I happened to meet again in the Kingdom of Hydra by chance, this year's hero, the otherworldly Masayoshi Mitsunaga, who is the same as me.
　I slowly open my mouth, surprised to see Mitsunaga-kun who has clearly changed from the last time I saw him, and I open my mouth.

''It's been a really long time. How have you been doing?
'Yes!　Miyama-san seems to be in good health...I've heard a lot about her.
Uh, rumor?
'Yes. Kathi ... oh, no, I've heard a lot from Princess Cattleya, who is accompanying me.

　
　But, hmm........Princess Cattleya......is Kati a nickname?　Alice is right, they seem to be good friends.

''I heard you got acquainted with the Sixth King-sama and won the Treasure Festival...''
'Oh, haha... no, really, none of this is just a coincidence...'
'No, it's great!　I haven't met the Sixth King-sama yet, so I'm so jealous of him. He's the head of the demon world, and I'm sure he's a dignified..................like an RPG's last boss!
....

　I think only Megide-san and Magnawell-san are the only ones who can adapt to that impression.

''Oh, by the way, is Mitsunaga-kun.......here in this city on a pilgrimage to play a hero?
'What?　Ah, yes. I came to this city the other day after finishing my tour of the Arklesian Empire.
Oh, I see. Do you still make speeches and stuff?
Yes, though I mostly just read the script they gave me, and I only talk about it in a few places where I think about it myself.

　With a fresh smile on his face as he speaks, I think Mitsunaga has really brightened up.
　I'm not sure I know much about how the old Mitsunaga-kun was, but from his expression and the way he talked, I felt that the current pilgrimage was a good experience for him.

　Since it was not good to just stand there and talk about it, we decided to move a bit and continue our conversation while sitting in a place like a plaza.

''........Aoi and Yona were also worried about you.
'Really?　I understand senior Kusunoki, but didn't Yona's guy say, 'A righteous idiot only needs one painful look'?
...Oh no, that's not...
She's always hated me, you know, and I've always hated her, so... well, I'm not the only one.

　She did indeed say that. He also said he was on a roll when he met her at the nightclub.......Apparently, Yona seems to be very harsh on the topic of Mitsunaga-kun.


Yeah, well, it's more like a... 'cousin'.
'What?　What?　Really?
''Yes. I was born in April and Yona was born in March, so I guess I was born a little earlier than you.

　It seems that Mitsunaga and Youna are cousins.
　I don't feel that they are very similar, but they are male and female, so I guess they are not as similar as brother and sister.

Well, I've always been a selfish, selfish, useless guy with a big attitude only to my family members. They hate me to the core. And that's what I'm talking about. It's not the same as the stories that often say they don't like you, but rather they genuinely don't like you.
Well, that's just, you know...
No, I suppose that can't be helped. I don't like the person I used to be, either.
....

　Somehow, I think that Mitsunaga was trying to change by himself, and that's why he became the way he is now.
　I feel that he encountered a big turning point in this world, just as I did. It's a feeling I get.

　As I was thinking about this, Mitsunaga looked at the people walking in the square with a slightly distant look in his eyes, and slowly opened his mouth in a calm voice.

''........When I came to this world. I felt as if I had become the protagonist of a story.
Well actually I like light novels and stuff, I thought so too.
'Miyama-san too?　It's good, isn't it, transference!　Well, I didn't think I would be...
Yes.

　Mitsunaga-kun laughs happily when he hears that I had the same hobby.

''That kind of thing is often the case with brave people having cheat abilities, so I wondered if I was one of them.
'Yes. But there's also a pattern of being summoned more than one and not being chosen as a hero.
'Yes, sir!　Well, I didn't have the composure to think about it, but...

　After speaking up to that point, Mitsunaga-kun faintly drops his face, and a somewhat regretful expression appears on his face as he regrets his past.

''........I really was an idiot. It's not like I've become a great person, but I feel like I can do anything, I'm getting carried away and being selfish.......I feel like I want to go in if there's a hole.
'Well I would have been in the opposite position. I think I would have been treated politely and exacerbated. Besides, if you feel that way, that means it's not the same now, right?

　Yes, if I had been in Mitsunaga's position, I would have been on a roll.
　I might have acted like that, thinking that I was the hero of the story, that I was great.

I've never been scolded too often, to tell you the truth. No, in fact, I've hardly ever had a conversation with my parents.
...Is that so?
Yes. My parents, who were workaholics, didn't want me to be born, I was more of a 'born-again' kind of person.
....

　His words were plain, and I could tell that Mitsunaga-kun didn't think well of his parents.

It's not so much that they abandoned me, but they were mostly indifferent to me. They gave me money for my birthday and other occasions and told me to buy what I wanted, and so on and so forth.
I see...
Well, that's not the only reason, but I think I was pretty twisted myself.
If you say so, that means it's different now, right?

　That may not be a good memory for Mitsunaga-kun, but at least he has grown up enough to talk about it as an old story. But at least he's grown up enough to be able to tell others about it as an old story.
　I think that's really admirable, and I also think it's not an easy thing to do.

Yes, sir. When I first arrived in this world, I was in high spirits, and Princess Cattleya scolded me for my behavior. It's so tight that it broke my nose, which was in a big goof, and said who do you think you are with borrowed authority...
....
".........I know it may sound strange, but I was happy. I've never had anyone look at me straight in the eye and scold me seriously before, so...

　Mitsunaga described his former self as being selfish, and that he was happy to be scolded now. And now, he was happy to be scolded... Maybe he was acting selfishly because he wanted someone to look at him and scold him.
　Just like me, who kept hoping for salvation, but closed in on my own shell.......

"And then I tried to change... I was cashing in, but I wanted this person's approval, I didn't want to let him down... I'm still a work in progress, but I still think I could change. It was Princess Cattleya, after all.
Okay.

　I'm sure you'll find that Mitsunaga's expression when he talks about Princess Cattleya is bright and cheerful, and I can tell that he really cares for her.
　At the same time, I remembered that I had heard something ineffective before, so I turned to Mitsunaga-kun and bowed lightly.

Speaking of which, I need to apologize to Mitsunaga-kun...
'What?　Apologize?
''Yes, I was actually curious about how Mitsunaga-kun was doing before, so I asked an acquaintance to look into it, but then I heard that, you know, Mitsunaga-kun had confessed to Princess Cattleya... really. Sorry!
'What?　What?　You know about that!　

　When I apologize, Mitsunaga-kun looks surprised and then hides his head in embarrassment.

''........By the way, do you even know the results?''
Well, he just slapped me after I told him how I felt.
''Pfft, haha.......It's kind of pathetic to hear it from someone else's mouth. Well, it's true, but........

　Yes, I know that Mitsunaga-kun confessed his feelings to Princess Cattleya and that he was slapped, but I don't know the detailed results.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it, but I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

'.........Oh, by the way, the reply to my confession was on hold.
On hold?

　Then, perhaps sensing my doubts, Mitsunaga-kun gave me a gentle smile and told me the result of his confession.

'Yes, it's true that I was slapped with a confession. So, 'Stop trying to be dependent on me!　You still don't have the confidence in yourself!　I'm not going to accept a confession that comes from the ... sweetness of my clinging to you! I was told.
"...er, um...
But afterwards he said, 'But I am very happy for your thoughts. But that's why I can't stop your growth. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your role as a brave man.
Is that a nice touch, or is that a good thing?
Please give me. I promise to stand next to you, even if I have to give up my position as royalty at that time,' she said shyly.

　Mitsunaga-kun looked very happy as he said this, and I could tell that his relationship with Princess Cattleya was still going well.

''After that, Princess Cattleya immediately sent a letter of inquiry to the King of Sinfonia... and the King of Sinfonia agreed to it.
Yeah well congratulations.
''Thank you.......though it's still too early to tell. So, my immediate goal is to become a man worthy of standing next to Princess Cattleya!

　Clasping his hands tightly, Mitsunaga's face is full of motivation.
　I could see a certain strength and determination in his eyes, and I understood that this was the factor that changed him more than anything else.

　Dear Mother, Father - When we met again, Mitsunaga-kun became a good young man, full of cheerfulness and motivation. What kind of person was Princess Cattleya, the person who brought about the biggest change in Mitsunaga-kun's life - what kind of person was she?