An extremely awkward silence filled my room.

    So, uh...

    Because we quite literally made tens of thousands of people in that field having an emotional breakdown, we returned into the portal the moment we got the chance to, as if we were trying to run away.

    “U-Uhm...”

    The speed of our retreat was so overwhelming, to the point that Victoria, who always wore a cold look, asked such a question with a dumbfounded look.

    “Are you sure everything’s going to be okay even if you were to stop doing...that...you know...?”

    “Yeah, we’ve done enough.”

    To that, I cut her words off with a shrug.

    We really had done enough.

    How could I tell? Well, because I was seeing clear proof of it before my eyes.

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    [ You have neutralized most of the Upper Nobles Association’s military force! ]

    [ Majority of nobles who belong to the association are scared to death. It adds to the chaos in their camp! ]

    [ People who lost their will to fight keep increasing! ]

    We really hadn’t done anything big, that was why such a doubtful reaction even came out in the first place. I just summoned the Purple Devil, made her sing a song that moved the people’s heart deeply, that was it.

    But, if we were to look at the result of those small actions...

    We, three unarmed people, went up against ten thousands of people who were clearly hostile against us.

    And somehow, we managed to neutralize them all without returning their hostility.

    Not only that, if someone were to ask those people to explain what happened, all of them would give out a strange answer; they were unable to bring themselves to fight.

    With that in mind...

    I basically made everyone in the continent know that I had the means to neutralize ‘large scale troops’ at once, and said means were pretty much unknown.

    [—Don’t forget that you fondled those girls’ chests.]

    “...”

    [The whole continent is going to know of your perverted deeds.]

    “...”

    [They’re gonna scream out your name. Dowd Campbell! Dowd Campbell!]

    ...Let’s not talk about such useless things!

    What I was trying to say here was that all kinds of uncanny stories and tales of heroism about me would spread around the continent like an avalanche, so it wouldn’t be strange for the Upper Nobles Association to restrict their movements for the time being.

    “...Teach, I understand that you’re in the middle of making up some kind of what-if scenes of the future in your head, but...”

    While I was occupied with my thoughts, Iliya, who was in charge of opening the portal to travel between here and the plain, interrupted me.

    “...Could you tell me what that is first?”

    She asked while pointing in a certain direction.

    The Purple Devil’s Fragment that came out of Seras’ body, still floating in the air.

    Well, not really, it was more like she was sticking on my back as if I was giving her a piggyback. Seeing how her color was paler than earlier, it seemed like she had consumed quite a lot of energy when she was singing a moment ago,

    She’d probably disappear soon.

    “...Um, she’s a Devil...?”

    “...”

    When I gave out that simple explanation, Iliya threw me a glare, as if asking, ‘Are you kidding me?’.

    She probably also wondered why such a thing came out and tried to casually chat with me like this too, but...

    “...I don’t know... It just worked out like that...?”

    Even I didn’t know the whys or hows...

    I was still in the middle of examining the ‘abilities’ of the Fallen’s Seal by trying to use them one by one, I still hadn’t found out the principle behind it...

    “...Could I assume that you were the one who called that thing out...?”

    “...Umm...I guess so, yeah...?”

    Though, I could give her a vague confirmation to that question at the very least.

    “...”

    But, the moment she heard my answer...

    Iliya narrowed her eyes quickly.

    As if she had heard something she shouldn’t have heard.

    “What’s wrong?”

    “...Nothing.”

    As Iliya muttered gloomily, Victoria, who was sitting beside her, made a curt remark.

    “...I hope I won’t ever see her again in the future. She looks too much like Seras—”

    [You know...]

    But, before she could finish her words...

    The Purple Devil, who had been clinging on my back silently, suddenly opened her eyes wide and cut her off.

    It was so sudden that even Victoria, out of all people, was startled because of it.

    [Don’t you think it’s better to be a little honest sometimes?]

    “...What?”

    Iliya gritted her teeth as the angel continued her words.

    [Yes, this is related to the Devils. Actually, he might be in the process of turning into a Devil himself. One thing for sure is that he has a higher ‘status’ compared to the rest of them though.]

    “...”

    It all sounded like a bunch of nonsense.

    The fact that the Devils held the highest status among all dimensions was something Iliya already knew.

    But...

    She couldn’t just ignore the fact that the man had materialized the Purple Devil’s Fragment like that. This suggested that he had the ability to ‘interfere’ with the Devil’s power in one way or another.

    [Of course, he hasn’t reached that point yet, but seeing how he’s able to exert his influence on them like that, when he’s finally finished growing, that will probably turn out to be the case. He’ll probably turn into the king of the Devils or something.]

    “...”

    [And you should already be aware of this already, but...]

    Iliya could only clench her mouth shut as the seraphim continued.

    The angel still talked slowly, but the emotions hidden behind her words had been extremely sharpened.

    [If he actually reaches that point, the angels of the Astral Realm would try to kill him.]

    “...”

    [I will remind you, the reason for the hero’s existence is to overpower the Devils. You don’t need me to spell it out, right?]

    “...Teach hasn’t completely turned into a Devil.”

    [As I’ve said, he’s already starting to turn into something inhuman, and he’s at the point of no—]

    “Seraphim.”

    Iliya called out to the angel, there was an unexpected smirk on her face.

    As if she was saying...

    That she had no thought of backing off no matter what the seraphim thought.

    “He still hasn’t become a Devil completely,  no?”

    [...]

    “So, let’s leave it at that until we’re sure that he has turned into a complete Devil.”

    Her tone was polite, but it was clear that she was threatening the angel to not cross the line.

    Hearing this, the seraphim let out a deep sigh.

    [...Oh my, it seems like I’ve lost too much of my power. This human hero even dares to turn on me just because of a single man.]

    She was telling the truth.

    Then again, she never expect that the hero would be so blinded by love that she willingly turned on one of the highest ranking angels like this.

    “...Anyways.”

    Hearing the seraphim’s grumble, Iliya continued with a smirk.

    “Even if it turns out that way, I’ll deal with it in my own ways.”

    [Hm?]

    “I’ll find a way to protect him.”

    ‘Whatever’ it is that he’d turned into...

    What I’d need to do won’t change.

    I’ll protect him no matter what.

    She made such a vow as she silently stroked the hilt of the Holy Sword.

    [...Even if all the angels of the Astral Realm are going to come out and kill him, you’ll still try to protect him?]

    “Yes.”

    [Are you telling me that you’re going to fight against all the angels? You aren’t being serious right now, right?]

    The seraphim asked in a dumbfounded voice.

    But Iliya answered her without any hesitation.

    “He’s someone I fall in love with. What else should I do?”

    [...]

    Forget it.

    Blinded by love? This isn’t a simple case of that.

    The seraphim then made a remark in a stunned voice.

    [...You’ve gone nuts, haven’t you, Hero?]

    “Well, they said that people who love each other will resemble each other. Considering how crazy Teach is, it’s no wonder that I was influenced by him.”

    She replied so casually.

    As if confirming the seraphim’s accusation.

    However this time, the angel had something she could dig into, and so she pointed it out sharply with a snort.

    [Didn’t you notice the amount of women around him? Who knows if he actually loves you back—]

    “Shut the fuck up.”

    [...]

    What came back was a threatening bark that was able to make even the seraphim shut her mouth for a moment.