- Christiana's point of view -

After all, Lord Takatsuki was a wonderful person. The Master was right!
　Nina's ears were twitching.
''Oh, Nina. Aren't you pleased that Fujiwara-sama has become a nobleman?
　Such a light-hearted remark would have been more nasty before.

''Ha!　Excuse me, sir!
'No, no, I'm proud of you too. I'm proud that my friend was chosen as a brave man. McAllen will be a city of brave men and women and it will grow more and more, Mister Chris.
Yes, you're right.
　The influence of the brave name is great.

　Especially now, people are living with anxiety because of the rumor that the legendary great demon king will return.
　The 'Dark Ages' when people were enslaved by the demon race.
　There are whispers of an apocalypse theory that he will return.
　There is a suspicious pagan religion that is not a goddess belief, and a drug commonly known as "weed" that alleviates fear is in vogue.
　Everyone is frightened.　　

　That's why land prices rise in cities where brave people are present, and everyone wants to live there.
　The royal capitals of each country are a typical example.
　And other than that, any city where there are brave men is a big city.

(McAllen is in a city with brave men...)

It's going to be busy, Mister Chris.
Yeah, I guess so.
　Fujiwara-sama speaks to me as if he is reading my mind.
　There should be a huge amount of talent coming to McAllen in the future.
　This is a chance for the city of McAllen to grow!　

Sounds like fun, Chris.
'You'll be busy, too. Be prepared for that.
　Nina and I laughed at each other.

'Oh!'　Mako is back." "Takatsuki-kun, how did it go?
　I heard Lucy and Sasaki-san's voices.
　The rumoured brave master came back.

'Hmmm, we were just making small talk.
　While scratching his cheeks with a polo-pooh, Takatsuki-sama, who had become a nationally certified hero just a moment ago, came back.

(Looks like he doesn't look strong but........)
　However, he had already fought that horrible abominable demon twice and won.
　People from other worlds are all awesome.

''What did you talk about?''
'Well, you're going to try to be brave now?　Also, Princess Sophia made me a cup of tea.
Yeah, that's normal.
Right?

(Huh?)

　Hearing that, I froze.

'Lord Takatsuki-sama!　Did Princess Sophia serve the tea to you herself?
Yes, she did. Yes, but is there something wrong with that?
Wasn't it rude to ask a princess to do that?
You can't just say that...
'No, Lucy. It's not like that...
　I look around and I'm the only one who is surprised.

'Mister Chris?' Chris, what's going on?
　Fujiwara-sama and Nina ask me what the hell is going on.
'No, no. It's nothing. I was just surprised...

　Yes, it could just be a premature statement.
　The less said about this the better.

　--The Roses woman invites the man into her room and serves him something she has made herself.

　The meaning of this is, 'I want to get to know you personally.

　It is an old custom of the noble women of the secluded Water Country (Roses).
　It's now out of date, and few of them do such a thing these days.

　However, I learned from my tutor that "it's rare to find a man who gets it wrong, so you shouldn't do such a thing".
　Princess Sophia has the best quality education in the country.
　It's impossible for her not to know that.
　In other words, she did so in a way.
　To the brave man of Roses, Takatsuki Makoto-sama.

　A cold sweat ran down my back.


'What's the matter with your scary face?　Chris
　Nina looked into his face with concern.
'No, it's no problem,'
　Yes, no problem.
　In fact, it's the other way around.

(But this one's beyond my control...)
　We'll talk to Master Fujiwara right after this.
　And with Nina.
　I made a deep impression on my mind.

　Takatsuki Makoto-sama, the nationally certified hero of Roses might be Princess Sophia's lover.


　◇


- Takatsuki Makoto's point of view


'Lord Tuckey. I'm sorry, sir, but I must return to McAllen for once.
I'll be back in a few days.
　It seems that Fujiyan and the others, who have left a lot of work in McAllen to help with the restoration of the Royal Capital, will return to McAllen once.

　In the meantime, I, Lucy and Sa-san are going to be staying at the capital Horne.
　Fortunately, the princess has prepared a place for us to stay, you know!

　One thing that bothered me a bit was Chris's attitude.
　Up until now, we were all friends of Fujiyan's, so we were pretty close.

''Takatsuki-sama, when you return to McAllen, I will prepare a top-class room for you and have the chef we have arrange for your meals. Whatever you require, just let me know!
No, no. No, no, it's fine.

　You are very attentive to us.
　After all, brave men are amazing.
　Let's be careful not to get too carried away....

　◇

--The next morning.

　I said my daily prayer to Lord Noah and went out for my morning practice.
　The place was the garden with the largest fountain in Roses Castle.

(The spirits ... aren't there at all.)

　Well, at Roses Castle, it's no use.
　The water is clear.

"Hey, genie, genie.
　I try to use spirit magic without using the tranquilization skill.
　A huge mass of water is created, though.

''Hmm, it doesn't look much different...''
　I wonder if there's something different about the way they do things.
　Is it that there are too few spirits in the royal castle?
　Could it be the influence of the Holy God........

''Brave Lord?''
　I was approached.
　When I turned around, there was an old man standing there, a former, guardian knight.
　No, he's not an ex, he's back to being a guardian knight.

''Ah, good morning.''
What's with all this early morning discipline?
You're the one making the rounds.
Hmm, one never knows when the monster will appear. We've been watching it 24 hours a day in shifts.
　He's very conscious.
　Should I help with that?
　I'm a hired hero of the Water Country.

By the way, thanks to the brave lord, I'm back as a guardian knight!　Thank you!
No, it's an old man's job.
"I am the holder of the Royal Shield of Roses, a title that has been conferred upon my family for generations. Thanks to you, I have my honor back!
　
　Guilt.........
　However, the old man doesn't get my awkwardness and laughs hahaha.

''It's always a great garden, isn't it?''
　The great gardens of Roses Castle are in full bloom all year round.
'Oh, yeah. Right.
　To be honest, I wasn't interested in flowers or anything, I only saw if there were spirits or not.

'We must do our best to protect this landscape.
　The old man speaks as he caresses the flowers as if he were loving them.
　
　Old man, you're surprisingly romantic.

"When the great demon king comes back, I will be your shield for my heroic lord.
Yeah, I'm counting on you.
　For me, my defense is paper.
　The old man's skills are reassuring when he's pinned down by that giant's blow.

''Speaking of which, what's this 'Northern Expedition Plan' Princess Sophia was talking about?''
　Apparently that's going to be my first job after being appointed a brave man.
'Oh!　You're talking about the plan!　Do you know about the northern continent, apart from the western continent where we are located, Lord Brave?
'Let's see, I thought the northern continent was inhabited by demonic tribes?'
　It reminds me of what I learned in the Water Temple.

''Yes, the nine demon generals that were once followed by the Great Demon King. The survivors of them reign as the Three Demon Kings in the Northern Continent.
　I've heard of it.
　I heard it's called the Demon Continent.

Don't you think this Northern Expedition Project might be...
　It was somewhat predictable.

''Before the Great Demon Lord resurrects, we will defeat the Demon Lord of the Northern Continent beforehand. That's our plan for the Northern Expedition.
Oh....
　Defeating the Demon King.
　Finally, such an event.

　As an RPG player, I'm deeply moved by this, but my current skills aren't going to work.
　I have to master spirit magic after all.

"Aren't you afraid, hero-dono, aren't you?
'What?　Yeah, I don't know how strong a demon king is, but I need to work on my magic more.
You look like you're enjoying yourself, don't you?
　Now I'm enjoying myself.
　That's a little dangerous.

Well, I have to get back to my rounds.
Yeah, thanks for the heads up.
　I thanked the old man and went back to my training.
　I'd like my tone to be more familiar, though.
　Like before.


(Mako, you're doing well with the guys in the water country.)
Master Noah.
I've talked to Eir, the Water Goddess. She said she wanted Makoto to be the brave one. She's happy to hear that the Water Kingdom doesn't have a strong warrior.

　I thought he was a natural enemy.

(Just because we went to war a long time ago doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it afterwards, right?
Well, sure...
　After the war, if you can't talk to your adversaries, will Americans be able to talk to anyone?
　It seems like the War of the Gods was a long time ago.

(That's what I mean. Just can't get the blessing of the water goddess, though. (You'll have to be patient with that.)
I don't have that luxury. Lady Noah's blessing is enough.
Good boy. Good luck!
　I couldn't hear Noah-sama's voice anymore.

''Huh....''
　Well, I guess I'll just have to stick to my training.
　I hear we have a battle with the Demon King to go to.

　...It's a brave man...
　I wonder what's going to happen to her.

--Well...

　Hmm?
　What, did you hear them laughing?
　Is it my imagination?