Translator: Haruto.

The latest meeting of the five great heroes went a little differently from the others.

The air felt heavy and they all wore serious expressions on their faces.

Ayesha looked at each of her companions slowly before saying, “It appears remnants of the demon army are traversing the Evil Forest accompanied by swarms of monsters on their way to the fortified city of Arcana.”

The remnants of a defeated army didn’t represent much of a threat.

Akane alone could just run there and slay all the monsters in one fell swoop.

However…

“Commanding them is Gagaitas, the demon that used to occupy the third seat of the round table of the demon army.”

A knight of the round table that should have perished in the war was still alive.

That was the reason why their faces were clouded with distress and the air felt so heavy in the room.

“I’m sure… I defeated Gagaitas…” Akane mumbled to herself.

She was certain she had cut Gagaitas down in a duel.

And yet, he was still breathing.

That meant that perhaps other demons were still alive as well.

“With him in the picture, we have no other choice but to head to the Evil Forest,” declared Mia the Saint in a solemn tone of voice.

Lulune agreed, “Yes, it seems we must put the search for Alize-san on hold for the time being.” And as a look of determination appeared on her face, she continued, “I’ll travel to the Evil Forest by myself first to conduct some reconnaissance since I’m the most adept at moving through the forest without being detected. In the meantime, I’d like to ask you to move the sky castle and position it over the forest.”

The sky castle was powered by their mana. Only one of them was needed to keep it in the air, but at least four of the heroes were needed to move it.

“Will you be fine by yourself, Lulune?” asked Akane, visibly worried.

Lulune nodded and said, “It’s the only way. I’m familiar with how things work in the forest and it’s also easier to scout being alone. Besides, it’ll be easier to defeat Gagaitas if we have the sky castle’s blessing on our side.”

What Lulune said was completely rational.

They knew she was right, which is why no one dared contradict her, even though they knew that Lulune’s fighting ability wasn’t that high compared to the others. She was probably the second lowest in terms of battle prowess—Mia the Saint being the lowest.

And what was worse, they were dealing with the third seat of the round table of demons.

If things went south and Lulune had to fight him, she would undoubtedly lose.

Regardless, Ayesha nodded in approval and said, “Very well. Lulune, can you please scout the forest for us?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll gather as much information as I can!”

As a princess and their leader, that was the only thing Ayesha could have said.

Anguish was written on her face, however, she still forced herself to smile to try and not worry Lulune.

“Okay, I’ll be off now.”

And just like that, Lulune descended from the sky castle.

Knowing they all had a role to fulfill, the heroes swung into action.

***

“The first time we dove into the dungeon was definitely quite messy…” I murmur right after waking up from my afternoon nap.

I remember how Akane used to run off and go wild at any chance she got, and how Lulune was so scared her legs would give out on her at the drop of a hat.

“I wonder how much they’ve grown.”

I don’t know what they’re up to right now, but I somehow have a feeling that they’re doing something important. I just know it.

As such thoughts cross my mind, Anna-chan’s father barges into the room unannounced.

“Hey, shut-in, dinner is ready.”

“Oh, shush, don’t call me a shut-in—even if you’re right.”

“Fine, damn shut-in it is. Come to the dining room already,” he says, before closing the door and walking downstairs.

Leaving my nostalgia aside, I got up and headed down to the dining room.

***

Four more days have come and gone in the blink of an eye.

I’m currently enjoying dinner with Anna-chan and her family again.

Today, Anna-chan herself cooked some nice steaks for us.

“Hmm, looks like I finally need to start doing some work…” I whisper while peeking at the contents of my wallet. I still have some money left, but I’m starting to get worried.

They’re letting me stay for free, but I’m obviously paying for my own meals.

Anna-chan and her mother told me I didn’t have to, but even I can’t be that shameless.

“Good! It’s about damn time you start working, you bum!”

“Yeah, I can’t even argue back.”

Unfortunately, I knew Gailam, Anna-chan’s father, was right.

The truth is that I’m currently unemployed and living partly off their goodwill.  

He likes to complain a lot but he has never tried to kick me out.

I suppose he’s thankful that I saved Anna-chan.

“Alright, I’ll go into the Evil Forest tomorrow and hunt some monsters,” I declare and Anna-chan looks at me with worry in her eyes.

“Will you be okay? The monsters of the Evil Forest are pretty strong, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Here. Look at this,” I say and pull out my adventurer card.

“Oh, you have an adventurer card… And you’re A-rank!”

Hearing his daughter exclaim that, Gailam decides to take a look at it too.

“You were an A-rank adventurer all along?! You must be loaded then! Pay for your room!”

“No, I spent too much time holed up in the sticks, so I’m seriously broke.”

Gailam looks at me suspiciously for a second, before something seems to pop into his mind and he asks while tilting his head, “Wait, what happened to your party, then? Ah, no, my bad. Forget I ever asked.”

He must have assumed that they all died since I’m currently alone and I spent so much time out in the sticks. That isn’t the case though, which is why I shake my head and tell him, “It’s not what you think. I just spent most of my time adventuring alone.”

“…You got to A-rank all by yourself? Damn. That’s impressive.”

Hearing Gailam say that, Anna-chan asks, apparently confused, “Reaching A-rank by yourself is really that amazing?”

“I don’t want to sing this guy’s praises, but it is pretty amazing. There are many parties of four and five members that never make it past B or C rank. Not to mention, when adventuring alone you can’t rely on anyone else, so you have to defeat every single monster you come across by yourself, and if you get surrounded, well, be ready to breathe your last.”

Anna-chan’s eyes get all sparkly out of nowhere as she turns to look at me.

“I knew it! You really are incredible, Alize-san!”

“Oh, stop it…” I say, feeling kind of embarrassed and scratching my head.

Gailam’s face twists in disgust.

“…Ew. Nothing creepier than seeing an old dude get all bashful.”

“Oh, don’t start! What’s so wrong with feeling a little bashful every once in a while? Besides, you’re not exactly young either, remember?!”

We keep messing around until his wife asks, “So, will you actually go to the Evil Forest?”

“Yeah, I’ll head there tomorrow. Thank you for the food. I’ll hit the sack a little earlier tonight to get ready for tomorrow.”  

I washed my plate, returned to my room, and went to bed earlier than usual.

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