Chapter 118: The Light Hero has come to Makkaren
◇Christiana Makkaren POV◇
Office room in the Makkaren feudal lord's residence.
The ones facing each other there were me -Christiana- and my sister Violet Makkaren.
"Chris, give up on becoming the feudal lord. I obtained the support of the Sun Country's Rolland Household, you know?"
Violet-oneesama smiles elegantly.
I clench my teeth.
One of the Five Sacred Nobles, the Rolland Household.
Their standing surpasses that of the Rozes royalty.
Even so, they are foreign nobles.
Nobles of other countries normally wouldn't have that much influence.
But the Sun Country and the Water Country have been allied for a long time, and there's a clear superior.
Not even the Rozes royals can ignore the will of the Rolland Household.
"Fufu, there's no little sister that surpasses the older sister."
"N-Not yet, Violet-oneesama! I haven't given up!" (Chris)
Onee-sama used an explosive amount of funds to gain the Rolland Household as her patron.
Monsters have grown active, so we need to increase our forces and amass food, and yet, she did that.
Even if it is to become the feudal lord, there's no point if the financial affairs of Makkaren fall to the red!
"Looks like the battle has been set..."
The moment Violet-oneesama was about to declare her victory...
"Chris-dono, I have something to talk about."
"Fujiwara-sama?" (Chris)
My husband opened the door and entered.
"It looks like the Light Hero, Sakurai-dono, has come to Makkaren-desu zo." (Fuji)
""Eh?""
At this timing?
"The Light Hero...the next King of Highland?"
Violet-oneesama mutters this dumbfounded.
That's right, after the Light Hero defeats the Great Demon Lord, as the husband of the number one for the throne of Highland, Princess Noel, he is settled to become the next King.
"W-Why is a person like that...?!"
Her confident attitude of before was gone and she got agitated.
(He came to meet the Rozes Hero, Makoto-sama...? Or does he have another objective?) (Chris)
According to Danna-sama, the Light Hero-sama and Makoto-sama have a strong friendship.
"I will go meet up with Sakurai-dono but, what will you be doing, Chris-dono?" (Fuji)
"I-I will go with you too! Onee-sama, we will talk later." (Chris)
"......"
There was no response from Violet-oneesama.
◇Makoto POV◇
"The great reincarnation of the Savior-sama has come to Makkaren!"
""""""Cheers!""""""
The entrance of the Adventurer Guild has become noisy like a festival.
In other words, just the usual.
"Haha..."
Sakurai-kun laughs with a troubled expression.
"A noisy bunch, don't you think, Ryosuke?"
Furiae-san had a slightly flashier attire and was sitting beside him.
After Sakurai-kun became the Sun Knight Captain, he has been going around giving his regards to the royals of the six countries of the continent, and their chief nobles.
It normally ends with just going to their capital though.
(So he came to Makkaren because he was worried about Furiae-san.) (Makoto)
That's love.
But the pretext is that he came here to give his regards to Princess Sofia who is in Makkaren.
Sakurai-kun doesn't want to stand out too much, so he is currently troubled that his name is being repeated over and over in a loud voice.
But he looked relieved when looking at Furiae-san at his side.
By the way, the Sun Knights that came with him are apparently resting at their lodging.
Because they followed after Sakurai-kun who came here at full-throttle, they are all tired.
Sounds like being part of a Hero group ain't easy.
"Sakurai-kun seems to be having fun." (Aya)
"Furi can make that kind of face, huh. Even though she always looks like she is in a bad mood." (Lucy)
Sa-san and Lucy were trying not to get in the way of the two.
By the way, we have told Sakurai-kun that Furiae-san's fake name is Furi.
We were having our own celebration here with our acquaintances for overcoming the danger of monsters.
"Makoto-senpai! Good work today! I will pour you your drink!"
The brawler man of Jean's party spoke to me.
He is a newbie adventurer, but his body is all muscles, so I can tell that he has trained quite a lot.
His name is Tony.
"Ah, thanks, Tony." (Makoto)
Ale was poured into a big glass.
...I can't drink that much though.
"Makoto, Tony wanted to talk with you. Get along with him, okay?" (Jean)
Oh, Jean, you are already sounding like a senior adventurer.
"Makoto-san, that was an amazing spell! How did you do such a spell?! Can I check your muscles for a bit?!" (Tony)
"No, muscles have nothing to do with magic..." (Makoto)
"Uooh, these are the muscles of a Hero. They are indeed great to the touch!" (Tony)
Oi! You are touching too much!
I felt a chill and took distance.
"Makoto-san, want to adventure together next time?!" (Tony)
He immediately closes the distance.
"Ah, okay. Some other time." (Makoto)
"After adventuring, let's go to the hot springs! I will wash your back!" (Tony)
"......"
For some reason, my butt feels danger.
[Do you want to have an adventure with Tony?]
Yes
No ←
RPG Player-san?
You have a typo there. He said hot springs there, not adventure.
...It is a typo, right?
"Jean-senpai, you are coming with us, right?!" (Tony)
"Yeah, let's all go together some time." (Jean)
Looks like Jean's companion has really strong personality traits.
I haven't been in a club in my school days, so this is my first time having a junior.
It doesn't feel bad to be admired.
I look at the direction of Emily, Lucy, and Sa-san, a bit interested in what they are doing.
"Lucy-oneesama! That Meteor Rain was amazing!"
The mage girl in Jean's party was talking with Lucy.
Her reddish brown hair and chestnut color eyes were cute.
Her name was Monika, right?
"Uhm, Monika, it is hot sticking so close to me..." (Lucy)
It is rare to see Lucy being overwhelmed.
"Lucy-oneeama, you are incredibly strong! Want to adventure with us next time?" (Monika)
"O-Okay, together with Emily and the others, okay?" (Lucy)
She is being invited over there too.
It might be a good idea to go on an adventure together sometime.
"Haah haah...the skin of Lucy-oneesama is so beautiful, and also really hot. I want to be embraced by these arms..." (Monika)
"H-Hey! Emily, isn't this girl drunk?" (Lucy)
Lucy asks flustered for help from her friend.
"Really? She is a good girl. You are a member of a Hero party, so treasure your mage juniors that admire you. Hey, Aya, I heard that you are familiar with Laberintos. Is that true?" (Emily)
"Well, somewhat." (Aya)
Emily didn't heed Lucy and began talking to Sa-san.
Sa-san is playing dumb.
It is not 'somewhat', right?
"My party is thinking about going to Laberintos next. Can you teach me a bit? The reward will be the hidden sweet stores of Makkaren." (Emily)
"Leave it to me!" (Aya)
Looks like negotiations were successful.
"Lucy-oneesama, I am feeling drunk~. Can you take me to my room?" (Monika)
"Calm down, Monika. Drink some water first." (Lucy)
Do your best, Lucy!
I was also receiving passionate invites from Tony, so I left it to Jean and moved seats.
"Oh, Makoto-kun. Thanks for your hard work today."
"Mary-san, good job. Today was a really rough day." (Makoto)
I sat by the side of Mary-san who just finished her guild work.
"Do monsters come to the city often lately?" (Makoto)
"Yeah. This is the 3rd time this month... At this rate, it might get bad." (Mary)
The expression of Mary-san that's always bright when drinking was gloomy this time.
Of course it would be scary to have something like what happened today.
Today Sakurai-kun luckily appeared, but it seems it normally is Lucas-san and the other veteran adventurers that would do something about it.
But those veterans have been called out a lot recently and are absent.
Mary-san said: 'the amount of injured people have increased...and it is troubling'.
She is feeling down.
"Is there something I can do?" (Makoto)
When I asked her, she made a shocked expression.
And then, she smiled at me.
"Aah, that unreliable Makoto-kun has become cooler. I should have marked my territory faster..." (Mary)
She gave me a knuckle sandwich.
"It hurts." (Makoto)
Yeah yeah, this is how Mary-san should be.
"Alright, let's drink! To celebrate Makoto-kun becoming a Hero!" (Mary)
"We have already celebrated that more than ten times." (Makoto)
Mary-san is already back to form.
"By the way, is that the Light Hero-sama? What kind of relationship does he have with that rumored noble lady, Furi-chan?" (Mary)
Mary-san whispered to me with interest.
"A couple, maybe?" (Makoto)
"?! Eh?! But the Light Hero-sama has the Highland Princess—" (Mary)
"Aah, that was a lie just now. Please forget it." (Makoto)
"It is bothering me now! Tell me real low!" (Mary)
I glanced at Sakurai-kun and Furiae-san while my shoulders were being shaked.
"Hey, Ryosuke, I was attacked by a Goblin King just recently." (Furiae)
"Eh?! W-What happened?!" (Sakurai)
"I controlled him with my Charm and the Mage-san defeated it. I might have talent as an adventurer." (Furiae)
"...Don't do too many dangerous things." (Sakurai)
Sakurai-kun chuckles.
Furiae-san tells Sakurai-kun about the recent events in high spirits.
Sakurai-kun seemed to be having fun listening to this.
The refreshing handsome Sakurai-kun and the long black haired elegant lady Furiae-san; the two of them truly look picturesque together.
The female adventurers that want to talk to Sakurai-kun, and the male adventurers aiming for Furiae-san can't even get close.
So peaceful.
I remember the talk I had with Sakurai-kun after defeating the Green Dragon .
◇◇
The Green Dragon perished without a sound.
The Skill of the Legendary Savior, Light Sword, is as terrifying as always.
"You saved us there, Sakurai-kun. Why are you in Makkaren?" (Makoto)
I went to him while giving him my thanks.
"I have become a knight captain of the Sun Knights, so I am going around greeting the royals of each country. I came to Rozes, so I thought about showing up in Makkaren." (Sakurai)
He replies happily.
I grin at that.
"You came to meet Furiae-san, right?" (Makoto)
"...W-Well, that's part of it." (Sakurai)
Now now, you can't fool me.
"But is it okay? You have wives and children in the Sun Country, right?" (Makoto)
20 beauties!
Furiae-san on top of that?! You've got me jealous!
I tried asking him with a light teasing mood.
But the expression of Sakurai-kun gets dark.
"Actually...I haven't seen the face of my own children..." (Sakurai)
"Huh?" (Makoto)
Wait a bit there.
You have never seen the face of your own children?
What's with that?
He then tells me that his children are the children of the Light Hero, but they are NOT the children of royalty.
But the problematic thing is that he is the husband of Princess Noel, and he will be the next King of Highland.
The children of the next King that don't have the blood of royalty.
They might become a trigger for an heir dispute in the future.
Because of that, Sakurai-kun is prohibited from meeting the mother when the child is there.
The coming King of Highland after Sakurai-kun has to be a child with royal blood.
But the Sun Oracle, Princess Noel, can't have a child yet.
Princess Noel can only have a child when the Great Demon Lord is defeated and peace comes to the world.
The next King must not have feelings for his children that don't have royal blood.
Sakurai-kun's children are simply ' spares of the Light Hero '.
They are apparently going to be raised as soldiers in a place Sakurai-kun doesn't know of.
That's apparently the rule.
...That's messed up.
"B-But if Princess Noel can't manage to have a child..." (Makoto)
"In that case, the child of the first or second prince will take the throne. When that happens, their wife will apparently be one of my daughters." (Sakurai)
Sakurai-kun laughed powerlessly.
I couldn't laugh back.
The highland royalty wants to get the lineage of the Light Hero no matter what, huh.
Highland's darkness is deep...
The expression of Sakurai-kun he showed for an instant was that of exhaustion.
Isn't his mental state getting a bit dangerous...?
"Sakurai-kun, this may sound terrible but..." (Makoto)
'Get out of that country and come adventure together with us in Makkaren', is what I wanted to tell him.
...But I couldn't.
"We came to this parallel world, and they welcomed us people without any relatives as state guests. Not only me, but all the classmates that came with us. I have to do what I can." (Sakurai)
He returned to his usual refreshing expression, and said this resolutely.
"...I see." (Makoto)
He really hasn't changed since a long time ago.
He is way too good of a guy, he is relied on a lot, feels a strong sense of responsibility...and can't refuse that role.
He is the complete opposite of me who escaped from the things I am not good at dealing with and just played games all the time.
That's why I haven't been good at dealing with Sakurai-kun since a long time ago.
He was way too dazzling.
"Alright! Let's go to the bar! I know a delicious skewer store!" (Makoto)
I linked arms with Sakurai-kun and said in a cheerful tone.
"T-Takatsuki-kun? I heard that Sofia-sama is in Makkaren, so I have to go give my greetings." (Sakurai)
"Princess Sofia went to another settlement. She will eventually come back, so let's go meet Furiae-san first!" (Makoto)
"O-Okay..." (Sakurai)
I forcefully drag the flustered Sakurai-kun, called Sa-san, Lucy, and Furiae-san, and make this way too serious of a man take a break.
◇◇
Sakurai-kun when having a conversation with Furiae-san really looks like he is having fun from the bottom of his heart.
That's a relief.
"Hey hey, Ryosuke, this drink is tasty. Try drinking it." (Furiae)
"Is that so. Aah, it is easy to drink..." (Sakurai)
Ah, Furiae-san! If you offer that liquor to Sakurai-kun...
"E-Eh? Ryosuke?" (Furiae)
Aah, he fell asleep.
Seeing Sakurai-kun flat on the table, Furiae-san was flustered and confused.
Damn, I didn't tell Furiae-san that Sakurai-kun is weak to alcohol.
Well, he will wake up after a bit.
Have a good rest, Sakurai-kun.
Night is long after all.
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