We defeated the orc overlord.
When the effect of the dimension gate wore off, we were returned to the original elf settlement.

Under the biggest tree in the village.
Many Orcs gathered around us as we reappeared there.
It was probably because the Orc Emperors had gathered all the Orcs in the village before they were swallowed by the other space.

However, the Orcs were clearly dismayed at the sudden appearance of us, the defeated Orc Emperor, and the two Orc Lords.
To them, their leaders, who were by far the strongest among them, had been defeated.

And the people who may have defeated them are all alive and well.
Now they must see us as monsters with tremendous power.

Now, what we need to do is to break their morale.
The Orc army, which is more than half-unorganized, must be broken into pieces as a large number of completely unorganized individuals, while making them lose their will to fight.

To do that, you just need to add one more push of fear and confusion.

And in such a case, it is better to use a flashy spell with a bluff purpose rather than a substantial effect.
That's what I thought, and I started chanting the spell.

Then, seeing my action, one of the Orcs surrounding me, who seemed to be an Orc General, ordered the surrounding Orcs in Orcish language to kill them quickly, what are you doing?

However, the Orcs were reluctant to obey that order.
Most creatures do not want to die, regardless of the degree.
The same was true for the Orcs. It was difficult to find Orcs who were willing to risk their lives against those who had defeated the dominant Orc Emperors and Orc Lords.
Even the foolish Orcs who would head towards their opponents without considering minor risks if they saw that they could overrun them would not bother to attack them while feeling an overwhelming disadvantage.

But in reality, that power structure would easily collapse if all the Orcs on the other side came to attack, but the Orcs of today would not be able to have that image, and it was me who arranged for that to happen.

And in the meantime, my fireball spell was complete.

The ball of crimson energy that shot out from the tip of my staff struck the Orc General who was pushing his subordinate Orcs to go, and created a violent explosion of flames around it.
In addition to the Orc General at the center, the explosion engulfed nearly a dozen Orcs in the surrounding area and disabled most of them.

Furthermore, the Orcs in the rear of the cronies screamed without any relation to that.
There, from the outside of the cronies, a rain of normal and magic arrows rained down.

It must have been an attack by the elven army commanded by Finola.
The timing of the attack was perfect, although it had not been done with such precision.

It was the final decisive factor in the demoralization of the Orcs.
Feeling that they would be killed if they stayed here, the Orcs became panic-stricken and fled in droves.

Once this happened, it would be meaningless no matter what the surviving Orc Generals and other superior species ordered.
Actions based on troop leadership, such as using hostages to control them, would not function properly, and the higher species would quickly flee if they had time to make such small resistance.

Once the Orcs lose their leadership as a pack and are scattered, it's time to hunt the remnants.

In reality, our strength and the total number of Orcs are still almost the same, but if we lose control of them, they are still 'remnants' and a bunch of crows.
Elven warriors working in groups of three or more (three-man cells) killed the sluggish Orcs that tried to escape one by one.

Naturally, we cooperated with them, and all five of us hunted more than twenty orcs in total.
Irene shot down 10, Satsuki 8, and Mee 5, while Cyril and I, who had stuck to supporting them, shot down none.
But, 'No, it's like Will killed half of them. Eileen and Mi nodded their heads in agreement when Satsuki said, 'This isn't even close to being a backup,' and 'Besides, it was Cyril who healed my wounds. I wouldn't have been able to move if it wasn't for you,' said Irene.

So we and the elven warriors continued our hunt for the remnants for several hours, and there were no more orcs left around the village.
I flew over and scouted the area, but I couldn't find any, so I guessed that there were only a few orcs left to hunt.

And then, just as the sunset was spreading across the sky.
When Finola heard my report of my return from scouting the skies, she called me and my companions to a place where many elves had gathered.


I'm sorry.


I, Irene, Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril were called to the plaza.
There were many elves surrounding us as if to welcome us.

Finola, representing the elves, said to me.

'Thank you, William, and your friends, the warriors of the human and feline races. Without you, we would have been defeated by those orcs and all the elves of this land would have perished. I can't thank you enough. This is the promised reward. I don't think I can repay you with something like this, but I've doubled the offer. Please accept it.

Finola says, handing me a leather bag full of money.
The bag is heavy, and when I untie it and open it, I see that it is indeed full of gold coins with a golden glow.
I ask Finola back.

'...... Are you sure? This much money is not cheap, even for you.'

'Yeah, no problem. The vaults in our village are almost empty now. But for us elves, money is just for trading with humans. We're self-sufficient by nature, so it's no big deal. And more importantly, all of this would have been lost without your work. It's a good deal for us, too.'

'I see. I'll take that as a yes.'

'Yeah, I'd like that. And by the way, you're heroes to us. The deeds of William the Great and his companions will be the stuff of legend among us elves.

Finola said this as a 'side note', perhaps as an entertainment.
But I couldn't let that go.

'...... You're kidding, right? We're just new adventurers. We're not quite at the stage where we can be called heroes.

'It doesn't look that way to us, guys...'

Finola looked around, and the many elves in the room nodded in agreement.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing and how you're going to do it.

...... Mmm.

For me, the existence of a 'hero' is something I've longed for since I was a little girl reading adventure stories.
I wish you wouldn't sell them so cheaply. .......



'......? I'm not sure what to say. Is he embarrassed by any chance?

Then Irene, who was on the other side of me, interrupted.

'Oh, Will has always longed to be a hero of a story.

'What's that, princess? Tell me more about it.

'Well, you know, Will has always loved to read adventure stories... ......'

I have to stop Irene from talking immediately.
I had a strong urge to do so.

'Ugh, shut up. Neither Satsuki nor Irene, that's not something we should be talking about here!

'Whaaaaat!' 'Hyang!

I held Satsuki and Irene's heads with both hands to silence them.

Then Satsuki and Irene, with their heads held by me, made eye contact with each other and seemed to say something to each other.
I don't know if ...... these two are close or not.

Then there was...

'Hey, Mom. I have something to tell William too, if that's okay.

LeFania, who was standing behind Finola, interrupted the conversation.


Finola nodded and let her daughter take her place.

LeFania stood in front of me and said.

'William. You may not be aware of it, but you are our heroes, and most importantly, you are my heroes.

And then LeFania took one, two, three steps towards me...

'Thank you.'

She stood tall and kissed me on the cheek.

Then, blushing with embarrassment, LeFania took a step or two back.
Then the elf girl made a small gut pose, saying 'good', though she didn't know what it was.

It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your vacation.

'''' Aaaaah! ''''

They all shouted at the same time.
And the four of them came out in front of me in a flurry, forming a barricade between me and LeFania.

'Hey, you! That's what I call returning the favor!

'I've never kissed anyone before either!

'Hush! LeFania, don't think it's only moonlit nights!

'Get over there for a minute! You need a sermon!'

A battle began that I didn't understand.
I had no choice but to scratch my head alone.

But at the same time, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I was back to my daily life.

For the elves, killing the orcs did not mean that everything was solved.
Those who lost their lives, those who suffered miserably, and their families and friends.
There will be physical problems, mental problems, and many other problems.

But that's the story of the elves, and that's as far as we can go.
We will weave another life in another place.

But for now, for now.
It's okay to bask in this pleasant sense of accomplishment.

As I smilingly watched my fellow girls making a racket, I was alone with my thoughts.