Volume 1 Chapter 21 Press Conference II
Valzeil Diamante appears.
I wonder what the nobles think about this situation.
Watching the king move forward under the hero's strong presence, maybe they're feeling 'hopeful.'
Wanting him to boldly declare that they're the true justice.
'You've changed a lot. But the meeting with all the kings will come later. This place is only for calling out nitpickers and showing my power. I have no business with you.'
"Hey, don't say it like that. I came here to nitpick too. 'It's a real shame to call only the ones who want to complain when I have things to say to the hero,' right?"
'...'
Normally, Rangella speaks politely.
But right now, there's no sign of that──she's still pressing hard against Valzeil.
...Because the hero community already knows who caused the problems the nobles of Diamante Kingdom made, and why, they don't plan to make Valzeil 'responsible.'
Still, since Horace is happy about the 'antenna bonus' ingots, they don't treat him as an 'enemy.' But there's no real apology to Horace either, so it's not like they 'forgive' him.
That's why they have 0 intentions of holding back.
"I didn't come here to join the opinions of the others. I came just to say what I want to say."
'Oh? Go ahead and say it.'
Rangella doesn't lower her pressure at all.
But amidst it all, Valzeil calmly speaks.
"At the world conference before, the kings, including the permanent Council Members, praised the hero community's achievements and gave rewards. But they forgot the most important thing."
'The most important?'
"Yes."
Valzeil slowly bows his head.
"Hero Rangella, hero community Luster Report members, and Horace, the master who guided them. Thank you from my heart for defeating the Demon Lord and saving the world."
'...'
Hearing Valzeil's words of gratitude... Rangella finally breaks her pressure.
The next moment, it was like the nobles woke up from being frozen, all flailing around before collapsing back into their seats.
"Gratitude. Is that it?"
"Yeah. Gratitude."
Raising his head, Valzeil looked straight at Rangella.
"...I'm not the kind of jealous person who can't admit when others grow. But, let me ask this──'Why only now?'"
"Right. We have the right to ask that. We've made light of the hero's name way too much and caused too much trouble. Even though they saved the world, if the world held no hope, it wouldn't be hard to give up on it. That hasn't changed. So I'll show the hope."
"You? Show hope?"
"Yeah."
Valzeil nodded.
"Your hero's pressure is strong, sure... but if I remember right, I think it's done like this?"
Suddenly, Valzeil's eyes shined, and a red aura spread across the hall.
Once again, the nobles got pinned down.
Even though Rangella was caught up in it, she kept a cool face.
More than that, the 'red aura' and its color only showed how seriously Valzeil was trying, not how strong the pressure actually was.
Trying to hold down the girl who beat the Demon Lord and saved the world with a half-baked move like that was pointless.
"...!"
Rangella pushed out pressure too.
There was no color.
It was colorless.
But the huge pressure instantly scattered Valzeil's red aura like mist.
"...Hahaha! I thought half-measures wouldn't cut it, but losing this easy? Pathetic."
Valzeil laughed, but Rangella caught the real meaning behind his move.
It was: "Valzeil's a man strong enough to raise pressure and has become king, but he still can't match the hero. The hero is way above him."
Yep, to show the nobles.
No matter how much 'dominating spirit' the leader of the world's biggest country throws out, it just can't compare.
That is exactly what he wanted to prove.
"That's not like you."
"We have a lot of 'facts' in our country that make me do things like this."
Valzeil stares at Rangella.
"Well, I want to meet your master, Horace. I have to apologize to him."
"...If you put it that way, I can't say no."
Horace comes out from behind and walks to Rangella.
"Are you Horace? I'm very sorry that I let you work in my castle for so long and couldn't reward you. I'm truly sorry."
Valzeil bows his head again.
Horace watches and holds back a sigh.
"Please raise your head. I liked the bonus that came with the antenna very much. If you give me that, it was worth working in the Diamante Kingdom."
"I see, then... there's nothing owed between us. You feel more drawn to the Dragonstone Kingdom than our country, so you'll stay there. Is that okay?"
"Yeah... I thought you'd say, 'Why don't you come back to the castle?'"
"I've already abandoned that future. Our country will return to its proper form, and I will make it strong with my own power."
Valzeil looks at Horace, and he looks like he's made up his mind.
"Horace, master of the hero. I'd like to clash with you once, with that intimidation."
"What do you mean..."
"It's better than exchanging a thousand words, you'll understand that way."
"...You read 'that book'. I see, alright."
"Then...!"
Valzeil releases a red aura again.
It's probably even stronger than when he fought Rangella.
...But Horace's eyes shine a little, and just that alone causes a 'hallucination', as if everything, not just Valzeil, is being crushed.
"...Ugh, oh, is, is this all?"
"I didn't think you could stand."
"Yeah, I know. I'm surprised too."
Valzeil looks at Rangella.
"Hero. The world you saved has the 'possibility' of a man who was ignorant, incompetent, and foolish at that time becoming this kind of man, a king. The blood that flows in us is still full of possibilities."
Valzeil smiled a little.
"Could you wait a little longer before you get tired of the world?"
Rangella's answer to that was...
"..."
She didn't say anything, but... clapped her hands, *clap clap*.
It was applause.
In her eyes, she didn't look down on Valzeil.
She was applauding Valzeil for 'showing the possibilities of the world'.
"I've lost, haven't I. I really thought that maybe the world wasn't worth it. Maybe I could just get tired of it. But, to prove me wrong, right here, right now..."
She seemed to be thinking, but she got it together in a few seconds.
"So this is a 'King'. A Hero is just the result of what they did, but a 'King' is 'the very existence itself'."
Rangella closed her eyes... and opened them again right away.
There was a little, nice smile there.
"I promise I won't forget to thank you for defeating the Demon Lord."
"Well, that's that. I still have to pick a dungeon to throw those annoying nobles into. I'll be going now."
"If you want, I can give you some documents, do you need them?"
"Information from you, who's worked at the castle for years? I'll take it. Send it to the castle later, okay?"
"Then, I will."
"Well, I'll be going now."
Valzeil turned around and walked toward the door.
...Well, there were nobles from the Diamante Kingdom here, and it felt like a death sentence was given.
But they've been through so much pressure, their legs were jelly, they couldn't resist.
Until Valzeil left the room, no one said anything.
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