Side: ???
"How is it?"
"This is bad... The Demon King and his Four Heavenly Kings are here."
"What!?"
"...I hate to say it, but the residents here and the kings are likely being deceived."
"I see. That explains why the weapon support for our country was cut off desu wa."
"What do you mean?"
"It means the Demon King tried to squeeze my country to strip away our military power. Naturally, they intend to use that to seal you away, Taiki-sama, the Hero."
"I see. If that's the case, I'd be forced to defend the country. But it seems the demon king didn't expect me to come here."
"Yes, that's the only saving grace. No, this is exactly the power of a hero. If you defeat the demon king here, everyone will wake up."
I renewed my resolve to save the people living happily in this dungeon... in Weed.
"I will defeat the Demon King and save this world!!"
"As expected of you, Hero-sama desu wa!"
Holding the princess beside me tightly, I made that vow.
* * *
Side: Yuki
"...Well, how should I put this."
"What an idiot." Seraria was glaring at the screen.
We're currently watching a certain individual through the dungeon surveillance.
"Do you have something to say? King of Gartz?" (Seraria)
"...Sigh. To think they'd go so far as to use a method like this..."
The King of Gartz covered his face with one hand and let out a long sigh.
"Still, a 'Hero,' huh."
I opened his status screen so everyone could see.
Name: Taiki Nakasato
Race: Human
Status: Hero of Rankus
Sex: Male
Occupation: Otherworld Hero, Student
Lv. 168
HP: 7020
MP: 4200
STR: 1740
DEF: 1200
INT: 2530
AGI: 2032
LUK: 210
Skills
Unique Skills:
Hero's Sense (detects demon kings and their subordinates)
Hero's Aura (triple damage and triple defense against monsters and demons)
Hero's Charisma (popular with women; women with weak will are easily drawn in)
Hero's Pride (auto recovery)
Other Skills:
Many general-purpose skills
"Oho... That's a bad matchup for me..."
Derieu grimaced upon seeing the Hero's stats.
"True. In terms of raw stats, even you could barely manage, Derieu, but..."
"Don't bother. That hero is fully using his position to gather high quality weapons and gear."
The king of Gartz cuts in.
Ah, by the way, the fact that Derieu holds the "Demon King" title has already been communicated to the respective kings.
The reaction from each country was... nothing, really. In fact, while the "Bloodstained Princess" is known to be a Demon King, they are aware of the fact that she has consistently stopped conflicts and internal struggles within nations. They feel gratitude toward her, and none have ever issued an order to subjugate or capture her. It's an unspoken understanding.
...Well, if they did issue such an order, they'd be wiped out for sure.
The King of Gartz, for his part, showed Derieu the utmost respect, treating her as a survivor of the previous dynasty. He even suggested she could live in Gartz if she wished.
『I'll pass. As you know, I finally caught my husband. The fun is only beginning.』
With that, she turned down the offer to return to Gartz.
"Top-tier equipment, huh. In that case, let's call off sending Derieu to intercept him. It'd be a disaster if she got hurt."
"Yuki..."
Derieu's face turned bright red. Well, it's not a problem that can be solved just by sending Derieu out anyway.
By the way, this Hero is a representative from Rankus—a rear nation behind Gartz.
For this founding ceremony, we sent invitations to the territories behind the three major powers—places involved in border disputes. We succeeded in gathering several representatives, even if they weren't top-tier officials. This was all part of the trade advertisement using the dungeons.
And among them, one country brought a Hero—that nation is Rankus.
"Now then, King of Gartz... that princess is planning something unnecessary by calling a Hero from another world, but do you know the reason? Surely knows what will happen if she causes trouble here, right?"
"Umu... I suspect that's likely the objective. Even if Derieu-dono stepped out and identified herself as the Bloodstained Princess, they wouldn't back down now. According to that Rankus princess's narrative, an evil Demon King is the true ruler of this dungeon and was about to eliminate the dignitaries gathered here—an act she 'prevented.' Her objective is likely to use the 'Justice of Rankus' and the 'Hero who defeated the Demon King' as leverage to secure support from other nations."
"...That makes no sense. It's flawed from the start, isn't it?"
Rurua mutters in exasperation.
In the eyes of the other countries, the moment you lay a hand on Derieu—whom they've been quietly ignoring by mutual understanding—you're guaranteed to be shunned by everyone else.
Even if they don't know she's the real deal, losing support from these three major nations would cause smaller countries to follow suit.
"So, what exactly is this Rankus 'support business'?"
"Well..."
"Allow me to explain."
The one who stepped forward was Sharl, who handles Gartz' diplomacy.
"The goal of the Rankus princess this time is to gain support from various nations to 'defeat the Demon King.' The reason they need support is that they lost their previous backing due to our country's dungeon trade. They likely brought the Hero to Weed to introduce him on this stage and gather international favor as an alternative." (Sharl)
"...Wait, even if you say the dungeons were the cause, didn't I ask that Gartz's trade not harm other nations?"
"Yes. There is no direct harm, but there was harm to Rankus, which had been requesting supplies under the guise of subjugating the Demon King while actually intending to use the Hero to attack other nations."
"I see. That's how it is."
From Rankus's perspective, having a Hero makes it easy to for them to gather supplies for the "purpose" of defeating the Demon King.
However, now that the three powers have joined hands and trade has been streamlined, there's no longer a need to support Rankus's entire army—only the Hero himself. And compared to those three nations, Rankus's military is inferior in both quality and quantity.
If Roshure and Gartz had still been at war, supporting Rankus and the hero to keep the demon king in check would have made sense.
"If the war with Roshure were still ongoing, we would have continued providing supplies to the Hero and Rankus as a counterweight against the demon king... but..." (Sharl)
"But now that's no longer necessary, right?"
"Correct. Support for the Hero as an individual aside, there is no longer a reason to send supplies to the nation of Rankus, so that support was cancelled. However, Rankus protested, saying that once a promise is made, support should continue to the end."
"Ah, so now they're using the Hero as leverage."
"Yes."
"A Hero from another world wouldn't know anything about the continent's politics, and he'd have no way of knowing the truth... How is he?"
"Unfortunately, he trusts Rankus completely. The princess has him wrapped around her finger with her charms. For a young man his age, it's understandable."
"How troublesome. And yet he's a rare otherworld hero with outstanding potential. Honestly, to practically kidnap someone and then use them for national profit... how shameless!!"
Seraria slammed her hand on the table.
"Indeed. It is as Seraria-sama says. In fact, trade with Rankus itself wasn't doing well, so they've been using the Hero as a pretext to scrape by. Their trade demands were unreasonable—forcing Gartz, a major wheat producer, to buy their low-quality wheat at high prices."
"Are they stupid? Also, this is the first time I've heard about heroes other than Roumel's. What's the story there?"
"That seems to have been kept secret by Rankus. Well, naturally. If word got out carelessly outside the four countries, the hero would be poached in no time. And even if he's an otherworld hero, he starts at level 1. They likely waited until he was sufficiently trained."
"...And what is Rankus's track record using that Hero?"
Honestly, this is infuriating... That Hero is a complete puppet. A convenient doll.
Roumel's Heroes were clever enough to leave their country and travel the world under the guise of training. But the Hero in Rankus was easily manipulated. It would be harsh to blame the hero, though.
"Using the Hero as their centerpiece, they have successfully toppled three neighboring hostile nations. Naturally, they utilized supplies from Gartz and other friendly nations. They have neutralized two dungeons. His aptitude as a Hero is genuine. Since Rankus conquered three countries, their profits have multiplied. As a nation, they have grown stronger. However, their territory expanded too quickly; they've hit a stalemate recently and are running low on supplies."
"And so, they sought 'support' from Gartz again under the name of trade."
"Yes, and they were rejected. So they came to Weed's independence festival to show the hero to the other nations, saying 'The hero is with us, and justice is with Rankus.'"
"I see. What should we do, Dear?"
Seraria turned to me.
Well, if my wife is asking, I can't exactly stay silent.
"I have a few methods. Which one should we go with?"
Now then, boy who calls yourself a hero.
Did you conquer three countries without thinking, or was there no choice?
I'll judge that for myself now.
If you really were thoughtless, then as someone from the same homeland, I'll make sure you're properly put down.
