An Uninvited Guest
"Clara?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Under normal circumstances, Princess Clara would have given a blunt reply to her brother, King Edwin. But perhaps because they were in a public setting, she answered him with her hands politely clasped together.
"I have some business to attend to briefly, so I leave the banquet in your hands."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Clara replied with a smile, as if this were a common occurrence.
Edwin patted the hero Carlos on the shoulder a couple of times as he walked out of the banquet hall, slipping away from the venue.
"Did he bring an army with him?"
"Yes, but it is only a force equivalent to a single knight order, Your Majesty."
Currently standing before the castle gates was the Crown Prince of the Eryther Empire—the man who had stolen the fiancée of Edwin's friend and hero, Carlos. He was attempting to enter the banquet hall.
A report had come in stating that the royal guard, having received prior orders, had mobilized in full force to block his entry.
Edwin had a good idea of why the Crown Prince had come, but since a diplomatic incident could easily arise, he decided to go to the gates himself to turn him away.
"Assemble the knight orders in the outer castle, just in case of an emergency."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
It was a mystery how the Crown Prince had managed to cross the border and reach the royal capital without a single report being made. On the other hand, one had to expect security to become somewhat lax during a grand banquet like this.
Perhaps they should consider themselves lucky he hadn't made it all the way into the banquet hall...
"Out of my way this instant! I am the Crown Prince of the Eryther Empire! Open this path immediately!"
"We apologize, Your Imperial Highness. By order of His Majesty the King, we cannot permit entry to anyone without an invitation..."
"You... How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
A physical scuffle broke out between the Crown Prince, who was determined to force his way inside to the banquet hall, and the royal guards, who were desperately holding him back.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
As Edwin approached the gates and raised his voice, both the knights and the Crown Prince flinched in surprise.
The scuffle ground to a halt, and all eyes turned instantly toward King Edwin.
"Your Majesty! You have arrived at the perfect time! I am Crown Prince Chris of the Eryther Empire! I sent a letter in advance, so what is the meaning of this insolence?!"
"Haha, I am well aware. Crown Prince Chris, please forgive the rudeness of my knights. A grand banquet like today's is rare, so there must have been a misunderstanding."
"Hmph!"
Now that Edwin had taken his side, the Crown Prince smoothed down his disheveled clothes, cleared his throat, and attempted to step forward again.
"However..."
"?"
"The hero has stated that he has no desire to meet you, Crown Prince Chris. Therefore, I must ask you to turn back."
The knights blocked the Crown Prince once more, preventing his entry. Chris stared at Edwin with a look of utter bewilderment at his words.
"What... What is the meaning of this?!"
"Exactly what I said. This banquet is held in honor of the hero. Since the hero does not wish for anyone associated with the Eryther Empire to be invited, I am conveying his wishes."
"W-What?!"
"Please return to your empire so that no further military conflict arises."
Finding his entry thwarted once again, the Crown Prince glared at Edwin with open hostility.
Not to be outdone, the polite expression Edwin had maintained until now began to harden.
"This is a matter between the hero and myself! I do not believe it is something for you, the King, to interfere in!"
"Not my place to interfere? Before I am the king of this nation, I am Carlos's dearest friend. How could I possibly welcome the man who stole my friend's fiancée with open arms?"
"You...!"
"So, return to your empire before harsher words are exchanged."
"Do... Do you truly think I will let this slide?!"
"..."
King Edwin was widely praised for his wisdom, coolness, and composure in handling state affairs. Seeing him unable to contain his fury, his face darkening with rage, shocked not only the Crown Prince but also the watching royal guards.
"And if you don't let it slide? Are you suggesting you will declare war?"
"N-No... That is not what I meant..."
"Very well. I shall personally ask the Emperor of the Empire for the truth behind this matter."
Edwin turned on his heel and headed back toward the palace. Realizing the situation had become dangerously complicated, the Crown Prince tried to push past the knights to catch him, but they stood firm.
"It's a misunderstanding! That's not what I meant! Listen to me!"
Even after that, the Crown Prince refused to leave the gates, throwing a tantrum and demanding they call the King. However, as the knights and soldiers summoned from the outer castle began to gather in overwhelming numbers, he was forced to give up and retreat.
Edwin, who had left to attend to "business," never returned to the banquet hall. It was only after the banquet had ended and I returned to the detached palace that he finally showed himself.
"Had some busy work to take care of, I take it?"
"Yeah. I had to go down to the gates for a bit."
"The gates?"
For a king to go to the castle gates, rather than his office... and in the middle of an important banquet, of all times?
I couldn't understand his actions until I heard what he had to say next.
"Crown Prince Chris was here earlier."
"What?!"
Hearing that the Crown Prince—the very man who had stolen my fiancée, the Saintess—had come here, I froze and stared at Edwin.
"He was trying to force his way into the palace, but I gave him a piece of my mind. He won't be coming back anytime soon."
"What did he even come here for?"
"It's obvious. Now that the Demon King has resurfaced and you, the hero, aren't in the Empire... he must be getting torn to shreds by the Emperor and the nobles. I hear the Second Prince and his faction are just waiting for a chance to strike him down."
"..."
Even as Edwin spoke of the Crown Prince, the face of the Saintess—whom I thought I had forgotten—flashed in my mind. My breathing began to grow shallow and rapid.
Noticing my state, Edwin poured whiskey into my empty glass, pushed it toward me, and spoke again.
"Come on, let's forget about that side of things and focus on our own business. Right?"
"Yeah."
Edwin deliberately changed the subject to prevent my anxiety from flaring up, and my breathing gradually returned to normal.
"Now that you've made your official appearance today, we should start recruiting party members, shouldn't we?"
"Party members?"
"Yeah. I actually have a few candidates in mind..."
"I don't need them."
For a hero, a party to fight alongside was naturally essential.
While I could easily handle ordinary monsters or low-ranking demons from the Demon King's army on my own, the importance of a party became paramount when facing the Four Heavenly Kings—the Demon King's direct subordinates—and, ultimately, the Demon King himself.
Knowing that I was well aware of these facts, Edwin looked at me in sheer disbelief when I said I didn't need a party.
"Hey... what are you talking about? No matter what happened in the past, a party is your lifeline. You're going to fight alone without one?"
"Yeah. I can fight well enough on my own."
"Don't be reckless. How are you going to fight without support?"
"It's not like this is my first time defeating a Demon King. I have the experience. I can do it."
I knew it was an impossible task. I wasn't an omnipotent god; there was no way I could face the Demon King, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the vast demonic army all by myself.
"Stop talking nonsense and look at these documents."
"What are these...?"
Edwin spread hundreds of applications for the hero's party across the table. Each sheet contained the basic profile and credentials of someone wishing to join.
"These are the applications that have flooded the palace since we announced the hero's return."
As I looked through the applications on the table one by one, I saw profiles of applicants from various races and nations. However, most of them were just children of noble families who knew a bit of swordsmanship or magic. Those with genuine skill or real combat experience were rare.
"These are the ones I've shortlisted."
Edwin handed me a small stack of applications he had pre-selected. Unlike the others, these contained the names of truly renowned individuals.
"A Saintess?"
"Yeah. Not the one you know—she retired. The Great Temple has chosen a new Saintess since then, so I figured it would be fine and included her."
A Saintess was an indispensable asset to a hero's party. Although their primary role was healing and recovery, they were also crucial for purifying monsters and neutralizing the toxic miasma inside dungeons.
Yet, I couldn't hold onto the application for long.
Perhaps I was afraid that traveling with her would constantly remind me of the former Saintess.
And then...
I spotted a familiar name written on one of the applications.
"..."
"What's wrong, Carlos?"
As I froze with the paper in hand, Edwin took the application from me and began to read it.
"Who is... *Sigh.* Why is this application in here? I thought I filtered this one out."
The name written on the application was none other than Illuen.
It was the application of the elf Illuen, who had handled ranged attacks, scouting, and reconnaissance in the former hero's party.
"Unbelievable. The sheer audacity of that elf..."
Riiip. Riiip.
Edwin tore Illuen's application to shreds right then and there, then checked my expression.
"Don't let it get to you. She must have lost her mind to send this. Otherwise, why would she apply to join the hero she abandoned?"
If it was Illuen...
She was more than capable of doing exactly that.
If there was something she wanted, she would do whatever insane thing it took to get it—even if it meant selling her own body.