Chapter 78

I recall the events three days after the summoning.

At that time, I had just been falsely accused and was in a period where I didn't even consider trusting others.

Moreover, I was thoroughly annoyed by the people who tried to trick me into joining their group.

...Huh?

Could it be that among them, there were actually people who genuinely wanted to recruit me?

There was someone who came with a very convincing offer, but I firmly believed they were lying...

"Stay away from me!"

I remember someone who, after I said that, saluted and said, "Understood, sir"...

...Huh?

So, did the people from Siltvelt not approach me because I told them to stay away!?

And because I refused others as well...?

Damn it!

I kneel and bow my head.

"I was indeed at a loss. Moreover, Mr. Iwatani caused various problems that bordered on criminal activities."

"Ugh..."

The queen, it seems, has her own thoughts about me. Her interrogating voice is harsh.

"Well, thanks to that, there were also situations where I could overcome things with lies."

"...What?"

"The hero is working to remove the corruption from our country. That's what I said."

In the end, it could be considered a success.

"The decisive factor was when Mr. Iwatani resolved the problems caused by other heroes within the country."

If other heroes caused problems and I cleaned up the mess, the nation's faith would waver.

"Then, with the cooperation of the Four Holy Teachings, we worked to undermine the power of the Three Heroes' Church. During this time, people who spoke of the Shield Hero appeared all over the world, but it was clear they were lying."

The Three Heroes' Church doesn't hold back, do they?

"Why didn't the other heroes know about this?"

"The Spear Hero has a bitch nearby, and the Sword and Bow Heroes were getting false information through the guild."

Trusting what they were told first... that's what happens when you have limited information.

If they knew, they would have refused and supported me.

But because they don't know, they are so thoughtless.

"Then, next, Raphatalia... no, did you introduce me to the slave trader?"

"In the sense of giving instructions to the underworld, that's correct. However, I don't know what kind of person that slave trader is."

Now that I think about it, the first time I met him, he said something strange.

"There were customers who wanted to make heroes their slaves, and I approached you, Hero-sama, as one possibility, but I changed my mind. Yes."

Those were the words he muttered the first time he met me.

Wanted to make heroes their slaves. Whether such people exist in this country is another matter, but it's strange.

"I've heard about the circumstances. Think about it. Do you think slaves can be bought for around 20 silver coins?"

"That... I don't know."

If you consider that he was giving discounts to avoid suspicion, it's safe to assume the slave was more expensive.

The price of the wolf man is also suspicious.

Compared to that, other stores seem much more expensive...

That slave trader is a real piece of work.

He didn't talk even though he was receiving help.

"Regardless of the circumstances, I am grateful to have met Mr. Naofumi."

Raphatalia smiles and says this.

...Yeah. Regardless of the circumstances, I bought Raphatalia from the slave trader.

If Raphatalia herself has no hidden agenda, there's no problem.

Most importantly, if I hadn't met Raphatalia, she would probably have died.

The slaves sold alongside Raphatalia were likely sold to be used up.

When they were used up, some money would be saved, and then the next slaves to be sold would be pushed.

If I had been offered an excellent slave at a low price, I might have been suspicious.

But, unexpectedly, Raphatalia grew into a top-tier slave... that's the situation.

He thought it through well. That slave trader.

"Then, next. Why couldn't you come to the country?"

"I think you can understand from the previous story. Even I had my limits. When Orto... the scum, wanted to see Melty, I set a trap. The Three Heroes' Church's包围网也差不多完成了。"

真是手眼通天啊……被玩弄的我真是够惨的。

“没想到你竟然持有四圣武器的复制品。”

即使事先察觉到你可能持有这些武器……也很难应对吧。

“教皇也是个愚蠢的男人……在受到伊瓦塔尼先生的攻击时，如果把复制品变成盾牌，也许可以保住性命……”

“原来盾牌也可以变成吗？”

“是的。不过，据说最多也只能发挥原本勇者力量的四分之一。”

“那东西只有四分之一吗？”

我们成长后，那东西会变成四倍……真是夸大其词。

大概是因为失传的传承在流传吧。

“还有我的丈夫……我国的宿敌，席尔特维尔特，很久以前就与我国争斗，而那个废物在长期的和平中变得软弱了。虽然他有能力，但现在只会用智慧去做人们厌恶的事情。”

啊……果然，你们不希望我去席尔特维尔特，所以才设置了那样的警备网。

甚至可能是你，而不是那个废物，集结了骑士团在边境？

算了。现在有更重要的事情要谈。

“剩下的……嗯。我会在力所能及的范围内尽可能地帮助伊瓦塔尼先生。但即使这样，你还是想去席尔特维尔特，说出真相，引发战争吗？”

“唔……”

无论女王怎么想，我都必须保护她。

但是……

“顺便说一下，无论是席尔特维尔特还是席尔德弗里登，如果伊瓦塔尼先生去了，会发生什么，我也会告诉你。”

“嗯？”

女王打算说什么？

“首先，伊瓦塔尼先生会受到公主、贵族千金、各种种族的亚人女性的追求，形成后宫。”

“真恶心！”

因为那个贱人，我一想到这种事就感到恶心。

充满私心的女人我根本不想接近。

“你想要的任何东西都可以得到。如果你下令攻打我国，国民会高兴地赴死。”

嗯……这也许不错。但后宫嘛……

忍一忍……

“到目前为止，这还不错。但是，无论哪个国家，权力和信仰都会被染黑。”

“什么？”

“你会患上原因不明的疾病……可怜的伊瓦塔尼先生会……”

“……你很清楚啊。”

“这是过去被召唤的盾之勇者的结局，不在四圣的传说之外。”

我不想听到这些。

“顺便说一下，有冒险者对伊瓦塔尼先生进行了虚假的招募。”

“……是啊。”

那是我来到这个世界几天后的事。

“那个冒险者几天后被发现惨死。”

“什么！？”

“还有，我记得有士兵向你索要签名。”

“是啊。”

他们想要什么我就给他们了……没想到。

“他们死了！？”

他们好好地完成了工作。如果结局是这样，那可不行。

“不……但据说他们丢失了写有伊瓦塔尼先生签名的衣服，每天都被类似跟踪狂的人纠缠。”

哇……真是麻烦透了。

“那件衣服后来在黑暗拍卖会上以高价成交。”

等下次见到他们，我要向他们道歉。

“我也为帮助伊瓦塔尼先生的士兵进行了辩护。”

“啊，所以他们没有受到责罚。”

“然后，骑士团长被不明身份的人袭击，死了。犯人还没有抓到。可能是……”

席尔特维尔特真是个激进的国家。

怎么说呢……去席尔特维尔特就像天堂和地狱同时降临。

当然，女王的话未必全对。

“不过，我认为留在这个国家，自己建立信任，是更安全的策略。”

“……”

但合作的理由并不存在。

我所经历的痛苦不是这么容易就能消除的，即使女王用权力粉饰，我也无法接受。

女王之前所做的惩罚和解释，虽然间接相关，但作为国家的权力者，她只是做了该做的事。

然而，她却像给了我恩情，要求我帮忙，这未免太贪心了。

最重要的是，我认可她的能力，但并不信任她。

说什么都行。

只是因为不希望我去别的国家，才做到这种程度。

而且，如果她的道理正确，无论去席尔特维尔特还是席尔德弗里登，哪个国家都会受到优待。

梅尔罗马克并没有什么特别之处。

“……”

思考着未来，女王在我面前正坐。

“伊瓦塔尼先生所遭受的一切伤害，责任全在我。我知道这听起来像是占便宜的话。但是，我……不，这个国家已经没有其他可以依靠的路了。如果你说要我的头来平息怒火，我愿意献上。如果你说要我改名，我愿意改。所以，请给我一些时间。我保证，以米莉莉亚＝Q＝梅尔罗马克的名义，绝不会再有之前的不公待遇，并在魔法契约的基础上给予更优厚的待遇。”

然后，女王深深地鞠了一躬。

这一幕让梅尔蒂完全无言，拉芙塔莉亚也瞪大了眼睛。

菲洛似乎也从周围的气氛中察觉到发生了什么大事。

她……真的只在为国家考虑。

即使强权保留了那个废物和贱人的命，她却说即使自己死了也没关系。

这说明梅尔罗马克在世界上的处境非常危险。

也就是说，这个国家的命运掌握在我手中。

如果我愿意，可以煽动全世界，摧毁梅尔罗马克。

然而——

“只有一次。”

“您说什么？”

“之前你的手下救了我部下的命。”

“也就是说……”

“我只相信你一次。无论有什么理由，下不为例。”

“谢谢。”

女王再次深深鞠躬，表达了感谢。

这种应对可能有些软弱。

但只是一味怀疑，也无法前进。

我……不，勇者的敌人不是国家，而是波。

在国家之间争斗时，如果从侧面受到攻击，被格拉斯等人击败，那就没意义了。

最重要的是，不能忘记上次波中，三位勇者实际上已经失败。

没有必要无谓地增加敌人。

从今以后，不会再从前后面都受到攻击。

无论这个世界如何，只要打败波，我就能回到原来的世界。

从今以后，可以集中精力应对波……格拉斯的战斗。

仅此一点，就已经是巨大的进步。

“外交方面没问题吗？”

“只要伊瓦塔尼先生这么说，大部分问题已经解决了……短期内应该不会有问题。如果有问题，勇者大人就是我们的依靠。伊瓦塔尼先生会履行承诺，所以需要您的合作。”

“真是被依赖了。其他勇者不能受到惩罚吗？”

“是的。毕竟，对四圣勇者的惩罚会招致各国的非议……更何况，这次他们合作讨伐了三英雄教会，很难进行处罚。”

“这样啊……真遗憾。”

嗯，总有一天我会让他们见识地狱。只要等待机会，总有一天会到来。

还有很多想问的问题，但今天就到这里吧。

“之前的事，能对三方保密吗？勇者也是人，如果露出弱点，不知道他们会做什么……”

确实，之前的事有很多内容不能告诉其他三位勇者。

不知道炼和元康会怎么想，但树如果知道，可能会失控。

最重要的是，至少在情况没有大幅改变之前，我周围的环境会有所改善。

“明白了。他们那边……”

“是的。从今以后，我会负责监督。”

“这样，终于少了一个敌人……”

“真的很抱歉……擅自召唤无关的人，强迫他们战斗，却只能做到这种程度，请原谅我。”

“已经没事了。接下来该怎么做？你之前说要和那三个人谈谈吧？”

“是的，这件事会在伊瓦塔尼先生参加的晚宴上讨论。”

“明白了。”

女王向部下发出指示，走上王座室后面的楼梯。

“梅尔蒂……我们走吧。”

“啊……好的。”

“伊瓦塔尼先生，感谢您保护梅尔蒂的性命。”

女王深深地鞠躬，向我表示感谢。

“梅尔，你要去哪？”

菲洛似乎读懂了气氛，困惑地问道。

“梅尔蒂，我们和你住的世界不同。像以前那样一起旅行，可能不会再有了。”

带着未来的女王四处旅行，确实不太现实。

“是吗？”

菲洛带着快要哭出来的表情看向梅尔蒂。

“……是的。”

“再也见不到了吗？”

“……不。我们还会见面。无数次。但一起旅行可能不行。”

梅尔蒂看向女王。

女王也点头表示肯定。

“但是……我们要分别了。”

“是的。不过，菲洛，只要你来，随时都能见面。”

梅尔蒂用哽咽的声音对菲洛说。

我们的旅程确实对梅尔蒂产生了很大的影响。

波结束后，我决定把菲洛托付给梅尔蒂。

“即使分别，梅尔也永远是菲洛的朋友，对吧！？”

“是的！无论我在哪里，都是菲洛的朋友！”

虽然很感人，但今天应该会在城堡过夜，分别还早着呢……

接下来的计划还没定，还有很多事要和女王商量。

这些先不说。

这是两人友谊加深的时刻。

你们都有了很好的朋友。

看着他们的对话，拉芙塔莉亚握住了我的手。

我默默地握紧她的手，理解了这一切。

这就是第二章的结束。

从下一章开始是第三章。