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Eh… What did he say just now?

“W-what do you mean, your Majesty?”
“I said that I’d like you to become the hero.”

…The hero?! Me?
Wait, my basic thoughts, just before, certainly were that I’d do anything, but…

“You want me… to be the hero?”
“Correct. Taking your strength and morals into account, I want to request this of you. No one but you can do this, Alim.”

I had previously looked up the heroes of the past with the Tozumaho. The last hero appeared 300 years ago. It sounded like he was a knight from somewhere.

If one pulled the “Hero’s Sword” from its sheath, they were seen as the hero formally recognized by the gods.

That hero from 300 years ago, fully equipped with legend grade weapons and armor, survived the ordeals to get his hands on the secret treasures from various dungeons, one of those being the “Hero’s Sword”. He was the one Mephistophales talked about, who sealed the “Demon God Samaeyl” with said sword…

Where he went afterwards seemed to be unclear.

But everyone called “Hero” in literature was male, and, further, they all seem to have been older than 18 years… So, why me?
I don’t meet any of these requirements, do I?¹

“Can I become the hero, just by being strong and having good morals? Besides, I’m female and only 12 years old, so…”
“I don’t think gender and age are of any matter. Furthermore, haven’t you already pulled out the “Hero’s Sword”, Alim? Henceforth, we won’t have the time to look for a hero. Please… this is my request. So, won’t you become the hero?”

Huh? I have pulled out the Hero’s Sword? When would I…
Oh, I get it, he’s right, isn’t he? Since I created the Hero’s Sword. The one who creates it also pulls it out, right?

Mephistophales wasn’t that strong from my perspective, even with his cheat ability.

In fact, the original plan was to wipe out the demons, wasn’t it?

If their leader is like that, I probably have some leeway with the demon god, too.
Or rather, if the demon god appears, it should be sufficient to launch 1000 Dark-Matter-made Hero’s Swords at her.

Oh, it’ll be a cakewalk, right? Becoming the hero wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

“Understood, your Majesty! I’ll… Oh, one moment?”
“Mh… What’s wrong, Alim?”

That’s not good, I almost gave him the OK without thinking.

Mephistophales said, they’d use the corpse of someone from this country’s royal family as a medium for the demon god’s body. When they were resurrected, the demon god would then possess that corpse. I got that impression from what was written in the hero’s biography.

Apparently, when the demons kidnapped Karua, they also stole the body of the king’s wife… the queen, during the resulting turmoil.
In other words, will I have to damage the body of Karua’s mother…?

“But your Majesty… Doesn’t this mean that I’ll have to… that is… damage the queen’s remains? The demons will probably… make use of them. Will you be fine with that? Keeping her safe seemed really important to you…”

The king listened to my words and suddenly gave a small laugh.
He surely laughed, but it was somehow sorrowful.

“What are you saying, Alim? Would you rather have a living human become the sacrifice? Moreover, you should have the ability to defeat your opponent without injuring them.”

That’s true, I can use my enchanted swords to defeat enemies without damaging them.

I see, the king anticipated that about me, too.
In that case, let’s give him my approval.

“Understood, you Majesty, let’s do it. Without even talking about sealing the demon god, I resolve to pull their soul out from the queen and consign them to oblivion just like that.”
“Yes, that’s the spirit. I’ll honestly rely on you. As soon as this war ends, I’ll give you any reward you may choose. You truly have my gratitude.”

A reward… right. I already have money and items, and because I’ll become the hero, I won’t need social standing either, but…

I’d have preferred, if it happened another way, but… I’d be fine with having a peaceful life with Mika, Karua and the others, right? Things don’t really go the way we want them to… do they?

As I was thinking about that, the king raised his voice again.

“For that reason, I would like you to notify the citizens, that you have become the hero, by pulling out the sword you created tomorrow morning on top of the castle.”

Pulling out the sword in public?
Is he serious?

It’d probably be bad, if I didn’t do that.
It’s not that I hate standing out that much, but…

“Eh? Why, your Majesty?”
“Hrm, it’s to let the populace know that you are the hero. If you do so in front of a great number of people, even if you weren’t the real one, wouldn’t they still recognize you as the hero, Alim?”

Oh, does it work like that?
It’s to make everyone see me as the hero, isn’t it?

Then, according to the king’s words, tomorrow I shall draw the sword in front of everyone.

“If it’s like that, your Majesty, you have my consent.”
“Yes.”

While he stroked his beard, the king slowly raised and lowered his head. As he did that, his expression suddenly turned into a strange grin.

What the hell? This reminds me of Karua today².

“By the way, Alim.”
“What is it, your Majesty?”
“I’m only asking, but… don’t you want to marry into our family?”
“…Eh?”

Hey, what in the world is he saying? Seriously, no.

“Heh-heh, in fact, Tuhl has yet to decide on a marriage partner, and there’s nothing but a 7-year gap between you and him. He’ll be the next king, won’t he? He says, he wants a reliable wife… I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, correct?”

The king shot me repeated glances.

Mr. Tuhl, huh~… He’s somewhat good looking for sure… So, is it true, he hasn’t chosen a wife yet, has he~?

It’s unfortunate, but I’m pretty sure how to decide here! I need to decline.

“Why… why me, your Majesty? It hasn’t even been 2 months, since you’ve known me… Furthermore, I’m only 12…”
“Is that it? Do you know how popular you are in the royal capital? A good head, quite attractive, dexterous fingers, and, finally, strong. That’s what they say. Among the soldiers, not few are rooting for you with wild enthusiasm. Or, I should rather say, a large number of them.”
“Eh… Eh-heh-heh, is that true?”

Are they seriously rating me this highly? He said, “quite attractive”! That’s kinda embarrassing, right~?
Still…

“I’m sorry, your Majesty. There is already someone I like.”
“Is that so…? My apologies. Incidentally, who might that fortunate person be? Or rather, if you don’t want to talk about it…”
“It’s Mika.”

The expression on the king’s face changed to extreme surprise.

“Mika… I’m pretty sure Mika is a woman!?”
“Still, I like her, your Majesty. Enough that I want to marry her.”
“Is… is that so? In that case, it can’t be helped… Ha… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

If he suddenly starts laughing…

Besides, his reaction feels the same as Karua’s when I confidently declared liking someone of the same gender in front of her eyes.
Her personality probably resembles that of her father.

“I was talking half in jest, Alim, to relax the overly stiff atmosphere a bit, but you gave me an unexpected response… Ha-ha-ha!”

Really, it was to help me relax? Half in jest, he says. Was that really half?

“Ha-ha-ha, hah. Alim. This war, we’ll definitely win it!”
“Yes.”
“Thus, if you and Mika love each other, that’s a good thing.”
“…Yes.”

Damn, when I think he’s serious, he suddenly starts teasing me.
As expected, under this man, the war should go well, too.

“Good, in that case, there’s nothing further from my side.”
“Then, please excuse me.”
“Yes. Tomorrow… please… become the hero. I’ll reward you, even if you refuse³. Be sure of it.”
“Erm… Well, of course.”

I gave the king a bow and then left the room.

Let’s check if Mika is still sleeping in the sickbay and then return to Karua’s room.

TL notes:
Interesting facts about the past heroes. Makes one wonder, do the gods of Anazumu periodically create Hero’s Swords and hide them in dungeons for people to find? Or are these just items that are randomly generated and the humans simply decided to use them to proclaim heroes and made up all that stuff about “formally being recognized by the gods”?

1. Well, he can choose to be male, but the king probably wouldn’t be happy to hear that, given he routinely slept in the same bed as his daughter.
2. The original is 昨日 (“Yesterday”). Pretty sure he talks about what happened in the sickbay, so it might be a typo and should be 今日 (“today”).
3. Not sure about this sentence. He might say he’ll rewards him, whether he likes it or not. Or he might say he’ll thank/reward him even if he refuses to become the hero.