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After the minister and the knight commander left and the king had seen Karua and Mika off, he now turned to me with a request.

“Then, Alim, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you.”
“What might that be?”

Does the king have a personal request? Since he knows about my skill, Item Master, this request is probably related to it.

He grabbed my shoulders and continued to speak.

“Create the Hero’s Sword. In all likelihood, no one but you might be able to.”
“Do you know the grade of the Hero’s Sword, your Majesty?”
“It should be legend grade.”

Oh, is that it? According to old literature, the Hero’s Sword is needed to seal the demon god Samaeyl again, isn’t it?

The Hero’s Sword… If it’s me, creating it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Then it’s no problem at all. However, since I want to know its effects and design in detail, I’d like some kind of reference book¹.

“Understood. If you could just show me some reference, I should be able to create something wholly similar. If necessary, rather than the Hero’s Sword, should I make a sword of higher performance?”
“Oh-ho! If we show you some documents, you’ll create it? Even more, you can make something with higher performance than the Hero’s Sword? Understood, I’ll entrust it to you.”

After a servant had brought me the reference documents, I read them in an instant.

Honestly, compared to my Painful Sword, the Hero’s Sword doesn’t amount to much, does it?
That’s what I thought when I read it.

In the end, since the Hero’s Sword is quite unsatisfactory, I’d rather improve it, so it can destroy the demon god. Moreover, it’ll only take a few seconds.

“Your Majesty, could I ask for a bit of time?”
“How long will it take?”
“Since I’ll be using Orichalcum… it shouldn’t take longer than 30 seconds.”

The king blinked in apparent surprise.
Thinking carefully, what I just said sounds like an exaggeration, doesn’t it?

“…You’ll really make something that strong? Oh well, fine. By all means… I entrust it to you!”
“Then, please excuse me.”

I took out the Magic Room, went inside and manufactured the Hero’s Sword… No, the improved version.

As for the name… That’s right, shall we go with the Great Hero’s Blade of Sealing?
Heh-heh-heh, it’s fully enchanted, you know.

Finally, I created 10 normal Hero’s Swords in preparation.
Since I might use them for something, right? It’s like there’s a bargain sale on Hero’s Swords. I thoroughly memorized how to create them, too.

“Your Majesty, I was able to create it. Because I thought the Hero’s Sword, as it was described in the book, was unsatisfactory, I improved it.”
“You really were able to do that in a few seconds, were you? You even improved it? You easily created a sword of higher than legend grade… I feel somehow empty…”

He feels empty… It’s the same for me.

This present situation, where a middle schooler faithfully recreates a relic from the history books in 30 seconds, and furthermore even improves it. What would you call something like that, if not an exaggeration?
Hm? Am I just tooting my own horn?

“By the way, what are those other swords?” the king asked and pointed at the 10 Hero’s Swords I was carrying on my shoulder.
“They’re Hero’s Swords, all of them.”
“…Indeed, are they? However, a Hero’s Sword cannot be without a hero. Moreover, we don’t plan to proclaim more than one person to be the hero, and we have yet to decide on a hero anyway.

Oh, I forgot about that, didn’t I?

Well, I don’t think I’ll hand these Hero’s Swords over to someone who is to become the hero. I believe those 10 swords won’t be needed, but…
Then, what did I create them for?

“…Well, alright. For now, I should reward you for Karua’s rescue and the swords.
“Eh…”

Erm, he doesn’t need to reward me or anything, right?
I’m already able to have the fun of my life² with Mika and Karua, and I have the money to live comfortably. I need neither territory nor social standing.

Even merely considering riches, I’d want those especially to go towards the war with the demons.

“No, you don’t need to reward me, your Majesty. I have sufficient money, and… neither land nor a high social status are things I need, so…”
“Hm… Still, as the king of this country, I can’t do that… Moreover, the crisis with Karua will quickly become known, and the fact that you rescued her from the demons… Honestly, would even rewarding you for the rest of your life be enough?”

Even if he tells me that…
If I had to say what I desire, it would be to be together with Mika and have a peaceful life.

I want to end the war with the demons quickly and go on a date with Mika.
In other words, my current wish is to end the war soon.

…Yes! That’s it!

“Hm? Alim, looking at your face, you seem to have thought of something, haven’t you? Did you decide on a reward?”
“Yes, your Majesty!”

On my face was a radiant smile.

“If that’s so, then tell me your wish.”
“You see, I would like to end this horrible war with the demons quickly.”

While fiddling with his long beard, the king listened to my words.

“Oh ho, and then?”
“To end the war quickly, I’d like your cooperation and tacit approval, so I can act like I think would be best, your Majesty. That is my wish.”
“Is that so…?”

The king put his hand to his chin, apparently deep in thought. He had stopped playing with his beard.

“Understood. It doesn’t feel like much of a reward, but if that is your wish, you leave me no choice but to do so. Nonetheless… don’t be reckless and don’t do anything that might ruin your health.”
“Yes, I’ll act with that in mind. I’m pretty sure, I’ll somehow end the war with the demons quickly!” I declared that, while threwing out my still undeveloped chest.

When he saw me act like that, the king smiled weakly.

“Hrm still, for today, take a rest. Since it’s the middle of the night… you should probably go to sleep. If it’s fine with you, could you sleep in Karua’s room like usual? Together with Mika.”
“Oh, yes, your Majesty, I’d like that.”

Following the king’s words, I went to Karua’s room. There, Karua was already asleep on the bed and Mika was sitting on a chair while tinkering with her Tozumaho.

Mika noticed me, when I entered the room, and approached me.

“Mika, Karua is asleep, right?”
“Yeah, it looks like she’s terribly exhausted, doesn’t it? When we got here, as soon as she crawled into the bed, she seemed to fall unconscious.”
“That’s true.”

That’s fine. It’s preferable to not sleeping, right?
That way, I’ll have some peace of mind.

“Incidentally, why did you stay awake, Mika?”
“I was waiting for you, Alim.”
“…What for?”
“L-look, it’s said, the wife shouldn’t go to sleep until the husband returns home. I’ve heard, that’s the ideal for some men…”

As she said that, Mika turned adorably red.

What she said about the wife not going to sleep first, I don’t think that’s the case at all…
Still, her consideration makes me happy, right?

“Heh-heh… You’ll become a great wife for sure, Mika, won’t you?”
“I’m not planning to marry anyone other than you, Ayumu.”
“Me too, Mika.”

I gently embraced her.
Why did I want to embrace her? Somehow, now felt like the time to do so…

While Mika held me tightly, she vigorously pulled my sleeve.

I wonder, is something wrong?
Does she want me to stop, since it’s already uncomfortable for her?

“What’s wrong? Mika?”
“Hey, Alim. Do you… like³ me?”

Why does she suddenly ask me that?
Didn’t we already settle that?

“If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t hold you tight, you know.”
“Yeah… Yes! Alim~… I love you!”

W-w-w-why would she say that?
Weird, she’s acting more affectionate than usual.

If I were Ayumu right now, blood would come spurting for nose, for sure. Or rather, that’s the awfully destructive power known as love.

Still, we should go to sleep soon.

“I love you too, Mika.”
“Eh-heh-heh-heh…”
“However, isn’t it about time we go to sleep? Things will be busy, starting from tomorrow, won’t they?”
“Yeah, let’s sleep together, right?”

I took out the Magic Room and we went inside.
Then I created a large-sized bed, like the one we had in our house, in the Magic Room and we laid down there.

Mika clung to my arm, as if she were a koala.

TL notes:
Another nice example of Alim’s craziness affecting “normal” people. You can really see, how the king slowly says goodbye to anything resembling common sense.

Also good to see that Mika was able to get some of that physical contact she craved and rid herself from any lingering doubts after chapter 133. I really like how she’s often just as proactive as Alim in their relationship.

1. Didn’t he copy the whole castle’s library (10 million books) into his smartphone thingy back in chapter 91? You’d think he has all the reference books he needs.
2. I can’t seem to find a way to translate this, that doesn’t make it sound indecent somehow…
3. Mika is using 好き here, which can mean both “like” and “love”. I chose “like” here since she later uses 大好き, which can still mean “like” but is a lot closer to “love”. If you ever wondered why love confessions in light novels often sound weird in English translations, 好き is the main culprit.