but no hits were found.
I was very angry from the bottom of my heart.
At first sight, she was a villainess, but actually, she was a good person. Is it
my ego to wish for her happiness?
◆ (Chapter 2)
Risha in that world was very pitiful.
If I were inside the game, I would do anything to save her from that hell.
“Arara, Your Highness looked lively. Do you need anything? Do you need
milk? Is it poop? Or is it pee?”
As I thought so, a giant who wore a maid uniform grabbed me on both sides
and then held me in her arms as she supported my neck.
I didn’t understand when she was asking about milk and poop… Wait?!
Why did she take my clothes off without my permission?! Couldn’t she tell
it from the smell?! Stop!! Stop it!! AaaaAaaaaaaAaa!!!!
“Arara, If it is not poop, then it must be milk. But, being lively is a good
thing. I will call the nanny, okay?”
 Then, after the giant took a firm look at my junior, she said so and then
left the room.
Although it was just a dream, this was the first time I was being humiliated
so much.
If this act of humiliation needed to be named, then I would name it “SM
Baby Play”.
And then, somehow, I felt that I lost something important as a human being.
◆
It was weird.
No, I had known that something was weird from the first day.
I noticed that there was no hint of waking up from this reality-like dream.
In this dream, although I slept and then woke up, I was still inside the
dream.
Obviously, it was strange.
As I continued to turn my eyes from reality, three whole years had passed.
Let’s admit it.
I was reincarnated into another world.
“Oh, Your Highness Claude, you are awake.”
“Good morning, Nina-san.”
“Yes, good morning.”
And now, I am Claude Von Highness, the first prince of the Kingdom of
Gradeas.
Yes, I have the same name as one of the vicious and hated main characters,
and the same status which is the first prince of the same kingdom.
It was unfortunate that I had spent three years in vain as I couldn’t accept
the reality, but since it was not the case anymore, I could see clearly what I
should do from now on.
“Ara ara, do you imitate your father’s dignified face? It suits you well, but I
think it was too fast for Your Highness to make such an expression.”
Towards that determination, my personal attendant and maid, Nina, said
that the expression didn’t suit me.
I had been spending three years here.
Therefore, as expected, I later knew why the first prince, Claude, became
such trash.
This personal maid of mine, Nina, was always softly denying everything I
did or what I tried to do.
Moreover, as I received the education for royalty, I was using a cheat which
was my past life memories, but no matter how good my grades were, I were
never been praised, and only being told, “You are going to be the future
king, so it is natural for you to get those results.”
Was it not one kind of abuse?
As he was raised in such an environment, no wonder that person fell in love
with the daughter of a commoner who was like an angel and always
positive compared to Rishe who had strict behavior. As I had experienced
it, I understood it now.
I could give my empathy to him, but that didn’t mean that I forgave him.
While I was waiting for the day to come, I made various plans to rescue
Rishe night by night, and as I did the simulation in my head, I kept refining
it and wrote it on paper.
Months and days had passed since then, and I was 13 years old now.
No problem was happening, and my physical condition was very healthy as
the doctor had affirmed it already.
The only things that changed are my taller height and my firm body from
kenjutsu lessons which were being practiced as self-defense.
And the new thing I found was the person behind the employment of my
personal attendant, Nina.
The person was the current prime minister, Alvin Heim, who in the future
was going to assassinate the current King, my father, and turn me into his
puppet.
But despite knowing the truth, I couldn’t do anything about it now. The
only thing I could do was to accept the current situation.
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent
theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please
support our translators by reading on the
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Syvbla, kv oyp y qsavwdl kd vbl xkeezl sq ekpypvla yp vbl nbydnl vbyv R
oswze cl yppyppkdyvle kd dlya eyup oyp zso pkdnl R oyp pssd vs cl wple
yp bkp kxrsavydv rwrrlv.
“Zswa Tktbdlpp Uzywel, usw byhl y xllvkdt okvb uswa qkydnl.”
Gp R oyp oydelakdt kd xu vbswtbvp, xu rlapsdyz yvvldeydv, Lkdy,
alrsavle vbl yaakhyz sq vbl svbla ryavu.
“I see. Let’s go.”
And today was the first time I was going to meet the fiance that had been
decided by Father last month.
The winter had closed its curtain and it was already mid-spring as it became
easier to live. If this was Japan, it was the time that the snow was melting
and the cherry blossoms were about to bloom everywhere.
As I was feeling nostalgic for my past life, I tried to not look nervous in this
maid’s eyes. We were heading to the place where Risha was waiting while I
was suppressing my excitement of going to meet Risha for the first time.
“Nice to meet you. I am the fiance of His Highness Claude, Risha Riplton
Kvist. My hobby is flower arrangement, and I also enjoy piano and violin a
little.”
When I entered the room together with my personal attendant where Risha
and her parents were, it seems that they had been waiting for me. They
stood up to greet me, and then a beat later, after making a small bow and
seeing me sitting down on the chair, they sat down as well.
Following the introduction of the parents, Risha made a light introduction.
I knew that her hobby was not ikebana and actually her skill in piano and
violin reached pro-level from the knowledge of my past life.
However, I didn’t care about such trivial matters.
Her shining golden hair with the curls, trivial the villainess, the transparent
blue eyes, the ripe light pink color lips as cherry blossoms which gave a
glimpse of youth, and her skin that was just as white as porcelain. However,
the softness was inherited there.
Her fingers were thin and elegant, her chest was a little bit well-developed
for a 13-year-old but it was not fat, and her waist was constricted.
As I looked at her appearance for the first time, it was also the first time I
experienced love at first sight, including my past life.
I only had knowledge of a noble lady called Risha.
However, I didn’t expect that my knowledge of her appearance had such a
huge difference when I met her directly. I could not suppress my fast
heartbeat.
She was just like a fairy who had fallen to the human world…
But as I heard her emotionless voice, I deeply carved it into my chest.
I would definitely make Risha happy.
◆
Risha’s little sister was sulking in the living room of the Kvist Family
House.
Why is His Highness Claude’s fiance not me but that creepy sister?
◆ Ch 4
My elder sister had always been like that.
She always talked back to anything I said and added, “You should not
embarrass our family with your behavior as the daughter of the Duke
Family.” It was like her catchphrase that I had enough of that statement.
Because I am the daughter of the Duke Family that my behavior was
forgiven, so why should that sister tell me so?
She always looked down at me with her composed expression, and in the
back, the servants called her a creepy wax doll because every time a person
talked to her, she didn’t change her expression at all.
And I agreed as she never changed her expression at all.
That was why she was not loved even by her own parents.
That was what I thought.
Until my sister’s fiance was decided.
I was in the corridor, holding a candle stick, and then entered my sister’s
room.
For the time being, I would ask my parents so that I could be His Highness
Claude’s fiance, and not Sister. However, that would not make my anger
dissipate.
Every time I remembered the expression that sister of mine, who always
looked down at me, made when she was ready to leave the house to meet
His Highness Claude angered me as my vision was blocked by it.
The sister, who I thought was defective as she got no expression, for the
first time made an expression towards me, and it was a pity.
I would never forgive her.
That expression should be mine and the one who received it should be her.
“I will never forgive you.”
It was not enough to only make her regret angering me. It was unfortunate
that I could not kill her just because we had the same blood flowing in our
veins and it irritated me.
After I entered my sister’s room, on the bed beside the pillow, there was a
teddy bear lying there. It was the only thing my sister cherished so much. I
took it with my left hand and then threw it to the floor and stepped on it.
With the candlestick on my hand, I stabbed it over and over and over and
over with all of my power.
As I imagined the teddy bear was my sister, and though my sister’s reaction
when she saw this teddy bear, the feeling of exhilaration was coming inside
me as I had never felt it before.
◆
I was walking with Risha inside the garden that was built inside the royal
palace.
Though I realized that far behind us, Risha’s and my parents were all
peeking at us with binoculars. Why did they think they would not be found
out with the mothers wearing such extravagant and bulky dresses?
However, it was better to not point it out and lose the time for being alone
with Risha.
My mother would not be able to read the atmosphere and she might say,
“Let’s take a walk with both families,” or something like that. No, she
would definitely say so. I could guarantee it.
Perhaps, even at the time being, she wanted to join us so badly.
As I was thinking about it, when I looked at Risha who was following me a
little bit behind, Risha who noticed my glance nervously asked, “Is there
something wrong?” as she tilted her head a little bit.
Even if I lowered the evaluation, she was still very cute.
Was she an angel?
No, she was an angel.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, nothing. I am only thinking about something.”
As I said so, I gave her a smile to reassure her. That smile could only be
made because I noticed how beautiful I was as a boy.
Well, I had been practicing with a mirror over and over after all.
I had been doing it that I now understood Narcissus’s feelings for falling in
love with himself.
“I-I see. If it’s the case, then I am glad.”
And Risha, who received my smile directly, reddened her face and looked
down when she replied as she didn’t want her face to be seen.
For this girl who was still not used to people, moreover a male, the smile
that I made with all of my efforts might be too powerful.

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“Syvbla vbyd vbyv, es usw byhl psxlvbkdt usw oydv vs es? Ohld kq ol
nyddsv es kv dso, R nyd ralryal qsa kv kd vbl dlmv xllvkdt.”
“Gb…. L-ds! Zsw esd’v dlle vs ts vbyv qya! Jl-clpkelp, R okzz es yduvbkdt
Zswa Tktbdlpp oydvp vs es.”
Txx, obyv y olzz-xyddlale nbkze.
Without intruding too much and not exposing herself too much, she tried to
suit my taste as I was her fiance.
Yes, she was raised well, but that was it.
If she stayed like this, she might become a good maid, she could not be a
good wife.
Moreover, for a moment, Risha wanted to say something.
That means she actually had something she wanted to try to do.
Something that Risha wanted to try to do, huh… Was it strange that I
wanted to let her do it?
“I understand. If that is the case, then I want Risha to think what you want
to do until the next meeting. This is homework from me.”
“Th-th-th-th-that is disrespectful for me! I could not do that!”
“Of course you can. Even if the others try to deny it, I myself will
definitely forgive you.”
“……….D-do you… mean it?”
Risha looked like she was trying to cling on to something as she asked so,
and when I saw it, as I desperately held back the urge to hug her, I put
power in words to reply Rishe’s anxiety as it was not important.
“Yes, I mean it.”
“You truly truly… mean it?”
“I truly truly meant it.”
“You truly truly mean it? You are not going to be angry when I tell you
what I want to do? You are not going to hit me?”
“I truly truly truly mean it. A man will never go back on what he said. Now,
this conversation ends here. A lot of colorful flowers are blooming over
there. Let’s look at it together. That’s what I want to do right now. I wanted
to look at the flowers together with Risha. Will you follow me, my
princess?”
“…Yes.”
I heard some strange words like being hit and my instinct told me that this
conversation would not end for a while, so I forcibly changed the topic.
When I offered my hand towards Risha and said the lines that would make
me in the past life vomited, Risha blushed and gently took the hand while
looking down.
◆ Ch6 – Blinded by The Benefit and Mistaking the Original Value
“Now, let’s get prepared for an outing. Nina.”
“Yes, Your Highness Calude.”
Risha was picked up by a gorgeous carriage and I sent her off as she was
ready to return back to her house. I once returned back to my room and
asked Nina to prepare to go out.
When Nina heard my words, she kneeled down and bowed at me.
As I remembered the last decade where Nina had always been my
personal attendant ever since I was a baby, I really thought that she was a
very obedient personal attendant.
If this attitude of hers was supposed to be named, I would call it “betrayal”.
The method was simple.
I just need to slam more favorable conditions compared to the other party to
Nina and then ask her to be a double spy.
She already did the dirty work since the beginning, there was no problem.
If the work was as dirty but she was given more favorable terms, she would
turn over to the one who gave more benefits to her and that was just what I
aimed for. Now, she was a really capable subordinate who was extremely
thorough with her work.
However, there was a disadvantage. Would the other party notice that Nina
betrayed them and took my side, they would once again retrieve Nina and
make their move. But since the probability Nina would betray me had been
crushed by my social status, I did not need to worry about it.
About what Nina gave me as a condition, she wanted me to pick her
daughter, Misha, who was two years younger than me to be my concubine
or another equal position in the future.
Since Misha’s will had not been confirmed, she originally did not want to
do so. However, the influence would be tremendous and Nina agreed
without thinking twice.
It is natural for her to do so.
If her daughter was the concubine of the future king, besides her family’s
peace would be assured, there would be a chance for her to bear the child of
the king.
For Nina, who was a baroness, and her daughter, it would be an exceptional
treatment.
However, I never told her whether I would take a concubine and I said
that I would take her as a concubine ambiguously.
It was painful to deceive her, however, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,
and betrayal should be replied with appropriate measure. That’s why, please
forgive me.
Maybe I would really make her my concubine but if she wanted a child,
then she could make some lovers outside and I did not mind it at all.
The life of an aristocrat, especially royalty, was just like that. They would
be blinded by the gain and forgot that they would mistake the original value
of it.
Nina, who didn’t know that I was thinking like that, took the things that I
ordered her and then followed me from the back.
◆
The time with His Highness Claude was just like a dream.
To the extreme that I still wondered if that time was really not a dream.
Now, I feel like I could understand why my parents raised me very strictly.
As I thought so, I wondered. Maybe I was actually loved by my parents? I
felt that my heart was filled that I thought about something impossible.
I had never had this feeling before. If I didn’t endure it, I felt that the feeling
would jumble my emotions uncontrollably.
◆ Ch7 – Tearing Apart
Ladies must not reveal their feelings.
It was what I had been taught until now as I always kept my feelings
throughout my life.
If I could not quit on something that was already embedded inside my body,
there would be no way I had the courage to do it.
Would I show my emotion anyway, I could imagine that I would be hit and
then lectured that such behavior should not be shown by a lady.
No, now, I would be lectured that I should not show such behavior as the
fiance of His Highness.
I forcefully pushed out my desire to break out my feelings from the
shackles although it was only once, and the time when I did that, I could
hear the cracking sound inside my heart.
I am free, I am free, I am free.
Yes, the words did not want to go out of my head.
His Highness’ the glittering and dazzling smile.
His Highness’ the gentle voice that somehow made me safe and relieved.
His Highness’s warm and big hand.
His Highness Claude did not deny the thing that I wanted to do.
All of it filled my head as they made my chest hurt.
I wondered if I caught a cold.
It was painful.
As I wished to not meet His Highness Claude if I knew that it would be this
painful, on the other hand, I was also looking forward to the next meeting.
“Risha-san? Is there something wrong?”
“…No, there is nothing wrong, Okaa-sama.”
“Then, that’s good. Your face looked a little bit pale. Once we get home,
let’s have the doctor take a look at you just in case.”
“…Yes, Okaa-sama.”
From a bystander, she would look like a mother who cares for her daughter.
But I knew that she was not worried about me, who was the fiance of His
Highness Claude. It was not because I was her daughter, but it was because
of my status.
I did not know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but after my mother called
me out, my thoughts about His Highness Claude had disappeared.
“You are late!! How long are you going to make me wait?! I don’t care
about Onee-sama’s engagement!! You should have come back quickly!!”
“Ah, I am very sorry, my lovely Liliana. Your angry expression is cute, but
Otou-sama likes Liliana’s smile more.”
“I am sorry for leaving you alone, Liliana. The next time when we go out, I
will buy the thing you want to buy, so please don’t be mad.”
“Really?! Okaa-sama?!”
“Yes, I will buy anything for you.”
When we reached the house, I looked at the familiar situation that was
spreading in front of my eyes.
I always envied my sister.
I too wanted Father and Mother to love me even if it was only a tenth of the
love they had for Liliana.
“Then, I want to be His Highness Claude’s fiance!!”
However, when I heard the words coming from my sister’s mouth, my heart
jumped.
Please stop.
I wanted to shout, but it was like my body did not want to listen to me as I
stood like a stone.
“Even if you say so, I am troubled… Is it not okay to be the bride of a high-
ranking aristocrat?”
“No way! I want His Highness Claude!!”
“Stop it, Liliana. It was not something a lady could be.”
Instead, the words coming from my mouth were those which deny my
sister.
The one who knew how much it hurt to be denied all the time was me,
however, I only knew this.
“Okaa-sama, I will be resting in my room. If the doctor has come, please
call for me.”
I ignored my sister, who glared at me as she let out some verbal abuse, and
then headed to my room.
I knew that it was no use to talk to my sister if she was in such a state, and
the right move when dealing with her when she was irritated, which could
make any harm, was to be gone from her sight
And, on my bed, the teddy bear which was the only thing presented by
Father had been torn apart, and from the torn part, the cotton was coming
out.
The teddy bear was not something that was exclusively expensive.
Even from my perspective as an aristocrat, the teddy bear did not look like
it was more expensive than our one-day meal.
Moreover, this teddy bear was not accurately the only present given by my
father.
Precisely, it was the thing that was given to Father by a low-level aristocrat
who wanted to give some flattery to our Kvist family, as he thought that it
was something that his daughter would like, and told him that he could give
it as a present to his daughter.
However, for me, it was the first and the last present given to me by my
parents.
As I brought the teddy bear that was full of scars into my chest, the tears
that I thought were dried up completely were coming out without my
intention.
It was a mistake to believe that there was nothing sadder than this.
My chest squeaked tightly and tightly and it was the first time I felt such
agony.

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Rv oyp zkjl xu blyav oyp tskdt vs calyj.
Mbl sdl obs eke vbkp oyp xspv zkjlzu xu pkpvla.
Mbl vaynlp sq pbslp sd vbl vleeu clya prsjl wr vbl nwzrakv obs vayxrzle
kv.
She still did so although her room was already filled with stuffed animals
given by my parents.
It was not only stuffed animals.
My parents would buy anything that my sister wanted.
The first time I asked for a teddy bear with my heart filled with uncertainty
and fright but a little bit of expectation, my mother slapped my cheek with
her palm as she said that it was disgraceful as a daughter of the Duke.
Next to me, there was my sister who had just bought a stuffed rabbit, and
the vicinity I saw was the commoner daughters and parents who were
shopping happily.
From time to time I always suspiciously asked myself, “Am I really my
parents’ daughter?” However, I could not believe that I was not the
daughter of my parents, and of course, did not have the courage to ask them
directly.
If they ever said that actually I was being picked up by them, I would not be
able to accept it.
“Help me…”
It was not like I was asking it to someone.
Without any intention, the words were coming out of my mouth as it was
the cry of my heart.
“Of course I will. I am your fiance after all.”
But, someone replied to those words.
That voice should not be heard at that time, that voice should not be heard
there, because it was impossible.
Although I knew that was an illusion, although it was just an illusion, I
would even grab the thinnest straw, so I turned around.
“I am sorry for being late. I am here to help you. Finally, the time to help
you arrive.”
And the appearance of His Highness Claude who was smiling gently came
into my sight.
Ch9 – Real Human Roll
“It’s been a while ago, Mr. Kvist, Mrs. Kvist.”
“P-prince Claude! W-why on earth?! No, no, I can’t let you stay at the
entrance like this! Please come in!”
“Then, I will do so.”
Perhaps it was just about one hour after the Kvist couple returned to their
residence.
After the first meeting between their eldest daughter and me, they were
relaxing their body as they were about to have dinner after the situation full
of tension, but just when they were about to be relaxed, the cause of the
tension, which was I myself, were visiting their humble house without any
preliminary announcement with an unbelievable time lag as I was following
their carriage.
I bet the Kvist couple was confused and the feeling of nervousness and
fright were jumbled inside them.
It was very obvious if one’s looking at their state at that time.
“Now, now, please sit here.”
With those things in my mind, I sat on the chair they guided me to.
“W-well, Prince Claude. I was very happy that you came to our humble
house, but could you state your reason-”
“So, you are not satisfied with my older sister after all! Prince Claude! Of
course, you are! There is no way you want to be the fiance of that creepy
doll-like sister! You are even taking the trouble to come to our Kvist
residence, it was to ask me to become your fiance, isn’t it?!!”
Looking at me sitting down, the Kvist couple sat across from me and
ordered the maid with a low voice, maybe, asked them to prepare the tea.
While we were waiting for the tea to be prepared, the head of the family,
Bosef, was just about to ask me for the reason for my visit, but the
undisciplined monkey suddenly came inside the room and made noisy
sounds.
It seems that she needed to be disciplined a little bit.
“Isn’t it rude of you to say such a thing about my fiance, Risha? Am I right,
Mr. and Mrs. Kvist?”
“I-I am very sorry! I am very sorry! I will scold my daughter later. …
Liliana, you shouldn’t come to this room, okay? Father had an important
talk with Prince Claude. Will you return back to your room?”
“Father, you are annoying! Why can’t you see that Prince Claude and I have
feelings for each other?!”
“Nina.”
“Certainly.”
As expected from her. It seems that serving under me for 10 whole years
was not just for a showcase.
Although I was just calling her name, she knew what I wanted and acted
immediately.
That same Nina had already finished tied up that undisciplined monkey
using a mattress and rope she prepared from somewhere and then closed her
mouth with a towel.
That was the first time I saw a real human roll.
After she was tied on the mattress and then being rolled on the floor, she
wiggled like a worm and tried to crawl towards me. That scene almost
made me scream from fear and discomfort, and I am glad I was able to
endure it and went to the main subject with Mr. and Mrs. Kvist.
“Well, what on earth is the Kvist couple raising?”
“E-even if you asked so, w-we are not keeping any pets….”
And the Kvist couple did not realize the true meaning of my question. Their
faces were pale white and the cold sweat was running down as they wiped it
with the handkerchief.
Well, if they realized what those words meant, they would have not raised
their daughters like this.
“Fumu, so you do not realize… huh? You are truly foolish. Take a look at
the two daughters you two had raised. My fiance, who is the eldest daughter
of yours, has a broken heart and she doesn’t have any emotion. The servants
even think that she is a wax doll. On the other hand, the second daughter
who is lying over there is not able to hold back her desire and from her
back, the servants think that she was just like a wild monkey. What do you
think about it, Mr. and Mrs. Kvist? Don’t tell me the two of you really are
raising a wax doll and a monkey?”
“T-t-t-t-t-there’s, there is no such thing!”
“I see. Then, why did you not do anything for Risha? Do you not love your
own daughter, Risha?”

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“El yal aykpkdt Skpby ps vbyv pbl nswze cl byrru! El yal tkhkdt bla vbl
lewnyvksd sd nswavlpu yde xyddlap ps vbyv pbl oswze cl pwkvyczl qsa
Zswa Tktbdlpp’p qkydnl! Fnkldnl, Gav, Onsdsxu, ol bkale olzz-jdsod
vlynblap qsa bla!! Rv kp dsv vawl vbyv ol yal dsv tkhkdt bla yduvbkdt!!”
Mbld, Yap. Fbkazlu, obs bye clld pkzldv pkdnl R ypjle vblx iwlpvksdp,
qkdyzzu zlv swv psxl osaep vs eldu xu pvyvlxldv. Tsolhla, kv pllxp vbyv
pbl eke dsv alyzkgl vbyv kv oyp y cye xshl.
“R wdelapvyde. Fs, usw xlyd vbyv uswa zshl qsa bla wr wdvkz dso oyp
yrrzkle cu tkhkdt bla ps xwnb lewnyvksd?”
“Mbyv’p aktbv!!”
The more the Duchess raised her voice, the facial expression of one person
there changed as the things that she had believed in, everything that she had
taken for granted up until now was all fake.
“I see, I see. Then, I could not see that your daughter named Liliana who is
lying over there is taking the same education. Does that mean that you do
not love her?”
“Th-that is not…”
Finally, after I asked whether they love Liliana or not, the couple
understood my previous words as they widened their eyes. They were just
about to deny my statement again, but they noticed that they had already
strongly accepted my statement which was saying that their love until now
was applied by giving so much education, and the authority they showed
before disappeared. Mrs. Shirley made an expression as she had been found
out for doing something that should not be done, and then moved her gaze
towards Liliana who was lying on the floor to check on her reaction. As her
eyes locked on her daughter, she could not say anything as something stuck
inside her throat.
If she was able to argue again just like what she did when I was talking
about Risha, she might be able to dodge my words, but it seems that it was
too late.
“Listen to me, Kvist couple. Even children have their own will. They have
emotions. They are just like us, and they are not toys to impose your ideal.
You raised one of your daughters differently from the other daughter, but
both of their choices for their lives are in their parent’s hands, am I right?
As you were raised in an aristocratic family, I expected that the two of you
understand the pain of having no choice over your own life. I recommend
you take your time and go talk with your daughters. Well then, I will leave
my seat since I have some business with my beloved fiance, Risha.
After that, I ignored those parents and the daughter who was now in an
absent-minded state, and headed towards where Risha was.
I hoped that the distorted relationship in this family would be improved as
much as possible.
—Ch11: Ghost Story
As I could not restrain my motivation, I was guided to Risha’s room by the
maid of the Kvist House.
The day when the engagement between Risha and I, the first prince, her
little sister, Liliana tore the teddy bear that she had been treasured, and it
was her last straw before her heart was beyond repair. Ever since then, I
knew that Risha was hardly able to express her feelings and emotions.
Even though Risha was not able to make any expression, I would never
abandon her. My fiance was in pain as her heart was going to be broken, I
wanted to help her and I had been planning it for some years.
That time, when she was my smile (as expected from the main capture
target, it was very destructive), her cheek was reddened. I wanted to do my
best to be able to see it again.
Then, when I entered Risha’s room guided by the maid, Risha was curling
up as she was crying and hugging the teddy bear full of scars.
It seems that from the shock, she did not notice her surroundings, including
me who was entering her room.
Seeing her in this state and thinking that this was the last expression she
showed on her face, even if God forgave them, I will never do that.
With such determination, I looked at Risha and strongly recognized it again,
and then I came to her front and when she whispered, I crouched down.
“Help me…”
At that time, I was sure I heard Risha’s heart was screaming.
Before my head could think, my body moved first. I spontaneously hugged
Risha, but I did not care about the consequences for the time being.
Risha was my fiance.
I would no one complain.
“Of course I will. I am your fiance after all.”
And when I spoke gently to Risha, she slowly raised her head and looked
at me.
Her eyes showed that she was giving up everything, and it felt like I met a
ghost.
However, inside those eyes, there was a reflection of her crying for help.
“I am sorry for being late. I am here to help you. Finally, the time to help
you arrive.”
I raised my palms and put them on her cheeks gently so that her gaze was
directed to me, but strongly expressed my feelings with my words.
“I… Is it true?”
“Yes, it is.”
Tears were flowing down as she asked me with fright hinted from her voice.
She carefully, carefully, asked so that the last hope that finally, she could
grab would not run away.
“Are you really Prince Claude?”
“Yes. See, you can touch me and I didn’t disappear, right? I am neither a
ghost, nor an illusion, nor a phantom. I am undoubtedly your fiance,
Claude.”
Just like handling a fragile porcelain, I grabbed both of Risha’s hands gently
to give her the evidence that I was real.
At first, Risha asked me questions and her voice hinted that she was afraid
that I would disappear as she touched me with fright.
“Oi, if you grabbed me that hard, I can’t move even if I want to.”
“I-I am sorry…”
And finally, when Risha finally realized that I was not an illusion, this time
she grabbed on my sleeves with all of her might so that I would not run
away from her.
With this, I could not do what I wanted to do originally, so I asked her to let
go of me. However, although she continuously apologized, her hand did not
loosen up.
“Geez.”
“I-I am sorr— Ah!”

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Gp R tyhl wr yde zlv swv y pktb, R ryvvle Skpby’p blye tldvzu.
Elzz, vbld R oswze oykv wdvkz Skpby oyp pyvkpqkle.
R clv Skpby oyp lmbywpvle pkdnl y zsv sq vbkdtp byrrldle kd sdl eyu.
Unconsciously, she quietly slept on my chest, breathing quietly.
Fumu, seeing Risha’s sleeping face was a reward for me.
◆
“Hyaaaaaaaaaaa!!? Yo-yo-yo-yo-your!?”
“What’s the matter? Why did you yell so suddenly?”
From that point, it seems that I also fell asleep while holding Risha.
Sadly, the words sleep and hold in here do not mean something dirty. It is
just like what the words mean. I fell asleep while holding Risha.
Well, even if I could do it, Risha was still very young, so I did not feel like
doing it.
Moreover, as I felt blessed just being able to touch Risha, I was satisfied
with this. But, when I was already sucked into the swamp of happiness,
Risha’s high pitched scream made me come back to reality.
“Yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-your Highness Claude?!”
“Yes, I am your fiance, Prince Claude.”
“I-I am very sorry!!!! I will receive any punishment, but please don’t
punish my family!!”
After Risha’s face turned red, she raised her voice with tremendous
momentum as she kneeled down.
At the same time, the blanket that covered both of us before I knew it
already fell to the floor and Nina quickly took it and folded it in a flash
before she disappeared.
Really, she was a brilliant vassal.
However, since she hid her existence from the air, I felt like I was being
peeped, so inside my heart, I hoped she did not do it.
Back to the main topic, I worried that Risha was too nice as she would
easily be deceived by bad adults. She was still thinking about her family’s
safety although she had gone through a lot. But, it was the chance for me to
carry out my plan, so I immediately switched my mind.
*** Ch 13 – Surgery
“Now, I will start the surgery.”
“Su-surgery… What is it?”
As I said so, Risha tilted her head and asked what surgery was.
It might be a nonexistent word in this world with magic.
People in this world would not have the idea of cutting off a body to cure an
illness.
 The only field that was developed in the commoners who often could not
pay for the priests was the pharmacy, but it still lacked credibility and
there were quite a number that were turned into an occult activity.
That’s why it was normal for people in this world to not know the meaning
of surgery.
“Surgery is a method to cure illness and injuries other than magic and
medicine.”
While I told her so, I took the teddy bear that had been torn off with white
cotton coming out from it.
“Originally, it was conducted to a person, but since it was not healed by
magic nor medicine, we could call it a surgery.”
From my words, as expected Risha noticed what I was going to do and was
surprised.
I grabbed the tools that I ordered Nina to bring and carefully untied the
stitch on the teddy bear while impolitely sitting with my legs crossed. The
teddy bear broke down into cloth and cotton.
Usually, Risha would definitely scold me because I was sitting with my legs
crossed, but Risha now was getting her hands and knees on the floor,
intently looking at the teddy bear in my hands.
Then, the cloth that had already been disassembled was replaced with the
new one. I put the new cloth on the disassembled parts, took the mold one
by one, and I cut them with scissors.
I had been practicing making teddy bears many times for the sake of that
day.
My hands moved smoothly and the surgery went well.
“See, the surgery was a success. How is it? It is strange to say it by myself,
but it turned out to be very splendid, isn’t it?”
“…..wha-!…..wha-!”
Risha shook her head several times towards my question as I was able to
restore back her teddy bear and gave it back to her.
“And this stuffed animal is a present from me. It’s a teddy bear friend.”
And then I gave Risha the teddy bear, which somehow looked like me, that
I made for this day.
“Tha……., thank you, very much, huuuuu!!”
“You are welcome. Now, you have a runny nose. I’ll lend you a
handkerchief.”
“I am shorry. It’sh embarashing so pleashe don’t lookkk!”
That day, Risha’s treasures had became two.
I was preparing for my enrollment at the National Magic Academy.
The entrance ceremony would be held three months to go, and as I
remembered back in my past life, there was still a lot of time to spend
before the time came, and it applied to this world as well.
However, because of my status as a crown prince, it could not be like that,
and I noticed from how busy and in a hurry Nina was.
Well, as an argument, I could say that those tasks and duties had nothing to
do with me.
As I was living as a commoner in my past life who had no much freedom,
this situation was too hard for me. Even if I slept, my surroundings would
do everything for me and it made me always felt I was living an easy life.
Therefore, I unconsciously always gave my gratitude to them or sometimes
gave them a gift as my appreciation.
However, I could not let the maids take care of me all the time, and recently
the things that I needed to do by myself increased little by little.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent

theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please
support our translators by reading on the
secondlifetranslations (dot) com
Wsa lmyxrzl, vbl prllnb vbyv R dllele vs tkhl kd qasdv sq vbl dlo pvweldvp
yv vbl dlmv ldvaydnl nlalxsdu.
Zsw nswze pyu vbyv kv oyp kxrsppkczl qsa xl vs alqwpl kv clnywpl sq xu
pvyvwp yp y nasod rakdnl.
Ms rwv kv czwdvzu, R yx kd elpryka.
In the first place, I was not good at speaking in front of other people even in
my previous life.
Who would happily accept the request that asked you to be the person who
did the speech for the entrance ceremony?
In the past life, there was a speech that said the rule was to be broken, and
just like the words said, should I did my best for the sake of the people who
would stand in my position in the future?
And when I asked for advice from Nina, she replied, “If you do such a
thing, you will be hated by Risha-sama, you know?”
Well, I did not want to be hated by Risha, so I would get through any
hardships for her sake.
◆
I wondered when I started to notice that days flew very fast.
I missed those days when I still thought that three months were still far
away.
If I could illustrate it, my current mental state was just like the last day of
the summer holiday.
While my mind was still full of those thoughts, the carriage that brought me
was heading to the National Magic Academy.
“Your Highness, we have arrived. Finally, the time has come.”
“You’re right.”
When we arrived at the destination, Nina opened the door of the carriage
and installed the foothold near it.
“Now now, let’s go to the entrance gate and take a photo! We got a large
amount of magical stone for projection from His Majesty and Her Majesty,
so you can take as many pictures as you like!”
Full of enthusiasm, Nina encouraged me to take some pictures in front of
the entrance gate of the academy.
Even this was a different world, this kind of situation was just the same,
huh.
“Y-you are late Your Highness Claude!! How long are you going to make
me wait!”
◆ Ch 15: Continuous Shooting Function
When I reached the area around the academy entrance, the voice that I
loved very much came inside my ears.
That voice filled with expression and it made her just like a different person
if you compared it with the old her.
Just listening to that voice made my heart full of happiness, as I was
flooded with that happiness.
And when I turned my gaze towards the direction where I heard the voice
which was in front of the entrance gate, there was Risha who was raising
her eyebrows a little bit while she was looking at me.
But well, I could read through her expression that looked like she was
telling “I am mad, you know!” and the words she used when she was
calling me, which was just her way of hiding her shyness.
Moreover, she was barely raising her eyebrows, while usually the corners
of her eyes were hanging just like a typical villainess would have, and
hiding her mouth with a hand-fan. However, I knew that behind that fan,
the corners of her lips were rising and she couldn’t help but make a smile.
It was just a calm that came after a storm. Just the day after my visit, the
Kvist couple talked with their daughter’s heart to heart and told them about
their thoughts and feelings. As a result, since that day, they connected with
the sisters equally in a good way, and after I saw the result with my own
eyes, I was very happy.
And looking at Risha right now, maybe she actually had a bright
personality.
I was not sure if it was related to the environment where she was raised, but
I felt that her tsundere character was getting a little bit stronger, but it was
still in my tolerable range.
Rather, she was now able to express her feelings without being afraid.
It was not a fruitless effort.
And the interesting result was that Risha, the elder sister, became a
tomboyish girl, while Liliana, the younger sister, understood that she had
done a lot of mistakes in her life, and now she had grown a lot more mature
as one would think that she was a different person from her past self.
Maybe it was because from the beginning their personalities were in
contrast to each other, and although they changed, their personalities now
were still in contrast to each other?
“I am sorry for making you wait, my beloved Risha.”
“Uhh….”
As I lost in my own thoughts, I closed the distance between Risha and me. I
scooped up her beautiful blonde hair, kissed it, and whispered my apology
and love words near the ears.
If I in the past life saw the current me, he would definitely do a somersault
and spit sugar out of his mouth.
The phrase “It is limited to the true handsome man” had embodied my
body, and I indeed took a little mental damage from it. However, when I
looked at Risha stunned and flushing red, this embarrassment was not
hurt nor tickled, rather, the urge to do it again was stronger.
“Well then, Your Highness, Risha-sama! I will take the picture, so please
straighten your back-!”
After watching us with warm eyes, Nina took some pictures—–
Kashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashasha
shasha!!
——using the continuous shooting function.
Yes, today the kingdom was as peaceful as always.
However, the reality was far crueler and I still did not know that Risha was
still isolated in loneliness in the academy.

“He’s moving so restlessly fast!”

“I don’t know how he can run that fast through this forest ……!”
Perhaps he’s used to the forest, but Croix’s running through it, dodging
trees with ease. I’ve been training with my brother and Nora in the
mountains for a long time, so I can do this much.
But Makina, who has spent most of her time fighting on grasslands and at
the guild’s well-equipped training grounds, seems to be having a hard time
slipping through the trees.
And the strangest thing is Croix. It’s as if he’s keeping his distance, holding
his position until he’s almost lost, occasionally looking back.

“Kuh …….”
“That guy’s so fast!?”
“Fuh …… Fuh ……”
“Some people are starting to fall behind.”
“I-It’s becoming pretty tough for me too ……”

The speed and strength of each person is different, and to be honest,

running with armor on is quite tough. I can’t disguise the sweat pouring out
of me either. Even though she’s lightly armed, Makina seems to have lost a
lot of strength in the hard woods.
It would be even worse for a wizard like Sifol-san. She was staggering quite
a bit behind.

AD

“Okay, Makina, it’s going to be a little bumpy, but bear with me!”
“What? …… Kya!?”
“What are you going to do, Lars-kun?”
“I’m going to go around and try to stop him. <Strength> <Levitation>!”

As soon as I say it, when I hold Makina and float, I put in magical power
and speed up at once. I wrapped Makina in my arms to prevent her from
colliding, and walked between the trees.
I’ve fired three Dragonic Blaze shots in total, so I’m starting to feel tired.
But thanks to a year of training, I don’t think I’m going to faint.

“Wha-, It’s so fast!”

“It’s better not to talk because you’ll bite your tongue …… Alright, we’re
getting close!”
“……!?”

When he turned around, Croix’s eyes from the bandages widened.

When I get close enough to see him clearly, I stick one hand out in front of
me and use magic.

“<Water Jail>”

A chain of water flies towards Croix with a jingling sound. It’s going for his
feet in a straight line, but Croix dives to the side and tries to evade it.

But–

“How naive!”
“…… What!?”
I manipulated the water jail from my hand and bent it in the direction he
avoided to. He was obviously shocked. It’s quite difficult, but I’ve been
able to use this magic repeatedly to release it from my hand.
I’m sure this has shaken Croix, he slows down, and the water jail gets
tangled in his leg, and he falls down spectacularly.

“Makina!”
“Yes!”

I set Makina down and come around in front of her from the sky.

“I’m catching up. Why did you try running away? …… Are you the
mastermind of the threat letter?”
“……”
“Answer me! The lord is not the only one who will be troubled if the
number of Treants continues to grow, you know?”

When Makina and I asked him, he looked at me without saying a word and
narrowed his eyes. I feel like I’ve seen those eyes before ……?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and then Croix opened his mouth.

“I’m not it. But I know who did.”

“!?”
“What!? Is that true!?”

I thought the tone would be more light-hearted because of his slender

frame, but when I heard his voice, it sounded a little thicker …… like the
kind of voice they use on TV to make ex-offenders confess. I wonder if the
poison had damaged his vocal cords as well.

Regardless, it was more important that this guy said he knew the one who
did it. I approached the fallen Croix, got down on one knee and spoke to
him.

“Who the hell is that ……?”

“Hahahahahaha, I can’t tell you that yet. First of all, the Guildmaster needs
you to eliminate the source of the Treants. “
“…… Is it possible that he and you are in cahoots and are trying to trap
us?”
“It’s a possibility. But you want to get rid of Treants, and I’m the only one
who knows that at the moment. If you leave here, I won’t tell who did it
even if I die. But if you want to get rid of them, I’ll be happy to tell you on
the spot if you want to?”
“……”

When I was narrowing my eyes and trying to figure out Croix’s intentions,
Makina said to me while still in her stance

“…… Lars, we have no choice but to go, right? I know it sounds dangerous,
but I think we should take down the Treants and ask him who did it.”
“‘It’s not like he won’t lie to us.
“You’ll have to trust me on this one. I don’t care either way, though? Let’s
just say I wouldn’t lie.”
I swallowed the words that I was about to say, “Why did you run away
then?”, and stared at Croix. It’s true that whether he talks or not, there’s no
downside for him. It’s hard to accuse him because there’s no proof that he’s
in on it. If the culprit realizes he’s been betrayed and accuses him, that’s a
different story.

I met Makina’s eyes as she looked at me in a cold sweat and she nodded
slowly. I opened my mouth to see if Makina had a point.

“…… Okay. How long does it take to get to that source?”

“Yeah? I think it will take about another half day. It’s not safe at night, so
we’d better camp out and leave in the morning.”
“If you’re lying to me, I won’t let you get away with it, okay?”
“Hahaha, that’s a scary thing to say. Don’t worry, I’m not going to lie
……”

Croix’s mouth twisted up in a smile. I hate that it’s his idea no matter how it
turns out, but I can’t let that stop me. As soon as I got Croix back on his
feet, I saw Conrad and the others catching up with him.

“…… I finally caught up …… The rest of them are fighting another

monster, so we’ll have to wait a bit. At any rate, your magic is amazing,
Lars-kun …… And so, Croix, what do you think you’re doing running
away? “

“I don’t have any ulterior motive. I was just hiding because I’m not much of
a fighter and I wanted to get a move on.”
“That was pretty fast of you, though……?”
“Well, we’re together now, so isn’t it fine.”
Even though Borzov and the other adventurers are staring at him, he shrugs
his shoulders without a care in the world. And then Cave and Sifol-san
catch up with us.

“Hiii …… hah …… It’s no use, I’m already at my limit ……!”

“I’m …… a smart person, but ……”
“Are you okay ……? Have some water.”

When Makina gave Sifol-san some water, she smiled and tipped her water
bottle. On the other hand, the situation over here is not going to end well, so
I tell everyone what I just heard.

“It seems that the source of the Treants is just ahead. That’s what I heard
from him. We’re only a breath away, so why don’t we go there anyway? If
nothing else, let’s blame it on Croix.”
“…… Hmm, if you say so. ……”
“I’m counting on you, kid! You too, girl!”

Thanks to the Dragonic Blaze I just showed them, I think I’ve caught their
eye. I walked right behind Croix, thinking it would make it a little easier to
move. Surveillance and insurance in case this thing gets out of control.

“…… Will an ogre come out or will a viper come out. ……”
“What’s wrong, Lars?”
“No, I’m just wondering what will come out there. Anyway, do you think
Basleigh-sensei will be okay?”
“If he does anything, I’ll get a report from Henrietta-chan, so I’ll know
when I get back. And I’ll know when we get home.”
“Well, that’s true.”

As we talked, the adventurers who had been fighting the monsters

eventually joined us, and after gaining some distance until the sun went
down, we began to camp.

The perpetrator of the threat letter …… While having a bad feeling about
this, I threw the wood into the fire.
Shortly before Lars and the others set up camp, a disturbing shadow loomed
over the lord’s mansion where Basleigh remained.

“It’s getting dark. It’s time for a change.”

“Yeah, but without the maids and servants, there’s not much light.”

One of the men guarding the gate of the lord’s mansion cowers as he stands
tall and looks at the mansion behind him. A colleague replies.

“The Lord has taken some time off. Well, we’re working like this, though.”

“Haha, well, it’s good to have a job. It’s nice to get paid even if you don’t
…… Hm?”

In the dark and silent darkness, the sound of sand being stepped on can be
heard, and one of the gatekeepers turns his eyes from the house to the front,
stares with lowered eyebrows and mutters.

“What the ……?”

“It’s an animal, isn’t it? …… No, it’s not! Ugh ……!?”

The knife that flew from the darkness pierced his shoulder. It’s a good thing
he noticed the discomfort on the way and twisted around to avoid getting
stabbed in the throat. In the meantime, five shadows with hoods over their
heads surrounded the two gatekeepers.

“Bandits! I’ll hold them off here, you go get some backup!”

“O-Okay! Sor-, ry ……”

AD

“What!?”

As soon as he was about to attack, his colleague who had his back to him
fell forward and startled him. I’m sure there was no one behind me, he
thought to himself. The gatekeeper thrusts his spear at the nearest hooded
figure, then swings it sideways, forcing him to step back.

He quickly turned my eyes as he backstepped to check behind me, and was

surprised to see a small hooded figure standing in front of him.

“‘When did you ……!?”

“Kuku, good night.”

“This is …… guh ……”

A cloud of powder flew in front of the gatekeeper, and sleepiness overtook

him. He tried to stay conscious using his spear as a staff, but the powerful
sleeping powder cut him off. Then one of the hooded men opened his
mouth with a laugh.

“Alright, let’s get to work. We’re going to uproot everything so that we can
live up to Kelbrem-san’s expectations.”

“I’ve heard it’s okay to kill everyone in the lord’s family. It’s been a while
since we’ve seen blood.”

When they said that, Reiss peeked out of her hood and said with a resentful
look on her face

“Wait a minute. I’ve never heard of that, though? I’m against killing. A
little scaring would do the trick.”

“I’m with her. We’re doctor’s subordinates. We came here because he asked
us to, but if that’s the case, we’re leaving. If Doctor wants me to kill, I’ll do
it, I don’t plan to do anything else than that, I’m sorry, though.”
AD
When Irumi turned on her heel, Reiss nodded and started to head back the
way she came. One of them hurried to hold her back.

“Okay, okay! I’m not going to kill him, because that would be too hard for a
woman. It’s enough to break the lord’s arm. If you return back, Kelbrem-
san’s anger will be directed at us.”

“……”

“If you try to kill them, I’ll stop you, okay?”

The five hooded men nodded as Reiss narrowed her eyes and smashed the
key to the gate to get inside. The first five men entered, followed by Reiss
and Irumi. Then the men began to speak in secret, so that they could not be
heard.

“…… You fools, you’re targets too.”

“The lord’s wife, daughter, and these guys, we’re going to have fun and
then kill them, right?”

“Yeah. Nevertheless, Kelbrem-san is terrifying. He’s planning to attack the

lord’s mansion to get rid of these guys.”

“It seems that the appearance of Retzel and the others was unplanned.
Kelbrem-san doesn’t like that guy, so he’s going to kill him to make an
example of him. It’s a scenario where he fought a gatekeeper like the one
from earlier and they ended up fighting each other.”

“Well, let’s just give it a shot, shall we?”

With a chuckle, they checked the windows of the house. Normally the
rooms are well lit, but since they are all empty at the moment, they could
easily see where the people were.

“…… So that’s the dining room, let’s go.”

AD

“Yeah.”

He looked at the floor plan of the house to see which room had a light, and
broke the appropriate window noiselessly to enter.

The door was slightly open and he was able to see inside.

“You know, you shouldn’t drink too much …… because you just had
another painful experience yesterday …….”

“It’s okay! The two of them aren’t here now, either! It’s a really good work
this time ……”

“I think I’m going to tell Lars-san and Makina-oneesama about this!?”

“Hiii!? Henrietta-chan, you can’t do that ……!”

The men tilted their heads as they saw Basleigh still drinking and shoveling
snacks into her mouth.
“What? There’s an unknown woman here ……?”

“What can one woman do. Let’s just say the treat increased.”

“But one of them’s a kid. Look at her, she’s eating her dinner with a stuffed
lizard.”

The men drew their weapons and smiled at the easy work. Reiss also
muttered, peeking quietly into the dining room.

“An unknown woman? ……!? Why is she here!? And that’s ……!”

Irumi called out, wondering about Reiss, who backed away. The men paid
no attention to Reiss and began to plan their attack.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is not a good place. That’s Basleigh-sensei, she knows my face and if
she sees me, I’ll be in trouble. We’re done here. You can do whatever you
want.”

“Oops, not so fast. You guys, let me handle this and step in!”

“Get out of the way, ……! That stuffed animal’s trouble too, so you’d better
retreat.”

“What’s with the stuffed animal? …… Okay, let’s go!”

And then, with a bang, the door was kicked open and four men attacked.
The first thing they do is reach out to Henrietta, the closest one, for a
hostage.

“W-Who the hell are you guys!? W-What happened to the gatekeepers!?”

“I’m sure they’re related to the threat letter from how they look, Henrietta-
chan, come here!”

The man clicks his tongue and raises his sword when Basleigh shouts. He
was aiming at her legs, trying to make her immobile.

“If you had remained quiet, you wouldn’t have been hurt.”

“Kya ……!?”

“Noooo!? Henrietta!”

Rakute screamed with her hands on her cheeks, but it was of no use. It
seemed that the assassin’s blade was going to hurt Henrietta, but then–

Klaaaaaang!
“W-What……!?”

“It got repelled ……!?”

When Henrietta bent down and closed her eyes, a magic circle appeared
around her, and repelled the sword. He tried to attack again, but the magic
circle repelled him each time.

“Damn it, what’s this!?”

<This is a magic called Auto Protection. It’s impossible for your dull
weapons and arms to cut it off.>

“W-Who’s there!?”

A voice that didn’t belong to anyone there sounded, and the man shouted
from a distance. Then, a stuffed animal slipped out of Henrietta’s arms and
appeared in front of the men.

<My name is Sarge. I am the one who was asked to temporarily protect this
mansion.>

The true identity of the stuffed animal …… was, without a doubt, Sarge,
who was supposed to be in the town of Gust. He flapped his wings and
addressed the men in the hood in a dignified voice.
“T-The lizard spoke ……!?”

“No, it’s not. It’s got horns …… This thing’s a dragon ……! W-What the
hell is it doing here!?”

“…… W-Well, look, it’s not that big …… We can take it down if we all
work together, right? Maybe we’ll get a reward for killing a dragon?”

“What the hell is that ……?”

“Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Ok.”

In a cold sweat, the men raised their weapons and pointed them at Sarge.
Immediately afterwards, Reiss and Irumi, who were behind the door, left
the place, passing by the side of another man who was standing on the left
and right.

“…… Tch, report back when you get back. I’m going to join in
exterminating lizards.”

The man who had been trying to keep Reiss and the others from escaping
joined them and snapped his neck. When Sarge heard this, he sighed and
opened his mouth.
<…… Fuh~, you’re going to fight a dragon with that number? Looks like
I’m being underestimated. Hugel-san, do you mind if I rampage a little in
the room?>

“M-Mhm. No problem. If it breaks, we can fix it.”

<I understand. Thank you.>

When he said this, Sarge put magic into his body, and he’s growing larger
as they watch him, he grew larger and became a little bigger than the men.

“E-Even if you got bigger!”

“The material is going to sell for a lot of money.”

The men slashed at Sarge. But, of course, the sword can’t reach Sarge, who
is protected by Auto-protection.

<Mun.>

“Guha …..!?”

“The armor is shattered by a single blow! Uoooohhhhh!?”

One of them was hit by a randomly swung tail and fell to the floor with his
armor in pieces. The one who was watching from the side was bitten in the
torso from the side by Sarge, who crunched the armor with his teeth.

<It’s not good. it’s not as good as Aina’s cooking?>

“Gaaaaaaaah ……”

Sarge spat out the armor and closed the gap while glaring at the three
remaining people. What followed was tragic. The man who was directly hit
by the fireball was severely burned, the man whose torso was ripped open
by the claws was in agony, and the man who was hit had his face swollen
up.

<It’s over.>

“Well, as expected of Sarge-kun! You’re so strong!”

As Sarge swoops back to his original size, Basleigh, who is tying up the
men, says to Sarge with a smile

<This much is no fun at all. Anyway, what’s with these guys?>

“Who knows? But, I hope they know about the threat letter or the
mastermind, though? My Lord, do you recognize any of these guys?”
Basleigh pulls off his hood to reveal his face, but the three of them shake
their heads and give him a stern look.

“…… I don’t recognize any of these faces. ……”

“Yeah ……”

“I’m even more so because I don’t get out of the house much ……”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t expecting it. All you have to do is interrogate them,
Uhihihi ……”

<Do it moderately. When Lars and Makina come back, Just make sure
they’re punished enough, okay?>

As Sarge landed on the sofa, she spoke to Basleigh.

“Well, I’ve got a request from the government as well. But more
importantly, is it alright over there? I didn’t expect Lars-kun to be able to
use Summon.”

<You mean Aina? No problem. I left a note saying I’d come out for a
walk.>

Lars’ trump card. It was the [Summon] skill he learned from Aina.
Knowing that Aina had made a contract, Lars had made a contract with
Sarge.
Although it was one-sided, it was literally a trump card that could draw the
strongest force to his side even for a moment. Lars had no choice but to call
Sarge, as he felt that the strength of the house was thin.

“No, no, aren’t you going to be forcefully returned by [Summon]?”

<It’s okay. I’ll know if I’m being summoned, but apparently, you can refuse
if the user’s ability is lower than your summon. I’m strong, so even if Aina
uses a [summon], I can refuse. Now, let’s wait a little longer for Lars to
return. Please give me some food too.>

When Sarge asked for food, Henrietta, who had been pouting, shivered and
answered.

“Ah, oh, yes! For a real dragon to be his friend …… I wonder who Lars-san
really is ……”

No answer was given, and the meal resumed.

“…… It’s dark when it’s still noon.”

“Yeah, the Treants and the other monsters are moving around a lot, we
should be careful …… <Fire Arrow>!”

Just as I said that, the giant centipede, Eat Centipede jumped out at me and I
hit it in the face with a fire arrow.
“I’ll take care of the rest!”

“It’s still as tough as ever.”

In no time at all, the giant centipede is surrounded by the adventurers and is

quickly cut into pieces. As of now, no one has dropped out, and those who
were injured are recovering from my healing, so there are no holes in our
strength.

…… but ……

“Lars-sama, let’s keep going!”

“If you underestimate him as a child, you’re in for a world of hurt. I’m
counting on you, Lars-kun.”

“When we get back safely, let’s go out for a drink.”

“Haha, that sounds like a good idea too.”

“I want a drink too.”

…… and when the adventurers found out who I was, they were all excited.
When they were recovering at the encampment, they thanked me all the
time and praised me for some reason. I’d like to introduce my skills if I
could, but I guess that can be done over drinks. Anyway, I went to talk to
Croix.
“We’ve walked a long way, is it going to take much longer?”

“Almost there, I guess? There’s a marshy area ahead of us, where there’s a
high-quality magical energy coming from the muddy bottom. They’re using
it as a starting point to increase their number.”

“……”

So we’re at the increasing part now.

If he’s planning to tell us about the mastermind, is that intentional? The

only thing I can say for sure is that he’s in on it too.

I carefully observed Croix’s movements, thinking that there might have

been a quarrel among the group or something like that. As I walked through
the grass for a while, the ground gradually became muddy, and Makina,
who was walking beside me, pointed ahead and called out.

“Oh, maybe that’s it? There’s something that looks like a mud pond.”

“It looks like …… it really happened.”

“I told you, I’m not a liar. All right, well, if you destroy this mud pond, then
you’re done.”

“Destroy it …… you say, but how do we do it?”

Conrad crosses his arms and asks Croix. The other adventurers are looking
at the mud pond from a distance and discussing it with each other. Should
we use magic to blow it up?
AD

“Is it possible to blow it up with magic?”

“Well, it is, because magic rises up from the bottom. Now, let’s talk about
what we wanted to hear.”

“What’s with the suddenness? I thought you were going to destroy the
source.”

When Cave confronts Croix with his finger, Croix softly stops him and
starts talking.

“If you’ve come this far, your goal is as good as accomplished, right? Now,
the person who started this whole torrent fiasco is the guild master of
Oriola, Kelbrem. He’s the mastermind behind all of this.”

“……”

“……”

We and Conrad narrowed our eyes and looked at Croir in silence. In all
honesty, the only thing I can think of is, “I knew it”. But the adventurers
who are “trusted by him” are closing in on him.

“What did you say ……!?”

“Muu …… that’s ridiculous! He may have a bit of a temper, but he’s not the
kind of guy who would do anything to get people in trouble!”

“You’re trying to trap the guild master, aren’t you? You call him your
friend, but you actually hate him, is that it?”

The adventurers were shouting and grabbing Croix’s chest, saying they
were not convinced. But Croix shakes off their hands, takes a flying step to
open the distance, and starts laughing loudly.

“Hahahahahaha! Well, he was doing well, so I can understand how you feel.
But it’s true and real, you know? The threat letter was definitely the work of
Kelbrem.”

“…… If so, why are you betraying your friend? Why do you want us to
know about it?”

When Makina crosses her arms and looks quizzically, Croix’s eyes peeking
through the bandages twitches, and he looks over at us with his hands
outstretched and replies

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t know about this plan either, so it’s mutual.
Him sending me here too. He was probably thinking about getting rid of the
‘thing he wants you to defeat’ here and you guys too? I don’t consider him
a friend, and I’m sure he doesn’t either. I’m here telling you this because,
well, if I had to say, it’s annoying, I guess?”

“That’s the only reason ……!?”

Cave takes a step back in surprise, and Croix shrugs his shoulders.

“You know, you all have people you don’t like too, right. It’s the same
thing. The plan is to send out threat letters to threaten the lord, and while he
doesn’t move, increase the number of Treants. When the time comes, the
damage will increase on its own, and the lord will be accused of being a
coward who won’t do anything, and he will be dragged down to set up a
pawn for us. But he’s probably planning to become the lord himself. We’re
supposed to be behind the scenes, we’re not supposed to stand out.”

“Not supposed to stand out ……? Do you have any other friends?”

When I opened my mouth, Croix looked at me and continued happily.

“I’ll leave it to your imagination, Lars-kun. Now, having said that, the lord
has started to use the adventurers there to exterminate the Treants, and it has
become a troublesome story for Kelbrem. If I had to guess, I’d say that the
hot-tempered Kelbrem might be on his way to raid the lord’s house? Kuku
…… the lord’s family may be dead by now.”

Croix’s still talking like he’s having fun. I wonder …… I feel like I know
this guy …… But despite these thoughts, the adventurers surround him with
disgust.
“Kelbrem-san said that ……?”

“So you mean we can trust what you say ……? Are you sure you’re not
bluffing ……?”

“He’s got a temper, that’s for sure, but not that much ……”

“But he’s got a big appetite for money.”

Some of them may be somewhat like that. He is a typical type of person

who changes his attitude depending on the person. He seemed to be weak
against agitation. So Croix stretches out, scrunching her hair.

“Fuf~, I’ve talked and talked! That’s all I have to say, so please finish the
rest. I’m leaving.

“Where do you think you’re going? Don’t think you’re the only one who
can go home, okay? If you knew what you were doing and lured us here,
even a child could understand that you were just as guilty.”

Conrad’s glaring at him with a sword. I hide my right hand in there to

gather the magic power and say to Conrad.

“It’s no use, Conrad. There’s a reason why he’s talking so much.”

“Reason?”
I kept nodding in response to Borzov’s words.

“For one thing, he’s convinced he can get out of here. He knew this would
happen if he spoke. But he did. It’s just to confuse us. And one more thing
……”

“……”
"
"

Croix looks at me with a smirk in his eyes and mouth, as if he is enjoying

the answer. When I saw that the magic had built up, I held out my hand to
Croix and shouted.

“One more thing …… that’s because he’s going to annihilate us here! Dead
men don’t talk, and that’s why he told us everything! That’s how it is, right!
<Flame>.”

“Hahahahaha! Correct, one I want you guys to defeat is …… this one.”

The moment Croix said that, a huge shadow jumped out of the mud!

It landed on the ground and was a glowing Treant. After evading the Flame,
Croix stands over the Treant and pulls out a dagger.

“It came out from the mud ……? If it’s just one, it’s no problem, attack it
all at once! Don’t let Croix escape!”
“Ohhhhhh!”

Conrad shouted that he should be outnumbered, and the adventurers readied

their weapons. But Croix was looking down at us with a refreshing face.

“I’m going to break that composure now.”

“Hmm? You’re good …… As expected of Lars-kun.”

I narrowed my eyes when I saw the water jail that was entangled in his leg
just as he was about to jump over to the Treant. And then we began our
attack to finish it ……!
“Gaaaaaaah!?”

“T-The branches is coiling around, U-Ugah ……!?”

“It’s only one …… but it’s stronger than the Black Treants!”

(T/N: The Treants that attacked them in the open space is the black treant.)

A few minutes had passed since the battle had started.

It’s only a few minutes, but it’s still a few minutes …… the adventurers
were severely injured in that amount of time.
The giant, glowing Treants is not as defensive as the black Treants, and
although they can be slashed with swords, they are so quick that they are
hard to hit.

In addition, the Treants attacked with outstretched branches, and showed a

variety of movements such as tightening, poking, and sweeping.

“Don’t falter! Go around it and stop it! …… Mu, it’s you, Makina-san!”

“I’ll stop it! You all should be aim at that moment!”

Makina dodges through the branches and approaches with cuts on her face
and arms. I glanced at the scene for a moment and then followed Croix on
the Treant with my levitation.

“Don’t think you can just watch from the high ground!”
AD

“Whoa …… haha, that’s what I’m talking about! …… Shh!”

“Tah!”

I pulled the water jail with my left hand and make him lose balance, taking
advantage of the opportunity to swing my right sword over his shoulder.
But even though he was limping on the precarious spot on the tree, he still
took my attack with his dagger.

As well as his sense of balance, he’s a frightening guy to withstand a blow

with increased power ……!
“Then I’ll do this, <Fireball>!”

“That much is– ……!?”

“That’s what you’d do if you were capable of that move ……! There you
go!”

“Guh ……!? You’re good ……!”

When I fired a fireball at close range, Croix sees it coming and twists
around to avoid it. I’d already predicted that out, so I kicked him from the
side he avoided. I’m sure the damage is quite large, since Croix jumped into
my kick. As evidence of this, I could see his eyes twisting in pain as they
peered through the bandages.

“<Fire Arrow>!”

“You can’t hit me with that.”

“Not yet!”

“[Kaiser Knuckles]!”

“Woah!?”
Makina lands a heavy blow from below, shaking the Treant so hard that it
knocks Croix off balance.

In addition, it’s obvious who has the advantage with me being able to move
in all directions and Croix being unable to keep his footing.

I continued to attack with my magic and sword without a break. The sound
of metal clanking echoed loudly in the air.

But there was no way that the dagger alone would be enough to endure it,
and the burns and cuts on Croix’s body were slowly increasing, and I was
feeling the effects.

Nevertheless, he’s strong …… He’s not as strong as Tigre-sensei, but he’s

close in terms of evasion ability. But I’m convinced that this one has more
drawbacks than the others.

“Give up! If this continues, you will die! <Wind Thrust>.”

The wind blade strikes Croix, tearing his entire body to shreds. He was
covered in blood, but he held out his dagger and smiled happily with his
mouth open.

“Hahahaha, great! This is just what I expected! …… At any rate, I’m

getting tired …… now ……!”

“!? I won’t let you!”

“Ha ha ha ha!”
After unleashing the Wind Thrust, he immediately slashed at me, forcibly
twisting his body to get close to me. A normal person would be frightened,
and a mistake would result in a blow to the carotid artery through the neck.

But Croix pretended to be tired, lured me in, and attacked me, laughing as
he spurted blood.

I realize I’m one step ahead of him and plunge my sword into his stomach,
and he grabs it and starts to fall from the Treant’s back.

“This height is a bad idea, I guess ……!”

As I hurriedly pulled on the water jail and chased after Croix to grab him,
Cave called out to me from below, restraining the branch.

“Isn’t it alright to let a guy like that die, Lars-sama!?”

“He’s the one who holds the evidence! I want him alive and I want his
testimony. Otherwise, Kelbrem may claim there is no evidence!”

“Haha, nice thinking. But I don’t plan on getting caught.”

As he said this, the falling Croix snapped his fingers. Just as I was about to
reach him, something unbelievable happened.
“Uguh ……!?”

“No way!?”

The Treant swung the giant tree and blew Croix away, wobbling under
Makina’s attack!

Immediately after, the water jail was torn to shreds and my outstretched
hand could not grab anything.

“To blast himself away in this situation ……! I’m going after him, Makina,
you–“

“Guoooooooh!?”

“It suddenly acted up!? …… Damn it, ha!”

Just as I’m about to leave the Treant in the hands of Makina and the others
and go after Croix, it changes its target to me and starts flailing its arms
around. While blocking it with my sword, I shout to Conrad and the others
below.

“I don’t care who it is! Go after the blown away Croix, we can’t let him
escape!”

“O-Okay! Borzov, please.”

“I’m on it! Samo, Kavanya, come on.”

“Yeah!”

As the three of them began to run, we fought off the onslaught of the
Treant. If you look down, half of the adventurers are badly injured, which
tells you how strong this glowing Treant is.

“Break! …… Ha …… Lars, is this thing taking damage?”

“Fireball! From the looks of it, yes.”

The Treants was cracked, and some of the branches were broken, but it
didn’t care and went on a rampage. If the adventurers are getting beaten up
like this, they’re going to be on their last legs …… while thinking of that, I
put my hand on my bag.

“Makina!”

“Ah! …… Okay, I get it.”

“What’s that, Makina-chan? <Earthblade>! Kyaah!?”

When I threw the Sarge equipment to Makina and handed it to her, Sifol-
san, who had been shooting magic to divert it, asked curiously, then was
struck by a branch and rolled on the ground. When Makina changed her
equipment, she repelled the branch that was trying to chase, and jumped
close to it in a forward leaning posture.
“Go ……!”

When Makina struck the Treant, the earth rumbled, and she moved to the
other side, gouging out the Treant’s torso, then quickly turned on her heel
and ran back through, gouging out the trunk. The power of the new
equipment was amazing.

“It’s over! <Dragonic Blaze!> The rest can be done with Sarge Blades
……!”

“Gyuoooooo ……!?”

As soon as Makina pierced it, I unleashed the Dragonic Blaze, which

wrapped around the Treant’s head and caused a massive explosion. I could
have left him there to die, but just in case, I pulled out Sarge’s sword and
sliced him in half with Dragon Fang.

“What a sharpness ……! I can’t compare that to my mithril sword!?”

Conrad raised one eyebrow in astonishment. It’s a sword made from dragon
fangs.
“This …… ends it!”

I swung my sword out once more, splitting the torrent lengthwise and
rendering it completely motionless.

“I-Is it over ……?”

“…… Oh, it stopped moving. I think it’s dead now.”

Cave approached fearfully and poked it with his sword, but the Treant
slowly lost its light and crumbled away.

–And then…

“Look!”

The mangled Sifol-san pointed to the pond of mud, which erupted like a
geyser. I immediately went down to Makina and used magic.

“Auto Protection.”

“Wow, thanks Lars♪”

“Uwah!? Puepue …… It’s raining mud now, what a pain!?”

“…… Did we get all of them ……?”

Conrad muttered and went to the pond after making sure that all the mud
rain had fallen. But I immediately flew in the air with Levitation soon.

“Sorry, I’ll leave that to you! I’ll go after Brzov and the others!”

“Be careful!”

I nodded to Makina and began to move towards the back.

“U-Ugh, Ooohhhhhh!?”

Slammed into the arm of Treant’s giant tree, Croix didn’t slow down his
momentum and was blowing away like a piece of paper as he hits the trees.
It continued like that for a while, but then it hit the big tree and slyly lay on
the ground.

“Gaha ……! Ha …… Ha …… I finally stopped ……! I thought this would

happen because I let it go all out, but, …… Ugh …… several complex
fractures in the bones of the chest and arms, internal organ damage, some
other malfunctions can be seen …… I also can’t see in my other eye.”
When Croix managed to remove the bandage from his face with his right
arm, what came out from underneath was not a face …… with poisoned
skin, but the fake doctor, Retzel. He groaned as he crawled into a daze of
consciousness.

“T-The pain is normal, which is annoying …… but–“

The wound heals quickly as Retzel takes a deep breath. The blood goes
back into his body through the wound and the wound disappears.
Eventually, Retzel stands up and puts his hand on his chest to feel.

“…… “Now that I seem to be all healed up, I should go back to Irumi and
Reiss …… At any rate, Lars-kun’s getting stronger by the minute. When he
was a kid I could get away with not using all my strength, but now he’s a
tough opponent to fight with just a dagger.”

He muttered this with a laugh, the corners of his mouth hanging up, and
walked off in the direction of the town.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how much stronger you are when I see you
again …… I hope he gets to the point where he can do “Kamiyado” soon
…… God gave me this skill, so I’m sure only a god can kill me …… Haha,
Hahahahahaha! I’m looking forward to it, I really am! …… Oops, they’ll
find me if I smile this much, won’t they? I’ll meet again, Lars-kun–“

(T/N: Kamiyado is the one he also mentioned from “Kamiyado

Kamiyadori” that I said can be translated to “The person that the god will
dwell in”, from what I understood.)

With a smile on his face, Retzel laughs and disappeared into the forest.

◆ ◇ ◆
"
"

–ah-ha-ha-ha ……

“Did you just hear that laughing sound?”

“Yeah, I heard it too! Maybe it’s this way!”

I quickly met up with Borzov and the others, and I spoke to them from the
sky, and it seemed that Borzov and the others below could hear it, and they
started running in the direction of the voice.

…… With that kind of force, a direct hit to the tree would have been
enough to kill him. But the laughing voice I just heard was much more
cheerful. He didn’t seem like he could use recovery magic, so it’s a different
person …… That’s not possible, I guess …… If he’s fine, that’s just as bad.
as I thought of that, we proceeded cautiously, and after walking for another
ten minutes, we found a terrible pool of blood.
“…… There’s blood all over the tree, too, which means he was smashed to
a stop here ……”

“It’s no good, Lars, there’s no blood trail anywhere.”

“How did he escape with these injuries ……?”

I flew a little higher into the sky and checked my surroundings, but there
were no shadows to be seen. It’s hard to be optimistic about being him
being killed by monsters with that strong. It’s also possible that he escaped
by some means …… such as teleportation or summoning.

I thought about exploring on my own, but I’m consuming a lot of magic, so

I think it’s best to retreat here. At least there won’t be a large number of
Treants anymore.

“Borzov! We’re the ones who’re going to be lost, so let’s go back to the
others.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have anything to question Kelbrem with, do we?”

“I think I can handle that. The witnesses are all of us, so if we make it back
alive, Hugel-san can inquire about the guild master. I’ve got a trump card.”

“Trump card ……? Well, I guess it’s a good thing we’re able to defeat that
weird Treant. The town and village will be at peace.”

“That’s right …… Er, it’s this way.”

We walked away from the bloody mess with our hair on our backs. As soon
as we got back to the place where the mud pond was, Makina came running
up to us.

“Welcome back! …… By the looks of it, he got away?”

“Yes. There was a puddle of blood, but no body. I don’t how he can get
away with those injuries, but we’re going home carefully in case he
retaliates. In the meantime, I’m going to treat everyone, so wait for me.”

“Yeah. I want to talk to you after you’re done.”

I nodded at Makina’s words and went to treat each adventurer.

“Thank you, we would have been wiped out if it weren’t for Lars-sama. I
didn’t expect something like that to be here ……”

“Even a seasoned veteran had a hard time with it, so it must have been quite
an opponent. If you have a few more wizards and people who can use
recovery magic properly, it won’t be an unbeatable opponent, will it?”

“Haha, I guess! We need more training …… That sword was amazing.”

The adventurers tighten their spirits as they say this. They’ll need to eat
some rice to recover from the loss of blood, but now that everyone is
healed, I return to Makina.

“Good work! Come over here.”

“?”

I was pulled by Makina to the place where there the pond was, and there
was Conrad looking at the bottom.

“Lars-kun, I’m sorry, and thanks for the chase.”

“No, it’s fine. So, what’s here–.”

“What do you think that is?”

Makina pointed to a blue ball that had fallen to the ground. It’s not an
exaggeration to say that it’s a jewel, because it shines so beautifully.
Speaking of which, he was saying that there was a high-quality magical
power at the bottom, but maybe that’s it ……?

“…… Hup.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll pick it up. I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave it there.”

“Isn’t it dangerous? I-I’m coming with you.”

As I used the levitation to reach the bottom, Makina grabbed the edge and
began to slowly descend. I got to the bottom first and bent down to observe
the blue ball.
“…… It’s so beautiful. Is this the source of the Treants?”

“If I could make an accessory out of this, it would be amazing. Maybe

Arjan-san can process it for us.”

“For now, I’ll use [Appraisal] to it.”

Makina is excited in front of the beautiful jewel. Her cheeks relax at the
girlish idea. I thought it would be wise to look at it before touching it, so I
tried the [appraisal].

“Name: ??? A ball with a high concentration of magic power. Not the same
as a gem.”

“That’s it ……”

It seems that a simple appraisal can’t tell us much more than that.

It’s not a jewel, it seems, so should we assume that it’s purely a clump of
magic in some form? It is said that it caused the monsters to mutate and
create anomalies.

“……”
“Gulp ……”

When I reach for the jewel, Makina clings to my back and throbs in my ear,
and I grab the jewel with a little nervousness.

“Whoa!?”

“Kyah ……!?”

As soon as I grabbed it, it lit up with a flash of light. But the glow soon
subsided and we opened our eyes to see the jewel.

“I-I guess it looks okay ……?”

“Yes. It doesn’t look like a problem, so let’s go home <Levitation>.”

The jewel glow quietly again, and as I walk back to the surface with
Makina, Conrad speaks to me.

“Are you okay? It was a great light, but ……”

“Oh, this is the culprit …… I guess?”

When I said that, Cave and Sifol-san, who were waiting at a distance, raised
their voices.

“Uooooooh!? T-This is all Treant!?”

“S-So they’ve been camouflaging as a tree? I mean, that’s a lot!?”

I looked around and saw that some of the trees around us had fallen, and the
Treant’s face appeared on them. I could hear the sound of falling trees
everywhere, and I knew that the Treant fiasco was really over.

Was it something that would lose its effect if I moved the treasure from
there? Even so, the fact that the Treants are dying is strange in itself ……
But at least the Treants won’t keep increasing.
AD

But even if Kelbrem is the culprit, his true purpose is still unknown.
However, I think this can be solved by making Kelbraem talk.

But even though Kelbrem was a hindrance, it’s still a shame that Croix’s
purpose for destroying such a large scale plan remains a mystery.

In the end, it was the result of a common evil that ruined everything by
pulling each other’s legs, so for today, let’s be happy that we were able to
get rid of the Treants.

But–
“What’s the matter, Lars? You’re making a troubled-looking face.”

“No, it’s nothing, let’s go.”

–Somehow, I thought, as I held Makina’s hand, that this might be the

beginning.
<The town of Oriola>

“…… They’re not coming back.”

“What’s wrong? The only ones who haven’t come back are Conrad and the
others, were there any others?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The people who had instigated the assassination had not returned in the
morning, and now, as evening approached, no one was in sight.

When Leisha asked Kelbrem, who was working at the guild to create an
alibi, muttering to herself, Kelbraem replied in a calm voice

“(…… Did they fail? Nevertheless, I don’t see any movement from the
Lord. There’s supposed to be no one in that house, including the
gatekeepers, who has the power to defeat them …… and they won’t be
defeated since they’re attacking by surprise. Did Irumi and Reiss sense our
intentions and took out the five of them? It’s not surprising if they came to
me.)”
The fact that the five of them didn’t come to report brought up all sorts of
speculation, and I didn’t feel calm inside. However, he told himself that it
was not a good idea for Kelbrem to make a move at this point, so he waited
for them to return.

“(Damn …… things haven’t gone well since Retzel came …… that god of
pestilence, things have always been bad when he’s around ……)”

As I was wiping down the guild table and thinking about this, the guild door
suddenly opened and the bell rang.

“Oh, welcome!”

“Welco–!?”
"
"

Leisha shouted cheerfully, and Kelbrem, looking at the entrance, tried to

greet him, but his words faltered when he saw the person standing there.

“Hey, long time no see, Kelbrem”

“Thanks for yesterday.”

“What’s the matter, you look so surprised?”

This is because the three people who were there were Retzel, Irumi, and
Reiss. Aside from Irumi and Reiss, Kelbrem, who doesn’t know that Retzel
will not die, squirts cold sweat without hiding the surprise that Retzel was
alive.

“‘Y-You guys ……!”

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face? We’re about to

leave, so we thought we’d stop by, thanks for your help.”

“Oh my, so you’re a friend of the Master!”

“Yes, we are friends.”

At Leisha’s words, he turned to look at her, smiled narrowly, and

approached the Kelbrem. With a grin in his eyes, Retzel whispers in his ear.

“‘Rejoice, the Treants has been successfully vanquished. The adventurers

are safe. And I’ve told the adventurers about your plan. It will be interesting
to see what they’ll do when they return. And the five men you sent to the
lord’s mansion have been captured. There is some very strong bodyguard in
there, you know? It looks like running away was the best that Irumi and
Reiss could do”

“Y-You ……!? How dare you brazenly come here!!”

“K-Kelbrem-san!? …… H-Huh?”
Kelbrem is furious with Retzel, who laughs in his ear and tries to punch
him. Leisha screams in surprise, but the next moment, Retzel has already
put his hand on the guild door.

“Well then, I don’t know when I’ll see you again, but I hope you’ll do well.
Let’s go, both of you.”

“Ahhh. That’s right, I’ll give you this.”

Just before leaving, Reiss threw a small bottle to Kelbrem and smiled
wryly. Kelbrem, sweating profusely, grabbed the vial and followed the three
as they left.

“T-Take me with you too!”

“Ahhh, it’s true that if you want to run, now’s you’re chance, I guess? I’m
sure you’ll die if you tell them about the organization. But I’ll have to
refuse of you coming with us. Well, I don’t like you, you know!
Hahahahahahaha!”

“T-They disappeared ……?”

“It’s not bad that you became a guild master with just your sword skills, but
after that, you couldn’t make any more moves, poor Kelbrem. The Lord has
decided he doesn’t need you.”

“R-Ridiculous ……!? Aren’t you the one who ended the plan?”
“It wasn’t a bad plan, but it was a bad idea to have too many Treants
spreading throughout the country. If you had at least kept the problem to
this town and the neighboring villages, the country would not have moved.
Do you remember the adventurer named Conrad and the strange woman
who was with him? …… That’s someone from the country.”

“…… !?”

The mention of the woman who was with Conrad sent a chill down
Kelbrem’s spine.

“We must not let them know that our organization is working …… Escape
or die, that’s the only way.”

“If you don’t want people to know about our organization, why did you tell
them about me?

“The information you have is not enough …… And you will survive, right?
Let’s see what you can do.”

With those words, Retzel’s presence was cut off. Kelbrem stood there,
staring at the liquid in the vial.

◆ ◇ ◆

“Huh? What’s that, Makina?”

“This is one of the branches of that glowing Treant. It didn’t wither, and it
survived my attack, so I brought it as a trophy.”

“You can’t deal with the undead, but you’re okay with that kind of thing,
aren’t you, Makina.”

“Because it only looks like firewood to me!”

“Indeed ……”

After subjugating the Treants, we headed back to the town, but due to the
distance, we had to camp again. Makina was playing with Trent’s large,
almost firewood-like branch in her hands like a trophy.

“We’ll take turns on guard. Lars and Makina have been instrumental in this
battle, so when they fall asleep, we’ll be on guard alone, without talking to
them.”

“Yeah, of course. But Lars-sama is amazing because he has the skill [Jack-
of-all-Trades] ……”

“I’ve been told that it’s a failure, but was that a lie?”

The adventurers are talking in whispers that we can barely hear. We’ve been
through a lot, but I think we’ve accomplished one of our goals? Using my
bag as a pillow, I fell asleep with Makina. The next day, we return to the
town, defeating the monsters along the way.
“Finally, we’re back …… I’m exhausted ……”

Cave uses his sword like a staff and whimpers. You can’t blame them
because they’ve been attacked by another monster, perhaps as a reaction to
the Treant’s disappearance on the way home. And then Conrad said.

“Let’s be patient, we’ll get to the guild soon. We need to question

Kelbrem.”

“Oh, I need to rest in a bed ……”

“Sifol-san, you’re almost there!”

After a good night’s rest, Makina and I are fine, so Makina takes Sifol-san
by the shoulders and walks with her.

In the middle of all this, I remembered something and said to Conrad.

“How do we report to Hugel-san? If what Croix says is true, the assassins

should have gone to the lord’s mansion. I’d like to see what’s going on over
there.”

“It’s true that we need to report to the lord as well …… But if he notices
that we are back, won’t we be able to escape?”

I crossed my arms and thought about what Conrad had said to me. It’s true
that what he said is right, I’m sure he’d be surprised that the people he
planned to kill him have come back boldly. I don’t know how many friends
he has out there, but since we came back after defeating Treants that had
been giving us a hard time, it’s more likely that he’ll escape than fight.

“Then let’s split up. Makina and I will go to Hugel-san’s place. Basleigh-
sensei is also there, so we’ll pick her up as well.”

“All right. We’re exhausted, but with this many people, I’m sure we won’t
let them escape.”

Conrad smiled. He said something to me that could’ve flagged it …… I

wonder if it’s gonna be okay? At any rate, we headed to the lord’s mansion.

Now, Retzel’s is gone, and the remaining Kelbrem is ……?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Legal Wife Time”

(T/N: 正妻 means Legal Wife.)

No, that has already finished for some time now ……

“I got that wrong. Punishment Time”

(T/N: 制裁 means Punishment. I did this because both the Legal Wife and
Punishment are both read as “Seisai” but have a different way of writing.)

The fact that you’re so happy about it gives me a psycho vibe.

Leaving the guild to Conrad and the others, Makina and I made our way to
the lord’s mansion. It was almost lunchtime, so the town was sparsely
populated.

For the time being, I’ve left Sarge at the lord’s mansion with the [Summon]
I’ve mastered, so even if something were to happen, it wouldn’t be the
worst-case scenario. I’ve also included that he’ll be by Henrietta’s side to
make sure she doesn’t get taken hostage.

My concern is more like–

“I wonder if Basleigh-sensei behaved ……”

“That’s hard to judge, she’s good when she’s serious, but she’s basically no
good.”
We could see them drinking and making noise, and we smiled. After a
while, we arrived at the lord’s mansion and called out to the gatekeeper.

“Hello, I’m back.”

“Oh, you’re all right!”

“Thank you!”

The gatekeeper smiled at us, and Makina thanked him. As soon as she did,
the gatekeeper’s face clouded over and he opened his mouth.

“I’m relieved, because bandits showed up here, and we almost died. Well,
your teacher? She got it under control and we got out of there. “

“What? A-Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just got hit and fainted. I’m still sorry to the Lord about that,
though.”

The two gatekeepers shrugged their shoulders, regretting that they were not
able to fulfill the task of gatekeeping. As a result, that’s how it is, but……

“‘But I’m glad they didn’t take your life. No matter how much work you
do, the people who hire you probably don’t want you to overexert yourself,
so it would have been very sad if you had died.”
Of course, it’s their job, so running away is unforgivable. However, it’s still
hard to see someone close to you cold the next morning.

“Thank you very much. I don’t want this to happen again, so I’m going to
train harder. You’re going to the lord’s, right?”

“Yes, thank you.”

He laughed and opened the gate for us, and we walked in. I knocked on the
front door and Henrietta came with Sarge, just like the first time.

“Oh, welcome back!”

<You’re back. I wasn’t worried about you, but I’m glad you’re okay.>

“I’m back, Sarge. I heard something terrible happened?”

When Makina asks while holding Sarge, Sarge closes his eyes and clams up
for a moment, and Henrietta smiles with a troubled face.

<I guess it’s faster if you see it. Henrietta, show them the way.>

“Y-You’re right.”
“?”

“What is it, I wonder?”

We looked at each other and followed behind Henrietta. We entered the

reception room and found–

“Now, now, tell me who’s behind this!”

“I, I don’t want to, why will I tell you ……!”

“If we do, we’ll be erased!”

“I see, that’s too bad …… then, this shrimp ahijo is going to disappear into
my stomach.”

(T/N: Ahijo ( アヒージョ ) is a dish cooked in garlic oil; also known as

Ajillo in Spanish. Gambas al Ajillo ( Garlic Shrimp ) is an extremely
popular Spanish dish, and the Japanese version is known as Shrimp Ahijo.)

“Y-Yeah ……! Gulp …….”

“Oh …… delicious ……”

“Damn it …… Ah, I’m starving …… E-Even just a little …… just the edge
of bread is okay!”

“No. I’m not going to give you anything until you tell me who hired you
…… I’m in pain too, you know? Even if you are a captured bandit, it is
cruel to go without food …… Mmm, this steak is also delicious ……”

“Uoooohhhh!”
In the reception room, five people I’ve never seen before were wrapped up
and rolled around on the floor, and Basleigh-sensei was bending over with a
plate in his hand, bringing the food to her mouth.

“How about this sausage on the bone next?”

“Ahhhhhhh ……”

I don’t know how long they hadn’t eaten, but the bandit’s eyes were
bloodshot and glued to the sausage. But then, mercilessly, it slipped into
Basleigh-sensei’s mouth and disappeared.

I was starting to feel a little sorry for the bandit, who looked at the happy
Basleigh-sensei with a resentful look in his eyes, so I decided to call out to
him.

“We’re back, teacher.”

“Are those the attackers?”

“Oh, if it isn’t Lars-kun and Makina-chan! That’s right. We’re interrogating

them right now! You too, Makina-chan.”

“Thank you very much ……? Delicious. ……”

“Uhh, guh …….”

"
"
When Makina gulped down the sausage that was offered to her as if she
didn’t understand it, the bandits sagged heavily. Seeing this, Basleigh-sensei
turned to the bones and said.

“It’s better for your health if you spit it out quickly, you know? Well, I think
it’s because of the possibility of being erased by the mastermind, but aren’t
you going to be erased when you’re caught here?”

“…… Hmph, if you want to kill me, kill me. I’m not going say anything, no
matter what. I’d rather die without talking than saying it.”

One of the five glared at us and said with a fearless smile. I have a feeling
that these guys are not going to live anymore.

“…… If it’s Kelbrem, he’s already over …… If you’re one of Kelbrem’s

…… or even if you’re not, it’s the same, I guess. I don’t know what the
rules are here, but since you tried to kill the Lord, at least you get life in
prison, right?”

“Let’s see. If he’s been injured, they might have gotten your head chopped
off? You should be thanking me.”

<No, I’m the one who beat them, though.>

“But I’m a merciful person, so I just beat them up and rolled them up like
this. But if you’re going to be stubborn and keep your mouth shut any
longer, let’s get out of here.”

<Like I said, I’m the one who beat them ……>

Basleigh-sensei continues to negotiate, but I interrupt her, thinking it’s a
waste of time.

“For now, you can bite Basleigh-sensei right hand later, Sarge. And,
teacher, as I was saying, this threat letter was the work of the Guildmaster
Kelbrem. I’m going to report it to Hugel-san, and I’m going to go to
Kelbrem now. And while we’re at it, maybe we can take these guys with us
and ask them if they know anything about it.”

“…… Hmm, if this continues, the only thing that’s going to happen is that
I’m going to eat and get fat, which is not a very interesting future. Let’s do
that.”

“With that reason ……”

“You do as you please, huh …….”

Makina sighs and Henrietta says in exasperation.

“I-I’m not going to give in to threats. ……”

“Sausage …….”

“Are you planning to betray us!?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll take you to the cart outside and so be quiet, okay?
<Strength>. Makina, report it to Hugel-san, please.”
“Yes, leave it to me! Henrietta, Basleigh-sensei, shall we go?”

“Yes!”

“Just let me have the prawns …… And I haven’t seen Conrad-san in a

while.”

“Oh, let’s see ……”

The three of us left in a flurry of activity, leaving the bandits and me to

carry the two of them back and forth between the outside and the reception
room. As I carried the last one, a man called out to me.
"
"

“…… why don’t you kill us right away.”

“Hmm? I’m not good at killing, after all. I just don’t want to kill if I can
help it. But, well, if someone had died because of your attack, you might
have a taste of hell while alive, though.”

“……”

I can feel the man I’m holding by the side turn to look at me in a cold
sweat. However, the man continues to talk even as he squeezes his voice
out.

“I’m sure a well-behaved kid like you wouldn’t understand …… There are
people out there who are as good as dead even though they are alive. That’s
why we–“

“I don’t know what you’re going through, but I think it’s more important to
think about how you should be from now on, not how you’ve been. You
can’t change the past. For example, if you were in pain in the past, I can’t
help you anymore. But if you can tell me the truth now, I might be able to
protect you.”

I said that, and showed the same oversized fire that I had shown Ryuuze
sometime before.

“……!?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, since you’re prepared to die. I don’t really care if
you don’t talk.”

“……”

The man bows his head and falls silent.

In fact, we don’t know what happened, and it would be a boon if we could

hear what they want, but if they won’t talk, we have no choice. I sigh,
thinking that capturing all of them will solve the problem for now.

That’s what I was thinking, but–

“Rocking~ in the wagon~♪, we’re headed~ for a cage where they’ll never
get out again~♪”
We put five people in the back of the cart, and the horse and I pull it. On
both sides, Makina and Basleigh-sensei were standing to prevent any
possible escape. Behind us was the carriage of Hugel-san and the other, the
lord’s family.

There was a suggestion that we could leave Sarge behind and go alone, but
Hugel-san said he would talk to Kelbrem directly, so we decided to go this
way.

I was worried about leaving Rakute-san and Henrietta behind, and if there
were still assassins, they might take advantage of our absence, so we all
came together.

In the meantime, I turned around and called out to Basleigh-sensei to stop

her singing.

“Stop it, MrBasleigh-sensei, it’s true, but singing in the street is

embarrassing.”

“It’s a strategy to get information out of them by damaging them mentally.

Isn’t it fine, right, Makina-chan?”

“What!? I-I don’t know even if you ask me that!? …… I think you’re a
good singer, though ……”

“Oh, thank you, Makina-chan …… Now then, we’re almost at the guild, I
wonder how are Conrad-san and the others doing?”

When the guild’s sign came into view, Basleigh-sensei narrowed her eyes.
It’s not early in the morning, so the other adventurers are out, but it’s hard
to escape when that many people who survived are packed in.

The problem is that we’ve only heard verbally that the mastermind is
Kelbrem, so the evidence is pretty thin. In the meantime, I asked him to
bring the threat letter with him for a handwriting analysis.

Eventually, we passed through the guild’s door. I could see Conrad and the
others frozen in the center of the room. But there was no sign of Kelbrem. I
called out to him, wondering if he was planning to wait for us and storm the
guild master’s room.
AD

“What’s going on, Conrad? Everyone has a grim look too.”

“Oh, it’s you, Lars-kun! No, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“Are we going to storm the Guildmaster’s office?”

I turned my attention to the door at the back and Borzov came up to me and
shook his head, answering for Conrad.

“Well, Leisha said he hasn’t been seen since this morning. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes …… there was something strange going on yesterday when someone

who claimed to know him showed up at the guild, is there a connection?”

“What did he look like?”

“It was a man with a very kind face. He was accompanied by a petite girl
with glasses and a ponytail, and after whispering something in his ear, he
hurriedly followed him outside. He came back soon after, but after that, but
he said he didn’t feel well and stayed in his room …… And in the morning,
there was nothing at all.”

If he was talking to him as if he knew him, Croix was the most likely
candidate, but did he give us that information to reassure us and help him
escape? But the fact that he looked so kind.

“Leisha-san, did he have any bandages on his face or anything? What about
his name?”

“Hmmm, it was a man with a very pretty face. I don’t know his name
because he didn’t give it.”

“Is that so ……”

As I put my hand on my chin and pondered, Hugel-san, who had stepped

forward quickly, opened his mouth. The adventurers groaned at the sight of
him.

“Lars, why don’t we just go into the guild master’s room? You might find
some clues there.”

“Hugel-san. I guess so, let’s go house hunting. Let Me, Conrad, and Hugel-
san check it out. Makina, you two stay with the two of them.”

“It’s three, though, Lars-kun?”

“Basleigh-sensei can protect herself, right.”

“How mean ……!”

Then Leisha-san went to Conrad with some kind of key.

“Conrad-san, I’ve got the key, so I’ll open it.”

“Please.”

“Mu, that woman, to Conrad-san, she’s ……! Oops, I slipped!”

“Kyaaa!? W-What’s with you!?”

Basleigh-sensei’s deliberate hit on Leisha-san, who was smiling at Conrad,

threw Leisha-san off balance.
"
"

“No, there was a thieving cat, so I just–“

“You mean me!? Conrad is my …… Ahh …… It’s nothing …… Seriously,

I’ll remember this later ……! Now then ……”

Leisha, acting like an adult, turned the key and opened the door for us. We
entered cautiously, me and Conrad in that order, and after looking around to
make sure nothing was out of place, we invited Hugel-san in.

“…… No one’s here, huh.”

“So he ran away, that Cloix, he gave us the information because he thought
it would be safe to do so?”

I opened the next room to make sure, but this one seemed to be more of a
private room, and there were clothes hanging in the closet. Then Hugel-san
called out behind me.

“…… Hmm, his handwriting is trying to change a bit, but it’s a close
match. I can’t say for sure because he’s not here, but the fact that he’s not
here now is kind of proof.”

“So, yes, it’s not clear ……”

Because the threat isn’t really gone, Conrad left the Guildmaster’s room,
and now Cave spoke to me.

“So he got away, it would have been different if we had caught Croix there
……”

“It’s no use talking about it. I’m glad there are no casualties, because we’re
in a situation where we have no choice but to fall back. For now, let’s set
aside Kelbrem and see what we can do about them.”
I opened my mouth in front of the five bandits.

“By the way, who’s these three ……?”

“These are the bandits who attacked the lord’s mansion. They probably
work to Kelbrem, but since they won’t talk, I think we’ll have to throw
them in jail.”

“I see. Hey, you guys look like you’ve been abandoned. They said Kelbrem
is gone.”

One of the adventurers crouched down and said, and the men silently
looked away. Well, they’ve endured Basleigh-sensei’s torture, so I guess
there’s nothing to talk about now.

Then Hugel-san claps his hands and tells the adventurers in an unusually
loud voice.

“This time, I have caused you trouble because of my inadequacy. The threat
to our family is far from over, but thanks to you guys subjugating the
Treants, the town and village will gradually return to normal. Thank you so
much.”

When Hugel-san bowed, the adventurers said in confusion.

“No, please raise your heads. You’ve been blackmailed, so you can’t help
it.”

“That’s right. The guild master is the mastermind behind all of this, so
there’s nothing we can do ……”

“I’ll be busy again, so let’s make it up to each other! Now that I’m hungry, I
think I’ll go get lunch, if you need anything, just give me a call.”

“Lars-sama, let’s take another request together!”

The adventurers, having decided that the matter was settled, began to leave
the guild in disarray, or sat down on chairs to doze off.
AD

“Oh, then let’s have lunch too! Conrad-san, please!”

“Conrad-san is eating with me! It’s fine, right? We always eat together, after
all!”

“Y-Yeah, ……. Oh, no! I can’t, because I have to deal with these bandits! I
think Basleigh-san should send the Lord with Lars-kun!”

“Oh, I see ……”

“Chie-“

Conrad does a good job of fending them off, and we decide that Conrad will
take care of the bandits and we’ll take care of Hugel-san, so we go outside
to move.
Still, it’s a problem that he got away …… I don’t think he’s gone far, should
we search the area?
“It’s a party, a party! Drinks and snacks are at my hands again ……!”

“Don’t drink too much, okay? I’m going with Lars, so I won’t accompany
you.”

“Don’t worry♪ I’ll have a nice adult drink with Conrad-san, after all! Nfufu
……”

<The next time Aina calls me, I’m leaving, okay? I won’t be able to fake it
anymore.>

“Right. To be honest, I was hoping to catch Kelbrem and take him back
safely, but I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s talk with Makina for the first
time in a long time today.”

<Mhm.>

–The night we defeated the Treant, we decided to have a party at Hugel-

san’s mansion, and everyone who went to that battle will be coming over
later.

Since then, Conrad and the others have gone to hand over the bandits to the
guards, and Hugel-san has brought all the servants back to the mansion via
a certain person.

Although I advised him that it was still dangerous, I first posted the fact that
the ringleader, Kelbrem, had not shown up, and the threat letter to the guild,
and arranged for them to let us know if they found Kelbrem, and then
Basleigh-sensei wrote a letter to the castle.
So I asked Hugel-san if it was okay not to be alarmed.

“Doing as I’m told for my own protection is not what a Lord should do.
Even though it’s dangerous, I have to do what I have to do as a lord. Lars-
kun, the son of the lord, is working hard enough to go to battle, and I, the
current lord, am trying to avoid trouble, right?”

And Hugel-san said that with a troubled face. I think it’s great that you’re
motivated. Of course, they are going to increase their personal security for a
while, just in case something happens. It seems they plan to recruit Conrad
and the other from the surviving adventurers …… There’s no guarantee that
these adventurers aren’t connected to Kelbrem, though.
AD

And well, I was reasonably busy during the afternoon and evening.

Now that the sun has set, Makina and I, Sarge and Henrietta are resting in
one of the rooms of the house.

I mutter to myself as I look out the window.

“There’s nothing to see at night, huh?”

“I wonder if he really ran away …… He even tried to hit Lars, so I don’t

think he’ll run away quietly.”

<The smaller you are, the more you want to intimidate people. I’m sure he
was a fragile man when even a single tear appeared.>
“Sarge, you can say some pretty difficult thing ……”

<I’ve lived a long life, you know.>

Henrietta, who’s taken a liking to Sarge, says this while holding him in her
arms. It helps me because he has auto protection.

“Are we going to be okay ……? I wish Lars-san and Makina-oneesama will

stay here in town.”

“I’m sorry but we can’t do that because we have our own things to do. But
if you are worried about your parents, Henrietta, you should try to be
cautious. Like me, Henrietta is the daughter of a lord. She can be
kidnapped, held hostage, or used in any number of ways. You can go with
your butler or maid for a while.”

“Okay, thank you, Lars-san …… But I still want to be strong too. Just a
little bit, and I swear I won’t do anything rash!”

I was a little surprised that she hadn’t given up yet. But I shook my head
and say no.

“It’s impossible to teach you the magic and techniques I have because they
are not something you can copy. I’m sure it’s even difficult to teach Makina
because her skills are like that.”

“Ugh ……”
“But, let’s see …… If you want to use it for your parents, I can give
Henrietta some advice. Asking you what you’re good at and what you’re
not, and giving you advice.”

When I said that, Henrietta looked up and pouted, and Makina laughed.

“In the end, you can’t say no to a serious request, right Lars? Well, that’s
what’s great about you, though.”

“…… Let’s just go over the schedule with Basleigh-sensei tomorrow and
see what we can do.”

“…… Yeah! Oh, everyone should be here by now, let’s go to the hall.”

“The maids are back and it became more lively, good for you.”

Henrietta holds hands with Makina while carrying Sarge in her arms and
leaves the room. I followed behind her. Not long after, everyone gathers at
the mansion and a party is held.

“…… I wonder why there are thieving cats here ……!”

“I’ve been invited by Conrad-san, you know? Hm-hm, I’ve known him
longer than you know yourself! Right, Conrad-san? …… Huh, he’s not
here!?”
"
"

“He’s right over there!”

“They found me ……!? Borzov, please be my shield.”

“Come on, choose one of them.”

I tipped my glass as I watched Basleigh-sensei tangle with Conrad with

Leisha-san on the side. Oh, cherry liquor, Makina would like that.

“This is cherry liquor, would you like to try some?”

“Oh, really? It smells good …… Then, try this orange liquor, too.”

<Puha, I like beer, after all. It goes well with meat.>

“You’re so crafty, as always.”

While the three of us were chatting over a drink, Cave came over to us with
a mug in his hand, laughing.

“Lars-san, are you drinking?”

“You too, Makina-chan!”

“Oh, thanks for the hard work, Cave and Sifol-san.”

AD

“Did your tiredness disappear?”

“Yeah, I’ve recovered all my magic. There will be more and more requests
to take down Treants in each area, so we will be busy.”

“What are Lars-sama and the others planning to do after this?”

Sifol-san was smiling as she made a humping motion to earn money from
the request. Cave asked me about my future plans, so I answered.

“We’re going to the Royal capital. I said I’d go to greet the king after I
graduate from the academy, after all.”

“W-What ……? W-Well, if you’re that strong, such a thing can happen
…… can it?”

“Let’s not even think about it ……”

“Lars has been awesome since he was a kid!”

<Mhm. My friend is awesome.>

“S-Stop it, you two ……”

Perhaps because of the alcohol in their system, Makina and Sarge’s words
slipped out. I was embarrassed to hear them talk so highly of me.

In the middle of such a fun time, the gatekeeper comes into the party room
as if rolling in.
AD
“M-My Lord, please run! He’s in the mansion ……!”

His face was filled with fear and he was screaming, blood pouring from his
shoulder. Hugel-san raised his voice in panic and asked about the situation.

“What’s wrong, Gouto, what’s with your injury!? Who is he? …… Don’t
tell me!?”

“That’s right! Kel …… gwaaaaah!?”

The moment I hear the dull sound of flesh being cut, the gatekeeper known
as the Gouto blows up and rolls to the middle of the room. When I looked at
him, I saw that his back had been slashed, and he was twitching and
spewing blood.

“Oh no ……! <Healing>!”

I use my magic, and immediately afterwards the people who cut him comes
in. Conrad, seeing this, leaped forward with his hand on his sword at his
hip.

“Kelbrem ……! And the bandits that were supposed to be in jail ……!”

“Yes, it’s me, Conrad.”

“…… I thought you escaped from?”

“That’s what I was going to do at first. But I couldn’t stop thinking about all
of you who ruined my plans, and I couldn’t stop being annoyed. So I
thought, I’ll just kill you all here. You guys didn’t seem to notice, but I
heard about the party, you know? I’ve been waiting to take care of you guys
when you get here.”

Kelbrem muttered in an indifferent, emotionless voice. I think he was a

little more emotional when he was talking to me ……?
AD

“You’re rotten ……. It’s funny that they’re even here! What happened to
the guards!”

“Wouldn’t they be in the afterlife by now? I didn’t check to see if they’re

dead or not, after all.”

“……!?”

When Cave shouted, Kelbrem said in a voice that was still inarticulate, and
Conrad drew his sword and thrust the point at him.

“Do you think you can win against this many people with only six?”

“Huh! I’ll ask you this, do you really think you can beat me when you’re
tired and drinking! Besides, I’ve got this too!”
The corner of his mouth twisted as he shouted, and what Kelbrem pulled
out of his pocket was a small bottle. The moment I saw it, a cold sweat
broke out on my back.

“Lars, that ……!?”

<No way, that is……!>

Makina and Sarge seemed to think the same thing as I did, and sweat
poured down their foreheads.

There’s no doubt about it–

“That’s the drug that turned the kidnapper into an ogre ……!”
"
"

While I was muttering this, my body was already running towards

Kelbrem!
Kelbrem! Where did you get that potion ……!”

“What ……!?”

“Lars-kun ……!?”
The vial that Kelbrem took out was familiar to me. It’s the same as the one
used by the kidnappers of Luciel and Luciela. If that’s the case, drinking the
contents must turn him into an ogre …… so I can’t let him drink that.

And if we can grab this guy, we can find out who’s the mastermind behind
that escaped!

“Answer me!”

“Kuku, that’ll not work on me! I knew you were a cocky kid when I met
you, and it seems I’m right! Watch how you talk to me!”

I jumped close to him and punched Kelbrem in the stomach. The damage is
not as severe as it could be due to the armor he wears. I was about to give
chase when Kelbrem swung his sword down at me.

“It’s too late!”

“In the knee ……!? You little brat!”

He’s a short-tempered fellow, and if I see an opening and take the vial ……
he’ll turn his attention to the vial, but then it surprised me. There’s a little
less in it ……!? I back-stepped away from the sword and asked Kelbrem.

“Did you drink it ……!”

“You’re called Lars, right? How do you know this vial.”

“…… I know it because it’s the same one that belonged to the adventurers
who tried to kidnap someone in my hometown in Gust Territory. After they
drank the liquid inside …… they turned into ogres.”

” ” “What!?” ” “

Conrad, the adventurers, and even the five bandits were astonished by my
words. One of them is even Kelbrem.

“Don’t tell me …… you drank the without knowing it!? Who gave it to
you!”

“…… I’ve only drunk half of it!”

<Is that something you should say while breaking into a cold sweat.
Human, It’s better for you to be captured right now, you know?>

“Hiiii ……!?”

Sarge flaps his wings, riding on my shoulder, and says to Kelbrem. The
bandit looked at Sarge and his body stiffened and shook.

“D-Dragon ……!? W-What the hell are you ……?”

“I’m–“
“Oh, let me, Basleigh-chan, explain the rest! This person is Lars Irving, the
son of Roen Irving, the lord of Gust! And he’s also the one who made the
Ogre disappear in the kidnapping case. A musclehead like you is no match
to him! Gehyahyahyahya!”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Could you please shut up for a second, Basleigh-
sensei?”

“Oh, yes.”

It seems that my words have sobered up Basleigh-sensei, who nods her

head and turns to face Kelbrem with awkward movements. Then, in a cold
sweat, Kelbrem looked at me and shouted.

“The son of the Lord of the Gust territory ……!? You’re the one who
crushed the plans at the Gust territory!? He was a disagreeable bastard, but
he was good, and you’re telling me that Retzel was beaten by this guy
……!?”

“What!? You know Retzel!?”

Kelbrem mentioned a name I didn’t expect to hear, and I screamed ……

Hmm? I felt something strange, but before I could think about it, Kelbrem
narrowed his eyes and continued.

“…… I see. If you’ve beaten him, you’re pretty good. That’s why you’ll be
able to successfully subjugate the Treants and return alive. And now
Oriola’s plans have been crushed …… It seems that keeping you alive is a
danger to us all. An ogre, huh …… Interesting.”
Kelbrem turns his cold sweat into a greasy sweat and opens the lid of the
vial. Is he planning to drink that!?

“Stop it! You’re going to lose your intelligence too, you know!?”

“‘Ha, haha! I’m probably not going to make it, but if I can just kill Hugel,
I’ll be happy, let’s die together, Hugel ……!”

“Kelbrem, why are you doing this to me ……”

“You probably don’t remember, but the woman who was going to be my
wife is dead because you were a coward ……! Fifteen years ago, there was
an increase in the number of monsters in this territory. I advised you to
organize a team to subjugate them. But you said it was no problem. What
happened after that? A couple of villages were attacked. And in one of
those villages was my girlfriend. That’s when I swore I’d get my revenge
on you someday.”
"
"

So that kind of thing happened …… So this guy made a plan to bring down
the lord. You came to this mansion instead of running away to kill Hugel-
san.

“It’s true, that did happen, it’s a time when I was in my second year as a
lord …… I, I see… that’s what it was …… listen to me, Kelbrem! At that
time–“
“Shut up ……! If I can at at least kill you and your family …… Right, if I
kill your wife and daughter, will you understand my pain? If you were an
ogre, you’d kill me before I killed you ……!”

“I told you to stop!”

When I jumped at him with my levitation to get the vial, a slash came at me
that was faster than the previous one. I turned around in a panic to avoid it,
but in the meantime, he had drunk all the liquid from the bottle.

“You surprised? I told you I drank half of it earlier, didn’t I? After that, I
suddenly felt a surge of power. I thought this was some kind of enhancer.
But, well, no wonder it turns you into an ogre ……”

“Kuh ……!”

<Don’t worry about it, Lars. This guy had plenty of opportunities to start
over. But all that matters is what we are doing here and now. We have no
choice but to stop the madness.>

“Yeah ……!”

Kelbrem muttered, his face a mixture of resignation and regret. It’s not that
I can’t defeat him by transforming into an ogre, but there are some things
you can’t do. While I was thinking about this, I saw a figure quickly pass by
my side.

“Secret Technique [Fatal Wound] ……!”

“Ah!?”

“Ah!?”

The figure was Basleigh-sensei! Using her skill, she delivers a heavy blow
to Kelbrem’s belly that is out of proportion to his body, and a dull sound is
heard.

“Geho!? …… Oehhhhh ……”

(T/N: He’s puking, I think.)

“This is the only way to get rid of all the liquid you just drank.”

“What are you doing ……!”

“Kyaaah!?”

“Basleigh-sensei!? …… Kelbrem!”

“I’ll take care of Basleigh-sensei!”

Even though he was on one knee, Basleigh-sensei was hit by Kelbrem’s

swinging arm and was blown to the wall and fell to the floor. When I saw
that Makina was going to check on him, I turned my attention to Kelbrem.

“I-I threw up a little, but it seems that you’re late …… I …… I’m getting
stronger …… Soraaah!”
He swung his sword down, and with a thud, the floor shook. That’s a hell of
a lot of power ……!

“…… He’s not turning into an ogre? Does he also have awareness?”

“Kuku, It seems that you’re right? I don’t know about the adventurer who
became an ogre, but I’m pretty strong right now ……? If I hadn’t thrown
up, I would have become an ogre, huh ……? Well, whatever. Now …… if
you don’t want to die, go get your wife and daughter ……! If you do, I’ll
spare your life.”

“I just have to beat you first!”

I pull out my Sargeblade and stand my ground. Then Conrad and the others,
who had been listening to the conversation in a daze, came to their senses
and opened their mouths.

“We have to stop Kelbrem! Protect the Lord!”

” ” ” “Ohhhhhhhhhh!” ” ” “

“I’ll have you guys join the fight too?”

“……”
The adventurers on this side and the reluctant-looking bandits on the other
side stand side by side, weapons at the ready. Don’t worry …… I won’t let
him kill anyone ……!

“I couldn’t drink it down, but it seems its effect is true. It’s got a hell of a
lot of power …… Let’s go, Hugel, adventurers!”

“U-Uooohhh ……!?”

When Kelbrem swung, a gust of wind blew and the adventurers were
scared. As a guild master, he was much more powerful than the four of
them. But even so, I don’t think he’s stronger than Tigre-sensei.

“Don’t think you’ll be able to get through from here, okay!?”

“You’re so cocky at every single thing ……!”

When I hold the Sargeblade in one hand, The frightened Conrad and the
others scattered and moved.

“Please stay back, Lord. There are six of them, and we will punish them.”

“Yeah!”

“Those five are the target!”

Cave and Sifol-san also took up their weapons and got into a fighting
stance, glaring at each other. The first to move was the …… Kelbrem!

<He’s coming!>

“Get out of the way!”

AD

“Not so fast! <Auto Protection><Strength>!”

I’m sure his leg strength has improved, and he closes the gap and swings his
sword at my head with all his might. I used auto-protection as insurance,
but I still catch it with the sword.

“Kuh …… it’s heavy ……”

“You can take this!? What kind of training this guy did!? It’s no wonder
Retzel lost ……! Then I’ll deal with you later. [Burst]!”

As soon as Kelbrem shouted, the carpet beneath our feet burst into flames,
sending me and Sarge flying into the air.

“A skill, huh!”

“That’s right, I can rupture anything that touches me anywhere in my body.

There you go, you’ve got an opening!”
“<Levitation>.”

“What!? Ancient magic!? …… Damn, this kids is a bad idea …… Just

blow away for now!”

“What! <Fireball>!”

Just as you’re setting up for the levitation, the kelp bremsstrahlung will
follow. As I repelled it off and counterattacked with magic, and with an
astonishing look, he evaded the fireball and closer to Conrad. In the
meantime, Kelbrem yells at the five bandits.

“Don’t be in a daze, boys! Do it like you’re ready to die!”

“We can’t let you pass! Borzov, Kavanya, Samo, attack him!”

“Conrad ……! Get out of the way!”

“I won’t take your life. But you’re going to have to feel a little pain,
Kelbrem-san!”

As soon as I landed, Conrad and the others stood in their way. Then, the
bandits also raised their voices.

“Y-Yeah! Uohhhh!”

“I-I don’t care what happens ……!”

“You’re opponent is us! Lars-sama, take care of Kelbrem!”

“Thank you, Cave! …… Hmm? Sarge?”

<I’ll take care of this.>

Sarge, who was sent flying with me, is heading towards the bandits instead
of Kelbrem. He enlarged his body and stood next to Cave.

“Woah ……!? A-A Dragon …… it’s a bit small, though …….”

“That’s cool.”

“Kuh …… you surprised us last time, but not this time ……!”

<Well, let’s see what you got ……!>

“I’ll show you what I’m made of!”

The five of them attacked the human-sized Sarge! They’re ready to go, and
they’ve got a weapon in their hands. Sarge didn’t move an inch, but after a
short pause, he opened his mouth.

And then–

“Uhhh. ……”

“A-As I thought, it’s impossible ……”

“I-It’s too strong.”

“……”

“Oh, man. Are you dead ……? Don’t die first while leaving me here!?
Open your eyes!”

–Naturally, a slightly larger fireball hit the five of them, causing a huge
explosion. Well, he’s taking it easy on them, so they’re not dead yet. The
five of them, with their hair all over the place, couldn’t move and were
immediately captured by Cave and the others.

“…… What the hell is wrong with you people ……?”

“I knew this was going to happen when I said I was coming to this house!
There’s no way you can beat a dragon!”

“Well, you’re right about that ……”

So you were prepared for this in many ways …… Hmm? I can see the left
shoulder of one of the bandits under his torn clothes, and there was a tattoo
of a scorpion holding a scythe like the Grim Reaper. One of the others also
had the same tattoo, so it must be a sign that they were friends or
something.

With Sarge out of the way, I headed for Kelbrem with Conrad and a few
other adventurers. I did not use magic because it might get them too, I was
watching the situation, but Conrad’s group and Kelbrem were at odds with
each other.
“The sword is ……!?”

“So it broke! Die!”

“I won’t let you! Uoaaahhhh!?”

Borzov, who was protecting Conrad, was hit by [Burst] and fell to the floor.

“Borzov!? Damn, what a mess for one guy ……!”

“Hahahahaha! This potion is amazing! I never thought I’d have the strength
to fight you guys on my own!”

“Aim for the legs!”

“It’s hard …… Gofu ……!”

The other adventurers also tried to slash at him, but they were damaged one
by one by his overwhelming power. If you think of it as a highly intelligent
ogre, it makes sense.

Unlike us at that time, Conrad and the others were active adventurers.
However, Kelblrm is very strong, not only because he relies on force, but
also because he uses feints and skills. In addition, when I see how he beat
down Conrad and the others despite being wounded, it seems that his
recovery ability is still high.
As I was watching the timing of when to attack, I saw Makina’s figure out
of the corner of my eye. At that moment, her eyes met mine and she pointed
to her stomach and nodded. I nodded back, and attacked Kelbrem, who was
engaged in a fierce battle with Conrad.

“Kelbrem!”

“You’re back ……! Damn, they’re so useless even though I saved them.”

“If you treat people like tools, you’ll get hurt, If they were your friends,
you’d help them.”

“You talk like you know what you’re talking about …… What did you
say!?”

I swung the Sargeblade down from the air with all my might, and Kelbrem’s
sword that caught it broke in half right down the middle.

“Impossible, A sword made of Donea Ore broke!?”

“This one is custom made from the fangs of the dragon over there, so it
can’t be any stronger! I’m sorry, but I’ll take that arm! Dragon Fang!”

“Right! N-No, Lef …… Guaaaaahhhhhhhh ……!?”

My sword cut off Kelbrem’s dominant right arm at the elbow. The sword
falls with a clang, and a lot of blood spurts out of his elbow, but he comes at
me with his left arm, sweating profusely.
“What’s this ……!? A Magic Shield!”

But the fist doesn’t reach me as I’m using auto-protection, and soon after, I
see Makina getting close to him.

“I think it’s sad that your girlfriend died. If Lars were here, I might be
tempted to screw everything up, too …… But maybe that’s not what Lars
wants. I’m sure Hugel-san didn’t leave her to die because he wanted to, you
know?”

“……!”

Kelbrem’s face twisted at Makina’s words.

“If that’s the case …… I don’t know what to do with my anger. That’s all I
thought about for fifteen years of my life–“

Even so, Kelbrem is furious that he wasn’t wrong. Even if you know in
your head that it’s force majeure, there are still things you can’t accept, and
only the people involved can know how angry you are. But even so, I ……
we replied like this.

” “It’s not too late …… live a life worthy of your lover!” “

“Gofo……!?”

He was hit by Makina on the spot where his weakness was exposed by
Basleigh-sensei’s [Fatal Wound], and my fist, which flew in levitation,
pierced the middle of the Kelbrem.

Kelbrem was hit by a punch with the full power [Kaiser Knuckles] and my
increased strength, and he sank into the wall and stopped moving.

“D-Did he die ……!?”

“It’s okay, it’s not like he’s as powerful as an ogre for nothing.”

If you look closely, you can see that he’s twitching, so it looks like he’s just
passed out. Then Basleigh-sensei dashes up to him and starts to give him a
kick.

“How dare you! You have the nerve to hit me with all your might, when I’m
so weak! Do you want to go out? Aaah!?”

“What a scary woman ……”

“Don’t make eye contact or you’ll get tangled up ……”

The adventurers who staggered to their feet in the face of Basleigh-sensei’s

menacing look shuddered.
Well, never mind that–

“…… Whew, will he can listen to me now ……?”

“I hope so …….”

We headed to Basleigh-sensei to restrain Kelbrem.

“Well, I guess that’s about it.”

“I think Kelbrem did his best, but it’s still tough against Lars-kun and
Makina. And Basleigh-sensei.”

“That woman has some subtly disgusting skills ……”

On a tree overlooking the dining room of the mansion, Retzel and three
others each commented on the battle against Kelbrem. Retzel nodded his
head in satisfaction at Lars and his team’s victory, but Reiss raised her voice
and spoke up.

“Basleigh-sensei, you’ve really made a terrible mess of things …… I’ve

made a potion that won’t turn you into an ogre if you drink it all, but now
I’ll never know the full effect with that amount.”

“What’s the difference between that and a muscle-strengthening drug.”

“As you can see, it mainly improves strength and natural healing. It will
also improve your leg strength a bit. It’ll also make you as energetic as an
ogre.”

“Buh!? W-What the hell are you doing!?”

“If the potion concentrated only the strength of the ogre, Lars-kun could
keep it and improve his abilities by leaps and bounds, couldn’t he? And if I
seduce him naked with his increased energy, he will be ……”

“There’s no way you can seduce someone with such a poor body. He’s got a
girl named Makina, so of course he’ll do it with her.”

“I-I’m sure there’s a demand for it …… but damn, I wish I had at least big
tits like Kudelica.”

If Kudelica were to hear Reiss’ statement, she would have her head twisted
off, to which Retzel replied with a laugh.

“Hahahaha, you’ve already grown up, so I don’t think Reiss will grow
anymore? It’s too bad, but you better give up on that.”

“What the ……!? You, Retzel, I can’t forgive for what you just said! Take it
back!”

“Ah, hey, what are you doing to doctor!”

As Reiss strangled Retzel on the unbalanced tree, Retzel opened his mouth
with another smile.
“Now, there’s nothing we can do about Reiss’ body, but there is something
we can do. I got a call from the Founder to come back, so I’m going back to
the organization.”

“Hah~ ……. Doctor, if you don’t mind me saying, maybe it’s about what
we’re up to?”

“8 out of 10, that’s probably it. But that’s why we have to go back,
otherwise we’ll be in trouble. I’d like to urge Lars-kun’s growth, but that’s
something to look forward to the next time we meet …… Also, I want to
check out things about the “Kamiyado”, so this is perfect.”

“I’m going after Lars-kun, even if I have to do it alone …… Is what I’d like
to say, but I guess there’s no choice. I’ve never been there, so I’m going to
have to see what this Founder or something is like.”

“I’ve never been either.”

When Irumi said that, Retzel kept smiling.

“…… I’m going to ask you to be careful and stay close to me when we get
there. Then let’s leave the cleanup to them and be on our way.”

“Are you sure it’s for the information to leak out?”

“I think it’s okay? Because I won’t be bothered! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.”

“Seriously, doctor ……”

“I look forward to our next meeting, Lars-kun, Makina.”

When Irumi put her hands together and closed her eyes, the three melted
into the darkness and disappeared. Only they know where they are going.

◆ ◇ ◆

“There’s a shard of glass over there, so be careful.”

“I’m sorry, maid, I made a mess. You’re beautiful, next time– Ouch!?”

“Okay, okay, don’t pick you up on someone in the middle of nowhere!

Please clean up after yourself!”

<Where am I supposed to take this?>

“Oh, that’s …… over there ……”

“What a skillful dragon ……”

Leisha-san’s instructions echoed through the deserted cafeteria.

After defeating Kelbrem, it was no longer time for a party, so we all cleaned
up the dining room and I was assigned to treat the injured. That’s right,
since the front gatekeeper rushed to the scene, I managed to save his life
…… But I don’t want to think about what’s going on with the guards that
have been gone too long.

Saju is also human-sized, and he’s a skillful collector of cups and other
objects, making him a favorite among adventurers. He’s getting more and
more human-like ……

Not long after that, the adventurers left the mansion after the cleanup was
finished. I was worried that they would start acting up again, but Hugel-san
said that they would be fine with me, so they reluctantly left.

“See you later, Lars-sama! We’ll train ourselves to be as good as you!”

“Come by the guild again!”

“Sorry, I’ll let you know how it goes. I’ll leave taking care of the guards to
you too”

“Yeah.”

After Conrad greets the adventurers at the door, we head back to the dining
hall. There was still the unconscious Kelbrem and the five men, still
wrapped in ropes, lying on the floor.

“So, this time you can’t escape. I want you to tell me who you are. I also
want to know about that tattoo on your shoulder.”

“……!”

When I said that, the men all went pale and looked away. Then Basleigh-
sensei crouched down and smiled.
“You’re ready to die, aren’t you? If you talk, you die. If you don’t talk, you
die. I don’t know why you’re doing this, or who’s ordering you to do this,
but why don’t you go ahead and expose the people who put you through
this?”

“Don’t be so stubborn as to say you’ll take it to your grave. So, what do you
think?”

When I asked again, the man looked me in the eye, then turned to Sarge’s
eyes, then opened his mouth and muttered.

“You’ve seen the tattoo. All right, I’ll tell you. Then kill us immediately.
You killed us without asking, that’s the scenario.”

“……? What do you mean?”

It doesn’t look like he’s joking. The other four had serious expressions on
their faces. In the meantime, Kelbrem rolled over and opened his eyes.

“……. Ow ow ow …… So I fainted …… I …… my arm is ……

attached!?”

“I attached it with my healing. If you’re hurt, it’s treatable, after all.”

“What a frightening kid, seriously …… Even though you’re a pampered

child …… That’s enough, you’re making me laugh now, I’ll tell her too.”
“Nice mental attitude, I’ll give you a knee to the stomach later. It’s been our
family tradition to pay back a grudge tenfold.”

“How dangerous …… Oh well, these guys and I are comrades, and we were
in the same organization.”

“Organization ……”

“Hoh~.”

When Makina muttered, Basleigh-sensei’s eyes lit up. Do you have any idea
what he’s talking about? We decided to listen to what they had to say.