"So, let us begin the discussion," the Queen declared, officially opening the talks.
All five Heroes were present — even Motoyasu, who was currently frowning and glaring at both Naofumi and the Queen with visible irritation. I'd even say there was a faint trace of hostility in his eyes… though barely. Motoyasu was an infantile idiot. And infantile idiots don't know how to truly hate.
By the way, fun fact — Malty, the disgraced princess-bitch herself, already punished and branded with a slave crest, still managed to outdo herself. Even now, stripped of everything, she tried to poison Naofumi during the banquet. Naturally, she got what was coming when she was caught red-handed.
"I would like to speak frankly," Mirellia said, taking the lead when it became clear the room was headed toward awkward silence. "Based on reports and rumors from various nations, accounts of the Waves, and other sources, a certain conclusion is being drawn: that the Heroes — with the exception of Nott-sama and Iwatani-sama — are lacking in strength."
"What?!"
"Who's spreading that nonsense?!"
"I could believe that about Nott, maybe, but Naofumi… No, I'm not buying that!" The loudest protest, unsurprisingly, came from Motoyasu.
"Iwatani-sama has proven himself through his ability to protect people. That, too, is a form of strength," the Queen said, firmly cutting him off.
"B-but…"
"Furthermore, I've been informed that in the last Wave, three of the five Heroes were defeated. Do I need to be more specific about who those three were?"
"Ugh…"
No one had anything to say after that.
"But I didn't organize this gathering to assign blame." Mirellia's tone shifted masterfully — from stern to conciliatory — effortlessly drawing everyone's attention back to her. And in that moment, more than ever, she looked exactly like who she was: the true Queen of her kingdom. "The Heroes' strengths vary greatly, so I believe there's much you could gain by talking to one another. Perhaps, by combining your knowledge, you may all grow even stronger."
"We've got nothing to talk about." And once again — Motoyasu.
Ren and Itsuki, meanwhile, chose to stay silent, lips tight and eyes averted.
"In that case — why not start with Nott-san?" said Itsuki, the Bow Hero, finally breaking his silence. "Since he's the strongest among us, as you yourself claimed, he must know more than any of us."
What's with that bitter little edge in your voice, huh? Feeling slighted?
"Maybe a bit more than each of you individually. But not more than all of you combined," I said with a smile.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ren asked, frowning.
"Tell them, Naofumi. What I once told you."
"…Alright. I don't know how Nott knows about all this, but…"
And Naofumi launched into the explanation. About all the different methods of enhancement, about how he managed to train up Raphtalia and Filo — who had already proven themselves during the Shield's persecution arc, when they fended off Motoyasu's endless harassment and his harem squad. Since the bitch-princess was part of Spear-boy's party, he was the one who clashed with Naofumi most often.
The one thing the Shield Hero didn't mention — was the Cursed Series. Not yet.
"This is nonsense. Nothing like that existed in Dimension Wave."
"Same here. In Brave Star Online, there was only one method like that — the one I already use."
"I agree. Clearly, Enchanting and Mastery are the best and only viable methods."
"What? What are you talking about? This is obviously about rarity. Weapon rarity is what really determines everything."
"What a load of crap. Level is what matters — the rest is just fluff..."
And just like that — chaos.
Each of the Heroes insisted that their method of growth was the one true path. No one wanted to even consider the idea that they could be wrong — or at least, not completely right.
Each of them was convinced they were absolutely correct.
Each of them, the Hero of their own story.
Watching it all from the sidelines… was honestly kind of funny.
None of their arguing affected me directly, and I wasn't invested enough to care — so all I could do was marvel harmlessly at their stupidity.
"Stop." I clapped my hands on the table and, still smiling, swept my gaze over the others. Over there, Mirelia looked like she was on the verge of giving up all hope. "First, let's assume — just for a moment — that each of you is inside a game." I stood up and began a slow, deliberate walk around the table. "But each of you came from different games, didn't you?"
"Yeah, that's true…"
"Can't deny it."
"Exactly."
"Well, I didn't…"
"Naofumi doesn't count," I said, pointing a finger at him. "So then. You're not going to deny that you each came from a different game?"
"Well… yeah," came the reluctant agreement.
"Then it's fair to imagine that you've ended up in something like a hybrid — something like a pirate server that took the best features from each game."
"That… actually makes sense," Ren muttered, surprise flickering across his face.
"And it's entirely possible that each of you brought a piece of your own game with you. And for those pieces to become accessible to the others — just like how you can access their features — you'd simply need to 'sync versions.'"
"I don't get what you're trying to say, Nott-san," Itsuki said with a shake of his head.
"Yeah, I'm not really following either," Ren added, backing him up.
"Just believe," I replied simply, nearly reaching the queen in my casual pacing. "Believe that other methods are real. We're clearly dealing with something mystical in nature. So don't dismiss the power of belief. Especially when it comes to a title as stereotypical as 'Hero'."
"And it's true. In all the stories I know, the power of belief and all that was an inseparable part of any tale about Heroes," Itsuki muttered, looking thoughtful.
"But how do you know about it?" I got an accusatory jab of a finger from Motoyasu, who hadn't been particularly talkative until now.
"Ooooh," I grinned in anticipation. "Now that, my dear friend" — my intonation jumped on the last word — "is one of the most interesting questions."
"Right. You weren't with us when we talked about how exactly we got here," Ren said, his gaze now turning suspicious. "What game was it in your world?"
"In that regard, I'm like Naofumi. I didn't learn about this world from a game, but from a book."
"A book?"
"Yup. It told the story of four Heroes summoned to another world to fight off the Waves. In my world, stories about people getting transported into worlds from books or movies were pretty popular, so I didn't have much trouble accepting the new reality. That same book described all the Hero power-up methods. And since they worked, it only made it easier for me to believe I'd ended up in another world."
"So... that book said something about us, too?" Ren asked cautiously.
"Yeah. But just the classic adventures in broad strokes. And the book wasn't even finished, so I don't know how the story ends."
"I see..."
"Sounds way too suspicious."
"Not my problem." I scoffed and stood behind the queen's chair, leaning on the top of the backrest. "If you believe — you'll get stronger. If you don't — you'll just keep dragging yourselves along the bottom. It's all up to you."
"And remember that you already lost to a Wave boss once," Naofumi added. "Next time won't necessarily go the same — one of these days, you could end up dead."
"Ha. That's different. That was a story fight — we were supposed to lose."
I froze on the spot.
"If all the Heroes and their allies had gone down, we would've just been teleported to a hospital. We wouldn't die. We're protected from that."
The piece of wood in my hands creaked mournfully, and I think the queen's back tensed a little. No, wait… maybe I just misheard something?
"What the hell are you talking about? This isn't a game world, got it? If you die — that's it!" Naofumi didn't seem too thrilled with their line of thinking either.
"That's exactly why we're protected from it."
"Yeah."
"Precisely."
slap
That, just to be clear, was the sound of a very loud smack as my palm collided with my forehead. My forehead — much as I wished otherwise.
"Nott-san?"
Stay calm. Keep it together. I started this off reasonably well — I smiled, I was being friendly... I can't punch my allies in the face, even if they're idiots! I can't punch my allies in the face, even if they're unbelievably idiotic!
They're just imbeciles. Right.
No, but seriously — even I never thought I was invincible! I was a different case. I just didn't care whether I lived or died. But these morons? They actually believed they had some kind of cliché 'plot armor' protecting them from death!
I took a deep breath in… and out. I think I calmed down. Sort of.
"It's fine. Everything's fine. Any other topics you want to bring up?"
Naofumi stared at me with bulging eyes, totally confused. But what? This is soft mode now. Let them believe they're in a game. If thinking that way helps them unlock all the power-up methods, then fine — let them. They'll be a lot more useful that way than they are now.
In the end, the Heroes bickered a little more, but no real fight broke out. Especially since, to top it all off, the upcoming Revival event was announced — a special period during which the monster EXP on the Melromarc-controlled island of Cal Mira would skyrocket, allowing for incredibly fast leveling. Needless to say, the moment our little gamers heard the word event, all their grievances immediately flew out the window.
The rest of the discussion mostly centered around the different weapon variations dropped by monsters, optimal grinding spots, and near-future plans to avoid running into one another and getting in each other's way.
What really mattered, though, was that I managed to keep things at least neutral between me and the other Heroes. And it was clear they'd taken my words to heart — no knee-jerk hostility, which was already a win. Who knows, maybe something will actually come of it.
And if not… well, I tried. If talking it out doesn't work and I still care about their usefulness, then I'll just have to find another way.
When the meeting finally wrapped up, everyone began heading off to do their own thing. I decided to hold off on my plan for one-on-one conversations until morning — assuming the Heroes hadn't vanished by then. Let them think things over first. Then we talk.
I was about to leave the audience hall myself, but the queen's suggestive glances — which she'd been casting my way throughout the meeting — stopped me. So I took my time, not rushing, quietly waiting until I was the last Hero still in the room.
"So you did pick up on my desire for a private conversation," the queen said with a nod, her eyes closing briefly.
"Hard not to notice when someone's watching you that closely. Though… depending on how you look at it, the message could've been interpreted in a few different ways." I couldn't help but smirk.
"Oh my," the queen said, her eyes sparkling as she covered the lower half of her face with a fan. "I didn't think someone my age could still be misunderstood in that way."
"Plenty of younger girls would be envious of 'your age', Your Majesty."
"You flatter me, Nott-sama."
"Not even once. But now that my boldest hopes have been dashed, let's move on to the actual discussion." Ending the light flirtation, I sat down in the chair opposite Mirelia — easier on the neck that way.
"Bold… hopes?" Mirelia, however, seemed just a little flustered by my comment. "Ahem. Forgive me for taking up your time, but I would like to discuss a few very important matters with you."
"You have my full attention."
"First of all, I'd like to point out that, for now, you, Nott-sama, are the only Hero aware of my political situation. I haven't yet been able to fully resolve the external conflict brought about by my husband's foolishness and…" Her face shifted into a complex expression, a tangle of lingering affection, disdain, and grim resolve. "Because of it, a new conflict is already brewing within Melromarc itself."
"That's… quite something. But what is it you want from me? I'm lucky I'm not much of a politician."
"In your opinion, how would the other Heroes respond to a request to fight the Waves in other countries? And how would you respond, Nott-sama?"
"I don't think they'd mind. For them it's just a new story arc, a change of scenery. As for me… I don't mind either, really. But I'd rather not stray too far from Melromarc. On that note, I actually have a counter-request for you — but we'll get to that later."
"I see… Very well. I will do what I can."
"And there it is again — that double meaning in your words, Your Majesty." I shook my head in mock disapproval.
"With such interpretations, you'll have me getting all flustered. At my age, no less…" Mirelia mirrored my disapproving shake — though in her voice, I could hear a touch of playful sorrow.
"You really do enjoy hearing compliments about your looks, don't you?"
"I doubt there's a woman who wouldn't, Nott-sama." The queen gave a faint smile — one I actually managed to catch this time, since her fan was nowhere in sight. "But I still haven't told you why I insisted on keeping you here." Catching my full attention, she continued. "I once again ask for your help. Not as a Hero — but as my ally. So, Nott-sama, allow me to ask you this first…" She dropped the playful air entirely, looking me straight in the eyes with quiet determination. "Will you become an ally of Melro— no. Will you become my ally?"