「…So, the former hero has joined the Demon King Army. The three-year headhunting effort bore fruit in the best possible way.」
「Umm… I’m looking forward to working with you.」
「Whew, that was a long time. To think that it’s been about the time Lean joined… Oh, that’s not so long when you think about it.」
「That’s because you’re a long-lived species, Fairy Queen Rain. For a short-lived species like us beastman, who only live about 150 years, it’s not so bad.」
The next morning after the former hero joined the Demon King Army, the executives, myself, and the former hero was gathered in a conference room.
「Silence! It is good that we brought her into our ranks, but there is one urgent problem. I would like to settle it now.」
……An urgent problem?
「The humans are on the move?」
「No. We can just hit them with Zedd’s undead soldiers and they’ll be all right.」
「Having lost their hero, the humans will once again seek out those with the qualities of heroes, and once again weaponize them…」
「Ehhh!?」
「No. At least, nothing like that has been confirmed as of yet.」
「Constipation?」
TN
「Aron, come here.」
Aron-san, who had forgotten the word『delicacy』on the battlefield, was thrown down to the basement by Demon King-sama. He broke through the floor.
「Good grief… Now, about that urgent matter.」
Everyone in the room gasped.
After looking around at all the faces, Demon King-sama nodded her head.
Then, she took the former hero’s hand…
「What are we going to name her?」
………Heh?
「Uh, Demon King-sama? What does that mean?」
「Here’s the problem. It’s bothersome to call her『Former Hero』every time. As you know, she has forgotten her old name, and even if she did remember it, it would be a terrible thing to make her take the name her parents gave her when they sold her.」
「Is that what you call an urgent problem?」
「Yes, that’s it. Now, now, my fellow executives, also Lean. Now is the time to test your brains. Come up with the perfect name for her.」
I don’t want to be tested in the brain with that.
After swallowing the word…the former hero naming championship started.
◆◇◆◇◆
「…You, are your naming sense dead?」
An hour later.
It was the Demon King-sama who said that line in a rather serious tone.
On the table, the candidate names are lined up in a row.
Even the former hero was quivering, wondering if it was her fault that we were in this situation.
Rain-san, for example, was sleeping, pretending to think.
「…Lean, anything?」
「Why are you dumping on me…hah. Geez, can’t you just say『Yomi』or something already?」
TN
Such an appropriate reply…
「……Hmm? Isn’t that a good name?」
「……Eh?」
「Yomi…It’s cute, easy to say. I’m in.」
「The first is to cast a human being into『underworld』, and the second is to be read as『Yomi』warrior in the Demon King Army. You have good sense, Lean-chan.」
TN
「Umm…」
Wait a minute.
「Yomi…Yomi…It feels right.」
「She seems to like it. Then, isn’t this good?」
「Yes, it is. Then this is the one.」
「Ehhh!?」
Wait… Seriously, wait…
「Then, your name is『Yomi』from this day forward. From now on, you may call yourself by that name. Get used to it.」
「Yes, Demon King-sama… Thank you, Lean-san!」
「…………Ah, yes.」
……With sparkling eyes, the former hero…… No, Yomi thanked me.
I can’t correct this anymore.
「Goodness gracious, Lean, you are always there to help us out. The other executives are always giving out crazy names…」
「I don’t want to be told by you, who only said painful names like Yamihime and Tsukinokami!」
「Houu! It seems that you want to go into the basement again!」
Please stop, don’t praise me so much.
「I knew it. You’re a great kid, Lean-chan―.」
「Well, we can’t lose either. We must work hard not to be overtaken.」
Why am I getting all this praise just for thinking of a name?
……I can’t say.
「We thank you, Lean-sama. But how did you come up with that name on the spur of the moment?」
「Right. I think it might have been a little higher than my Darkness Light Streamer.」
「Oh, that was Luz-san, wasn’t it…?」
……I absolutely can’t say.
……My cat name in my previous life.
◆◇◆◇◆
「The hero disappeared?」
「Y-Yes… When they did not return at the appointed time, I dispatched a platoon… The two Twelve Holy Apostles and the hero were nowhere to be seen…」
「What happened to the S-rank adventurers who were with them?」
「T-That’s, all four of us were killed and…we don’t even know what happened…」
「Damn it! What the hell did you demons do? Can’t you detect the transfer magic traces?」
「It seems to have been cleverly erased… That advanced magical skill, perhaps it’s the executive Tiana or Feria, or…」
「Sakura! Abominable, how dare an elf conspire against us!」
「……and……」
「What now!?」
「Hii… The fortuneteller at the castle has informed me that they have captured someone with new『qualities of a hero』. Moreover, it seems that it has already awakened to the power of a hero…」
「……That means…… That hero with the monstrous power……she’s dead or…」
「…I think we should think so. The qualities of a hero are extremely rare. It is a very good thing that they were found so quickly… Still, compared to that thing, it seems to be inferior by miles.」
「Damn it…that kid died so quickly…!」
AN: This concludes the second arc of『The Hero』! Thank you for your patience!
Next time, after one short story, we will start the third chapter, the『Trample Arc』!
Also, super unimportant, but I actually gave out the name “Yomi” very early on. Please check it out.