I Played the Role of a Hated Hero, but for Some Reason, I'm Loved by the Last Boss and Living W

“So, what’s going on today? You didn’t come all the way to my place to talk about the past, did you?”

I look straight into Touka’s eyes.

I put aside my joy at seeing my friend again and asked her why she came here.

She couldn’t have just come to see me, could she?

After all, Touka was already an important person in her country.

It’s hard to imagine that she just came to my place without any purpose.

As soon as I started, Touka changed her mood and put on a dignified air.

“Umu, there are a few things I thought I’d report to you.”

“Report?”

“Yes. To be blunt, an adventurer working in my country has reported sightings of a【 Dragon King 】and【 Behemoth 】.

“―――!? Don’t tell me that two beasts were spotted together?”

I had expected that this might not be just a random occurrence, but to be honest, this was still unexpected.

After all, the four『 SS 』rank demons known as【 Phoenix 】,【 Dragon God 】,【 Titan 】, and【 Behemoth 】hadn’t even been seen in the past few decades.

I can’t believe that two of them have been confirmed to exist at once…

“The Dragon King was flying through the sky at high speed, making it difficult to track, but we could barely make out the movements of the Behemoth. It seemed to be heading west from our country of Kamui. We were able to track it all the way, but as soon as it entered a certain area, we lost track of it. I’ve received reports that the direction the dragon king took off is probably west as well.”

“The same direction, two beasts…”

I followed the movements of the two beasts on the map Touka had taken out of her pocket, and my eyes widened when I saw the point where the behemoth had disappeared.

It was in an area called【 Leengard 】, which was quite far from the royal capital in the countryside.

As I recall, there was a small town called【 Cid 】.

However, what caught my attention was not the disappearance of the mythical creature in the countryside, but something else that caught my attention.

“Wait a minute.”

As Touka spoke, I took out another document from the bookshelf.

It’s a report that my subordinate brought to me just recently.

“Martina, what’s this?”

“Read it. It’s quite shocking.”

After receiving the document from me, Touka slowly lowered her gaze to the text and proceeded to read it.

When she had finished reading, she looked at me with a piercing look in her eyes.

“I can’t believe that a beast has been seen in this country too. And it was only a month ago.”

“Yeah, that’s right. The one we found is【 Titan 】. It was spotted in the Glaive Wilderness.”

“Hmm. I didn’t expect three phantoms to show up at once in such a short time. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if Phoenix is out there somewhere too.”

“That’s right. So, about that Titans move, have you noticed anything, Touka?”

“Movement?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm………… mmm? Hey, Martina, no way.”

She seemed to have noticed.

The documents I gave Tuka were compiled by our knights.

As soon as I heard about the sighting of Titans, I sent a knight to investigate.

The purpose was to find out what Titans were up to.

If a battle were to break out, it would require the full forces of the Royal Capital.

We would probably have to ask for help from the Adventurers’ Guild.

The adventurers are helping us with this investigation.

As it turned out, the Titans seemed to be moving almost straight ahead in a certain direction.

It seems that according to the knight who tracked the east… the Titans proceeded to the vicinity of Cid, but from there they suddenly disappeared, and the pursuit was abandoned.

In the meantime, I’ve informed the Cid’s higher-ups about this and told them to be on high alert.

If they were to be attacked, there would be no way to stop them.

Then, Tohka reported the direction of travel of the Dragon King and Behemoth. In addition to that, the point where the behemoth disappeared is also…

“Like Titan, near the town of Cid, Leangard… Martina, this is…”

“Yes. I think all mythical creatures may be heading for the same place at once. I have not yet been able to pinpoint the exact location of where they are headed.”

“But what do you mean when you say they suddenly disappeared?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that the most powerful monsters in the world are gathered in the same place. It’s a very serious matter.”

At any rate, there was a possibility that three of them, which would require the strength of a nation to deal with just one of them, would appear at the same time and be hiding in the same area.

We don’t know what the purpose of their gathering in Leangard is, but now is not the time to pursue it.

“We need to move quickly. Since Titans disappeared, I’ve been sending out requests to local adventurers to investigate, but that’s not enough. We may need to send some of our own to investigate.”

“Umu. If we’re not careful, this could be more troublesome than dealing with the Demiurge. We can’t just leave it there. I think we should send our own investigation team.”

“Okay. I’ll ask the king if it’s possible to allow the people of Kamui to move freely. And if possible, let’s call it a joint investigation.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea.”

Rather than each country’s investigation team working independently, it would be better to have a system in place to share information.

Acting on disparate information would be inefficient, and we might even miss something.

This time, we would be investigating three mythical creatures at the same time.

There is a high possibility that a small misunderstanding could turn into a life-threatening situation.

I think it would be better to cooperate with Kamui to deal with this situation.

Fortunately, our country and Kamui are not on bad terms.

Thanks to Tuka’s success in defeating Demiurge―――or so it’s supposed to be―――there has been a certain amount of interaction.

We can expect that the proposal for a joint investigation will probably pass without any problems.

“But it will take time to organize a survey team and coordinate with the Kamui Kingdom…”

In the meantime, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be any movement among the phantoms, and I’m also curious about what the town of Cid is like now.

So,

“【 Leia 】! Come on in!”

I called out the female knight from earlier.

“Yes! Martina-sama, how can I help you?”

The knight who came into the room was a girl about two years younger than me.

Her name is【 Leia Flaver 】.

Her red-colored hair looks like a sunset, and her strong-willed eyes are like bluebells, contrasting with the color of her hair.

She has a beautiful face and is no match for Touka, who is right in front of her.

She is a girl who grew up in a family of knights, just like mine, and she is currently working with me as my aide.

“It’s an urgent mission. Listen carefully.”

“U-urgent?”

“Yes, actually…”

I tell Leia that the three mythical creatures I mentioned earlier have appeared at the same time.

Immediately, her expression turned shocked, confused, and slightly scared.

“I’d like to send a survey team to investigate the movements of the creature, but that will take some time. So I want you to go ahead and find out what’s going on there and report back to me.”

“I-I see. But is it okay for a young girl like me to take on such an important mission? Why don’t you leave it to a more skilled knight?”

“That’s what you said when I named you to my team. You know what? I’m putting you in charge of this mission because I value you. I don’t want you to doubt that.”

Her modesty and discretion are virtues in their own right, but she tends to underestimate herself.

I’d like her to be more confident, but I guess that doesn’t happen overnight.

Still, it would be nice if she had a little more appreciation for herself.

She is also quite good with a sword, and is one of the best in the knight order.

In addition, she did well in the written test that she took when she joined the knights.

If left in charge of the field, he leads his subordinates with his natural sense of responsibility and has earned the trust of her subordinates as well.

Taking these achievements into consideration, I appointed her to my entourage, but she still maintains a humble posture and remains rigid in her impression.

Even now.

“I-I’ve never doubted you, Martina-sama!”

“Then you will accept this preliminary mission, won’t you? I’ll give you a week to prepare, so why don’t you pack your things during that time? I’m sure this mission will be a long one, so be sure to be prepared. That’s all. Do you have any objections?”

“No! Then, this is the unworthy Leia! I respectfully accept the mission to investigate the area!”

I smiled inwardly when she replied in a stiff tone.

“Thank you. I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Yes! Even if it costs me my life! Now, I will proceed with my preparations as soon as possible, so if you’ll excuse me!”

As soon as she said that, Leia left the room with a bow.

I smiled this time when I see her running.

“Seems like a girl with a very difficult personality.”

“I know. But I’m sure she’s more than capable. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Besides, I’d be happy if you softened your attitude a bit after being exposed to the country air.”

“Wow, you’re quite the subordinate-loving boss, aren’t you?”

“Flattery will get you nowhere. Now that that’s out of the way, shall we get moving?”

“Yeah. And if possible, let’s tell Sofia about it. Worst case scenario, the three of us might have to stand in front of the beast.”

“Right. Ares is not here right now. Let’s make sure we’re ready.”

“Yes.”

And so, in a world where the hero has gone, we begin to act.

We will protect the people of this country against the threat of mythical creatures.

Watch me, Ares.

I’ve become even stronger since then.

Even if you’re not here, I’ll protect this country and the world!