“Judging from statements by the heroes, Over Box was an ability that only heroes of their generation could use, which released the true potential of their Divine Blessings. It is uncertain what conditions needed to be met in order for them to use this ability. We chose not to release this information so that heroes would not jump immediately to relying on it and would instead diligently train.”
“That reasoning seems weak to me. I’d sooner accept the idea that you were keeping it all to yourselves so as to monopolize it.”
“We had other reasons. We feared what might happen if countries tried to have their heroes master Over Box.”
“Huh? Why?” Rudolf was puzzled, and he wasn’t alone in his confusion. The rest of the members around the table also seemed to be caught off guard by this. “What scared you about that?”
“According to records from three hundred years ago, the previous generation of heroes had enough power to take on an entire country. They were so powerful that it was possible they could have conquered the whole world.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Perhaps a little... But at the very least, it’s certain that Over Box grants heroes power many times greater than what the demon king possesses. In fact, it was so powerful of an ability that even the previous heroes themselves were not forthright with the Maccad Empire about its existence.”
“Do you mean to say that the peace which ensued after the defeat of the demon king three hundred years ago was due to the heroes’ strength of character?”
“Yes. Part of the reason why we created a hero army is because of Over Box. The more heroes we have in our employ, the lower the chance they will be overwhelmed by the great number of enemies in the demon king’s army. As such, we think they will be less likely to resort to using Over Box.”
The reason that countries were incentivized to summon more heroes was to make conquering the demon king easier. However, they also had to make sure that there was a limit on how many heroes each country summoned, or else there would be a large power imbalance, which could result in war.
“Hmph, fine... I get it. But you should know that, having heard this, I’ve lost some confidence in the Maccad Empire. I’ll be expecting an appropriate response.”
“Very well. Noted.”
“Are there any other questions? If not, we will move to the next topic.” Indera surveyed the room, but nobody spoke up. “In that case, I will proceed. I’ve already mentioned this, but the three heroes from the Rising Sun Kingdom are currently under our protection. We’d like to discuss which country will take them in.” Indera began flipping through the documents in her hands. “First, allow me to present our position on this. Taking into account each country’s resources and convenience, as well as the heroes’ current mental states, we believe that the Maccad Empire should continue to care for them. Are there any objections to this?”
“Nope.”
“No.”
“None.”
“Nah.”
“That’s fine.”
“Nope.”
“No.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“None come to mind.”
The remaining members around the table all voiced their agreement at once. The only country that could afford the luxury of taking in three additional heroes was the Maccad Empire. On top of that, it was already weakened by the assaults from the demon king’s army. Even with six heroes, the Maccad Empire would not surpass the other countries in strength. With that in mind, allowing them to have a few more heroes wouldn’t be a problem.
“Excluding the absent representatives from the Republic of Ghrantze and the Rising Sun Kingdom, which has been destroyed, let the record show that all ten present representatives voted in favor of this resolution. We will now move to the next topic.” Indera once again flipped through her documents. “As for the territory which belonged to the former Rising Sun Kingdom, precedent dictates that it is not within the scope of our discussion. However, since all representatives excluding the one from Ghrantze are present, I’d like to propose a partnership of joint rule over the territory. Are there any objections?”
“It’s ridiculous to feud amongst ourselves while the demon king’s armies are knocking at our doorsteps. I believe we should indeed enter a partnership.”
“Agreed.” The rest of the room nodded in approval.
“Very well then. We have received approval from all ten present representatives from the Maccad Empire, the Dwyr Federation, the Holy Land of Ryne, the Empire of Gyrham, the Principality of Kanady, the Confederation of Eyghyl, the Sanctum of Oza, the country of El’Samurr, the Principality of Alein, and the Republic of Quish. We shall jointly rule over the former Rising Sun Kingdom’s territories. As for the specifics, we will hold a separate discussion in the coming days. We will now move to the next topic.” Indera once again flipped through the documents. “Please turn to page twenty-four.”
The room was filled with the sound of rustling paper. After it subsided, Indera continued speaking.
“The chart on this page shows the Divine Blessings of the current thirty-six heroes, sorted by rank. We only recently received information on the three heroes from the Rising Sun Kingdom and the three heroes from the Republic of Ghrantze, so please consider these updates temporary while we work on a final version, to be issued at a later date.”
A Rank:
Mana Affinity / Physical Affinity / Martial Arts / Spatial Magic
B Rank:
Swordsmanship / Lance Arts / Archery / Shield Arts / Barrier Magic / Light Magic / Fire Magic / Wind Magic / Water Magic / Earth Magic
C Rank:
Jujitsu / Melee Combat / Jo Mastery / Karate / Heat Magic / Ice Magic / Particle Magic / Disintegration Magic / Limit Breaker / Body Fortification / Magic Fortification / Telepathy / Omniscience
D Rank:
Household Magic / Cooking / Clairvoyance / Alchemy
E Rank:
Dark Magic / Theriomorphosis
Aberrant:
Count / Note / Total Shut-In
“Magic Affinity and Barrier Magic? Impressive.”
“The Rising Sun Kingdom could’ve done with sharing this information sooner. I would’ve supported them as much as they’d needed.”
“Well, you know how their queen was...”
“It looks like there’s a new aberrant too. I’m assuming they’re from Ghrantze?”
“There’s too many aberrant Divine Blessings for my liking. Sure, three isn’t that many, but it’s certainly more than expected.”
“To add on to that, the only ability we fully understand is the Maccad Empire’s Count. Note is the Divine Blessing of a hero from Ghrantze, and Total Shut-In is the Divine Blessing of another Maccad Empire hero. Said hero is currently under observation and counseling to determine the nature of this blessing.”
“It’s hard to determine what these aberrant Divine Blessings do just from their name.”
“What is a ‘Total Shut-In,’ anyway? The words hardly make any sense. I bet the hero has no clue what it means either,” Rudolf remarked.
Oh, I think he does—he just doesn’t want to explain, Indera quipped internally. She cleared her throat as the commotion died down, and went on. “After some research, we are considering changing the rank of the former Rising Sun Kingdom’s hero’s Limit Breaker to aberrant.”
“Why is that?”
“Is there not documentation of this Divine Blessing?”
Indera nodded. “Yes—the ability itself seems no different than how it was described in past documentation. However, the hero only gained a full understanding of the ability recently, and not at the time of summoning.”
“That certainly does fit the definition of an aberrant Divine Blessing...”
“As such, please be aware that there is a possibility that Ryuto Shinzaki’s Divine Blessing will be reclassified as aberrant.”