Volume 7 Chapter 7 Eris Philin Centraris
"Ah! The alcohol here is truly exceptional!"
We hurriedly returned home. After the cleanup of the mountain earlier, the Anti-Demon Officials were supposed to come for land development, but despite the sanctuary that was put up, the shape of the mountain changed, so we fled before getting scolded.
Either way, Kagami-san will scold me later, but I'm the type that tries to postpone it as much as possible.
Then, we all gathered in the living room to hear what Kou had to say, but he himself is in this state.
Does he really have any intention to speak?
"Hey, did you forget our promise?"
"Of course not. I was just planning on winning, so I was getting my thoughts in order. I'm organizing them right now."
"Well then, at least put down the beer for now."
That will just make things even messier.
As I looked at Kou with a bewildered expression, Sharla, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.
"Kou."
"What is it?"
"Can we really talk about this?"
It was an unusually serious tone for her.
Sharla also knows, after all. In that case, was I the only one being excluded back then?
Thinking back, neither Kou nor Sharla nor Mevia tried to strongly hold me back. At that time, I didn't grasp it deeply due to my shock, but if Eris had reached out to them in advance, it makes sense.
Kou remained silent for a while, holding his drink, then answered.
"It doesn't matter. Both you and I fulfilled our duty to Eris at that time. There's no need for us to be criticized."
"..."
"And the situation has changed. It's something this person should know too."
"...I understand. That's fine with me."
After saying that, Sharla settled down deeply.
It means that she has no intention of intervening anymore.
Lisha, Tsukiko, and Kanami are also sitting with serious expressions.
Kou put his drink on the table and looked into my eyes.
"First of all, I apologize in advance. Following Eris' orders, we staged a play to send you back to Earth. We're sorry for that. However, there was a reason for it. Do you understand anything?"
"..."
Suddenly being questioned, I pondered. Perhaps, it's something I've been thinking about in the back of my mind since returning to Earth.
"I thought that if I stayed on Asteris, it would become a new source of conflict..."
In the end, there was no other answer.
Not to brag, but the hero's strength is significant even on a national scale. In terms of influence, it could be considered top-class worldwide.
There is definitely a possibility that my existence could become the trigger for a new battle.
Considering kind-hearted Eris, it is very likely that she wouldn't tolerate the occurrence of a fight or the fact that it was caused by me.
"Well, let's say it's around 30 points."
"──That's lower than I expected. I thought it was pretty good."
"Well, there were undoubtedly some positive aspects. Just think about it, it's Eris we're talking about, you know?"
So what? Sorry, but I know more about Eris than you do.
Seeing my expression like that, Kou sighed.
"This is why people blinded by love are no good. The face Eris showed you was probably just for you. You have no idea what kind of person she is in the eyes of other countries."
"No, it's the same no matter who looks at her."
She was one of the most popular people in the Centraris Kingdom.
"That's not true at all. She was indeed exceptional as a magician, but her diplomatic skills were even more impressive. She was at a monster-level. Plus, she had the strongest card, Hero, and she had defeated every country she encountered, including me."
Really? Thinking that, when I turned to Kanami, she looked away with an indescribable expression.
Certainly, I know she did a lot of things, but that much?
"First of all, her knowledge is out of this world. On top of that, she traveled around the world gathering information and selling favors in various places as a hero. Because she was there, our journey could focus solely on defeating the Demon Lord. Otherwise, we would have been too busy dealing with interference from various countries."
"S-So much?"
I thought it was natural for Hero to be there to defeat the Demon Lord, but was Eris struggling in the shadows for that purpose?
Certainly, when we entered other countries, she seemed busy enough to not be seen for a while. I only thought that being a royal was tough.
"Would she let you go just because of a war? She can handle that kind of obstacle on her own."
"Well, that's true..."
Yes, that's the point.
Eris doesn't give up easily. Whatever she decides to achieve, she will do it by any means necessary.
So, the fact that she decided to send me back broke my heart.
"So, why was I sent back in the end?"
The more I ask, the less I understand the reason.
Kou drank the remaining sake in one gulp and answered succinctly.
"It was because 'the curse of the Hero'."
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