I was stunned as soon as I stepped out onto the street.
This city, the capital of Grayfield, had become a sea of fire.
Many people are fleeing.
The screams confuse me even more.
Bashun
A black mass descended forcefully from the sky, creating a gust of wind as it planted its feet on the ground.
It is a black wyvern.
A subspecies of dragon.
"Ha ha ha ha! Toru! I didn't know I'd find you here!"
Sain was sitting atop the wyvern.
He is dressed in black, and also has a terrifying black sword at his waist.
On his left arm, he wore a silver bracelet.
Sain did not get off the wyvern, but smiled.
"This is your doing, isn't it!?"
"Yes, of course. I led the troops in the attack."
Several wyverns pass right over us.
"It's my Wyverns unit. They're taking out the enemy."
"Come to think of it, there was also a small group of elite knights in this country."
"Why would you, a former hero, do something like this?"
The King clenched his fists so tightly in anger that they were dripping blood.
However, Sain smiled as if he didn't care.
"Please don't take away my credibility. I still have the hero's job, so you can't take that title away from me. Only now I'm the hero who's with the demons, hahahaha!"
"Damn you!"
I stopped the King with my hand.
"Your Majesty, go back to the palace. I'll take care of this."
"Toru-Dono... Sorry, and thank you."
The King swallowed his anger, and ran away.
In fact, I'm sure he would have liked to fight Sain himself.
But at the moment he must consider his position as King. So he prioritized it over his selfish desires.
He is a good King, I respect him for that.
That's why I have to live up to his expectations.
I must put an end to this situation as soon as possible.
"Toru, do you really think you can defeat me without a weapon?"
"A towel will be enough to finish you off."
"Hahaha, don't act tough. You're scared."
"Not at all."
As I said that, I was a little worried.
It is difficult to face Sain without having some strategy or weapon.
Things would be different if I had my sword.
I have no choice but to attack with my towel.
"Go, Birdswell."
"Gyaou!"
Sain jumped off the Wyvern and with a flutter, the animal opened its giant maw in front of me.
Wyverns are the strongest of the dragon subspecies.
It is a few steps behind the legitimate Red Dragon, but still dangerous enough to be called a monster.
.... But this guy is no match for me.
Swoop
"Gurrr"
"Birdswell?"
With my wet towel, I swat the wyvern like a fly.
The great monster disappeared into the sky.
Sain looks at me with a furious expression.
"How dare you hurt my wyvern!?"
"It's your fault for bringing him into the clutches of death."
"Shut up! I'll make you regret that!"
The sword he drew gave off a chilling presence.
It is as if a person's negative emotions were condensed into a sword.
It is different from the demonic weapons I have been dealing with so far.
"Are you afraid? This is my new weapon to replace the sacred sword. I just came to say hello, but I changed my mind. I will kill you."
"Say hello?"
"It's an announcement as a real hero standing next to the Demon King. In other words, a declaration of war. I will make all the humans who have despised me, including you, know utter terror."
Sain gets into position and readies his sword.
I cover myself with my wet towel and prepare for battle.
"Haah!"
"Haaaa!"
We charged each other at the same time.
I quickly wrapped the wet towel around Sain's sword and deflected his attack.
"Eeeh!?"
I then drove my left fist into his back, hitting him behind the lungs.
Sain flew in a straight line at high speed and disappeared through the outer wall of the city.
I don't think he'll die from that blow.
It's time for my revenge, Sain.
"Master!"
"What 's going on!?"
"What did they do to the city!?"
Kaede and the girls appeared seconds later.
Just in time.
Now that Kaede is here, she can take care of the fire.
"Kaede, I will provide you with magical power while you take care of magically extinguishing the fire in the city."
"Understood!"
"Frau, Luna, take charge of rescuing the inhabitants who need help."
The cold air spreads around them and covers the entire city.
At the same time, clouds rise in the sky and strong winds are generated.
"Blizzard Circle!"
A wide-area magic that could only be performed with the power of several mages was being controlled by Kaede.
The wind evaporates the heat and extinguishes the fires in a very short time.
Even so, there are areas that are still burning.
I can imagine all the effort Kaede had to make to keep the cold from freezing the inhabitants.
Sweat runs down Kaede's forehead.
Her magic energy consumption is also high.
Thanks to my ability to transfer magical power to Kaede, she can continue to use her magic without the risk of fainting.
An hour has passed since the magic was activated.
I think I'm approaching my limit.
Suddenly, Kaede lost her power.
I quickly walked over to her and grabbed her with both hands.
"I'm sorry. I lost consciousness for a moment."
"Don't worry, you did great. Thank you."
"I did it for the good of the people, and for Master..."
I hugged her tightly.
You were very helpful, Kaede.
Rest well.
...The fire in the city was successfully extinguished.
The demonic wyvern troops also retreated after Sain's disappearance. Casualties were lower than expected and, miraculously, damage to the city was minimal.
King Grayfield has set out to rebuild and strengthen the defenses against demons.
"Thanks to you, my country was able to survive this ordeal. I am deeply grateful to you."
During the audience, the King himself expressed his gratitude.
Both Kaede and I smiled in embarrassment.
Frau, on the other hand, had a satisfied expression as she sat on top of Panda.
Luna, who was standing near the King, was wearing a dress and smiling at us.
"Now, I'll take care of awarding the titles. The messenger is here."
The door opens and Armand's messenger appears.
Our eyes were drawn to that person.
"Marianne!?"
"Fufu."
The messenger is Marianne, Count Roane's daughter, dressed elegantly.
The smart steps, swaying breasts and dignified look changed the impression I had of her before.
She walks past us and right up to the King.
She then presented the King with a red box.
"I'm sorry it took you so long to get to this distant place."
"By no means, your Majesty. I am happy to be present on such a wonderful day."
The King rose from his throne and took a blue stone out of the box.
He inserts it into my bracelet.
On the bracelet shone a beautiful glow like the eye of a dragon.
This is the proof. That I am a hero.
It feels strange.
When I was kicked out of the party that day, I never imagined it would all come to this.
You never know what will happen in life.
Sometimes you can suffer the worst fate imaginable, and the next minute, you find yourself experiencing something glorious.
"Toru-Sama! It's been a long time!"
Marianne hugged me when the ceremony was over.
The pressure of her breasts against my body and her scent makes me feel tempted by her.
It makes something within me react, even though I didn't mean for that to happen.
"Kaede-san! I'm glad to see you're well too!"
"Marianne-san, I'm glad to see that you've changed a lot."
"It has been difficult for me since then. Thanks to my higher level, I've been able to get rid of the monsters in the vicinity of the city. Also, I'm in training as a future wife, so I've been very busy every day."
"But you've become even more beautiful."
"Fufu, when Kaede says it, it makes me feel more confident.
Marianne and I barely said hello, though she and Kaede carried on a conversation.
They both headed straight for the palace garden.
The way things are going, we're going to have to hang around for a while.
The women's talk is very long.
I've experienced that kind of thing for a long time, and I hate it.
"What, you're asking me if there's a way for you to get bigger?"
"Kyui"
"There is no such thing. You'll have to live with your current size, Panda."
"Kyui! Kyui!"
"It's not unfair, I earned it!"
Frau and Panda are fighting over my head.
I'm glad they are so close. But it's very annoying that they have to argue all the time around me.
I'm not used to these kinds of ceremonies, so even if it's just mental fatigue, it starts to bother me too much.
I want to go back to the inn and sleep.
Buaaah
As I yawn, Panda smacks me in the face.
"How dare you bite Frau's hair!"
"Kyu, Kyu, Kyu!"
"Don't laugh, Panda!!!"
Panda quickly evades Frau's punch, which then hits me in the forehead.
"...Ah."
"Frau-San, you and I are going to have a very serious conversation right now."