Several days had passed since our meeting with the king.
In the end, we decided to finish our study abroad program and return to Japan on the original schedule.
The reason for this was that Joshua-sama had originally planned this study abroad program, and his original goal was to win Kaori's heart.
However, after reflecting on the events of that time, Joshua-sama decided to give up on Kaori.
As such, neither Kaori nor I had any particular reason to stay, so we decided to go home as planned.
However, since there were still a few days left on our schedule, we decided to pay a visit to the school we had planned to attend.
And then…
"Yuuya-sama!"
"Ah, our hero has arrived!"
"Eh, um…"
To my surprise, all of my classmates who had attended the party the other day suddenly rushed over.
While I was confused by the situation, one of them spoke up.
"Thanks to you, we were saved! Thank you so much!"
"I saw it on social media, but you really were like a hero in a movie!"
"Hey, what kind of training do you do to be able to move like that?"
"Could it be that Yuuya is a ninja?"
When one person started talking, more and more questions followed.
Then Kaori whispered in my ear.
"T-that's amazing…"
"Y-yeah. But what should I say…"
That's right, no matter how many questions they asked, I couldn't talk about another world.
When I was at a loss for an answer, one of the boys spoke up.
"Can you stop there? Yuuya-kun's in trouble, you know?"
"Eh? But aren't you curious?"
"Of course I am! But I heard such a rumor."
"A rumor?"
What? Was there a rumor going around that I didn't know about?
Since I was also intrigued by the story, the boy continued.
"Yes, it seems that Yuuya-kun is a member of a special unit secretly organized by the royal family."
"Eehhh?!"
"Eehhh?!"
Even I was surprised by that unexpected rumor.
What, a special unit? How could such a rumor have come about?
Kaori smiled at me wryly.
"Hahaha… but even if you put it that way, it doesn't sound strange, does it?"
No, no, no, I think it sounds totally weird!
As I was left speechless by this totally outlandish story, the boy continued.
"Come to think of it, there weren't that many guards protecting Joshua-sama at that party, were there?"
"That's right…"
"That's because Yuuya-kun was there. As long as Yuuya-kun was there, there was no need for other guards, so I'm sure the other guards were assigned to protect the other royals. Right?"
The boy asked me with a look that indicated that he was already convinced.
What should I do? That's something else entirely!
"Well, I think it's an interesting theory, but I don't really──"
"No, you don't have to say any more! You can't tell us much about being a member of a special unit, can you? Leave it to me, I won't ask any more."
The boy told me that and winked at me.
No good, there was no sign that he was going to listen to me…!
Do you think anyone would believe such a story?
"I see… It's possible if he's a member of a special unit, that's true."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you about something you can't talk about…"
They believed it!
I think what they just heard was as ridiculous as when I told them I was a martial artist and defeated the terrorists!
But before I could say anything, the other students seemed to have accepted that I was a member of a special unit, and they didn't talk to me after that.
Instead, they all gave me a look that said, "It's okay, we understand."
…In the end, I decided to just go with the fact that I was a member of a special unit.
Since I couldn't talk about another world, I didn't correct everyone's misunderstanding, and the conversation with the classmate ended.
Despite this incident, I spent the rest of my time as an exchange student…
"Yuuya-kun! You have a visitor."
"Huh?"
I was suddenly called to by a classmate.
A visitor for me…?
The only people I've met since coming here were Joshua-sama and the other classmates.
I looked over at Kaori, but she also seemed confused and tilted her head.
Since I couldn't keep the other person waiting any longer, I went to meet the visitor…
"Oh, I finally found you!"
"Ah, yes!"
To my surprise, it was the director of the movie set!
As I was surprised by the unexpected appearance of the director, he suddenly took my hand.
"Yuuya-kun, was it? I've been looking for you!"
"Me? Well, how did you…"
The director simply told me despite my confusion.
"You know that video of you helping Olivia that went viral on social media? A student at this school who saw it contacted me about you."
"W-why did they contact you?"
"Well, because I was looking for you! When I posted that on social media, they contacted me right away."
I couldn't believe that could happen just because of a video.
Social media was scary.
As I found myself thinking this, the director continued.
"So, I really want you to be in my movie, Yuuya-kun!"
"Me? That's impossible! I've never acted before!"
"No, you have something special! You'll be fine!"
"Where did you get that confidence?!"
"Just come to my set and you'll see!"
The director said, and then he started to pull my arm forcefully.
"Wait a minute! I still have school today…"
"It's okay! I've already told your school that you're leaving early!"
"You already made the arrangements?"
"See, now you have nothing to worry about, right? Now, come on!"
──And so, without understanding what was going on, I was dragged off somewhere by the director.
＊＊＊
──Where am I?
The Behemoth, whose seal had been broken by the gods, thought to himself with a blank expression.
"Now, the return of the Gods──!"
The Gods who had resurrected the Behemoth shouted triumphantly.
The Behemoth looked at the scene and frowned.
──Am I going to be manipulated by these people again?
Although Behemoth was created by the gods, his true feelings were far from the gods' plans.
Incredibly, the Behemoth created by the gods was actually capable of feeling and thinking.
If they had simply wanted to create a weapon, it would not have needed emotions or reason.
However, because the divine beast was created with an element of 'play' for the gods who were proud at the time, it was created with a 'heart' that was unnecessary for a weapon.
From the point of view of the gods at that time, killing humans was just a form of play, and because it was not interesting to just kill them, even the divine beast, which was a weapon, was turned into a toy.
The gods enjoyed watching the Behemoth suffering from guilt after killing humans and the humans running around in fear and dying.
The Behemoth had been forced to fight since he was born.
Without understanding why, he had been controlled by the divine power of the gods and killed people.
──I don't want to feel pain anymore…
The Behemoth's heart grew weary as he watched many people die every day because of him.
Seeing the Behemoth in this state, the gods were filled with joy.
This was the Behemoth's daily life.
It was only sad and painful.
However, being created by the gods, the Behemoth could not defy them.
That's why Behemoth did what he did when he was sealed away before.
Now, there's no more pain.
He thought that no one would ever have to feel sad again.
But now the seal was broken again by the gods.
He was about to despair, wondering if he would be manipulated by the gods again and have to go through that hellish time.
──Huh? Is my appearance different?
Suddenly, he noticed that his appearance was different from what he remembered.
The Behemoth of old was covered with fur all over his body, had sharp claws on his hands and feet, and sharp fangs in his mouth.
The Behemoth of today, however, is covered in thick skin all over his body, has no claws, and has two huge tusks growing out of his mouth.
Most noticeable was his long nose.
Though it felt strange at first, Behemoth, who was originally created by the gods, accepted the change without a hitch.
So now they're going to toy with me like this?
I don't know why the gods changed my appearance.
I didn't want to know what the gods were thinking.
However, Behemoth sensed a change not only in his own appearance but also in the appearance of the gods.
──What is this? Their divine power is… weak?
Yes, the divine power binding Behemoth was very weak.
But even now, it was still impossible to escape from the gods.
However, if the gods' power had weakened to this extent, there was a chance that he might be able to escape this curse.
──Maybe… I could be set free, too…?
However, the Behemoth quickly realized that this was impossible.
Still… he couldn't help but hope that someone would come to rescue him.