WKTH Fragment 7

After the battle in the Rozorov Great Forest, I joined forces with Leon, Maria, and Solon and was officially recognized as a hero. When I first entered the royal castle, I sensed a subtle atmosphere. Everyone must have been thinking, “Why is this guy here instead of Leon and the others?” But since I myself had the same thought, I didn’t really care. The king didn’t seem to have high expectations for me personally, but he seemed to have high hopes for my party, which had gathered excellent people. The war situation with the Demon King’s army was deteriorating, so he couldn’t help but have high hopes. In the midst of all this, the princess Alexia, whom the king introduced to me, stood out. “This is my daughter, Alekzia. Once you have defeated the Demon King, I will make you Alekzia’s husband and the next king of this country.” The first time I saw her, I thought, “What a beautiful girl.” Her long flowing golden hair and beautiful blue eyes that looked like gems exuded intelligence. She was only 12 years old and still had some childishness, but she had a dignified and beautiful charm that was different from Maria’s. “Hero-sama, please defeat the Demon King and save the world. I will be waiting for your safe return,” she said to me with a smile. I thought she was trying too hard. She’s still a 12-year-old girl. Even though it’s tradition, she probably doesn’t want to marry a man she doesn’t even like who is six years older. She too is playing the role of a “princess,” suppressing her true feelings. “Princess, I promise. I will definitely defeat the Demon King,” I said to her in a voice only she could hear. “But I won’t come back here. So please marry the person you love.” I’m not a real hero, so I can’t marry the princess. And it’s ridiculous to become a king. Besides, I wanted this cute girl in front of me to decide her own future. I wanted to give her that choice. Alekzia was surprised to hear my words and opened her big blue eyes wide. It was nice to see her real expression. If I think that I’m fighting to protect the future of children like her, even if I’m a fake hero, I can move forward.

During our stay at the castle, we received hospitality parties and had our portraits drawn. We were treated for several days, and we were provided with practical and good equipment, but I kept my sword and only had it maintained. I intended to fight until the end with this sword. While at the castle, I mainly trained with Leon on swordsmanship. Although my sword skills had improved considerably, I still could not match Leon’s. However, by using attack and healing magic effectively, I was able to fight persistently and put up a fight that was almost on par with him. “Your fighting style is still messy,” Leon commented, but he had no malice. Leon understood that such fighting style was necessary for fighting against monsters. However, it consumed both physical and magical power, so my body was greatly exhausted. When the training was over, I collapsed during the training session. “I’ll go ahead,” Leon said as he still had enough energy. Although our battle was even, his movements were not wasted, and he still had plenty of energy left. While waiting for my strength to recover, someone approached me. It was Princess Alexia. “I was watching,” she said, her tone more rough than when we first met. “Leon is better with the sword. I know because I also learned swordsmanship. Your fighting style is not beautiful and, how should I put it… it’s embarrassing.” As expected, she was a straightforward princess. I couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Um… I’m sorry. I don’t know how to talk to royalty properly.” I’m not good with etiquette. I leave the responses to nobles and important people mainly to Leon and Maria because I don’t understand them at all. “Just be normal. I’m not expecting the hero to be formal,” she said, seemingly not caring much about etiquette. I appreciated that, and I liked her personality. “I’m not that strong. That’s why I aim to win no matter how embarrassing or messy my fighting style is,” I said. “Even though you’re a hero, you’re not that strong?”

“So how do you plan on defeating the Demon King?” It seems like she is asking out of curiosity rather than belittling me. “Well, I’ll have to use all sorts of methods, won’t I?” “Like what?” “Let’s see. For example, if the Demon King’s castle is going to burn down, I’ll set it on fire and burn the whole thing down.” “Set fire to the castle?!?” Princess Alexia covered her mouth in shock. “I mean, using oil and considering the direction and strength of the wind, things like that. It would make things a lot easier.” “But that’s not something a hero would do. It’s cowardly, isn’t it? I’ve always thought that being a hero was a bit like being an assassin, but to really do something like that…” Princess Alexia seemed a little puzzled. “Well, even though I’m called a hero, I’m weak, you know. I’ll defeat the Demon King by any means necessary. Because if I don’t defeat the Demon King, everyone will be in trouble, right? If poison works, I’ll use poison, and if negotiating with monsters will make them fight on our side, then I’ll negotiate with them. No matter what anyone says, I have to see this through.” I’m not really like a hero, and I’m not actually a hero. That’s why I’m going to fight without choosing my methods. “You’re not just like a hero on the outside, but on the inside too, aren’t you? Then why are you doing this? Because if you’re not coming back here, it means you don’t want to be king, right? What’s your goal?” She looked at me with curious eyes. “My goal is to defeat the Demon King. I haven’t thought about what comes after that. I’ll risk my life to defeat the Demon King… No, maybe it would be better if things turned out that way.”

“If I defeat the Demon Lord and die in the process, everyone will stop doubting that Ares is the true hero. Maybe that’s the future I’m hoping for. “No way,” Princess Alexia said, pointing her finger at me, her face flushed with anger. “Ares Schmidt, what are you thinking? I’ve never heard of a hero fighting the Demon Lord to the death. There’s no such thing as a dark hero’s adventure! Got it? A hero’s job is to defeat the Demon Lord and return to the castle.” Her way of speaking was kind of like that of a 12-year-old girl, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “But if I come back, you’ll have to marry me, won’t you? Won’t that be a problem?” Even as I said that, I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to return to the castle and see her grow up into a beautiful woman. “T-That would be a problem, but… it’s okay! I’ll figure something out! So promise me! Promise me you’ll defeat the Demon Lord and come back alive! This is an order from the princess!” She gave me an order with a slightly troubled look on her face, but it was very cute. “Okay, I understand. I promise to defeat the Demon Lord and make sure I survive too.” I intentionally changed “come back alive” to “make sure I survive.” “So, Princess Alexia, promise me you’ll marry someone you love, okay?”

“I’m going to fight for everyone to be happy, so I don’t want you to have an unwanted marriage or anything now that the Demon King is gone.” “I understand. If you keep your promise, I’ll keep mine too.” She turned away and hid her expression as she made that promise.