Story 6: Chapter 4: When the Falmuth Nation attacked (Patreon)

Story 6: To Be a Hero.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: When the Falmuth Nation attacked

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- Salvatore -

I watched the look on Hinata’s face crumble as my power continued to rise with every passing second.

She finally gritted her teeth and rushed to attack me however, her attack seemed… extremely slow to the current me.

I wonder if this is how those OP anime characters felt when fighting someone extremely beneath their level?

I put my sword into the ground and lifted my left hand, covered in a layer of Uriel’s power and grabbed her sword with two fingers.

The sheer look of shock on her face was everything I wished for.

She’s strong. That much is without a doubt. But the difference between an Enlightened and a Saint is too much. Not to mention I was some kind of weird Hybrid Saint or whatnot with several Ultimate Skills. Even the advantage she had of the Hero’s Egg over the other Enlightened was not applicable against someone like me.

No matter how many Skills she used or strength she used it was all useless against Uriel’s Magic Negation and Barriers. The forest around us was being torn down while the ground under our feet was being scorched by the sheer power of the attack but….her sword didn’t move.

Not.a.single.fucking.inch.

Finally deciding to end all this, I used Shadow Prison on her, pulling her into a Shadow Realm till only her neck and above is visible. All the while my Leviathan was sucking out her magicules, rendering her powerless.

I let her struggle and try everything she wanted to and when she was done, I sat down in front of her.

“Are you ready to talk now?” I asked.

She looked at me with gritted teeth but didn’t say anything.

“Don’t look at me like that. Shizu-sensei talked about your personality and this was the best way I could think of to make you understand. I am not your enemy. An enemy would have cut your head off the first chance they got.”

She didn’t say anything.

“How did you get the information about Rimuru?” I asked the question which had been in my mind for a while. I did know of this world but there were several versions. The Webnovel one, the Light Novel one and the Anime one. I only knew bits and pieces of those. Not to mention, this could be an entirely different universe with the differences I had already encountered. Gathering information is the way to go.

She didn’t answer.

Stubborn girl.

“Very well. I have all the time in the world. I will just sleep here till you are ready to answer. Although I can’t say the same about your subordinates who were maintaining the barrier. They must be getting anxious and scared, trapped in a world of darkness.” I smiled lightly.

It did the trick.

“Why? Why are you doing it for that… that monster?”

“That’s quite racist of you, ya know. Rimuru is not bad. She… helped my students. Not to mention Sensei”

“You don’t know anything about monsters. You haven’t seen the damage and chaos they cause. You have seen nothing of this world.”

Ah this….

“Well I have been an adventurer for the last two years but here’s a secret. Before those two years, I was a slave.”

Her eyes widened. “I was summoned at the age of 14, dragged away from my world, away from my only family, a ten year old brother of mine all alone… by humans. There I was tortured, mentally and physically, made to kill till I got numb and finally broke through by sheer luck. It was there I met Sensei and she took me in and I made it to where I am today. So you see Hinata-chan, can I call you Hinata-chan? Okay, I will call you Hinata-chan.” I didn’t give her any chance to retort. “I don’t just know about monsters, I also know more about the humans of this world than you. Unlike you who was lucky enough to encounter Sensei when she walked into this world, I have seen the worst and the best of this world, between monsters and humans. And to be honest, there’s not much difference between them.”

“Not everyone is like them.” She shouted back.

“Then how can you say the same about monsters? As I said, you are awfully racist, Hina-chan? Oh. I like this name better. Cool. I will call you Hina-chan then.”

She gritted her teeth.

“I see you are not convinced. Then let me ask you something. How did you get that Hero’s Egg of yours? Whose blessing did you take for it?”

She looked at me without a word but I saw her gaze flicker.

“Yes. You do know. You took the blessing of Demon Lord Ramiris. And yet, I don’t see you bitching about it.”

“It’s not the same. Ramiris didn’t become a Demon Lord of her own choice.”

“And neither was Rimuru born as a monster of her own choice.” I countered shutting her up instantly. “But that wasn’t exactly the issue here, was it? The issue was the Monster Nation Tempest. What do you even know about the nation?”

She kept quiet so I continued.

“Rimuru has banned attacks on humans ever since the nation was formed because she was a former human herself. She even ordered her people to assist adventurers who are in trouble in the Jura Forest. The only danger the Monster Nation is….is to the profits of the surrounding nations who charge money for traders to pass through them. Rimuru opened a road through the Jura Forest and has assured safety to traders that use the route. This cut into the prices of things and so the Falmuth Nation organised this attack. I am pretty sure if you go back and check, you will find several thick donations to your church to assist in this attack. With things like these, can you really say who is the real monster here?”

She didn’t say anything, remaining quiet at my words.

“You can take your people and leave. As for the Falmuth army… they won’t be returning anywhere.” I had sensed Rimuru’s aura going haywire a few minutes ago.

Seems like the birth of the Demon Lord is near.

She seemed to react to this and raised her head. “You are going to kill them?” She asked me shocked.

I shook my head. “While I would love to do it, them being the people who summoned and enslaved me…” Her eyes widened. “The people and the army itself were not at fault. I have no enmity with them. The top brass of the nation however… that’s a different game. As for the army… they did attack and kill the peaceful residents of a nation and pushed an innocent girl towards accepting her monster side. Whatever they get, will be completely deserving of their actions.”

Suddenly, I sensed someone behind me dashing towards me with a black sword raised above her head. She had long open black hair and black eyes and looked Japanese by her features. The sword also contained energy and my Milim’s eye told me that it contained a spirit of some kind. A High Ranking one at that.

“No Stop, Ena.” I saw Hinata shout at the girl but she had already jumped, so I did the only thing that came to my mind.

I slapped her aside and put her in the same situation as Hinata.

She was strong. An Enlightened at such a young age was quite an achievement.

But she was far from Hinata’s level.

“One of your people? I didn’t sense her nearby when I came. Doesn’t matter. What’s your decision, Hina-chan?”

“I… I’ll leave.” She let out a sigh.

“Cool. Oh, by the way, be careful of Yuuki. That guy… he’s dangerous.” I said as I let her out.

“He is one of Shizu-san’s students.”

“And also the guy who convinced you that you were a burden on her, wasn’t he?”

Her eyes widened.

“Trust me. I know what I am saying. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But I will tell you something.” I faced her, remembering the reason she left Shizu-sensei to go out on her own. “I too have a Skill which can copy other Skills. I got it on the day I met Sensei and accidentally used it on her. She was not angry. Instead, she was relieved that she could pass on her skills to someone and that her student will be safer. Our Sensei was never the kind of person to hold something like that against you. In fact, she would have encouraged you to copy all her Skills instead just so you could be safer. Don’t let your silly thoughts disturb your sleep. Goodbye. If you want to find me later on, you can come to Tempest. Even if I am not there, they will know where I am. Don’t go to Yuuki or ask him about me.”

I left the girl to her thoughts as I turned and picked up my sword which was still pierced into the ground. The Ena girl came between me and Hinata, her sword raised to defend.

I let out a chuckle.

“What is your name?” I asked. I didn’t know someone like her.

“Seishuuin Ena.”

“Hahahaha cool name. I think I remember someone with that name.” Wasn’t there a character in the LN Campione with the same name? “She was a priestess of Susanoo and his adopted granddaughter of sorts.”

The girl got an odd look on her face. “You know Gramps?”

….

….

Say what?

“Excuse me?”

“Gramps. You know my Gramps? Susanoo.” She asked again.

This is not real, right? She has to be joking now.

Another Otaku?

But then again, I was supposedly in the Boob Anime so why the fuck not.

Still, I decided to check to make sure.

“You are Ena… like in the one from the Four Clans of the History Compilation Committee. Do you know someone called Kusanagi Godou, Mariya Yuri? I don’t remember the other names. Also, Susanoo was in the Underworld in your world?”

“Yes, I am. Kusanagi who? Do you know Yuri?” She asked, curious this time.

Milim’s Ears detected no lies.

Oh fuck.

“So that sword… it’s the Kusanagi Sword?”

“Umu.”

“And you were summoned to this world?”

“No… I just wandered around. A Stray Otherworlder. Do you know Yuri? Are you from my world?” She asked me quite hopefully.

“Eh… I am not from your world. It’s… hard to explain and currently I don’t have much time to explain things so you will have to wait. Find me in a week or so and I will tell you whatever I know.” I promised the girl.

She looked like she wanted to ask a few more things but Hinata held her back and I sensed Jibril flying above us in the sky.

“Master… Tempest… the city was attacked. We are supporting them but many people are dead.” She relayed through her thought transmission.

I looked back at Hinata. “I need to go.” And gave another look at Ena as I rushed towards the city.

Before leaving I passed on a piece of paper to Hinata giving her some information.

- Shanks -

He raced towards the Tempest Nation under the orders of his master, his companions behind him.

The place had been attacked from what Jibril had told them. There were orcs outside the village.

Dammit. Orcs again.

“You damn swines. You took our village and now you come to attack even this place.” Shuten behind him snarled and he could agree with his sentiments too.

He brought out his sword and dashed towards them only to clash with someone.

White hair, horn on his head. His eyes widened as he recognised the one blocking him. “You are…”

“Old man!”

The other two behind him also realised this and stopped. “Old man, you are alive! We thought that all of you were… the village was destroyed completely… but why then… the orcs.” He glared at the orc who bowed his head as if ashamed.

“Calm down, kid. The orcs are not the enemies.”

“Shanks. I… got named, Old man. I am called Shanks. These two are called Shuten and Ibaraki. Our master told us to assist the Tempest Nation because the ruler was good friends with his teacher.”

“Shanks then. I was named by Rimuru-sama as Hakuryu.” He let out a sigh. “It’s better if you come in. Many things happened. The orcs were also victims of the schemes of a high level Majin. Come with me. I will explain everything.”

He nodded but followed behind the old man. Meanwhile, Shuten and Ibaraki asked something. “Who else was able to escape, Old Man?” He too looked at the old man for an answer but he just kept walking forward. A pit formed in his stomach as he realised something.

Soon enough, he found that his suspicions were correct.

There, between the crowd of goblins, lay a body. “It’s…”

“Shion. Rimuru-sama named her Shion…”

He fell to his knees. “I failed. Once more. I failed to save another one of my family… I…”

Some others seemed to have realised his presence as they turned towards him. He recognised them with a glance. “The Young Lord, Princess, and two other members…”

“Brother, you are alive. We…” The Young Lord tried to say something but stopped. He understood too.

Over the next hour, they explained the situation to him.

His magicules flared.

“Those bastards. They deserve to die. All of them deserve to die.”

Shuten and Ibaraki snarled behind him.

“Be quiet. Let Master come. He will decide what we should do next.” He looked at the Young Lord, now called Benimaru and explained. “Our Master is a student of Rimuru-sama’s friend, Shizue Izawa. He freed the monsters of Jura Forest who were captured by Slavers. When he heard of the attack, he asked us to come ahead and assist Tempest… but we were late. I failed everyone. My clan, my master… Everyone.”

As he was drowning in his regret, he heard some commotion in the distance.

Looking back, he saw his Master coming towards them. Some goblins and orcs had gathered to try to stop him so he turned towards his clansmen.

“Old Man, Young Lord… he is my Master.”

They walked towards them to clear the matter but someone was already ahead of them.

- Salvatore -

Just walking in with a sword and armour was probably not a good idea.

This place was attacked by humans a while ago and I for all matters and purposes looked and even felt like a human unless I let out my Draconic Aura.

I looked at the Goblins and Orcs surrounding me wondering how to diffuse the situation peacefully maybe.

My thoughts were halted when I heard a familiar voice. “Brother. Is that you Salvatore?” I looked towards the side to see Kaijin and his brothers walk towards me.

“Kaijin. What are you doing here?” I asked. They explained and I found out that some things hadn’t changed 

I learned what happened since I left Dwargon. 

Thankfully with Kaijin vouching for me followed by Shanks and the Oni, I was allowed inside.

Rimuru was still sitting there, listlessly in front of the bodies of her subordinates.

As luck would have it, the elf girl came to Rimuru’s side just in time and was telling her the story about the Dragon Princess and the resurrection of the Dragon.

“The barrier is holding the souls of the deceased.” The girl said and I chose this moment to join the conversation.

“I will keep the barrier intact.” In fact, Astarte could recreate their bodies as well and resurrect everyone but the amount of calculations and knowledge needed for those would be insane and Making Rimuru a Demon Lord would be much easier in comparison.

They turned towards me, realising I was there. She thought of something and the look on her face changed.

“Salvatore.” The look in her eye was that of guilt and despair mixed with a slight hope.

“I will keep the barrier active. None of the souls will be dispersed.” To show them what I meant, I called out Uriel in my head and made a barrier around the original holy barrier.

Uriel’s barriers were strong enough to take on attacks from Demon Lords. Keeping something like magicules inside will not be a problem.

Rimuru looked dazed for a second before nodding. “Thank you. Your barrier will work.”

Ah. Maybe she was told by Great Sage.

“If you want to fight against Falmuth, I can assist. Those people had summoned me away from my world and kept me under an enslavement spell for two years. I need to settle some scores too. You can keep the souls though.”

She looked at me with a complicated gaze. “You are not repulsed by my thoughts of killing them and becoming a Demon Lord?”

… yes. She was until recently a normal human from a peaceful world. 

The same as me when I was summoned to this world.

And while my innocence was slowly crushed by the people of this world, hers was smashed into fucking smithereens by a fucking sledgehammer.

I can guess her thoughts so I gave her a sympathetic smile. “I have done plenty of things myself which I am not proud of and while I was under the control of someone’s magic back then, it still doesn’t change the fact that I did those things. I can understand your thoughts but you must also understand. This is war. They were the ones who attacked your people. The people you vowed to protect. You are not wrong in having such thoughts.” I assured her and saw that some light in her eyes returned.

Events happened very quickly after that. The people of Tempest wanted blood and this time their leader agreed.

I too decided to pay a visit to those bastards of Falmuth and give them a suitable payback for their hospitality. Razen, Folgen and that bastard King… as for the summoned otherworlders… if they face me, I will just tie them up and throw them to the monsters of Tempest.

While Rimuru and the rest went to different places to break the crystals used for maintaining the barrier, I searched for the strongest Magical aura from the opponent’s side.

It was not hard to find the right one.

Razen. The Majin who guarded the Falmuth Nation for several generations.

I saw that he was watching over Shogo and the others so I didn’t interfere directly and only sent my own subordinates to lend a helping hand.

The Oni under me were more than happy to oblige. Even Jibril and Olga were wrecking havoc among the enemies.

Dark Elves were originally elves who were corrupted by the Chaos Dragon’s magicules and became Dark Elves.

This gave them Demonoid-like characteristics, which include the ability to be named.

While normal Elves can get the Blessing of the Spirits, Dark Elves use the Demon Lord Route.

Olga was quite adept in Shadow Magic and necromancy just like the one she was named after.

While Jibril was actually descended from Angels so she was quite adept at Light Magic.

And right now they were showcasing these powers to the best of their abilities

- Olga -

She hid in the shadows as she observed the human camp in front of her.

War.

It had been so long since she had participated in one.

And to be honest, she didn’t think she would be able to participate in another one. Not after failing miserably in the last one.

The one where she lost everything. Her friends, her comrades, her brother Sarion and even her heritage as an Elf to become… this… all against the Chaos Dragon.

The shame of the incident prevented her from going back to her people.

She had given up on living but killing herself was an act of cowardice which she would not accept. Thus, when she was attacked by the slave traders, she had just given up… or else how could those weaklings ever hope to rival the former general of the Elves and the sister of the Elven Hero Sarion, so easily?

She might have lost her heritage but she did retain the values of her people. To repay one’s debt.

Since Salvatore saved her life, she will dedicate it to him to repay the Master.

Sara Grimwald might have died but in her place, Olga Discordia can live.

She was broken from her thoughts by the thought transmissions sent by Jibril.

The time to attack had come.

She watched from the sky as blades of wind ran down on the camp of the humans and took this time to attack. Shadows bent to her will and pierced the enemies from below as she cast her next spell. The dead were raised to do her bidding.

The ones who had been their comrades a moment ago, now turned on them, becoming deadly foes.

In a matter of minutes, the entire force was taken care of and she led the undead towards the next attack target.

- Mjurran -

She was hiding under the illusions to complete her part of the mission.

The task that was given to her was simple.

Take out one of the Five Fingers of Clayman, Pirone. She was the one responsible for the information gathering and scouting for Clayman’s forces and wasn’t exactly proficient in fighting.

As she had thought, she detected the presence of the said finger through her magic and got to work. She was given a name which increased her power by a lot.

She used her magic and guided the unaware monster into the trap. The unsuspecting Pirone didn’t know anything till the last moment where her life was taken away.

With her task completed, she left towards the other position.

- Salvatore -

Hot damn.

Shanks needs to chill out a bit.

Unlike Benimaru who was still extremely calm… not, rather more appropriate to say, he was controlling his rage much better, Shanks was like a fucking berserker.

At this rate, it would have been better to name him Kaido rather than Shanks.

I will need to ask someone to teach him better.

On the other hand, Olga… that girl had experience. The ease with which the undead army was controlled showed that she was both good at magic and commanding people. It was something which generally comes with experience.

I don’t even know anything about my subordinates’ past.

I guess I will have to talk to everyone after this war.

Jibril on the other hand, well she was… crazy.

That girl was throwing around Aoe spells as if they were candies just because she could. That said, she was good at taking orders and from what I have seen, extremely talented.

If she were taught well, she would reach the level of Shanks or even Irisviel.

My thoughts were distracted by the arrival of Razen who directly shot a Nuclear Magic towards Geld who was dragged back in time by Hakuryu.

He used this opportunity to teleport away from the place and I decided to step in.

“Salvatore-sama. This… I apologise for letting them get away.” Geld bowed.

“Don’t mind. Razen is the strongest person from their side. It would have been odd if he was defeated so easily. I will take care of this.”

I teleported to where they had run off.

What greeted us was an attack, another Nuclear Cannon directly towards us.

“Stay.” I commanded as the spell crashed into me, dissipating as if it didn’t exist.

Uriel was such a cheat.

Even something like nuclear decay right at my face couldn’t do anything to me.

When the blast cleared, the other side saw me.

“You are… Salvatore. You’re alive.”

“Hello Mr. Razen. I would say nice to meet you but that would be lying. But let’s not waste our time with such talks shall we. I believe we are already past that point by now.”

“Bastard. Do you think you are a hotshot after mixing with those monsters? Fucking traitor.” Shogo walked towards me, shouting but was thrown back by my Dragon’s Haki.

Even Razen and Folgen slid back a distance before holding himself.

I snapped a finger and he was drowned in the Shadow Prison and looked back at Razen. “Now that the nuisance is taken care of, shall we?”

“How did you survive?” He asked, taking a position. I sensed four spells all around me while he was trying to attract my attention and didn’t even bother to dodge.

I had already set up a barrier around the area to prevent teleportation.

“It doesn’t matter how I survived. What matters is that you won’t.” I drew my sword but Folgen had already attacked. It was slow. Even slower than Hinata’s attack.

But this time, I didn’t need to hold back to avoid hurting the attacker.

I used Shadow Prison and he got stuck in his place for just a moment as his limbs flew into the sky.

Razen was taken aback but I didn’t give him any chance to speak trash. He got the same treatment as he was dragged into the Shadow Prison quickly.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do anything to them?” Olga appeared behind me from the shadows.

I told them the basic story of my life since I was summoned to this world and she knew my enmity with the Falmuth Nation.

“I… don’t know what to do with them. I want to just kill them off but that would be letting them off too easy and I was never the type to use torture. I can’t think of anything to do to them.” I turned towards her and smiled lightly at her. “If you want, I can hand them to you if you want to try a hand.”

I might be dumb but I really didn’t know what to do with them. After taking so many lives, I was fine with killing someone or at least I knew how to deal with it but I just didn’t like the thought of torturing people. Maybe Shizue helped me more than I can think of. It’s just another thing I am thankful to her about.

“I think it’s quite noble of you. To not fall to their level. The difference between a person and a beast is that we can control our emotions. Just in this regard, you are far better than these people.”

“… thank you, Olga.”

Man… I should have given her a better name.

Now I feel bad for a completely different reason.

Shaking my head, I went out of the area just in time before Rimuru casted an Anti-Magic Area over the camp.

While she was taking care of the main camp, I went out to clear out any remnants.

I returned back to the Tempest Nation, only this time the scene was completely different.

Almost everyone of Rimuru’s subordinates were on the ground, unconscious while Rimuru herself was wearing a white cloth like the ancient Greek people.

Shanks and the Oni were protecting the others.

I walked forward only to be stopped by a guy… demon, red eyes, black suit, another of Irisviel’s kind maybe.

“Can I ask you to step back, please? My Master has tasked me with protecting her till she awakens.”

His tone was polite but the threat in the tone was clear although there was something else in his tone which I didn’t recognise.

I didn’t take offence to this because honestly… The guy was only doing his job.

“Did she summon you for this?” I asked and he nodded. “Alright.” I brought out the three unconscious prisoners from the Shadow Prison and threw them in one corner. “These were the strongest force in the Falmuth Kingdom. I thought she would like to take care of them personally.”

“Thank you.” He bowed.

I stepped back and watched as the harvest festival was completed and the Ritual was carried out.

Raphael used Beelzebub to suck in all the magicules in the barrier and used the energy. The issue of lacking energy came and the Demon offered his subordinates but I stopped him.

“Use these. I collected the souls of the ones my subordinates had killed. You can use them to substitute. I don’t think Rimuru is going to like seeing any more of her followers dying today… no matter for what reason.”

The Demon thought for a moment and nodded and Raphael agreed to everything and took the souls to complete the ritual.

Rimuru was then carried to rest by the Demon.

Two days had passed.

Rimuru just woke up from her awakening and the first thing she did was look for her people to see if the process was successful.

In the meanwhile, my decision to give Razen, Folgen and Shogo to those Oni had been correct.

Those guys were experts at torture. In fact, even my two Oni girls were quite brutal.

“Are you doing well, Salvatore?” Rimuru asked me when she was free from her work and came to sit by me. She looked tired… but happy.

“Hmm. Just call me Sal. Salvatore can be a mouthful for many. As for being well… I should be the one asking you. I am not the one who went through a life changing event recently.”

Actually I did too. Becoming a Dragonoid, Hero Egg User and Housing a True Fucking Dragon of all this can be pretty life changing for most. But let's not mention that.

“I… yes. I am… surprisingly well. More so than I was expecting. Maybe it’s this monster self. I couldn’t shed tears even when Shizue-chan died. I guess this is what being a monster is like. I have just started to accept it now.” She answered, a shadow of emotion flashing on her face before being covered by her usual cheery look.

“The worst kinds of pain are those where you can’t even shed tears. As for becoming a monster, in this world, monsters have treated me better than humans so I am a little biassed.” I smiled lightly, making her laugh.

“You have quite a sweet tongue on you.”

The atmosphere relaxed quite a bit after this.

We talked about different things.

About the common person connecting us, Shizue-sensei.

Rimuru told me about her own life.

She was quite sheltered. She had studied in an All Girls School and College all her life and when she joined the workforce, it made her quite awkward with boys. So, in this life she wanted to overcome this problem of hers.

She has had friends but mostly girls and she died when trying to save a colleague from a mugger.

I learned several things about her. She was a massive closet otaku.

Then I talked about what I did after going independent.

“I don’t believe you named your subordinate, Shanks. Damn, now that I think of it, I could have totally named my subordinates after cool anime characters. I had to spend so much time trying to think through names for them.”

“Ah… actually, that was Chloe. She was the one who named him Shanks. I was kinda unconscious then.”

“Oh, Chloe-chan. Does she like manga too?”

“Hmm, I told them the stories I could remember. It’s been a long time since I had seen those. My previous world didn’t have the same ones.”

“... your previous world?” She asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know. I was reincarnated in my previous world before being summoned to this one. I thought Shizue-sensei must have told you about this.” Then again, she wouldn’t because this was quite personal. Not that I would have minded if she did.

….

….

“So you…are an Isekai protagonist doubled over?”

“... is that what you got from all this?”

“I mean I am not wrong. Also, you couldn’t remember manga but you remembered your Eroge? What’s with naming the Dark Elf?”

….

Shit.

“Hey… if you know what the name means, you are equally guilty.” I defended myself.

“Touché.”

She smiled slyly.

And this is when I was reminded of something. “By the way, did your world have the Campione Light Novel?”

“The God Slayer one?” She asked, seconds later.

“Yes.”

“Umm. I read that one. Quite interesting.”

“Highschool DxD?”

“That Boob-brained idiot main character was too much for me. I could barely pull through half the book without trying to dive into the world and castrate the guy.”

…

“Well yeah.” I couldn’t blame her. It was cringy. Must be even more so from a girl’s perspective.

“So… why are you asking me about those generic harem novels? Is this your dream? Making a harem in another world? So cliche. Not bad. Still cliche though. I mean you already have four and they are hot…”

Yeah… she was quite bi-curious. With her entire life in girls’ schools, she… experimented.

“Actually… recently, in fact just a while ago, one of Hinata’s subordinates… she was called Seishhuin Ena.” Her eyes widened at this.

“You don’t mean…”

“I do. I even verified.”

She thought for a moment. “Could be some otaku like us. Roleplaying.”

“The sword was similar and I verified. But that’s not why I believe she wasn’t lying. Actually… when I was summoned, in my fight against the Demon when I met Shizue-sensei, I awakened… a Sacred Gear.”

….

….

“You are shitting me.”

I summoned the Delete Field.

She looked at it and even scanned it with Raphael and then looked at me again. “You are actually shitting me.”

“Hey… I was as surprised as you are. I only found out about this because the word Balance Breaker came to mind.”

The reason I shared this with her was to confirm something.

Were the novels and anime only from my world?

If not, then there was a possibility that someone else might know about this world as well… from anime?

Or was I the only outlier due to my double isekai?

There were still many things to verify but one thing was clear… this was not the normal world from the novels which I knew about.

In this case, it’s better to prepare accordingly.

We discussed the new revelation in detail and she wanted to recruit any people, otherworlders who wandered into this world.

“Although, this Demon Lord title might be a bit of a problem. Normal isekai characters wouldn’t believe in a Demon Lord, cliches and all…” She said sadly. “Say, how about you make a kingdom for yourself too? Then you can recruit the humans. Actually how about you take over Falmuth. I am not letting those bastards take over the kingdom anyway. It’s better if you make it a place where the otherworlders can live peacefully. I will support you too. The resources from the kingdom will also help you in your goals.”

….

“Hmm, the idea does have merit. But I don’t think they will agree to a guy just walking in and taking over the kingdom.”

“Oh, I can help with that. Any normal guy walking in to take the Kingdom might be problematic but a guy who fights off a beautiful and cute Demon Lord who was provoked by their previous king and saves their kingdom and their lives… might be accepted. Moreover you are also a Hero like Hinata. People dig classic blonde pretty boys like you playing the Hero with a Holy Sword and fighting against the Demon Lord or an evil Dragon. Hahahaha I think Veldora might even agree to put on a show.”

….

I learned another thing about Rimuru today.

She was crazy.

- Kaijin -

He looked at the two talking on the roof of the main building of the city, looking happy and smiled.

“They look good together, don’t they, Kaijin?” His brother asked him and he nodded.

“I haven’t seen Rimuru-sama this happy ever, I think.” Kurobe said as he sat beside him.

The subordinates of Salvatore also smiled at this.

“Yes. Master looks happy too.”

“Do you think it was true?” His brother asked.

“What was true?” Kurobe prodded.

He smirked.

The main reason why he followed Miss Rimuru…

“In the Elf Bar at Dwargon, there is a fortune teller. She did a reading on Miss Rimuru to… find her fated one”

“WHAT!”

“Who?”

Several cries sounded instantly.

He just looked in the distance at the two figures sitting on the roof.

It was quite surprising when he saw the face of his newest sworn brother in the crystal ball as he travelled with Shizue-san. Although he didn’t know what the Arthur Pendragon words shouted by Miss Rimuru meant, he was quite sure she liked him too.

So when she was insulted by that stuck up noble, he did what any responsible brother should do and punched the face of that bastard.

It led to him being exiled from Dwargon but he didn’t regret it one bit. The purified metal given by Salvatore was all taken by him when he left, leaving nothing for Dwargon.

And now it seemed that these two were getting along well.

Behind him, his brothers were telling everyone the story while he chugged his mead celebrating the day.

- Hinata -

She walked towards the main chambers where the ruler of the Holy Ruberious Empire was.

The things that she found in the recent attack were worrying to say the least. There were people involved from within the Holy Empire. The paper Salvatore passed her contained some information which made her doubt some people and when she looked into them, she found that her doubts were not unfounded.

She could only think of one person who could fix this. She knocked on the door and waited outside to be summoned.

“Come in, Hinata.” A voice came from inside.

She pushed the ornate door and entered the room, closing the door behind her.

The room was dimly lit but with her level of senses, it was no problem. In front of her was a throne and a figure sat on it.

Silver hair, heterochromia blue and red eyes looked at her as the figure picked up a glass of red liquid and took a sip.

“How was your visit to that damn lizard’s lair? Did you encounter any problems?” The hatred when she mentioned the lizard was palpable but something she was used to by now.

“There were… complications.” Yes. She couldn’t think of a better word than that.

Salvatore was a complicated matter for her. She didn’t even know what to think of him. On one hand, she was sure that he didn’t want to hurt her but still being defeated so easily by him… and when he was protecting someone she doubted of hurting Sensei… but then with all the information she had… complicated was probably the most appropriate word. She was still unsure on what to do about him now.

Not to mention, Ena was now clamouring to find him after he mentioned her world and friends.

“You look like you are in a corundum, Hinata. Could it be that the Monster Nation was a problem or did that lizard come out again? No. I haven’t sensed him yet.”

She shook her head and broke out of the thoughts as she addressed the person in front of her.

“I couldn’t reach the Monster Nation or take down Rimuru Tempest, the slime who was suspected to be the killer of Shizue Izawa. I was stopped by someone.”

“Oh! Someone who could stop you?”

She shook her head. “A human. Another student of my teacher, Shizue Izawa, one she took in two years ago.” She took a deep breath before. “He told me the slime, Rimuru Tempest is a Reincarnated Human who was reincarnated in the body of a slime and not exactly a monster born from the Storm Dragon, Veldora’s magicules. She became friends with Shizue-sensei and devoured her body to fulfil her last wish.”

….

“Did your fellow student give you any proof?”

“... he didn’t have any reason to lie. I…was at his mercy the whole time.”

“What!”

“I lost to him… easily. I didn’t even last a minute and that’s when he didn’t even move from his spot or attack. He just caught my sword and then used a Skill to render me immobile. He told me that Sensei was already at the end of her life and wanted to pass on. Since then Rimuru Tempest has used her power to keep the Monsters in check and even help Humans. I confirmed the news through my own investigation. This attack was due to false information from the Human Nation Falmuth who were losing business due to the Monster Nation opening up a road through the Jura Forest.”

She handed the file in which she had collected all the information.

Demon Lord’s Haki flared from the body of the figure in front of her as more pages of the file were slowly turned. In her mind, she couldn’t help but compare the powers of the Haki she had felt from Salvatore and found that he was stronger, if only slightly.

Finally after a while, she kept the file aside and reigned in the Haki as she picked up her glass for another sip. “So Rimuru Tempest has ascended as a Demon Lord?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder a Walpurgis was called. Clayman probably had a hand in this too. One can never be sure with that slimy cretin. I will meet this Rimuru myself and see everything at Walpurgis.”

She nodded.

“By the way, the junior of yours, what’s his name?”

“Salvatore.”

Crack

The glass in the figure’s hand shattered instantly.

“Describe him clearly. His looks and Skills, everything.” The figure asked and Hinata sensed a change in the atmosphere suddenly.

“He has blonde hair, blue eyes and is almost as tall as me. He wielded a sword which was completely white in colour but lit up with golden holy flames when he wielded it. Although, he never used it against me. I think it could be a Legend, probably a God Ranked Sword. He also possessed enormous amounts of magicules and is probably a Saint and a Hero too. I am not sure if he’s already awakened but his Magicules were almost at your own level.” She thought of everything she could and then added a few more things.

The figure in front of her took deep breaths as if trying to calm down.

“Is something the matter?”

“You were not wrong to lose against him, Hinata. This is a man she…” The figure paused. “So he’s finally come. You said he was close to Rimuru Tempest?”

She nodded.

“Good. Then I will see what kind of a person this Salvatore is for her to choose him.”

“Do you know Salvatore? Could he be lying?” She asked.

“We… have a common acquaintance. As for him being a liar, no. From what I know about him, he is not a liar. The information he gave you should all be true.”

She wanted to ask more but was stopped.

“I want to take some rest Hinata.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

- Milim -

Crash

She smiled inwardly as she saw Clayman destroying his stuff. Rimuru won. As she had expected of her bestie.

“Useless. All of them, useless. They couldn’t even do a simple thing. How hard could it be to fight against a slime?”

“T-t-t-there were several strong majin with them too. And the reinforcements from the Western Holy Church led by Hinata Sakaguchi were stopped alone by Salvatore, another student of Shizue Izawa. Salvatore stepped in when Hinata Sakaguchi was going to kill the slime and… subdued her effortlessly. All our information regarding him was wrong.”

Oh ho? Sal was there too and he saved Rimuru’s life.

“Why? Why would he fight for a slime?”

“H-he was initially summoned by the Falmuth Nation and kept under a Lock Curse. They thought he had died but he was taken away by Shizue Izawa. He brought several High Level Majin with him to assist Monster Nation Tempest against the Falmuth Army. We lost contact with Pirone after that so no further information was gained.”

“Dammit. Why does this man have to mess up all my plans? First, Yamza, then Mjurran and now Pirone too.”

Milim controlled her smile again.

“Call for the Hidden Hand.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“If Milim was not needed, I could have sent her to take care of that fool but Kagali-sama has taken a shine to him somehow.”

A minute later, five people entered the room.

The one in the lead was an old man with glasses and black priest garbs. He had silver hair and a lean figure. He looked similar to one other Dragon Faithful in the way he walked. The only difference is that he was a human.

A warrior maybe.

The other was a young man with long black hair who was with a grey haired woman. The man was a human who wore priest garbs and wielded a holy sword while the woman was a Demon… no she was slightly different from a Demon. They seemed quite close.

The fourth was a girl around her own height. A vampire with blonde hair and red eyes. She looked blankly out of the room.

Finally, the last one was a girl with dark brown hair and two purple triangle marks on her cheeks. On looking closer, Milim saw that she had something sealed inside her. Some kind of monster looking like a turtle.

One thing common about all of them was the fact that each one of them had a lock spell cast on them using Clayman’s Unique Skill, Manipulator. The brown haired girl had her heart replaced by the same thing that other Majin had.

So these were the Hidden Hand which she had heard of.

They looked pretty normal to her. She could agree that they were quite strong for normal people but how could they ever hope to match the most awesome Demon Lord, Milim Nava.

She looked as Clayman ordered them to trouble Sal and capture him, getting no response from them. Ah, they were resisting but Clayman was controlling them.

He probably bound them one the day they were summoned.

If not for that, the five of them could have totally wiped the floor with him.

Eh, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Not like they would be able to defeat Sal.

After Clayman left, the five stayed in the room and the old man sighed.

“Salvatore, an otherworlder. Sounds like an Italian name.” He said, looking at the black haired man who nodded.

“Do we really have to fight against a child, maybe even from our own world Shiro-san?” He clenched his fingers.

The old man approached her and patted her head and looked at her with a sad gaze. “I don’t want to do so either, Masaomi-kun. In fact if it were up to me, if I could….” He tried to bring his hand towards her necklace before he was shot back and bled lightly from the corner of his mouth. The spell cast on him was far stronger than normal Lock Spells. “Children should be protected, no matter the cost.”

“U-um, she is a Demon Lord , I think.” The brown haired girl said as she put her hand on his chest as green light flashed and slowly the old man got better.

“Children are children. I have raised the sons of literal Satan and I can tell you that their races don’t matter. Each child should be given a chance at a good life.”

“I wish we had more people like you in our world, Shiro-san. Just give me some more time. As long as I can completely analyse the spell, I can break it. We just need to bide for our time.”

“Then I will leave it to you, Cleria-san.” The old man got up and looked at Milim with a sad gaze. “I am sorry.” Before sighing.

“Come, Aletia-chan.” The brown haired girl led the blonde vampire out too.

When they had left, Frey spoke up. “They seemed like good people. But they were strong. Do you think your new friend will be fine?”

She nodded. “It’s fine. Sal is strong.”

Yes.

Both Rimuru and Sal are strong. Very strong.

- Salvatore -

An hour or so later, we were done talking and just lay on the roof, watching the stars.

A time of peace was rare and I wanted to enjoy it.

We sensed a presence walking towards us and soon, Rimuru’s subordinate, Shuna came up. “Rimuru-sama, Salvatore-sama. Dinner is ready. Where will you two be eating?”

I waited for Rimuru’s choice who got up with a mischievous smile on her face. “Race you to the dining room. The last one there is a rotten egg.” She shouted suddenly as she jumped down.

I laughed at the girl’s antics and got up myself. “Sure.”

A minute later, I entered the dining room following her.

“Hahahaha, I won.” She cheered as she sat down at the head of the table.

“Yes, yes you did.” I smiled, raising my hands in faux surrender.

This peaceful atmosphere was broken by a voice in my head.

The Ultimate Skill Leviathan was stimulated by the loss.

….

….

….

….

The only thought in my head before I fainted was…

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

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Author’s note:

I am back with another chapter of ‘To be a Hero.’

Too many things happened in this chapter.

Hinata got owned.

We encountered some otherworlders and had some idea about what kind of world this was.

Ruminas seems to know about Sal.

And now the Hidden Hand are given the task to capture Sal.

How is all of this going to end up?

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.