Volume 4 - CH 7

──Riiing.

Suddenly, a sound resembling the sound of a bell echoed in the office

──Riiing.

The sound came from the bracelet worn by Greed on his left wrist. It was a warning sound that resonated with the paired bracelet.

And when it rings, it is when she is in danger.

“Aria……!?”

Panicking, Renas shouted.

“The power of the bracelet has been activated……!?”

──Riiiiiing.

Greed’s bracelet rang loudly.

“Damn!”

Greed cursed, leaving the people behind to activate the magic circle.

However, a stern, firm voice warned him.

“Greed, please wait.”

It was Rufaga.

He walked to Greed.

“What are you going to do about the barrier if you fly straight away?”

“Don’t stop me, Rufaga. Aria is in danger. I cannot afford to dawdle.”

Rufaga further told Greed, who was still trying to activate the magic circle.

“Who said I was going to stop you? I just told you to wait.”

Upon hearing that, Greed stopped his plan.

“……Rufaga?”

“You don’t have enough equipment to go to the decisive battle, Greed. But we are ready to go anytime.”

Saying that, Rufaga flashed him a daring smile.

“……Huh?”

Greed’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, yes. You don’t have enough armor, Greed.”

“Sheesh, what will the Hero do now?”

“He should emulate Farah. She is already in her armor.”

“This is my habit. Greed, we will wait, so change your clothes quickly.”

His comrades walked toward him and said those as they smiled.

“You……”

Greed’s poker face completely crumbled. He always looked like an adult, but his annoyed expression now made him look like his age . . . No, he even looked younger than his real age.

“We will also go, Greed.”

Rufaga declared on behalf of his comrades.

“But……”

“The enemy reneged first. Then, you don’t need to protect us. Let us all go and rescue Aria. No one will be left behind…… Greed, do you know where Aria is?”

“……Roughly. But it’s not clear to me yet because of the barrier.”

Greed replied, looking down at the bracelet on his left wrist. The bracelet is still blaring.

“The connection is still weak but if Aria calls out, it will become clearer.”

Rufaga nodded in agreement.

“Then, when the two of you are completely connected, release the power of the bracelet and destroy the barrier. Is it alright, Renas?”

“Yes.”

With a serious look, Renas nodded.

Rufaga continued.

“If the barrier is destroyed, I will go to Aria via teleportation.”

“I will cast the magic circle.”

It was Rufus who said that, taking a step forward.

“Once you have confirmed Aria’s location after the barrier is destroyed then cast the magic circle, it also means that Aria’s defense will be lost, so there’s nothing we could do if they took that opportunity. To prevent this, we have to cast the magic circle first, and once you destroy the barrier, you have to move quickly. Fortunately, we already know the location of the Demon King’s castle. If you tell me the detailed coordinates at the moment of your connection, you will be able to go to Aria immediately.”

“Are you going to keep casting magic circles until they get connected? That would be a lot of work, even for you.”

Rufaga said frankly.

But Rufus shook his head.

“As soon as we get there, we'll be in a battle. Greed’s powers should be conserved. I’m the right person to execute it. Besides……”

Rufus said with self-derision.

“I did not make it in time last night, so at least, let me do this much.”

“……I understand. Yes, please.”

Rufaga nodded, this time to Greed.

“You heard that, Greed. The magic circle will be left to Rufus. You should get ready as soon as possible.”

“……Yeah.”

Although he replied, Greed did not move immediately. With a confused expression, he looked at everyone.

What is this warm, tickling sensation that sprang from the depths of my chest?

With those thoughts, Greed felt like he knew it.

──Yes, this is……

At that moment, Aria’s words suddenly rang in Greed’s mind.

“I’m thrilled that Greed-sama is smiling. It’s the same for everyone, too. That’s why I want you to smile not only to me and be happy.”

“It’s easy, Greed-sama. When you ask someone a favor, just smile and say, ‘Thank you’.”

“Greed?”

Rufaga looked dubiously at the still Greed. Everyone, aside from him, was also looking at Greed.

──I see, this is what happiness is.

Greed closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened his eyes, he said.

“……Thank you, everyone.”

Greed did not mean to smile.

However, a soft smile appeared on his face.

“I’ll go prepare.”

After saying that, Greed disappeared on the spot and the stunned people became noisy.

“H-He smiled? He smiled just now, right!? A harbinger of natural disaster!?”

“Y-Yeah. He smiled. Even though Aria is not here!”

“……Today is really the day to witness rare things……”

Despite their noisy comrades, Farah and Rufaga smiled as they stared at the spot where Greed disappeared.

Farah laughed at Rufaga.

“We must thank Aria.”

“Yes, so let’s rescue her.”

Rufaga nodded as he smiled.

* * *

The other people in the office watched the scene at a distance.

Among them, the Milfords looked at the rambunctious Hero’s party strangely.

“Why is it a deal for them when the Hero smiled? It’s not so unusual.”

Apparently, the Hero smiled politely when they first met him.

Hearing the question, Famir answered with a small sigh.

“A lot of things happened. By the way, Lionel, do not directly address the Hero with ‘he’ or ‘you’. It’s disrespectful.”

“Huh? Even though he wants to snatch my precious daughter away?”

Saying that, Lionel pouted.

“Even so! The Hero is the cornerstone and the treasure of the world, okay? He must be respected.”

“I don’t want to. Such a hassle.”

“Lionel!”

Lionel burst into laughter after hearing Famir’s rebuke.

“Besides, do you think he wants to be treated that way?”

Staring at the noisy party with a smile, Margaret told her son.

“If he did that, the Hero’s party would look like they’re older.”

Justin raised his eyebrows at his mother.

“Mother, they have great powers and were bestowed with special roles, but they are ordinary human beings. It’s not because of their age, okay?”

Margaret smiled and looked up at her son’s face, who resembled her husband.

“You also call them ordinary, huh? Just like your father. ‘The apple doesn't fall far from the tree’, indeed.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister approached the King and secretly relayed what he had heard in front of the living room of the Hero’s party.

“Is that so……? It spells trouble for them, huh……”

The King frowned.

“Fortunately, it seems that such a situation could be avoided.”

With that said, the Prime Minister turned to the Hero’s party at last, who became quiet as they prepared to go to the Demon King’s castle. Then he looked at Lionel, who was being admonished by Famir.

“Lionel…… that idiot said that. Now, we have no choice but to hope for the best.”

“He is still a weirdo . . . Viscount Milford is.”

The King laughed. But then he said with a somber expression.

“This may rile you up, but I think what Princess Tiana said wasn't exactly wrong.”

“……Oh, was it when she said that the life of the hero and the life of one mere maid are incomparable?’

“Yes. To us, and of course to Greed-dono, Aria is not just a maid, but many people in the world will think the same as Princess Tiana. The life of the Hero will be lost for one maid.”

The Prime Minister nodded.

“I don’t think what Princess Tiana was saying was wrong, though I don’t think she should have said it in front of us or Greed-dono……”

“The Hero is the treasure of the world. He is an indispensable existence for humans to defeat the demons. Indeed, for one maid . . . his life must not be lost just because he had to rescue Aria. If Greed-dono had been invited by the demons to face them alone, I would have to tell him as a king . . . Give up Aria.”

The King said seriously.

Then the Prime Minister also turned his eyes down and muttered.

“Yes…… I will probably say that, too.”

Whether Greed will listen or not, the two of them are in a political position that should prevent the loss of the Hero’s life.

“Being a politician is a difficult job, Prime Minister.”

“I agree, Your Majesty.”

“But right now, I can only rely on that foolish intuition.”

“Is it the intuition of Viscount Milford? I definitely want the Hero to win.”

At that time, Greed, who had finished preparing, suddenly appeared.

He was wearing his armor and his sacred sword was on his waist, just as when the King and the others first saw him.

Handsome, valiant, and divine, the very figure of the Hero that the people envision.

The King prayed while watching him.

“Goddess Refelia, may you bless your beloved child.”

* * *

When Greed returned to the King’s office, the magic circle was already drawn on the floor.

The magic circle, in which the rings of light were layered on top of each other, had a complex pattern. Standing in the center of it was Rufus, who is surrounded by the light emitted by the magic circle, making Princess Louise worried.

It consumes a lot of magical power to travel long distances using magic circles. Therefore, it is a rule of thumb to get on immediately after activating the magic circle and connect the starting point to the destination.

However, this time, the magic circle must be simultaneously activated with the destination set near the Demon King’s castle. It would require enormous magical power. It’s a rough work that only Greed, Rufus and Rufaga, and some magicians could do.

Greed looked at his childhood friend, who continued to release magical power at the center of the magic circle after deciding not to join the formation, with gratitude.

Following him, his other friends also stepped into the magic circle one after another.

“The power of the bracelet is still activated, but there is almost no sign of being attacked by the demons for a while now…… Is Aria now running away? That’s all right, but I have a bad feeling.”

Renas put his hand on his forehead and said in a panicking voice.

Greed also felt the same.

Immediately after the bracelet’s protection magic was activated, it showed signs of resistance to the attacks. But it has stopped right now. She might be running away as Renas said, but there is no reason for them to leave Aria’s safety to chance.

Indescribable anxiety swelled in Greed’s chest.

“Aria……”

Greed called out to the bracelet.

“Aria, call my name through the bracelet. It will surely reach me.”

Greed clenched his teeth, letting his impatience and fear transmit through the bracelet.

He is not the expressionless Hero anymore.

“Aria……! Call out! My name……!”

It was at that time. The bracelet on Greed’s left wrist emitted a stronger light than the light of the magic circle.

──Greed-samaaa……!

From nowhere, her voice echoed.

It reached everyone’s ears in the room, not only just Greed.

Greed threw a glance and said.

“We’re connected……!”

“Let’s go!”

As Rufus spoke firmly, the magic circle shone more brightly as if responding.

It overpowered the light of the bracelet and emitted a dazzlingly intense light that converged the next moment.

The King and the others closed their eyes and when they opened their eyes, no one was there.

“Rufus-sama, Aria, everyone, please be safe……!”

Princess Louise folded her hands in front of her chest and offered a prayer.

“A’ight, I’ll leave my daughter to you!”

“We implore you.”

“We humbly ask you.”

While the Milfords bid them in a relaxed manner, the King, the Prime Minister, and the magician Famir stared at the place where the Hero’s party disappeared.