Chapter 173: A Serious Discussion
Back when Ryu and Lily parted ways—
“What’s this?”
“That paper has my address written on it. If things with the Demon King ever become truly hopeless—when there’s absolutely no other option—send a letter to that address. But until then, don’t open it. Not under any circumstances.”
“…Okay. I understand.”
◇◇◇
It had been a clean farewell, one without lingering regrets. And yet, by some strange twist of fate, they now found themselves face to face once more. The reason Ryu had tried to send Lily away earlier was likely due to a faint sense of awkwardness… or perhaps a trace of embarrassment he didn’t care to admit.
Including the heroes, everyone took their seats for the moment.
They were short one chair—but Esther casually climbed onto Ryu’s lap, solving the problem as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lily ground her teeth, clearly irritated.
“Grr… damn happy couples…!”
“‘Happy couples’ is a term used for unmarried pairs, is it not? We are husband and wife. That word does not apply to us. We stand at a far higher plane. A pity, little girl.”
“Captain Lily… that attitude is exactly why you’re single.”
“Ugh… a hole just opened in my heart…”
—Clearing the mood.
“First of all, does everyone here understand the situation?”
“Everyone except Alice does.”
“Then should we skip it?”
“No, Alice will be fine. She’s Ryoma’s future wife, after all.”
“Okaaay~”
Alice’s grin stretched uncontrollably.
“Ryoma-sama… I look forward to our future together~”
“Y-yes…”
The heroes—especially Amane, who had a keen interest in gossip—were positively delighted.
(Oh my… so Ryoma and Alice, huh? Interesting… very interesting…)
“Alright, let’s get serious. The topic is—the Demon King.”
Alice stiffened.
(T-The Demon King?! They’re not joking… everyone looks completely serious…)
But she chose not to interrupt, quietly listening instead.
“The Demon King was revived at the same time the heroes were summoned. Soon after, he sent two demon investigators to the kingdom closest to the Demon Continent. But the three of us—me, Ryu, and Louise—defeated them. So far, so good?”
Everyone except Alice nodded.
(Wait… what? Ryu-sensei was doing something like that behind the scenes too?!)
“And here’s the problem…”
Someone swallowed nervously.
“…Since that incident, the Demon King hasn’t made a single move! Hahaha!!”
The tense atmosphere shattered instantly.
Lily’s subordinate pressed a hand to his forehead, while Louise sighed in exasperation.
“You really are as carefree as ever, Lily…”
“Then why even call a meeting like this…?”
“Well, I wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts on what the Demon King might be doing right now.”
At worst, she feared the Demon King was silently preparing for a future war.
“I see… but I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”
“Why not~?”
“For one, those demon investigators never made it back alive. From their perspective, this continent is still an unknown land inhabited by humans. And a Demon King capable of commanding such eccentric demons must possess at least a baseline level of intelligence. If he had the capacity, he would’ve already sent another investigation team. War, after all, is fundamentally a battle of information.”
“I see, I see.”
“Also, since everyone here can be trusted—I’ll say this. When we killed those demons, the Demon King interfered from his base on the Demon Continent.”
Takeshi leaned forward.
“What do you mean by ‘interfered’?”
“In simple terms, he dropped a massive meteor on a port town in the kingdom. Likely retaliation for his subordinates’ deaths.”
“A… meteor?! How did you protect the town?”
“I just destroyed it.”
“…Just destroyed it…”
The heroes held their heads in disbelief.
Ryoma spoke thoughtfully.
“Was it the same meteor magic used by the Principality’s hero?”
“No. My guess is a large-scale gravity-based spell.”
“To summon meteors through gravity manipulation… that is a terrifying level of mastery.”
“Well, he is the Demon King.”
Ryu continued after a pause.
“The scale of that magic let me trace its source—his base on the Demon Continent. While I was at it, I sent some black lightning his way as a little nuisance.”
“…You did that too?! That’s terrifying…”
“Ryu’s lightning is formidable. If there were demon settlements nearby, rebuilding must take quite some time.”
“Exactly. My point is, the Demon King is probably busy restoring his territory right now. Their civilization level is practically nonexistent.”
“So… we don’t need to worry for now?”
“Not until he makes his next move.”
“That’s a relief! By the way, you tracked his location once—can you still pinpoint it?”
“Unfortunately, no. I followed faint traces of magic and launched a spell based on intuition. I only remember a rough distance.”
“How far was it?”
“About… a little farther than Tosa in Hinomaru from here.”
“I see, that helps.”
Alice had completely fallen behind.
(I… don’t understand anything anymore…)
Even Stingray looked dizzy.
(Demon King… demons… meteors…)
The heroes, however, listened more intently than anyone.
“A gravity-based magic user… that’s dangerous.”
“My defensive barriers wouldn’t hold…”
“If a meteor falls, my divine bow won’t do a thing!”
—And yet.
“That’s exactly what we must overcome.”
“I’ll just have to create a hundred layers of barriers!”
“Then I’ll develop arrows that can shatter meteors!”
They were no longer the same as before.
Inspired by Ryu, they had stepped onto the next stage—strong in both body and spirit.
“Not to ruin the mood…”
““““““?””””””
All eyes turned to Ryu.
“Sure, the Demon King is important—but shouldn’t you deal with your own country first?”
“….”
“…Ah… he said it…”
“Well, he’s not wrong…”
“If the leadership is rotten, no matter how hard the heroes or special forces try, it all amounts to nothing.”
“That is the nature of nations.”
“Hearing it from Ryoma-sama, who’s involved in governance… it carries weight.”
Lily let out an awkward laugh.
“He really hit the mark there! Haha!”
“Captain… you’re not supposed to laugh.”
“The military is starting to rot too. Even we’re starting to look like the sane ones.”
“Well, at least we still have the Knight Commander… but the real problem is… the king and those around him…”
The heroes exchanged glances.
“If Saionji wasn’t there, the government would’ve collapsed by now.”
“Honestly, I think Reina should just become queen.”
“…Yeah, I agree.”
“Lily. Do you remember the paper I gave you when I left the port town?”
“Of course! The one with your address! You said to send a letter if things got really bad!”
“Yeah… that still stands.”
“So in other words?”
Ryu let out a long, heavy sigh.
“If you end up in a situation where you can’t handle it… I’ll deal with it. So don’t hesitate.”
In an instant, the dark expressions on the heroes’ and Lily’s faces lit up.
(Sigh… this kind of thing isn’t really my style…)
His companions smiled knowingly.
(He acts cold, but he’s the kindest of us all…)
(That’s my Oni-sama! I love him!)
(This is why I can’t stop admiring Ryu-sama~)
(Hahaha. That is my best friend.)
(Now I see why so many remarkable people gather around him.)
“No way!! Ryu-kun is finally on our side!!”
“I’m not the kind of person who abandons friends or juniors. And I’m not on your side—I’m just a passing helper.”
“Oh, come on~ you’re just shy!”
After that, the atmosphere lightened, laughter returned, and before long—
They found themselves making plans.
This time, all of them together—
to dive into a dungeon as one group.