"Oh, that's right! Yuuya-sama, let's go to the festival together!"
"Huh?"
"…Lexia. That's too much to say, no matter what."
When I raised my voice dumbly at Lexia-san's sudden words, she went on with a sparkle in her eyes.
"It's fine! This girl… uh, Yuti, was it?"
"Affirmative."
"I have a lot of questions I want to ask Yuuya-sama about Yuti, but! But it's more important that you go to the festival with me!
"No, that doesn't explain anything…"
Luna said tiredly at Lexia-san's state and then told me with a serious expression.
"The fact is, the Regal Kingdom, which has friendly relations with the Alceria Kingdom, is holding a national festival to celebrate its centennial. And Lexia is inviting you."
"Huh… Well, it's hard to say without checking my schedule…"
"And by the way, you can't say no to that."
"Why?"
It would indeed be difficult to refuse the request of the princess, Lexia-san, but…? It's not that it's difficult; it's that it's impossible because of my status. I'm a commoner, you know.
Despite my surprise, Owen-san explained it to me while holding his head.
"Ah… Well, I am very sorry. Lexia-sama's behavior has caused the Regal Kingdom to take an interest in Yuuya-dono."
"Yes? W-why me? What can I say? I'm just an ordinary person──."
"""That's not true."""
"You don't have to deny it all at once like that…"
"Yuuya. Lexia and I just learned about it in the Regal Kingdom. I heard that… you tamed a legendary dragon, didn't you?"
"Oh, you mean Ouma-san? It's not that I tamed him; it's that it was a coincidence…"
"You should have realized something was wrong at that point."
"S-surely…!"
No, I'd completely lost my senses! I'm starting to forget that Ouma-san is a legendary dragon.
After all, he's either sleeping or eating all day long. When he first came to Earth, he was interested in my textbooks and books about Earth, but he seems to have gotten bored with them.
I need to buy a TV so that he won't be bored anymore. I'm really sorry that he can't go around the Earth freely…
"Sigh… Anyway, the Regal Kingdom has taken an interest in you. The king of Regal is very interested in you, and we made a promise to him."
"Eh? What promise?"
"The king wanted you to participate in a tournament in front of the people at the founding festival."
"What about my will?"
A tournament, you say? It's that, right? It's where martial artists show off their skills in front of important people. And they will fight each other, right?
…Why am I involved in such a situation?
Lexia-san averted her gaze somewhat awkwardly at the dumbfounded me.
"U-um… The king of that country said that Yuuya-sama is weaker than the Sword Saint…"
"Huh?"
(Little girl. Did you just say Sword Saint?)
Master Usagi, who until then seemed uninterested, reacted to Lexia-san's words and asked with a slightly surprised look.
However, Lexia-san seemed to be more bothered by Master Usagi's words than that.
"W-who are you call little girl? In the first place, who are you? You're a bit stronger than Owen and the others, and just because you can speak human language, don't get carried away!"
(What is it, Yuuya? Didn't you tell these people about me?)
"Eh? Ah… if you ask me that… or rather, why Master Usagi didn't tell them your name himself?"
(I did name myself. It's Usagi.)
"Can that be called a name…?"
When Master Usagi said that, I tilted my head. W-well, he's telling the truth, but he's not teaching them anything important like he's a Kicking Saint or anything like that.
"…So, thinking about it again, we were being protected without really knowing this person. Since the rabbit suddenly spoke to us and had a power that we could not match, we were forced to follow him quietly…"
Owen-san also muttered in astonishment. Master Usagi can be very forceful. It can't be helped.
I awkwardly introduced Master Usagi.
"Um… this is my master, Master Usagi. He is the holder of the titles of Kicking Saint and Ear Saint."
"Eh?"
"What? T-this person?"
"Yuuya, how much more do you want to surprise us…?"
When Lexia and the others found out that Master Usagi was a Holy, their eyes widened, and they froze. According to Owen-san's story, just like Ouma-san, Holy is existence in fairy tales that is beyond admiration…
When I was thinking about that, Master Usagi tilted his head in wonder.
(What, you haven't fully introduced me yet.)
"Eh? What else do I have to introduce…?"
(It's true that I'm teaching Yuuya the art of fighting, but at the same time, I'm also learning magic from Yuuya. In other words, we are both master and apprentice, are we not?)
"Ah…"
"Eeeeehhhhhh"
"Empathy. I agree. Yuuya is quite crazy."
It's not only Lexia-san and the others, but even the soldiers who were listening in the back were startled out loud by Master Usagi's words.
"N-no, I can understand being a disciple of the Holy, but…"
"Hey, hey, you don't know what a disciple of the Holy means, do you?"
"A disciple and master of the Holy, the master of the legendary dragon… who the hell exactly is this… Yuuya-dono…?"
I feel that various things are being mentioned about me, but all of them are force majeure!
Master Usagi rescued me when I was in a pinch, and I owe him a debt of gratitude, but it wasn't long before I became his disciple and then his master. I have so many things to say, but Master Usagi's words completely misunderstood me as an extraordinary person.
Not caring about my feelings, Master Usagi smiled fearlessly at Lexia-san.
(So, that's why. Do you understand now? Little girl.)
"U-ugh…"
As expected, when she's dealing with Master Usagi, she has to admit that she's been called a little girl. In fact, I don't know how long Master Usagi has been alive, but he's the best aside from Ouma-san…
Then Master Usagi's smile disappeared, and his expression became serious, and he looked at Lexia-san again.
(Now, enough with the teasing. I'll ask you one more time, is there really the Sword Saint in the Regal Kingdom?)
"Y-yes. That's what the king over there said. Then, the king heard about Yuuya-sama's greatness and said that the Sword Saint was greater than Yuuya-sama! So I denied it, and before I knew it…"
Lexia-san's end of the sentence gradually disappeared. She was really taken for a ride by the king of the Regal Kingdom…
But this is all there is to it.
I don't know why Lexia-san thought that I was stronger than the Sword Saint, but the Sword Saint is the same as Master Usagi, right? I can't even beat Yuti, who was only a disciple, so how could I possibly compete with the Sword Saint?
"Um, I am sorry. This is only a preliminary match, right? So I will──."
(You should participate.)
"Eh?
I couldn't help but stare at Master Usagi. Um… Master Usagi? What did you just say?
I broke out in a cold sweat and asked him again, thinking he was just kidding.
"Um… what did you say?"
(Didn't you hear me? I told you to participate. You can't refuse it. It's master's order.)
"Isn't that too arrogant?"
I couldn't help but exclaim when he said that to me. However, Master Usagi crossed his arms and smirked.
(If there really is the Sword Saint in that country, it's convenient for me as well. I also need to consult with her about the Evil. But more than that, it's perfect for your training.)
"Eh?"
(I can teach you how to kick, but I can't teach you how to use a sword. Your fighting style is a mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and a variety of weapons such as swords and spears. So you need to learn to use a sword, right?)
"That's, well…"
As Master Usagi said, if anything, I mainly fight using the weapons left behind by Sage-san, such as the [Omni-Sword] and the [Absolute Spear]. Of course, I also do some fighting, including kicking, which I learned from Master Usagi.
At my slurred speech, Master Usagi gave me a serious look.
(No matter what you think, Evil will no longer let you go. I feel bad that I got you involved in the battle with the Evil, as you are not officially the heir to the Holy. But there's nothing I can do about it. That's why it's my mission to train you so that you can survive as long as possible.)
"Master Usagi…"
As I thought during the attack on Yuti, I really don't have enough power to live safely in this world.
…I still regret that when the Fist Saint attacked Master Usagi, I couldn't move properly with my own strength.
According to Master Usagi and Yuti, the power of Kuro… the Evil inside of me could have defeated him, but the reality is that I couldn't even handle it properly. If I were to become a danger not only to Master Usagi, Yuti, Night, and the others but also to Kaori and the others on Earth, I would never be able to forgive myself.
So I have no choice but to get the power so that I can stay safe in this world without relying on Evil's power.
"…Are they talking about something outrageous?"
"Let's pretend we didn't hear that."
Then, behind me, Lexia-san and the others talked about something, but I didn't pay attention to them now, and finally, I nodded once.
"…I understand. Fortunately, I have some time now, and I don't know how far this will go, but I will accept it."
"R-really? That's great! Right, Luna?"
"Y-yeah. But are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes. But, as I said, I'm not as good as Lexia-san expects me to be, so if you can take that with a grain of salt…"
When I said that confidently, Master Usagi smiled ferociously.
(Then, I will continue to train you so that you can compete with the Sword Saint at least a little.)
"Eh?"
(Little girl. When is this national festival?)
"Huh? Oh, let's see… It's in a week, but…"
(A week… It's so short, but I'll make you better than now. Are you ready for that?)
"Yeah…"
I was trembling with fear, wondering what kind of hellish training awaited me in the week leading up to the national festival.
＊＊＊
───While Yuuya was receiving training from Master Usagi in preparation for his match against the Sword Saint, the young boy Evil and the two Fallen Saints were talking in the Orz Forest in Regal Country.
"Aah~, I can't wait to go on a rampage! I want to mess up the Sword Saint and hear her scream!"
"Gugyaaaaaaa!?"
"Guruooooooo!"
The boy with the shining eyes, Evil, was taking out his stress of not being able to attack the Regal Country in front of him on the monsters around him.
All of them were A-class or S-class monsters, and they were not the kind that could be easily defeated.
However, to the boy's Evil, there was no difference in the monsters' existence, and he recognized them all as equally weak.
"Hey, hey, hey! You have to help me pass the time!"
"G-gaaaaah!"
"G-gugee…"
As soon as a black mist seemed to erupt from the boy's Evil body, it turned into countless sharp blades that pierced the monster's body or sliced through its flesh.
Because the monsters were classified as A-class or S-class, their defenses were not ordinary. Still, the boy's Evil attacks easily penetrated the monsters' defenses and reaped their lives.
The corpses of some of the monsters had already been killed and were being cut up for comfort, and before the boy knew it, a pile of monster corpses had formed around him, and the smell of blood filled the air around him.
Then, while the boy's Evil was killing and playing with the monsters, the Fallen Spear Saint called out to the boy's Evil.
"───Can I have your attention for a moment, sir?"
"Hmm~? What's the matter?"
"I've heard that when I went to check on the situation in the Regal Kingdom a while ago… it seems that the Sword Saint is also thinning out the monsters in this forest."
"Huh~! Is that so?"
"So, if you move too flamboyantly, there is a risk that our movements will be detected───."
It was the spear's Fallen Saint who almost said that much, but he couldn't come up with the next word. Suddenly, the overwhelming killing intent that came from the boy's Evil made his body unable to move.
"Hey, why are you the one telling me what to do?"
"I-a… a… ugh…"
Although he desperately tried to move his mouth to say something, the spear's Fallen Saint was unable to speak.
Originally, if Holy is against the Evil, not only will their status be fully released, but they will be able to fight Evil with double stats. However, even if the two of them were to attack the boy in front of him, he was sure that neither of them would be able to inflict a single scratch on him.
This is the reason why he descended on the Evil as the Fallen Saint because there was such a difference in their abilities, and they had made it clear.
Not only the spear's Fallen Saint but also the scythe's Fallen Saint are stiffened by the killing intent emitted by the boy's Evil.
"It looked like you're getting carried away, but you're just pawns for us. You are a slave. Do you understand?"
"….."
"A slave expressing their opinion to their master is just… disgusting."
As the boy's Evil waved his arm irritably, a jet-black surge shot out from his arm, wiping out a large portion of the Orz Forest.
A huge crater was created there.
Suddenly, the boy's Evil softened the atmosphere as The Fallen Saints' bodies stiffened more and more from the sheer magnitude.
"…Well, I don't care if the Sword Saint finds me here and we fight, but that wouldn't be much fun, would it? I've done it again, but as you said, I'll be quiet from now on. As for me, I want to hear the best screams in the most fun scenes!"
The boy's Evil smiled innocently and thought about the upcoming national festival.
──Thus, a variety of thoughts were converging on the Regal Kingdom.