"Demon King Zagan has been defeated by the brave men of light!
　Immediately after the start of the meeting, the young knight reported excitedly.
　Everyone present at that report was elated.


　--As expected of the brave Lord of Light!
　-- the very reincarnation of the Savior!
　--I heard there was no serious damage here.
　--even so, the priestess of the Goddess of Destiny's prediction is wonderful.
　--Is this the one who defeated the Demon King by the brave men of my Sun Country (Highland) and the brave men of the Water Country (Roses)?
　--No, the brave man of the Land of Water (Roses) defeated the dying Demon King. There's no comparison.
　--You're right. Highland is still the only lord of this continent.　
　--What about the other heroes?
　--I heard that Gerald-sama the Lightning Hero and Olga-sama the Burning Hero also struck down the leaders of the Demon King's Army.
　--As expected of the Goddess's chosen heroes. A true hero!


This is what I hear from my 'listening' skills.
　It's a mixture of people who are honestly happy, and voices that contain political agendas.
　I suddenly made eye contact with the 'Brave Man of Light (Sagarikun)' on the screen.

(I did it!　(Takatsuki-kun)

　I didn't actually hear his voice, but I thought I heard a line like that.
　The smile on his face was dazzling.
　He doesn't seem to be seriously injured, and I'm glad he's safe.
　Freyae should have come too.
　I invited her to come, but she didn't want to join us, saying, 'A maiden of the Moon Goddess would only get in the way if she was there.

'Thank you for your hard work, Ryousuke-san. I'm really glad.
Thank you, Noel.
　Princess Noel is giving Sakurai-kun some words of thanks.

''When will you return to the royal capital, Symphonia?''
''Hmm, the Demon King's army is still stationed near the continent...''
　Princess Noel must want to see Sakurai-kun as soon as possible.
　However, from Sakurai-kun's words, she knew that the war was still going on.

''Princess Noel, even though we have lost the Demon King, the Demon King's army still has plenty of strength left. And we haven't been able to see Forneus, the Sea Devil King, yet. We can't let our guard down until the Demon King's army completely retreats.
''Well..... Well then, I look forward to working with you in the future.
　Princess Noel was a little sluggish, then returned to a serious expression.

''But lately the demons near the royal capital Symphonia have been acting up in May. Can't they just come back, even if it's just part of the Order of the Sun?
　It was the second prince of the Highlands who complained.

''Prince, the defense of the royal capital is handled by the Temple Knights. It's true that I'm worried that the Sun Knights are out and about, but...''
　Softly admonishing the second prince was the Pope of the Goddess Church.

''If you're worried about the protection of the royal capital, why don't you just bring back the brave men of the Water Kingdom who are bored there?　There will be no more demons attacking the land of the moon in the future.
'Nonsense!　Do not rely on the messenger of the evil one!　No matter how much Lord Esther says, that is unacceptable!
　At Esther's words, the Pope fiercely opposes her words.
　He totally hates me........

''Let's go back to my own.
　It was the Great Sage Master who spoke up.

''The current royal capital, Symphonia, is where the Goddess Priestesses are gathered. There's a high possibility that they will be targeted where many other important people from different countries are present. Fortunately, we were able to defeat the Demon King because........
"Great Sage himself?　You must be tired after your battle with the Demon King, you can't be too hard on yourself!　
　Pope-sama hurriedly stops him.
　You know that the Great Sage-sama is a demon race, but he doesn't seem to be upset with the thousand-year-old hero himself.

''That's all right. ''That's all right, if you repeat the spatial transfer in the night, you can return to the royal capital in half a day. In the Order of the Sun, it would take several days to travel, so I'm suitable for this. ........That's fine.......
'Great Sage. Is there something that's bothering you?
　I'm worried about the attitude of the Great Sage Master.
　I couldn't help but ask the uncharacteristically verbose Great Sage-sama a question.

''Hm, Spirit Master. I saw the brave man of light defeat Zagan, the King of Beasts, in this battle. It was just like Abel's defeat of the Demon King a thousand years ago. The opponent was definitely the Demon King Zagan that I saw a thousand years ago. There is no doubt about it, but I had a feeling that I was too weak.
''That's the proof that 'Hero of Light,' Lord Sakurai is the savior!　As the legend goes, we'll cut the Demon King down to size!
　As if to counteract the Great Sage's words, the Prime Minister of Highland (I think it was the Highland Prime Minister) was the one praising Sakurai-kun.
　He also seems to be much more excited after hearing about the defeat of the Demon King.

''I don't doubt Sakurai-dono's strength, but I'm concerned about Daishone-sama's concerns. Does Grand Sage-sama consider the Demon King he defeated this time to be a shadow warrior?
　Chancellor Ewain interjected with a question.
　Well, it's possible that a shadow warrior is a possible story!

''I don't think so. There is no other demon race with such a huge body and magical power (mana). He was just as I remember him from a thousand years ago. Although it had aged over a thousand years...
'President Ewain, sir. I understand your concern, but I know that Zagan, the King of Beasts, was killed by fate magic. The one I defeated today was definitely the Beast King Zagan.
　The words of President Ewain were softly denied by the Great Sage, and once and for all by Esther the priestess.
　Those words seemed to reassure all the participants in the meeting.

　After that, there were reports from each war zone.
　As a result, the human race side won all the battles.
　In other words, it was a complete victory.

"Well, that's not enough!
　I heard Gerald-san, the brave man of lightning and leader of the Northern Heavenly Knights, murmuring.　
　The battle madness seems to be the same as ever.

　Olga-san, the Brave of the Burning Heat. Maximilian-san, the brave of the Wind Tree. Prince Leonard, the brave prince of the ice and snow, of course, has also won.
　Good, good.

''Then stay alert until the Demon King's army retreats, and if you notice anything, report to me immediately. I'll see you the next day.
　The meeting ended with President Ewain's closing remarks.



　◇



Well yes, I did defeat the Demon King.
　I told Friae, who was waiting inside the tent, the story of the demon king's defeat.
　I expected him to be more pleased, but his reaction was surprisingly muted.

''You're cool,''
''A brave man of light can't be defeated by a Demon King. The one you have to defeat is Grand Demon King Eveleth. The rest of them are small fry.
Huh....
　So the Demon King is a small fry.
　It may seem like an overstatement, but the brave man of light is the trump card against the great demon king, so we can't relax here.
　If you mean don't relax, Friae-san is right.
　This battle is a prelude.

''Hey, Makoto. When can we go home?
'There are no more demons coming, right?　Takatsuki-kun.
　Lucy and Sa-san are in homecoming mode.

''They're going to remain on alert until the Demon King's army completely retreats from the western continent. I guess we'll have to wait for a while too.
'Hmmm, okay. I'll train with Makoto then.
Riiiiight, Takatsuki-kun. I'm bringing you something, aren't I?
　We're in the 1st Division of the Knights of the Sun, and we're not busy because there are no demons coming to us.

　Lucy is training with me.
　Sa-san is making cookies and other sweet things from the ingredients Fujiyan gave him and distributing them to the soldiers.
　I've heard they're very popular because they're made by the brave man.
　I tried it, but I thought it was a commercial product.

It's a good idea to have a good time.
"Wait, my knight.
　I was just about to leave the tent when Friae grabbed my hand.

''Princess, what's going on?''
'Didn't the priestess of the Goddess of Destiny say anything about it?　The future movements of the Demon King's army and the resurrection of the Great Demon King.
'Miss Esther?　No, all I can say is don't let your guard down until the Demon King's army retreats...
　Is there something that's bothering you?

''Yes......... Well, my 'future vision' isn't that accurate, so if the Goddess of Destiny's priestess hasn't said anything, I think it's okay, but I have a bad feeling about it.''
I'll let Mr. Ortt know.
Don't worry about it too much. I'm sorry to keep you here.
　As he says this, Friae puts the black cat in his lap and lets his throat growl.
　Peace.
　I have Sa-san in my tent, and if the enemy should come, I'm safe.
　I spent the rest of the day training with Lucy.


　--I'm not going to be able to get it right.


'Communication magic not connecting?'
Yes I don't know why...
　When I went to the largest tent where Mr. Orth was staying for our regular meeting, I found that for some reason the meeting had not been prepared.
　From what I heard, there was a communication problem.
　But.........is it possible for such a thing to happen through magic?
　It's not a machine.

I'm sorry!　We'll have it back up in no time!
　The sorcerer-like people are apologizing to Commander Ault.

''Hey!　Is the mage not defective?!
'I check it every day!　No problem!
'What's the weather?　If the storm riles up the magic (mana) in the atmosphere, communication will be poor!
I can't imagine how a storm could disrupt communications across the continent.
It's sunny near us to begin with...
Why?
　A lot of opinions are flying around, but they don't seem to be resolved.

'What should we do?　Commander Alt.
'I'm sorry, Makoto-dono. I will send for you once the meeting has started. Would you please return to the tent and wait for a while?
'Yes, that's fine, but my princess has a bad feeling about it. Isn't it possible that this is an enemy attack?
"The maiden priestess of the goddess of the moon...?　You were a user of fate magic, as I recall.
　Ault's gaze sharpens at my words.

''It's certainly a concern, but if they could interfere with our communication magic, they would do it before the decisive battle. The Demon King has already been defeated. The timing would be strange.''
　Even such an ortho-san seemed to be feeling some anxiety.

''Then I'll go back.
Yes, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
　I returned to my tent with my friends and waited for word.
　But the meeting was never held that day.



　◇



Hello.
　The next morning, I wondered if the communication magic was about to be restored, so I showed up at the Orto Commander's tent.
　However, the inside of the tent is floundering and it seems that the restoration is still not yet complete.
　I've been working on it all night long, looking at the dark circles under the eyes of the magicians.

''It's still not fixed, is it?
Lord Makoto!　Apparently, it's possible that this communication magic glitch is a man-made thing...
What?
　According to Ort-san, the communication magic is using 'metallic' spatial magic.
　I heard that in order to link long distances with magic, there is a communication magic mage that is relayed along the way, but I heard that I noticed yesterday that it had been destroyed.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it. No one other than the Order of the Sun should know about it, but..... Right now, I'm hurriedly trying to see if I can't just connect with the royal capital Symphonia.
'Master Orth!　I think we're about to make the connection.
Okay!　Hurry up!
Ha!
　The exchange contains more tension than yesterday.

　The Demon King was defeated, right...?　
　And yet, there's something disgusting about it........
　With a bewildered feeling, I waited next to Ort-san for the communication magic to be restored.
　At that time.


''My knight!''
"Princess?
　Suddenly, Friae-san jumped into the tent.
　Behind her is Sa-san and Lucy.
　They seemed to be following me.
　Furiae-san's face was pale and her forehead was sweating.
　This is the first time I've seen her so impatient.

''Huli?　What's going on?
Fu-chan, you're blue in the face.
　Lucy and Sa-san also thought it was not just a matter of time, and called out to them with concern.

''If this is the case, Ryousuke will........''
　When Mr. Furiae was about to say something.

'We connected,'
　I heard someone's voice.
　At the same time, a single 'communication magic' was activated.
　The first thing that jumped out at me was the face of Esther, the priestess of the Goddess of Destiny.　
　Beautiful silver hair and a well-formed face.
　However, her expression was not pompous and cold as usual, but bitter and distorted.

''Who is there a brave man who can speak now!
　That was the first thing he said when he opened his mouth.
''This is the Knight of the Sun, First Division, and the brave Lord Makoto of the Water Country (Roses).
　Mr. Ault replied shortly.

''Only ...?''
I'm afraid so. We've just been intercepted. We've just made contact. What the hell is going on?
　Esther, the priestess, held her forehead with her fingers as if her head hurt for a few seconds.
　Then she turned her gaze towards us.

''........If this continues, the 'Brave Man of Light' will lose his life.
　The priestess of the Goddess of Destiny spoke up clearly.