TWEM Vol. 6 Chapter 15 Part 1
Chapter 15 – Hero of Salvation
When I arrived at the castle, there were many people there, and at the front of them were Oskar, Reid, and the “Seven Royal Guards” as if they were protecting those who had taken refuge there.
“Haruto-san!”
Finne saw me coming there and ran towards me with a smile on her face.
Iris and the others followed her, one after the other, shouting with joy.
The evacuees looked at me and said, “What’s going on?”
In the midst of all this, Oskar walked up to me.
“Haruto. It’s over, right…?”
Oskar said out loud what everyone was probably thinking, and I looked up at the blazing red sky and answered.
“Yeah, it’s all over.”
“Haruto, you helped us. On behalf of the people, I would like to express my gratitude. Thank you very much.”
“You promised me I’d get a reward.”
“Hahaha. You didn’t forget.”
“Of course. Don’t underestimate an adventurer.”
“You are an adventurer, huh? Now, I want to talk about battles and other things, but first..”
Oskar then raised his clenched fist and announced to the people.
“The enemy has been vanquished by the adventurer Haruto—we have won!”
After a moment of silence, the people who had taken refuge in the imperial castle shouted with joy. It was as if the entire imperial city was trembling.
The cheers didn’t cease, and the people remained enveloped in a feverish excitement.
I turned to Finne and the others as I watched them.
“I’m glad to see that everyone is safe.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Haruto-san. I’d like to thank you for your hard work this time as well.”
Finne said, and gave me a good pat on the back.
It was true that this battle was dangerous, life-threatening even.
“Oh, I thought I was going to die. But I’m glad I didn’t let that thing out of the arena.”
“That’s right. I hoped those sinister hands didn’t overflow from the arena…”
“It was the Supper of Madness… and the worst magic I’ve ever seen.”
Suzuno tilted her head at the conversation between Finne and me.
“Haruto-kun, what is that ‘Supper of Madness’?”
It was Zero who answered Suzuno’s question.
“Suzuno-sama, that’s…”
Zero gave the same explanation to Suzuno and the others as he had given to me.
“A whole country was destroyed… If you touch it, you’ll die instantly…”
“I’ve read about it in the literature. I can’t believe it actually exists…”
“I had never heard of such magic in the elf village.”
“That’s scary…”
Suzuno, Iris, Ephyr, and Kuzel said this with serious expressions.
Zero nodded quietly.
“It’s all true.”
“More importantly, are you okay, Haruto-kun!?”
Suzuno touched my body to check if there were any injuries, but I waved my arms around and said, “There’s no problem,” and reported that there were no wounds.
Seeing me acting like that, Iris and the others felt relieved as well.
I’m genuinely happy that they’re worried about me.
Then, Oskar seemed to have heard us talking and approached us.
“Hey, is it true? Did he really use the Supper of Madness?! Answer me, Haruto!”
Reid and the others also looked at me to see what was going on.
“Calm down. It’s true that it was used.”
“Haruto, are you the one who blocked that magic…?”
Oskar looked at me in disbelief.
“It was a tough fight, but I was able to prevent the instant death attack, and I had a way to deal with it, so I managed to stop it. Well, I’ve confirmed that the magic has disappeared, so don’t worry.”
Oskar once again looked relieved at my words.
After a while, the crowd calmed down, and Oskar raised his voice.
“I regret to inform you all that the tournament is canceled! The representatives are to collectively report the damages in the city center! You are dismissed for today!”
And so it was just us, Oskar, Reid, and Fance who remained in the imperial castle square.
“Haruto. Get everyone and come to the castle tomorrow. Understood?”
Would we get a reward?
I would appreciate that, but was it my imagination that I had a feeling it would be even more of a hassle than that?
“…Do I have the right to decline?”
“No. You understand, right? Right?”
It seemed to be forced. It was not an option.
“All right.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“What, I’ll prepare something good for you. It’s something to look forward to.”
“Good stuff, huh…”
I had a really bad feeling when I saw Oskar grinning at me.
“I’m not sure what to expect. What time?”
“Come at noon.”
“Okay. Then we’re going home.”
I’m not as physically tired as I was when I fought Noir, but I’m mentally tired today, and I wanted to go to bed early…
Thus, we too returned to our lodgings.
～
The next day, we went to the imperial castle as Oskar had told us.
“What could it be?”
Asha asked.
“He said something about ‘good things’ yesterday, so I guess a reward, a token of appreciation, something like that.”
“Of course they should be grateful!”
No, Iris. What’s up with your pompous chest…
No one reacted to Iris’s words, or rather, everyone dared not mention them.
That’s when Suzuno called out to me.
“Haruto-kun.”
“What’s wrong Suzuno?”
“Well, you were able to talk like that with His Majesty the Emperor yesterday, right? Maybe you were called for lese majeste this time…”
Ah, surely it couldn’t be helped that people said that when they saw it?
“I’m not sure what to say. If it wasn’t for me, the imperial city would have been destroyed!”
I said that jokingly, but she looked at me with a cold stare.
I couldn’t figure it out…!
And I had no choice but to answer seriously.
“Sigh… It’s okay. Oskar isn’t the type to worry about things like that. Besides, even if the people around him say something, Oskar will shut them up.”
Finne and the others looked as if they were not convinced by my words.
When I arrived at the castle gate, the two gatekeepers noticed me and bowed to me.
One of them approached me.
“Haruto-sama! Thank you for saving the Imperial City this time! I heard from His Majesty that Haruto-sama and his companions would be coming. I would appreciate it if you could wait a little while. I’ll call a guide right away!”
“I’ll wait, so don’t panic so much.”
The gatekeeper ran into the castle to call someone, leaving only one person behind.
In the meantime, I asked the other gatekeeper.
“Can I have a moment?”
“Y-Yes. What is it?”
“As for the reason we were called, haven’t you heard anything from Oskar?”
“No, I don’t know the details. All I can say is, Haruto, ‘the adventurer’ who saved this imperial city, is coming, so let him pass through… I’m sorry.”
Oskar seemed to welcome us when he said you saved us.
After waiting for a while, the gatekeeper who had gone to call someone earlier returned.
The person he brought with him turned out to be Reid.
“Why Reid-san?”
Reid answered Finne, who was wondering.
“Finne-dono, Haruto-dono, and the others, thank you for coming. His Majesty has asked me to escort Haruto-dono and the others here. Well then, His Majesty and the various ministers and nobles will be waiting in the audience chamber, so please come with me.”
I understood why Reid had come, but an audience chamber?
I thought it would be a normal reception room or something, but a place where even other ministers would be present?
Confused, we followed Reid into the castle.
On our way to the audience chamber, Iris asked Reid.
“Hey Reid. Why are we meeting in the audience chamber?”
Reid answered the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“Yesterday’s events, from the defeat of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army to the prevention of the forbidden magic, the Supper of Madness, are known to the public. With a matter of this magnitude, it would be a loss of face if we don’t thank you as a nation rather than from His Majesty personally only.”
“That’s true. Certainly, they would do the same in Perdis.”
We agreed with Reid’s words.
The information of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King Army would be known to other countries, and if the Galzio Empire did not give official rewards when that happened, it would affect the country’s good name.
If we refused, it would cause an inconvenience, so we had no choice but to accept the situation.
As we did so, we arrived at the front door of the audience chamber.