Narrator POV 

  

  

  

  

Artesia Empire, 

Located on the east side of the central continent. 

The oldest and most prominent empire in the world. 

It was established by the 1st hero who defeated the Demon lord 1000 years ago. 

Ecclesia Empire. 

The holy empire is located beyond the seas of the south. 

An empire that believes that humans are the sole and rightful rulers of the land. 

This belief of this empire still holds up even to the present day. 

Although the Empire of Ecclesia was a powerful nation its military and economic might was inferior to that of the Artesia Empire. 

  

  

In present times, there is no secret that the Empire of Artesia is the most powerful nation in the whole world. 

But in actuality, this fact was not true 247 years ago. 

247 years ago. 

This world had undergone a major change. 

  

  

Originally 3 Empires were ruling over the lands of this world. 

There was a nation that equaled Artesia in both Military and Economic dominance. 

The Empire of Ecclesia monopolized the lands in the south 

The Empire of Artesia rules over the lands in the east. 

And… 

There was an empire located on the westmost edge of the continent. 

This great Empire was called “Midgar”. 

  

  

The Empire of Midgar boasts about the abundance of magic crystals all over its land 

This was due to the abundance of dungeons surrounding the Empire. 

Midgar was established by an accomplished adventurer. 

It all started with a small lively city. 

The city slowly built itself over time and before they even noticed, the nation became large and prosperous. 

Due to the support of other adventurers, the small city grew. 

It became a region... 

Into a kingdom... 

Then and soon it became an Empire. 

This place became so powerful that it could even match the Empire of Artesia in both fighting prows and riches. 

  

  

The Empire of Midgar, 

The Empire was led by the descendants of the noble adventurers who made a living by conquering dungeons and defeating monsters. 

It became the center of magic research and development. 

It was said that the Empire of Midgar made advanced magic tools that are comparable to that of the present day, maybe even better. 

  

  

The fall of Midgar was one of the most tragic downfalls of an empire in this world’s history. 

It became a reminder for the future generation, an example of how human greed and malicious intent could ruin a prosperous Empire. 

The fall of Midgar was set in stone once the hearts of the leaders was clouded by their lust for power and treasure. 

  

  

This all started with the birth of a Hero in the Empire of Midgar. 

It was a well-known fact that the Heroes of this world were from another world and were summoned by the gods to save their world. 

They are given “abilities” that far exceed the norm. 

Their power could not be compared to the native people of this world. 

Throughout history, the stories of these heroes are being passed down with significant historical values, 

Stories are worthy to be told for the future generation. 

  

  

Once every 100 years, the existence of a being would appears in this peaceful land. 

The being that the people of this world call the incarnation of calamity. 

An existence that would bring chaos and death to the land. 

They call this the “Demon Lord”. 

Once the demon lord appears, the lives of the people of this land would be placed in grave danger. 

  

  

There is only one person who could defeat this incarnation of calamity. 

This personage is gifted with the job class “Hero”. 

"Hero" is the most powerful job class one person could get in this world. 

The only job class that can learn a skill that can permanently kill the immortal "demon lord". 

  

  

Hero. 

Just like the people of this world, they are born with a mother and a father. 

But unlike the people of this world, they differ in one other thing. 

They have memories of their past lives from another reality. 

Carrying with them wisdom that surpasses that of the native of this world. 

And before being born into the world they would receive guidance from the goddesses who protect this world. 

They would receive their blessings and be notified of their “mission” to defeat the demon lord in exchange for a promise. 

  

  

. 

. 

. 

  

  

Alas. 

The “Demon Lord” appeared once again and began to terrorize the world. 

The people are now waiting for the birth of the new hero. 

Their wish was granted. 

The new hero was born in a humble small town within Midgar Empire. 

  

  

The hero lived as a regular boy in a small village until one day his secret was discovered. 

He tried to hide the fact that he was the hero. 

But as if fate wanted him to carry out his duty, the hero was caught in an unfortunate incident involving his childhood friend. 

It was then, the amazing ability of this child was revealed. 

  

  

“The Hero had Returned" 

Said the people of the land. 

The empire of Midgar took and raised the Hero and helped him fulfill his destiny to defeat the Demon Lord. 

Thus, the legend of the 9th Hero together with his trusted allies was written. 

Enduring many hardships. 

Winning over every challenge they faced. 

Their triumphs against strong adversaries. 

All of this made them stronger. 

  

  

They would conquer the monsters plaguing the land. 

They saved people in need. 

Just like any other hero, this era’s hero became the hope of the world. 

He faithfully fulfilled his role as the hero and it was just a matter of time before he and his party eventually defeat the demon lord.  

It was inevitable. 

  

  

Things should have ended fine. 

But it all crumbled down because of human greed for power. 

The empire of Midgar wanted to monopolize the hero and use him to uplift the empire as the most powerful nation in the world. 

They are planning to use the Hero and his power to gain absolute rule all over the land. 

They decided to manipulate things behind the scene so that things turn out to be what they desired. 

  

  

It was the cliché story of the hero being used and getting betrayed by the nation who asked for his help. 

They wanted his power for their good. 

And to do this, they are willing to manipulate things with their evil plots. 

To force the hero to listen to their demands. 

Making the hero be fooled and used for their evil intentions. 

The naïve and pure-hearted hero would fall into their plots, without him realizing that he was only dancing on the palm of their hands. 

And to their credit it did work... 

  

  

2 years since the Hero defeated the demon lord. 

He is now living peacefully with his wife and his 1-year-old child. 

His wife happened to be the same girl he saved during the time his identity as the hero was revealed. 

She was also the hero's childhood sweetheart. 

This person was also a part of the heroes’ party and she was one of the most powerful individuals in the land. 

After falling for his childhood friend, the hero stayed in this world. 

Instead of returning to his world, the hero decided to stay in this world to enjoy his life with the woman he loved. 

  

  

The hero retired and his “duty” had ended. 

Despite that, the empire of Midgar still wanted to use the hero to invade the Empire of Artesia. 

But the hero wanted no part of this war. 

“If you want to invade Artesia do it by yourselves.” 

He said. 

  

  

One day, the hero came home after hunting for food to put on their humble table. 

He returned and found out that his wife was dead and his child missing in the cradle of their home. 

The scene implies that the one who did the cruel act was the Empire of Artesia. 

And yes, in truth this was a part of the Midgar Empire’s plan. 

They hid the hero’s child and they plan to train this child as a loyal dog of the Empire. 

  

  

  

He fought to find his child and face Artesia Empire. 

The Empire of Midgar continued to falsify tracks to blame Artesia for the missing hero's child. 

Creating false clues that instigated the idea that his child was sold to be a slave in that land. 

Midgar also created a scenario that would make the Hero feel desperate as they fed him lies. 

Lies that implied that the Empire of Artesia was doing inhumane things toward the slaves. 

The hero, thinking about his child who might be in this inhumane situation drives him angry. 

Out of rage, he was unable to see the big picture. 

The big picture is that the Empire of Midgar, the very Empire he protected and was loyal to betrayed him. 

  

  

In search of his child, he ended up rampaging in the Empire of Artesia. 

To make the long story short, the hero discovered the truth after some time. 

In exchange for this truth, the blood of the innocent was spilled. 

People of the Artesia Empire died at his hands. 

The same hands of whom they thought to be the savior of this world. 

He did all of this, only to find out that the real enemy was the people whom he trusts. 

After many hardships and heartbreaks, the hero lost his humanity. 

  

  

After learning this truth. 

He turned and continued to rampage in Midgar. 

His anger was not salted even after killing so many in Artesia. 

No, it was more accurate to say that his humanity was slowly chipped away. 

He fought and was even forced to kill his one and only child in the process. 

  

  

His humanity was lost and he is now a different being. 

He became the existence that all of the people in this world fear. 

He gained a new blessing in celebration of his now corrupted mind. 

A title appeared in his status window. 

“Demon Lord” 

As the demon lord, he once again fulfilled his role. 

This time not as the "Hero", but as the "Demon lord". 

He and his monster army destroyed the Empire. 

His former allies and the heroes' party became “Demon Generals” and helped him destroy the wicked Empire. 

  

  

******************** 

  

  

It was night, the surrounding was dark and the only source of light is from a campfire. 

Surrounded by grass, trees, bushes, and vines. 

In the darkness of the night, a female with long wavy blonde hair was watching the flames of the campfire burn. 

She had beautiful blue-colored pupils that resembled the color of the sky at midday. 

Her hair was so wavy that some of her hair would bond together to create natural “Ringlets” formations, some would rather call this hairstyle “Drill Hair”. 

She’s wearing a shiny metal breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves. 

In contrast, she was also wearing a frilly blue-colored dress with those metal pieces of equipment under those metal plates. 

Printed in her breastplate was an image of a blue rose. 

  

  

In the eyes of people like Suguta Yoshiaga, the appearance of a lady is not that foreign. 

This attire of hers would remind them of the iconic anime character, “Saber”. 

Aside from that, the face of the lady and her demeanor did not resemble that same character. 

She was even wielding a different weapon as she has a large lance. 

That Lance was almost as tall as she was when placed next to her. 

The blonde female knight was telling them the story of, the current demon lord. 

She looked very much like a proud female knight. 

  

  

As to why she was telling this story... 

It was for her to explain how stupid and narrow-minded Yoshiaga and his friends were.  

This triad is once part of a group of people summoned in the Empire of Artesia 4 months ago. 

These three boys were Tsuchiya Daisetsu, Nobira Naonobu, and Suguta Yoshiaga. 

They were the same group of guys who left the castle on the third day after getting summoned by the empire. 

But not long after leaving the empire, they experience an unfortunate encounter with a bunch of thugs. 

But now, they are sitting together with a beautiful blonde lady. 

They looked troubled while listening to the story of the current demon lord. 

  

  

“Hee~ so something like that happened huh…” <Naonobu> 

Said a boy who has a very skinny frame, his large front tooth protruding from his mouth like a rabbit. 

It was Nobira Naonobu 

He commented on the story of the beautiful female knight. 

“After listening to his story I now feel bad for the Demon Lord.” <Daisetsu> 

Said a boy with a rounded body frame, his face looked like that of the fat buddha. 

This boy’s name was Tsuchiya Daisetsu. 

“So something like that happened…” <Yoshiaga> 

Lastly, the last boy says his opinion on the story of the female knight. 

His mediocre-looking appearance and passive personality make it look like he’s the kind of person that you would call a pushover. 

This boy’s name is Suguta Yoshiaga. 

  

  

“That is why I think stupid people like you who like to create stupid conspiracy theories and accuse Artesia Empire's leader to be plotting something against the heroes are completely false. The Empire knows that if they were to use the heroes for their gains it may bring forth the destruction of the whole empire. The empire would not be SOOO stupid to make the same mistake Midgar had committed.” 

“Hmnn… I now feel bad that I doubted the empire before. If only we knew this fact beforehand, we could have prevented that unpleasant experience we had in the past.” <Naonobu> 

The blonde beauty gorgeously placed her hands over her red-pink lips and then giggled. 

She looked as elegant as ever, despite her cute reaction to the boy’s remark she still gave off the aura of a respectable lady. 

“Well, I would not say that the empire has not taken measures to leash the hero to their side.” <Blondie> 

“What do you mean?” <Yoshiaga> 

“I know for a fact that the empire chose the third princess as a companion of the hero. This is in hope that the hero would take fancy to her and make her his future wife.” <Blondie> 

  

  

The three boys internalize what the blonde beauty just said. 

"So... The empire was hoping that the third princess would be able to win over the Hero, Hano Ryuusei, and take her as her wife." <Naonobu> 

[If that happens, the hero would be leashed into the imperial family.] <Daisetsu> 

"If that happened, the empire would gladly make Hano the next Emperor of the empire." <Yoshiaga> 

  

  

The three boys were enlightened. 

“Oh…” <Daisetsu> 

“I see.” <Naonobu> 

“Kuuu!!! That Hano that lucky bastard!” <Yoshiaga> 

The blonde lady looked at the boys like they were insects and started talking. 

“Well… if you boys dare call themselves heroes, I would never do such plots. Oho~ho~ho~ho~ho~ho.” <Blondie> 

The blonde lady gracefully placed her right hand under her chin before letting out a burst of annoying high-pitched laughter. 

It was the kind of laughter one would expect to hear from a noblewoman like her. 

In some anime troupes, it was the legendary ojou-sama laughter. 

  

. 

. 

. 

  

After a long chat, the group decided to rest. 

The lady was the first one to be on the watch together with Yoshiaga. 

The blonde beauty looked up while still seated on an old log near the campfire. 

She was looking blankly at the starry night sky. 

She awkwardly smiled at nothing, her smile carried an aura of sorrow and longing in it. 

She then shook her head as if shaking off the thing on her mind. 

  

  

Yoshiaga looks at the beautiful female knight sitting opposite the campfire. 

Alicia Cliffe Azurearosi 

This was the name of this beauty. 

She’s a powerful female Knight whom Yoshiaga and his friends met more than a month ago. 

She was the person who saved them from the hands of the thugs who kidnapped them. 

  

  

Azurearosi 

Is the noble family name of one of the 4 great Ducal houses of the Artesia empire. 

They are the great nobles who govern most of the northern region of the Empire. 

As one of the 4 great Ducal houses of the Empire, Azurearosi is not someone you would want to mess with. 

Alicia Cliffe Azurearosi was the one who saved the three boys from the hands of the thugs who captured them. 

Yoshiaga wondered. 

[Why would she have that kind of expression on her face?] <Yoshiaga> 

Alicia is enveloped by this mood of the night. 

There was a very sad expression on her face. 

Yoshiaga remembered the day when Inaba escaped from the thugs. 

  

  

As he did reminisce. 

The figure of a boy appeared in his mind. 

The figure of a boy running away without looking back as He, Daisetsu, and Naonobu were calling out his name for help. 

While remembering this, Yoshiaga impulsively bit his lips from frustration and disbelief. 

Realizing that he was thinking of something negative, Yoshiaga shakes his head to remove this idea from his mind. 

  

  

Yoshiaga, Naonobu, and Daisetsu had been traveling with lady Alicia for over a month now. 

When Alicia saved these three boys, she asked them to follow her on her journey and be her lackeys. 

At first, Yoshiaga thought that this lady wanted servants to serve her during her travels. 

Now that Yoshiaga had known her well, it seems that the reason why she asked them to follow her was because of an entirely other reason. 

With her personality, skills, and impressive insights, she does not need servants like them. 

On contrary, she treats them like friends. 

She even bothered to take time to help them to learn about this world and train under her wings. 

No matter how Yoshiaga thinks about why such ladies were helping them he could not think of a reason. 

Yoshiaga thinks that lady Alicia was not one to do such a thing as save them on a whim. 

In the end, he could only guess. 

  

  

Lady Alicia had been an enigma for Yoshiaga. 

She was a mysterious person with an aura of dominance that is suitable for her origins as an aristocrat. 

Compared to the other aristocrats that Yoshiaga met in this world lady Alicia was different. 

Lady Alicia is significantly more powerful than most of the aristocrats of her age. 

She’s only 16, her age does not differ from that of Yoshiaga and his friends. 

If one would not look at her face and only judge her by the way she speaks and interact with others, one would think that Alicia would be somewhere in her mid-30s. 

In contrast, when you look at her face, she looks like a young teenage girl. 

And it is true, Alicia is only 16 years old. 

  

  

Her aura and attitude of a prideful ojou-san do not match with a youthful cute face. 

She acts pridefully most of the time and would even utter hurtful belittling words at people. 

It some time for Yoshiaga and his friends to become accustomed to her antics. 

They learned that the best way to treat lady Alicia was to treat her like a moody adult woman. 

There are times when Yoshiaga and his friends would even forget that lady Alicia is actually of the same age. 

As such, a question popped into Yoshiaga’s mind. 

  

  

Why would such a wealthy and respected lady venture into the world on her own? 

Why would a powerful person such as her help a weakling like us? 

Why would such a young lady have an expression as if she’s a person who had been through much pain? 

Why would the daughter of the 4 great houses of the empire work as an adventurer? 

Why would such a person need so much power? 

What is her reason to be so driven to do these things? 

Yoshiaga wanted to ask all of these questions toward the lady, but for some reason, he could not muster the courage to do so. 

He was afraid to ask as well as hear the answers. 

As a result, all he could do was follow her in silence. 

  

  

He looked around and saw that this depressing aura had eaten the mood. 

To change the atmosphere of the surrounding, Yoshiaga tried to start a new topic of conversation, 

“So, miss Alicia, how long would it take for us to arrive in Riles?” <Yoshiaga> 

He asked the female knight. 

  

  

The fair lady pondered for some time before she answered Suguta’s question. 

“Hmff, what an impatient fellow… as for the answer to your question. We’re about halfway there, I think it would still take us about a month.” <Alicia> 

“Wow, we’ve been traveling for over a month now and we're just halfway through?” <Yoshiaga> 

“Well, we can travel faster by hiring a carriage or using teleport gates but if we do that I won't have time to train you, boys.” <Alicia> 

Alicia said with a teasing expression on her face. 

Yoshiaga who’s been under this lady’s tutelage did not know how to respond to Alicia’s statement. 

In actuality, Yoshiaga and his friends asked Lady Alicia to help them become strong. 

This is why he became troubled. 

Lady Alicia is using this to drill into them that the reason their journey took so long was because of their wish. 

“Ahaha…” <Yoshiaga> 

  

  

The conversation came to another lull. 

In this silence, Yoshiaga gathers his courage to ask one of the questions that had been bugging his mind. 

He wanted to ask about this lady’s reason for becoming an adventurer. 

“Uhmm… miss Alicia may I ask you one question?” <Yoshiaga> 

“humu, ask away, plebian.” <Alicia> 

Alicia affirmed in a prideful manner. 

But before Yoshiaga was able to say a word. 

All of the sudden the proud noble lady aura of Alicia changed into that of a seasoned warrior reacting to danger. 

  

  

“Sshhh~” <Alicia> 

Alicia signaled Yoshiaga with a hush to silence him. 

Alicia signaled Yoshiaga to notify the others. 

They all came into arms. 

  

  

Observing the situation. 

Naonobu and Daisetsu woke up and were on an alert. 

Lady Alicia was looking at one dark corner of the forest. 

She reached out her hands to hold on to her large lance beside her. 

  

  

We all looked at that empty darkness of the forest. 

Not long after... 

We heard the sound of crackling bushes and rustling grass. 

“I can’t see anything.” <Yoshiaga> 

"Me too, but something is lurking over there." <Naonobu> 

“Wait I think I saw something.” <Daisetsu> 

Reacting to what Daisetsu said, Yoshiaga tried to perceive the slightest movement from that direction. 

“...” <Yoshiaga> 

He notices something from within the darkness. 

There were four pairs of eyes reflecting light peering in their direction. 

“!!” <Yoshiaga> 

  

  

Not long after Naonobu and Daisetsu also notice it. 

The glowing eyes were moving toward their location. 

Realizing this, Yoshiaga, Daisetsu, and Naonobu gripped their weapon tightly and prepared their minds for a fight. 

“What do you think is coming here.” <Naonobu> 

“I don’t have an idea.” <Daisetsu> 

The boys were nervous and ended up asking Alicia. 

“Hmnn, miss Alicia what do you think---... eh?” <Yoshiaga> 

  

  

Yoshiaga looked at the lady but when he did he became confused. 

It seems that the lady lifted her fierce warrior aura as she was back to her usual lady aura. 

She was leisurely pouring hot water into a cup from the tea casserole they use to boil water placed over the campfire. 

“Miss Alicia?” <Yoshiaga> 

“what, plebian?” <Alicia> 

Still confused Yoshiaga looked at the relaxed figure of the lady. 

  

  

  

With each passing moment, the rustling of grass and bushes became louder and louder from the dark forest. 

It was quite obvious that whatever was behind the blanket of darkness, wanted them to know that it was there. 

The sound was just behind the bush they could see. 

It was a matter of time before they would see what monster was behind this rustling noise. 

And it appeared.  

A "head" appeared, peering from that bush. 

  

  

“eh?” <Yoshiaga> 

“What!!!?” <Naonobu>  

What appeared indeed was a monster. 

But it was a monster that did not impose much danger as they initially expect. 

What appeared was a cute monster with black and white fur and a pretty blue eye. 

As the party saw this monster, they somewhat lowered their guards. 

The three boys let out a sigh of relief knowing that they were worried about nothing. 

  

  

What appeared was an E-rank monster. 

Either one of them could easily defeat such a monster after all the things they had experienced and with all the training they’d been through. 

Defeating an E-rank monster is something they could easily do. 

They thought they finally understood why lady Alicia lowered her guard.  

They also dropped their guards and became confident. 

  

  

“Okay leave this one to… m…. e?” <Yoshiaga> 

Yoshiaga said. 

But as he did, his voice became softer and softer as he looked up in regret. 

Naonobu and Daisetsu’s faces became pale as what made Yoshiaga react like this was in front of their eyes. 

“hiiiiiiii” <Daisetsu> 

  

  

What appeared was a large wolf standing behind that small blue-eyed wolf. 

They knew in an instant that they don't stand a chance against such a monster. 

When they tried to turn around and attempted to run away from there in a haste. 

But they were unable to do so because another wolf was blocking their escape route. 

All of a sudden, the three were in a sudden pinch 

Their body was shaking from shock and fear. 

As last resort, the three looked at the lady sitting beyond the wolf blocking their path. 

  

  

But what they saw was the relaxed figure of their savior who does not seem to act even after seeing the three monsters that appeared from the dark forest. 

Instead, she took a sip of the hot tea she prepared for herself. 

“Fuuu~~” <Alicia> 

[Why is she still so relaxed?] <Yoshiaga> 

  

  

Yoshiaga felt something behind them. 

Then... 

“I knew it! As expected, there were adventurers here... huh, Tsuchiya-san?” <Voice> 

A voice called out a familiar name. 

It was Daisetsu's family name. 

Daisetsu who was standing frozen just a while ago looked back. 

Not too many people knew Daisetsu's family name. 

With some delay, the other two did the same. 

What they saw was a figure of a nostalgic-looking girl with black hair and sharp-looking eyes. 

  

  

“Mizusawa-san?” <Daisetsu> 

"Uwahhh... it's really is Tsuchiya-san..." <Kazue> 

  

  

  

  

  

  

Author Note: 

You thought I was another delay, but it's me DIO,  Author! 

Hehehe, I was out for 2 weeks again but don't worry. 

It's not as if I was slacking or something. 

I have 5 chapters to upload, well I still have to edit it but... still, I have 5 chapters prepared! 

I'll update them one at a time. 

That means that I will be uploading 1 chapter daily for the next 5 days! 

  

  

Things happened that I was prevented to do some editing for the past weeks. 

In return, I just focused on writing the story continuously w/o editing since I don't have the means to upload the chapters. 

I'll upload the next chapter around this time for the next 5 days. 

well then! Cyaa