When I said, "You can be a hero," to a child with no talent, he really started to become a hero, so I acted like I knew what I was doing, like I was a wise master.

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Will had returned to the village of Ishi where he lived after finishing his daily self-training. After helping out his parents and killing time, he sat down under a tree to rest.

In his hand, he held a certain heroic tale. Leaning against the tree, the leaves created a shadow. As the relaxed time flowed, he slowly gazed at the book’s cover.

“――The Immortal King and the Brave One”

The title was written like that. Will excitedly opened the book――just before a girl who approached to talk to him appeared.

“What are you looking at?”

“Whoa!?”

“What’s with the ‘whoa’? Don’t talk about your childhood friend like a ghost.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine. What’s that, anyway?”

“It’s Hero Dan’s heroic tale.”

“Again? How many times do you need to read it?”

“Um, about a million more times, I guess…”

“Eh? You’re kidding, right…?”

“Ah, yeah… Maybe a little more.”

“That’s not what I meant, but… oh well.”

Menmen, wearing an expression that said, “it can’t be helped,” sat down next to Will. Even the slow-witted Will understood that she wanted to read the book with him.

“The Immortal King Ifrit, huh… I don’t know much about it, but… Was he such a strong demon king? I don’t have much of an impression.”

“What are you talking about!? Menmen! The Immortal King Ifrit was incredibly strong!!”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s true that Hero Dan defeated him so quickly that it might not have left much of an impression on us. But you know, in terms of abilities, magic, physical capabilities, overall combined values, he was probably top-class among all the demon kings that Hero Dan had fought!!”

“Is that so?”

“No, it’s not like that! All the demon kings were incredibly strong!”

“Which is it?”

“Anyway, it’s a story about an incredibly dangerous enemy!”

“Hmm.”

“The ability to resurrect any number of times, even if his abilities or blessed gifts were defeated or he died. Bringing his state from the past to the present and overwriting it, so it’s practically almost infinite. He has magic power, physical strength, and life.”

“That’s quite something… It’s definitely amazing. Having multiple lives is a bit unfair, even for a demon king.”

“That’s right! He has multiple lives. That’s probably his greatest and most terrible strength. But you know, he can overwrite himself from his past state. That means he can even recover magic power.”

Will spoke with great passion, but it didn’t seem to resonate with Menmen much. However, his desire to talk to her about the demon king who fought Hero Dan only made his enthusiasm heat up.

“You know that the magic used by the demon tribe is called otherworldly magic, right? It’s different from the common fairy magic in our world in many ways… but the part that measures the strength of magic, the hierarchy, is the same. Theoretically, this demon king could cast the highest peak of twelfth-level magic forever. Because if he can overwrite his past state, he can also go back to the state a few seconds before he used the magic after using it.”

“When you put it that way, it does sound strong.”

“It’s not just strong, it was strong! Before fighting Hero Dan, the “Seven Sacred Swords” apparently challenged him, but just defeating him once seemed to be all they could do.”

“The Seven Sacred Swords, huh? I’ve heard of them. S-rank adventurers, right? Even they lost, huh?”

“Yeah, the ‘Seven Sacred Swords,’ known as sword specialists, barely won once… S-rank adventurers are, so to speak, the pinnacle of humanity. Just hearing the story shows how great they were…”

“How did Hero Dan defeat such an enemy?”

“Uh, well, that part is actually kind of vague… He sealed it by sacrificing his life, or really defeated it, or blasted it into another dimension… There are many heroic tales, but each has a different interpretation.”

“Wow… But which one is true? Defeating a demon king who can literally be called infinite seems difficult, even for Hero Dan… So maybe sealing him is the general interpretation?”

“… I think so too.”

“Why would Hero Dan obscure the truth? If he sealed it, he should just say so.”

“…”

(That must be because… if he said he sealed it using his own life, the “bottom” of his strength would be revealed… He is a deterrent as an absolute and unchanging strongman. Therefore, he wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t say anything that would shake the core of his strength. He must continue to show others only that he continues to fend off evil as the embodiment of peace.)

(That said, if he lied, it could lead to inconsistencies. So, he probably just doesn’t go into detail.)

(… Though slight, I feel like I understand his way of thinking more than before. For the sake of peace, he must be a mass of self-sacrificing spirit, dedicating his life to serving others.)

Feeling growth in understanding Hero Dan’s way of thinking more than before, Will also felt some impatience. It’s beginning to waver. The core of his strength is starting to falter. He’s beginning to see the “bottom” of his unchanging and absolute strength.

Once that’s seen, all his past achievements will become mere history. If the bottom cracks, malice will spread throughout the world. That scared him. He became anxious about whether he himself could bear it.

“I wonder why. I really don’t know either.”

“What’s wrong? Your complexion has changed.”

“It’s nothing… Alright! I’m going to go train a bit!”

“Eh!? Again!?”

“Yeah!!”

“Keep this!”

Will handed a book to Menmen and started running, believing that he would surely reach the hero’s back someday.