The Hero's Harem

They called me a hero.

The strange crest that had appeared on the back of my hand was supposedly proof I had been chosen.

What those who had materialized in front of me on that certain day had said had marked the beginning.

For humanity, for peace, for the world.

Enduring harsh training, racing across gruesome battlefields, sleeping like the dead.

Those things became my daily routine.

I'd tell myself that the next time I woke up, all the unpleasant things would be over.

I would finally be able to have that thing called a normal daily life, the kind of life where you could laugh and live like a regular child, something I'd once looked longingly in at through inn windows.

I kept having that same impossible dream over and over until it wore thin.

By the time my dream of a normal life had become blurred and distant, it happened.

◇

Yawn . . . morning already.

I woke up and gazed absently at the sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains.

It was a spacious room with calming interior design. All the furniture was well-made, nothing flashy, but you could tell at a glance they were high-quality pieces.

Good morning.

I said a daily greeting out loud. Apparently, daily greetings were an important thing, a sign of normal behavior.

I directed my voice toward the wall where a single sword was propped up against it.

A voice came from the sword.

The Six Heroes is what they are called. Six chosen by God to save the world from crises. The magical Sage, the healing Saint, the masterful Holy Swordsman, the precise Magic Archer, the strategic War God, and . . . the almighty Hero.

Instead of responding to my greeting, I got the same speech I had grown tired of hearing lately.

Not again . . .

It's been quite some time since the human world and demon world were joined together and demons inundated our realm. In the human world, six special beings are born into each generation. Among them, this six of this current generation are said to be the greatest in history. In particular, the current Hero, who was trained by the other five heroes from a young age, is so strong and exceptional that it's been declared no stronger being will ever be born before or after him. That Hero was expected to save humanity from the threat of magical beasts, so why is he . . .

I let out a sigh and glared at my holy sword through half-closed eyes.

Hey, holy sword, could you be quiet for a bit?

I had been with this sentient holy sword since I was five—it had been almost ten years of friendship, in one way or another.

It was this very sword who had been muttering away since earlier.

I didn't know if swords had genders, but she had the voice and speech patterns of a spirited young girl.

Why . . . why is that Hero now a freeloader for the Demon King's Army?!

I had lost count of how many times she had voiced the same complaints recently.

So I gave her my usual response.

Well . . . I mean, the treatment here is way better.

◇

Ever since I had starting mooching off the Demon King's Army as a freeloader, my life had completely changed.

First, I woke up every morning in a fluffy bed. For some reason that I didn't understand why, it even had a canopy.

For someone like me who had wandered all over the world and camped outdoors constantly, being able to sleep here every day felt like a miracle.

I was grateful just to have a place where I could sleep peacefully, and even if I overslept, a kind maid would wake me up.

Are you awake, Hero?

As I stretched while ignoring my noisy holy sword, I heard the voice of the person I'd been thinking about.

Yeah, I just woke up.

When I said that, the door opened quietly and a black-haired maid came in.

She seemd about the same age as me.

Many demons didn't have the appearance or hair color that humans did.

She was apparently chosen because her hair color matched mine, so I would feel less uncomfortable interacting with her.

Apart from the horns growing symmetrically on either side of her head, she wasn't so different from humans, so perhaps it was decided that she would be the best person to take care of me.

Beings like her were called humanoid demons.

I wasn't really bothered by all that, though.

That said, I had no complaints about my current maid. She had long, glossy black hair and sharp features, but she smiled often so she didn't seem cold. Despite her slender build, she was strong and incredibly efficient at her work.

Even by human standards—well, by my standards—she was beautiful.

I had been taught to avoid contact with others as much as possible, but even I still had an eye for beauty.

Good morning, Felice.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and let out a yawn.

Good morning, Hero. And Holy Sword Micah as well.

Felice responded with a smile filled with affection.

Micah seemed to be a nickname for the consciousness that dwelt in my holy sword.

I'd always just called her "holy sword" until I came here, so I had no idea she even had a name.

I had actually been surprised when Felice asked the holy sword what her name was.

I'd been fighting all this time without even caring if my partner had a name.

Hmph.

My holy sword made a sound like she was snorting.

Even though she didn't have a nose. Or a mouth, for that matter.

Hehe. First, may I help you change your clothes?

Okay.

I was wearing nightclothes made from a fine fabric.

When I first got them, I couldn't understand the point of wearing thin clothing that had no defensive value only for the purpose of sleeping, but once I tried them on, they turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

I was cautious about a lot of things at first, but my worries were completely unfounded.

The people in the Demon King's Castle were surprisingly friendly toward me.

The top fastened with buttons, which Felice carefully and quickly undid. Pop, pop, pop. Each time her white, slender fingers worked at them, my nightclothes shifted slightly.

Her black hair fell forward gracefully, and a sweet scent drifted to my nose.

Felice insisted this was a part of her maid duties and refused to back down, but I couldn't help feeling a bit restless.

After she helped me into a shirt that was suitable for walking around the castle, I stopped her there.

I'll handle my lower half myself.

Please don't be shy. This is part of a maid's duties.

No, I'll do it myself.

I understand. Then, please take these.

For some reason, Felice stubbornly insisted on helping me change my shirt, but gave up on the pants after I refused a few times.

Was it just my imagination, or did she seem to be enjoying this whole exchange?

After she turned her back to me, I changed into what she handed me.

I'm done.

It looks wonderful on you, Hero.

About calling me Hero—couldn't you just use my name instead?

Whenever I brought this up, she always smiled with a troubled expression.

Your hair is all messy. Please sit here.

She tidied up my hair with her smooth hands and a comb.

Breakfast is ready. Today, it's exactly what you requested, Hero. Pancakes.

What?! Really?!

I couldn't help but raise my voice in excitement. Felice must have seen my eyes light up.

Watching me with a warm smile, Felice nodded.

Yes. A stack of five fluffy pancakes, drizzled with plenty of syrup, and topped with two different flavored ice creams. I've also scattered tart fruits around the edges.

My mouth watered.

Shortly after the Hero crest had appeared on the back of my right hand at the age of five, I was taken from the orphanage and subjected to harsh training by the other Five Heroes. This included combat against demons that threatened humanity, and I was deployed on subjugation missions countless times.

I was rigorously trained to become the strongest, most versatile hero who would surpass all five of them.

I had no connection to what you'd call a normal childhood, and I'd barely ever tasted sweets.

Yet here at the Demon King's Castle—while they did pay some attention to nutritional balance—whatever I want to eat got prepared for me.

Felice even tried to feed me by bringing food to my mouth, but I had had to draw a line at that . . .

For me, the Demon King's Castle wasn't humanity's sworn enemy's stronghold, it was paradise.

Let's go quickly!

Felice gazed at me affectionately as I grew restless with excitement, feeling like I might float away at any moment.

Hehe, yes. But before that . . .

She knelt down in front of me and straightened out the hem of my pants that had rolled up.

Ah, I guess I didn't do it properly. Thanks.

For something like this, anytime and as often as needed. Now then, shall we go?

Shouldn't we run? Won't the ice cream melt?!

Rest assured, Hero. We've used space-time magic to stop the pancakes' time so you could enjoy them fresh whenever you woke up.

Space-time magic was a precious and powerful attribute and among humans, there were only two practitioners.

You can use space-time magic like that?! Whoever thought of it is a genius!

I was genuinely in awe of this discovery.

I could use this magic method too, so maybe I would try it out in this way next time.

Space-time magic was useful in combat to freeze magical beasts in place so you could defeat them, but apparently it could also be used for preservation.

For me, magic had only ever been a means to defeat enemies, so this really impressed me.

However, space-time magic consumed an enormous amount of magical power.

I should probably get to the dining room before the person who cast that spell got exhausted and collapsed.

With Felice leading the way, I hurried toward the dining room.

Hey! Are you insane?! Leaving me behind?! This is enemy territory!

I left the room, abandoning the holy sword who was crying out in panic.

After walking for a while, we reached the dining room.

There, there was a large table that could easily seat more than ten people.

Only two chairs had been set out, positioned at opposite ends of the rectangular table.

Someone was already sitting in one of them.

Eleanor! Good morning.

Seeing her, I naturally broke into a smile.

Agh . . .

Eleanor, a silver-haired humanoid demon, pressed her hand to her chest while her cheeks turned red.

Are you okay? Is your chest hurting again?

Eleanor was my benefactor and apparently was high-ranking in the Demon King's Army, but for some reason, whenever she was with me, she often got these chest pains.

N-no, don't worry. It's just . . . Sir Raine's smile was so captivating.

I-I see . . .

Raine was my name.

I was abandoned as a baby on a rainy day, so at the orphanage, they decided to called me Raine.

Well, none of that really mattered.

I owed my current life to Eleanor, so I was deeply grateful to her.

But when she was with me, aside from clutching her chest like now, she also collapsed to her knees, got nosebleeds, and drooled.

Precious.

She muttered things like that, and sometimes she even fainted, so I was a bit worried about her.

Otherwise, she was beautiful, kind-hearted, had a generous chest and slim waist, felt soft to the touch, and . . . she was a very powerful humanoid demon.

Did you finish your work?

Yes. I managed to get back early this morning, so I thought I'd have breakfast with you before getting some rest. And then of course there's . . . my important daily routine.

She pulled out a leather pouch from the inside pocket at her chest. I could hear the metallic clink of coins shifting against each other.

Um, would you please accept this? It's your allowance for today.

Hah . . . hah . . .

Eleanor held out the pouch with an excited expression.

The pouch was packed so full it wouldn't close properly, and I could see the gleam of gold coins spilling out.

I walked over and accepted it from her.

At first I was reluctant, but after realizing that giving me an allowance seemed to be extremely important to her, I had decided to accept it graciously.

The one time I had refused, she had looked like it was the end of the world.

She looked so heartbroken that I felt worse about refusing than I would have about accepting.

Um, yeah, thank you.

Ah . . . Don't mention it . . . rather, thank you . . . !

I didn't understand the psychology behind giving someone money and then being even more grateful yourself, but she had an ecstatic look on her face.

Y-you're welcome. Oh, and Eleanor—

Yes! What is it?

I don't want to keep you waiting, so if you want to have breakfast together, feel free to wake me up in the future.

Eleanor stared blankly for a moment, then started muttering something under her breath.

I-I could wake Sir Raine . . . I could have the honor of seeing Sir Raine's noble countenance while he sleeps? W-what would I have to give in exchange for such a dreamlike privilege?!

The other Five Heroes had made sure I received at least a basic education . . . I think.

But since the Five Heroes were also my teachers, I didn't really know what normal education was supposed to be like.

Unnecessary contact with others was forbidden. Of course, they were the ones who decided what was necessary or unnecessary.

That was probably why I sometimes couldn't understand what Eleanor was saying.

Huh? Just wake me up normally?

All the strength seemed to drain from Eleanor's body at once, and she collapsed from her chair.

Felice caught her before she hit the floor.

Felice shook her head slightly, like a battlefield medic who had just lost a patient.

Lady Eleanor has fainted.

Fainted?

Why?

The situation was probably too stimulating for Lady Eleanor. Please, Hero, do not feel obligated to be considerate simply because you are our guest. We are content as long as you are happy.

With a gentle smile, Felice picked Eleanor up and left the dining room.

She was taking her to her bedroom.

I offered to come along, but Felice told me it wasn't necessary, so I stayed to have breakfast as planned.

A little while later, the pancakes arrived.

I was worried about Eleanor, but I'd recently learned that she fainted easily and recovered just as quickly.

Besides, it would be rude to ignore something prepared especially for me.

When I nervously took a bite from the stack of pancakes, I felt a shock like being struck by lightning.

Being struck by lightning left you numb, hot, and in pain—but the shock of tasting the pancake was fluffy, warm, and sweet.

Delicious!

There was a portion for Eleanor as well—I should bring it to her later.

It would be a shame for her to miss out on something this delicious.

While thinking about how to avoid making her faint, I remembered the day I first met her.

That day, I was on my first solo mission.

Until then, at least one of the other heroes had always come along, presumably to supervise me.

The mission had been to destroy a demon organization engaged in illegal slave trading.

I'm being made to cut through filthy things again . . .

Don't complain about getting a little blood on you when you're a sword.

We were in demon territory, deep in a forest.

Miasma drifted through this area, and the vegetation was completely different from what you'd find in human territory.

Bizarre scenery stretched out everywhere: trees sprouted tentacle-like branches, flowers had teeth that made whistling sounds, and the soil bubbled and churned as if it were boiling.

A flower whose petal-covered center resembled a beast's mouth stretched out its stem and bit into corpses scattered around the area. It chomped away at them energetically.

This is holy sword discrimination! What's wrong with wanting to be clean?!

If you don't want to get dirty, I could ask them to put you in the royal palace treasury or something.

Demon corpses were scattered around me.

Though demons ranged from humanoid to dragons as huge as mountains, this time they were orcs with pig-like faces.

I'm a holy sword, you know? Of course I should be with the Hero!

Then what do you want me to do?

As I made my way toward the enemy stronghold I'd tracked down, I ran into a group that seemed to be part of the organization.

I suggested they surrender, but they wouldn't listen, and it turned into a fight.

They were all wiped out.

You should speak sweetly to me and promise you'll polish me clean afterward!

I'll take good care of you. Even with all your complaining, you're still my partner.

Hmph, that's more like it . . . wait, hold on. There was something in your phrase that I can't just let slide.

The Six Heroes had crests that appeared somewhere on their bodies.

Each of the six crests was different, and you could tell what kind of hero someone was from the pattern that appeared.

Age didn't seem to matter—they could appear on seasoned warriors or even potentially on babies.

I said potentially because there were no recorded cases of it actually happening.

As far as I knew, I was the youngest, having gotten my Hero crest at the age of five.

Trying to avoid stepping on the corpses, I headed toward the enemy hideout.

You're pretty arrogant, aren't you?

Of course I am! The power of all previous heroes lives within me, you know? Only the Hero can wield me. As long as you're using me, you're . . . practically . . . unbeatable in battle! Humans should naturally be grateful!

Well . . . you are a good sword, I'll give you that.

I pushed forward, cutting down branches from trees that had been corrupted by miasma and had turned hostile to living creatures.

After walking for a while, the forest opened up before me.

There it was, the cave I was targeting. The enemy stronghold.

We'd captured a demon collaborator, and the War God had extracted information from him.

But there were fifteen before me, right? Even so, you . . .

The holy sword was perfect as far as swords went. The fact that it never broke no matter how much I swung it around was especially nice.

I could get a sense of how powerful the previous Heroes were. Magic and magical power were stored within the sword, and the Hero could use them at will.

But honestly . . . I'd probably be fine without it.

That's because you're ridiculously strong, Raine. You're not only the strongest hero in history but even if all the previous heroes ganged up on you, they still wouldn't be able to beat you.

None of the fifteen before me had been trained by other heroes for ten years starting from the age of five, right?

Up until now, the Six Heroes had always been roughly equal in strength.

But this time, partly because I was chosen at the young age of five, circumstances led to the other five—who had already built up their power—ending up as my trainers.

While I wouldn't call life at the orphanage happy, the training to become a hero was brutally harsh in comparison.

That's true, but . . . wait, did you just imply I'm useless? That's . . . that's just—stop thinking that, okay?

The holy sword's voice took on a slightly tearful tone.

I wasn't thinking that. I really wasn't.

Really? Because if you abandon me somewhere, I'll turn into a fallen sword!

While casually dealing with my holy sword's threats, I headed toward the enemy stronghold without being particularly concerned about being cautious.

Good afternoon.

I tried greeting the guards at the entrance, but their response was to try to kill me.

I cut down two orcs who attacked without bothering to listen to me, then entered the cave.

Suddenly noise erupted inside the cave, and orcs poured out from nearly every branching tunnel to rush at me. There were tens of them, so many I couldn't be bothered to count them.

Apparently this entire organization was made up of orcs.

Drop your weapons and surrender, and we won't kill you!

Micah called out on my behalf.

The holy sword's voice echoed throughout the cave, but none of them complied.

I had no choice but to cut down the ones charging at me with the holy sword and take out the distant ones with wind magic arrows.

This is kind of . . . I mean, you'd think at least a few would listen to reason.

You look like a delicate pretty boy, so they're probably underestimating you.

Some demons could sense strength through magical power and the like, but orcs were pretty dense when it came to that.

After that, I kept cutting down every orc I came across, following the aura of the ones who felt strongest as I headed deeper into the cave.

It was an aura sensing technique Micah taught me.

I couldn't pick it up if they were too far away, but here in the cave I could sense it clearly.

Because of this, even the few orcs clever enough to hide in shadows or attack from blind spots were still cut down by the holy sword.

. . .

Almost there.

I know.

I'd gotten used to it, or rather . . . I'd had no choice but to get used to it.

Even though they were demons who hurt humans, even though they refused to surrender and kept attacking, seeing all these corpses didn't feel good.

I fundamentally didn't like taking lives.

It wasn't about whether it was right and wrong but rather it was just my personal preference.

Napping in pleasant, breezy meadows, eating warm meals after working up an appetite, or drifting off to sleep with that cozy feeling after a refreshing bath . . .

Those were the kinds of things I liked.

There are two strong auras . . .

One was probably the leader here.

It was several levels stronger than the orcs I'd defeated so far.

And the other one, judging from its magical power, didn't seem to be an orc and was very strong.

Its power might even rival the Six Heroes.

The illegal slave trading was supposed to just be the work of some clever orcs . . .

If a demon as strong as one of the Six Heroes was involved, there might be a much larger organization hiding behind this.

In cases like this, it was better to capture them alive, but capturing was much more difficult than killing.

Well, if I can avoid killing, that would be better.

From an emotional standpoint, anyway.

When I stepped into what seemed to be the leader's room, I tilted my head in confusion.

There was an orc and a humanoid demon woman.

I see, so you really did this all by yourselves? I understand.

With that, the humanoid demon woman beheaded the orc leader with the sword in her hand.

You're a warrior from the human side, aren't you? Don't worry. I only came to protect the demons caught up in illegal slavery.

She said this without even looking my way.

I didn't know when, but she had noticed my presence.

She was a woman with long silver hair and blue eyes, beautiful like a dream or vision.

Someone with this much magical power didn't come around often.

Among those around me, maybe only the Sage or the Saint could rival her.

Among the demons that humanity occasionally encountered, she'd be on the level of the Four Rulers, generals, or The Twelve—someone who held a high position like that.

At least for now, she didn't seem hostile.

Hmm, what should I do?

As I was thinking, the woman spoke.

Still, you certainly went all out, didn't you? Well, I suppose it's the punishment they deserved.

Could she sense the orcs' complete annihilation through their magical auras?

Humanity had at least figured out that demons aren't a monolith.

However, since humanity had only penetrated the shallowest parts of demon territory, detailed power structures remained unknown.

Right now, we were doing all we could just to push back attacking enemies.

Battlefields where the Six Heroes showed up never ended in defeat, but even though we were strong, there was only so much ground six people could cover.

Apparently, this woman and the orcs here were enemies.

I simply want to take the captured demon children home to their homeland. I don't think there's any need for us to fight. What do you think?

I didn't think she was lying.

I came here following a strong aura, but there was an area in the cave where many weak auras were concentrated—too weak to have any fighting ability.

I had guessed they were captured slaves, so I was planning to rescue them afterward.

Apparently demons were mixed in too.

Well, that's fine and all. But I also wanted to know where the humans these guys sold ended up. You killed the one who would've known that, though.

Rather than it being the Hero's duty, I personally wanted to do something about it if I could.

What a coincidence. I also wanted to know where the fellow demons these guys sold ended up.

Ah . . .

In secret trades between humans and demons, they didn't use currency, instead, they exchanged items that both sides found valuable.

It was hard to believe people would trade with demons, but they did exist.

I didn't want to know what kind of demand there was for such a thing.

How about this?

The woman took something tucked in her belt and spread it out.

Thin sheets of animal hide with what looked like demonic writing inscribed on them. There were quite a few pieces.

This guy had information on who the humans were sold to. I'll protect them all and hand them over . . . if any of them are still alive, that is.

Looking over, I could see that a crude shelf beside the corpse was open and empty.

She must have collected this before I arrived. It wasn't exactly the information she was after, but she probably thought it might come in handy. And now she was using it to negotiate with me, even if just by chance.

She was quite rational for a humanoid demon. And caring toward her fellow demons too.

Our eyes met, but she frowned.

Ah, right, I was covered in orc blood from head to toe.

She probably couldn't make out my features clearly.

Ah, we’ve already started moving to secure them on our end. Honestly, even if they’re victims, dealing with demons is tricky . . . So if you can make sure they get sent back safely to their homeland, that’d be a real help.

Heh, what a strange boy you are, worrying about whether demons can get home. Still . . . even though I'm the one who brought this up, I never thought a human would actually listen to what I have to say . . .

After smiling faintly, her expression became reminiscent, as if remembering something.

There's no one like that . . . except that person . . . that . . .

She continued muttering to herself in that way about something.

Hmph, acting on your own like that . . .

My holy sword was not pleased.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. We can both rescue the people we want to save, so it works out, right? And we can judge the perverts who made these deals by our own rules.

Going door to door to rescue illegal slaves scattered throughout the demon territory was not a practical approach.

But rescuing captured demons from wealthy homes in the human territory? That was not so difficult.

The War God had probably already extracted information about the buyers.

The demons were in the same situation.

Trading them once more and sending each back to their own home was the surest way to avoid trouble.

I can't trust demons. Let's just beat her up.

I don't feel like attacking someone who doesn't want to fight. If I find out she's lying, I can take her down then.

Oh my, you're quite confident in yourself, aren't you, boy? A talking sword—that means you wield a fallen sword, doesn't it? You certainly seem talented, but . . .

Fallen swords might be powerful, but they were weapons that cursed their wielders.

I had heard there were curses that shortened your lifespan, made you lose sight in one eye, or prevented you from being able to be touched by the opposite sex.

Moreover, once a fallen sword took a life, its wielder couldn't relinquish ownership until they themselves died.

Huh? But I'm a holy sword, though?

Long ago, there apparently used to be more than just this one holy sword, but they all seem to have become fallen swords.

Since there was only one holy sword left and only the Hero could use it, it had become common knowledge in modern times that only the Hero could wield a holy sword.

What a tasteless joke. Only the Hero . . . only Sir Raine can wield the holy sword, you know? I may be a demon, but I owe him a debt. Having his name mocked displeases me.

Her displeasure was genuine.

I was surprised to suddenly hear my own name mentioned.

Huh? Have we met somewhere before?

Huh?

The woman, who had been maintaining a sharp, composed demeanor throughout, suddenly sounded genuinely surprised.

Hmm . . . I think I'd remember hair that beautiful if I'd seen it before . . .

Huh? What?

I searched through my memories. Something from several years surfaced in my recollection.

Following that vague feeling, I dug deeper into my memories from that period.

Ah . . . could it be when we met before, your hair was dirty? Like, covered in soot . . .

Huh?!

Her shoulders jerked in surprise.

That's right . . . About five years ago, there was a demon going around kidnapping women with high magical powers. Among those I rescued from him was a girl who looked just like you . . .

We'd received information that a princess from some country had been kidnapped, so the Six Heroes went out to rescue her.

Normally this wouldn't be a job for heroes, but that princess was born with high magical power.

Similar kidnapping incidents had been occurring frequently, and witnesses at the scene where the princess was taken testified to seeing demons.

Judging that demons were plotting something, the War God analyzed information from each incident to predict the enemy's activity range, while the Hero—myself—and the Sage used our magical power to track them down and identify their stronghold.

After that, we all charged in together and annihilated the enemy.

When we broke in, a mysterious ritual was just about to be performed.

A skeletal demon who looked like a sorcerer had apparently been kidnapping girls with high magical powers indiscriminately, and there were demon children among the victims as well.

What the skeletal sorcerer intended to accomplish through the ritual remained unknown even now. We defeated him before we could ask.

In any case, we ended up rescuing the demon children too.

That didn't mean we could protect them, though. But we couldn't kill a victim either, so we gave them enoguh food and water to last for a while and set them free.

Back then I thought she was around my age, but looking at her now, she must have been older.

She looked about twenty years old.

I used water magic to create a sphere of water in the air and washed my face with it.

This should wash off some of the blood.

This Raine you mentioned . . . didn't he look like this?

No way.

The woman stepped back, tears welling up in her eyes, her face showing complete disbelief as she stared at me for a long moment.

Then she dropped to her knees as if praying to a god.

Her earlier composed demeanor completely vanished, and she smiled like a young girl.

She was smiling very, very happily.

Ever since you rescued me, Sir Raine, I've have lived with the hope of the day we might meet again.

Even her attitude had completely changed.

O-oh . . . uh, you're welcome?

She doesn't need to be so formal . . .

I relentlessly trained my abilities using magical power and rose to become one of the Four Rulers of the Justi Demon King's Army.

I didn't fully understand, but the Four Rulers must be a title reserved for only the demons able to achieve the highest ranks.

If she achieved that position in just five years—after nearly being sacrificed, then rescued only to be set free with nothing but basic food and water—the effort and hardship she must have endured is unimaginable.

All of it . . . all of it was to repay my debt to you, Sir Raine.

She wiped away her tears, her eyes burning with fierce determination.

So that someday I could rescue you from the humans and protect you!

Huh?

What is she going on about?

For once, I agreed with the holy sword.

I couldn't quite follow where this conversation was going.

Let's see, I came to defeat orcs who kidnapped humans to sell as slaves.

I thought there was only the boss left, but then there was this unexpected, beautiful humanoid demon.

I thought she was pretty reasonable to talk with, then it turned out we'd met before.

And now she was talking about taking care of me.

Please come with me. I promise I'll make you happy!

Here was a humanoid demon saying such things to me with tearful eyes.

Unfortunately, I was never taught how to respond properly in situations like this.

And I never imagined I would be persuaded to defect to the Demon King's Army.