Hello.

　The woman entered the room and greeted him calmly with a gentle smile.

　She seems calm and collected.
　She wears a soft vibe and has a gentle smile that suits her well.

　I wonder if she's around my age?
　No, maybe up a notch or two?

　Her shining golden hair, which looked like it had been gathered by sunlight, was long and stretched to her waist.
　They were held together with long, thin ribbons to make it easier to move around.

　She was tall for a woman, not much different from me.
　Her body is well-built and I can see that she is well trained.

　The armor is light, perhaps for ease of movement, but it is only light enough to guard the vital points.
　On top of that, he wears a cloak.

　And.................and on his back is a shield of truth.

''Eh.........?''
Hello.

　I was puzzled, and he greeted me again.

　That's when I came to myself.
　I don't know who the woman is, but since she's greeting me, it would be rude if I didn't respond in kind.

Hello.
Yes, sir.

　When she returned the greeting, the woman chuckled, somewhat happily.

'Are you Lane Shroud?'
'Oh, yes. Are you...?
Nice to meet you. My name is Chiffon Nox. Feel free to call me Chiffon.
Mr. Chiffon?
Chiffon is fine.
...Chiffon?
Yeah. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shroud.

　Chiffon bowed with a bow, and I hurriedly bowed too.

　What a .......................She has a unique atmosphere.
　I found myself being swallowed up by her pace.

''You can call me Rayne, too.
Okay Mr. Lane.
Yes, sir.

　The whole 'you-name-it' thing was a bit rude.

'I'm sorry to be so abrupt. But I really wanted to say hello to Mr. Lane.
Greeting?　Sorry. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the situation, but...
Oh, you're right. I don't explain myself properly. Once you decide to do this, you'll be tempted to run too fast. I'm........
Master Chiffon.

　I was about to explain, when Kais-san appeared.
　He seemed to be in some kind of panic.

''So you were at Rain-san's place. I was surprised to see you disappear so suddenly...''
I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist when I heard you were here, Rayne.
''The two of you are not forbidden to meet face to face... but since you haven't officially announced Chiffon-sama yet, you shouldn't act too lightly...''
'Yeah, I'm really sorry. But now that we're face to face like this, I guess we'll just have to do it, won't we?
You're totally sure.
Teh.

　Mr. Kayes shrugged his shoulders, dear, and Chiffon smiled like a child.
　He seemed to be a calm person at first, but he seems to have a rather childish side to him.

''I'm sorry. I'd appreciate it if you could explain it to me soon...''
Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, I just can't help it.

　Chiffon straightens his posture and introduces himself again.

''I am Siphon Nox. I'm the next brave generation.''



----------



　Chiffon had been an adventurer not long ago.
　He was a veteran who had reached the A-rank when he was only 20 years old.

　Incidentally, he had the two names of 'Golden Blade'.
　Help the weak and crush the evil.
　He was called that because of his remarkable activities that embodied those words.

　One day, Chiffon was summoned to the royal capital.
　She was summoned by King Argus.

　Could she be promoted to the S rank of her dreams?
　Or had he unknowingly done something that could have crossed the king's mind?

　Half in anticipation, half in anxiety, Chiffon went to the royal capital.
　And then........Argus asked him to be the next brave man.

　It was so unexpected that at the time, Chiffon fainted while standing in surprise.
　It was too embarrassing an incident.
　If possible, I would erase the memory completely, but even now I cannot forget it, and it is firmly imprinted in my mind as Chiffon's black history.

　After coming to myself........

　Chiffon was briefed by Argus.
　That Arios, the former brave man, was stripped of his title due to a fatal problem.
　That there is not only one person who can become a brave person, but several, who exist.
　That one of them is Siphon.

　That's how it was explained to me.

　Chiffon is an A-ranked adventurer.
　Considering that he will grow even more in the future, his abilities are perfect.

　His character is straightforward, and when he finds someone in trouble, he can't help but help them.
　I've been given the reputation of having no complaints about my character.
　Therefore, he was named as the next brave man.

　Hearing this story, Chiffon fainted again.
　It's not possible for me to be chosen as the next brave man.
　Yes, this is a dream.
　It must be a dream.

　I let go of my consciousness with that thought in mind.

　Of course, it wasn't a dream...
　After Siphon came back to himself, Argus proceeded to talk.

　As a brave man, I want you to embark on a journey with the goal of defeating the Demon King.
　I will spare you the support for that purpose.
　Of course, I won't force you to do so.
　For now, can you think about it for a week or so?

　Hearing such a story, Chiffon replied on the spot.
　If it's okay with me........

　Chiffon is a woman with a strong sense of justice.
　For one reason or another, she came to believe that evil is unforgivable, hence, she became an adventurer who can relate to and help many people.

　The Demon King, who threatens people's peace, is nothing but 'evil'.
　If the mission is to defeat him, I'll gladly accept the mission.
　My body, my soul.
　I'm sure that even if it rots, I'll be able to complete my mission in the end.

　Chiffon told Argus this and then.....
　And a new brave man was born.



----------



...I see.

　When I heard how Siphon became a brave man, I was convinced.

　We've only just met........
　Indeed, he seems to have a strong sense of justice.
　Unlike Arios, he seems to be worthy of being a brave man.

　Because of the failure that was Arios....
　The selection of people must have been done carefully to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
　As a result, Chiffon was chosen.

　I can't say I'm comfortable with that, but........
　I want Chiffon to be a great brave man that everyone will recognize.

''Since I became a brave man, I've worked hard for many things with my friends. I've been busier than an adventurer, but I've also been fulfilled.
What's the equipment?
''It seems that the legendary equipment that the former brave man had collected was stored so tightly that I was able to get my hands on it. At first it was thought that a traitorous female knight had stolen them, but the king kept the real ones elsewhere just in case.
So the lady knight got a fake in her hand.
That's what I mean.

　As expected, or rather, a shrewd king.

By the way, that female knight is a...?
His name is Monica.
Again, that name...

　You're going to see that name out there in a lot of places, and you're going to see connections in a lot of places.
　My head hurts.

　Sharing information with Chiffon....
　You'd better report back to the guild later, too.

By the way, what other equipment do you have?
I got a lot of support money for my other equipment, so I got a little greedy.

　Chiffon flicked his tongue out and said so with a frightening smile.
　At first she seemed calm and collected, but....
　Talking to him in this way, he seemed to be quite friendly.

'By the way, what brings you to Krios?'
'I heard that the stampede is happening continuously. It sounds like they were really just going to send a group of knights, but it's not like there's a lot of stampede going on, right?　I thought maybe it was my turn, so I forced myself to run over.
Oh, yeah that's great.
'What?　What?
''Knowing so much about the former hero, Chiffon's actions seemed like an outrageously great thing...''
Haha.....

　Chiffon chuckled, as he seemed to know Arios to some extent.

''But it seems I didn't have a chance. I guess Rain-kun had it sorted out.''
Sorry. I didn't mean to take the credit for it...
'No, I don't care. I don't care what credit I get. More importantly, I'm glad that the people of Krios were saved.

　When Chiffon said that, he smiled very clearly.
　From the bottom of her heart, she seems to be thinking about the people of this city.
　If there is a saintly woman, is it like her?

So, um, there's a reason I'm here today to say hello to you, Lane.
Reason?
Um, well, you know....well, can you give me your autograph?

　Chiffon changed his previous attitude and held out a piece of colored paper and a pen with a sparkle in his eyes.