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“The Great Demon Lord has been subjugated by the Light Hero-sama!!!” 

What reached my ears were those shocking words.

The templar ran to a different place while shouting that. 

His job must be to relay information.

“Makoto! He said that the Great Demon Lord has been defeated…” (Lucy)

“Takatsuki-kun, do you think that’s true?” (Aya)

Lucy and Sa-san were half expectant, half doubtful.

“Let’s go confirm.” (Makoto)

I head to the Highland Castle where there’s a lot of people who know about the situation.

While on the way, we defeated several Taboo Monsters that were wandering the city.

Mostly Lucy and Sa-san did.

As we approached Highland Castle, the destroyed buildings stood out. 

There were a lot of Taboo Monster corpses here and there.

I could see that an intense battle unfolded.

But there’s barely any corpses of civilians despite all that.

Did they manage to evacuate swiftly?

“We are here.” (Lucy)

Lucy mutters.

And then, we arrived at the front of the giant gates of the Highland Castle. 

“This is…” (Aya)

“The gate is broken.” (Makoto)

I couldn’t tell from afar, but the damage was the biggest at the Highland Castle. 

The castle gate was in shambles, and there were a number of big holes here and there in the castle which I don’t know whether they were opened by magic or monsters.

“Let’s go.” (Makoto)

“Got it!” (Lucy)

“Yeah!” (Aya)

We crossed the broken castle gate and stepped into the grounds of the castle. 

“Makoto-sama!” 

I was suddenly hugged by someone who appeared in midair.

The one who hugged me was someone with a small body, white hair, and bright red eyes.

“Momo?” (Makoto)

“Haah…what a relief. You are here… I was…worried, you know…?” (Momo)

Saying this, she stopped moving.

“Momo?!” (Makoto)

I got worried and hurriedly called out to her, but I heard breathing sounds. 

Looks like she is simply sleeping. 

I wanted to hear the details here, but it seems like that’s going to be difficult.

At that moment…

“Great Sage-sama!” 

A Templar-san saw Momo sleeping in my arms and ran over here. 

It is not a familiar face, but before I could talk to him, he said ‘Takatsuki Makoto-sama!’.

Looks like they know me. 

“I heard that you were heavily injured in the battle against Astaroth. Are you okay?!” 

“I was just sleeping. By the way, what happened to the Great Demon Lord?” (Makoto)

“Yes sir! Reporting!” 

The Templar-san tells me the details of the event in excitement.

“…And so, after an intense battle, the Light Hero Sakurai-sama defeated the Great Demon Lord!” 

“Is Sakurai-kun okay?” (Makoto)

“Yes! He was heavily injured, but with the Sun Magic: Resurrection of Queen Noel, we managed to avoid the worst!” 

The worst, he says… That was dangerous then.

But it is great that he is okay.

Sa-san and Lucy are also looking relieved.

“What happened with Mo—the Great Sage-sama?” (Makoto)

She is currently resting in my arms, so I can confirm that she is okay, but looking at her state, it must have been rough.

“The contribution of the Great Sage-sama was immense! She cleared up the Pitch Black Clouds that were blocking the sunlight, defeated the army of Taboo Monsters together with the Sun Knights and the other Heroes while providing support to the Light Hero-sama who was fighting the Great Demon Lord!” 

“I-I see.” (Makoto)

That’s impressive, Momo.

Of course you would fall asleep exhausted after that.

“There’s also Her Majesty joining forces with the other Oracles to put up a barrier that covered the whole capital and it managed to stop the fall of the Great Demon Lord Castle’s fall! If the barrier hadn’t made it in time, the capital would have been done for!” 

“By Oracles…does that mean Princess Sofia is okay?” (Lucy)

Lucy asked and the Templar-san nodded profusely. 

“Of course! After the barrier was placed, Sofia-sama assisted in the evacuation of the civilians and the healing of the injured. That figure of hers was like that of a Holy Maiden!” 

We were relieved to hear that. 

There was also Prince Leonard and Maximilian who fought many Taboo Monsters and demons, and are reported to be okay. 

Or more like, despite this being a big incident like that of a surprise attack by the Great Demon Lord, the damage wasn’t that big. 

The reason for that was soon clarified.

“The one who played the biggest role was Esther-sama with her precise orders. We managed to keep our casualties to a minimum degree thanks to this after all! It was as if the Goddess-sama had taken over her!” 

“Aah…I see.” (Makoto)

Just as I thought when Ira-sama wasn’t speaking to me at all, it was because she had her hands full over here.

Looks like she was giving instructions for how to fight the powerful monsters and the Great Demon Lord. 

Ira-sama currently shouldn’t be able to descend into the Oracle, but she should be able to speak to her. 

She must have been giving her really detailed instructions. 

“Haaah…that’s a relief.” (Lucy)

“Right? It seems like everyone is okay.” (Aya)

I agreed with Lucy and Sa-san.

Then, something bothered me.

“Uhm…by the way, Princess…what about Queen Furiae…?” (Makoto)

At the time when he was talking about Queen Noel and the Oracles putting up a barrier, the name of Furiae-san was not there.

If I remember correctly, Furiae-san can’t use barrier magic.

That’s why, I think she was doing something else.

“About that! Furiae-sama herself was the one who contributed the most in the Great Demon Lord subjugation!” 

The Templar-san spoke with the most excitement he has shown until now.

“The Holy Maiden Furiae-sama foresaw the attack of the Great Demon Lord faster than anyone! And then, she rang the alarm bells of battle on the heads of the various countries!! If not for the Holy Maiden Furiae-sama, we would have lost!” 

“Heeh…” (Makoto)

That’s impressive.

Meaning that she foresaw the attack of the Great Demon Lord faster than the Destiny Goddess? 

“Moreover, anyone who saw the Great Demon Lord would be hit mentally. You can’t fight properly with that. The Holy Maiden Furiae-sama sang a song to bring courage to everyone and saved us! It is said that even the Light Hero-sama couldn’t stay calm against the Great Demon Lord. Furiae-sama apparently supported him by his side. I heard it was as if the Savior Abel-sama and the Holy Maiden Anna-sama were at that place.” 

“I see…eh?” (Makoto)

Those words bothered me.

“Does that mean Furiae-san was at the battle of the Great Demon Lord? Even though she is an Oracle?” (Makoto)

“Right… Now that you mention it… But there should be no mistake. The one who defeated the Great Demon Lord was the Light Hero Sakurai-sama. I heard that the Holy Maiden Furiae-sama was by his side!” 

That’s some dangerous thing to do! 

Didn’t her assistant Havel stop her? 

While I was thinking that, the Templar-san scooted his way here. 

“By the way, I would like to carry the Great Sage-sama to a healer. Is that okay? She seems to be pretty exhausted from the battle before.” 

“! Right. Let’s do that.” (Makoto)

I do as he says. 

Let’s have the tired Momo rest as much as she can.

The Templar-san said he would carry her in my stead, but I politely refused and carried her myself. 

This is the only thing I can do. 

I don’t have the physical strength, so I carried Momo to where the healers are while out of breath. 

When I put her down on the bed, she was breathing gently with a peaceful expression.

“…Makoto-sama…this time around, I…won’t be pulling your leg…” (Momo)

I heard that sleep talk.

Now that she mentions it, she couldn’t face the Great Demon Lord at all 1,000 years ago. She was trembling and couldn’t fight at all. Was she bothered by that? 

“Good work, Momo.” (Makoto)

I brushed the hair of the Great Sage-sama, and left the medical care room. 

After that, we went out to subjugate the Taboo Monsters remaining in the city again, and the day ended. 

We were troubled by where to stay, and I don’t know how Fuji-yan knew, but he arranged for a place to stay. 

◇◇

—Next day.

When I woke up, it seemed like it was already noon, the sunlight was entering the window from a high position.

Because of the victory against the Ancient Dragon King and the subjugation of the Great Demon Lord, we were celebrating until late in the night. 

It was also because we were moving around busily for several days straight, I ended up sleeping pretty deeply today. 

I rubbed my eyes absentmindedly and looked around, and I was in an unfamiliar inn.

If I remember correctly, it is a room in one of the stores that Fuji-yan operates in the capital of the Sun Country. 

“Lucy and Sa-san…are not here, huh.” (Makoto)

I don’t see the two. 

There was a memo left there instead. 

——

There was a request for the Crimson Fangs to investigate the Great Demon Lord Castle Eden from the Adventurer Guild, so we are going! 

You rest a whole ton, Takatsuki-kun! Don’t go anywhere far, okay?! 

From Lucy & Aya.

——

The first half was the intense writing of Lucy.

The latter half was the round cute writing of Sa-san.

Looks like they have a lot of energy. They have already gone off for an adventure.

“They could have invited me.” (Makoto)

I complained on my own about that while I tried to get up from the bed, but I soon noticed someone sleeping right by my side.

“…Hnn.” 

The one who got up elegantly while rubbing her eyes was someone with long hair and a white dress…

“Sofia?” (Makoto)

“…Oh, Hero Makoto? Why are you here…? Is this a dream?” (Sofia)

“It is not a dream.” (Makoto)

I say this while fixing the slightly disheveled dress of Princess Sofia. 

“! I-I can fix it myself!” (Sofia)

Princess Sofia must have woken up now, she stood up with her face bright red. 

“Good morning, Sofia.” (Makoto)

“Good morning to you too, Hero Makoto… I apologize for the unsightly appearance.” (Sofia)

She walked hurriedly to where the washroom is. 

She is most likely going to fix up her hair and clothes. 

There’s a reason why Princess Sofia is here. 

That said, it is simply Fuji-yan telling Princess Sofia where we were staying. 

That night, she showed a relieved look when she saw my face, and she was going to return to work just like that, but she was stopped by Lucy and Sa-san.

“Hey, Sofia, I think you should take your time talking with Makoto more.” (Lucy)

“Right right. You are always working, Sofia-chan. If left be, you look like Takatsuki-kun who only trains.” (Aya)

“I have a lot of other work left after all.” (Sofia)

“No.” (Lucy)

“We are not letting you go.” (Aya)

“L-Let go please! I have to return!” (Sofia)

Lucy and Sa-san grabbed both arms of Princess Sofia.

“You know that the Crimson Fangs accept all the requests of the Rozes royalty with utmost priority, moreover, with deferred payment.” (Lucy)

“Or more like, we said it was fine for it to be free, but Sofia-chan was just adamant about paying.” (Aya)

“T-That’s…we will properly pay for that later.” (Sofia)

“If you put an end to your work today and participate in the banquet, we will reduce the payment of the requests.” (Lucy)

“We are taking those requests at lower than half to begin with though.” (Aya)

“Kuh! With a condition like that, there’s no way I can refuse…” (Sofia)

They were having that kind of comedy skit.

Looks like the Rozes royalty owes a big debt towards Lucy and Sa-san of the Crimson Fangs.

They have gotten big. 

Most of all, it seems like Lucy and Sa-san wanted to practically force Princess Sofia to take a break because of their worry of her working the whole time. 

Then, at the banquet, I was served by Lucy and Sa-san a whole ton.

I felt sorry for Fuji-yan and Nina-san who had to worry a little bit about having even a princess participate in the banquet. 

“Sorry for the wait.” (Sofia)

While I was faintly absentmindedly thinking about yesterday night, Princess Sofia appeared with her hair and dress all fixed up. 

“Where will you be going today?” (Makoto)

It is a question I made while thinking it is most definitely work.

I was thinking about seeing her off at her workplace, but…

“I will be having a break today.” (Sofia)

An unexpected answer came back.

“That’s rare.” (Makoto)

“Lucy and Aya-san requested something of me, you see.” (Sofia)

Princess Sofia sighs lightly.

“To think they would use a princess to run errands…” (Makoto)

Those girls are so fearsome! 

While I was in disbelief from this, Princess Sofia skidded her way to me and wrapped her arms around mine real hard! 

“They asked me to keep an eye on Hero Makoto so that he doesn’t train or go on an adventure somewhere. You must not leave my side.” (Sofia)

Princess Sofia said that with an upward glance.

Wait, keeping an eye on me?

“Damn it, Lucy, Sa-san…” (Makoto)

There’s no need to worry about it, I wouldn’t just go off on an adventure without Lucy and Sa-san…

…I was thinking about training though.

“Then, I will have you take it easy today.” (Sofia)

“I am fine with that, but I want to go to a number of places. Is that okay?” (Makoto)

When I said that, Princess Sofia stared at me.

“See? You are not trying to rest at all.” (Sofia)

“I am just going out for a walk. Let’s go together.” (Makoto)

“By the way, where?” (Sofia)

“To visit Sakurai-kun.” (Makoto)

According to the Templar-san, he fought the Great Demon Lord and got injured. 

I don’t know how injured he is, but I want to confirm his safety with my own eyes.

“Right. The Light Hero-sama is your friend after all.” (Sofia)

Princess Sofia must have understood my intention, she smiled faintly. 

“Then, let’s go. I will guide you.” (Sofia)

“No, I can walk on my own.” (Makoto)

“I won’t allow it.” (Sofia)

I began walking with Princess Sofia’s arms not letting go.

Thanks to that, I am getting the rare experience of being escorted personally by a princess.

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