After a stormy night...
　Morning came and peace came to the city.

　Suddenly, disaster struck the city.
　Many people were injured.
　A lot of people lost their homes.

　Still, people's hearts are not broken.
　They are sad for the people who are gone, but they continue to move forward.
　Because we don't want anyone to stop.

　And.....

　Three days later.
　The city has finally regained its composure, although the scars of the disaster are still lingering.
　At that moment, I was called by the Knights and headed to the Horizon Branch.

''Hello.
Hey there!
Oh, nice to see you, guys.

　When I stepped into the chapter, I was greeted by Stella with a smile.
　The other knights also smile at me and welcome me.

　No?
　Rather than a smile....eyes of longing?
　It's kind of a twinkle in his eye.

''What the...?　What did I do?
Didn't you?　He was the leading figure in exposing the misdeeds of his lord and defeating the demon tribe that suddenly appeared in the city. He is worthy of being called a hero. Everyone admires Rain.
I'm itching to hear you say that, but...
'We've all been in the field here, you know. We've seen Rain in action. It would be harder to say don't admire it.
Oh, Rain, are you a popular guy?
To Kanade.
I'm glad Rain is so popular. Nyaha.
Don't do that. It's not like I'm a hero or anything.

　I'm just a beast tamer.
　I'm no hero.

　Besides, it was largely due to the power of the knights that I was able to expose the misdeeds of my lord.
　It was only because of my friends that I was able to fight off the demon tribe.
　If I was alone, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, I would have been left and right.
　That's what I'll tell you.

Sometimes, too much humility can be a sarcastic thing, can't it?
I think Lane deserves a lot more credit than that.

　They laughed and listened to my plea.
　Really, it was all because of everyone else...
　It seemed useless to say any more to these two, so I decided to move on to the next story for now.

'By the way, what's going on today?'
''Mm. I thought I'd let you know that we've established some policies regarding the treatment of the lords and the future of the city. You must be curious, right?
That's for sure.
I was going to talk to you about it, but are you and Rain and the others alone?
Everyone else has been through a lot. Today, it's just Kanade.

　Tania is being taken care of by Nina.
　Even though she is the most powerful species, Nina is still a child.
　Moreover, since she was captured by the lord, she needs to be monitored for progress.
　So I asked Tania to take care of that area.

　Sola and Luna are using magic and helping the city recover.
　It seems that someone had seen Sora and Luna fight while spreading the wings of the spirit race as they stood around with the demon race in the city.
　Although it was revealed that the two of them were the spirit race...
　They were not so much surprised as evaded, on the contrary, they thanked me for saving the city.
　Because of their personalities, they became friends with the people of the city...
　So you want to do something for the people of the city, and you're helping them recover with magic.

I'm not sure where to start. First of all, it would be about us, the Knights. We've arrested all the knights who were linked to the lord. When we investigated again, we found a lot of evidence of corruption. With the instructions from the headquarters of the royal capital, the captain and all the corrupt knights, including the captain, were dismissed and captured. Later on, they would be formally punished and judged. And........shall we next talk about the treatment of the lords?
Please.
''First of all, regarding the lord of the manor he was imprisoned, as a matter of course. Since then, when we investigated the mansion again, we found a lot of evidence of wrongdoing. On top of that, he refused to audit us knights and used his power. There's no excuse for that now. Later, they will be transferred to King's Landing and put on trial.
That's how evil has been destroyed.

　I mean, it's not like he's dead, right?

That nasty man... yeah, what happened to the lord's son?
Edgar is now being treated at the healing center.

　At Kanade's question, Stella looked like she had a headache.

　Should I say that bad luck is strong.
　Edgar survived without collapsing together with the demon race.
　However, due to the repercussions of becoming a demon race, his body was so tattered that he couldn't walk properly by himself.
　It's said that he's receiving treatment, but it seems that a full recovery is difficult.

　However, I don't have an ounce of sympathy for him.
　It's all self-inflicted.
　To be honest, the only thing I can think of is, "Suck it up!

That's right, b*tc*!

　Apparently, Kanade was thinking the same thing.
　Although he hadn't been directly harmed, there was something about seeing Nina in captivity that made him resentful.

'You're so kind, Kanade,'
Yeah?　What's going on, all of a sudden?
'It's nice to be able to get angry for someone else...' I thought again, 'That's the nice thing about Kanade...'
Well I don't really know, but I got a compliment... Ehehehe.

　Kanade rumbled his throat happily.
　........How does he make a sound?
　It didn't matter, but it bothered me a lot.

''As for Edgar, there's also the matter of him becoming a demon race. As soon as I can talk to him, I'm going to proceed with that investigation as well. Most importantly, he didn't seem to remember anything, so it might be difficult, but...''
''I see. So ... I understand most of what happened to the lords, but what about this city?

　The lord and his son have been arrested together, which is a terrible case.
　What will happen to the city now?
　Everyone will be wondering about this.

''It can't be right away but I'm sure the new lord will be appointed by the royal capital. Then it will take even more time before he is actually appointed to the post. In the meantime, I heard that the lords of other cities will serve concurrently...but there may be some confusion for a while.
Well....

　From now on, the city of Horizon could be in chaos.
　I pulled the trigger.
　When I think about it, I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do.

"Rain, Rain.
Yeah?
Yay!

　With a peck, Kanade tapped me lightly.

'What, what?'
You were just thinking about something weird, weren't you?　I don't know if this was the right thing to do, or something like that.

　How do you know that?
　I can't help but roll my eyes in amazement, and Kanade throws out his chest in a good way.

''Hmph, I know everything about Rain. I'm Rain's errand boy, you know...''

　Isn't it usually the other way around?
　I think the Lord has a better grasp of the messenger than you do, don't you?

'Rain's so sweet, she thinks a lot of things. But don't worry about that. If you care about it, you'll lose.
Losing...
'Nyah I mean, what I'm trying to say is that Rain isn't bad!　In fact, I think you did a very good thing. If we had left the lords alone like that, I think a lot of people would have been crying. Rayne was able to stop the tears. I think that's something to be proud of.
"...Kanade....
So, lighten up. Don't think bad thoughts. Okay?
Well yes.

　I can't stay depressed, even though Kanade is encouraging me.
　I've done all I can do.
　It's hard to ask for perfection.
　I'll manage to change my mind that way.

I'm with you on this one.

　Stella follows Kanade and says so, too.

'Rain has accomplished something that no one else has been able to do. That's something to be proud of, not something to be worried about. If it wasn't for Rain, I don't know what this city would have become... as I said before, Rain is the hero of this city.
No heroes, please.
No, I won't stop. It's true.

　Stella gives me a nasty smile.
　I guess she understands that I'm confused, and she's saying it.
　I thought she was a serious knight, but unexpectedly, she has a nasty personality.

''Once again, I want to thank you. Thank you, Rain.

　Stella held out her hand to me and....
　I squeezed his hand back tightly.

'Maybe Rain will be called a hero elsewhere, too.
What's going on, all of a sudden?
Hmm. I had a feeling Lane would be able to accomplish that much.

　I don't like it when you say that...
　You are overrated.

'I have a high opinion of you. Would you like to join the Order?
'What?　To the Order?
Hmm. I'm sure Rain will make a great knight. I'll make sure of that. Besides, I'm short on men at the moment. What do you think?　Will you work together to keep peace and order in this city?
No, no, no, no!

　For some reason, Kanade refused.

'Rain is going to have an adventure with us, you know!　I can't be a knight in shining armor!　No, you can't.
Mm, is that right?
Yes!
Don't answer for me.
Because I was afraid that Rain would go away...
I don't think so.

　He patted Kanade's head.

'How could I ever leave Kanade and his friends?　You're my best friend.
Meow.

　Kanade looks happy.
　Looking at her face, I can't help but feel a sense of tenderness.

'Well, that's too bad. Looks like you've been dumped.'
Sorry. I think I look better as an adventurer.
If you change your mind, you can always tell me. You're welcome.
I'll look out for you then.

　I guess that's the end of the story.
　I decided that and headed for the exit.

'If you need anything, I can help you then. Feel free to let me know.
Mm. That's fine by me. Well I'll see you later.
Yeah, again.

　After exchanging greetings with Stella, we left the Knight's Branch.