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. - Chap 18.4: The Ultimate Ordinary Person part 1

Great Sage Linlin. She is the hope of the fairy race. As a child of God, her birth had been prophesied by divine oracle. The great tree of the fairy kingdom, planted by God, had been the reason for the country’s rich natural growth.

In a country where everyone worships the being called God, she was born. From her early childhood, expectations were placed on her. It could be called overwhelming pressure, being saddled with arbitrary hopes, especially during her younger years when the Demon King Satan had been resurrected, and everyone was on edge, clinging to her all the more.

That’s why she left the country when she was young.

Various things happened, but… she no longer needed to bear those expectations. That was because the hero Dan was there.

But… he’s not here now. She thought so and questioned whether it was okay to keep relying on him forever.

(Surely it’s not like that… Dan…)

Chasing the demons created by the meteorite, she slightly left her country. A few dozen kilometers away, she spotted a demon wearing a pumpkin mask and a giant demon, about three meters tall, made entirely of rock. With her years of battle experience, she understood they were the Four Heavenly Kings. Although there were hundreds of lesser demons around them, they seemed like mere errors. What mattered were those two demons, she focused her attention on.

“Ode, Aitsu, Taos… Mao-sama, Mei-Lei.”

“Heh heh heh, we’ve caught the Fairy Princess for real, so let’s defeat her quickly.”

“I don’t care, but you guys are the Four Heavenly Kings, huh? I’ll defeat you quickly and return to my country.”

“That, is, impossible, because, you, will lose.”

“You guys are no match for me, are you?”

“Heh heh heh, we’ll see about that? Even with magic, you might have been able to compete, but… can you use magic now?”

Chills ran down her spine. A feeling of discomfort took over her. It was then that she realized she couldn’t feel her magic at all.

Answering her question, the demon wearing a pumpkin mask, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Pumpkin, drew a sword.

“This is a cursed sealing sword created by the Curse King Daidaros over his lifetime. With this, magic can’t be used within a certain range. Incidentally, the user can turn it on and off, heh heh heh.”

“You’ve been caught. You can’t use magic, Sage. We’ll kill you quickly.”

“Let’s kill the Sage… Come on, minions, you can proceed. She’s a member of the hero’s party, so first crush her brain thoroughly without any carelessness, and kill her.”

Hundreds of demons approached. Lin responded by gritting her teeth and striking them with her staff or engaging them with the scant physical techniques she knew. However, she was a magician, not a warrior, a martial artist, or a swordsman.

“Even so, kill the Sage… Mao-sama, please come quickly…”

Four Heavenly Kings, Brog. He skillfully used his rock body, flying into the air and pounding his fist into the ground. Lin desperately dodged, knowing that if it hit her flesh, she would undoubtedly die. And she knew that, like this, she would surely be killed.

(Ah, I’m going to die… I can’t use magic… I only learned a little physical technique… I thought of asking Dan to teach me the sword… but I couldn’t be honest about it, so it was impossible…)

(Well, it’s my fault, so it can’t be helped…)

(But I can’t die. I don’t want to die. After all, I haven’t confessed yet, nor have I gone on a date… We’ve hardly even held hands. And we haven’t even kissed…)

In her head, in her heart, the hero Dan was always there. Realizing her impending death, yet still wanting to live, it was because she wanted to live with Dan.

Her exhausted body somehow moved with sheer will, forced to keep going when she knew she couldn’t die. Her physical strength was at its limit. Her mouth tasted of blood, having run until she was worn out. But hope was nowhere to be seen.

Dark clouds filled the sky.

Before her eyes stood a rocky demon, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Unable to use magic, she couldn’t survive any longer. She couldn’t even miserably cling to life.

Her strength gave out, and she fell to her knees. The sound of the giant rock demon’s footsteps reached her ears; though her mind screamed to flee, her body wouldn’t move.

Her soul trembled. She wanted to see him, wanted to live, wanted to be with him. Regret shook her soul strongly, but her body had been pushed beyond what mere determination could overcome.

The rock demon raised its fist to the sky. If it swung down, she would―

(I don’t want to die… Dan)

“―Huh? What’s going on here?”

A sudden and bewildered voice reached everyone present. As if time, which had stopped, began to move again, the wind strongly, persistently began to blow.

Even the dark clouds in the sky started to shift a little.

“Are you okay? Lin-san.”

“Dan…”

A young man with spiky hair and an unassuming appearance, he looked like an ordinary person, but he was standing there in a tuxedo.

He was only looking at Lin.

“Who’s this guy? Minions, take him down.”

As Pumpkin gave the order, hundreds of demons lunged at him. But without even a hint of surprise, the young man simply walked past them. With that alone, the horde of demons turned to dust and vanished.

More precisely, it wasn’t that he simply walked past them; he had swung his fists a few times, and the impact had reduced everything to nothing. However, no one saw this. To Lin, it looked like he had merely walked past them, and hundreds of demons had disappeared.

“…Impossible. I didn’t see a thing.”

Lin’s eyes widened in astonishment, but her surprise was not overwhelming. It was as if, deep down, she had known all along. The two members of the Four Heavenly Kings, on the other hand, were dumbfounded.

“You—”

“—Lin-san, your clothes are quite dirty. Are you okay? There’s an adventurer’s mingling event later.”

While saying this, he punched the rock demon. As if nothing had happened, an explosion blew, and the rock transformed into sand from the impact, spreading throughout the area.

“Ah, yeah… I can clean up later, but more importantly, that…”

“You mean this outfit? Actually, I heard it’s the 15th anniversary adventurer’s mingling event, so I thought I’d dress up in a black suit. There are many beautiful people among the fairy folk, so I figured I should look my best.”

“No, not that, I mean…”

“That’s true, isn’t it… So, who are you guys?”

These casual words were truly those of a powerful figure. There was no intention to intimidate with an overwhelming spirit, but the nature of someone who dwells in the heavens seeped through nonetheless.

Pumpkin of the Four Heavenly Kings envisioned his own death. He felt his life was already in the hands of the man before him.

“They are, it seems, the Four Heavenly Kings, underlings of the True Curse King.”

“…Oh yeah, I remember something like this.”

“Eh?”

“No, never mind.”

The demon who had realized its impending death, though knowing it was pointless, became desperate and pointed its sword at the hero.

He hadn’t done anything. He had just listened. He had merely heard an angry voice that Lin had been hurt. That alone had caused him to lose himself.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

The cursed sword swings down, but once again, he mercilessly swings his fist. An explosion sends the demon’s body and the cursed sword flying away. The threat and terror vanish in an instant. Staring in amazement, Lin looks at Ban and seems to envision a certain existence.

“Um, has the Curse King resurrected?”

“No, some Demon King called Balkan has invaded instead.”

“I see.”

He casually asks Lin what had happened, not even dwelling on the fact that he had just defeated the Four Heavenly Kings.

“If the adventurer’s mingling event is disturbed, that would be annoying.”

“You really like that event, huh?”

“To some extent… So where’s this Balkan or whatever?”

“Sorry, I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to apologize. More importantly, you’re pretty dirty; are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah. They made it so I couldn’t use magic, and I ended up running around and got like this…”

“I see. You seem tired, so I’ll take you to the castle. There are strong older brothers or sisters there, right? I can leave you with them.”

“I’m fine; you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll worry more if I leave you here. Come on, I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

He pats his own back, and unconsciously she leans on Ban’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck. The next moment, he starts running at divine speed, leaving even the wind behind.

“…Ban… Isn’t this too fast?”

“No, this is normal for me.”

“I don’t think this is normal, no matter how you look at it…”

“It’s normal. Also, please keep it a secret that I defeated the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, there are various reasons.”

“…Okay, I understand.”

She had somehow known this feeling of his back and that overwhelming strength. No, she had already realized it.

“Thank you, Ban.”

“No problem.”

Ban took her straight to the castle. Then, he set out once again to search for the True Cursed King Balkan.