……I’m the first in this world. Five years after the day I had my first, and worst, encounter with a reincarnated person.
I was thirteen years old.
For the past five years, I had been separated from my parents under the guise of being『chosen as the valet of the Hero』and had been searching for reincarnations in various places with the Hero Avis Nowarite
That time was pretty terrible. I was treated like a complete servant.
Even the church members didn’t say anything about what Avis did just because he was a Hero.
…But that was only relatively early on.
The reason is that gradually they started finding『reincarnated』people just like me.
As we went around to different countries, making speeches in every town and asking people if they knew anything about Japan, one by one, the reincarnated people began to gather…And all of them were people who had died at the same time as us. After all, it seems that there are no reincarnated beings except those who died at that time.
And now. Twenty-two of my twenty-eight classmates, including the teacher, had gathered.
◆◇◆◇◆
Holy Land of Mercurius, the holy city of Misery.
A place that is said to be the safest in the world, the furthest away from the battle against the Demon King’s army, and with the strongest wards in place.
In the center of the city is the Holy City symbol…Misery Church Headquarters. The headquarters of the Misery religion.
We, who are now training daily as candidates for the next Hero party, were currently gathered in a large hall in the church.
「I wonder what the story is, Shota.」
「I wouldn’t know if you asked me…And how many times have I told you to refrain from using previous life’s names, Zeed…?」
I don’t know how many times we’ve had this exchange.
Next to me is Zeed. A reincarnated person I found about three years ago.
His name in his previous life was Kitajima Touya. He was a good friend of mine from a previous life.
「Woah Woah, Zeno. Because, you know, it’s not every day we get to gather in a big hall. Kuroda the Hero…I mean, Avis」
「Well, I guess so…Speak of the devil, here he comes.」
「Hey, hey, Avis. Let’s go eat cake or something instead of coming here.」
「…Don’t say that. If I leave the duties of a Hero, the top won’t shut up, will they? I have to come to these things.」
「Boo!」
…Shinichi Kuroda. The name in this life is Avis Nowarite.
He is the『Hero』of this generation who gathered all of us here.
That’s when he walked in with his cronies from his previous life.
The noisy woman clinging to Avis’s arm is Amelia Soulan.
She was born a noblewoman in some country, and perhaps because she was pampered to the hilt, she has become even more selfish than in her previous life.
There are four others. What’s puzzling is that those cronies are the top four in terms of ability among reincarnated people.
What’s that? Is there an inverse proportion between ability and character?
As I was thinking about that,
「…Looks like we’re all here.」
In the hall, there is a staircase leading to the upper floor.
From there, a man of great stature came down the stairs.
He was irritatingly good-looking and in his mid-twenties. As soon as he came down, there was a slight yellow cry from the girls.
And this man was, in fact, very great.
「Yes, Your Eminence. I, Avis the Hero, and the 21 candidates for the next Hero Party, are here.」
Yes, as that uptight Avis reverently bowed his head and spoke.
This man, this handsome man who looks like he is in his 20s, is the pinnacle of humanity.
Head of the Misery Faith, Pope.
And at the same time.
First in the hierarchy of the Twelve Holy Apostles――Revels Humanlord the『Son of God』.
He is a direct descendant of the man who created this country, called the『Hero of the Beginning』, and is the greatest ruler of mankind and the most powerful human.
「You are gathered here because of one thing…I think it’s time to decide on the selection of the Hero party.」
「…At last.」
「Oh, Avis the Hero, you are strong enough now. Don’t you think it’s time you got to know the battlefield?」
Even Avis, who is superior, seems to be mad only at Revels-sama, nodding his, even though he doesn’t want to go to war.
And he was right. If Revels-sama were to get serious, all twenty-two people present here would be killed in less than ten seconds, without the slightest effort.
The other Twelve Holy Apostles…There is even talk that even the second highest in the hierarchy is vastly inferior to him.
「The『Hero Party』is…The five who are always with you should be fine. They are not unbalanced and are in fact the strongest of the five. In addition, I will add a few of the Twelve Holy Apostles. Is that all right?」
「I have no objection. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness.」
「I see. The others will be on standby in this church to take over in the event of a vacancy…That’s all I have to say. Avis the Hero, your first battle is scheduled for a month from now. You should raise your level as much as you can.」
「……Yes!」
So, in short, we’re just a backup.
Well, I don’t want to go to war, so let’s just hope that these guys will do their best to defeat the Demon King.
◆◇◆◇◆
Revels-sama turned away.
「Please wait, Your Eminence.」
A voice echoing from behind us stopped us in our tracks.
「……Mia?」
There she was, an immensely beautiful woman…The word『beautiful』is not even enough, she is that beautiful.
She has beautiful silver hair, an artistic face, and an appearance that makes you fall in love with her.
She is the eleventh in the hierarchy of the Twelve Holy Apostles, the『Heavenly Maiden』, Mia.
Although she only joined the Twelve Holy Apostles three years ago, she is a genius who became a Twelve Holy Apostles at the tender age of 13 and is now 16, the youngest person ever to be chosen as a Twelve Holy Apostles.
And then there is his appearance, which attracts not only men but even women.
She dominates everything with her beauty. She is like a celestial being. Therefore, she is called『Heavenly』.
「…I believe you are on assignment in the Kingdom of Alvera? Why are you here?」
「I’ve come back because I have something I judged urgent to bring to the attention of His Eminence the Pope.」
「Hmm…Is that a story you would allow these men to hear?」
「Yes, by all means…I have confirmed the presence of a new Demon King Executive.」
Although outnumbered by humans, each and every one of them is a being of high potential, and this is the Demon Army, a union of the Demon Army and the Demon Tribe.
Among them, ten elite Demon Army executives are exceptionally strong and are held in awe by the Demon King.
The eleventh of these is…I guess that’s what it means.
「Oh…A new executive, huh? From the looks of it, it looks like you didn’t get it.」
「Yes…I mean, I’m no match for that thing. To be honest, if that thing continues to march on…I think the Kingdom of Alvera will be destroyed.」
「…What?」
…The kingdom will be destroyed?
Is this some kind of joke?
「What’s his description, the race, the name?」
「Her name is Lean Bloodlord. She is the fifth rank in the Demon King’s executive and is known as the『Bloodthristy General』. She appears to be a survivor of the vampire race.」
「……Vampire race.」
Does『survivor『of the vampire race mean that vampires were thought to be extinct?
……No, that’s for later. The question is how strong is this person?
「She has black hair, red eyes, and double teeth. That’s the mark of the vampire race……The rest is her extraordinary strength. Frankly, I hope I never have to face her again.」
「So much for that. Do you know exactly how good she is?」
「She was a mage type who could do both magic and melee fighting. But the perfection of both was extraordinary. She is a monster. That ability…Even taking into account the enhancement by the moon’s blessing, it is as troublesome as or more than Rain, Gray, and Sakura. A battalion of the Kingsguard of the Kingdom of Alvera was destroyed in less than five seconds.」
「……Here come the nasty ones.」
I couldn’t believe my ears.
The Knights of the Kingsguard are an elite group held by many countries.
Killing them all in seconds by the dozens? Is she a creature?
「Thank you for your report, and you may step back now, Mia…Well, gentlemen. You heard it. You are indeed getting stronger. But don’t forget that there are monsters in the world, like the one who just described…Be diligent.」
「「「Yes!」」」
After those words, this time Revels-sama disappeared upstairs and we were dismissed.
The newly found executive…I couldn’t get this woman, Lean, out of my head for some reason.