It seems that things are more complicated than we thought.

In the beginning, the war between the Demon King's army and the Valkyria Kingdom.
This was originally sparked by the attack of the Demon King's army from the Valkyria side, and also by the capture of one of their fellow demons, the SS-ranked Behemoth, who was taken away.

However, the attack itself was a conspiracy by a third party posing as a Valkyria.

The mastermind behind this war between this demon king's army and the Valkyria kingdom.
It was undoubtedly the strong nation that rivals Valkyria in this Extent Continent, the Empire of Albrus, ruled by Rostam, the "Emperor and Hero".

It's more like that black-hearted Rostam fellow's mother-in-law's plan. d*mn, I didn't realize such a possibility with me: ......

"That was our fault, too. I should have acted a little more carefully, including not being able to tell which man is which country's soldier. Again, I apologize. "Amanes the Warrior."

"No, you are only a victim in this matter, Demon Lord. At least now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, we should decide how we should act now.

After that, we sat down at a round table in what seemed to be a conference room in the castle, and we sorted out the situation so far, and even came up with an idea of the origin of the incident and who was the mastermind behind it.

I'm not going to do anything about it. The only way to get Lily back is to go to this place called the Albrus Empire, isn't it?

I shouted at him about my future actions.
I don't care what some brave man from the empire is behind this.
I'm more worried about Lily who fought for us.
We must act now to get her back as soon as possible. I'm sure he's as worried about her as I am, or even more so, when he sees Amarnes.

...... Honestly, I don't want to take the fight to the Empire of Albrus in a head-to-head battle.

The response I got was contrary to what I expected.

"What?　You were so eager to fight an army of demons!

It's not the same as fighting a demon. It's no problem if it's just a skirmish, but if it's a head-on war, my country will not win.

It's not the answer of a warrior who has fought against such a large army of demons.

I'm sure the other side is one of the same seven great heroes as Amarnes, but if that's the only difference between them, there's not that much difference in terms of strength: ......

No, it's not.

Amarnes interrupted me clearly and said unbelievable words.

"Right now, the Seven Heroes in the Empire of Albrus are the 'Four'.

"Huh?

It was an unbelievable figure.
I've seen and experienced the strengths of the seven great heroes up close and personal.
Their abilities are said to be S-ranked if you convert them into demons, but looking at the abilities of Lily and Amanes, who actually faced S-ranked demons, I'm sure they're somewhere between S-ranked and SS-ranked.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
The only person who can beat the seven heroes is the same class of heroes or an SS-ranked demon like your mother.
That's four. Are you telling me that there are more than half of the Seven Brave Men in the Albrus Empire?

"Wait a minute, that includes Lily: ......

"No . It's 'four in the enemy's strength' except for Lily. If you think about it, if you include Lily who is currently in the hands of the enemy, then there are five of the seven great heroes in there now.

Once again, I shudder at the number of them.
You're going to be able to find out more about the fact that you're not going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few.

You will be able to find out what is going on in the world, and you will be able to find out what is going on in the world.　Then we'll manage to keep it close as far as forces are concerned, won't we?

I didn't think it was a good idea, but even my mom, not to mention Amarnes, frowned and snorted.

...... To sum up, it's difficult to do that, my dear cultivator," he said.

"What, why?

It's ......

It's a "brave system". Kyou-sama.

Instead of Amarnes, it was Phytis, sitting next to me, who answered.
The brave system?　What's that?　No, I think Lily was muttering about points before: .......

'Simply put, it's one of the social systems in this world.

And then my father went on to explain.

"Didn't you know that there are a lot of people in this world with the title of hero?　Kyou

Yeah, I thought so. And there are a lot of brave men and women out there with all sorts of pretentious titles.

"Right?　It's one of the systems that the Goddess gave to this world.

Well, Moe is.
I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work for you.

And then. In this world, anyone who collects the so-called hero points can become a hero and get the title they deserve. In addition, those who become brave will receive the status and rewards that they deserve.

Oh, I see. So you mean like a self-reliant noble class or something like that?

By the way. If you don't earn a certain number of hero points after becoming a hero, your current hero rank will be lowered. But if you earn enough points you can move up to a higher rank. Of course, the higher the rank, the greater the status, reward and support from the state.

Wow! I didn't know brave men had ranks too. Wow! I didn't know that until just now.



I see. So how do I get those points?

That's a lot of things. It could be a new discovery for the world, or a study that produces beneficial results for the world, or an act that is positive for the world anyway. Well, there is a quickest way to earn a point in it all. It's--

"Defeating a demon, that is.

I'm not going to let you go," mom murmured in a chilling voice. The expression on her face is a smile, but it's an amazing spine-tingling smile.
Oh, maybe now you understand why she was in a bad mood about this topic.

"Well, so what's the major way to earn brave men's points around the world right now?

Of course, you have to hunt the demons (us).

Yeah, that's for sure.
I'm pretty sure she's pissed off that we're being hunted for points.

I mean, I understand the hero system and the point system, but why can't I just work with you guys?

"Don't you know?　Demons are a natural thing to be defeated in this world. In fact, most of them are resources for humans. What would happen if you allied with these demons to invade the human country?

Ah, I see. Somehow I figured it out.

"I mean, that would put Amanes in a pretty bad position globally

I'm not sure if I'll be targeted as a demon and a scourge of the world. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier. So I want to avoid that as much as possible.

Certainly. I don't want to put Amanes in a difficult position that he would have had to work so hard to get.
So what should we do?
We can't just go on the offensive. Is there a way left, then?

Yes, now that I think about it, I might have gotten hot and bothered when I heard that Lily was kidnapped.
If you think about it calmly...the first thing to do is to talk to them and ask them to return the hostage.
He's a brave man and a human being. I'm sure he'll understand.

"Kyou-sama. Just so you know, if you want to talk to that man, it's a wish you won't get.

But then Phytis, who must have read my thoughts, precedes me with a nail.

"Yeah, why?

"That man is the most insolent of all the brave men. A self-centered thinker, worthy of the name of emperor. He is a king who thinks the world revolves around him. If he were to try to negotiate with us, there's no telling what he might ask for.

Indeed. It is even rumored that he even used his own brother as a puppet, thereby usurping the throne and making him the current emperor.

Wait, what is that, a disturbing rumor.
Isn't this the kind of setting you'd expect to find in a story about the slow life?
Oh, and don't get me started on how it stopped being a slow life a long time ago.

I'm going to ask them to negotiate with you. ......

That's impossible. The man would only want to control another country.

"By the way, not so much.

A moment later, an unfamiliar boy's voice echoes through the place.
Amaz and I, and even my mother, were surprised to hear it and turned around to look at the sound of the voice.
There was a small figure, wrapped in a white robe.
He's about 150 or so in height. It's hard to tell if he's a man or a woman, partly because of the robe.
His voice is like a boy's and a girl's if you listen carefully.

Hey! Nice to meet you all. I am Tsurugi, one of the Seven Heroes. I'm Tsurugi, one of the Seven Great Braves. I have come to deliver an invitation from the Emperor's heroes.

With that, the person who called himself Tsurugi turned his attention to me and Amanes and threw a letter in his hand that appeared to be an invitation.

You can find details about the place and date there. I've written a detailed description of the place, date and time, so please bring as many people as is convenient for you.

It's a good thing that you're able to get your hands on a few of them.

I'm going to have to say goodbye to this for now. Oh, yeah. You are the rumored "cultivator" Kyou-san, right?

The next moment, the white robed hero who called himself Tsurugi found himself standing right in front of me.
What?　How did you move in the blink of an eye?　Instantaneous movement?

...... I see, that's definitely Kyou-san.

The person who called himself Tsurugi looked into my eyes, wearing an air of melancholy.
The eyes through the robe almost suck me in, and for some reason I feel nostalgic, but when I blink again, Tsurugi is no longer in front of me, and he has returned to his original position.

I'll leave you now. Please do not forget to bring your 'seeds' with you.

As well as the fact that the brave man who called himself Tsurugi said that and entered the Demon King's castle deep into the realm where only demons exist, how he entered the castle remains a mystery to me, but when I noticed it, the figure had completely disappeared.

...... Is that the rumored Tsurugi?

When I looked at her, I saw that she was also unusually nervous, and even a cold sweat was running down her cheeks.

What kind of brave man is that, by the way?

I don't know.



Heh?

He's the most mysterious of all the seven heroes. His gender, his title, and his abilities are all a mystery. Why he's in the Empire of Albus now is a complete mystery.

It seems that the brave men and women on the other side are not just the imperial heroes.
I've been thinking about this, but I was still uncomfortable with what she said just before when she left.
Why did he mention the topic of "seeds" at that time?
This is what the goddess asked me to collect and it should not have been known publicly.

Even so, I took the invitation lying on the table, broke the seal and looked inside, and everything made sense to me.

I see. I'm sure that I was destined to meet this imperial hero in the end anyway.

It was a literal invitation, but it was also a dueling letter.
Because the words on that paper were my destination itself.



I would love to talk about your three species and ours.
　We'll be waiting for you to come to our castle soon.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--"Rostam the Impaler."



A journey to find the seeds of the six World Trees entrusted to us by the goddess, and to plant them.
The time for its conclusion was approaching.