As the sun began to set, Masamune and his friends were preparing a barbecue in the garden with Sierra's parents.

　To show their appreciation for their daily work, they wanted to serve the meat of the Yowastain that they had obtained as a reward for their request.

'It's been a long time since we've had a barbecue. We used to do it all the time when Sierra and Hilda were still little.

　As he was reminiscing, Brown carried the wood into the garden with the maids and servants.

'We have plenty of meat for you all to eat today,'
'That would please everyone, but would it be enough?　There are fifteen maids alone, you know?
It's probably okay. First of all, this is what you asked for.

　Saying that, Masamune took out the yowastain he had obtained at his request from the bag of materials that Toa was holding and placed it on the table.

''And here's what I bought for you earlier.

　Next, he took another Joisstein and Warstein meat from the different space storage and placed it on the table.

If it's just yowastain, it's greasy, and we have warstein, so let's grill both.
So you were out earlier.

　Toa was satisfied with the reason why Masamune had gone out alone earlier.
　This was the meat that Masamune had used 《God's Speed》 to buy as much as he could get for sale from all the meat specialty shops in town.

''Everyone, there's plenty of meat to eat today!

　Excited by the pile of meat, Brown ran into the house to inform his wife and servants.

　As Masamune and the others finished their preparations, they saw Sierra and Hilda in the dark garden pathway, illuminated by the pole-like lights, as they finished their meeting.
　Toa and Nem ran up to them, and when they did, Masamune couldn't hear what they were saying, but he couldn't help but smile, relieved at the sight.



　Everyone was just eating meat incessantly.
　Thankfully the head chef brought some vegetables and soups, because he knew we'd get tired of eating only meat.
　The meat at Yoisstein's was high-grade, but Joisstein's meat was greasy, and I was just snacking on Walstein and drinking the liquor Mr. Roberts had given me.

　I pulled a barrel of Old Gelt out of the interstitial storage and served it to him.
　Mr. Brown, Maria, and the head chef seemed to know about this wine, and when they saw the words "Old Gelt" and the logo of an old man with a beard on the side of the bottle, they were astonished, their mouths gaping open, as if they had seen a vision.
　The head chef was so moved that he was crying and happy.
　We were so glad that everyone was happy.

　But there was one thing that was bothering him.
　It was the expression on Sierra's face when she came back from work a while ago.
　There was something a little strange about her smile.
　Sierra-san was sitting alone with a glass of wine in her hand on the balcony steps a short distance away.

'Hey, Masamune. Sierra, I hope you're okay.
'Master, Sierra is not well.
Yeah, I know.

　Apparently, they were both thinking the same thing I was.
　I don't know what happened.
　You know anyway, but Hilda-san doesn't even try to talk to me when we look at each other.
　I guess the point is that you should ask her yourself.

''Sierra-san. Can I sit next to you?
Master Masamune of course. Go ahead.

　I sat down next to Sierra.
　Toa and Nem are glancing at that situation with concern.
　Or rather, this kind of thing seems to be better between women........

''I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.
'No, no, not at all. Is there something wrong with you, by any chance?

　I asked her that, but Sierra was silent for a while.
　To be honest, I'm not used to this kind of thing and I don't have any experience with it.
　I had no choice but to wait until Sierra-san started talking.

''Masamne-dono, have you ever heard of something called summoning a hero?''

　It was surprising.

I know.

　I don't know, I don't know what I know, I was born out of it (,).

'Does that mean you also know why it's forbidden?

　Come to think of it, I think Aries said something like that.
　But I've never heard of it being a forbidden art.

''Magic that can only be exercised at the cost of human life, was it?

　Aries was quoted as saying.

''...Yes. I learned today of the summoning of the heroes and the sacrifices that go along with it.

　Sacrifice? ...That's also new to me.

'I didn't know that. I didn't know that you had to torture people to get--
'Wait, wait a minute!　What is torture?

　That's when it finally dawned on me.
　I still didn't know the roots of the summoning of the brave, and that, apparently, Sierra-san knows it.



'I see...'

　What Sierra told me was beyond my wildest dreams.

I didn't want to know. But I believe that it is the mission of the White King's knight to face those truths that would normally make you want to close your eyes to them.

　That must have been very shocking for Sierra.
　But it's a story that I could only imagine.
　I'm not the least bit concerned, but I've been listening to it as if it were someone else's business.

I got scared. The magic....

　If I don't do this, I'll be traumatized.
　But I don't know what to do.
　The two people who are still glancing at me are unlikely to tell me, and Hilda-san doesn't even look at me to find out what I'm up to.
　I've been thinking about it, I can only answer with my own words, but I have no choice but to say it honestly.

''But isn't that what magic is probably about?

　Every world has a way of hurting people, and I guess that's what swords and magic are for in this world.

''Yes, that's right...''
But I don't want to admit it.

　When I answered that, Sierra-san looked caught off guard.

''Because you don't want to. I want magic to always be magic, you know. I want it to be magic that is worthy of fantasy and can make people dream.

　A world without magic.
　To me, who knows that world, this world is a dream and magic itself.

'Me too! .... so do I!　I'd like to think that magic isn't meant to hurt people. But ... it's not like I haven't turned my magic on someone else, too.
So that's all right then, isn't it?　If that's how you feel about it, Sierra, that's fine.
I don't know ...
'There are bad people and there are good people, that's all. It's not just about magic.
....
But if you still think it's too hard for you, Sierra, this is how I'll listen to you.
Masamune...
You've got Toa and Nem and even Hilda. I'll stay with you and listen to your stories, just like I do now, until Ms. Sierra's problems are solved. Until Miss Sierra's problems are resolved.

　A lot of things have happened since I've been in another world, but I feel like I've got the most important thing in my hands.
　It's immunity to women. I never thought the day would come when I, a badass, would be able to say such things to a woman.
　I guess you could say I'm growing up. And that's when I was thinking about it - and that's when I saw it.

'What, Sierra-san!

　Sierra-san suddenly hugged me.
　I tried to think impatiently about what to do, if there was a way out of this situation, but for a while, I had to stay still.
　While I can't move, I know that something soft is somehow hitting my body.

'You can call me Sierra,'

　Then all of a sudden Sierra starts to say something like that.

'Yes?'
''Well there's no need for respectful language either. I've felt uncomfortable before, and since we're friends, let's not do it.
But, Miss Sierra--

　At that moment, the force of the embrace became stronger. It was no longer strangled.

'Okay ... well, Sierra,'

　That's when I pushed down my embarrassment and called it off with a taunt and a call.
　Then I saw Nem Nem's figure running swiftly to the side with a quick step.

''Wait, Nem!

　Nem jumped to my chest with the momentum.
　Noticing, Sierra-san hurriedly moved away from me.

''Sierra what are you doing to your master?''

　As soon as he hugged me, Nem gave Sierra a sharp, cat-like look.

"No, no, I mean...
'It's a foul play!　That's a foul!　Sierra is too sticky for her master!
No sticky stuff! --
'But they were hugging!　Nem had seen it!　The Toa saw it too!

　Toa also rushed to the scene, but as soon as he saw their questions and answers, he smiled as if he was relieved.
　I was relieved to see the reassurance in their expressions.

'Nem, Sierra just wanted to be reassured. I didn't mean to hug you in any weird way.
Is that so?

　After misrepresenting the pursuit to calling out and taunting, Sierra explained the summoning of the heroes to the two of them as well.

''That's not possible...''

　After hearing the story, Toa had a sinking look on his face.
　Apparently, Toa didn't know about summoning a brave man either.

''Nem doesn't understand magic. But he knows that everyone is not kind to Nem. That's why Nem stays by his master's side.

　When Nem says "everyone", he means everyone else in the world.
　Nemu understands that there are people who can harm others in this world with an indifferent face.
　I know that there are people in this world who can hurt other people with an unconcerned look on their face.
　I'm not going to be able to get to the top of the list.

'How did you come up with the idea of summoning a brave man in the first place?
'I'm sure it will become public knowledge in due course, but it seems that Grayberg has actually performed a heroic summoning.
'Come to think of it,' slipped out, but by the time I realized it, it was too late.

　Toa and Sierra turned toward me all at once. Nem is quiet in my lap.

'Um, Masamune. 'What exactly do you mean by "speaking of which"?'

　Of course, this is not a flippant thing to say.
　But it's not like I was hiding it.

'I've told you before that I met these guys called the Dragon's Heart, right?　That's what they said when we left them. They said they were going to investigate a summoning of a hero by the Greybergs.
'I'm sorry, Masamune. Well, I'm a little surprised that it happened so suddenly, but when did it happen?
'I remember that was before I met Sierra. Remember that?　Sierra, didn't you have any doubts about me at the time?　Say something about feeling resentment, you know? Sierra's going to intercept my hunting wolf and I'm going to--
Masamune.

　As if to blame, Sierra called my name in a low voice.

''What ... what?''
Is that all you're hiding?

　I noticed that Toa was also waiting for me to say something with a curious look on his face.
　Nem is a cute little thing.


Is that relevant to this one case?
'Well, if you dare to ask, I feel like it has something to do with...'

　I can't look them both in the eye, if you want to call it silent pressure.
　But I feel like we've reached the point where there's no more room for deception.
　Sierra isn't stupid, and I'm sure she's aware of what's going on.
　She should have at least hidden her upset.

''It's just that, well, I mean I'm that brave...''

　While slurring the words, right after they said that, their synchronized "Huh? I heard a dumb voice say.

'So that means I'm one of the brave men called out for summoning the heroes, you've already realized that, haven't you?

　I don't know why, but somehow Sierra's reaction is not what I was expecting.
　I'm aware that I've screwed up a lot of things in the past.
　The same goes for the upset just now.
　A disturbance in my expression gives the other person an answer.
　That wouldn't have been the case if my spirit had been raised to a higher level.



　Sierra didn't seem to imagine that I was a brave man.
　But then again, their reactions were simple.

'Well, I want to clear up any misunderstandings first because I'm sure it will be communicated to you someday, but it's true that I was summoned from another world by a heroic summoning. But I'm not a hero.
What, are you from a different world, Masamune?
Yeah, that's the kind of magic you're talking about.　Instead, what I'm trying to say is that I'm not a brave man.
What do you mean?
'I hate to say it, but they dumped me. I'm a healer.

　I told him the story of when I was summoned by the three of them.
　Toa had a subtle look on his face.
　But I don't think he sounded sad.

'But I'm glad I did, because I got to meet you all.
'Is your master happy to have met Nem?'
'Yeah, I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad too, but Nem's smile does make us all feel better.
Nem is happy to see you!

　Nem was happily lounging his legs in his lap.

'I think it was better than anything to see you all. I'd still be incompetent over there.
But isn't that a bit odd?
Is that funny?
Yes, I'm one of the brave ones. Masamune has just described herself as "one of the brave." That means there are more of us who have been summoned.
It's just that.
'So you're saying that the other brave people are stronger than Masamune?
'Oh, I see. Come to think of it, Sierra and Nem don't know my status yet.

　I showed them both my status.

'What!　What is this?　The level is three digits....
Sierra was at a loss for words.
'Master's level is 697 and Nem's level is 10......687 different!

　Nem was innocent.

'By all reason, the raid should lose.
'Only thing is, if this isn't something special, then every other brave man besides me is stronger than me.
'Stronger than Masamune?　It can't be.

　For some reason, Toa didn't seem to doubt my power.

''Nope. It's impossible for me to be the only one who's strong in the first place. It is said that a boon dwells in a brave man. I don't know about my own boon, but according to the princess, I don't have one. But other people may have their own favors, and if that's the case, there's a good chance they are stronger than me.

　I'm the strongest, that's what I thought for sure.
　But that was in the dungeon, I was on the verge of losing my mind at the time, and I was elated after I got out of the dungeon.

'So I want you three to know. That's why I want you three to know why I decided to call myself a fake name--

　I didn't tell him about my relationship with Saeki and those guys.
　I just told them that I didn't want them to know that I was alive.
　The three of them showed a certain amount of understanding, but they seemed a little confused that they had difficulty calling me "Nito" now that the name Masamune had taken root.