46 - Art. 46. Is That Stupid, By Any Chance?
"Brave man? What's that?
The cat who calls himself Willis starts calling himself a brave man. So they are not just a group of cosplayers.
"Yes, I'm a brave man who will save the world. Without me, the world will die!
"What? Save the world?"
"The Great Demon King must be back! I'm the only one who can defeat the Great Demon King! I'm the brave one who will save the world, so I deserve to be saved, don't I?"
Swallow the words, "I am the Great Satan. It seems I've attracted another bunch of troublemakers. But they are cats who call themselves heroes even if they are rotten. What about their skills?
Willis (cat royalty, 14 years old) lvl 6
H!? 38/49
M!? : 14/14
Swordsmanship LV1
Sheela (cat royalty, age 13) LV5
H!? H!?: 30/38
M!? : 10/16
Recovery magic LV1
Amalia (cat tribe, 14 years old) LV6
H!? H!?: 24/35
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M!? : 4/17
Recovery magic LV1
Uriel (Cat Tribe, 15 years old) LV7
H!? : 20/51
M!? : 13/13
Cultivation LV1
...low skill! It is a miracle that you have survived this long in the forest, let alone against them. To pretend to be a brave man with this skill.... He must be either naive or stupid. The word "royalty" suggests the former? Or both.
"How can you live in this forest? There are many demons in this forest.
"... I got on the transfer magic circle and ended up here."
A cat girl labeled Amalia answers. Transference magic circle? Is there such a thing? Where is it?
"...they brought us here, and then they disappeared."
What's that?
"Where is your home? Take us there first. If there's a village or a town nearby, that's fine too. I'm not asking for luxury at this time. Please."
A cat man labeled "Uriel" approaches and speaks to me. He says he doesn't want to be extravagant, but what he's saying is pretty extravagant.
"My house? I refuse. The nearest village is a day's walk from here. On adult legs, of course. Good luck with that.
The faces of the hero and the princess harden.
"The Great Demon King is back! If you don't defeat the Great Demon King, you will die! You can't defeat me unless I defeat you!"
"Shut up!"
I take it easy and unleash a lvl. 4 fire magic. The snow melts and a part of the forest becomes scorched earth.
"If you can't shoot at least this much magic, you'll never make it out of this forest, let alone past the Great Demon King. Can you shoot this much magic? If you can't shoot, you'd better plan to leave as soon as possible."
"That's great! Rejoice, you're in my party! Come on! Let's guard us and head for the Great Demon Lord!"
...I knew it. He's an idiot. What kind of thought process does he have to go through to come up with this kind of conversation? Idiots scare me.
"I don't care about you, the Demon King, or the destruction of the world. And even if the world is destroyed, I don't need you to protect me. Who is asking you to defeat the Great Demon King?"
Everyone falls silent.
"Let me guess, you're just calling yourselves brave, aren't you? A brave man is recognized by others. A three-year-old could call himself brave. I'm tired of hearing you talk about defeating the Great Demon King and being brave without knowing your own abilities. If you want to play the hero, do it in your own house. Don't bring other people into this.
"You're rude, I'll never forgive you!"
The self-proclaimed hero drew his sword.
"I'm the one who's trying to protect you! I'm trying to save the world, why don't you thank me!"
"I don't want you. What you're doing is "selling your good intentions". It's annoying, to say the least. Instead, you should be thanking us for coming all the way down here to talk about your nonsense.
"You~!"
A sword is swung at me. I smash it. But it doesn't break. It seems to be a very strong sword.
"Hmm... Hmm... This is a sword made of orichalcone. It is the treasured sword of my country. I won't allow a servant to speak for me. It will cut you in half...!"
I don't even have to hear the last of his words before my fist plunges into Willis's stomach. And then I smash him in the face as hard as I can.
Willis, bleeding from the nose, went flying and crashed into a big tree, and then collapsed.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh..."
"I told you. You're weak. In these woods, you will surely die.
"I apologize if our behavior offended you. Please help us. At least help Prince Willis and Princess She-Ra."
The catgirl who calls herself Amalia pleads desperately. Apparently, this girl seems to understand what I am trying to say.
I then asked Amalia what had happened so far. I could have seen many things with my education skills, but I felt that I would see things I did not want to see, so I decided to ask Amalia.
She told me that these cats came from the country of Piao, which is located across the sea to the north of the Principality of Niza. This country is said to have been created by cats that have evolved in their own way. It is not unusual for demons to form packs and establish kingdoms, but this tribe of cats has built up its history while accepting human culture.
Willis, the self-proclaimed hero, is the fifth son of the current king, and She-Ra is his sister. Amalia and Uriel serve as his companions.
A few years ago, the Piao Kingdom was aware of the tremendous demonic energy that rose up from the Juka Kingdom, and they thought that the Great Demon King had returned. For the time being, they decided to keep quiet as long as there was no damage to the kingdom, but this prince with no sense of humility insisted that he would defeat the demon king himself.
Until then, this prince had often neglected his studies and martial arts, but from the day he set his sights on defeating the Great Demon King, he began to take his studies and training seriously. His closest advisors were relieved at first, but the prince grew more and more arrogant and overconfident. And now, he has stolen the treasured sword and armor of the kingdom, and has set out with his sister and her followers. Naturally, I have not obtained the King's permission. He thinks that he will not be blamed for his actions as long as he defeats the Great Demon King. He is the picture of an idiot.
"I have no food to eat and no place to rest even if I wanted to go back.
Amalia pleads desperately. I didn't say anything, but I wards the four of them off. The wards kept them at a constant temperature and made them untouchable by anyone who wanted to harm or antagonize them.
"We've warded you. It will hold until the night after tomorrow. You must do your best to reach the village by then. From here it's to the west. You'll see a river after a while. Walking west along the river, you will reach the village. You must be hungry. I will leave some food here. Bread and smoked meat. If we each take our share, there should be enough to go around.
I take out the food from the endless storage and take out a canteen made of wood. I pour water from the magic into it and put a small fireball in it to make hot water.
"Your body must be cold. I'll give you hot water as well.
Amalia and Uriel look at me with wide eyes as I go through my motions. Then Amalia takes the canteen from me fearfully and bows her head slowly and silently.
I let Ilimo run and leave.
"I'm so tired! You're really tired, Ilimo."
"I was really surprised. I never thought he would say something like that to me. It's been a long time since I've had a bad feeling about something like that.
"I know, right? Let's go home and sleep.
Yes," says Ilimo, spreading his wings and soaring into the sky. The sky is full of stars. The beauty of the stars healed my fragile heart, and I hurried home.