Chapter 35: Prince Kurobuta Saves His Fiancée

<Marie’s POV>

The sudden attack of Lionetta, one of the leaders of the demon king's army caused the arena to temporarily fall silent, but after a while, a murmur spread like a wave.

“Eh? One of the four demon generals? Isn’t she a monster who can destroy a country by herself?”

“Are you for real? How can this be?”

“If it’s really true then this is bad, Glace-sama isn’t here. If we don't run, we'll be killed!”

The audience began to leave their seats in panic.

“Everyone please calm down desu!”

Rosie desperately raised her voice.

It was understandable why everyone would be in a state of panic.

The existence of the Four Demon Generals is the same as the Seven Heroes in terms of power and force. It’s logical to say they’re more vile and troublesome than the seven heroes because they deal with dark magic which is a forbidden technique.

For the people, Lionetta's attack was like the sudden arrival of an SS-ranked monster such as an Ancient Dragon or Yamata no Orochi (Eight-headed and Eight- tailed serpent). No, she’s worse than that because she has a clear intention to harm the people.

"This isn’t possible… why is there a demon general in our country at this time!”

King Castral had a confused look on his face.

The active territory of the demon king’s army is currently far away from here. Even if they were to lay a hand on Pistel, it would have been in a distant future.

In the meantime, while the people were in a state of panic, the magic knights on guard were raining down fierce magic attacks on Lionetta. However, Lionetta did not change her expression and easily repelled them with her magic pressure.

Her overwhelming defense power was enough to prove she was indeed one of the Four demon generals of the demon king’s army.

"This is my first time seeing you, Your Majesty Castral. It's a festival for the whole country. I'd like to contribute to the festivities, So please enjoy it at your leisure.”

“Nightmare Mirage".

The moment she chanted it.

The ground, which was about half the size of the arena, emitted a faint glow of magic power. The magic power changed into a mist and spread among the people.

("Nightmare Mirage"?)

The name sounded familiar to Marie.

And if it really is the same magic as the one in her knowledge - well, that's not good.

“What was that? Was it something bad?”

“Maybe, but I don't feel anything…?

“It's not itchy or painful. Could it be that it failed?”　

The crowd seemed to be looking around and craning their necks, wondering why nothing happened.

But then...

"Huh, hey… what's going on?”

"Shut up!”

Bam!

The sound of a dry blow.　　

That was the beginning of the nightmare.　

I looked over and saw a spectator grabbing another nearby spectator by the chest and punching him.

"What the hell is…? What are you doing?”

“Urusei! (Shut up!) I've always disliked you!”　

The people around him rushed to stop him, but the assailant went on a rampage like an agitated bull, striking with his fist two or three more times.

The man's anger was not unusual, but it was just like a fight that would happen at least once a day in a bar. That's what everyone thought.

But things were not that simple.

(This is still ......)

It wasn't just the man, but all over the arena, people were rioting and attacking people.

"Pay back the money I lent you last time!”

“Don't always act like you're so great!”

“You've been sleeping with my husband! I know all about it!”

Not just a few people, but dozens or hundreds of people have suddenly gone berserk and are attacking anyone in their vicinity as if they've lost their grip on reason.

"It's as if the entire arena is under an illusionary spell! How can this be, It’s a magic that gets more difficult to control the wider the range and she’s covered the whole arena?”

"Oh? who said it was only covering the arena?"

When Lionetta said this and smiled fearlessly, Soldiers rushed to King Castral from outside the arena.

“Your Majesty! There are riots and brawls going on all over the capital right now! It's already out of control!"

"What in the whole capital? How can that be?”

Marie gulps

Is there really such a thing?

“Nightmare Mirage” is an 8th strategic-grade illusion magic which is said to only be usable only by paranormal beings like gods and higher spirits.

It’s a magic that casts a deluding spell similar to Confusion over a very wide area of people, inciting negative emotions such as anger and anxiety to confuse them.

The effect on the people itself is very small because it is applied over a very wide area, and the actual effect is only supposed to affect 10 to 20 percent of the people at most. However, if 10 to 20% of the more than 10,000 people in the capital were to go on a rampage, it would be more than enough to put the entire capital into a state of panic.

In fact, even in the arena, where there are many soldiers working to suppress the situation, It has become uncontrollable. 

"Marie-sama ...... please evacuate immediately!”

“No there’s a barrier covering the VIP seats so it’s fine. From the outside even if it’s hit by a dragon, it won’t be breached. This is the safest place in the kingdom right now. Don't worry about me, you can help with subduing the people."

Remilia stood and left her seat without objection to go cooperate with the soldiers.

Marie frowned as she saw the crowd rampaging in the arena.

(If Celie-sama were here, she would have been able to subdue them, but I suppose that's why she sealed her off first.)

If there was anyone who could counter Lionetta’s illusion magic, it would be Celie of the “Seven Heroes”, But since she wasn’t there, it won’t be easy to quell the chaos.

“But this magic alone isn’t a big threat.”

I overheard King Castral say that.

Certainly “Nightmare Mirage” is a super wide range strategic grade magic, but the effect itself is about the level of low-grade illusion magic. The damage is actually not that great. You just have to calmly suppress it with your troops and wait for the effect to wear off.

But as if to ridicule such an idea, Lionetta opened her mouth.

"Of course, this magic is not the end of the play. This magic is only powerful when used in conjunction with other strategies.”

King Castral narrows his eyes sharply.

"What are you planning to do?"

"It's not much, really. I've got a battalion of the Demon King's army waiting for me in the Luran Forest near the capital. The city gates have been opened, and they will be pouring into the city soon.”

"What!? battalion!?”

King Castral’s voice shows clear panic.

It's not easy to intercept a battalion of the demon king's army even in normal times.  It’s a fight where you have to take countermeasures against each monster in advance.

If the people are confused and divided against each other, no matter how hard they try, they wouldn’t stand a chance. I think he understands that.

"No heroes present, the royal capital is in chaos. I wonder if the royal capital has the capacity and strength to deal with both me and my hordes of monsters.”

"Damn you..."

King Castral grits his teeth.

(This isn’t good…)

If nothing is done, the kingdom will fall into the hands of the demon king’s army. Even if Glace and Merlin remained in the royal capital and helped, there’s no doubt that many people would have been sacrificed by then. We have to come up with a plan somehow.

Just as Marie was thinking desperately.

"Hehehehe! Marie-sama, I found you!”

"......!"

It was one of the noblemen in the dignitary's seat who suddenly called out to me.

When I turned to look, I saw that the man’s eyes were bulging and it seemed he was under the deluding effect of the Nightmare Mirage. 

(It seems that he’s not thinking ...... clearly)

Marie is wary of the man and stands up.

It’s true that the barrier of the noble seats is extremely strong against attacks from the outside. But if a riot happens on the inside, it will be useless.

"Heh heh heh... you're really beautiful up close. I've wanted to mess you up since the first time I saw you at the soiree. The day I finally get to rape this fairy princess has come. It’s really like a dream come true. I'm so glad I'm still alive.”

The man smiled a vulgar smile and began to inch closer to Marie.

Looking at the guest seats, there are fights happening everywhere and none of the soldiers were likely to come to her aid because they were too busy subduing the others. 

(I have to ...... do something about it myself.)

I thought that, but my feet were frozen in place.

Marie is a talented woman who has high grades in academics at the Windstar Magic Academy and can use more magic than a magic knight.

So even if I was attacked by thugs, I thought I could at least defend myself. Even though I was told that if I come face to face with danger, I wouldn’t be able to do anything because of fear, I always thought I could do something about it by myself.

However, now that I was standing in a predicament with a thug right in front of me, I finally understood the rightness of those words to the point of regret.

Perhaps because of the illusion magic, Marie's mind was confused and she blanked out before the impending situation.

"Heh heh heh, your skin is incredibly smooth…This skin, this beautiful hair… it's all mine."

While Marie couldn’t do anything but stand there trembling, the man finally reached Marie and reached out to touch her cheek.

Marie was so terrified that her fairy like face gradually tightened and her eyes began to tear up.

I'm scared.

I'm scared.

I'm scared.

The only thing I could think of was that feeling that kept ruminating in my head.

"Save me… Brad-sama" I whispered in a fading voice.

He's not even in the arena. There was no point in calling the name of someone who wasn’t there. There was no way such a small voice could reach him. She knew that, but still she couldn't help but say the name.

But just as the man's hand was about to reach from Marie's neck to her chest - that's when it happened.

Bam!!

"... Aga !?"

The man got blown away.

As if he had brought the wrath of a dragon and received an iron hammer on his body, the man blew from one end of the guest seats to the other and fell to the ground.

(What on earth…?)

Wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, Marie opened her eyes.

When she came to, there was a figure standing in front of her.

“You can’t touch her casually like that.”

The figure speaks with a voice that Marie can barely hear to the man who was already unconscious and then walks to her. 

There's no doubt about it.

It was Brad von Pistel, Marie's fiancé, the beautiful first prince with his shining silver hair and brown skin.

“I’m sorry for being late. Are you alright my princess?”

He knelt down in front of her like a knight and reached out his hands gently.

And the moment she touched his warm hands,

“…”

Jewell-like tears slowly spilled from Marie’s eyes.

Chapter 36: Prince Kurobuta gets his prediction right.

(How terrible ......)

Looking lovingly at his fiancée, who was still shivering, Brad stroked his chest in relief.

It was a close call.

I wondered what that man would have done to Marie if I had been even slightly late in coming to her aid. Thinking about it, I felt annoyed at myself for taking so long to prepare. It was also foolish of me to assume that the dignitaries’ seats would be safe.

(I'm sorry, Marie.)

For making you cry and shaming you.

While Marie is perfectly mindful of manners and etiquette in public, she often draws a line between herself and others and has a cool demeanor, giving off the vibe of a high-class woman.

However, this is because she’s a "fairy princess," and her beauty is like glasswork that would break if you touched it, so she’s just trying to protect herself from frivolous men. Brad, her childhood friend, knows that she’s actually a very kind and sensitive girl who acts appropriately for her age.

How could she not be terrified when threatened by a man? She was even shedding tears. She must have been really, really scared.

Nevertheless...

"Oh, thank you for saving me, Your Highness. I'm fine now, please take care of everyone."

Marie took a deep breath, regained her composure, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and put on her usual sturdy expression as she said this.

Her voice and body were still trembling, and she was probably terrified, but she put herself on the back burner and put her people and the people around her first.

She’s such a kind soul.

(My fianceé is too much of an angel… I could write a novel about her.)

The fact that her cheeks turned slightly red, perhaps embarrassed about being hugged, is also adorable. If I could, I would pet, hug, and pamper this girl all day long. It was understandable that Brad would feel this way.

But somehow, Brad managed to restrain himself.

"I'd like to be around you more, but unfortunately the situation doesn't allow it. Marie, please be careful."

I nodded to Marie, patting her on the head.

"I'll be fine. Please don't overdo it.”

Though I’m the one who should be worried, Marie stares at me with an anxious look as if she were a parent sending off her child. 

Brad smiles mischievously to reassure her.

"...... If you kiss me on the cheek, I feel like I could do my best."

 He pointed to his cheek as if begging.

“Ki-kiss?!”

Marie looked puzzled as she looked at his cheek.

It seems that the European way of thinking is applied in this world, where kissing is often used as a greeting. But when it comes to men and women of the right age who are not relatives, it’s inevitable that they will be conscious of each other.

"It's a joke. I'm just kidding. I've been asked to break off our engagement. But if I can get this whole thing under control, please think about it."

"Oh… Your Highness?"

As much as he wanted to tease her, Brad left her with a shrug of his shoulders and quickly moved on to his own tasks, leaving the adorably frazzled Marie behind.

For starters, he used his fists to knock out several spectators who were still rioting in the noble seats and then rescued his father, King Castral, and the nobles.

"Brad… Thank you."

"it’s no problem of course. Please leave the rest to me."

I had this feeling of wanting to talk to King Castral who said thank you awkwardly but now didn’t seem like a good time.

I responded briefly with my usual smile and firmly confirmed that I had secured the safety of the dignitaries' seats - and thus Marie's safety - for the moment.

Then I turned my attention to the woman floating in the sky above the arena, one of the "Four Demon Generals" Lionetta.

"It's a good thing you're here. You're too late though, the show has already started.

Lionetta gave me a dim smile as if she had been waiting for me.

"I'm honored that you waited so long, Miss Lionetta.”　

When Brad smiled back, Lionetta snorts uncomfortably.

"It seems you can still afford to talk frivolously, but in the meantime, your King's Landing is in chaos, as you can see. I know you love to help people, but do you think you can handle this situation?

Lionetta spread her hands as if to say, "Look at the reality”.

The arena was still in chaos with the people who fell under the influence of ‘Nightmare Mirage’ running wild, plus the people fleeing from the influenced mob while letting out auspicious screams and Brad knew that the commotion was spreading not only to the arena but to the entire capital.

“I don't think there's anything I can do about it"

 Understanding the situation he calmly decides he couldn’t handle the situation on his own.

"Fufufu… That’s right that’s right. Now that I've sealed the saintess, there's nothing you can do to stop these riots. Do you understand now? Is it clear?" Lionetta laughed happily.

"You can't save everything in this world… and that's a fact of life. You can't save this country, its people and of course my sister, who even I couldn’t help. You can't save anything. Perish with your country and repent of your pride."

Lionetta laughed loudly, as if she were drunk with the wine of victory.

Brad looked up at her in silence.

"That’s right, I can't save everything." he murmured, nodding.

From an objective point of view, this was clearly a declaration of defeat.

"Brad…”

"Your Highness...”

"Brad…"

......

In fact, King Castral, his fiancée Marie, his maidservant Rosie, and the people who remained in the arena were saddened by his words.

Even Brad, who seemed to be the only one who could help, couldn't do anything about this situation. This country would fall into the hands of the Demon King's army.

But at the moment when Lionetta's mouth, which was already wide open in loud laughter, widened eerily as if to split even further...

"I'm not the one who's going to save you all."

Brad suddenly looked up and smiled fearlessly.

Shortly after...

"......!"

Suddenly, the area was enveloped in a dazzling light.

As if the goddess of fertility were blessing the earth, a dazzling pure white glow of magic power poured into the arena

And the people who had been rampaging noisily just a moment ago gradually became calm as they were bathed in the magic power.

"Hey… what was I doing? "

"Why was I so angry?"

"I'm sorry, I overdid it."

The next thing you know, they all came to their senses, many of them regretting their actions and starting to apologize and make peace with each other.

When Lionetta realizes the true nature of the light, she asks in a startled tone.

"This can’t be… Area Purification"!?" {TN: the direct translation is “ Area Clarification” but I felt “Purification” made more sense”}

--Area Purification--

It's a wide range healing magic of the sixth rank.

The third-order healing magic “Purification” nullifies the effects of abnormal conditions such as poison, paralysis and confusion. It's advanced magic that has the same effect, turning pure white magic power into particles like rain or snow and releasing them over a wide area.

"And all over the arena?”

Its range of effect depends on the caster’s ability and when it comes to ‘Area Purification’ that covers the entire area. It's only possible for a high priest of the church - at least at level 30 or above. It's no wonder Lionetta was surprised.

"Who said it was only for the arena?”

But at this point, even though it was astonishing, Brad laughed at Lionetta and urged her to look outside the arena.

"......?"

Lionetta looked outside the arena and shook her head in disbelief.

She must have noticed.

It's not just the arena, but the entire royal capital that is being affected by the pure white magic of Area Purification.

"It's impossible… The only person who could have done something like this in the current royal capital would be the Saintess of Salvation, Celie. Who could have done this?”

Lionetta was shocked but immediately turned to the source of the magic power which was at the central square of the capital and her eyes widened.

It's no wonder.

A person who was never supposed to be there was clearly there. 

The woman who suddenly raised her head was, in Brad's eyes - and perhaps in everyone else's as well - the "Saintess of Salvation" herself. Celie Strassfield was radiating an overwhelming pure magic power.

“This is impossible! Why is that woman here? I imprisoned her in a different dimension!”

Lionetta draws a circle with her fingers and opens the door to another space.

And in that pitch-black place, just as Lionetta had said, a woman who seemed to be Celie herself was sitting with her knees in her arms imprisoned. The woman who quickly raised her face was no other than the Saintess of Salvation as well. Even Brad could see it, No, perhaps everyone else could. 

But on the other hand, unlike Celie, who always has a soft smile on her face, this time around there was a wicked smile, which she usually did not have.

And at the moment when Lionetta would have noticed that...

"What?”

The woman who looked like Celie began to change shape, transforming into a completely different person - or rather, a different existence - than Celie.

Dark brown body hair sprouted from her body, animal ears sprouted from her head, and a tail sprouted from her bottom, her fangs and claws sharpened, and her mouth widened as if it was going to split open.

The next thing she knew, he had completely transformed into a werewolf.

"Hahahahaha… You idiot! Look closely, it’s me the werewolf lord’s brother whom you threw away like a rag” the werewolf said triumphantly.　

The monster that was disguised as Celie, who got imprisoned in the dimension was no other than Uru Galov.

“Why are you…?”

When he saw Lionetta struggling to speak as if she wasn’t understanding the situation. Uru laughed even more as if he was feeling good about himself.　 

“I didn’t fully believe it, but I listened to the prince’s words and it turned out better than I thought. I've seen your defeated face, Lionetta! How does it feel to be framed by a former subordinate you used to make fun of?”

“This was your plan?”

When Lionetta, who was still having trouble understanding the situation, looked at him curiously, Brad shrugged his shoulders and explained plainly.

“Lionetta… sorry but I was able to collect information about you. It was out of the question for me to not know about what kind of magic you would use and what kind of measures you would take. This was my counter to your illusion magic in order to protect the real Celie-chan who’s the only one that could counter you. This should bring everyone back to their senses and calm down the commotion in the capital.”

I didn't actually gather any information about Lionetta, I just knew her from the beginning based on my knowledge of the game from my previous life, but I guess it's similar.

In ‘Final Quest’, Lionetta had planned to take over a country using ‘Nightmare Mirage’ and the only person that could have competed against her magic at present was Celie. That’s why I took countermeasures in anticipation of Celie being captured.

(The transformation ability is really convenient isn’t it?)

If the werewolf lord joins Brad’s corps as it is, there’ll be a lot of things happening from now on.

“Wow… is that so?”

“So your highness thought that far ahead?”

“As expected of Brad-sama desu!”

Everyone turns around and exclaims happily.

Lionetta grit her teeth feeling mortified, but soon recovers her stance with a fearless smile.

“Amazing… I didn’t think you planned so far ahead, it’s certainly unexpected. But it’s no problem at all. The ‘Mirage of Nightmares’ is just one part of the plan.”

Plan B? Brad frowns.

“You may not have heard, but there’s a battalion of the demon king’s army waiting near the royal capital  I set up in advance. The monsters should have already rushed into the royal capital and overrun the people. As proof, the magic power from them is gathering more and more into this magic stone…”

Lionetta takes out a fist-sized magic stone from her chest with a smile, but when she confirms the color, she has a dubious expression on her face.

“Oh… is that it?” Brad says after catching a glimpse of the stone in Lionetta’s hand.

Since it’s a very rare orb, Brad had not seen one in this world but had seen it in the ‘Final Quest’ game.

The magic stone Adamandite is usually jet black, but it has the property of changing color as it absorbs magic power. Speaking in detail, it’s not a sharp color, but it changes roughly in the order of black, blue, green, yellow and red.

Now Lionetta has blue. It was an unusual color for something that should have absorbed the magic power from the people of the royal capital. If it absorbed magic power from all over the royal capital, at least it should turn green, no, yellow.

“What’s happening? Why’s there only this much magic power gathered? No way… is the magic power automatic convergence technique flawed?”

--Automatic Convergence technique—

It is a magic technique that causes the stone to automatically absorb the magic power around the stone. By applying this to the magic stone, Lionetta should have been able to collect the magic power generated throughout the royal capital. As long as the color of the magic stone is changing, the technique itself should be working properly.

In other words, there’s another reason why the magic power is not being gathered.

“The reason magic power is not being gathered isn’t because your technique is wrong. Magic power isn’t being generated in the royal capital in the first place. After all, no monster has entered the city walls.”

No way. Lionetta shakes her head.

“What are you saying? It can’t be…. You couldn’t have stopped the invasion of the monsters.”

Lionetta turns her gaze to the city gate as though what he was saying is impossible.

Normally, only the small gate beside the main gate is open and people come and go from inside and outside, but now, the main gate is completely open. This isn’t because it’s the day of the sword dance festival, it’s probably because Lionetta manipulated the gatekeepers.

A special protective magic is cast on the gate so that it won’t break even if it’s not all that strong. Even the demon king’s army wouldn’t be able to break through the gates easily. Therefore, the gate must have been open in anticipation of the demon king’s army invasion.

Without the gate, the defenses of the royal capital are surprisingly fragile. Given that the royal capital was in a state of turmoil, it would certainly be easy for a battalion of the demon king’s army to break through the few gatekeepers and invade the capital.

However, there was no appearance of monsters invading the capital and no appearance of the people panicking due to it.

“If it was just Pistel, it would have been impossible to set up these measures. But now, what’s different from the usual is that the world’s strongest forces are gathered here, isn’t that right?”

Perhaps provoked by Brad’s words, Lionetta raises her hand and uses Levitation to float up and looks outside the city walls.

And that was when she saw it.

“That’s!!!” 

She sees two figures facing the hoard of monsters.

One stands calmly with a sword and the other sits cross-legged with a staff and levitates in the air.

“The Great Sage and the Demon Slayer?”

It was the two members of the ‘Seven Heroes’, Merlin and Glace, who undoubtedly disappeared from the arena. 

Chapter 37: Prince Kurobuta is in awe

Outside the city walls of the royal capital, Fall Flat, in the vast grasslands, there was currently a crowd of over a thousand monsters - a battalion of the Demon King's army summoned by Lionetta.

In addition to lower-grade subhuman monsters such as lizardmen and ghouls, there were also a number of nasty monsters such as the winged demon beast, Pazuzu, and the giant viper, basilisk, and you could tell at first glance that they were serious about conquering the capital.

However, the demons that were supposed to have received Lionetta's signal earlier and started marching towards the royal capital had stopped in their tracks.

(Who the hell are these?)

The leader of the battalion, Vieira, a half-human, half-snake monster with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a snake, was now puzzled. 

This was because a strange duo suddenly showed up in front of them and blocked their path.

"No way… so a battalion was actually on its way here. So these guys have been hiding out in the woods. I don't know how much you can see, Brad von Pistel...... but even I couldn't see the monsters lurking in the forest.”

One, the elf boy who seemed to be a magician floating in the air with natural magic manipulation technique as easily breathing, was muttering in disbelief.

“Feeling sleepy…✧”

And the other was a swordsman who was drowsy and yawning while holding a sword that was taller than him in one hand.

“…”

There are only two opponents.

For this army of 1000 they seemed insignificant. They would normally have ignored them and marched on.

In spite of this, the moment they appeared in front of them, the monsters surprisingly stopped their march at once and stood still.

It wasn’t Vieira who had ordered it.

(Why ...... are my legs not moving?)

The monsters including Vieira stopped by their own will… No, rather it was their instinct.

They must have sensed it.

The strange presence of the duo in front of them. A monster-like magic pressure that makes one think it was comparable to that of the highest executives of the Demon King’s Army, the “Four Demon Generals”

(How could I think that… that can’t be the case.)

It’s impossible, Vieira shakes her head.

In the Demon king’s army, the “Four Demon Generals” are overwhelming beings whose powers are on a different dimension entirely. There can be no human who is equivalent to their existence.

Moreover...

“Glace who is that Prince really? Is he truly a son of man?"

"......"

“That overwhelming fighting prowess he showed when the Cyclops was subdued and then in the arena. That insight that seems to see through everything… I don’t think he’s a child of a human. I just can’t believe it. I don’t think one can achieve that with natural talent alone.”

"............"

“I’ve lived for quite some time now and I’ve never seen such a non-standard person. Hey Glace, what do you think?”

"Feeling Sleepy"✧

"Don't just naturally ignore me!”

The two of them, as if they had forgotten that Vieira and the others were right in front of them, were engaged in a carefree, comic dialogue.

There wasn't even a hint of tension.

The elf boy was mumbling something incomprehensible, and the swordsman was yawning. With such a large group of demons in front of them, they looked like they were having tea in the afternoon.

There’s no way that these people are comparable to the "Four Demon Generals"

(But did he just call the sword guy Glace?)

The elf boy certainly called the swordman that.

It's the same name as the Demon Slayer.

And I've heard rumors that that man often stays in Pistel.

(That can't be true...)

But Vieira shook her head.

"Even if the Demon Slayer is here, I'll make sure he’s restrained. I’ll make the kingdom fall into chaos with magic, so you guys trample down the people during that time. It's an easy job."

That's what Lionetta had said when she approached me.

The woman may be unpredictable, but there was no doubting her abilities. I'm sure she's doing what she said she would do and she would definitely hold them back.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't notice you at all, you're so small✧.”

"Who are you calling small? Whether my body is small or not, ignoring my voice is another matter.”　　

 " Nn? When I said small I meant your voice obviously? It’s a fact that you're so small I can pick you up with my fingers though✧.”

"...... Oh, you mean my voice?”

"Yes, please stop being paranoid and taking it out on me. You’re not just small in body, but also in capacity✧.”

"Gunununu, maybe you’re right… but, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re making fun of me, you’re ready for the payback right!?!”

The two of them continued to engage in the same dull, comic dialogue.

(There’s no way that these idiots are the "Seven Heroes," the ones whose stories are used to silence a crying child.) 　

The children of wise demons grow up with the horror of the Seven Heroes instilled in them by their parents, who threaten them from an early age that they’ll be eaten by the Seven Heroes if they don't go to bed early, or that the Seven Heroes will kidnap bad children. There’s no way that such mythical monsters are this stupid.

Perhaps this duo are either drunk or pitiful ones who have come to the battlefield without being able to make rational judgements because of Lionetta’s illusion magic. That has to be the case.

"I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm sleepy, so can I go back to sleep?”✧

"Argh! Show a little motivation! When the prince asked you to do something, you confidently said something like, "I won't let any of them into the capital, so leave it to me!” Don't you ever do what you say you're going to do?”

"I know I said that, but to be honest you're probably enough on your own. I'm not interested in small fry, to begin with✧.”

Vieira frowns at the interaction between the two of them.

(Did he just call us small fry?)

I had no choice but to listen to them.

I'm still a demon leader.

 The Demon Commander is a position that an incompetent person would never be able to attain in the Demon King's army of the weak and the strong. It’s a position where the leader is entrusted with a battalion of a thousand monsters and the demons she brought with her were all bloodthirsty and elite.

There was no reason to be fooled by the two men in front of her who couldn’t even tell the situation.

(Hmm… It was stupid of me to read too much meaning from this encounter. We’ll see who the small fries are) 

I'm not sure why I was so afraid of these two punks.

Vieira, annoyed with herself, concluded that the duo were reckless idiots and shouted to the demons that stopped advancing.

"Don't panic, it's just a couple of idiots! All troops, advance!”

As soon as Vieira gave the order, the monsters, as if they had remembered their task, took up their weapons and with a battle cry resumed their vigorous march towards the capital.

On the other hand, when the elf boy noticed this...

"Oops, I've got some work to do-- 'Summon Servant'."

He chanted it briefly.

It was chanted as casually as if it were first-level life magic, but it had power to interfere with the atmosphere like I had never seen before.

Just after the overwhelming magic vibration that made me tremble. A huge magic circle appeared on the ground right below the elf.

And from that huge magic circle, which looked like ritual magic performed by a hundred magicians, a single monster soon appeared.

As if tearing the space apart, what appeared was a god-like giant.

It was different from the trolls and ogres whose giant blood was said to be diluted by the other bloodlines. It boasted a massive physique that rivaled that of the Cyclops, a single-eyed giant that ranked high even among demon leaders, and its body was clad in an overwhelmingly blue and divine magic that surpassed that of the single-eyed giant.

"Frost Giant?"

Vieira recognized it at a glance.

It's the upper spirit of ice that the giants of the Icicle Mountains revere as their guardian god.

"I'm sorry to call you out here in such a noisy place, but I need you to neutralize them for a moment. Can you do that for me?"

"As the Lord commands.”

When the elf sits on the giant’s shoulder and orders it. The giant grins and smiles turning to the hordes of monsters that were advancing.  

And then--

"…”

For starters, the giant dropped to its haunches and swung with a speed that was unthinkable for its huge body. Then, with a single swing, dozens of monsters were cleaved off and slammed into the ground in an interesting swoop.

The giant then swung his arm two or three times, and as he swept through the frontline monsters, the monsters in the rear began to flinch away from advancing.

Then the giant took a deep breath.

"Icicle Breath."

He exhaled an icy breath of air.

As soon as the monsters get hit by the breath, they become frozen and even if they weren’t frozen, they get robbed of their physical freedom and fall down one after another.

 (I can't believe he summoned and used a Frost Giant so easily! I thought they were just idiots!)

Vieira was upset, but the situation would not wait. I'm the head of this squad.

"Don't be frightened! Ignore the giant and push on to the capital!”

She tried to motivate the monsters who were beginning to run left and right because of the giant.

It’s too much of a hassle to deal with the giant now even if they took extra measures with special equipment, including cold-resistant armor.

The royal capital should be in turmoil now. Once they enter the capital, the giant won't be able to bypass them because of the large number of people there. Since that was the case, they had no choice but to ignore the giant as much as possible and go in.

However, when Vieira, along with some of the monsters, passed through the onslaught of the Frost Giant and arrived at the gates of the royal capital.

“Fwaaaaah! You’re missing out a few of them. This is annoying.”✧

The swordsman was waiting for them holding a stick, standing while yawning.

(hmph… just like summer insects that fly into the fire.)

Vieira grins fearlessly and rushes to the gate with the monsters.

Aside from the giant, there’s no need to stop or get nervous because of the swordsman. The monsters running in front of her showed no signs of fear, and they attacked the swordsman while shouting vigorously.

But right after that...

"Absolute Territory."

The swordsman muttered a single word.

At that moment, a large blood-colored magic line was drawn around the swordsman.

"It's better for you to turn back, monsters. Or it’ll be too late..."

The elf on the giant shoulder starts to say but shrugs as the monsters on the frontline have already flooded towards the swordsman.

A group of monsters invaded the swordsman's territory and then...

“…”

The moment they stepped over the magic line, countless flashes of sword slashes ran through Vieira’s vision. It came at such a speed that her eyes couldn’t follow.

The elite monsters who had raised their voices while dashing forward a while ago were cut up to the extent that there was no trace of them as they got reduced to a pile of meat.

All of the higher monsters such as Pazuzu and Basilisk that are said to be able to destroy a village in one go were also destroyed.

“What!?”

Viera who managed to stop before crossing the line after witnessing the massacre, collapsed to the ground

“You managed to stop at the last minute✧.”

The swordsman smiled at her while licking the blood with his tongue.

It should have been the same smile as she had seen before, but now after witnessing the devastation he caused, it could only be seen as the smile of the death god.

If she had taken even a step further and crossed that line, she would have become a shredded mass of meat just like the monsters in front of her. Just thinking about it made her whole body tremble from the core.

(Or… it wasn’t a misunderstanding.)

Her whole body trembling when she saw the duo earlier, it didn’t seem to be a mistake at all.

These two men are---

“You are the Demon Slayer… aren’t you?”

“Hmm… that’s right.”✧

“Then that elf over there… is the Great Sage?”

The swordsman, “Demon Slayer” Glace Strassman nodded.

“More than that, I’m greatly annoyed. It’s because of you guys that my fun time with Brad-kun is hindered. Thinking about it now, I wonder if I should kill all of you.”✧

Glace said with a frivolous smile, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

He’s serious.

Those are the eyes of a predator looking down from an overwhelming height. The eyes of one who is determined to kill all 1000 monsters in the battalion.

“I… surrender!”

When Vieira stood up quickly and said this, Glace frowned.

“Surrender✧?”

“You just said something quite amusing to hear. Think about it. For example, let’s say you come across a pest that makes you uncomfortable on the roadside and when you try to get rid of it, the pest starts begging for its life. Will you listen to it✧?”

　Viera gulped down her spit..

A spiky and outrageous murderous intent emanates from Glace’s entire body and instantly spreads to the entire battalion, including Vieira.

Death! Death! Death!

Like Vieira, all the monsters in the battalion probably sensed it instinctively. The overwhelming difference between them and the man in front of them. They also knew the unwavering fact that they were going to be killed by the man.

However—

The expected tragedy did not occur.

“Glace-san! Please wait!”

A voice came which controlled the actions of the mad warrior.

Glace stopped moving and brought out the magic stone from his pocket.

“Brad-kun… why are you stopping me? As far as monsters and humans go, it’s kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten.”✧

“They’re worth using. Can you keep them alive as much as possible?”

From the magic stone, Brad’s voice says so. Glace stops moving for a while and then takes a deep breath as if to calm his mind and then with a bit of frustration he says.

“I understand. I’m not interested in hunting down small fry anyway. But If I may ask, Brad kun. What are you going to do with them?”✧

“Thank you. I’ll explain everything as soon as this crisis is taken care of.”

Glace shrugs and looks at Vieira “It seems as though your lives have been spared✧.”

While Merlin laughed, Vieira was finally freed from the tension and collapsed on the spot.

Even the hundreds of monsters who still had energy at the time also caved in.

(It was a close one…)

It’s unclear what kind of treatment they will receive from now on, but as long as the man in front of them does not change his mind, they won’t be killed in this place.

In addition to being relieved, Vieira begins to wonder who the Lord that spoke through the magic stone was.

Brad von Pistal… just who the hell is he?

At the time of the meeting at the Dream Castle, I had obtained the minimum information that he was the prince of Pistel who subdued the Cyclops, but honestly I was wondering whether he was a threat great enough for them to send out one of the “Four Demon Generals” I thought it was no big deal and I thought Lionetta would easily kill him.

However, if he was to bring the “Seven Heroic monsters” in front of her to his side and become a presence that can call them anytime he wants, then they must have greatly underestimated him.

“That’s what I want to know too☆.”

“Hey… I don’t know too much about him, but I think it’s more personally convincing to say he’s a God or something close to it.”

The “Demon Slayer” and “Great Sage” say such things In such a way that you can’t tell if it’s a joke or something serious.

The man named Brad was able to make these monster who emit the same intimidating feeling as the Demon Generals say such things. If he’s an existence greater than the “Seven Heroes”, it’s safe to say he’s comparable to the “Demon King” himself who is now dormant. But he’s still a boy.

(I want to meet this Brad… he may be the true one who we should give everything.)

While instructing the monsters to surrender, Vieira was in deep awe of Brad, whom she had never met.

Chapter 38: Prince Kurobuta's heart is pierced by his nemesis

--The arena has changed.

After communicating with Glace who was outside the city walls and getting an idea of the situation, Brad turns to Lionetta.

"Give up Lionetta, it seems the monsters have surrendered completely. You said that if I could protect everything, you would listen to me, right?”

In Final Quest, Lionetta once tried to destroy a country by attacking it with the Nightmare Mirage and a group of monsters. Thinking back to that time, her plan should have ended at this point.

(According to the flow of the story, there will be a battle here. ...... Let's see what happens.)

There is a big difference in the way Brad and the main character stopped Lionetta's plot, including the timing and process. To be honest, I had no idea how those differences would affect the Lionetta in front of me.

I'm not sure if she's just going to listen to what I have to say or if she's going to come up with another move.

"…”

The next moment, Lionetta disappeared from his front.

 (...... I see, you're going to do this.)　

A swinging dagger is aimed at him and Brad barely avoids it.

However, Lionetta’s overwhelming agility status makes the stab so fast that the tip of the sword scratches Brad’s cheeks and spills fresh blood.

Upon noticing this, Lionetta smirked and swung her dagger in quick succession. 

In fact, no ordinary warrior would be able to withstand this onslaught from Lionetta, and before that, the fight would have been decided with the first blow.

But even with such an onslaught...

(I have all five of Lionetta's melee attack combo patterns in my head. And thanks to the leveling in Sky Mountain, there’s not much difference in ability. (It's a much easier job than with Alberto, an easy game.)

Brad was calm.

After the first blow that grazed him, Lionetta's sword never once reached Brad again.

Lionetta’s magic level was higher than Brad’s and she also has a buff of dark magic, so her overall status is one step higher.

But if that's the extent of the difference, Brad has the experience and knowledge from his previous life in Final Quest. If you know how the next attack is going to come, it's easy to defend and avoid it. This alone is enough to make up for the difference in strength. 

“I can’t believe it. This is amazing… he’s almost on the same level as the Demon General?”

“I knew he’d gained strength after watching him in the sword dance festival game, but I didn’t know it was this much. Incredible! How did he get this far in such a short time?”

“Brad-sama is amazing desu!”

Marie, Castral, and Rosie each raised their voices. Many people were also surprised and cheered.

"Tsk, that's it then-- 'Multiple Shadow Avatar'."

Lionetta appears to have given up using a simple melee attack to defeat Brad after giving him a bitter look. She decided to use a series of tricky combo attacks with magic such as Shadow Alter Ego, just like she did in her battle with Uru.

 (same thing again?)

However, Lionetta's combo attacks, which have probably defeated countless enemies in the past, do not work against Brad. The only thing he did was to read everything calmly as he always had, and use evasion and defense.

Then as Brad's ability exceeded her imagination, Lionetta must have become impatient. She even unleashes a combo attack, which is only available when your HP is reduced to half of what it would be in a Final Quest battle and launches an onslaught on Brad.

However, Brad was able to survive the onslaught by taking to the air, using his Levitation to keep his people out of harm's way.

After a long period of fierce aerial combat like a battle manga, Lionetta finally seemed to have exhausted all her combo patterns. She stopped moving in midair, breathing heavily.

"--"

The two people who have a history with each other in Final Quest, Brad and Lionetta, face each other again a few dozen meters above the ground.

After a few moments of silence.

"I can't believe it. You're telling me you can not only read my plans but even my attacks? Who the hell are you, Brad von Pistel? Even the Iron-Blooded Prime Minister of that country couldn't read me this well.”

"If you ask me who I am, I can only say that I’m the first prince of this country.”

Brad shrugs in a carefree manner

I'm not sure they'll believe me if I explain the situation to them, although the concept of reincarnation does exist in this world. It's probably best to just let it slide.

More importantly, he looked at the ground.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?”

"Oh, you're the princess of Dastoria. I'm fine, thank you.”

I noticed that the princess of Dastoria, Carol, was in the dignitary's seat, and many other magic knights seemed to be rushing to the scene.

The effect of Nightmare Mirage has been suppressed by Serie and the warriors who were struggling with the mob are now gathering in the arena.

“Our strength is gathered in this place. You can't win. Think and listen. I can help your sister."

When Brad held out his hand, Lionetta started to open her mouth - but she moved it as if she was struggling to say something, and then she stopped talking.

"I don't believe ...... you can.”

After looking at Brad’s hands for a while, she moaned painfully and shook her head.

"I've been betrayed so many times in my life by the countries I've served and the people I've met since. I can't afford to make any more mistakes."

There was something earnest and sorrowful in her face.

(deep-rooted huh)

Although not described in detail in Final Quest, Lionetta has been betrayed by too many people in her life.

In the first place, if you say something like this to your enemy, it’s natural for them to think it might be a trap. It’s not easy to get people who were in a hostile relationship to believe each other.

(But there is a chance ......)

On the other hand, Lionetta does not seem to be leaving the scene even though she’s in a disadvantageous situation. The more reinforcements come, the more difficult it will be to escape, and it's obvious that she's taking that risk to stay here.

This is probably because she wants to believe in Brad, and is hoping that he can really save her sister.

Brad was lost in thought.

"Why do you believe in Beelzebub even though you’re so skeptical of him? He’s an evil being. How can you believe that he’ll lift your sister's curse? If I may say so myself, I think I'm still more trustworthy than him."

Lionetta swept her gaze in a hesitant gesture, then said.

“That is… because Beelzebub has signed a “Sword Oath Contract” with me.”

She mumbled something like that.

(So that's how it is)

-Sword Contracts-

This is one of the most advanced and binding magic contracts. It’s a life-threatening magic contract in which an insubstantial magic sword is stabbed into the chest in advance and if the contract is broken, the magic sword will materialize and pierce the heart of the defaulter.

It's not hard to see why she would trust the evil Beelzebub if she signed such a contract. In fact, Beelzebub has a peculiar constitution that will not die even if his chest is pierced, so he’s not risking his life, but there’s no way that Lionetta knows that at present.

Anyway it became clear now that in other to win the trust of Lionetta, he had to do something that would cost his life.

 (isn't that easy?)

Brad smiled fearlessly in the face of such a difficult fact.

And then he put down his sword.

"Then stab me with the sword of oath."

He said it so suddenly that Lionetta’s eyes widened in shock at what he was saying.

“Are you saying you’re going to put your life on the line?”

Brad nodded without hesitation “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

Lionetta raised her eyebrows.

"You can't just say random things like that! The curse of my sister is one that I’ve never been able to break, no matter how much trial and error I’ve gone through and you are just going to bet your life so lightly? There's no way ...... that's possible. What the hell are you trying to do?"

She pointed the dagger at my neck. She seemed to be losing her composure and at the same time her voice trembled.

"I'm not sure why I would want to plot something when I clearly have the advantage. I just decided that I needed to do that in order to win your trust.”

Lionetta listens to Brad’s words and keeps quiet as though she was digesting them.

“Sure, I can’t think of any reason why you would be plotting something, but on the other hand, I can't think of any reason why you would want to take the risk of saving my sister. How are you going to explain that?”

"It's better to save what you can. If you and I really go at it like this, there will undoubtedly be deaths. I want to avoid the misfortunes that can be avoided."

Brad looks straight at Lionetta and conveys his feelings truthfully.

This was the reason why Brad did not leave this place to the Seven Heroes.

If there are two members of the seven heroes here, Lionetta can be defeated. On the other hand, if the “Heroes” and the “Demon General” fight with their full strength here, the damage to the people cannot be avoided. If Brad who understands the situation can try to convince her this way, he figured the damage will be minimized.

Lionetta fell silent again, and with a sour expression on her face, as if the fate of the world depended on it, she made a thoughtful grunt.

It seemed like his plan wasn’t going to work.

"Hmm, okay. Let's make a contract. There's nothing left to lose.”

Although I’m not sure what she’s thinking, I think she’s calmly decided that there's no disadvantage to her in signing the contract.

After a few moments, he said whole-heartedly.

"Thank you, ......!"

When Brad smiles with relief, Lionetta blushes slightly and looks away awkwardly.

“It’s okay, let’s make the contract quickly.”

Then I started preparing for the contract.

Lionetta overflows with magic power from her whole body and when she converged it into her right hand with her superb magic power manipulation technique, she instantly created a translucent magic sword.

It was surprising that she has the ability to create a perfect magic medium so quickly.

While Brad was impressed, Lionetta bit her finger in a familiar manner, dripping her blood onto the sword.

“Can you drip your blood on the sword too?”

She gives the sword to Brad. The people watching screamed because it seemed as though she was aiming a sword at him. 

(I better get this over with.)

In his haste to get it out of the way, Brat bit his own finger, just as Lionetta had done, and held his hand out in front of him.

The moment Brad’s blood fell on the sword, the magic sword emits a crimson light.

　I could see Lionetta gulp down her spit as she eyed Brad suspiciously as he prepared to sign the contract.

Then there were a number of questions and answers for the contract.

“Do you Brad von Pistel, swear by this sword to break the sleeping curse that consumes my sister Arietta Brunel?”

“I swear”

The moment Brad answered the question, the sword heard the oath and shone even more dazzling than before.

When the contract is ready, Lionetta slowly points the sword towards him.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Of course”

She seemed to be confused about Brad who answered without any hesitation, but she shook her head as if to clear the thought.

Immediately after that, she thrust her sword vigorously.

“…”

She stabbed Brad right in the chest but there was no pain.

Foreign matter enters his chest and there’s a sense of discomfort and suffocation to some extent. For a while, the sword blade slowly penetrates then disappears without a trace.

“The contract has been completed.”

Brad says with a big smile.

On the other hand, Lionetta was looking at Brad with an expression that said it was impossible and she still couldn’t believe it.

“No way… I can’t believe it! I thought you were definitely scheming something, but you really signed the contract!”

She said and apparently, she didn’t trust his words until the last minute.

“It’s best if things can be resolved peacefully. That’s just it. I’ll be sure to fulfill my oath, so it’s virtually risk free.”

Brad says while shrugging with a smile.

“No! it can’t be risk free!” Lionetta exclaims loudly “Arietta didn’t respond to any high grade potions or healing magic… she’s under an incurable curse. How can a Prince in the countryside possibly save her?”

According to Lionetta, there’s no sense regarding Brad’s behavior.

From Brad’s point of view, it’s definitely risk free as he already knows how Lionetta’s sister Arietta’s curse was broken in “Final Quest”

“Well perhaps there’s nothing in this world that can, but if it’s impossible, then I’ll just die. No problem.”

Brad jokingly says so, trying to fool her with his noble smile.

However, Lionetta makes a crying expression as though she was desperately holding back severe pain towards how Brad responded.

“I don’t understand the meaning of this. To risk your life so lightly for a person you don’t even know. Even we in the dark are afraid of death, but you don’t seem to be afraid.”

Brad was slightly impatient

“Even I myself am afraid of death. But there are things that are more disgusting than dying. It is my way to save people who can be saved.”

He behaved in a sincere manner and said so in a non-pretentious tone, but Lionetta still shook her head saying she was not convinced.

If we continue to talk like this, this will get dragged out longer.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard on your own until now. It would have been hard putting yourself amongst monsters at a young age. Leave the rest to me. I’ll never make you regret trusting me.”

Brad puts his hands on Lionetta’s shoulder.

That seemed to trigger her emotions as she crumpled and broke into tears.

“Please… tell me that after saving my sister.”

She quickly turned away to hide it.

At the edge of her eyes which looked bewitching and mature, large tear droplets were seen falling and Brad who was impatient at first seemed to calm down.

(Yeah, it must have been really harder than I thought.)

In “Final Quest” only the childish and cruel parts were mentioned, but she’s just a human being with weak points. In his knowledge of her from his previous life, she was often reluctant to give up and he felt sorry for her life.

“That’s right, I’ll save you first.”

Brad said while gently patting Lionetta’s head, remembering his cry-baby sister in his previous life.

Lionetta did not accept or reject the gesture, she just turned her face away.

Brad claps his hands after a while.

“Okay, let’s go to flame mountain together. I don’t know how to use spatial transfer. Can you take both of us there?”

“Flame mountain? Indeed I can do it, but what’s there?”

Brad turns to Lionetta who has a puzzled look on her face.

“Simply put… it’s a silver bullet. We’re going to have to take some risks.” 

He said and smiles mischievously. 

Chapter 39: Prince Kurobuta Is Owed a Favor from His Sworn Enemy

After the persuasion in the royal capital, the lifting of the spell on Lionetta's sister, Arrietta, proceeded at a rapid pace.

And so it should be. For Brad, this world is like a game he’s already played. It would be rather strange to get stuck.

The flow was simple.

There are four huge mountain ranges running east, west, north, south, and west in the continent of Lades. Each of these mountains has the four major attributes of fire, water, wind, and earth, and they are the dungeons where the main events occur in Final Quest.

One of these dungeons is "Flame Mountain," which Brad and Lionetta visited this time.

In the depths of the dungeon, in a hidden room near the crater, sits the "Phoenix," a monster known as the "Phantom Spirit Bird.

The Tears of the Phoenix, which drop when the Phoenix is defeated, are the world's most powerful elixir that can cure any disease or curse and are also the key item that lifted Arrietta's curse in Final Quest.

Relying on his memories from "Final Quest," Brad crisply conquered Flame Mountain and arrived at the Phoenix.

He explains the situation to Phoenix and asks him to give him the Tear of the Phoenix, but the Phoenix is a misanthropic, high-spirited monster who hates people and is very noble. as in the original story, and we went into battle.

He attacked us with his original line “This filthy person!”

The result was, of course, our victory.

After all, this was Brad, whose level and status were at the level of the end of the original story, and the boss character Lionetta, who was even stronger than Brad. There was no way we could lose to Phoenix, who was only a mid-boss in the original.

Afterwards, Brad asked Phoenix for help again after he had cooled down, and succeeded in obtaining the Tear of the Phoenix.

"This way!"

--And now.

Brad was led by Lionetta to a deserted church.

The church is located on a secluded promontory and there are no people in sight, instead there are several armed magic dolls. She must have had them guard the church while she was away.

(She’s really careful. There are traps all over the place.)

While looking at the church, Brad and Lionetta went into an underground room hidden in the back of the chapel.

"......!?"

Then, his eyes widened at the sight of the room

It was an elegant room that looked as if it had been set up for a princess or the daughter of a great nobleman. All of the furnishings were elegantly designed in white and lovely, and all of them were custom-made by top-notch craftsmen.

"I hope I didn't scare you. My sister has always longed to be a princess, so I thought I should at least fulfill her wishes by making her room look like that of a princess. I really care about my sister, she’s my one and only family.”

Lionetta said with a smile and walked to the canopy bed which was at the center of the room.

When Brad opened the curtain, it was a really beautiful girl who was sleeping there.

“…”

Brad remembers the girl from his previous life, she was so innocent.

The girl who is about ten years old looks like the doll Lionetta always carried on her shoulders. In fact, since her sister fell into the curse, Lionetta created a dull that imitated her sister and kept it by her side. 　　

"You must really care about your sister.

"She's the only family I've ever known."

Lionetta walks to Arietta, looking at her compassionately while squeezing her little hand.

Brad walked over to the bed and took out a vial of "phoenix tears" from his pocket.

"......"

Lionetta gave Brad some space while moving away from the bed with an anxious look.

"......"

It seems he was able to get her to trust him by making the “Oath of the Sword”, but she still feels uneasy about whether he can break the curse.

“…”　

Brad smiled at Lionetta as if to reassure her, and stood beside the bed.

He opened the lid of the vial.

"Medication."

He chanted.

Instantly. The tears of the phoenix in the vial shone with a dazzling radiance of life and fell on Arietta as sparkling particles.

--Medication.

It’s a fourth rank magic that is mainly used for healing. It’s a magic that vaporizes liquid medicines such as potions and allows them to penetrate directly into the body. It’s useful for using potions more efficiently, or when using them on unconscious patients, as in this case.

"......”

As the tears of the phoenix enveloped her, Arietta’s face twisted in anguish.

Soon, magic power like a black mist came out of her little body with the sound of moisture evaporating.

That was the "root" of the curse.

When she sees her sister groaning in agony because of the overflowing evil magic power, Lionetta hurriedly casts her gaze on Brad.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon.”

Brad says and nods　

As his words implied, the “roots” of the curse were exhausted from Arietta’s body after a while and her expression becomes peaceful.

"Arietta?"

Lionetta screams and shakes Arietta’s body.　

And then—

The moment finally came after a brief breath-taking silence.

"Mmmm......"

A thin voice leaked from Arietta’s throat.

Lionetta shook her head in unbelief and clenched her teeth to suppress the torrent of emotions that were pooling up in her.

"......."

Arietta slowly opened her round eyes and turned them towards Lionetta.

“Onee-san? (Sister)”

It seems that with just those few words, the dam of Lionetta's emotions was successfully broken. Lionetta crumpled as her beautiful face distorted and she hugged her little sister with unbearable sobs.

There were no words.

The sisters simply embraced each other in silence, never wanting to part.

They hugged each other tightly for what felt like an eternity, as if to make up for the time they had been pulled apart.

(...... What is this, I'm going to cry)

The only reason I did this was to avoid my own death end, but it’s indeed heartbreaking to witness such a scene.

The love between the sisters, bound by a solid bond, was shown to me, and I was moved.　

✳︎

"......"

After a while, Lionetta regained her composure, confirmed that her sister was safe, and bowed deeply to Brad.

It was a bow that was unimaginably deep from her who seemed to have a high sense of pride.

"I'm just fulfilling my contract."

Brad says so in a relaxed manner, but Lionetta doesn’t look up.

"I have threatened your country, your people and even your own life. Nevertheless, you reached out to me. There is no merit to it, but you risked your life to save this child. I can't thank you enough."

By reconciling with Lionetta, Brad will be far away from the death end. How can I put it without calling it an advantage?

(I hope it's misunderstood in a good way. ...... Well, I'm glad we reconciled.)

Brad stroked his chest with relief. This should have erased the death end for him.

"In any case, you’ve now externally defeated me, one of the four demon generals. I'm not sure that Beelzebub will leave you alone and I'm sure that other countries will mark you as a person to watch out for. Some of them will probably send assassins to you. I'm sure you'll be fine, but you have to be careful.”

"Yeah…”

‘I'm not okay at all’ Brad exclaims inwardly.

I thought I was acting to avoid the death end, but when the Demon King's army and other countries mark you and even send assassins to you, you're even closer to the end of death than in Final Quest.

(No, but, well, ......)

Instead, I got to see the smiling faces of these beautiful sisters. If you think about it, it's not so bad - well, it is bad, but it's not so bad that you can't understand it.

And somehow, Brad is steadily gaining strength and the strength of the Brad Corps (Provisional) is gaining as well. Even if I find myself in a dangerous situation, I should be able to get through it with my knowledge of the game, unless something goes wrong.

And speaking of strength...

"What are you going to do now, Lionetta? Now that your sister’s curse has been lifted, you don’t need to cooperate with the demon king’s army do you?"

“Yeah, I’m going to have to leave them. However, it’s the law of the Demon King’s Army to purge traitors… eventually, pursuers will come after me here, so I’ll hide myself somewhere for now.”

It's a good idea to hide herself for a while when considering the safety of Arietta.

"Then why don't you come to Sky Mountain until the dust settles?"

Brad thoughtfully suggested.

"Sky Mountain?"

"Yeah, that's where all the monsters I tamed have set up a little base. It's at the site of the temple where the Cyclops used to have a stronghold.”

In the 15th level of Sky Mountain, the Cyclops' stronghold, there was a structure that looked like a temple. The monsters were ordered to renovate as well as strengthen themselves by leveling. Since it was originally built for human habitation, it would be the perfect place to hide.

When I suggested it, Lionetta was worried for a while.

“Sure… the demon king’s army has a policy of leaving sky mountain as it is. It doesn’t seem as though many people go there, so I wonder if I’ll be able to…”

"That's fine, I'll get you the supplies!"

Brad smiled freshly, but grinned inwardly and giggled.

If he can get Lionetta to join Brad's Corps (provisional), it will greatly strengthen his forces. Even if not, just having Lionetta as a partner in leveling the demons would be a great benefit. The experience gained from battling the stronger ones is enormous, and it's easy to raise their level.

"Miss Arietta, would you be okay with that?"　

Brad smiles at Arietta who is hiding behind Lionetta while sneaking a peak at him.

She then turned with her cheeks bright red and hides behind her big sister again

Lionetta shrugged her shoulders.

"Does she hate me?"

"The opposite, I think."

The other way around?　　Brat tilts his head.

Lionetta stroked Arrieta's head gently.

"As I said earlier, we’ve lived in the dark for so long, so this kid has long admired princes and princesses. If such a glittering prince had saved her, she can’t help as a girl right?”

“Onee-san!! Don’t say that!”

Arietta pouts her lips and puffs her cheeks. But Lionetta deflates her cheeks with her hands and laughs.

“I’m honored to have such a lovely princess feel un-hateful towards me.”

Brad glances at Arietta and smiles gently.

Arietta’s face turned brighter red than ever and she buries her face on Lionetta’s back.

Brad looks at the situation with a smile thinking that children her age overreact and are cute.

Lionetta looks at them with a smile.

“Anyway I'll hide in sky mountain for a while. I’ll owe me a bit more.”

“Don’t worry, we're on the same ship.”

When the story settled like that—

“…”

Brad’s chest suddenly became hot.

When he noticed, the light of magic power was leaking from there. It was the magic stone for communication. Someone might be contacting him.

While thinking about who it was, he took out the magic stone –

“Brad-sama, can you hear me?”

The voice I heard was too terrifying to be that of a human being and I soon recognized who it was.

The undead, Lord. He was one of the 100 sky mountain monsters tamed by Brad and is a monster that has been tentatively tasked with leading the others.

"Oh, are you doing well?”

“Thanks to Brad-sama’s perfect guidance, everyone is steadily improving their skills. I’m looking forward to showing you our evolved army! Because it has enough power to defeat about a battalion of the demon king’s army.”

“Oh… that’s good.” Brad nodded, though he thought it would be too much to say that in this short period of time.

“Is the base being renovated? I’ll like to have two guests stay there for a while.”

“Oh… you are bringing a guest? It’s not perfect yet, but it has become beautiful with the help of the cat people, the Cait Sith. Please come anytime you will be treated to the best along with your guests.”

I explained to the cat people about Lord at a minimum level. But I’m glad they have already established a friendly relationship. Although there are examples in part of the Deltora peninsula, it’s unusual for monsters and humans to have such a relationship. Maybe it worked out, partly because Mina is the head.

“Thank you. Then when the two people arrive, please kindly look after them.”

“Ha! Leave it to me.”

The undead lord responded quickly, but seemed to remember something else “That’s right, there’s one more thing… from shadow who was investigating the recent situation of Dastoria and Elnade as a scout, there was a report earlier…”

I remember there was a story like this…

During final quest, Beelzebub worked behind the scenes to cause war between Dastoria and Elnade. I had the monsters under my control go check out the situation for me. I wanted to find out if that battle will happen in this world as well.

“What’s the situation in both countries?”

“That’s actually…”

The undead lord began to report shadow’s findings, which were a little bit hard to say.