All eyes were focused on one point.
The person who answered Lisha was still wearing a blue robe indoors and sat on a nearby chair.
Roze was the first to react. She turned to the man from Lisha and bowed respectfully.
"Welcome back, Larkan-sama."
"I was just enjoying the breeze for a moment."
Roze silently moved to a corner of the room and began working on something. She returned with a tray and a tea set in her hands.
"Please."
The man called Larkan and Lisha had tea cups placed in front of them. The fragrant steam was out of place in the room.
But Lisha was not focused on that.
Her thoughts and words finally started to flow.
"...Hero, huh...?"
With just a glance at that small murmur, Larkan lifted his tea cup. He lowered the collar of his coat that covered his mouth and took a sip.
After moistening his throat, Larkan spoke again.
"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry, but I need you to bring him here."
"What... are you talking about...?"
Lisha's eyes trembled, far more than when she was told she would be killed. She truly didn't understand what Larkan was saying.
"I've heard that the current Hero has been chosen in the Centraris Kingdom, but I haven't met him myself."
Larkan narrowed his eyes and answered with a bored expression.
"I'm not talking about some imitation. I'm talking about the Silver Hero."
'The 'Silver Hero'.'
Lisha was familiar with that name. There was no way she wouldn't know.
Saints were priestesses who offered prayers to the goddess. They held a special position even within the church, but their selection was done by humans based on certain criteria.
On the other hand, Heroes (Yuusha) were chosen directly by the goddess. Their divinity was incomparable to that of Saints. They were in a completely different hierarchy.
If requested, or even without being requested, they had to offer themselves, body and soul.
For Saints, for Lisha, that's what a Hero meant.
But even if Lisha wasn't a Saint, she would have known that name.
No one in Asteris didn't know. Even a newborn baby would hear about the hero in bedtime stories.
The strongest Hero who defeated the Demon Lord Julius Roderest and led the God-Demon War to victory, that was the Silver Hero.
That's why Lisha denied it. It couldn't be possible.
"What are you talking about...? Silver-sama has already been taken to the goddess. He wouldn't come to help me."
Because the Hero who killed the Demon Lord was great, the end of his story was widely known.
He stayed in the Centraris Kingdom for a while after defeating the Demon Lord, and in the end, he was taken to heaven by the goddess's miracle. He ascended from being a human Hero to a knight of the goddess.
That's why a new Hero was chosen.
That's why he wouldn't appear in the Second God-Demon War.
That's why he wouldn't come to help Lisha.
But Larkan laughed at such common sense. He stood up, approached Lisha, and leaned over to look into her eyes with his crimson gaze. Larkan's eyes were deep blue, giving the illusion of looking up at a moonless night.
"He is alive."
His words were firm.
He directly denied the world's common sense, the acceptance of humans, and the demon in front of him.
"I myself couldn't believe it at first. I participated in this God-Demon War because it was the only hope."
As Larkan spoke, he placed his finger on his collar.
The collar was lowered, revealing the scars on his neck that were hidden.
"Ah...!"
The moment Lisha saw it, she involuntarily stiffened. Roze's cold gaze from behind pierced sharply.
It must have been quite shocking for her not to make a sound.
Because Larkan's boyish face had gruesome scars. From the bottom right of the neck, a huge cut that goes through the left cheek. It was not just a normal slash, but a deep cut that could not have been made by a regular attack, perhaps it was a magic strike.
Furthermore, Larken lifted his left arm. A silver gauntlet with beautiful decorations traced the scar.
"This scar tells me that the Silver Knight is nearby."
Gears meshed beyond the gauntlet, and the sound of springs stretching and contracting could be heard.
At that moment, Lisha finally realized. This left arm was a magic tool. It was probably also cut off, and the part from the elbow down is a prosthetic.
At the same time, she understood.
The man standing in front of her is a survivor of the previous God-Demon War. Moreover, he is a warrior who directly clashed with the Hero and survived.
"Hero-sama... will come to rescue me?"
"He will come. He will never abandon those he has involved himself with. That's the kind of man he is."
"I have never met the Hero-sama."
Lisha immediately declared.
She had never been on the battlefield during the Great War, and she had never been in the spotlight. She had never had the opportunity to meet the Hero.
But Larkan looked at Lisha with a strange gaze.
As if searching for the truth, straight into her eyes.
"That can't be. There should be a Silver Knight near you."
"That is..."
Upon hearing that, Lisha finally realized for the first time. She realized who the man was misunderstanding, who he was mistaking for the Hero.
The Earth magician who saved Lisha in her time of need and agreed to help in the God-Demon War. She can still recall his figure if she closes her eyes. Standing amidst the falling sparks, with his silver armor and emerald eyes. His dazzling sword flashes cut through both crisis and fear.
At that moment, Lisha truly saw him as the legendary Hero in her vision.
But that was a mistake.
The figure hidden beneath the armor was an ordinary young man, a human. He was not a warrior adorned with the divinity chosen by the goddess, but a person with doubts and weaknesses.
Still, because she couldn't forget her first impression, she want to call him "Silver." This demon was referring him as that.
"Yuusuke-san is not the Hero-sama! He is a powerful magician, but that's all!"
'There's no way that's true.'
The immediate denial came from Fifi, who had been listening to the conversation beside them. She moved above Roze's head and opened her mouth wide, making a loud noise.
'He killed two demons, didn't he? Thanks to his flashy performance, it was easy to gather information.'
"He did fight against two demons, but just because Yuusuke-san can fight doesn't mean he is the Hero."
'Are you stupid? The fact that he fought twice and are still alive is already strange enough.'
"...?"
Not understanding what he meant, Lisha tilted her head. Fifi made a gesture as if sighing, despite not being able to breathe.
'Saint really doesn't know anything, huh? Even if a a magician of this world fought, there's no way they can defeat the titled demon. And even as a guardian from Asteris, the odds are slim in a one-on-one fight. Understand this, demons and humans have that kind of relationship.'
"That, that can't be true! In the God-Demon War, humans did not lose to demons!"
If there was such a disparity in power, there wouldn't even be a war. Lisha had grown up hearing about the glorious victories and heroic deeds.
But unfortunately for Lisha, that was an undeniable fact.
Larkan moved away from Lisha and sat back in his chair, speaking in a flat tone.
"Fifi's words are correct. I can imagine what you have been indoctrinated with under the goddess, but fundamentally, the magic power levels between demons and humans are different. Except for special cases, humans cannot match demons."
As a Saint who had lived in the church, Lisha had only received embellished and beautiful information. Whether good or bad, she had been raised in a pure cultivation nurtured by clear water and air.
Therefore, she did not know the cruel truth. Human cannot defeat demons (mazoku). In the Great War, humans and demons were evenly matched because humans fought against the individualistic demons with organized armies.
So, who exactly are the humans who can defeat such beings on their own? Larkan's words became a transparent knife and slowly stabbed into Lisha.
"I don't know the reason why you don't want to admit it, but everything will be clear when he comes."
Lisha's face was illuminated by the flickering light. Her expression, mixed with astonishment and anxiety, seemed to fear that help would come from somewhere.
After leaving her behind, Roze bowed to Larkan and left the room. As she walked down the corridor, illuminated by moonlight, Fifi whispered.
'It seems like he's getting closer.'
"Sooner than expected, huh?"
'What should we do?'
Roze took a moment before answering the question.
"It is our duty to welcome guests. Bring out Amon."
'Yeah, gotta do that.'
As soon as she said that, Roze's hair returned to its ordinary black color, and at her feet, bubbles formed as if in exchange. From the shadows that escaped the moonlight, a warrior-like figure appeared, as if piercing through the night.
It is the duty of the attendant to determine whether this person is truly capable of fulfilling our master's desires. If they are lacking in power, they will be submerged.
Fifi, "one lurking in the shadows," who possessed Amon silently disappeared. They disappeared to welcome the one who stepped into the veil of death.
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