"Again and again, the Demon Lord revives, only to be defeated by heroes born at regular intervals.
In the royal capital of Pendragon on the continent of Alsgard, a tale reminiscent of a fairytale has been repeating for ages. I, having graduated from the Royal Officer Academy as the bottom of my class but as an exception, was leading a leisurely and luxurious life in the grand royal castle.
Normally, someone with my poor performance would be deemed unfit as a soldier or bureaucrat and exiled. However, having delivered the divine sword to the hero, I had achieved a great feat. Naturally, I couldn't be treated the same as other students.
I thought it would be enough to watch safely from a distance as Shion, the current hero, grew stronger and easily defeated the Demon Lord who would resurrect in five years. But things didn't go as planned.
A Demon Lord powerful enough to bring about the world's end on their own.
A hero who can defeat such a fearsome Demon Lord in essentially a one-on-one battle is, in a way, a more terrifying being than the Demon Lord.
Indeed, Shion, once enraged for some reason, caused half the castle town to be destroyed simply by sprinting through it at full strength.
It's surprising that among all the heroes born so far, none have misused their power.
Well, the previous hero became king and granted his descendants the authority to rule the entire continent, so it's not like there's been no misuse of power.
In short, the hero is a lifeline for all humanity, but if angered, they could become a destroyer more fearsome than the Demon Lord. And right now, such a hero has taken a liking to me.
Shion, the current hero, is a girl of ten... no, she recently turned eleven. But she's still a young girl.
To outsiders, it might look like I'm taking advantage of the hero's youth to manipulate her for my own gain.
Really... it's a complete misunderstanding.
Why does the world think that a guy my age, just because a young girl takes a liking to him, is a pervert or some kind of deviant?
Isn't it natural for an innocent young girl to be fond of a good young man like me?
Seeing how people nowadays are losing their ability to trust others makes me feel sad."
"Well, enough of that idle chatter, let's get to the main point.
Anyway, right now, I'm in a position where Shion, the hero, is fond of me and listens to everything I say. However, there are those who don't see this in a good light.
The current ruling royal family of the kingdom descends from the previous hero.
In other words, the authority to govern the nation by the royalty and nobility stems from the fact that their ancestors were heroes.
Essentially, they have established their right to rule the world and collect taxes from the people based on a hereditary tradition.
In this context, Shion, the current hero, becomes a threat to this established order.
In an extreme scenario, Shion could declare herself queen right now and has the right and authority to exile the current royal family.
This is something the current power holders cannot deny.
After all, they are the ones who have been levying taxes on the pretext of being descendants of the hero who defeated the Demon Lord.
The birth of a new hero who will defeat the upcoming Demon Lord signifies a transfer of royal authority.
However, this doesn’t mean they can simply assassinate the current hero to protect their interests.
Well, it's hard to imagine that there are means to assassinate Shion, who is already quite powerful. Even if there were, nobody can dare to kill or harm the hero.
The death or incapacitation of the hero would spell doom for humanity.
If the only being capable of defeating the Demon Lord is rendered unable to fight, then the Demon Lord can annihilate humanity without any hindrance.
No matter how many greedy power-mongers there are, willing to do anything for their own benefit, they wouldn't be foolish enough to bring about a situation where the Demon Lord could exterminate humanity.
After all, they would die too.
That’s why my only concern was that the moment Shion defeats the Demon Lord and becomes expendable, she would be targeted by the surrounding power-hungry vultures.
After defeating the Demon Lord, it might be better for Shion to use her overwhelming personal prowess to rule the world.
That was the level of advice I intended to give her.
But my assumptions were incredibly naive.
While it’s impossible to harm Shion, the lifeline of all humanity, what about me, who can control her?"As a result, I've ended up with an authority equivalent to that of the hero herself. And yet, I'm just an average Joe in terms of both wisdom and bravery.
I'd probably lose a fight against any random old guy, and considering my academic performance, it's clear that I'm not particularly smart either.
In short, I'm just a regular kid.
What would happen if such a person, favored by the hero, indulged in luxury as if he owned everything?
I'd probably be killed first.
In fact, I've been constantly targeted by assassins.
The reason I've been safe for almost a year amidst all these life-threatening situations is thanks to Holly, the spirit residing in the holy light sword Excalibur, used by heroes of the past to defeat the Demon Lord. She's been thoroughly protecting me from any situation where I might get killed.
Originally, being able to see and hear the sword spirit Holly, something that should be impossible for anyone but the hero, is precisely why I was the first among all humans to know about the imminent resurrection of the Demon Lord and could find the hero's location.
Objectively speaking, I've done my best as an ordinary person to confront a world crisis, right?
I deserve a little bit of worship.
"…I just wanted to live without working for the rest of my life, why doesn't anyone understand that?"
"What are you suddenly making such a despicable statement for?"
"I don't want to rule the world or dominate people. I just want to live without working…"
"…No, even if you mutter it so seriously, it doesn't change the fact that what you're saying is despicable."
"Ah, it's terrible. People can't understand the psychology of someone like me who tries to live quietly without bothering others."
"If most people understood your despicable statements, the world would be full of lazy people."
"No matter how many lazy people there are, a small number of hard workers will support them. That's the kind of magnanimity I expect from the world."
"Your unproductive statements are especially noticeable today. What's wrong?"
Holly and I continued our idle chat while playing our usual pre-bedtime game of chess.
"You know, I thought that delivering the holy sword to the hero would be the end of my role, but then I learn there are twelve saintly swords to the holy sword, most of which are missing, and the owners of these saintly swords are after my life. And depending on the intentions of the saintly sword owners who appear from now on, a war might start. I didn't want this kind of development. It's like a novel that was supposed to end in one volume, but got popular and had to churn out sequels, stretching the story unnecessarily."
"What are you even saying…"
"Ah… What a hassle… I want to go back to a life where I don't have to think about all this."
"…Do you regret meeting me?"
"That's not it. I'm having quite interesting experiences."
At least, I've witnessed plenty of supernatural phenomena that ordinary people couldn't experience."Whether or not I'd risk my life for these experiences is a different matter.
As I move a chess piece, I look straight at Holly sitting opposite me.
"By the way, I was supposed to learn about the remaining saintly swords' abilities, but I kept putting it off. Could you tell me about them now?"
"It's fine, but don't you want to take notes? Remembering the abilities of all twelve types might be a hassle."
"Notes, huh... I think I'll pass on that."
"…?"
The ability to talk with Holly, the spirit residing in the divine sword, is my one and only advantage as an ordinary person.