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Bandit and his sisters suddenly jumped on their feet and bowed deeply towards us.

“I’ll swallow my pride and ask directly. And I apologize for making such demands after pretending to receive you in such good will. I don’t care how little you might think of us after this, but…please help us! None of us is well-versed in magic, so we can’t do much against a spirit!”
“I also ask for your help. From what Bandit told me, you five are stronger with both sword and magic than any other person out there. Whether you manage to best Behemoth, or convince him to take different measures, I’m sure it’ll go better than if I had sent Bandit’s party alone. I know this is excessively selfish of me, but could you please help us?”

Saying that, Titis also bowed like Bandit. Having heard all of that, it was finally clear why Bandit had called us here even though we only had a short interaction in Leble. If they had requested help in a more direct way, then it was easy for other countries to know Bandit, and consequently, all of Barius, lacked strength. But if they invited us in a less conspicuous way and then told us everything in a private fashion, then the story would not become widespread, others thinking it was just a random meeting between heroes.

While it was a foreign affair, I had developed sympathy for Titis and her struggle, so I wanted to help her, even if we had no real reason to. But what I thought could be different from the others. Behemoth was the spirit standing atop all earth-type spirits and was definitely a powerful foe. Usually, physical attacks had no effect on spirits too, except when they materialized, and Behemoth’s magic power was far above any average monster. If we fought against him, it would literally become a life-and-death situation for us as well. Even the dragon Karin and the others had fought would seem easy to defeat in comparison.

I glanced at my companions to see what they thought, and they seemed as indecisive as me.

“What should we do?”
“Well…how should I know?”
“I would like to help. I heard physical attacks do nothing against spirits, so my magic should come in handy.”
“I…guess I’ll help too then?”

Ciel and Karin were willing to help.

“No matter the situation, I’ve been named a hero, so if someone asks me for help I have to do it. I’m helping too.”

Luvias had no issues joining as well. The only one left without deciding was Diaira, who still looked indecisive.

“How about you, Diara?”
“Behemoth is no joke… If we don’t handle it well, the fight could be worse than going against an arcane dragon, you know? It won’t matter how many people we have helping, no one will come out alive from that.”

It was easy to tell Diaria was trying to restrain her fear. She was our only member with a connection to spirits, and could feel their presence directly. In a way, she was the only one here who truly understood the threat Behemoth posed.

“There are records on all Four Great Spirits in my country, which includes Behemoth. They’re all terribly powerful, and if you misuse them even slightly it can lead to disaster. There are many people who died instantly, or kingdoms that fell in seconds. If possible I’d like to avoid fighting something like that as much as possible. I think it’s best if we look for alternative solutions.”

Another solution…if that was possible, Bandit and Titis would prefer that as well. Though at the same time, if such a thing existed, then I doubt they would have called us.

“Well, in a way there is something like that…”

There is?! I almost wanted to shout, but Bandit looked even more conflicted than before. Just what was behind all that?

“There’s the possibility of a powerful spirit magic user forming a pact with Behemoth and taking him far away from here. But we have no such spirit magic users in our country, so we can’t really do that. Forming a pact with one of the Four Great Spirits is already an outlandish idea except for an unnaturally powerful user.”

I could see why Bandit and his team could not do that. But that would also mean placing all the responsibility on only one person, so fighting together until death was not possible. Not even a hero would choose that option. Though we also could not force Diaria to fight against her will. I would just have to put in a bit more effort to compensate for her. Since everyone had voiced their opinion, I figured it was time to settle things and spoke with a loud and clear voice.

“In that case, I guess Diaria can stay in the palace. The rest of us will take care of Behemoth.”
“You’ll help us?! Thanks! Having you is better than fighting with an entire battalion!”
“Thank you all. I promise I’ll make it up to you once everything blows over.”
“Don’t worry about that. We just help each other when we’re in need.”
“Yeah, that’s why we let ourselves be called heroes.”
“W-wait a second! Don’t just leave me behind like that!”

We had pretty much decided on moving forward without Diaria, but then she herself stopped us.

“Diaria?”
“You know, I’m also a hero! And I’m a member of your party, right? I won’t let you leave me behind like this!”
“But you said you didn’t want to fight..?”
“I don’t want to fight! But I hate being left out even more!”
“Ohh…”

I never thought I would hear such childish reasoning from her. Everyone there stood silent for a while, amazed at the idiotic reason why Diaria would risk her life. But if a spirit magic user like Diaria helped us, that could drastically change the outcome of the fight. Not even I have past experiences fighting one of the Four Great Spirits, so there were many unknowns in the fight which she might help dispel.

“Well…let’s go then, Diaria.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! But hey, if we succeed then I expect a really good reward when we get back!”
“Ah…sure. Of course. I give you my word as the queen that you’ll be appropriately rewarded.”

I felt like that was not quite the attitude a hero, nor a spiritual magic user should have, but at least we had managed to secure all our members for the fight against Behemoth.