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Hayato the Hero 

It was the spring of my second year of high school when I was summoned to another world as a hero, nine years ago. At first, I didn’t know what to think when I was told I’d be a hero who defeats demon lords, but I ended up agreeing anyway. The young goddess was very cute, for one thing! (Hayato the Hero) 

“So, Hayato. Where do you think the demon lord’s going to appear?” 

“Who knows? Don’t ask me tough questions.” 

We had just finished investigating the Wilde Labyrinth in the Gray Ratfolk Emirate when Meriest brought up the topic. We were about to depart for our next destination, meeting up with Ringrande in the Ougoch Duchy. 

“If a demon lord appears, we get there as fast as we can and take it out. That’s our job.” 

By now, I had gotten used to speaking arrogantly. As silly as it felt at first, I had to sound confident and full of myself if I wanted to protect my friends from the greed of others. 

“Ah-ha-ha, that’s our hero for you.” 

“True enough. They say it’s been hundreds of years since the Oracles all pointed to different places.” 

That was the tigerfolk Rusus and the wolffolk Fifi. 

They leaned on the back of my captain’s chair, so I reached up and touched their ears. They really were a nice texture. We’d been working together for five years now, but it took three of those to let me touch their ears. 

“I’d imagine it would be somewhere like the Living Labyrinth in Shiga Kingdom’s Labyrinth City Celivera or the Illusion Labyrinth in the Weaselman Empire.” 

As always, our priest Loleiya spoke in a calm voice. 

Without our secretary Nono and Magic Swordsman Ringrande, Loleiya was the only person left who could have an intelligent debate with Meriest. 

According to them, Yowork Kingdom’s labyrinth had only recently been revived, Ougoch Duchy’s labyrinth was dead and in ruins, and Parion Province had never had a labyrinth to begin with; those three weren’t strong contenders. 

The seventh candidate from the Oracles was on another continent and would take some time to reach, so we decided to investigate all the others first. 

Noticing that I was lost in thought for a change, Loleiya hugged my head from behind. 

“Too heavy.” 

“Aww!” 

I pushed Loleiya’s heavy breasts off my head. 

Inexplicably, she looked happy about the rough treatment. 

Breasts were just sacks of fat, you know. A pervert wouldn’t understand that. 

“You’re as stoic as ever today, Sir Hero.” 

Loleiya murmured, pressing her hands to her red cheeks. 

Honestly. You’re supposed to be a woman of the church… 

Ah, why was I cursed with a party full of busty women? Couldn’t I have at least one little girl? 

I did have one silent type, at least, but Nono was twenty-three years old and, worse, an E cup. If a silent little girl wanted to join me, I’d welcome her anytime. 

That middle school–aged girl I rescued a while back was pretty cute, though. If we’d met five years sooner, I probably would’ve proposed. 

Just then, a regularly scheduled message arrived. 

From the communications seat, the long-eared Weeyari looked over with her report. 

“Hayato, we’ve received a scheduled transmission from Nono in Celivera. It says, ‘All quiet.’” 

“Good.” 

Meriest and Loleiya estimated that the Labyrinth City Celivera was the most suspicious candidate, so I was worried about leaving a noncombatant like Nono there, even with guards. 

“Could someone go trade places with Nono in Celivera?” 

“Whaaat? No waaay. I wanna stay with you, Hayato.” 

“Exactly! It’s too hard to fight without Hayato by our side.” 

Rusus and Fifi insisted that it would be too stressful to stay in Labyrinth City if they couldn’t go into the mazes themselves. I could definitely see them getting fed up and charging in anyway. 

About half an hour later, we received our regular communication from our spy Seina in the Yowork Kingdom as well. 

“The message reads as follows: ‘This crummy little kingdom is peaceful today as usual. I’m sooo bored.’” 

Like Nono, I’d like to have someone take her place, but Seina was the only one of us who could infiltrate the place safely. She was just going to have to tough it out. 

As a hero, I couldn’t say this out loud, but I secretly hoped the demon lord would appear in Yowork Kingdom. They deserved to suffer for sacrificing my honey to resurrect their labyrinth. 

When I heard the adorable purple-haired princess Arisa was sacrificed, the world around me went dark. I still deeply regretted that I’d been leveling up in the Saga Empire’s labyrinth and thus didn’t hear about the fall of Kuvork Kingdom until it was too late. 

Come to think of it, that was when I decided to hire a secretary to give me the information I wanted instead of depending on the empire. 

 

“We haven’t gotten anything from Rin yet?” 

Ringrande was always punctual, so this seemed unusual. 

As Loleiya had said earlier, the labyrinth beneath Ougoch Duchy was inactive. It was highly unlikely that a demon lord would appear there. 

It was probably just a mistake that the Oracle had mentioned it at all, then, but it was Ringrande’s home. Plus, her brother was getting married soon, so we decided to send her anyway. 

“You’re sooo forgetful, Hayato!” 

“He really is! So what’s he forgetting?” 

Rusus and Fifi were the last two people on earth to accuse someone of being forgetful. 

“Rin said she had business she couldn’t get out of. She’ll contact us later instead, remember?” 

Oh, right. She’d been complaining about her exhibition match with that idiot prince of the Shiga Kingdom. 

Just then… 

The scenery outside the ship turned dark gray. 

“…We’re traveling through dimensions?” 

Meriest gazed out at the gray expanse in surprise. 

If the ship was being warped without permission, then… 

“Someone must have used a talisman!” 

“Not just someone. It must have been Rin!” 

“Oh no, oh no! Is she okay?” 

All my comrades had reached the same conclusion at once. 

Damn! If she’d used the talisman for Hero Summoning, she could take years off her life span—or even lose her life entirely. 

“Everyone, get into your positions!” My voice was rough with worry. 

Everyone quickly slid into their seats, donning their headset-like magic items. 

“Calm down, Hayato! We have to have faith in Ringrande!” 

Even so, Meriest’s voice was shaking with anxiety. 

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down and figure out what to do. 

“I’ll wait on the stern. Wee, you’re in charge of navigation.” 

“Of course.” 

I hurried to the stern of the ship with Arondight in hand. 

The ship passed through the world of gray and back into this one. 

Beyond the canopy, I saw a swarm of monsters. 

Is Ringrande safe?! 

As I searched the ground for my friend, I gave the necessary instructions. 

“Wee! Open fire from all mobile turrets!” I shouted into the headset. 

A roaring sound and a flash filled the sky, and charred monster corpses began falling to the ground. 

Meriest reported in over the hatch’s speaker. 

“Rin is safe.” 

Thank goodness for that. 

“The enemy is…” Meriest trailed off. 

Looking around, I saw what Meriest was trying to say. 

I had a dark history with this opponent; I never expected to see him here… 

It was in my third year of being a summoned hero that I met him. 

That yellow freak defeated the party I thought was unbeatable. If my friends hadn’t sacrificed themselves to buy me time, I would’ve been killed, too. 

But I’m not the same man I was back then. 

And now I had the chance to prove it. 

No holding back. I was going all out from the very beginning. 

I activated my Unique Skills “Unstoppable Spear” and “Invincible Shield.” Finally, I activated “Infinite Regeneration.” 

“Infinite Regeneration” was a trump card I could use only once a month, so I would have preferred to save it in case of a demon lord battle, but I couldn’t be stingy if I meant to defeat this demon. 

I wanted to use an Accelerate Potion, too, but I held off, since that could come back to bite me if the battle went on for too long. 

I jumped over the canopy and sprang onto the battlefield. 

There, I gave my usual introduction. 

“Look upon me!” 

Yep, that felt good. The fear that threatened to shake my heart when I saw the yellow demon was swallowed in wrath and determination. 

In response to my “Taunt,” the monsters attacking Ringrande flocked toward the Jules Verne instead. 

I thrust my Holy Sword at the armadillo type leading the charge. 

The blue light of my Unique Skill “Ultimate Spear” created a field in front of the Holy Sword that pierced the monster and split it apart. 

Black thorns like a sea urchin’s shot toward me, but my “Invincible Shield” created an invisible barrier that warded them off. 

I was at the top of my game, as usual. 

“HAYATO THE HERO, IS IT? HAVE YOU COME PREPARED TO DIE THIS TIME, THEN?” 

“I’m not the same man I used to be! Today I swear to enact my revenge!” 

Leaving the smaller monsters for my friends to handle, I focused on the yellow freak. 

Once my party had descended, the Jules Verne flew on autopilot and disappeared into a dimensional gap. 

We couldn’t afford to lose our precious ship now, after all. 

“Stay out of this, you Saga Empire dog! I shall prove that your empire is not the only one that can produce a hero.” 

…What was that? 

Looking for the source of the blue light, I found Prince Sharorik of the Shiga Kingdom and his Holy Sword Claidheamh Soluis. 

Still, I wasn’t impressed in the least. 

If anything, I felt bad for the weapon with such a pathetic master. He couldn’t tap into its true power at all. 

“Your Holy Sword weeps, Prince. This is one of the generals of a powerful demon lord of old—the Golden Boar Lord. He’s a demon of the highest caliber who’s survived for hundreds of years. If you wish to live, you had best retreat.” 

That’s right—just you watch! 

I’ll show you how to really use a Holy Sword! 

“<Sing>, Arondight!” 

The blue glow of the Holy Sword in my right hand intensified. 

I activated my flying shoes and leaped toward the yellow demon. 

Arondight was on fire today! 

 

…How long have we been crossing swords now? 

I thought the yellow demon specialized in magic, but seeing his skill in close combat was shaking my confidence a little here. Whatever it might be, this yellow light extending from the demon’s claws was dangerous. And it kept growing back no matter how many times I broke it, which was downright unfair. 

According to my “Analyze” skill, our levels were almost the same. 

So why couldn’t I reach him? 

I warded off the bastard’s flame attacks with my “Invincible Shield” and used the strength of “Unstoppable Spear” on Arondight to shatter his defensive barriers. However, breaking through the scale-shaped defenses weakened my strikes. 

It was just like the “Gold Scale Barrier” the Golden Boar Lord had in the legends of Yamato the Hero. 

On top of that, even if I did manage to damage him a little, the three floating spheres around him would heal him right away. And if I tried to destroy the spheres first, he could summon a new one while I was crushing another. 

At this rate, things were looking grim. 

Just then, Meriest called out to me with concern. 

“Hayato, don’t try to fight all alone! We’re a team, you know.” 

Shoot. I got carried away there. 

Just as Meriest said, I couldn’t defeat powerful enemies unless I worked together with my friends. 

Fortunately, most of the other monsters were now on the side of the arena near the Shiga Kingdom warriors, who took care of them. 

As an infrequent visitor to the Shiga Kingdom, I never knew how impressive their fighters were. They were doing a great job keeping both themselves and the monsters away from the yellow demon. 

Almost as if someone has the whole thing under control… 

The thought crossed my mind unbidden. 

No, that was ridiculous. Those monsters might be small fry in this situation, but their levels were still in the 40s. 

If anyone here had the ability to do that, I’d want to scout them for our party. 

The magic users in this kingdom seemed just as skilled as the warriors. 

Several Practical Magic users were using Magic Hand to relay the injured people from the audience seats out of the arena. 

It must take dozens of sorcerers to transport people in such a ridiculous way, not to mention years of extreme training. Whoever they were, they definitely had my respect. 

As I contemplated this, someone shot out the wings of a beetle that was trying to attack my party. 

There must be a talented archer here, too, to penetrate the barrier-protected wings of a two-horned beetle. They must have both a powerful bow and skills as high as Weeyari’s to pierce the wings of a flying beetle in a single shot, at that. 

Just how many combat masters are there in this kingdom? 

If I didn’t know better, I’d think they could have defeated the demon lord without even Hero Summoning me. 

Oops, but I guess letting other people do the work would make me a failure as a hero. 

I had to be sure my party and I were the ones who defeated this guy, at least, or I’d bring shame on my Hero title. 

Before charging back into the fray with the yellow freak, I shouted some orders to my party. 

Rusus and Fifi appeared to be having trouble with a centipede demon. 

“Rin! Give Rusus and Fifi some backup!” 

“Understood!” 

Ringrande wasted no time starting to cast Explosion Magic. 

Loleiya’s support magic chant seemed to be almost done. 

“Wee, hold off the two-horned beetles for now. I’ll send Rusus and Fifi to help you as soon as they can.” 

“All right, Hayato. Leave it to me.” 

Come on, Weeyari. I wanted you to say, “Can’t I just bring them all down myself?” I thought archers were supposed to be cooler than this. 

“IS YOUR LITTLE STRATEGY MEETING ALMOST OVER?” 

Tch, I wondered why he wasn’t attacking… 

We’ll make him regret not taking us more seriously. 

“Meri, I’ll buy you some time! Give him the biggest shot you’ve got!” 

“Of course! Don’t do anything too risky, Hayato!” 

If my attacks alone weren’t enough to break through, Meriest and the others could use their war-grade attack magic to bring down his defenses and let me finish him off. 

“HUMAN MAGIC IS SO VERY SLOW.” 

The yellow demon scoffed as his other head howled. 

His attack magic came raining down at me in the form of fierce white flames. 

Using my Holy Shield, enhanced with “Invincible Shield,” I warded off the attacks easily. 

“HOW IMPRESSIVE. YOU MUST HAVE GROWN MUCH STRONGER TO BLOCK MY WHITE INFERNO. HEROES ARE EVER SO INTERESTING.” 

Ignoring the demon’s self-important praise, I gave my companions the signal. 

Their targets felled, Rusus and Fifi rushed over to give Weeyari backup. 

“Ringrande, Loleiya, let’s begin the chant.” 

At Meriest’s words, all three of them started invoking a spell with their talismans. 

The talismans have many convenient functions, not least of which is the ability to synchronize chants and increase the power and precision of battle magic. 

And the spell they chose was…a forbidden curse?! And a war-grade forbidden curse, at that? 

I know I said “the biggest shot you’ve got,” but that seemed like overkill to me. It was going to cause some lasting property damage, that was for sure. 

However, nothing short of greater magic would work on this demon. If we wanted to destroy the Cure Balls, his lesser demons, and cause some serious damage, a powerful forbidden curse might be our best shot. 

I felt bad for the locals, but we had no other choice. Hopefully, Ringrande’s grandfather and his men evacuated them quickly. 

Depending on the damage, my name as a hero might get dragged through the mud, but things would go from bad to worse if this freak cut loose. My reputation was nothing compared to human lives. 

“HOW STRANGE INDEED. WHY DO RED AND BLUE NOT APPEAR?” 

The yellow fiend surveyed the arena curiously. 

I blocked his absentminded attacks with my “Invincible Shield.” 

This seemed like a one-in-a-million chance, but I couldn’t afford to separate myself from my party. 

“OH WELL. HERO, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TICKLE ME DELIGHTFULLY WITH YOUR ATTACKS, BUT I SHOULD LIKE TO TASTE YOUR FEAR AND DESPAIR SOON.” 

“Hmph, you masochistic freak! Me, afraid of you? I’d like to see you try!” 

“VERY WELL, THEN. I HOPE YOU ENJOY MY LITTLE GIFT.” 

Tch. He was definitely up to something. 

An ominous premonition sent a shiver up my spine. 

I gulped down an Accelerate Potion in preparation for his attack. 

The liquid was bitter, but I drank it all. As it went into effect, the movement around me gradually slowed. 

The effect would last for only a short period of time, and when it wore off, I’d be exhausted, but this seemed like the right time to pull out all the stops. 

A huge summoning circle appeared behind the yellow freak. 

Like I’m going to let you summon something that easily! 

“<Sing>, Arondight! <Play>, Tunas!” 

I invoked the divine incantations of my Holy Sword and Holy Armor. 

With my magic power as the catalyst, the philosopher’s stone that formed the core of my magic armor began producing huge amounts of energy that surged through my body and into my Holy Sword. 

I was ready before the yellow demon’s summoning was finished. 

“Shining Blade!” 

What was the point of a special attack if you didn’t shout it out? 

I swung Arondight at subsonic speed, emitting a powerful blade of light that shot toward the summoning circle. 

Dammit. 

The bastard threw one of his floating Cure Balls into the path of the Shining Blade. 

I fired another one, but this time he blocked it with one of the monster corpses at his feet. 

Despite my best efforts, the summoning was complete. 

“…Are you for real?” 

Floating in the sky was the enormous monster fish, Tovkezerra. 

It was bigger than the gunboats I’d seen in the Saga Empire—meaning it was over eight hundred feet long?! 

“Th-the giant monster fish?!” 

“No way! You mean that’s the thing the Golden Boar Lord used?” 

“The legendary floating fortress…” 

The three members of my party who weren’t chanting exclaimed in surprise. 

The giant monster fish. 

Despite its somewhat stupid name, the monster was level 97. 

It was just barely within the range of my “Analyze” skill. I wondered if that might be a mistake, but the number was the same no matter how many times I tried it. 

I gave myself a firm slap on the cheek in an attempt to pull myself together and stave off the fear. 

It’d be nice if Meriest’s forbidden curse could finish it off along with the yellow freak, but this wasn’t a “two birds with one stone” situation. 

I had to protect Meriest and the other casters from the freak’s attacks, so the only option we had left to fight off that giant fish was the Jules Verne’s main battery. 

I was concerned about the damage it might cause to our surroundings, but it would probably still be better than another war-grade forbidden curse. 

“We won’t back down, no matter what we’re fighting!” 

I struck an exaggerated pose and shouted instructions to my frightened comrades. 

“Wee, Rusus, Fifi! Summon the Jules Verne!” 

I’d hidden the precious ship in another dimension to protect it, but now wasn’t the time to worry about things like that. 

Sorry, Emperor. I might not be able to keep my promise to bring the ship back unharmed. 

“I’m giving permission to use the main battery. Take the Jules Verne’s master key with you.” 

I took the glowing blue key out of my Inventory and tossed it to Weeyari. 

While I was at it, I pulled out a healing potion to cure my body of the exhaustion brought on by the Accelerate Potion. 

“YES, YES. THAT IS THE FEAR I WANT TO SEE.” 

Enjoy it while you can, yellow freak. As soon as Ringrande and the others finish their chant, it’s all over for you. 

I drank the potion in one gulp and looked up at the sky. 

For some reason, the giant fish was staring fixedly at one corner of the arena, ignoring the rest of us. 

Well, that worked for me. Maybe the yellow demon had failed to control his summon. 

“HMM. A DASH OF HOPE MIXED WITH THE FEAR RATHER RUINS IT.” 

Hope? That’s easy. I just have to think about something fun. 

Once this battle was over, I’d go pay a sympathy visit to the orphanage—maybe they’d let us take a bath together or a nap or something. Anything was possible. 

All right! My heart’s full of hope now. We can do this! 

“As long as I’m the hero, there will always be hope.” 

“HOW ABSURD.” 

The yellow demon scoffed at my determination and pointed to the sky. 

The shadows over the arena began to block out the sun. 

I didn’t notice. 

The summoning circle the giant monster fish had emerged from was still floating in the sky. 

I should have realized what that meant. 

The summoning circle wasn’t finished. More enormous fish appeared, one after another. Including the first one, there were a total of seven. 

So this is how I die, huh? 

Hey, Miss Parion… 

This world of yours is way too hard. 





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