Chapter 1623: Chapter 1084 Hidden Danger Investigation
Although Naruse Mio was very reluctant, she ultimately stayed behind with a miserable expression to clean up the mess left by Duanmu Huai. Fortunately, Tower City Kitten felt sorry for her and stayed behind as well, which was a bit of comfort. Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai packed up the chariot and returned to the Royal City with Captain Meld... In any case, Andariel being eliminated was a good start, at least the Royal City no longer faced the immediate threat of the Demon Army.
And after returning to the Royal City, Captain Meld naturally reported this news to the King immediately. There’s no denying that upon hearing Captain Meld’s report, the King himself was dumbfounded—the whole process was somewhat too farcical, so much so that he couldn’t tell if it was true or false. However, given his trust in Captain Meld, the latter wouldn’t take him for a fool.
Then there was only one answer.
"I really didn’t expect, Brave Lord, you could so easily slay one of the four Demon Kings, Andariel, truly..."
"Alright, I think boring pleasantries can be skipped."
Duanmu Huai interrupted the King’s words directly.
"Now you can see that your so-called Demon Kings are no match for me. So can you tell me where the other Demon Kings are? I’ll deal with them quickly, and it’ll be easier for everyone, won’t it?"
"This..."
Faced with Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, the King looked troubled.
"To tell the truth, we don’t have a clear grasp on the movements of the Demon Kings at the moment... We only have some vague clues..."
"Clues are fine, I’ll investigate them myself."
"I understand. I’ll have someone pass the information to you shortly. Also, if you don’t mind, we’re hosting a banquet tonight to celebrate your victory in the first battle. I wonder if you, Brave Lord, would be interested in attending?"
If it were a regular adventurer, the King naturally wouldn’t speak like this. But Duanmu Huai had already proven himself as someone who could tear apart a Demon King with his bare hands, not to mention they were a group summoned from another world. The King wasn’t a fool and understood that these people were very dissatisfied with being brought to such a world inexplicably, and since he still needed their help to defeat the Demons and Demon Kings, he treated them with great care and courtesy.
"A banquet, huh..."
Hearing the King’s inquiry, Duanmu Huai showed a speechless expression. He wasn’t really interested in such high-society banquets; after all, with Duanmu Huai’s physique, it was impossible to find someone to dance with. What remained was eating and drinking, which to Duanmu Huai was less interesting than lying in bed watching movies and eating snacks at home.
"I’ll pass. This kind of event doesn’t suit me, and my presence won’t make a difference. You guys celebrate by yourselves. But I must remind you, this is just the beginning, not the end. The demons’ ferocity and cunning should be clear to you, so don’t pop open the champagne for a small victory, or you might find yourselves in trouble from too much joy."
Duanmu Huai shook his head and declined the King’s invitation, and hearing his response, the King felt somewhat disappointed.
"I understand, and of course, the reminder from Brave Lord makes sense. However, in the current times, I believe the people need some good news to lift their spirits. Perhaps you’re unaware, but before you all arrived, the whole world was completely shrouded in the shadow of the Demon Army and Demons. Even we, the Royal Family, lived in constant fear every day..."
With these words, the King stood up and bowed his head to Duanmu Huai.
"I also know that summoning you to this world without your consent was our fault. I’m aware that mere verbal apologies don’t mean much, so please, just tell us if there’s anything we can do. To protect my country, my people, we must rely on the strength of the Heroes!"
"Protecting humans is the Tribunal’s policy, we won’t stand by and watch humanity perish, and eliminating Subspace Demons is also the Tribunal’s duty, so you don’t need to worry about that."
Duanmu Huai answered lightly.
"That’s good... by the way, for easier communication, I’d like to send an envoy to the Tribunal, and if possible, I can prepare servants and guards for you, Brave Lords..."
"Envoys can come, but servants and guards are unnecessary. They’re not children and should learn to take care of themselves."
After saying that, Duanmu Huai nodded to the King.
"Well then, I’ll be going now."
"Alright, I’ll send the envoy as soon as possible to get in touch with you."
Watching Duanmu Huai turn to leave, the King gave a bitter smile and sat back on his throne, exchanging a glance with the Queen Consort.
Meanwhile, the Prince, who hadn’t spoken, voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Father, that Brave Lord is too arrogant. You extended such an invitation, yet he completely disregards it!"
"That’s not quite right. After all, whether our country can continue to exist and whether we can resist the Demon Army depends on the Heroes. Besides, as you know, they were summoned to our world unknowingly, so it’s normal for them to have grievances against us. Put yourself in their position—if you were suddenly summoned to a dangerous place and had responsibilities forced upon you to protect people, how would you feel?"
"This..."
Hearing his father’s teaching, the Prince pouted and fell silent. After all, he was just a kid, around ten years old.
"But didn’t Brave Lord say that protecting humans is their duty? There’s no need for Father to be so humble."
"Sigh..."
Hearing his son’s dissatisfied reply, the King sighed and exchanged another glance with the Queen Consort. Indeed, as the Prince said, Duanmu Huai did mention that "the Tribunal’s duty is to protect humans." However, the King wasn’t a fool and knew that Duanmu Huai meant "humans" and not "the country." In other words, whether this country is destroyed is none of his concern, as long as humanity survives.
When they first met, Duanmu Huai said something like this, and now he repeated it again. The meaning was simply that the Tribunal’s stance hadn’t changed — which also indicated that there was still no opportunity to further establish a closer relationship between the two sides.
In essence, defeating the Demon King was the Tribunal’s "duty," rather than out of a "friendly relationship" with the country.
Using this method, forcibly summoning the Hero from Isekai to guard the Kingdom, the King knew this wasn’t right. The current relationship between both sides was completely cold. Plus, the Hero possessed abilities strong enough to be independent in this world, without relying on the Kingdom, and made clear an attitude of drawing a clear line from the Kingdom.
In such a situation, trying to draw both sides closer was not an easy task.
"No matter what, the celebration still has to be held."
The King quickly made a decision, partly to soothe the unrest in the hearts of the citizens, and also to promote the deeds of the Tribunal and the Hero among the people, to make them more enthusiastic and admiring of the Hero. This was actually a way to foster feelings between both sides through the people. No matter what, knowing that the Tribunal is their saviors, the Kingdom’s citizens should not be too disrespectful when facing members of the Tribunal.
Thus, hosting the celebration was not a bad thing, in contrast, if it was kept secret for too long, it would be troublesome if friction arose between citizens and the Tribunal.
The King absolutely did not want to be enemies with someone who could tear the Demon King to pieces.
While the King was preparing the celebration, Duanmu Huai returned to the church to relax.
"I’m back."
"Welcome back, Mr. Duanmu."
Mary naturally greeted Duanmu Huai.
"Hello, Mary, how is everyone doing?"
"Everyone is quite adapting to the new environment, but... maybe adapting a bit too well."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Earlier everyone tested their Heavenly Duty and attributes using that silver plate, and quite a few seem to be interested in trying out these abilities...."
That’s normal too, aside from the threat of death, if modern people awaken some kind of superpower or magic, it would certainly be cool, who wouldn’t want that?
"There are also some students who want to try fighting, expressing their willingness to accept training...."
"Young people sure are full of vigor."
Duanmu Huai shrugged his shoulders, while Mary looked at the side of Duanmu Huai.
"Mr. Duanmu, where are Miss Mio and Miss Mao? Didn’t they go to Blood Wasteland with you?"
"Oh, they stayed there to clean up the aftermath, probably won’t be back for a few days."
Saying this, Duanmu Huai thought for a moment.
"Is everyone very excited?"
"Pretty much, it seems. In my opinion, it might also be related to having nothing to do in this world. Even Teacher Ju is secretly practicing her abilities...."
"Hmm....."
Although Duanmu Huai wanted to quickly resolve the Demon King issue, he also had to be careful on his side. As for Naruse Mio, Banriya, and Tower City Kitten, they’re okay, but ordinary students suddenly gaining unimaginable strength would naturally change.
It seems that before dealing with the next Demon King, it would be better to handle the matters on his side first.
"I understand now."
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai made a decision.
"Go notify everyone, let them fill out a form, mainly to specify their abilities and whether they’re willing to go to the frontline to fight."
"I understand... but Mr. Duanmu, are you really going to let them participate in combat?"
"Hehe...."
Faced with Mary’s inquiry, Duanmu Huai merely chuckled.
"You’ll know when the time comes."
Then, he continued to speak.