"SSS rank hunters are truly different; I heard you killed two SS rank monsters.".
She scanned my body.
"But I can't see a single injury; do you have any injuries?".
I looked down on the ground and said, "No, I didn't get any.".
In that whole battle with the monsters, I didn't get a single injury.
She patted my shoulder. "For a healer, that is the best thing you can say. Because that is one less person to heal.".
But her words didn't reach my ears, as I was thinking of something different.
The people that I saw on the way here did not have the same luxury as I did. People died, people lost limbs, people got disabilities, and people lost family.
But I, on the other hand, was completely fine—not a single injury or damage whatsoever.
I clenched my fist. "Yet, I was scared of a little pain.".
I was ashamed of my actions, and I regretted them deeply. If I could repeat the past again, I would save everyone in the kingdom.
But there was no way to change the past; I could only change the way I act in the future.
Sarah turned around and walked to a group of injured people.
And as she walked past Flaming Star members, they all greeted her with a slight bow.
A man shouted in the middle of the street.
"Everyone above A rank or captain, we will have a meeting in the conference room in one hour!".
After he finished shouting, he ran in a hurry.
I slapped myself on the face.
"Now's not the time to complain. For now, I need to do my greatest so no one else can die.".
'But where is the conference room?'.
*****
"So it's in here?". I asked as I pointed to two huge doors with a logo of two swords making an X symbol.
"Yes, in here is the conference room.".
I was inside the castle of the Hozora kingdom, in front of two huge doors. Which were at least 3 meters tall.
"Thank you".
The man in the butler's uniform bowed as he heard my response.
As I pushed open the two colossal carved doors of the castle's grand conference room, a heavy sound echoed through the vast space.
The room was bathed in the warm glow of the torchlight, which exuded an air of majesty.
Because of the loud sound, my entrance drew some glances from people already sitting inside the room.
Before me was a large scene with a raised podium, and in front of it was a long, polished table carved from dark wood that stretched across the room.
It was as if I had entered the conference room of world leaders.
The table was surrounded by luxurious seats, which looked more like thrones than chairs. It had plush red velvet cushions and intricately carved armrests.
I acknowledged those who met my gaze with a respectful nod as I made my way through the room.
As I sat on the seat, a wave of comfort washed over me.
'It's so soft'.
Behind the podium was a figure in a black military uniform. His eyes were scanning some documents as he turned the papers one by one.
As I looked at the clock, I realized that there were still 20 minutes left until the meeting would officially start.
More and more people entered through the two collosal doors.
First, there were some people with decent strength, similar to the golden knight.
'S rankers'.
but as more people entered, the strength that I felt coming from each person became stronger and stronger.
Sometimes people without any strength entered, but they wore military uniforms or exuded an air of authority.
Then some people that I recognized came in.
Emilia Graceheart, the man with the logo of seven books on his robe, and the two military guys that I met when I first came to this kingdom.
Everybody was greeted with a slight nod, and as a specific person entered the door, I could feel a massive difference in strength between him and the previous.
The strength he emanated was way stronger than the others, which I couldn't sense from a distance. But now that we were this close, I could sense his strength.
It was the Asian man who killed the purple SS-rank monster. He looked no more than 20 years old, and he had tight black clothes on, which showcased his lean muscles.
His hair was tied to a man bun, and as he made eye contact with me, anger appeared on his face.
'What is his problem?'.
It looked like he would attack me at any point, but soon the last person entered through the doors.
His left arm was missing, but this only made him more commanding. It was the person with the logo of a griffin on his back that I met when I first arrived at the Hozora kingdom.
Some people stood up as he came in, but he raised his hand.
"Stand down; I don't like those formalities.".
As they sat down, the king went to a seat in the middle.
"You can start the meeting.". He said, as he indicated to the man behind the podium, that he should start.
Everyone gazed at the man in the middle of the stage, behind the podium.
He slammed his talking paper to straighten them out, and at the same time, he coughed.
"I will try to be brief, but we have a lot of things to talk about.".
He straightened his back.
"First, let me introduce who I am. I am the strategist of the Hozora kingdom, and my name is Albert Thornton.".
"My task was to analyze today's events and provide insights regarding our potential future actions or strategies.
"Now that we have made that clear, we need to talk about the sudden attack that came today.".
"It's normal for the kingdom to get attacked since we are on the outskirts of the empire." His gaze became serious.
"But this time it was different. This was not a random attack.".
Behind him, a drawing of three distinct figures showed up.
They were in front of a giant army of monsters.
Some people's eyes in the conference room widened.
"This was what our scout saw when we sent him to scout the enemy forces."
He pointed at the three figures.
"Some of you are probably as shocked as I was when I first saw this. Because these are not regular monsters that we are used to getting attacked by."