CH 40

—It was a sudden story, though not very much.

“Father! What is the meaning of this? How could you dismiss Gustav-sama and Nina from the SS and make them part of the hero’ party?”

The next morning, a day after me and Princess Leia’s holiday. In the throne room, in addition to the king and Morgan-san, there were me and Princess Leia, as well as a party of heroes, including the hero Ark.

“Calm down, Leia. It is not yet decided.”

The king said as if admonishing, to which Hero Ark snorted.

“It’s as if it’s been decided, King. There is no other priority than defeating the Demon King.”

“Ummm… Hero Ark, everything you say is also true, though.”

The king looked at Morgan-san as if he was troubled, then looked at me.

“But we also need to hear Gustav’s opinion on this. After all, he is the one who has the best track record in the battle against the Demon Lord’s army.”

The eyes of the entire throne room were focused on me. Would I join the party of heroes or refuse to do so? My answer would cause a great debate.

The reason why this situation came about in the first place is because yesterday, when Princess Leia and I were spending our holiday alone together, the hero Ark appeared.

[You who are indulging in this [tomfoolery] called Princess Leia’s Guard, and the Thief Niña, who is your subordinate. From now on, you will be under my command. You can now join the heroic party, rejoice. With the king’s permission]

The mood that had existed between Princess Leia and me until then disappeared in the blink of an eye when Ark came up to me and Princess Leia and started saying such things. Princess Leia was unusually emotional and argued with Ark on the spot, and I tried to separate her from Ark while calming her down.

“Your Majesty, may I just lay out the situation for the time being? In the first place, why did it become necessary for me and Nina to join the party of heroes, we haven’t received an explanation for that yet.”

I decided to cut to the chase. The king nodded, and urged me to speak up to the heroic arc.

“Hmph! I don’t need to explain that to you guys.”

“─ – I will explain it for you.”

Holding Ark back with her hand, Agranis, one of the group of heroes and a sorcerer, replied.

“Grand Polzen, that is the name of the mountain range that is currently an obstacle in the way of our heroic party. We currently have no means of crossing this mountain range, which is occupied by monsters of overwhelming strength.”

Grand Polzen. I know that name, of course. It is one of the most difficult locations in the game, and it takes more than just level to conquer this place. You need a sorcerer to act as a healer. A Thief who can help you to escape from monsters by erasing your presence, and a good vanguard who can react to situations in a flexible manner.

“I, Agranis, can do the recovery… but we are desperately short of powerful thieves and vanguards. At this rate, it will be impossible to conquer the mountain range, and therefore it will also be impossible for us to reach the Demon King’s castle.”

“I see.”

Incidentally, if the original game scenario had been followed, both Nina and Spera would have become friends by the time they took on Grand Polzen. So it would have been possible to conquer it if only the hero arc himself had been able to become a powerful vanguard, but… that didn’t seem to have happened. So we’re in what’s called an impossible game, a deadlock.

“By the way, can’t we think of hiring and training people? It would take a certain amount of time, but as you can see from the level of the current Royal Castle Guards, I think that if we raise them in the right way, both the vanguard and bandit positions will be ready.”

“We tried that experimentally, but… it didn’t work.”

“What?”

Tsk! Ark clicked his tongue.

“Why do I have to go out of my way to raise those low-level bastards? There’s one here who’s been raised, so I’ll just use him.”

Huh, I get it. I tried to raise them a few times, but Ark couldn’t stand the level difference and kicked them all out. It’s unfortunate for people hired by such a proud, self-serving character.

“I understand the situation. Thanks for the explanation, Agranis.”

“No, I don’t. So, Sir Gustav? Now that you understand the current situation, you will agree to join the party of heroes, won’t you?”

Yes, I understand the situation. It’s true that if Nina and I lend a hand, we’ll probably be able to traverse the Grand Polzen with plenty of time to spare. However.

“Unfortunately, I refuse to do so.”

“What?”

Agranis is stunned, and to the party of heroes. I will further say.

“Or rather, the opposite. You and the rest of the party should be under my command.”

I told them clearly and with gusto.

“What?”

Ark’s forehead was streaked with blue, and he grabbed me by the chest.

“What do you mean? Why the fuck do we have to be under the fucking guard?”

“It’s simple. It’s because I’m a whole lot stronger than you guys.”

“What? Who the fuck…?”

I took hold of Ark’s hand, which was clutching up my chest, and slowly twisted it up.

“Ow, ouch, ouch! Stop it! Let go of me!”

“…You see what I’m saying? We’re on different levels. You can’t even beat me with your arm strength, and even if you were armed, the result would be the same.”

“Damn…! But I’m the only one in the world who can defeat the Demon King! Then it’s normal for you to be under me, isn’t it?”

“That’s not true. All you can do is to finish off the Demon King. You can’t hunt the Demon King down that far with the way you are now. But I can.”

“What proof do you have for that?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve defeated two of the Demon King’s direct executives, the Heavenly Demons, so far.”

I turned to the king this time after saying that.

“Your Majesty, please allow me to place the party of heroes under the command of Princess Leia’s Guard. That way, I will be able to fulfil my daily duties as Princess Leia’s guard while also directing the raising of the levels of the them, destroying one of the three remaining Heavenly Demons, and accurately hunting down the Demon King.”

“Mm…”

The king looked at me and the hero arc alternately as he pondered for a bit, and nodded.

“Certainly, based on his successes so far, it would probably work better if Gustav is given the command of defeating the Demon King.”

“Oi oi oi! King! Even I’m hunting monsters all over the place!”

“Yes, I appreciate that. But I trust Gustav more for his achievements and for the fact that he is dealing with even far more powerful monsters.”

“Shit.! I don’t get it!”

Ark spat.

“I’m not going to do it. Listen to me, King. If you want to do this, I’ll be forced to leave the task of defeating the Demon King.”

He pointed his finger at the king, and said so.