Chapter 51: Thoughts Run Rampant
The change in bidding conditions quickly spread to the representatives of each country.
Mei's idea that the change in the conditions would allow them to make the bidding process more open ended up being partially disregarded.
The reason was that the approach from each country came with a different kind of enthusiasm. In the end, the Class A was visited by emissaries from various countries one after another, with Yuya and Mei themselves as the target of their visits.
“So, what kind of woman do you prefer, Yuya-dono?”
"Eh? What kind of women do I prefer?"
“Our country is not rich, but we have a reputation for having many beautiful women. I am sure that there are many women who would be to your liking."
"Many……"
Such a blatant solicitation is being carried out without hesitation in the classroom.
“Does Mei-dono know about the magic tool called the Crimson Jewel?”
"No, I don't."
"It is a treasure that has been passed down in our royal family for generations. It is said to increase the effectiveness of fire magic many times over."
"That's a good magic tool, isn't it?"
"Right!? If Mei-dono uses it, she will truly become an invincible mage."
"Maybe so……"
There are a lot of suspicious solicitations like this.
With such people appearing one after another at recess, Yuya and Mei have no time to rest. On the other hand, there are also people who are working on their own, just as Mei had intended.
"Since Hyde-sama is from a knight's family, I wonder if you have a fiance?"
"Huh? I thought knights and wives had nothing to do with each other."
"Is that so? Then you don't want a wife?"
"Yes. I have no intention to have one at the moment."
Until he becomes a full-fledged knight, Hyde does not intend to consider marriage. It is Hyde's own opinion, not that of his parents.
"In this world, marriage comes early, right?"
"Early? I don't know because I only know this world."
Adulthood is also early. In addition, it is taken for granted that once a person comes of age, he or she becomes an adult and has a family, so marriage in this world is quite early. However, Hyde, who is from this world, is not aware that it is early.
“In our world, it was normal to get married before the age of 30.”
"That is too late. You can't raise children."
"...What's the average life expectancy in this world?"
"Life expectancy?"
If you get married at thirty and can't raise children, how short is your life expectancy? But this is a misconception. What Hyde means by not being able to raise children is not being able to raise a number of children.
In this world, people do not accept an only child. If anything should happen to the child, the family would be cut off.
"How long do people live?"
“If you live to be sixty, I would say it is normal.”
"Ah, is that so... it's still short. In our original world, it would be about eighty years old."
She realized something was wrong with her thinking, but it didn't matter.
"That much"
“If I can make use of my knowledge of our original world, I think my husband will be able to live a long life.”
"I suppose so."
“Hyde-sama, you want to live a long life, right?”
"...That is, well."
In this way, there is also a kind of act that has nothing to do with the position of a hero candidate.
Anyway, both sides were working enthusiastically, not knowing when things would settle down, and this kind of thing was repeated day after day after day.
Why is this so? The reason lies in the great powers.
A dormitory conference room occupied by the Izrim Magic Kingdom. Princess Milianea was listening to Hyde's words with a face like she was biting a bitter bug.
"No!"
"Your Royal Highness!"
"Why do I have to flatter a hero candidate?"
“I am not asking the princess to flatter him. I'm just suggesting that you go to the classroom once in a while and talk to him."
"That's what flattering is."
"Your Royal Highness..."
Hyde took the change in bidding terms as an opportunity. He saw it as a chance to make Yuya, whom they had given up on as they had no match for the Luine Kingdom and the Lemberg Empire, their own.
And he thought of Princess Milianea as a weapon to draw Yuya in.
"You're telling me to seduce a man."
“Your Highness, such words. I didn’t say such things. I am just saying that Yuya seems to be interested in the princess, and he would like to have a talk with you."
"What interest?"
"That Your Highness is a very beautiful woman."
Regarding Yuya's interest, Hyde omits a lot of explanations.
"I won't be deceived by such words. That means he has impure feelings for women."
"As I said..."
He tries to deny it, but Hyde does not believe that Yuya does have impure feelings for her.
“And I wonder if Yuya's interest is directed solely towards me? Isn't it more likely that it's also directed at Princess Grace of the Luine Kingdom?"
“…………”
Hyde couldn't immediately come up with the words to say.
"...I was right. He's the worst!"
“However, Your Highness, if we continue to postpone the invitation, other countries will take him away.”
"……Why?"
With a look of deep wonder on her face, the princess asked Hyde?
"Why? If the conditions are satisfactory, Yuya-dono might make up his mind."
"I don't think so."
"Yes?"
Princess Milianea, who heard Hyde's reply, looked a little taken aback and dismissed Hyde's concerns out of hand. The reason for this was not clear to Hyde.
"If he were a hero, I would expect him to be that sincere, but he is not."
"That's"
“If even better conditions are presented, he will switch to that immediately.”
"Maybe so..."
“Right now, the people who are desperately recruiting don’t understand that. They judge his personality just by the title of hero. Luine and Lemberg know it."
"……Yes"
This is why they are intensifying their solicitation. If the three countries gave their conditions, Yuya and Mei will definitely narrow it down to the three countries. In fact, they have already narrowed it down, but they have no choice but to listen to the other countries because the three countries are not soliciting.
So other countries have high hopes. Even though there is no chance of winning from the beginning, they are hoping for the worst.
"Rather than that, what is Jin Takamiya doing? Is he not going to school today?"
"Yes."
Recently, Jin has never been seen at the academy. It's clear that Kazuki's incident was the trigger, but Hyde doesn't know where he is or what he's doing.
"Be careful not to cut off the connection. The favorite candidate of our country is Jin Takamiya, remember?"
"I understand that."
"And what about Shizuru Tojo?"
"We talk every day"
"If so, get the information as soon as possible."
"That's the thing. She's strangely tight-lipped when it comes to skills."
"If Shizuru Tojo could use the rumored magic, it would be a different story. This is the first time I've heard of the existence of a unique light-attribute magic."
"Yes"
The information about the [Wings of Compassion] used by Kazuki is transmitted to each country in a slightly distorted form. Only the information about the unique magic used by the saint was emphasized and spread. As a result, Shizuru's value increased greatly among the major powers.
"Lang, you're next."
"Yes. More than half of the Class C hero candidates still haven't come to school. Satoko Kanda, Manami Hasegawa, Kotaro Iguchi, and Akira Mita. Three of them, except for Akira Mita, were friends of the deceased student.”
"There is one more, isn't there?"
"Ren-dono doesn't show up at the academy either."
"Do you know what he's doing?"
"I can't find his whereabouts"
"Nothing at all?"
Princess Milianea was a little surprised at the report, which was unlike Lang.
"No, he will return home in the evening. I've only seen him show up at the church, but I'm sure he's going back home."
"I see... any other information?"
"No."
"Then it can't be helped."
"Yes"
"...It's surprisingly light, though?"
Princess Milianea knows that Lang is obsessed with Ren. And she is not feeling very persistent in her investigations.
"Me?"
"That's right"
“Even though he went home every day, I feel as if he had gone underground. If he does so intentionally, there is nothing we can do."
"I see."
She finally heard a Lang-like report, but it was indescribably unsettling.
"I just hope it's not going in the wrong direction."
Did she understand how Princess Milianea feels? Lang's words further fueled her anxiety.
"For example?"
"I don't know. Because I didn't understand Ren-dono."
"……I see."
In the end, this time Lang's report only served to instill in Princess Milianea a sense of unease about Ren. As for Lang, this is fine. Even if she could not get any information, she could not let the Princess lose interest in Ren.
On the other hand, the Lemberg Empire had a slightly different view of the situation than the Izrim Magic Kingdom. In a different way from Princess Milianea, Heinz is pondering with a difficult face.
"...This is difficult."
"What are you worried about?"
"Whether or not I should solicit."
"At this time?"
His subordinates also know that it is too early to act.
"Of course, it will be later. But I have decided that it is better to move earlier than I had previously thought."
"That way, Luine will be able to read us."
"But what if there are conditions under which we can reliably be used by our country?"
"...Is there?"
If there is, his subordinate will have no objection. But they knew there was no way. Heinz is having a hard time finding it.
"It's hypothetical. But I can't say it doesn't exist. I think we should move quickly to find it."
"If we can find it"
"On the contrary, we can go against Luine. But it's still very dangerous."
"What if we invite them both, and if we find a condition, we bump into it, and if we don't, we avoid it?"
"It's not that risk, it's the risk of whether we can trust the hero candidates."
Heinz's troubles were different from what his subordinate had thought. He was worried about how much he could trust the hero candidates.
"...If they betray us"
"I don't think it's betrayal or anything like that. Raising the conditions is natural for the other side."
"Indeed."
"Even if we think about it, it's going in circles. I don't like the way things are going."
"It's just the beginning."
"And it's possible that that future is gone."
Heinz is also concerned about something else. He was worried about this other thing, so much so that he could not concentrate on his thoughts.
"...What is it about? I don't understand."
"Half of the Class C hero candidates don't come to school. Most of them are people who had a slight relationship with Ren Takashiro. Kazuki Harumoto, who was most closely associated with him, is dead."
"Does that mean we have no contact with him?"
"That's right."
Not only Ren himself but also the students who are related to him do not come to the academy. The only way to get in touch with him would be to go to the church. Heinz did not want to do anything so conspicuous.
“However, if things continue like this, Ren Takashiro will definitely have nowhere to go.”
"No, there is a strong possibility that the guild will keep him."
"Yes."
Ren has already established himself so firmly as an adventurer that there is no need for him to go to a country as a hero. There is even a possibility that he will be hired not as an adventurer but as a guild employee and rise through the ranks.
“The guild knows something. Otherwise, they wouldn't have hired him so heavily."
“I thought it would be difficult to probe the guild."
"I know. I don't intend to. However, I'm kind of uneasy about not keeping an eye on him. I don't know why even if you ask me why. But I feel vaguely uneasy."
Heinz felt what Lang felt.
"...Do you want me to put a lookout?"
"Can you do it? From what I remember, I thought he's been shaking you off a number of times?"
"I'm very sorry"
"It's fine. As a result, it turns out that his powers are not according to the Church's records."
"Yes"
Ren has the power to fend off the spies of the Lemberg Empire. That alone is enough to recruit him as a vassal.
"...The intelligence department should be strengthened."
"Yes"
"It's not for lookouts. Now I know one of the reasons why I feel uneasy."
"What is it?"
"I feel as if my vision has suddenly darkened with the loss of information from the guild that only slightly oozes out. What happened to the Anti-Hero Alliance? Is it really over?"
"……I'm sorry"
The end of the Anti-Hero Alliance. The Lemberg Empire has not grasped this. This applies not only to the Lemberg Empire, but also to the other two countries and the church.
“I didn’t blame you. I asked myself the question. The answer was nothing. If I can't even guess, I will get worried."
“…………”
"I'm feeling a little strange today. Let's end the meeting with this."
"Ha"
Heinz repeatedly expresses his uneasiness. Even though he raises a lot of reasons for it, he feels that none of them is the reason.
Vague anxiety. Heinz himself is indeed unable to realize that this is his feeling right now.
And another great power. The Luine Kingdom can afford it. It has nothing to do with the situation, it just depends on the feelings of the representatives
"Let's go over it again."
"Yes"
“My real favorite is, of course, Yuya Kisaragi, who is a hero. But he only has the power of a hero, and his character is terrible. I don't feel he has the qualities to be a commander."
"I think it's still too early to judge."
"A commander must have a good character. Isn't that so?"
No, that is not a mistake. But Princess Grace doesn't understand that position can also create character.
"...Yes, it is as Her Royal Highness says."
Her subordinates did not point this out.
"Then my assessment is correct."
"Yes"
“The runner-up is Mei Katsuragi. Her magic is overwhelming. There are no rumors that she has a bad personality. She's not also stupid, either, given that she worked as the center of this negotiation of terms...... but, why is she the runner-up?"
Princess Grace thinks that Mei is clearly better than Yuya. Even now, she wondered why Mei was the runner-up.
"The hero is only a weapon to win the war. As a weapon, it is a judgment as to who is better, the hero or the great mage."
A weapon doesn't need a superior mind or a personality. Her subordinates are talking about polar opposites. Because they don't want to discuss the details.
"...Is the hero definitely better?"
"I think it's still too early to judge."
"This too?"
Princess Grace seems dissatisfied with the decision being postponed again.
"It goes without saying that the mage's drawback is that they are useless when they run out of mana."
"I understand that much."
“Yes. And wars are often long battles. It is rare for a battle to be fought with magic until the very end."
"If it's a short battle, a great mage can do it, but when it comes to war, it's the hero, isn't it?"
"That is correct."
Her subordinate affirmed Princess Grace's idea. This is not because it is troublesome, nor is it a flattery.
"Then, what do you mean by it's still early?"
"You won't know until you are on the battlefield like that. In the event that Mei Katsuragi possesses unorthodox magic power, there is a possibility that she will become our main target."
In terms of offensive power, the Luine Kingdom thinks that Mei is superior. The battle at the monastery proved it.
"Will there be such a battlefield?"
"...They are still students."
"That's no good. If we don't have the opportunity, we have to make it."
"How would we do that?"
It is not easy to create a place that is equivalent to war.
"It is your job to think about it."
Furthermore, Princess Grace threw away that unreasonableness.
"...Yes. That is correct."
Her subordinate has no choice but to answer this way.
"Next is Shizuru Tojo, right?"
"Yes"
"So what's the conclusion?"
"I don't have any definite information yet. Can she use unique magic or not? That's all we know, but we haven't had a chance to find out yet."
The Luine Kingdom is also concerned about whether Shizuru can use [Wings of Compassion]. A magic that simultaneously acts as an absolute defense and healing magic would be very effective on the battlefield.
“Then we must create opportunities.”
"……Yes"
"That's what it comes down to. We can't know that until we see it in action. Now that the Anti-Hero Alliance has been settled, it's time to increase the opportunities for evaluating the hero candidates."
"Yes"
"Well, then, that's that."
Satisfied with what she wanted to hear and what she wanted to say, Princess Grace tried to end the meeting.
"Um?"
"Is there something wrong?"
"What about meeting with Yuya Kisaragi?"
There was still something she doesn't want to hear.
"...It's too early."
"I see."
It seems that the selfish princess is saying whatever she wants, but this is fine for the Luine Kingdom. It's the last minute that they will move, and by that time decisions will be made in a different way.
Although she didn't realize it herself, Princess Grace was just a bridge until then.
And some countries have started to move with completely different agendas than others.
The guild leader looks at the man sitting in front of him with a bitter face. But the man did not show any reaction. He had no choice but to open his mouth.
"I don't want you to touch it too much."
"I know that, but I'm worried about the lack of information."
"We're giving you the information you need"
"Then what is Ren Takashiro doing?"
This question indicates that the information the guild leader was passing on was related to Ren. It is not right for a guild leader to leak information about adventurers to the outside world.
"...The escort request is over. Isn't he at the academy?"
"He is not at the academy."
"...That's not for us to know. Find out for yourself."
"I'm troubled because I can't do that. All the spies we dispatched have been shaken off."
"It's none of my business."
The guild leader is well aware that he is crossing a dangerous bridge, so he tries to finish the conversation quickly. He is very annoyed by the visit in the first place.
"Can't you send someone over there?"
"Don't be ridiculous. That's no way to move people."
There is no way they can move people to get information about Ren. For what reason, it's just unnecessary.
"...I've got a feeling that something is going on....... we just want to know what it is."
"Then find out what it is yourselves. What's the hurry in the first place? The situation is progressing as expected. All you have to do is wait for the right moment."
"That time is not yet."
"Don't act poorly, wait for that time. After that, just motivate him. If you can do that, it will be as you wish."
"We haven't seen what he can do yet."
No matter what the guild leader says, he doesn't seem to be convinced.
"Are you saying my information is unreliable?"
"...I trust you. But I can't believe the information itself."
"Trust me. It's a real bargain."
"If the information is true. Otherwise, we are at a loss."
The other party is paying money for the guild leader's information. For the money, the guild leader gave Ren's information.
"It's true. Look, I'm crossing a dangerous bridge. Besides, I have no intention of doing this forever. This is the last time I'm going to make a profit. I'm not going to lie and cheat you."
"……I understand"
And then, in a backstreet diner not far from the place.
At the table in the corner, a conversation was being held in a low voice, as if they were aware of the surroundings.
"...From now on, we have no choice but to move directly."
"But there is a risk of our identity being compromised."
"I know that. But the monastery has collapsed, and we have no way to contact the people who were connected to it. We have no choice but to move our limbs."
If anyone who knew what was going on heard it, they would immediately recognize them as a member of the Anti-Hero Alliance. It is a dangerous conversation to have outside, even in a back-street diner.
"... What did that man say?"
"He said he's not gonna give me any more information."
"Is that so?"
"It's a mistake to rely on him. Originally, it wouldn't be strange if we kill each other on the spot."
"Are you going to turn him into an enemy?"
“We were originally enemies. We just happened to have a common enemy, so we are cooperating.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If there is a gap in mutual interest, the relationship will return to its original state.
"That's true, but..."
"Last time, he said something strange."
"Strange?"
"You don't have to do anything anymore, so get the hell out of here and go back to your own country and do something else."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. But I can't just go along with that."
"Of course"
"What do you know about the situation in the guild?"
The natural enemy of the Anti-Hero Alliance. The situation of the guild is the most worrisome.
“It seems that the guild has completed the escort request. it seems certain. However, we don't know what Ren Takashiro is doing. He has not been seen at the academy for a long time."
"Yes, it's good that the guild has withdrawn."
"We can't let your guard down. The number of people has decreased considerably, but the Knights and the mages of the church are still escorting them."
"I know."
And the Anti-Hero Alliance has also lost its organizational strength. The collapse of the monastery is a blow to the Anti-Hero Alliance. They have lost their core organization.
"But how? Even if we succeed, our country will be destroyed if it becomes known that we are the ones who did this. It is the same for other countries."
And they are not prepared to throw everything away and work like the monastery.
"...A change of mindset. That might be necessary."
"What do you mean by change?"
"If a hero candidate accepted, a small country might be able to defeat a large country on bidding terms."
"No way, the hero?"
"That's... What is the purpose?"
"...To protect one's own country."
It has a different purpose than the monastery. The idea is not to eliminate conflict from the world.
"Yes. Killing the heroes is just one of the means."
"But it would be a betrayal of our fellow members."
"......It originally had a different purpose. Betrayal is despicable, but in this case, it is for the good of the country and the people. I would do anything for that."
"Your Royal Highness..."
Each country's thoughts about the hero candidates are colored in their own way, and they are all over the place. The life of the academy, which seemed to have settled down, was just a transition period for the next turmoil.
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