Volume 1 - CH 4

Epilogue

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by SoundDestiny

─ ─ The 『The Seven Meteors』 was not something I created with the best of intentions.

A year had passed since I gave up on becoming a hero by myself and started living with the help of various people.

Suddenly I realised that the people I rely on have become biassed.

Basically, when I’m trying to accomplish something I can’t do on my own, I try to choose the right collaborators for that purpose. However, as a matter of course, in order to fulfil a highly difficult objective, the collaborators must also be carefully selected. To achieve difficult objectives, it was necessary to get competent people to cooperate with me.

And so, after repeatedly selecting collaborators…..I realised that there were six people I could rely on almost every time.

They are generous people who will readily accept any request, and yet they are also capable people who will not yield to any difficulty.

Until now, these six people had been chosen as collaborators at different times, but one day, they all finally joined forces.

That was when I was trying to conquer the temple in the sky. The Aerial Temple is a very dangerous place, so I called in all six of my most reliable collaborators.

As a result, we achieved more than ever before.

Strangely enough, the six collaborators and I, who invited them, were able to stay close to each other as if we were all old friends. This was not only in our lives, but also in our cooperation in battle. It is no exaggeration to say that we were able to fight without fear, no matter how strong the enemy.

We’re probably the seven most like-minded people in the world.

Not that anyone ever said so, but probably all of us thought so.

Since then, we have often acted together as these seven.

This was the beginning of the 『The Seven Meteors』.

After that, we became renowned as adventurers at a rapid pace, and soon made our abilities known all over the world. The division of roles, which at first seemed random, gradually became clearer and clearer, and when I started inviting new collaborators every time, for some reason I was given the incomprehensible nickname of 『The Illusion King』.

Everything seemed to be going well.

But……every glory comes with an end.

Originally, we were a group of people who liked to live freely.

However, when we were working as the 『The Seven Meteors』, the colour of the eyes of those around us gradually changed.

“Even if monsters appear, this city is safe because the 『The Seven Meteors』 is here.”

“Why don’t we leave the dangerous requests to the 『The Seven Meteors』?”

Here and there, such voices could be heard.

At first, I felt reasonably happy to be relied upon by someone .Before long, they began to enjoy the days of being protected by us.

The adventurer party 『The Seven Meteors』 is a world-famous organisation.

The common perception of us is not limited to one city or country. People all over the world have come to look at us in that way.

All six of us are free spirits.

The thing we hate the most is restraint. And yet, we found ourselves restrained by the rest of the world.

Then one day.

One day, just as we were leaving the town for an adventure, an incident occurred where monsters attacked the town. The residents were helpless against the rampaging monsters, and the town was destroyed in a big way.

After the monsters left.

When we returned from our adventures, the people of the city bombarded us with…

“This is what happens when you leave the city!”

“Why didn’t you stay here?”

It was a storm of abuse.

When I heard their words, ──── I thought it was over.

Security in the city is not our responsibility. So this is a complete shift of responsibility.

But then I realised that we were recognised on a global scale as an organisation that people could shift their blame. Wherever we go, we have a similar experience. People thought of the 『The Seven Meteors』like convenient heroes. That too, I’m sure, without realising it.

That’s why I made up my mind.

When the adventure was over and each of us had settled down. I called the six of them and announced my decision.

“I think I’ll disband……『The Seven Meteors』 once and for all.”

Towards the six of them, I told them.

“Originally, we should have been able to live as we liked. But lately, we can’t do that because……we’ve stuck out too much.”

Yes. We were too strong.

The six of them are better without me. If the six of them demonstrate outstanding coordination, there is no one who can follow them. In order to further develop our skills, I also invited lecturers from all over the world and took on every request that could serve as a springboard.

As a result, we became too strong. We became too.. Prominent.

So a significant notoriety tax has arisen.

“…… Let’s give it some time.”

Tell everyone what you think of yourself.

“Surely there are a lot of great people in this world besides us. Given……enough time, they’ll be as famous as we are”

I knew it because I had a lot of information.

We became famous because we made a name for ourselves with great momentum. But if we waited a while, others would rise one after another.

“Then. When……the rest of the world says, [We don’t need you now], we’ll get together again.”

Until then, this is our goodbye.

We decided to go our separate ways.

This is the flow of the 『The Seven Meteors』, from its origins to its dissolution.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, I’m not really tired of being an adventurer. It’s just that when you work with the members of 『The Seven Meteors』 you inevitably stand out. That was no good.

That’s why we decided to hide our true identities for a while and work separately.

We believe that eventually, a party that surpasses us will appear…..

Well, ────── it didn’t quite live up to expectations.

A year has now passed since then. The fame of the 『The Seven Meteors』 is still undiminished, and no party has appeared to follow in our footsteps.

There are some things that just can’t be understood from the perspective of the parties involved. We didn’t …… think that the 『The Seven Meteors』 would have had such an impact on the world. We were stronger than we thought we were and people respected us.

After the party broke up, I was going to split up with my friends and travel on my own for a while. However, one day, Lloyd, a member of the 『The Seven Meteors』, suddenly decided to accompany me for the very fluffy reason that [it would be more fun to be with the Ned]. This is how my journey turned into a babysitting trip.

After that, the party that was created around me and Lloyd was the 『Stardust Light』. The name is a cheap and simple one, as it is said that if a meteor breaks up and splits into pieces, it is stardust.

Lloyd, who is addicted to helping others, a warrior who is only interested in fighting strong opponents, a wizard who would even cross the barrier of ethics for knowledge, and a monk who can only use resuscitation and has no interest in anything other than resuscitation. The members of 『Stardust Light』 were all as individualistic as 『The Seven Meteors』. However, because they were only outstanding in terms of their abilities, they were able to gradually make a name for themselves as they somehow held the reins of power. They say there is a fine line between a fool and a genius, but perhaps there is also a fine line between a hero and a problem child.

If that party were to follow in the footsteps of the 『The Seven Meteors』 in the future, the 『Stardust Light』, …… modified, would be the first candidate for the hero party of the Kingdom of Intail. In reality, they are just a group of problem children, but I think they will eventually catch up, if only in terms of name recognition.

“Ned, over here!.”

I hear Princess Rushia’s voice, and that’s when I switch my thoughts.

Walking through the corridors of the royal castle, I looked at Princess Rushia next to me. Compared to the friends of the 『The Seven Meteors』 and『Stardust Light』, Princess Rushia is like an honours student.

Yesterday. After defeating the Poisonous Demon Dragon, we immediately returned to the Royal Castle and spent the day resting.

And today, I was staying in a guest room in the royal castle when Lucilla told me that [Father wants to talk to you].

Thus I am now on my way to the audience chamber with Princess Rushia.

“But why am I being summoned by the king?”

“Of course, it’s about the Poisonous Demon Dragon, isn’t it?”

Well, that’s that, I agree.

The king of the kingdom of Intail originally asked me to defeat the poisonous demon dragon. There must be a lot of questions he wants to ask me. I hope the…. story won’t be too long, I think inwardly.

“Princess Rushia. How is dragonisation disease progressing?”

“No more problems!　I haven’t had any seizures since then, and I can control my dragonification powers freely now!…… like this!”

Princess Rushia shows the dragonisation of her right arm from the wrist upwards.

The claws of the dragon suddenly appeared and I let out a startled [Ooo].

“I didn’t think that I would be able to use the power of the dragon so casually.”

Princess Rushia says with a smile.

The news that the poisonous demon dragon had been defeated had already spread throughout the country. At the same time, it was also made public that Princess Rushia was suffering from the dragonisation disease. The people trust this information and are in the process of chewing on it, as the『White Dragon Chivalric Order』are the witnesses.

“Even after you have slain that dragon, you will still have periodic cravings to dragonise. However, you won’t suffer as much as you have in previous fits, and you can tolerate it for a few days or so. From now onwards, you should make it a habit to dragonise your body during your morning stretches.”

“Mm, I shall do that. …… But now that you mention it, why does Ned know so much about the dragonification disease?”

“Because besides Princess Rushia, I know other people with Dragon Disease.”

“…… You really are a man of many faces.”

No wonder you’re not scared, Rushia mutters.

We reached the audience chamber as we were having a conversation.

When the door opened, a man with a kind face was seated in a large chair. His hair was rather long and he had intelligent-looking eyes. His wrinkles were less chiselled and he looked younger overall.

“Thank you for coming”

The king’s first words were uttered in a calm tone of voice. But it is somehow powerful and echoes through the audience chamber. He is a man with a different aura from the king of the Kingdom of Intail.

Next to Princess Rushia, I bow my head.

As I wait for the king’s words, I wonder what his business is.

“Rushia, stand aside.”

The king told Rushia to leave the room.

Because her face was lowered, Rushia’s expression was not visible……but I could guess Rushia was troubled and left the audience chamber with an anxious gait.

The silence stalls.

As I continued to bow my head, the king eventually let out a small exhale as if he had been distracted.

“Raise your head. Like my daughter, I don’t like a stuffy atmosphere.”

“…Haa.”

I raise my head as I am told.

Compared to earlier, the king’s expression was softer. It seems that he really meant what he said when he said that he did not like the formal atmosphere.

“My name is Laumann Enuvidia. Sorry to call you so early in the morning.”

(ラウマン＝エーヌビディアだ)

In a friendly manner, Wang says.

“Ned Wolkinter……Thank you for defeating the Poisonous Demon Dragon. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d be able to defeat it.”

“thank you. But if you’re thanking me, you should be thanking 『White Dragon Chivalric Order』 and Rushia, not me.”

“….. You are a humble man.”

Perhaps Princess Rushia told him the details of the incident.

Even so, in the end, I hardly took part in the battle at all. The person who should be praised the most for this incident is Rushia, who broke out of her shell and went to the battlefield.

“You’ve heard from my daughter. I was willing to sell your life for the sake of my own personal or amiability. ……you have every right to resent me.”

With a sombre look on his face, the king told me.

His sombre look could not have been an act. I am sure that this man was tormented by remorse, just as Rushia was when she tried to detain me.

“It’s a complicated feeling, but a single life of a…… stranger can avert a diplomatic row between countries. Anyone in His Majesty’s position would do the same.”

The king smiles unreliably.

“It’s not a matter of apology, …… but I’m really sorry. I, too, was in a hurry.”

The king bowed his head.

Rarely does a king show such sincerity towards a mere commoner. But I was more interested in what the king said than in his attitude.

In a hurry?　For what?

The demands of the Kingdom of Intail is simple. Within a week, he must order me to clash with the Poisonous Demon Dragon. ….The deadline seems short, but with the king’s power, it would be that easy to achieve. All he has to do is have the knights under his command take me into custody and take me to the nest of the Poisonous Demon Dragon. It’s nothing to be in a hurry about.

Was the king in a hurry to……kill the poison demon dragon?

If so, it must be…

“You knew from the very beginning that Rushia was suffering from dragonification disease…”

“—Say no more.”

The king interrupted my words with a slightly regretful look, perhaps realising his own gaffe.

My lip is pursed and I look again at the face of the man sitting in the luxurious chair.

It is the face of a king who bears the fate of his country, but at the same time it is the face of a father who cares for his……daughter.

“My daughter is a sweet girl. She can’t accept that someone else will get hurt for her. So, that’s why I have to feign …… ignorance…”

That’s how it is.

Just as the head maid, Hersha, was aware of Rushia’s dragonisation disease…..this king was aware of it from the beginning.

The king is right, Rushia refuses to let others get hurt because of her. If I said, [I will organise a coalition army to cure the dragonisation disease and defeat the poisonous demon dragons], Rushia would definitely try to stop me. If there are any deaths in that battle, Rushia will think that someone died because of her, and she will be severely depressed.

That is why the king pretended to know nothing about the dragonisation disease.

That way, at least, it wouldn’t be a burden to Rushia.

“I understand the situation.”

The king was impatient.

The king knew that Rushia’s dragon sickness is progressing rapidly…

That’s why they put their hopes in me.

I knew it would be impossible, but I had no choice but to do so.

“What do you want for your reward?”

The king abruptly cut in.

“My daughter has told me of your exploits. So there is no need to be modest…..is there anything you want?”

I was only slightly troubled by this question before answering.

“If so, please exchange contact details.”

“….. contact details?”

“If I need to discuss anything in the future, I will communicate with your majesty…… Of course, I will take care not to interfere with your official duties.”

When he told her this, the king laughed.

“My daughter told me….that a man called Ned has tremendous contacts…”

Hearing those words, I smiled too.

“That’s my weapon of choice.”

◆

When I left the audience chamber, Rushia approached me with a worried look on her face.

“How are you……?　Are you injured or anything like that……?”

“Injured? You don’t get hurt in a discussion.”

“That’s true, but I’m sure……Ned has a grudge against my father, and I thought……the worst that could happen would be a fistfight.”

That’s quite a leap of faith.

I chuckled.

“Unfortunately, I’m not much of a fighter, so I rarely do that sort of thing.”

I understand my weaknesses as much as I hate them.

I’m not willing to put my body on the line just for the sake of being gloomy.

“Besides, I think ……Rushia’s father is a good king.”

When I told her this, Rushia rolled her eyes and then made a happy face.

“O–of course! After all, he is my father!”

Rushia said proudly with her chest out.

That king was carrying out his duties as the head of a country and his feelings as a father. I don’t think there is any mistake in that order of priority. It was inconvenient for me, but in return I received his contact details, so all the complexities are now gone.

A lot had happened over the defeat of the Poisonous Demon Dragon, but I think Rushia also respected her father in her heart. Seeing her with a cheerful expression on her face, I realised once again, the mess of the past few days had been successfully cleared up.

“Ned, there you are.”

Suddenly, a voice calls out to me from behind.

I look and see May coming towards me from the other side of the corridor at a brisk pace.

On the way, she notices Rushia next to me and stops in front of us to bow.

“Good morning, Your Highness Rushia.”

“Mm. Good morning.”

After the brief greeting, I noticed that May was holding something like a booklet.

“May, what is that in your hand?”

“’It’s this morning’s newspaper. I brought it to show you.”

“Me?”

“Aaa. There are three interesting articles in the paper.”

Three? Tilting my head, I take the newspaper.

I read them in order, starting with the article with the most prominent headline.

─ ─ Defeating the Poisonous Demon Dragon!　The power of the dragon in Her Highness Rushia!

Well, I knew this would blow up.

After all, the poisonous dragon is a common threat to neighbouring countries. Therefore, the defeat of the Poisonous Demon Dragon is a pleasant fact for all countries……Ostensibly.

“Now …… the Poison Demon Dragons won’t be used for political purposes.”

Muttering in a small voice, Rushia and May nodded silently.

Perhaps some foreign countries, like the Kingdom of Intail this time, were planning to use the poisonous dragon for political purposes. However, by defeating the Poisonous Demon Dragon, we were able to prevent them from doing so.

The Kingdom ofEnuvidia was able to overcome its international weakness of the poisonous dragon. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a great achievement.

I continued to the second article.

─ ─ The strongest ranking of mankind, supervised by the Great Sage and the Wisdom King.

The article was lined with the names of a hundred people.

It was familiar to me and Rushia.

“I knew it.”

“My name is in it too.”

The article described it as a historical collaboration between the Great Sage and the King of Wisdom. However, it stated that there was no information on how this ranking was created or the intent of the ranking. Of course, no information about me was also mentioned. For many people, this article will be both interesting and strange.

“But……like the first article, wouldn’t such an article make Her Highness too conspicuous?　I have a feeling that this will lead to a number of people wanting to borrow Her Highness’s power…….”

May voices her concern.

For Rushia, who is afraid of fighting, the request to join the battle is a heavy burden. Perhaps Rushia has only now realised this fact, and her expression has changed from the cheerful expression she had earlier to a fear one. However…

“I don’t think so. Read carefully here……”

I pointed to the first article.

The end of the article. The concluding part is read aloud by May.

“According to Riese Von Aldiana, leader of 『White Dragon Chivalric Order』, after Her Highness Rushia returned to human form after defeating the poisonous demon dragon, she cried a lot. She cried out that she was afraid of fighting, and looked like a child of no more than a year old…”

“Wha-w–wha-wha-wha–whatt a thing to write!!!”

Rushia’s face turned red and she exclaimed.

“If it’s been written this far, no one would think of letting Rushia to join in any fight.”

“Gunnu……that may be so, but doesn’t this make me look like a wimp!!”

“You really are.”

“Munu……!!!”

Rushia had a very complicated look on her face.

The article made it public that Rushia is not very good at fighting, to the point of tears. This should bring public opinion to some extent on her side. In the unlikely event that someone tries to invite her to fight, there will be an outcry of [Poor, poor Your Highness!] 

I had asked Riese beforehand to answer that way if she was interviewed by journalists. There is no problem if May, me and the others know about it, but …… it would be better to keep it a secret.

“Ned. Look at the third article.”

May told me and I read the third big headline.

The content there has a big impact on me.

—Kingdom of Intail, Hero party disbanded.

According to the article, the king of the Kingdom of Intale declared so yesterday. It must have been a fairly swift process, because it was published this morning in a newspaper in another country, the Kingdom of Enuvidia.

‘…… I see.’

Apparently, the hero party 『Stardust Light』 is being disbanded.

What should I do? Should I get in touch with them again and join up with them?

No……. I don’t have to do that, do I?

Because those guys, now that they’ve set off on their journey, they won’t be back for a while. [Since we’ve gone all this way, we are going to go all the way to the Demon King’s Castle!] They’re likely to say something like that without a care in the world.

“As far as I know, this is the first time a party of heroes has disbanded so quickly.”

Rushia, peering into the newspaper next to me, said.

The content of the article is also highly critical of the Kingdom of Intail.

“Come to think of it, the Kingdom of Enuvidia hasn’t sent a hero party yet, has it?”

“Umu, for our country, the poisonous demon dragons were more of a threat than the demon king.”

Rushia replies.

“The Poisonous Demon Dragon was a threat, which means……”

“Umu!　The Kingdom of Enuvidia will also start recruiting hero parties now!”

Rushia said somewhat happily.

“So, Ned. I have a favour to ask you.”

“A favour?”

I had a questionable look at the sudden suggestion.

Rushia smiles fearlessly and tells me.

“I want you to be a member of the jury for the selection test for the Hero Party!”

A judge for the selection test.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the suggestion that had unexpectedly rolled in.

If I accept this proposal, …… I, who was trying to be a hero, even if only for a time, will now be on the side of choosing a hero.

It is indeed an ironic life.

But …… strangely, I don’t feel bad about it.

That’s probably because I’m happy with the way I’m living now.

─ ─ What’s this?

I didn’t feel unfulfilled as much as I thought I would. I don’t feel depressed or sad.

One of the reasons for this is probably the girl in front of me.

I can’t be a hero. I can’t be the hero who saves the world.

However, I can at least give a helping hand to a girl in need.

That’s enough for me.

I feel rewarded just by seeing Rushia’s smile in front of me.

Just having her laugh in front of me makes me feel rewarded.

I don’t have to carry the world on my back to make people proud.

“…. I’m sure I’ll meet all sorts of people again.”

Rushia’s eyes sparkled as she nodded her head.

Afterword.

This is Sakaishi Yuusaku.

Thank you for picking up this book.

This novel is about a protagonist who fights with his connections as a weapon.

I don’t know how old you are as you read this page now, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realised that networking is a weapon!

When I was a student, I did not think that networking was a weapon. There was usually at least one popular person in my class who had a lot of friends, but when I looked at him or her from the side, I only felt that [well, it must be useful to know many people and it must be fun to be able to enjoy with many different people]. Even when I was a university student looking for a job, I was often told, [Networking is important!] I succeeded in my job search without realising the importance of networking. I remember talking to a friend of mine, [I don’t need any networking!]

However, since becoming a writer, there have been many occasions when I have realised the importance of networking.

Writers are basically sole traders, so if you want to exchange information, you have to start by building a relationship with someone. This is different from a salaried worker.

For me, this was the first time I really became aware of networking, and I found it more gratifying than I had imagined when I started to build a network. Not only did they exchange information, but they also supported me in many situations, such as chatting about new topics and gaining inspiration, playing together to relieve stress, and helping me with my work, which I could not do in my existing relationships.

Maybe it’s hard to appreciate human connections until you actually get them. This work came about naturally because I have recently had many opportunities to feel, [Wow, networking is more important than I thought]. Nowadays, the word [connections] sometimes gives a bad impression, but I think that if you get to know people in the right way, they can be a very valuable and cool thing to have. I hope that through this novel I can convey this appeal to you.

I think networking is a very cool weapon.

【Acknowledgements.】

I would like to thank everyone involved in the writing of this work, including the editorial team and reviewers, for their assistance in the writing of this work, and thank you, Noy Sensei, for creating the wonderful illustrations. I am very happy that you drew not only attractive characters but also backgrounds that respect the world view.

Finally, I would like to express my greatest appreciation to everyone who has picked up this book.