Sarya showed me to the king's private room.

　Apparently, this is the king's private room, which is completely private.
　It was a room where the king could feel at home.
　And it's a great place to talk about something you don't want anyone else to hear.

Now if you'll excuse me.

　After ushering me in, Sarya-sama leaves the room.
　Me and the king are the only ones left ... somewhat awkwardly.
　Or rather, I'm nervous.

　This continent........or rather, there is only one country of people in this world.
　Rollees.
　That's the name of this country and the only country of people.

　But that doesn't mean that other countries have been destroyed or that humanity is being hunted down.
　In the past, there were countless countries in disarray.
　There were countries on all five continents, and there were more than ten of them.

　Some countries formed friendships and developed together....
　Some countries have repeatedly fought wars and bogged down in mud.

　And the reason why the world has changed is because of the Demon King.

　How did the Demon Lord appear?
　What is its purpose?
　There's still a lot to figure out, but...

　When the Demon King appeared, the world changed forever.
　The Demon King's power is so great that....
　And the threat of the demon race and demons under their control could not be discarded.

　One after another, the country was destroyed.
　Furthermore, the western continent was completely taken over, and the northern continent became a lawless zone...
　When that number was cut in half, humanity finally realized.
　This is no time to fight among ourselves.
　If we don't join forces, we will only perish.

　The human race was then united to face the Demon King.
　After that, the conflict continued, and the war was at a standstill....
　It continues to this day.

　In this way, people became one.
　All the nations were united.

　The king standing in front of me is the one who will carry such a nation.
　It's strange not to be nervous.
　I know we've talked about this before, but it's not something you get used to going through...

Good to see you. I didn't bother you?
'No, no, it's never like that...'
'You don't have to be so rigid. It's an informal occasion now. Though ... the conversation will be heavy and demanding.

　I didn't want to hear the second part of the story...
　What the hell are we talking about?

　Well, I have a vague idea.
　It's probably about Arios' ..................brave man involved.

"First of all I must apologize. I'm sorry.
What?

　The king bowed his head.
　An unprecedented incident.
　The king who binds everything together, bowing to an adventurer....

What's going on?　Oh, please raise your head.
'Arios has tricked you into doing something stupid and has put you and your friends in danger. It was my decision to give Arios his freedom. I had a knight on guard, but I never thought he would do something like that. I was hoping that you would somehow wake up for the future of humanity, but no, I'm sorry. That's an excuse.
No. I don't think it's the king's fault. It was Arios' fault, not the fault of the others.
"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you say that.
It's not...
All right. I'll do you a favor this time.

　I don't really care.
　I was giving Arios some freedom to oppose the Demon King.
　It's not hard to understand.
　They had a proper knight on guard and.......
　The rest is now only Arios' responsibility.

But I would like to make amends. Let me give you something solid and tangible as an apology, not a reward like the one I received for saving Sarya. I know it will be difficult to see how something like this could be an apology but I still want to make the least amount of progress. What do you want?
'Well I'm afraid you're going to have to come up with something out of the blue.

　I can't come up with a pompous idea.

''Well can we talk about it another time?　If I think of anything, I'll be there...
'All right. Well, if you say so, I will.
This isn't the end of the story... is it?
Hmm. You're a pretty good judge of character, aren't you?
'If it's just about what we're talking about now, it's something you can usually talk about in front of everyone. The main topic............................something you can't talk about casually in front of everyone. It's something you want to keep as secret as possible. Something like that?
You're really quick on your feet that's impressive.

　I feel a little embarrassed when the king, the Wise King, tells me that.

'Let's be monotonous ... will you be the next brave man?
Huh.

　

　As expected, I didn't expect that story, and I'm confused for a moment.

''I'm........a brave man?''
'I've stripped Arios of his bravery. He has done so much. And although we are still investigating, many other outrageous deeds have come to light. The same is true of my companions. I was wrong. I had to wait and see how they would fare because they had the power to oppose the Demon King, but I didn't do that and should have been imprisoned immediately.
Where is Arios now?
Prison. My men are in prison as well.
What do you do with it?
You'll be executed.

　The king answered immediately without hesitation.
　He was too resolute in his attitude, which surprised me more than him.

''Death penalty.......... That's quite harsh.''
That's all he's done. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, he may not even get the death penalty.
Okay.

　Don't feel sorry for me.
　Arios hurt my people.
　That is unforgivable.

　It's just that ...
　I felt sorry for him.

　But in spite of that....
　Still, we had a party at one time.
　We were friends....

I just don't plan to make this public.
What do you mean?
'Already the folly of Arios' folly is known to the people, and his fame has fallen to the ground... but still, what happens if you put a brave man to death?　You'll understand.
There's a lot of anxiety and unrest out there.

　If the only brave man who could oppose the Demon King was put to death, there would be great confusion.
　What would happen if the Demon King awakened?　Most people would think that this is a good idea.

　It's like leaving river reinforcement work in progress.
　We don't know when it will rain heavily and the river will collapse.
　That's the kind of thing you have to live with, and that's why people don't think well of you.

For that reason, Arios will be laid low by his illness. When the time is right, he announces that he has died of his illness. Instead, I announce that the next brave man has appeared.
Oh, well that's just, well.
'And I want you to be that brave man, my lord. You have the power to do so. And you have the courage to be worthy of the name of a brave man. Will you do me a favor?
I'm....