CH 41

— “Impudence! How dare you address His Majesty with such disrespect!”

“Shut up! It was the king who wasn’t polite first!”

The hero Ark does not listen to Morgan’s warning.

“You underestimate me, who fights monsters every day! I’m not going to back down and say, ‘Oh, I see’, when you say I’m lower than a mere bastard of a guard!”

The king sighed deeply.

“…Ark, if you are going to quit being a hero for such childish reasons as who is higher or lower, then I have an idea. How about you return the money I’ve given you so far for the expenses of the journey, which you have only asked for, with an ear to the ground?”

“What?”

“I have heard the report from your aides, Ark. I hear that you have been spending the money I gave you for the journey to defeat the Demon King in a very unrestrained manner. They used it for completely unrelated things, such as alcohol and women.”

“Ugh, why did you say that…!”

All eyes in the room were on the party of heroes as if they were stabbing them. As expected, it was hard to bear, and a bead of cold sweat appeared on Ark’s forehead.

“Well, what are you going to do now, Ark? Do you still want to quit being a hero?”

“Heck.”

Ark gritted his teeth at the last minute, but still stubbornly refused to lift his head. It was like a rebellious child who had been rebuked by his parents with a strong argument, and was silent with the sole intention of not wanting to apologize.

But it seems that if things continue like this, there will be no end in sight.

“ARC, I have a proposal for you.”

“…What is it?”

“If you really don’t want to be under me, if you don’t want to admit that you are inferior to me, why don’t we settle this again in a duel?”

“Huh?”

“The loser takes the other’s place. Simple, isn’t it?”

“Hmph, don’t be silly!”

Ark snorts and dismisses my suggestion.

“You said it earlier! I’m no match for you!”

“Yeah, that’s why there’s a handicap.”

“Handicap?”

“Yes, that’s why I give you a handicap. The duel is not a personal battle between you and me. It’s between the SS and you and your party of heroes.”

“… what do you mean?”

“In other words, we in the SS will fight as a group of three, and you and your party of heroes will fight as a group of four. The format can be a group fight, or a three-way fight with one representative each, or any other format… it’s up to you to decide.”

“… you mean we can decide how we want to compete?”

“Yes. And yes, you can do whatever you like with the victory conditions, as long as you don’t impose any unreasonable demands on us. For example, in a three-way match, the side with the most wins usually wins… but this time, if you guys can win at least one game, It’s your win.”

“What? Wait a minute.”

Ark walked to the rest of the party members and exchanged a few small words with Agranis. Then they turned a sly smile towards me, nodding to each other.

“There’s no double entendre in the words that if we win even one victory, it’s our victory, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll take your conditions. But when we win this, you, my king, will have no further say in the matter of the money I’ve spent. It’s just a necessary expense to keep us fit for the journey.”

“Ummm… Gustav, are you sure you want to do this on those conditions? To leave the terms of the duel up to the hero Ark, it sounds like you are at a great disadvantage.”

The king asks me with a complicated expression. But I nodded without hesitation.

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. We will never lose.”

“…I understand. I will trust you.”

“Also, I have two more requests.”

“Hmm? What an unusual thing for you to ask for, Gustave.”

Is that not possible?

“What do you mean? Do not hesitate to ask. I was just thinking that the reward I gave you was too small compared to your achievements.”

“Thank you.”

I bow and continue.

“Firstly, after we, the SS, have won this duel, I would like you to break off the engagement between the hero Ark and Princess Leia.”

“Wow? My?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Nodding to the surprised Princess Leia, he continues.

“This engagement was made on the premise that Hero Arc would defeat the Demon King, but if I win this duel, I will take command of defeating the Demon King, so I would like Your Majesty to reconsider the reward for defeating the Demon King.”

“Mm. Certainly that is a matter of course. The results of defeating the Demon King will belong to the entire SS. Is that all right with you, Hero Ark?”

At the king’s question, Ark glared at me once, but then said.

“Fine. But, don’t think that the SS with just one out-of-standard guy can win against our party of heroes with a hundred battles led by me!”

Despite such big words, he agreed to the conditions.

“What is your second wish, Gustav?”

“Secondly… when we in the SS defeat the Demon King, I would like my reward to be a title, if possible.”

“A title…?”

The king, and the princess next to him, also looked surprised.

“Gustav, did you want to become a nobleman? You’ve never given me any such impression before…”

“Yes, I didn’t have that intention at all until just yesterday.”

“Then why?”

“Until now I didn’t care about status or honour. I was satisfied with that way of life, with my current job as SS captain and spending my days as Princess Leia’s bodyguard in that way. But… then I realised that it wasn’t enough.”

I look at Princess Leia. The place where she is standing quietly now is next to the throne. And I am a few steps below the throne. Although we are only a few meters apart, the difference in status between the princess, who is royalty, and me, a commoner, is as great as the difference between heaven and earth.

“Your Majesty, there is a place in this world that I can only reach if I am a noble, and I… really wanted to get there.”

“Gustav, you don’t mean…”

The king looks at the princess and me alternately. That’s after me and the princess had gone out together yesterday. It’s not hard to guess.

“I see. As a father, I have my concerns when it comes to my precious only daughter, but Gustav, I can trust you with her…”

“Father?”

Princess Leia screams out in a crazy voice.

“What in the world have you suddenly…?”

I was about to say that much when she finally understood what I was talking about, and for whom I was asking for the title.

“~~~? What, Gustav-sama? What? No, really…?”

And her face turned bright red in a very cute way.

That’s right. I love Princess Leia. I’ve loved her from the very beginning. But I thought that Princess Leia would never fall in love with me because of our different statuses, and that’s why I’ve tried not to look at her through the filter of love. But now that I know, that’s not the case, if she wants me to fall in love freely…

I’ll just have to become a worthy partner for Princess Leia.

“Very well, Gustav. I will give you a Title when you succeed in defeating the Demon King.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He will surely go fetch the princess. Seeing Princess Leia’s shoulders shrinking in embarrassment, yet somewhat happily, I further strengthened my resolve.