I was being interviewed by the guards after I fought off the two sorcerers.
　Nevertheless, the attitude of the guards was very friendly.

He said, "Those guys are good at what they do, but they don't behave well. We've been tending to it. Thank you. Thank you so much.

　It seems that those sorcerers were originally quite disliked in the city of Thue.
　They often cause trouble for residents and tourists alike.
　However, they don't do anything bad enough to put people in jail, so they didn't seem to be able to get away with it as guards.

　It's a good thing that you're not the only one who's been caught in the act.

It's a good thing that you're able to do that. It's not a normal thing to do, no matter how drunk the other party was, to take back those two people.
'Thank you. I just got lucky.

　While giving a bland response, I inwardly wonder.
　Were those two guys that strong?
　I've fought black dragons and orichalcong golems in the past, but maybe that's why my standards of strength are a little off.

　After the hearing, when I walked out of the stuffing station, for some reason there was a large crowd of people there.
　What is it?
　What the hell is going on?

Here comes the hero of the night!

　One of the onlookers shouted something like that.
　A hero, is that me?

Thank you for taking out that scum sorcerer!
Now I can go out for a drink at night without worrying about it!
They're just trying to act like they're great because they have a little bit of a better skill set: ...... Suck it up, man!

　Apparently, the two sorcerers were hated by the inhabitants of Thue to the bitter end.
　Then I showed up and eliminated them ...... and, well, they should be grateful for that.

"It's a festival tonight!　Bring me a drink!
'I've got the booze!　Here's to our heroes!
""Cheers!"

　From there on, it was a madhouse.
　The tension was so high among the residents that I got offered a bottle of booze too.



　* *



　When the commotion died down, I left the scene and bumped into Iris.
　Iris had gotten the silver-haired girl dropped off at the inn since the interview was over early.

　Iris poked me in the side with her elbow and said in a joking tone, "You're very popular, Hideo," she said.

''You're very popular, Hero-san. After the 《Dragon Slayer》, will you change your name to 《Magician Slayer》?
That's a false accusation. I didn't kill her.
Ha-ha, just kidding. Just kidding.

　Iris chuckles happily.

'She was so grateful to Ko, too. He's going to come back tomorrow to thank you.
I don't have to worry about it all that much, though.

　It is very natural and natural for adults to help children.
　I believe this is the same truth in modern Japan as it is in other worlds.



　The next day.
　The carriage we were riding in left just after dawn.

　It was autumn and winter, and the air was cold.
　A silver-haired girl was waiting for us with a sleepy look on her face.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for ...... yesterday. ......

　Maybe it was due to the cold or maybe it was her nervous nature, but the girl's voice was trembling.

''Wow, I'm a student of the Royal City's Academy of Magic, ...... and I'm in Thue for some business, ...... so, um, um, ...... ......, here, here, read this: ......!

　The girl quickly held out a pretty, light-colored letterhead.

I can't speak well, so I decided to use ...... characters. If you want to pass the time in the carriage, please go to ......
Thank you. I'll read it to you.

　I took the letterhead and stowed it in the item box for now.

　The carriage's departure time is almost at the last minute.
　However, neither Gosha-san nor the other passengers seemed to be in any hurry to leave.
　Rather, they were looking warmly at the silver-haired girl.

　Even though ......, it would be annoying to make them wait too long, so it's time to go.

　As I climbed into the carriage, the girl bowed widely.

''Thank you so much, thank you so much ......!





　The girl was quite uncommunicative, but the letter was the opposite.
　The letters were clean and the writing was easy to read.

　The girl's name was Lily Lunaria, and she was 14 years old, attending the magic academy in the royal capital.
　In the letter, after a brief self-introduction, she expressed her gratitude for this matter exactly.
　And finally, he wrote that he would be happy to write to me in his spare time to tell me about his travels.
　It seems that if you send it to the magic academy in the royal capital, it will be delivered directly to her.

　In addition to the letter, there was also a pressed flower bookmark enclosed in the letterhead.
　It's probably a gift of thanks.
　The petals were a light yellow color, similar to the light of the moon.

　Iris told me that this flower is called 'Tsukimihana' and contains a small amount of moon magic.

'Her surname ...... lunaria, I believe, is an old word that means 'moonflower'.
Pressed flowers named after your last name? That's pretty neat.
I wonder if it's just my imagination or if it's something else: ......

　I looked it up later, and the flower language of the moonflower seems to be "I will never forget you", "eternal love", and "deep gratitude".
　If Lily was aware of the flower language, "deep gratitude" would probably be the correct answer.
I'll never forget you" or "eternal love" are too heavy of emotions to direct at someone you've only been involved with for a short time, and above all, I'm a 29-year-old man.
　The other side is a fourteen year old kid, and there is no way they can develop romantic feelings for each other.


　The carriage journey continued smoothly.
　In terms of direction, we were heading east from Onen.
　We took a regular flight and stayed in a town called Surie that day.

　The next day, we were going to leave the city ...... in a carriage in the afternoon, but the service was cancelled.

　Apparently, a powerful demon appeared just ahead, and the situation is extremely dangerous.
　Last night, a high-speed carriage used to transport criminals to the capital was attacked, causing extensive damage.
　I've been told that the sinners were eaten by the demon and most of the carriage's guards were killed by the demon.

　...... The sinners who were eaten by the demons were those two sorcerers, or something.

　Now, what do we do?
　We'll see how it goes, or will we attempt to force our way through while testing the "Hero Killer's Great Sword" in real life?

　For now, shall I gather information from the city's adventurer's guild?