◇

While the optical camouflage skill is active, I move to the king"s office with Unit Arrangement.

In this room, there are the king, the prime minister and Hikaru in Nanas.h.i.+ clothing.
I thought that they would be with Sir Julberg, the first seat of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords, but it seems he"s waiting in the next room.

That"s good and all, but Hikaru has taken off her mask.

Apparently, she has talked that she"s the Ancestor King to her descendants--wait, they"re not her direct descendants is it?
Well, let"s not worry about the minor details--.

For now, I"ll confirm it with [Telephone].

『Has your ident.i.ty been exposed already?』
"Un, I didn"t want to deceive him after seeing Sharlick-kun"s visage.... I"m sorry?"

That can"t be helped then.

Moreover, now that I"m able to use magic and skills that need chanting, there"s no need for me to be that highly strung in hiding my ident.i.ty.
Of course I"m not planning to recklessly expose myself and put a wrench on our sightseeing tour.

I undo the optical camouflage and show myself before the three.

"Yahoo"
"Two Ancestor King-sama?!"
"W-what does this mean?!"

Unlike Hikaru who"s waving her hand, the king and the prime minister stop moving.

Huh? Did the fact that I"m a different person not exposed?
My way of talking and behavior should be quite different though.

Moreover, Heim of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords should have seen me together with Hikaru who was disguised as Nanas.h.i.+, I wonder if he hasn"t reported yet?

"I did say that I"m not the Ancestor king from the beginning right? I corrected you several times didn"t I?"

Rather than the king and the prime minister, Hikaru reacts more exaggeratedly to my words.

"Pu, kukuku, w-what"s with that way of talking--mou, you"re not a character from an otome game, you should just speak normally."

Hikaru begins to laugh out loud.
No, leaving aside the intonation, my lines aren"t that strange right?

I wonder if it touched Hikaru"s switch or something?

Well fine. Using this occasion, I"ll change my way of talking from the hard-to-speak Nanas.h.i.+"s tone to the haughty Kuro"s one.

"Then I"ll straighten my tone. As you can see, I"m not Yamato. I"ll let you know that Yamato and me, hero Nanas.h.i.+, are cooperating with the same goal in mind."

Afterwards, the king and the prime minister understand the situation after several questions and answers.

When I was explaining that I don"t have any ambition to rebel toward s.h.i.+ga Kingdom, I was told off, "We do not have such a worry", in stereo.

Also, I told the king that there"s no problem in him not using polite speech, but he rejected it saying, "As someone who"s respected by Ancestor King-sama, there is no need to be considerate to us."
I feel that they"ve misunderstood that I am a G.o.d"s apostle this time.

◇

"--I wish to request something to Hero Nanas.h.i.+-sama."

When I had finished reporting the matter about the false king disturbance, the king cut in.
He"s still calling me with [Sama] even though the misunderstanding about Ancestor King thing has cleared up, perhaps because they think I"m a G.o.d"s apostle.
As a side note, I hid s.h.i.+n boy"s name and the fact that he"s still alive.

I"ll refuse the king"s request if he"s asking me to suppress the rebellion in Bishtal Kingdom.
If I go to the war ground, I have no choice but to see people killing each other after all.

"Say it--"
"We are aware that the current 『Demon Lord Season』 is different than usual. Great disturbance like from the era of Ancestor King-sama when she defeated the 『Golden Wild Boar King』 and the time when the first Hero-sama of Saga Empire was facing off against the 『Onifolk King』 probably will begin."

--King, the preface is too long.

"Many large countries waned during the time of the great disturbance, and numerous small tribes and countries perished without any mean to protect themselves, such things are written in the history book. There is no doubt that even our s.h.i.+ga Kingdom would have been on the verge of ruin like the old kingdoms were not for the a.s.sistance of Nanas.h.i.+-sama."

I think that a.n.a.lysis is correct.
Demon lords at the level of [Golden Wild Boar King] should be manageable if the Heavenly dragon and Hikaru are there, but in case of the Dog-head, I don"t think they can win.

"Enough with the preface. Cut to the chase."

The king probably wants to ask Hero Nanas.h.i.+ to stay in the Royal Capital in order for the kingdom to weather that [Age of the Great Disturbance].
I have the Unit Arrangement, and am now able to use convenient magic anyway.
Even during my sightseeing tour, I can protect s.h.i.+ga Kingdom just fine.

Above all, Echigoya Firm is here, and I have acquaintances in the Royal Capital.

Besides, the Royal Capital"s Sakura Salmon and Oumi beef are delicious, and the royal capital"s Sakura trees and the field of milk vetch are splendid.
After all is said and done, it"s our duty to protect tourist attractions.

"If I"m allowed to--"

After the preface, the king speaks of something unexpected.

After contemplating for a while, I confirm to the king.

"--Are you serious?"
"Yes."

The king a.s.sents with a rock-like face, and then repeats his talk in different wording.

"Please leave s.h.i.+ga Kingdom as is, and depart to the places where demon lords will appear on the oracle and eliminate them."
"Certainly, the demons that attacked the Royal Capital have been dealt with, and the people involved in the demon"s plot have all been removed, but that doesn"t mean that Royal Capital is completely safe now you know?"
"Of course I am not optimistic in that regard."

It appears the prime minister isn"t disagreeing with the king"s decision, he"s silently listening to our conversation one step behind the king.
I"ll ask his real intention for the time being.

"Don"t you have to prioritize the interest of your own kingdom as a king? What is the true meaning of exposing s.h.i.+ga Kingdom to danger?"
""Save the suffering of the neighboring countries, help to preserve the peace of the continent", that is the national policy since the founding of the kingdom."

I send a glance to Hikaru who"s related to the kingdom"s found.

"No well~ the world had became a terrible place at that time. Every country was dying, pillaging and aggressions were rampant everywhere. Due to seeing such things, I was slightly too fired up when we were deciding the founding slogan with my friends at the time."

I see, she couldn"t retract it after letting it out of her mouth huh.

"Please do not worry, Nanas.h.i.+-sama. s.h.i.+ga Kingdom has s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords and s.h.i.+ga 33 Wands. Moreover, Mithril explorers should be able to win against demons and monsters. The new heroes, Viscount Pendragon and his Seven Braves will also support the kingdom in crisis, even though they belong to another fiefdom."

Oh? Looks like Satou is evaluated well, I wonder if it"s because of Liza.

"It"s alright. I"ll be staying in the Royal Capital, Ten-chan is also watching over from the top of Fujisan Mountains, she"ll be coming to save us if s.h.i.+ga Kingdom receives large damage like the destruction of its cities."

--No, no, go help before the destruction!

I retorted to Hikaru in my mind.
Geez, please stop playing around in the middle of a serious talk.

"Understood. I"ll take on the task of destroying the demon lords."

It"ll be troubling if the tourist attractions become empty plot of lands before we come visit them after all.

◇

"Right! Creeping in every time is annoying, so can"t you give me the pa.s.s to go here?"

When I was thinking that it"s about time for us to leave, Hikaru said such words.

"Certainly. Ancestor King-sama"s peerage will be... 『Great King』 if it"s alright with you?"

With a serious expression, the king told a joke to Hikaru.

The prime minister is all smile too, so it must be a joke.
Good grief, please stop with the hard-to-understand joke.

"Eh~, I don"t wanna something like 『Great King』. Just a simple pa.s.s is enough."
"H-however! We can"t allow Ancestor King-sama to be a common citizen!"

Fumu, if being a common citizen is not good, then--.

"Then, I"ll hand over the house of Duke Mitsukuni to Yamato."
"H-however, that"s the peerage that has been given to Hero Nanas.h.i.+-sama."
"I don"t mind. It"s fine as long as Echigoya Firm can use the name during our business transactions."

I"m not going to socialize in Duke Mitsukuni"s name after all.

"Is it alright?"

For some reason, Hikaru is asking me with upturned eyes, so I a.s.sert.
The house of Duke Mitsukuni is originally a peerage for Hikaru. There"s no need to hesitate.

"Then, please call me d.u.c.h.ess Mitsukuni in public. The name is Mito, please take care of me."
"Congratulations, Ancestor King-sama."
"Then we will announce it in today"s evening party."

Mito spoke of it joyfully, the prime minister and the king replied with smiles.
The prime minister"s words slightly bother me, but since it"s normal for the prime minister who likes the Ancestor King to be strange, I splendidly ignore it.
With this, Hikaru should be able to freely interact with the descendants.

By the way, despite the demon lord incident, it seems the evening party tonight is enforced.
Apparently, there are a lot of n.o.bles who have evacuated their families from the royal capital, the party is probably for soothing the n.o.bles who remain in the capital.

I need to prepare for the evening party, so I teleport to Pendragon Mansion with Hikaru.

◇

Looks like Arisa is still not feeling well, she"s sleeping in the bed.

"So she"s really...."

Seeing that, Mito muttered.

"What do you mean?"
"Do you know that that the demon lord tried to drop a huge meteor on the royal castle?"
"No, I don"t--"

Replying reflexively, I understand what Hikaru is trying to say.

"Don"t tell me, that Arisa. Did she remove that huge meteor with teleport magic?"
"Yes. I think she was using her Unique Skill, she was too reckless. Do you know what will happen if you use Unique Skill too excessively?"
"Yeah.... I know."

Even while feeling surprised to my own shaking voice, I can"t hold back the unreasonable anger that"s welling up from the bottom of my heart.

Of course I can easily imagine that there would be enormous damage in the royal castle and the royal capital if Arisa didn"t overdo it.
I also understand that at that time, there was no one but Arisa that could remove the huge meteor in the Royal Capital.

--However.

Nevertheless, I never wanted Arisa to use her Unique Skill.

It"s still fine if it"s just making her turn into a demon lord.
I"ve confirmed the way to turn her back thanks to s.h.i.+n boy.
If she just dies normally, she can be revived at the Duchy Capital"s Tenion Temple.

However, the stage after the demon lordfication, the complete breakdown of the [Soul Vessel] means the annihilation of the soul.
A complete annihilation, impossible to be reincarnated or revived--.

Only that is unacceptable.

"U-um, Master, are you mad about something?"

Lulu who"s on Arisa"s bedside let out a frightened voice.
Frightening my ward like this, I"m a failure as a guardian.

"It"s alright. I"m not angry."

--To Lulu that is.

Enlisting the aid of Poker Face skill to erase my expression, I tell Lulu in gentle tone.
And then I gently lift Arisa in my arms.

"Munya?"

In my arms, Arisa looks up to me with vacant eyes.
Looks like she"s still half-asleep.

I take out a red bottle from Storage to my right arm, and lightly pour magic power into it.
I open the bottle"s cap with my finger, and put the liquid inside my mouth.

And then, I make Arisa drink the Elixir by mouth-to-mouth transfer.

"Mu, fugaaaaa"

Arisa who"s suddenly being made to drink the Elixir from mouth-to-mouth struggles violently in my arms.
As always, her resistance is low when she"s the receiver.

I pour the Elixir slowly.
Of course I also use magic healing simultaneously, just like the time with s.h.i.+n boy.

This is a punishment which also serves as a treatment.

Before long I"ve finished feeding her the Elixir as Arisa loses her resistance.
When I separate my arms, Arisa edges back to the back of the bed and holds her chest with her thin arms.

Her face is bright red.

"E, Er~rr, r-right! I-it"s better with just us two for our first time!"

As I was slowly drawing near, Arisa who ducked her head spoke such things.
Looks like she"s at her wits" end, her voice is trembling.

I put my hands on Arisa"s cheeks and then pull them.

"Fuga, if huft"
"It"s a punishment. Didn"t I tell you not to use Unique Skills in rapid succession?"
"But! The people(feofle) of the royal capital(ro"al cafifal) would have been flattened!"

It"s hard to understand her words, so I separate my hands from her cheeks after pulling them.

"Still. Stop trying to save others by exceeding your limit."

Even though this world has a mean to revive people from dead, there is no way to restore a broken soul you know.

"B-but! That"ll means I will not be me anymore! I can"t abandon them when I have the power to save!"

Teary eyed Arisa hits me with words containing pa.s.sionate indignation.
Yup, Arisa"s character is orientated to allies of justice like always. I think it"s truly a honorable nature.

"That"s why, Arisa. I"m not saying that you should not save."

While staring at Arisa"s eyes, I continue to persuade her.

"It"s about exceeding your limit."
"About not using my Unique Skill?"

Arisa asks my true intention with voice shaking with indignation.

"That"s right. Don"t use Unique Skill 『As much as possible』--"

She normally use them recklessly, so it"ll be troubling if her soul is chipped little by little.

"--And, 『Absolutely』 never use Unique Skill in rapid succession."

Arisa who"s fallen silent contemplates on my words.

"Even in a situation where our acquaintances may be saved if I use it in rapid succession?"
"That"s right."

I immediately answer Arisa"s nasty question.

"It"s possible to revive them as long as the corpse remain. If there"s no corpse, I"ll make a clone body from the hair and piece of meat using the power of science and magic."

I don"t know how long it"ll take to actualize that, but since they won"t be deteriorated by time inside my Storage, I"m confident that I can accomplish it eventually.

"Un, I understand...."

Looks like my thought has reached her, Arisa agrees in a low voice.

"...show...."

Arisa mutters while getting up on the bed.
Her voice gradually becomes loud.

"....I"ll become strong and show you! Enough to overcome difficulty without using Unique Skill! I"ll be strong enough to become an embodiment of absurdity standing on Master"s side!"

Arisa who"s returned to her usual state declares so in an imposing stance.
Yup, truly like Arisa.

"Tama too will become strong~?"
"Pochi too will become strong enough to defeat enemies with 『Wan Pan』 nodesu!"
"Yes, everyone will become strong."
"Yes! I"ll do my best too."
"Nn, work hard."

The girls who have come through the door and watched the course of events also seem to have regained their usual mood with Arisa"s comeback.

"Master, is it alright to set the target level to 100, so I confirm."

Nana announced so with a serious expression.
The one who answers that is Arisa who"s completely recovered.

"Too soft, Nana! It"s obvious that we"re aiming for level 310! Aim high! Toward the absurd level that exceeds the strongest!"

The other girls are giving an applause to Arisa who thrusts her fist toward the ceiling while breathing roughly.
Only Hikaru understands the absurdity of what Arisa is saying, but she"s also clapping while smiling bitterly.

We"ll be going back to the Labyrinth City soon, maybe I should work hard at power-leveling them with the middle and lower layers monsters as their opponents then.

But, Arisa.

Please stop calling me absurd so many times.

--It"s truly regrettable.