Hinata's plight, the first anniversary commemoration — everything was snatched away by Masayuki.
How on earth did things end up like this? That was the honest sentiment running through Masayuki's mind right now.
"Ma-sa-yu-ki! Ma-saaa-yu-kii!!"
Amid thunderous cheers, Masayuki rose to his feet.
Then, just as he'd been told, he tilted his head slightly to one side and cast his gaze downward.
He held the pose for about two seconds before slowly bringing his face forward and meeting the crowd's eyes.
That alone was enough to send the crowd's excitement surging even higher. The effect was terrifyingly potent.
(Just as Rimuru-san said it would be…)
Indeed.
Masayuki's gestures were the product of practice conducted under Rimuru's guidance.
By not relying solely on ability and instead using meticulously calculated gestures to seize the hearts of the masses, the effect of his Unique Skill, "Heroic Dominance," was magnified beyond anything Masayuki had imagined. All he could do was tremble at the sheer influence.
He'd only received a bit of acting coaching, yet the results were staggeringly enormous.
The moment Masayuki turned his gaze toward the crowd, they fell silent on the spot. Quietly, like waves retreating, a hush descended over the gathering.
It was a scene he'd witnessed many times already.
As it turned out, before visiting the Ingracia Kingdom, Masayuki had traveled to several nations bordering the Great Forest of Jura and quelled similar unrest in each one.
Before the great war began, Rimuru had called Masayuki over and made a request.
In a casual tone, Rimuru had said, "Go around and talk to the citizens of each country so they don't start rioting, will ya?"
"No way, no way! I can't do that!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Masayuki-kun. You can do it. No — you're the only one who can!"
After that back-and-forth, he was smoothly persuaded with a cheerful, "Relax, relax! Anything you set your mind to will work out perfectly!"
Afterwards, he received light coaching on acting — from the pose before his speech, to the movement of his eyes during delivery, to the pacing of his pauses — and was sent off with a detailed set of notes.
And then, "Kufufufu. As expected of Lord Masayuki — truly magnificent.
Your ability to win over the public surpasses even that of demons. I am deeply impressed."
He was even praised by
Masayuki was not happy about it in the slightest, but he deflected with a complicated smile.
For some reason, Diablo had taken a peculiar liking to Masayuki, and said, "Oh, right, right. If you're going to be touring various countries, you'll need an escort."
With that, he summoned
Thanks to that, travel between countries was drastically shortened through teleportation.
Even on the second day, when Velda declared that Rimuru had been defeated, Masayuki carried on with his speeches without missing a beat.
Before the panicked citizens of a small nation, Masayuki put their anxiety to rest with consummate ease.
All of this was possible because Rimuru had irresponsibly told him, "I might actually fake my death once, so you're on your own after that!"
Even Venom, who accompanied him, merely shrugged and said, "Ah, well, you see… Diablo-sama is perfectly fine, but for some reason we can't reach him.
That said, there's no sign of
There was not a shred of worry in his voice.
Indeed, if the Demon Lord Rimuru had truly been annihilated, his subordinates would have gone on a rampage. The fact that they hadn't made Masayuki oddly satisfied, and he stopped thinking too deeply about it.
Speaking of satisfaction, the same applied to this Venom.
For reasons unknown, he and Masayuki just clicked.
When Diablo first introduced Venom to Masayuki, Venom had been wearing elaborate battle attire…
"Can't you do something about that outfit? I mean, technically I'm a Hero, you know…?"
"Yeah, good point. Then I should probably match you."
And so, after leaving Rimuru's place, they went to an armor shop, purchased civilian clothes for Venom, and had him change.
During the conversation that followed, Venom said something surprising.
"If I remember right — I think I used to live in the same world as you."
Venom had blurted this out casually, but Masayuki suspected he might be a fellow reincarnator.
So Masayuki gave him various tips about clothing.
He enlisted a craftsman and had clothes made to match an illustration Masayuki drew.
The design leaned a bit punk, but it suited Venom surprisingly well.
Since he styled his hair up like a rooster's comb, he refused to wear a helmet.
Masayuki nearly quipped, "What biker gang are you from?" but since it was a definite improvement over before, he let it go.
As a demon, Venom apparently had no need for armor either — he was focused purely on appearance.
"Hey, hey, that's some pretty solid taste you've got! I'm counting on you for more, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'm glad you like it."
Masayuki had drawn the illustrations half-jokingly to match Venom's delinquent aura, and it turned out to be Venom's favorite.
Apparently, it reminded him of clothes he used to wear long ago.
That was how Masayuki and Venom became friends.
With Venom's appearance now more palatable — compared to his previous demonic look, at least — Masayuki introduced him to his five companions.
"Oh. You were also drawn to Masayuki-sama's greatness?"
"Of course. Masayuki is cool and wonderful, after all."
"He really radiates the aura of a hero. Well, looking forward to working with you!"
His companions chimed in one after another.
From Masayuki's perspective, he wanted to say, "Before you were drawn to me, I was the one who was utterly overwhelmed —" but none of his companions seemed to notice how he felt.
As always, they worshipped him like a god.
Still, lately they had been gradually warming up to a more relaxed dynamic.
According to Rimuru, "Maybe they're starting to develop resistance to your Unique Skill's effect?"
Masayuki genuinely hoped everyone would wake up to the truth sooner rather than later.
Setting that aside, Venom and his companions had blended in reasonably well, which gave Masayuki some peace of mind.
After that, to prevent further chaos, Masayuki also enlisted the help of adventurers in the Monster Country, sending them out to various nations before the great war began.
This was at Rimuru's request, but the adventurers, eager to accept Masayuki's personally-delivered plea — bolstered by his acting coaching — set off to各地 gleefully.
And so it continued until now.
Including Venom, seven of them had been traveling from place to place.
And now — Clad in gleaming golden armor and clad entirely in pure white, Masayuki was bathed in the full force of the crowd's attention.
He was gradually growing accustomed to the tension, and now he could take it in stride.
That, too, was probably the result of practicing according to Rimuru's notes every day, treating it all as an act.
(What are the odds — the timing was almost too perfect…)
Please give me a break, Masayuki thought.
He may have gotten used to the tension, but Masayuki was still fundamentally a coward.
Heroic timing and dramatic entrances — that simply wasn't his role.
But even if he wanted to complain, there was no one to complain to.
Reluctantly, he decided to settle the situation himself.
"Everyone, please calm down. I need you to think clearly — and tell me what happened here."
Masayuki spoke in a quiet, measured tone.
(Okay — no rushing, take it slow. Even if you stumble or stutter a little, the notes say the correction effect will smooth it over, so don't worry! That was it, right?)
The fact that Masayuki was internally rereading the notes he'd memorized over and over was something the adoring crowd would never have guessed.
At Masayuki's calm words, the already-hushed people began to regain their rational thinking.
After all — why had Liner and Hinata been fighting in the first place?
The King had indeed been assassinated, but was Hinata truly the culprit? Questions like these began to circulate in people's minds.
And Masayuki was thinking the same thing.
(No, seriously. What is going on here? Who's in the right, and who's the villain? Whose side am I supposed to be on?)
He was genuinely bewildered.
He knew of Hinata.
Though Masayuki had come to be called the Hero of the West, he was frequently compared to Hinata, the Chief Holy Knight.
He'd overheard people freely debating who was superior.
Rimuru had told him, "Masayuki-kun. If it really comes to a fight, you should run," in the most matter-of-fact tone.
She was that cold and dangerous, Rimuru had said. But he'd also noted that she never acted without reason.
As for Liner — he resembled the man who had been standing attendance beside the King when Masayuki had collected his prize money at the martial tournament in the Ingracia Kingdom.
He was probably that same person, though Masayuki wasn't entirely confident. Either way, there was no doubt he was an important figure in the kingdom.
Choosing the right side was an exceedingly difficult problem.
If he intervened carelessly, his carefully crafted Hero mask could be ripped right off.
If that happened, Masayuki had considered fleeing back to the Monster Country, but the fear of failing Rimuru's request weighed on him.
And he couldn't exactly expect Diablo to let him off with just a snide remark.
Masayuki wanted to defuse this situation as peacefully as possible — he knew full well that his own survival depended on it.
But regardless of Masayuki's confusion, events were already in motion.
"Why, if it isn't Hero Masayuki! What a nostalgic sight. The name is Liner.
You do remember, I trust? I am Liner, Commander of the Royal Knights. This time, it is I who —"
Liner began to speak.
Just as Masayuki's memory confirmed — the man was indeed the Knight Commander who had stood beside the King.
(So… siding with this guy would be the right call? But if I antagonize someone like Hinata, I'm done for!)
Not knowing that Hinata had lost her power — though even without it, she was still stronger than Masayuki — he couldn't help but feel shaken inside.
But regardless of Masayuki's turmoil, the conversation surged forward.
And then came the dramatic development.
"Masayuki-sama! Please, please forgive me!! I was the one who — who laid hands on the King —"
Cutting across Liner's words, a soldier rushed forward and prostrated himself before Masayuki.
(Huh!? I have no idea what's going on…)
He reminded himself that he absolutely could not act rashly.
"What?! What nonsense are you spouting, you fool?!"
Liner flew into a rage.
He tried to cut down the soldier, but children stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
And then — "Fu-fuhahaha. It's over. I'm ruined…"
For reasons known only to himself, Prince Elric had begun confessing his crimes unprompted.
Between the soldier's testimony — that he had complied with the prince's orders to save his ailing family — and the prince's own confession, the facts of the matter were essentially laid bare.
All of this was due to Masayuki's ability.
In truth, without even realizing it himself, Masayuki had awakened to a new power.
Its name: Unique Skill — "Savior."
It was the result of following the notes given to him by Rimuru — or more precisely, by
The Unique Skill "Savior" did exactly what its name implied: it saved people.
It worked upon the target's sense of guilt, compelling them to take redemptive action of their own volition. This mostly manifested as a confession of one's sins.
This time, only those who responded to Masayuki's words were affected.
In other words, the trigger was Masayuki's request for someone to explain what had happened.
It was a terrifying ability, endlessly convenient for Masayuki.
Naturally, someone of sufficient stature could resist this ability of Masayuki's.
That was why Liner had barely been affected.
And more fundamentally — Liner had already — "Hehehe, hehehehehe, hyaaa! Kill them! I'll kill them all!! I'll kill everyone!!"
—completely lost his sanity.
The terror inflicted by
With that eerie laughter, Liner drew his sword and leveled it at Masayuki.
(Huh?! He's coming after me!)
Masayuki scrambled to grip his own sword.
In truth, Masayuki's abilities had grown considerably. His training in the labyrinth had solidly raised his baseline strength.
But even so, facing the strongest knight of what was still one of the great nations — the Ingracia Kingdom — Masayuki knew the odds were not in his favor.
"How tragic, that we can only speak through swords…"
Following his notes, he delivered the line with a sidelong glance.
The crowd was moved by it, but it had no effect on Liner whatsoever.
"Die!!"
Liner screamed and charged straight at Masayuki.
"Big Brother Masayuki, take that guy down!"
"Show us something cool!"
The children's cheers were like daggers in his ears.
(Why do those kids think I'm strong?! They defended Hinata, but why won't they protect me too?!)
He vaguely recalled giving the children a few lectures on special techniques while they trained in the labyrinth — moves like the Eternal Freezing Sword and the Evil-Severing Death Sword, which he'd made up on the spot. Apparently, they'd actually believed those techniques were real.
At the time, Masayuki had been their superior, but the children had shown abnormal growth rates.
Blessed with master-class mentors like Hakuro and Agerra, they had long since surpassed Masayuki with ease.
And yet, they still firmly believed Masayuki was stronger.
Bearing the full weight of their admiration, Masayuki found himself cornered with no way to retreat.
(Damn it! Fine, if it's come to this, I'll give it everything I've got — even if it kills me!)
Masayuki steeled his resolve.
Liner closed in.
And just as his sword was about to come crashing down on Masayuki, a figure stepped forward and stood between them.
It was Hinata.
"Leave this one to me, won't you?"
She flashed Masayuki a radiant smile.