"…Do I have to go again?"
"You have to go! Yuuya-sama is the savior of the Regal Kingdom, you know!"
I was currently traveling with Lexia-san and the others in a carriage to the Regal Kingdom. The other day, when the Evil attacked the Regal Kingdom, I defeated it with the help of Master Usagi and the others, and they said they wanted to thank me for that.
Of course, this gratitude was not only in words but also in the form of a reward. However, it seemed that they had to rebuild the city that was caused by the Evil Beast right after the incident, so they delayed the invitation.
"As for me, I'm afraid I don't deserve any thanks, but…"
"Well, I understand what Yuuya is trying to say, but you have to give up on this one. By the way, I heard that the Kicking Saint and the Sword Saint are already on their way to the Regal Kingdom."
"So Masters were invited too…"
Master Usagi seemed to be uncomfortable with this kind of formality, but he said that he would go there… No, I don't know if Iris-san forced him to go there or not, though.
There were many things to be concerned about, but Lexia-san and the others have prepared a carriage for me, so I can't refuse them now. Fortunately, it was during the summer vacation that I was able to get away with it, but if it had been after school started, it would have been difficult to make time for it.
"…I have things to do over there, too…"
"Eh? Did you say something?"
"No, it's nothing."
I was talking about Miu-san's case. I was just surprised at what Miu-san suddenly said to me that day, but when I listened to her carefully, I heard that she was being forced into an arranged marriage that she didn't want and that she needed to introduce her boyfriend to her father in order to stop it.
In other words, I was asked to be her temporary boyfriend. I thought she had confessed her feelings to me, and I thought my heart was going to stop…
I wondered if it was okay for me to be there or if it was okay for me to get involved, but Miu-san asked for my help and I want to help her as much as I can.
She said that she should bring her boyfriend along, and there wouldn't be much for me to do. But what do I wear? A jacket? A suit? Whatever it was, she asked me to prepare formal wear, so I'd have to do something about that.
I don't know where or how to prepare formal wear… but the best thing to do would be to ask Tsukasa-san, Kaori's father, but I don't think I could meet the president of the school without an appointment and Tsukasa-san must be busy.
If I had his phone number, I could have contacted him, but I don't even have a smartphone.
…I should go directly to the school and hope that I can meet someone I know. I'm relying on my luck stats at this point.
While I was thinking about this and that, we finally arrived at the Regal Kingdom.
"Exhausted. It was long."
"Well… we've been sitting for a while, haven't we?"
While Yuti, who came with me, said this with a slightly tired look, I couldn't help but smile.
It was impossible to fall asleep in a chair like in the bullet train on Earth, so it was painful if you weren't used to it. Yuti had probably traveled alone on foot rather than in a carriage until now.
Even so, the degree of our fatigue was still low, probably because the interior of the carriage was luxurious as it was also ridden by Lexia-san, a member of the royal family. If it weren't for that, I would have thought of using transfer magic to sneak around.
When the townspeople saw our carriage, they waved at us with bright smiles and thanked us.
When I was surprised by this, Lexia-san stretched out her chest.
"Yuuya-sama! You should be more proud of yourself, okay? It's thanks to you that this country has been saved!"
"N-no, I don't really feel that way… But if everyone can be happy like this, I'm glad."
At the urging of Lexia-san and Luna, I showed my face through the carriage window and waved my hand lightly. That action alone made the cheers louder and more frightening, but… Yuti didn't seem bothered and rather waved proudly. It's amazing. I envied her mentality.
Night and Akatsuki also participated in this event, but they don't seem to be particularly interested in the scenery outside, so they stayed quiet in the carriage. As for Ouma-san… well, he hadn't fought, and he didn't show much interest to begin with.
When we arrived at the royal castle safely, we were led directly to the place where the king of this country ─ Orghis-sama was.
…I'm not wearing formal wear this time either, but I hope he'll forgive me. It's just too sudden.
I didn't want to think that I would have many opportunities to meet with such a great person, but I also had to prepare proper formal attire for Miu-san's situation.
As I couldn't help but think about that, we finally arrived at a place called the audience hall.
It was similar to the place where I had an audience with Arnold-sama, the king of the Arcelia Kingdom, and Orghis-sama was sitting on a throne in the deepest part of the hall.
When I looked closely, I saw that Master Usagi and Iris-san were also there. However, I don't know why, but their expressions were somewhat grim. I wondered if something had happened to them.
"Thank you for coming, Yuuya-dono. And thank you to all of Yuuya-dono's companions for coming all this way."
Orghis-sama stood up and bowed as he said this.
"Thank you very much for saving my Regal Kingdom."
"Eeeh? P-please raise your head!"
I don't know if I should say this, but when a great man bows to me, I feel like I will get a stomachache from the stress. I'm not that great of a person…!
It's not that my thoughts were not understood, but Orghis-sama finally raised his head.
"Thank you very much. As gratitude for this favor, I would like to bestow upon Yuuya-dono a peerage in my country."
"P-peerage?"
I've already received it in Lexia-san's country, and it's already too much for me…!
I couldn't do anything about the numbers of peerage increasing further, but I knew it'd be hard to refuse when I already received a peerage in the Arcelia Kingdom.
And then Orghis-sama unexpectedly turned his gaze towards Lexia-san.
"Speaking of which, I heard that you received a peerage in the Arcelia Kingdom… but how about it? Our country is thinking of conferring a higher peerage than the Arcelia Kingdom to Yuuya-dono."
"Eh?"
"W-wait, wait! I'm not going to let you do that."
I was surprised by what Orghis-sama said, but Lexia-san replied with a straightforward attitude. I-is it okay? Lexia-san… the other party is a king… No, Lexia-san is also a princess, but…
When I looked at Luna, who was waiting behind Lexia-san, she had her hand on her forehead as if to suppress a headache. It's a problem even from Luna's perspective…
Lexia-san, who seemed to be heating up as I gave Luna a sympathetic glance, said.
"Then, I'll give Yuuya-sama a higher peerage than what this country offers!"
"Hou? What a strange thing to say! Only the father of Princess Lexia, the king, can confer a peerage. I don't think Princess Lexia has the right to do that."
"That's where my spirit comes in!"
"…It's not good, this girl…"
I wanted to say a few words of encouragement to Luna, who looked more and more tired. She's really struggling, isn't she…?
But, Lexia-san. Even though I don't know anything about politics or rules of the country, I understand that she can't just give someone a peerage based on her spirit…
Although Lexia-san and Orghis-sama continued to glare at each other for a while, Orghis-sama suddenly relaxed his expression.
"Fuh… well, that's okay. Let's talk about this matter after the main topic."
I had no choice but to nod in response to Orghis-sama's words.
There was nothing I was looking for in particular; it was enough for me to be able to relax and have fun. I know it's impossible.
But… I only heard about it from Lexia-san… who said that the Regal Kingdom wanted to express their gratitude once again, but it seems that there was something more. As soon as Orghis-sama had finished thanking us, Iris-sama, who had also come here, opened her mouth with a grim expression.
"Now, may I continue with the previous conversation?"
"Yes."
Previous conversation?
It seemed that there was some sort of discussion going on before we arrived, and both Master Usagi and Iris-san seemed to have a grim expression about it. But the following words that came out of Iris-san's mouth were something I didn't expect.
"I'll ask you again. Is it true that you have summoned a saint from another world?"
"Huh?"
Another world? A saint?
Then, Orghis-sama opened his mouth while receiving the gaze of Iris-san and others.
"Yes. It's true."
"…The problem is that you have brought people from other worlds here. Do you understand that? This is the same as abduction, you know?"
"….."
Orghis-sama did not say anything to Iris-san's sharp point.
"N-no way… The Regal Kingdom was doing that…"
Meanwhile, I noticed that Lexia-san was dumbfounded, and I asked her in a low voice.
"Lexia-san… are there any problems with summoning someone from another world?"
."..There is only one problem. When summoning a person to our world, it means that the person will disappear from the original world. And that too, would be without any warning. It's like suddenly being forcibly brought to a strange land when they were just going about their daily lives. It's considered a form of kidnapping."
"Yes… it might be."
"I don't know the details, but I've heard that in many cases, the person who is summoned also has special powers as a Saint. In other words, there is a high possibility that the person is in a special position in the other world. Suppose such a person suddenly disappears and is kidnapped or abducted into another world. In that case, there could even be an all-out war between this world and that world if things go badly. But… this country was in dire straits before to do such a thing."
"…We had no choice."
"….."
I don't know much about political matters, but I understood what Lexia-san was saying.
It's true. It's not like he or she can come and go as freely as I can, and it's not like he or she was summoned to another world with his or her consent. The person who was summoned would be terribly confused.
When I distorted my face, Lexia-san said something that surprised me even more.
"I never thought that… the Regal Kingdom was able to recreate the magic of the Sage."
"Eh, the Sage?"
"Yes. Yuuya-sama knows about it too, doesn't he? After all, he was the one who defeated Ouma-sama."
Of course, I know a lot of things.
My magic circuit was inherited from Sage-san, and the house, weapons, and items in the Great Devil's Nest were all given to me by Sage-san.
"The magical research materials of the Sage are scattered all over the world, and in the past, there were wars fought over them, but now each country is conducting research based on the materials left behind by the Sage that are in their possession. Of course, the Arcelia Kingdom also has the materials of the Sage. And Sage's research materials held by the Regal Kingdom are… probably related to the transfer to another world. By arranging it, it led to the summoning of the Saint this time, as His Majesty Orghis said…"
Sage-san, did you do any research regarding the other world…?
Well, that's fine, but the biggest problem now is the person who was summoned. Even after receiving the sharp glances of Master Usagi and Iris-san, Orghis-sama remains undaunted.
"Of course, I understand the weight of my sin. And I also understand that this sin is something that I will carry with me forever."
"…And why would you do that?"
"It's simple. I don't believe that the Holy alone can defeat the Evil."
"""!?"""
We were all taken aback by the unexpected statement. As expected, Iris-san and Master Usagi did not expect this, and their eyes widened.
"Of course, it's true that you people, the Holy, saved us. I am truly grateful. But before my eyes, I found out that several Holy people had turned to the enemy."
"That's…"
"I know that it takes several Holy people to deal with one Evil. Meanwhile, many of the Holy, who are our source of hope, have betrayed us. There is no longer any chance that the Holy can defeat the Evil… Don't you think so?"
"It's…!"
Iris-san was about to say something, but she silenced herself in frustration.
I could understand what Orghis-sama was saying. In order for humanity to survive, Evil must be defeated.
When I suddenly turned my gaze to Yuti, Yuti had a complicated expression on her face.
…Yuti's master, the Bow Saint, was eventually killed at the hands of the humans she was protecting.
Then, Orghis-sama turned his gaze towards me.
"However, if there was one miscalculation… it was that there were other beings in this world besides the Holy that could defeat the Evil…"
Well, when it comes to this, it's not because of me; it's because of the items that my grandfather collected. Also, the power of the [Evil Den's Eye] obtained by taking in Kuro, was significant.
Then Yuti opened her mouth.
"Question. The power of the Holy is indeed insufficient. But that doesn't mean you can suddenly entrust the defeat of Evil to someone who is not even from this world, does it?"
"I'd like to reiterate that I'm grateful to the Holy for protecting humanity until now. But it's also a fact that an existence like the Fallen Saints has appeared. I only made the best choice for this country and this world."
For a while, gazes collided between Yuti and Orghis-sama, but Orghis-sama let out a small sigh.
"…Well, that's fine. In order to protect this world, I summoned a new power from another world… who has the power to defeat and destroy Evil. As a responsibility, I will give that person whatever she desires. That's the only way I can atone for my sins now."
A period of silence ensues between Orghis-sama and Iris-san.
It's not easy… They both have their own beliefs, and it's hard to say who was wrong. It's the Evil that's bad…
I wanted to say something too, but I couldn't come up with the words. Can a person who's suddenly been summoned to this world be forced to participate in a battle against Evil without knowing why? That sounds pretty harsh. However, if a person was in a position to take on a country's responsibility, such a decision may be unavoidable.
"…It's been a long talk, hasn't it? So, that's it for today. I'd like to invite the Sword Saint and the others to meet the Saint that we summoned. As the protectors of the same humanity, you will be working together───."
The moment Orghis-sama was about to say that much.
"Huh? W-what's that?"
Suddenly, the entire castle… or even the entire country seemed to be shaking as the earth shook. As we were all startled by the suddenness of the situation, Ouma-san, who was still sleeping without any interest, opened one of his eyes.
"Hou? It came, huh?"
"Eh?"
Just as I was about to ask him what he meant, Kuro, who had been sleeping inside me, hurriedly spoke to me.
"Hey, Yuuya! Get out of here right away!"
"Wha? W-what's it…?"
"There's no time for explanations! Oh, shit, it's bad…! He's already here…!"
"───Haha."
A creepy, cold laugh sounded. It was as if all the malice in the world was in the voice, and my body instantly froze.