Picking up on Suimei’s tense apprehension, Titania whispered to him to reassure him. Based on what she said, it seemed everything was fine. He’d been terrified for a moment there, but this was a relief. Reiji then bowed before the king and began speaking.
“My name is Reiji Shana, Your Majesty. I am honored to have been granted an audience here on such an occasion.”
“So you are the hero from another world?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As Reiji confirmed his identity to the king, the others in the room began excitedly talking again, saying things like “So that gentleman is the hero?” and “What a sublime countenance!” When their enchanted praise finally died down, the king then directed his attention to Suimei and Mizuki.
“Then the two back there must be the hero’s good friends?”
“Yes, I am his friend, Mizuki Anou.”
“I’m Suimei Yakagi.”
While still on their knees, Mizuki and Suimei looked up to answer the king. Since they weren’t heroes, they decided against standing like Reiji had.
“I see. I do apologize for summoning you with him. For our mistake, though it is truly to our benefit, I do hope you find a way to forgive us.”
“But of course.”
“Yeah…”
Still regally seated atop his throne, the king asked for their forgiveness. As king, it was likely the best he could do in the way of an apology, but it honestly didn’t sound like much of one at all. Suimei was a little peeved.
Yet once again, the crowd gathered in the room was astir with whispering. This time, they said things like “Such words from the king are more than they deserve,” and “Such exceptional compassion!” It was almost the complete opposite of the way they’d talked about Reiji.
“Ehem… I have many matters that I would like to discuss with the hero, but I believe that this is enough for today’s audience. This has all been quite sudden, and I do believe that Hero-dono is still perplexed by it all.”
“I…”
“Hero-dono and friends, there will be a banquet in Camellia’s reception hall after this. Please attend once you have yourselves settled in, and we will move on to the more serious matters at hand tomorrow.”
It seemed some entertainment was in order, and the real business would wait until after an evening’s rest. That consideration seemed to be the king’s real apology, and in the end, he perhaps may have been overdoing it. Upon hearing the word “banquet,” the atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten up. But there was one person unwilling to let the conversation go.
“No, Your Majesty. If possible, I would like us to move on to the serious matters at once.”
“Is that truly alright, Hero-dono? You have only just arrived. Surely you haven’t steeled yourself yet, have you?”
“That much is true… But, in the end, I know that this is something I must do. I would like to know the details of the danger I must face sooner rather than later.”
“…I understand. If you wish, Hero-dono, we shall speak of it now.”
After sinking deep into thought for a moment, the king agreed to Reiji’s request. It wasn’t the answer Suimei was hoping for.
Aargh… Damn this goody two-shoes!
With a sour face, Suimei angrily muttered to himself. This was a terrible turn of events. Things were developing too quickly. The pacing of it all was absurd. The three friends hadn’t even yet had a chance to properly discuss things together. Spurred by panic, Suimei tugged on the cuff of Reiji’s trousers from his kneeling position.
“H-Hey, Reiji! What are you thinking?! If you talk about this now, he’s going to want your answer now. Did you think about that? Actually, isn’t it obvious that—”
“It’s fine, Suimei. Leave this to me.”
“Forget that. We should— REIJIIIIIIII!”
Before they could finish discussing it, Reiji took a step forward and shook off Suimei’s hand. Suimei quietly but mournfully called after him. To Suimei, what the king was going to ask Reiji to do was unconditionally unacceptable. Going off and defeating a Demon Lord in another world… Just what kind of fantasy was this? It was crazy to go and pick a fight with an opponent whose combat force and battle capabilities were completely unknown. Moreover, there was nothing that said they actually had to do it even though they’d been summoned here.
And on top of everything else, Suimei had a reason for returning home right away. He still had the thesis that he stubbornly promised to complete for his departed mentor, his father. Certainly, it was true that the magicians who secretly maneuvered in the underworld were destined to put their lives at stake, but that didn’t mean they felt like throwing down their lives for just anything. And Suimei was dead set against this.
Suimei stared at Reiji’s back as he stepped forward, full of anxiety. There was no way any rational person would accept such a ludicrous request, but this was his friend, the abnormally softhearted Reiji. Suimei couldn’t deny the possibility that Reiji just might actually agree to it. That was the worry that pulsed through Suimei’s mind as Reiji approached the king.
“How much have you heard already?”
“When we arrived, Her Highness requested that we defeat the Demon Lord. Other than that, we have yet to hear anything.”
“I see. Then… Gless.”
The king turned to the elderly man at his side and gave a nod in Reiji’s direction. It must have been a signal. The elderly man—Gless—then stepped forward.
“I am the Kingdom of Astel’s prime minister, Gless Dillez. To begin with, I will provide you with a rundown of the current situation.”
“Please do.”
“Far north of Astel, by a distance that could fit two countries, lies a land of intense cold called the Kingdom of Noshias. Noshias served as the bottleneck between demon and human territory, and for a long time it was known as the northernmost stronghold of humanity. It held off the demons’ advance in our world. That is, up until half a year ago. The royal capital fell in a sudden and unexpected demon assault. After that, Noshias was no longer able to maintain itself as a country, and perished accordingly.”
Prime Minister Gless’s expression turned grim as he continued.
“Despite its harsh climate, the people of Noshias boasted strength that was in no way inferior to the people who live on the plains. I have heard that their army was also very powerful, but they could hardly make a stand against an army of demons over a million strong. A great country was cast into utter ruin in less than a month.”
Mizuki then hesitantly spoke up.
“Um, by ruin, you mean… What about the people of Noshias?”
“The demons have no need for human prisoners. At the time of the attack, the majority of Noshias’s people were slaughtered by the demons. The ones who survived were then picked off by the demons’ human hunts. There are a lucky few who have survived to this day, but the population of Noshias has been decimated.”
“Human hunts? No way…”
“That, I’m afraid, is simply how these demons are. They despise humans and treat them like prey. They are completely evil beings with no merit to speak of other than their raw power. Rather than come to a compromise at the negotiating table, they would sooner use one to strike at us.”