Chapter 23: I came here for her!

The hot topic at the moment in the capital and the human territory was the group of heroes; they had successfully cleared the 62nd floor of the Great Orcus Labyrinth.

For this very reason, the Hoelscher Emperor had decided to visit the human Kingdom where the heroes were staying. However, he had not visited them directly as an Emperor, but had used a disguise to pass himself off as a simple guard.

As for the intention of his visit, it was clear; he wanted to observe and test the new heroes who had come to this world, especially Kouki, who was the true bearer of the 'hero' job.

The Emperor did not believe that a mere child could carry such a heavy title as that.

Although his thoughts drifted that way, he had not expected the outcome to be so disappointing. Just as he had thought, the hero turned out to be nothing more than a child with no battlefield experience.

He had only needed to casually swing his sword to put an end to the hero who had overcome the 62nd floor of the Labyrinth.

To him, Kouki was the perfect embodiment of a brat with a 'heroic' mentality. Someone who had neither the ability nor the real intent to back up the title of a 'hero'.

Disappointed, the Emperor had tried to return to his Empire, however, under the King's cry of rage directed at him, the wily Pope Ishtar had intruded and revealed the true identity behind the disguise of the supposedly simple guard in front of all the heroes present.

*****

In a magnificent and spacious room located inside the Heiligh Kingdom mansion, where relevant guests were normally received, a grand banquet was taking place.

In the center of the room was a long table, decorated by countless colorful and delicious foods, served by the beautiful maidservants lined up behind the most important human beings of this world.

Naturally, this great banquet was dedicated to the visit of the Emperor, who was seated next to the King in the center of the table. In front of them, on the other side of the table, sat the heroes who were summoned from the earth to save the humans of this world.

The meals in front of them would make any being who saw them drool, and the heroes were no exception to this.

The sound of knives scraping the plate to cut the meat permeated the room.

"Hahaha, Eliheid. It's been a long time since we last drank together, hasn't it?". With a grin marked from ear to ear, the Emperor clinked his wine-filled goblet with the King's before raising it to his mouth and sipping it.

Even if they were eating the best food and drinking the best drink in the world, the heroes couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It had been over a month since they had arrived in this new and unfamiliar world, yet they still hadn't completely gotten used to the King's presence. This was mainly because the King very rarely appeared in front of them.

And as if the King was not enough, they were eating at the same table as the Emperor. Never in their dreams had they imagined a scene similar to this.

Before the King could speak, the Emperor continued with a casual smile, "By the way, I heard that two of your heroes had abandoned you, is that true?".

The King shook his head and explained with a tone of regret, "Unfortunately, it is so. All we know so far is that they had disappeared the next night after they returned from the labyrinth".

Despite maintaining a regretful expression, inwardly he was cursing that such important information was leaking to the outside.

The body of Shizuku, who was diligently eating her meal, trembled a little as she tightened her grip on the fork she held in her hand.

A feeling of helplessness and guilt came over her. She bit her lower lip and wished inwardly, 'I hope you are well, Kaori...'.

'Why didn't you inform me? I am so untrustworthy? You know I'm your friend...'. She lamented.

Although she knew that her friend Kaori was deeply in love with her companion, Hajime Nagumo, she had never imagined that they would escape the Kingdom together. The worst thing was that she had not even been informed beforehand.

This world was full of cruelty, where the slightest mistake could cost one's life. To survive in this world, one needed enough strength to back up one's safety.

But what could a cute girl with magic that was geared towards healing and a guy whose job is a synergist do together...?

She could only sigh and pray that her beloved friend would be alright.

Kouki stood up from his chair and, with a calm smile on his face, exclaimed, "I'm sure Kaori is fine! The knights of the kingdom are doing their best to find them! It's only a matter of time before they learn of their whereabouts".

Shizuku, who was standing near him, raised her face and looked at him with a furrowed brow.

The King nodded with a smile and added, "Just as the hero Kouki said, our knights are mobilized day and night in search of information regarding their whereabouts. Apostle Kaori's magic is paramount in the coming war to keep the casualties of our troops to a minimum. We cannot lose her".

A cold look that went unnoticed by all present flashed across Shizuku's charming face.

'They don't even care about hiding this. They only care about Kaori's usefulness on the battlefield and not about her well-being. They even ignored Nagumo-kun'.

It was understandable, up until now, Hajime Nagumo had only been dead weight in the group of heroes with his ability that everyone considered useless.

"What's wrong, Shizu-Shizu?" a girl, who was sitting next to Shizuku, asked worriedly.

She had seen Shizuku clenching her fists tightly. She guessed it had to do with Kaori's disappearance, as she was worried about her too, after all, she was her close friend.

"No, it's nothing, Suzu". Shizuku forced a smile and sighed inwardly.

The Emperor kept his mocking gaze on Kouki before his eyes twinkled, and he said with a smile, "Though I'd like to meet that guy who caused you so much trouble, hahaha."

Of course, the reason Hajime and Kaori were able to escape from the capital was quite simple: it was because of the chaos Nader had caused two days before the two escaped.

At that time, the inhabitants of the kingdom and the capital had found themselves in extreme chaos. Although the kingdom's fighters and mages had mobilized everywhere, they had neglected the heroes, which was why they were able to escape.

The King's body trembled slightly, and he gave a sidelong glance at the Emperor before commenting.

"You know you're quite annoying as usual, don't you, Gahard?" The King said with a tired tone. His gaze shone and he continued, "Such heresy caused by that boy cannot be forgiven for what has already been purged by the right hand of our God Ehit".

"It is a pity. I heard that he was quite strong.... Well, since he's dead, it means he's always been weak". Said the Emperor with an indifferent smile.

As the ruler of an Empire where its inhabitants respected the strong more than anything else, he had taken an interest in the heretic boy named Nader because of the rumors that flew like feathers in the wind.

A power capable of completely obliterating 200 men single-handedly would certainly be a great addition to the human force. Too bad, Nader was a heretic, so they had no choice but to eliminate him.

The silence that hovered in the room for a few seconds was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice, and at the same time, a voice that brought chills down their spine.

"Wow, the food in this place is pretty good. By the way, sorry for the intrusion...".

The sudden voice naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. With a curious expression painted on their faces, they turned around. However, the next moment when they saw the seated figure, their movements came to a standstill.

The table was quite long and not even the thirty heroes were able to occupy it all, because of this, even the corner of the table was unoccupied; previously...

At this moment, the chair was occupied by a man whose age seemed to be around 18 years old.

His captivating face had a small, soft smile as he fed a porcelain doll-like girl sitting on his lap.

The beautiful girl's golden, silky, shiny hair was occupied by a white rabbit, whose ears twitched back and forth as it curiously watched the humans who were looking at them as if they had seen an unidentified alien.

"Mmm... Nader, give me more..." muttered the girl as she opened her mouth towards Nader, to be fed.

This is the first time in three hundred years that Yue had tasted a normal meal, however, despite that, she preferred Nader's delicious blood, which had no comparison within existence.

"Sure, here you go". Nader said as he took a red fruit and stuffed it inside Yue's small mouth.

She didn't let the opportunity slip away and seductively took the fruit inside her mouth while licking Nader's fingers with her sticky little tongue.

Nader pinched Yue's bulging cheek and turned his face to look at the stupefied audience.

"Hm? Did something happen, not even a word of welcome to me?" he said with an innocent expression on his face.

Nader's voice, which carried through and caressed everyone's ears, brought them out of their stupefaction. Their faces changed comically to a sickly pallor.

"N-Nader!?" shouted the King as he abruptly stood up from his chair and took a few steps backward, causing the chair to topple over.

Even the students stood up from their chairs as they backed away in panic. The only exception to this was Shizuku and the Emperor.

Of course, Shizuku also had a surprised expression, but not because Nader had suddenly appeared in the room nor because he was alive; for she already knew that, but because she sensed that Nader was different.

Or, at least, his expression was no longer the same.

It should have been known that when they had first met, Nader's look was as if he had nothing in the world, empty and desolate. However, at this moment, even though he still retained his cold expression, he had a small, happy smile on his face.

'Is it because of her?' Shizuku questioned inwardly.

Her gaze was fixed on Yue, who was eating the fruit with a stoic but happy expression.

Seeing Yue sitting on Nader's lap, an unfamiliar feeling welled up in Shizuku's heart, however, it soon faded, and she patted her chest with a sigh of relief. She was happy that Nader had found someone who could bring her happiness.

Feeling a piercing gaze settle on her, Yue turned her gaze away. However, the instant she saw Shizuku, her expression twitched.

She clearly saw a necklace hanging from Shizuku's neck. If it was just that, she wouldn't mind, however, the necklace had the same feeling conveyed by the necklace she was wearing...

On the other hand, the Emperor narrowed his eyes and an amused smile hung on his face as he watched Nader.

As for the other heroes and maidservants, they only trembled in their places, as if afraid of causing some sound that would attract the demon's gaze.

"How are you alive!? God's apostle went personally to end your life!". The King shouted and squeezed a small stone until it shattered into pieces.

When this small stone, which was actually an artifact that was used in the age of the gods as a form of communication, would break, it would warn the person who had the same stone imbued with the mana of the same being, which in this case is Captain Meld. However...

"No need to waste time trying to summon your minions. This room is insulated by my energy, so no matter how hard you try to break it, you won't even be able to scratch it." Nader said with an expressionless look.

Earlier, when Nader had teleported into the room, he had created a dome with his energy to cover this entire room.

On the other hand, he was still thinking about the previous term that came out of the King's mouth.

'Apostle of God? If that's what I think it is, then that means Ehit has access to this world through them'.

"W-what!?" A panicked cry escaped the King's mouth when he saw that the stone medal was not working. His pale face was covered with cold sweat.

Because the Emperor was in this palace, the King had thought it would be rather impolite to keep the soldiers and mages in the room where the banquet was occurring, which was why he had left them in charge of the entrance to the room. However, at this very moment, he regretted his earlier decision.

He didn't know how Nader was still alive, he didn't even think much about it due to the panic of the moment. What could he do against Nader, who had slaughtered 200 men in a few minutes?

"Gahard, help me deal with him", Said the King.

He was already cornered, so he had no choice but to ask for help from the strongest human standing next to them.

"Heh, this is how you receive a guest? And here I was thinking that the King would at least uphold his reputation. Sigh~" Nader let out a sigh as if he was an old man who was disappointed in his grandchildren.

He ignored the gaze of the others and swept his gaze over everyone present: "Hmm, I don't see white beard around here. Well, never mind. I'll have to visit him later..."

When his gaze fell on one specific person, a cold smile appeared on his face, "No need to be so alarmed, old man...".

Then he pointed his finger and pointed, "I came here for her".