On the terrace of the Royal Palace, a young nobleman was receiving an award from the King.

　It was a venerable festival, a royal match.
　It should be a great honor to be honored for winning, but that guy's face was red and he was trembling with trembling.

　But he was red-faced and shivering with a cringe, because I had declined the award.

　I got the same grade on the opposite leg, showing everyone that I wasn't serious yet, and to finish it off, I declined the award.

　As a result, the guy receiving the award didn't get a cheer, but rather a sneer from those around him.

"How can you get an award for that?
Don't say that. That's still second place.
'But it's really amazing, what kind of nobleman is that?　I've never seen that before this year.

　My reputation was incidentally boosted here and there by the return of my mean-spiritedness towards the guy, but, well, he wasn't serious, he wasn't showing his bottom, and it didn't matter.

　I enjoyed the sight of the guy's face turning bright red in the distance, and then quietly turned to leave.

'Hermes,'
Hmm?　His Royal Highness, Shaw.

　The one who stopped me was the third prince, Shaw the Aegina.
　He's the man who, like Lina, began to look at me incessantly after the Dragon King's Shadow incident.

'You turned down an award, just like you.
I'm sorry, but I'm getting to the point.

　It seems like it's better to talk about it with some degree of openness around Shaw and Lina, so I decided to be honest with them and not shrug it off.

'What did NEX do?　Well, it's him, you don't have to tell me, I suppose I said something unnecessary.

　Shaw said with a smile.
　I see, so you know that kind of character.
　It's a good thing you didn't try to pull a bad trick after all.

I'd like to talk to you about something else.
Mmm.

　Shaw's expression changed drastically.
　His previous gentle smile has been replaced by a hard, serious look.
　I give you a look to follow me and start walking ahead.

　I'd prefer not to talk about anything serious, but that's not possible when you're dealing with Shaw.
　I followed him to see what it was all about.

　We went around in a big circle and came to the other side of the palace where we could see the terrace.
　As a result of the intervening palace, the festivities that included the people became instantly distant and felt like an otherworldly event.

　Once inside the empty gardens, Shaw stopped and turned to me.

'Mmm,'

　His expression had become more and more serious.

''Um........I can't just not ask.......''
We're talking about the recent spate of meteorites across the country.
-Oh!

　Pic!　His eyebrows fluttered.

'You're still smart,'
...wind.

　I sighed.
　In contemplation, I answered Shaw.

'Even a fool could understand that one, that one. It fell twice in the Cano family's territory alone. It's hard to think of it as nothing more than a coincidence, just a natural phenomenon.
And there's a demon in the mix... right?
Yes.

　I knew it was that too.

　Shaw looked up at the sky and spoke up.

'The meteorites that have been spreading around the country recently, most of them are an added bonus that causes the demon race to emerge from the meteorites. I can sense the will of someone, but there are too few clues to trace it back to.
You want me to look for that?

　That's very, very, very complicated.

No, not that much.

　I was relieved.
　I know it's too early to be relieved, but I was relieved nonetheless.

'Actually, another one fell on the outskirts of Rethym yesterday. We need to get rid of it.
'Excluded?　Why don't you check?　If you just fell yesterday, you don't know what you're talking about, do you?
First, we have to eliminate them. 'We can't have a big fuss during the Serene Festival. We can't have a big fuss during the Serene Festival. I want to get rid of it before it happens. Besides...

　Shaw stopped talking there and looked at me.
　It was as if he was waiting for an answer.

　I sighed and said.

''Well I'm going to fall again anyway.
That's right.

　If Shaw's story is true, then it means it's falling at random times in various parts of the country.
　Even if you eliminate it falling in the middle of the festival, it's easy to predict that it will eventually fall again somewhere.

'Please, just do it. Your reward will be the revocation of all the crosses you have won.
....

　What Shaw came up with was a very tempting proposition.
　It's something I can offer in exchange for the fact that Shaw knows me so well.

　It's very tempting.
　If it was just a few years ago, I would have jumped at the first sign of trouble.

　But now it's not.
　He's changing his policy to try to be normal.

　Revoking all four of the Crosses is too conspicuous to be reversed.
　No, that's not right, that's not right.

No, that's okay. I don't need a reward. I don't want a reward, and I want you to pretend that His Highness did it all afterwards.
'Thank you!　Thank you.

　Shaw was incredibly happy.
　Now, things got slightly messy but.................it can't be helped.

　　　　　Stars.

　That night, with the help of the map Shaw had given me, I left Retim and headed for the meteorite, which was said to be on the outskirts of the city.

　The aim of the move was, of course, to move at night, and to carry out the mission without anyone seeing it.
　That's why my sister left me at an inn in the royal capital. When asked where she was going, she said.

"Look at this, I got a reservation for the best Ortias in the capital--
Yeah!

　I cheated with the exchange.
　The Ortia Retim version I just acquired was sacrificed to the star, but I'll claim this from Shaw later.
　No, it might be possible to withdraw my previous statement and let Ortizia, the best of the King's Capital, introduce me to her.

　With this in mind, we continued on the streets of the unpopular suburbs and arrived at the location of the meteorite depicted on the map.

　It was similar to the meteorite that had fallen on the outskirts of Pindos before.
　So, just like the old man of the Sword Saint, I'll break it first and kill the one that came out of it.
　Is that okay?

　Whatever it is, I'll break it first.
　And that's when I thought.

''Oops, there it is!''
You made me come to this remote location.
It's all right, isn't it? It's all very private and easy to do.

　Suddenly, with a flippant tone, three men appeared.
　All three men carried torches and a cheap but practical longsword.

　As well as their tone of voice, they are a badly dressed group of people who are not in character and don't have a proper job.

''What are you guys?''
I'm sorry, sir, but I'm gonna have to hurt you.
You're overreacting, you know?
No, I'll just give you a finger or a couple of bones.
....

　I scrutinized the men's words.
　At the same time, I searched for signs of the surroundings.

　Beyond the men, a dozen or so meters away, I felt the presence of a human being hiding behind a tree.

　Maybe it was that young nobleman - or was it NEX?
　He and his hired guns.

'Oh, I see.'

　One after another, the three men drew their longswords and came towards them, bare of a thin (,,,,,,) killing spirit.

''You're not going to pull it out, are you, sir? If you've given up on it, it's a good thing our job is easier too.

　One of the men said with a sneer.
　I won't pull it out, is what he said, directed at the longsword lowered at my waist.
　I brought it with me in case of a meteorite and the demon race coming out of it, though.

''Huh!　There's no point in pulling it out, though!

　One of them shouted and three of them slashed at him at the same time.

　Gasp!

What?
Nah!
'Nonsense!'

　The three of them screamed in astonishment at the same time.

　I grabbed them with my bare hands and stopped the three slashes, which emitted a cold light in the dark night.
　I stopped them with my so-called "par" outstretched hand, all three between their fingers.

　Then I twisted my wrist.

　Pakikiki keen!

　A series of three consecutive metallic sounds, all three longswords were broken.
　I couldn't stay on Zako any longer, I threw the broken ends away as they were and hit them all and knocked them out.

''Nah!''

　This time a voice came from a distance.
　It was Nex's voice.

'Huh....'

　What an idiot.
　If you're going to hide and watch, then hide until the end.

Come on out.
What did you do?

　Nex came out in contemplation and asked, glaring at me.

　I didn't have to answer.
　I stepped in silently and let Necks take a hit as well.
　Let's knock this guy out, quickly clean up the meteorite and go home.

　With that thought, I sank Necks without question.

''Guhaha!''

　Nex fell to his knees, but he didn't pass out.

　I think I misread his strength a bit.
　Well, he was a man who, in a bent way, came second to the other nobles with his pumpkin kicking.
　You're the one with the basic skills.

'd*mn ... d*mn ... d*mn ... d*mn ...'

　Nex cowered and repeated his resentment.

　'Let's get another shot in and make sure it sinks in.

'Mmm!'

　Then something strange happened.
　Something black gathered around NEX.
　When I looked at the source of the gathering, I found out that it came from a meteorite.

　The black stuff that leaked out of the meteorite gathered around NEX and was absorbed into his body.

''Guh, guh, guh!

　Each time something black entered his body, the nexus let out a cry that was neither anguish nor anger.
　In the midst of being taken aback, NEX's body swelled up and changed into a bipedal demon that was twice the size of a human.

''.........Oh dear....

　Is it that one, or has the darkness of my mind taken over or something?
　I glanced at the meteorite. Compared to the overwhelming presence of the monster in front of me, the meteorite had nothing like that.

　I can't feel anything, it's just a stone.

　It seems to have been completely transferred to the nexus.

''Hmph.''
Yeah?

　NEX, who suddenly laughed cynically, turned around to see what was going on, and that thing that had changed into a demon waved its arms carelessly to the side.

　The shock wave ran right next to it, creating a deep gash over a meter deep in the street.

''Wonderful, I never thought something so wonderful and delightful could exist in this world.
You don't sound like a monster.
'Demons?　No, this is a power comparable to God. It's a force of destiny that is 120% compatible with me.
Huh....I see.
Don't you understand the situation?

　Nex waved his arm once more, on the opposite side of the street from before.
　A groove of the same depth ran to the other side.

'You know what happens when you wield this power on a human body. I feel good now. That's right, pull that sword out and I'll let you cut up to three times.''
No, that's not necessary.
Don't be afraid. This is a mercy--

　He stepped into the pocket of the demon nexus and hooked a right hook that gouged him at an angle.

''Guhaha!''

　Nex's legs floated for a moment and his body bent enough to form a 'ku' shape.

'That's the extent of your strength, you don't need to be serious.
What the--

　I unleash another body blow, and something black pops out of Nex's mouth as he's hit twice.

　I grabbed it and yanked it out.

'Ahhhh, ahhhh!'

　As he pulled the sly black thing out of his mouth, the nexus became frightened.
　He used his fire magic to make the thing disappear, and when he returned to his human form, he continued to stare at it in despair as it disappeared into the void with hollow eyes.