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When I heard that, I felt like it was exactly what I had been expecting. But I also felt like I had been through this once. I could understand why he wanted that. We were in a dire situation, and the hero Brave could easily go out and boost morale everywhere. But…

“Lapis…”
“Master…”
“It’s alright.”

Everyone was looking at me with worry, seeing how tense I had gotten. They all knew why I had decided to live in solitude for so long, so they did not want me to oblige Prince Magna’s request. He did not know the full story, but he seemed to understand it was something serious, so he remained silent.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths as I thought about it. If I agreed to it, my peaceful life would be gone. Even in Surfour, the one place I could call home, they’ll start refraining from interacting with me as often. All the people I knew there would start changing. I could already tell what the future held even if we won the war. I almost felt the life I desired so much slipping away from my hands.

But that was not something I could weigh against the well-being of the entire world. I was raised to be a hero. I had the power to fight, to save lives. I could not just turn a blind eye to everything that was happening.

(It was a short time of peace…)

I smiled awkwardly realizing that I would never get to have a proper life. Still… that was alright, it was simply who I was. I would once again fight with everything I had, save the world, and then…

“I understand. Feel free to use my name.”
“…Thank you.”

Prince Magna thanked me and gently bowed.

“Are you sure about that Lapis?”
“If you stand in front of everyone again, maybe they’ll…”
“It’s fine. If I can be of any help to this situation, that’s all there is to it.”

All the girls became teary-eyed hearing that and hugged me tightly. I felt something warm welling up inside of me as well, but I pushed that back and hugged them back with a smile.

“Thank you for caring so much. That is more than enough reward for me.”

No matter how other people would treat me, everything was alright as long as my friends were nearby. I would be able to push through.

“Alright, then I’m sorry to rush things, but there’s someone I want you to meet.”

I thought the conversation was calming down again, but everyone got nervous again as Prince Magna stood up and opened the door leading to the neighboring room. Someone familiar came out from there.

“Freya!”
“It’s been a while, Lapis, and everyone else.”

It was Freya, Lumielle’s hero who had managed to escape. But she looked different from how I remembered her, like she was out of energy. Her manners were as cheerful as before, so it seemed a bit contradictory, it was almost like she… no longer cared about her life, almost like someone wishing for death.

“I’m glad to see you safe.”
“Thankfully yes. I shamelessly left everyone else behind.”
“…”

I did not know how to respond to that. Freya was the only one who experienced losing her home country here. It did not feel right to offer her surface-level sympathy or comfort. She seemed to realize that awkward situation, so she forced a smile.

“Please don’t worry about it. I’ll admit that I considered throwing my life away at one point, but that was only once. If I die, that’s me running away, throwing away my responsibility and duty. There’s still a lot of people in Lumielle who are under Leble’s tyrannical rule now, and some of them even gave their lives so I could get away. I can’t afford to die until I’ve completed everything I need to do.”

Freya’s voice broke through the frailty shrouding her body, sounding calm and decided. She was strong, in the true meaning of the word. I was a bit jealous of that.

“Let’s fight together then. I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”
“Thank you. It’s an honor being allowed to fight alongside the legendary hero Brave.”

We exchanged a firm handshake. I could tell she had become much stronger than the last time we met, she was almost like a different person now. She had also been training, and I felt comfortable having her with us that way.

“There’s no need for me to introduce her to you, right? Either way… I want you to travel with her throughout all other countries.”
“Throughout all other countries? Why is there a need for that..?”
“Well, in simple terms, I want you to convince them to become our allies. I really want you to start by appealing to the common folk though.”

This was Prince Magna’s plan: We would travel with Freya and visit all other countries, and we would reveal our names and identities there. Freya was famous as a holy woman, and I was a legendary hero, which would attract plenty of recruits from the common folk. After we exhausted that, we would begin talking with people with authority for more formal alliances.

“Why wouldn’t we talk with authoritative figures first?”
“It’s to protect ourselves from countries that are still sitting on the fence. Leble and the demons have the strongest presence right now, so many countries might consider joining them to have a chance at surviving. But what would happen if most of the populace would prefer fighting with Freya and Brave? The upper ranks would have to bend the knee.”

That made sense. Sometimes those in power preferred the easy way out, even more when threatened with force.

“…Freya actually suggested this plan, and I believe it’s the ideal one as well.”

I glanced at Freya, but she only had a lonesome smile.