The Hero of Sealing

On the promised day, Sei visited Kuria's royal castle with Mako in tow.

And things unfolded exactly as Ria had predicted.

To begin with, North Lemdoria's invasions were largely aimed at securing food. This time too, after pillaging the settlements to the east, they promptly withdrew.

They also plundered other goods and people, but the Coalition lacked the strength to take them back.

Even if they had the power, they probably wouldn't have the will. Organizing an army to invade and confront North Lemdoria—the effort simply wouldn't be worth what they'd gain.

Of course, in the long term, this was foolish policy. The farmers in the eastern regions abandoned their fields and flooded into the cities. Most of them ended up as slum dwellers, and public order deteriorated.

Now then, in a situation where public order had deteriorated, would those in power let go of a skilled guard with tremendous power?

The answer was no.

"For those reasons, I would like to keep Ryo by my side a little longer. My apologies."

The peace accord might be broken again, and the conflict could intensify. If assassinations of those in power occurred in such circumstances, public order would further deteriorate. That was the reasoning.

He appeared to be humble, yet wasn't keeping his promise with them at all. Sei learned of his own naivety.

"However, in our previous agreement, didn't you say you would release him in ten days?"

Smiling pleasantly, Sei emphasized the word "agreement."

"I am truly sorry, but Ryo's power is invaluable for the nation. I need a little more time."

He didn't even specify a concrete timeframe. Most likely, a man of his caliber couldn't hope to solidify the Coalition and stand against North Lemdoria.

Restraining Mako, who was getting angry beside her, Sei spoke.

"I understand Your Excellency's position, bearing the nation on your shoulders."

Sei put on a pained expression and showed sympathy toward Guels.

"However, as I mentioned before, we cannot simply leave the heroes be. If you carelessly continue to hold onto a hero, you may incur the dragon's wrath."

"A dragon…?"

Guels shrugged and laughed.

"We have a hero here, and we have an army. Even if attacked by some dragon from ancient legend, we won't easily submit."

Neosis had thought the same way and was destroyed, but it was probably just someone else's problem to him. He was far too dismissive of a dragon powerful enough to destroy a nation that was fighting against the gods.

"I understand."

Sei gave up.

"However, there are things I need to warn him about personally. Would you mind if the three of us spoke privately for a moment?"

"Hmm…"

After a brief hesitation, Guels agreed to this.

One person outside the room. Three each in the ceiling and under the floor.

Sei's map showed that many people were hiding.

(I see, Master is wise.)

The one sitting across from Ryo was Sei. The boy focused only on Sei, as if avoiding Mako's gaze.

"Sakamoto-kun, could you tell me what happened after you were transferred here?"

Sei's persuasion began with a roundabout approach.

Ryo had started in a relatively fortunate situation.

He transferred near Kuria and entered the city. He registered at the Adventurer's Guild and looked for work.

He got into some trouble, but beat down his opponents instead, and was recognized as a capable adventurer.

The requests he took were mainly escort jobs. He had considered subjugation requests, but the process of dismantling monsters and collecting magic stones seemed like too much hassle, so he chose escort work instead.

After successfully completing several missions and gaining some leeway, it happened.

He was attacked by bandits.

Ryo fought valiantly in the darkness. But by bad luck, he accidentally killed one of his clients.

Given the circumstances, Ryo wasn't legally charged with any crime, but when he returned to Kuria, he was stunned.

It was the record of "homicide" inscribed in his reward and punishment section.

Thanks to the clients' explanation, Ryo wasn't charged with any crime in this country. However, whenever he entered or left the city, this record was always checked.

That small inconvenience distanced him from steady escort work.

Jobs within the city were fine, and for subjugation requests, if the prey was big enough, the profit would outweigh the hassle.

But the "homicide" on his reward and punishment record gradually wore down his psyche. That's when someone approached him.

Would he be interested in serving the Archduke as a guard knight?

Ryo's exploits—specifically, his abnormal combat ability using the Gift of Sealing—had apparently become somewhat famous.

The homicide entry had been investigated and confirmed to be an accident.

From an employer's perspective, making someone terrifyingly strong in person-to-person combat into a guard was a good decision.

And indeed, he worked well.

Earnest and diligent, with a gentle demeanor toward others. His reputation among the knights grew.

Most importantly, he had no personal ambitions.

And so Ryo faithfully served the Archduke, and fortunately, he had never been sent to the battlefield until now.

Mixing in some speculation, Sei listened to Ryo's story.

"Don't you want to return to Japan?"

"Of course I want to go back. But I haven't finished atoning for what I did in this world."

"Ahh…"

Sei covered her face with one hand. This perfectly matched one of the patterns Ria had predicted.

A sense of responsibility that was worse than useless—it was actively harmful. Guilt that existed despite being unnecessary.

This would be somewhat difficult to talk him out of. But it was within expectations.

"Do you understand that by remaining here, you're putting two worlds in danger?"

"I… understand that. But I want to atone."

"You're not atoning for anything."

Sei said, pushing him away.

"If you stay here, what exactly are you atoning for and how? If you're going to atone to anyone, it should be to the family of the man you accidentally killed, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm giving all my wages to that man's wife."

So he was properly atoning in a tangible way.

"Then we'll prepare enough money for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. So please return to Earth right now."

"No way! But then I wouldn't have atoned for anything at all!"

"Do you understand which should take priority—your self-satisfaction, or the stability of two worlds?"

"I don't know…"

Ryo shook his head. Sei wanted to hold her head in her hands too.

What a pain. Maybe I should just kill him.

Sei thought that for just a moment, but that would be wrong both legally and ethically.

Ria and Carla might actually say that would be fine. It was a matter of values. Sacrifice the few for the many. Those two wouldn't hesitate. Even the gentle Carla.

The problem was… that killing the guard of a head of state in broad daylight might interfere with future activities—and that was what mattered to her.

Since it was wrong both legally and ethically, it might restrict her future actions. Those two would say that was a problem too.

Alright, let's try a little harder.

"You're currently on guard duty. But what would you do if you were ordered to the front lines? Would you kill people in war?"

At this different approach, Ryo trembled again.

"His Excellency wouldn't order such a thing. So such a hypothetical is meaningless."

No, I think it's entirely possible.

The Gift of Sealing would be perfect for assassinating important figures too.

"So will you guard His Excellency until he dies? Or would you finally resign when that happens?"

"… If all the other heroes return, then I'd be willing to return too."

This was going nowhere. But he had conceded a little.

"You know, I've nearly died multiple times and have killed dozens of people."

At Sei's confession, Ryo looked stunned. To be precise, she had been killed multiple times.

"Let me tell you, from my perspective, you're kind, Ryo, but also naive. And selfish to boot. You won't even grant a simple request from someone running around for Nears and Earth."

"That's… but… what about Tsubaki-san?"

"She's traveling with me to gather information on other heroes and to serve as fighting power. But I've promised that when the deadline approaches, she'll be the first to return."

Ten years. No, two had already been sent back, so twelve years.

She felt like things would somehow work out, but if Sei failed, that would be goodbye to Mako. And Earth would be doomed.

"To be honest, at first I was thinking of having us prepare the money for your atonement and having you come along on the journey to find the other heroes."

Actually, she had just thought of this on the spot, but let's try changing the approach.

"But talking with you, I'm convinced. You're not suited for it. Go back to Earth, back to Japan, and do something for someone—even if it's for strangers."

She meant it. This naive boy with immense power should return to Earth and live a peaceful, happy life.

How about it? Won't you give in already? She was running out of persuasive arguments.

"The god of Earth, the god of this world, me, and Mako—we all want you to return. The only one who doesn't is the Archduke."

Yeah, that was a good approach, even if she did say so herself.

Indeed, Ryo looked stunned.

"But my atonement…"

"I'll take over that duty, as commanded by the gods. So please go back. For the sake of two worlds. Please."

She even bowed her head. Now, what would happen?

"… Alright."

In a small voice, but clearly, Ryo said it.

"I'll return to Earth…"

He said it as if freed from something.

Sei stopped Ryo when he said he should tell His Excellency.

"First, give me the address of the wife of the man you killed."

This needed to be done properly. Since she had promised, she had to keep it. She didn't want to become the same kind of person as the Excellency here.

"And you shouldn't tell His Excellency. He'll never let you go. He'll just talk you out of it. Considering how he broke his promise with me, don't you think so too?"

Ryo nodded. He was so compliant. At this rate, she felt he might get deceived when he returned to Japan too, but she couldn't take responsibility for that much.

"Alright, think about wanting to go home."

Taking out the return stone, Sei said. At that moment, Ryo laughed.

"What?"

"No, it's just, at this late stage, I'm noticing you talk like a guy. Not that it matters."

It wasn't something that didn't matter, but Sei said nothing. She just looked a little sulky.

And then Ryo returned to Earth.

The sound of hurried footsteps came immediately after.

Opening the door without knocking, Guels looked around the room.

He had probably come after hearing the report from the watchers, but he was one step too late. This poor timing might also be proof that the goddess of fate didn't smile upon him.

"Ryo…?"

"He went home. By his own will."

"That wasn't the agreement!"

"You were the one who broke the agreement first."

Sei's expression was relaxed. What an exhausting ordeal. It felt far more draining than fighting would have been.

"My business is concluded, so I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait! How do you intend to take responsibility for this?"

"Responsibility? He left of his own will. I just gave him a little push. We both broke agreements. Besides, you're far too attached to one guard. Were you planning to turn him into an assassin eventually?"

Yes, if Ryo had tried to assassinate Sei from his side, she probably would have struggled considerably.

Even if he couldn't seal immortality, if he could freeze her movements and tear her limbs apart and confine her, that would neutralize her. That's why Sei had chosen persuasion.

She should probably give some aftercare to Guels, whose face had gone ashen.

"I'm planning to head to North Lemdoria next. There's another hero there."

Guels didn't understand the meaning of those words.

"If the hero sided with the North Lemdoria Empire and tried to attack this country, I would stop them."

Only after hearing this much did he seem to understand.

"In the north too… there's a hero like Ryo?"

"There was actually one in the south too, but I managed to retrieve them during these past ten days."

They weren't straightforward combat power like Ryo, but there was no need to mention that.

"Heroes are extraordinary beings. I will continue to retrieve heroes. Even ones who have turned against Your Excellency."

Guels's complexion returned to normal. And his eyes began to dart around.

"After you've returned the heroes, would you consider switching from Ogress to this country? The treatment wouldn't be bad."

She thought about how shameless he was, but perhaps such thick skin was one of the requirements for a ruler. But there was no way he could offer better treatment than Ogress.

Thinking that, Sei could forgive him.

"That's a tempting offer, but after I've returned the heroes, I need to return to my homeland as well."

And with that, Sei coolly left the castle.

After giving a brief explanation to the widow that "Ryo is gone" and handing over more than enough money, Sei's party left the city of Kuria.

Before departing from the Dwarf Village, Ria had given her enough money and jewels to casually buy a country, and they finally proved useful.

"It can be used for bribes too, and you need cash when you absolutely have to buy something."

Indeed. Money was important. Rather, it was a weapon.

Without money, persuading Ryo would have been impossible. Well, they had money from the labyrinth anyway, so she could have managed somehow.

… Come to think of it, Ryo hadn't even confirmed whether she would actually give the money to the widow. He really was too trusting.

Well, he wasn't a bad person. For him to return to Japan and live peacefully, she had to keep working hard.

"Somehow this time was all psychological warfare…"

"Tell me about it. For someone as dumb as me, give me a break."

The success of this persuasion could be attributed to the thorough planning with Ria and Carla.

"I don't think you're dumb, Sei."

"… My Intelligence stat is the lowest."

When she leveled up, her Intelligence went up too, but… honestly, it didn't grow well. She didn't want to go into details, but it was lower than Mako's.

Thinking about it that way, what even was Intelligence? Memory? Insight? Judgment?

"Personally, I was hoping for an epic battle with the hero so I could compose a new poem about it."

Kukuri said it casually, but if they had fought head-on, they probably would have lost.

Well, given his mental state, whether Ryo could have fought properly was questionable.

"We did nothing this time."

When Chaos said this with his arms crossed, Gantz nodded silently. Information gathering was also proper work, though.

"Come to think of it, I was wondering too…"

"What?"

"Why does Sei talk like a boy?"

"Ahh, that's a story for another time."

Feeling worn down by Mako's strangely persistent questioning, the carriage traveled down the road.

Their destination was North Lemdoria. The land where a hero of tremendous power resided.