Chapter 131: Heir (11)

Before long, the sun was setting, and night was falling over the mountains.

“…So, by the way, would it be alright for us to settle down here for a while?”

Since I had no intention of leaving this place until I resolved the heir issue, I asked Ben for his permission.

There was no real justification for staying here, but it was easy to come up with one. It was to search if there were traces of another demon contractor around.

Ben didn’t seem to mind and readily gave his permission.

“Do as you wish. However, there are no rooms available in the cabin for three people…”

“We’ll be staying outside the cabin, so it doesn’t matter.”

I had grown tired of homelessness during my journey here, so it was not a problem at all.

We settled ourselves a little away from the cabin’s courtyard.

After finishing dinner, I had a conversation with the hero.

“So, have you thought about how to take the heir with you?”

The hero, who was staring intently at the blazing campfire, raised her head.

“We don’t have much time. We can’t stay here indefinitely.”

“I know.”

“Do you have any plans to tell everything as it is? I can’t see any other way.”

After all, it was something that had to be done, eventually. The heir couldn’t inherit the Holy Sword without knowing any facts.

“If there really is no other way, then yes, but once it’s said, it can’t be taken back. I’d like to think about other options first.”

The hero’s words were correct. Given her lack of basic knowledge about the world, it was hard to predict how she would react if the hero brought up the whole Holy Sword and heir thing.

“Putting that aside, do you have a plan for how to fulfill the conditions of succession?”

“No… I don’t. That’s an even more difficult problem than convincing her.”

I glanced at the hero, subtly gauging her reaction.

“What about artificially creating a situation to fulfill the conditions of succession?”

“I don’t think it’s possible. And even if it were, I have no intention of doing such a thing.”

The hero responded firmly.

Seeing the prompt response, it seemed that she had indeed contemplated the matter.

Artificially setting up a situation to fulfill the conditions for inheriting the Holy Sword.

That’s what it meant.

Forcing the heir to create companions, build bonds with them, sacrifice them, create rifts, trample upon their hearts and emotions, and bring about despair…

It’s like you’re messing with their lives and destroying them.

While the heir needed a lot of experience and adventures, we couldn’t force it upon her.

“Even if the invasion of demons and the resurrection of the Demon King are imminent, are you saying you wouldn’t do it?”

“Yes.”

Even if she were to utter the worst possible future, the hero’s resolute gaze showed no wavering.

“If that time comes, I don’t care about the succession. I will personally end everything and head towards Altelore.”

“……”

Altelore, the land of demons.

The land of the sealed Demon King, the Archdemons guarding him, and countless high-ranking demons and monsters.

The hope of succession was the only thing holding the current hero, who had little time left, together.

If even that hope crumbled, she had no other choice.

At that time, she would undoubtedly cross into the territory of demons and seek the end, just like in the game’s story.

After a brief silence, the hero spoke again.

“Still, through our conversation, I feel like I’ve learned a bit about the heir.”

“Is that so?”

Earlier, the hero was having a conversation with the heir, and I was also listening attentively from a distance.

There didn’t seem to be much content. Wasn’t the heir excitedly talking about the world beyond the mountains?

“That child seems to be interested in the outside world. I felt like she especially wanted friends.”

“That’s right. It seems she has only been in these mountains since she was young.”

After hesitating for a moment, the hero spoke.

“So, I had a thought…?”

“What is it?”

“Well… for the child to fulfill the conditions of succession, they need to experience a wider world and feel many emotions and realizations. To do that, they would have to leave these mountains, meet many people, and build connections with them.”

“That’s true.”

“As a somewhat suitable method, I thought about the Academy.”

…The Academy?

I couldn’t help but be surprised by the sudden mention.

“When I talked to the heir, she seemed particularly interested in the Academy.”

“She must have heard about it from that Rodiven fellow.”

“Yes. Anyway, it’ll be easier to convince her if it’s something she wants for herself.”

“No, wait…”

What on earth was she talking about?

“So, you’re saying you’re going to get the heir into the Academy and fulfill the requirements for the Holy Sword there?”

The hero nodded.

“I thought about it once. There are many children of the same age at the Academy. Wouldn’t it be the optimal place to make friends?”

“Well, that may be true, but still…”

Indeed, it was almost like the Academy itself, the place where young talents gathered, so the hero’s words were not wrong.

But was it not a bit too much to expect the fulfillment of the succession conditions there?

“Well, do you have any other ideas then, Seventh Lord?”

“……”

Of course, I didn’t have one.

I fell into brief contemplation.

Upon further consideration, the hero’s opinion had its own reasoning.

When thinking about the path toward succession step by step, the top priority task was for the heir to create comrades.

And the best way to create comrades was to enter a group.

The question then becomes, ‘where is that group?’ …There were certainly no other options that came to mind.

Is the Academy the best we can come up with?

If the heir truly wanted it, it could also serve as a good excuse to take her outside the mountain range.

I felt somewhat dumbfounded and shook my head.

“Of course, it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to fulfill the conditions to inherit the Holy Sword there, but I can’t think of anything else.”

“Well… now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem entirely illogical.”

Of course, there was a crucial problem.

Was it even possible for a significant event worthy of fulfilling the conditions of the Holy Sword to occur in a place like the Academy?

And before that, was it possible for the heir to build such a deep bond with a friend there?

But that uncertainty was a problem that couldn’t be solved even without the Academy.

That’s why the hero spoke in that manner.

“Well then, how about trying to persuade the heir using the Academy as an excuse, just as you said?”

After organizing my thoughts, I spoke.

“First of all, if we can take the heir out of the mountain range, that alone is sufficient. As for the rest, let’s give it some time and think it over a bit more…”

The hero nodded as if in agreement.

“Not only the heir but also her father needs to be convinced. I’ll try to have a conversation with him as well.”

Yes, that’s also a problem.

He had raised the heir alone in this mountainous place, cut off from the outside world.

To persuade him, one probably needed to understand the reasons first. It didn’t seem likely that someone like him would willingly send his daughter out into the world.

***

As the day brightened, I went straight to find the heir with the hero.

“Do you have any thoughts about entering the academy?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression while sweeping the yard.

“What is entering the academy?”

“It means becoming a student of the academy. Living there with other students and learning various things.”

The hero explained calmly.

“Why are you suddenly making such a proposal to me?”

“Because I don’t think your talents are worth spending all your time in these mountains. As I said yesterday, your talent is very great. If you go out into the world and learn more, you will be able to fully realize your abilities.”

In this way, the hero and I laid out various stories to persuade the heir.

However, for some reason, she only responded with a strange expression and a bland reaction.

“Well, I am interested… but leaving home is a bit…”

Feeling somewhat disappointed by her underwhelming response, I asked.

“Do you want to keep staying in this mountain range?”

“It’s not that. I’m just not sure.”

The heir scratched her head.

“I’ve never really given much thought to going outside before.”

“……”

“But I don’t feel inclined to do it right now. My father is here too. So, I’m going to decline.”

With that unsuccessful persuasion, we returned to the area where we spent the night.

The hero and I stood side by side in silence, thinking.

Should we try to convince her father first?

From what she said, her father’s presence was part of the reason she didn’t want to leave the mountains.

Originally, we planned to persuade the heir first and then persuade her father, but would it be better to change the order?

“Shall we go and talk to her father first?”

The hero seemed to have a similar thought and spoke.

“Yes, let’s do that…”

That’s when it happened.

I lowered my head, catching a glimpse of a sparkling light from the bracelet on my wrist.

“…?”

This bracelet was something I had instructed the butler to bring before we set off to the mountains.

I wanted to receive signals in case anything urgent happened at the lord’s castle during my absence.

What’s going on?

Receiving a signal at this moment meant that something had occurred.

I had no idea what it was. Something related to the Overlord? Or something involving demons?

Of all times…

I furrowed my brows. I didn’t want to go back to the monarchy without the heir at this point.

However, it was unimaginable that they would send a signal for something that wasn’t even important, so I couldn’t help but check.

“What is that?”

I looked at the hero.

I didn’t have to worry about the heir’s safety since she’s here.

And I trusted her. She wouldn’t try to stab me in the back while I was away. If she wanted to do that, she could have done it a long time ago.

“I think I need to return to my territory for a moment.”

“To Enrock? Is it something urgent?”

“Yes.”

The hero nodded in response to my words.

“Understood. There’s nothing to worry about the heir, so go ahead. I won’t betray your trust.”

Trust, huh.

The fact that the hero said it directly made me feel that she also considered me somewhat of a comrade.

Thus, Asher and I rode on the wyvern to return to the Seventh Lord’s territory.

“Let’s go home.”

***

I returned to the monarchy as quickly as I could.

The atmosphere in the castle seemed no different from usual. It didn’t seem like they were attacked or that the Overlord or other Lords had come.

As soon as we arrived at the castle, the butler came out to greet us.

“Welcome back, my lord.”

“What’s the matter?”

I demanded to know what the hell was going on, and the butler’s expression became serious.

What came out of his mouth was unexpected, unrelated to the Overlord or the demons.

“It’s related to the Earth Hill Kingdom.”

“…?”

“About a fortnight ago, Kajor declared war on Earth Hill, and the Eighth Lord has given Kajor military aid.”

“What… did you say?”