“Great Champions, it is with great honor that I, King Charles the Third, send you upon this holy campaign!”

I am Elizabeth Michael, the newest saintess, freshly appointed to support the newly summoned Hero on his divine mission. We are currently in an audience with the King of this kingdom, waiting to officially receive our task. 

“Your purpose? To slay the new lord that seeks to forcefully unite the horrid demon race, a lord who seeks to conquer the world just to satiate their own greed!”

Demons, a powerful race with the innate ability to control the hordes of monsters that infest this world. Luckily, they are usually too preoccupied with warring amongst other demons, the only beings they consider important enough to be a threat, to be anything more than an occasional threat. But, once in a blue moon, a demon with particularly immense potential is born.

“This new lord has started amassing so much power that even other demons have begun to do what is usually deemed impossible, work together, ‘peacefully,’ against a common foe!”

What is truly rare though, is when such a demon manages to survive long enough to actually utilize any of their vast potential, as other demons, with their endless pride, greed, and paranoia, tend to purge any potential threats to themselves well before such things could even begin to oppose their self-proclaimed divine rule. If those demons see the new lord as a big enough threat for them to squander their pride and actually work together, we definitely need to take this seriously.

“With such a calamity on the horizon, the Gods have blessed us, the Holy Kingdom of Trimune, with a hero chosen from another world to save us!”

The Hero, the champion of the Gods. Currently kneeling next to me, I must admit that he is an enigma to me. He’s an average looking man in his early twenties, with his only real stand out feature being his black hair that is even longer than mine. What confuses me about him, though, is that he was only summoned a few hours ago. Right after we summoned him, he immediately declared, and then proved, that he already understood his mission and was ready to start his journey first thing tomorrow morning. Surprisingly, the king immediately set up court to announce our mission.

“While this journey will be long and arduous, know that the Gods will be watching over you. Now go, noble heroes, and fulfill your destinies!”

“Thank you, your majesty!”

After thanking the king, we could finally leave the throne room. While he is a good king, he does have an annoying penchant for speeches that are way longer than necessary. I couldn’t help but get lost in thought during his hour-long speech. Though, I have to respect him for creating such a long speech on the spot.

“Great Hero, do you require any help preparing for your journey?” A butler suddenly asked, awakening me from my thoughts.

“No need, I can handle any preparations by myself.” He then turned to us. “We will depart from the north gate tomorrow morning at six. Make sure you are properly prepared.” We couldn’t help but stare in confusion as heathen just left the castle without another word.

“Did the Hero really just leave? We haven't even been introduced to each other!” Melly shouts in disbelief. 

Melly Stonehart is a tan woman with wavy brown hair and eyes. While she is currently wearing a dress instead of her usual armor, nothing can hide her powerful build and presence, especially as she stands well over six feet tall. She hails from a family of famous warriors that are supposedly descendants of an Amazon tribe that migrated here centuries ago. She can be brash and aggressive, but is caring in her own way. She earned her place as our primary vanguard by her own merit, after winning one of our kingdom's yearly tournaments. 

“Indeed.” Hansen confirms while adjusting his glasses.

Hansen Rift looks like your standard scholar, wearing robes and thick glasses, so he wouldn’t seem out of place in some dusty library. Currently, his short dark brown hair is neatly combed, unlike his usual ‘I just woke up’ style, because of our audience. Despite his appearance and light build, he actually spends most of his time outdoors, training with his various summons. While he is fairly inquisitive, it is mostly of the adventuring kind, desiring to explore the world and acquire more summons. While he is often blunt and to the point, he means well. He tends to prefer the company of his elemental spirits over other people. He is able to fulfill many different roles by utilizing his diverse array of summons.(flat)

“How shall we deal with such a situation?” Gregory questions.

Gregory Magus, on the other hand, looks like the stereotypical noble that he effectively is. Dressed in an expensive red suit that matches his short, vibrant red hair, and blessed with a particularly attractive face, Gregory is quite popular. What is particularly impressive is that he is the current heir to his count family, despite having a brother five years older, having earned it with his exquisite skill in the arcane arts. Having already accomplished a basic mastery with every common element, his potential is readily apparent. Despite his popularity, though, he actually prefers to spend his time reading or studying magic over partying in the social world. He can often get lost in his studies and desires to learn more about how the world works.

“We should just leave him be and prepare ourselves for our possible journey tomorrow.” Rapunzel suggests.

Rapunzel Hawk is a taller woman, with eyes that fit her name, with chin length hair with the same blonde color as me. She is the oldest member of our group, at twenty six, with the maturity to match. Despite being around as tall as Gregory and the Hero, being just shy of six feet tall, she lacks presence. She has been raised to be a scout since she first started to walk and has been working for the crown for nearly a decade. She is knowledgeable about traveling and shall be our guide for our journey. She is a very serious person who doesn’t usually show her emotions. While she isn’t quite as powerful as the rest of us, she more than makes up for it in experience. 

“But what if he has any problems?” I question.

“Then we can deal with them tomorrow. And, should he miraculously be properly prepared tomorrow, we can set off like he intended. If not, this will serve as a lesson for him as we follow our original plan. Besides, he can always return to the castle should he need to.” Rapunzel explains.

Lastly there’s me, Elizabeth Michael, the newly appointed saintess chosen by the Gods to support the Hero. I am both the youngest and shortest member, despite being of average height. I am an orphan that has been raised by the church for longer than I can remember. I originally planned on becoming a priestess, healing the sick and injured, despite even being chosen as a potential saint. For the past few years, I have been training in all sorts of healing and supportive magics. While the saintess would normally have been chosen after another few years, being directly blessed has instantly marked me as the saintess, which is also how I got my last name. While I am nervous about what's to come, I am positive that everything will work out in the end.

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“Well, I guess we should get ready for tomorrow, it’s going to be busy, regardless of what happens.” I sighed.

“Indeed.” Hansen agreed.

“What an… interesting hero we have been blessed with.” Gregory commented.

“I hope he doesn’t cause any problems or just completely ignore our advice.” Melly said, not having much hope in the Hero being prepared at all.

“Indeed.” Hansen agreed.

After separating from everyone, I went back to my church to get prepared for tomorrow. After making sure I didn’t forget anything, I went to sleep, nervous about our upcoming adventure.

I woke up early to make sure I wouldn’t be late. After getting ready and doing one last check to make sure I didn’t somehow miss something, I waved goodbye to everyone and headed for the western gate.

When I arrived, I saw that Rapunzel was already waiting there.

“How long have you been waiting?” I couldn’t help but ask. I was already half an hour early.

“Half an hour.” she responded. ”I have to make sure everything is ready for our journey.”

“Do you believe we will actually be ready to leave?” 

“I prepared enough for the Hero as well, just in case he missed something but was otherwise deemed sufficiently prepared.” She responded. “While common sense would dictate a normal person being capable of proper preparation in his situation is slim, he is someone chosen by the Gods, so he may somehow actually be prepared for the journey ahead. I, at least, do not want to be the one to hold back the party.”

“I see. I didn’t think of that.” I say in amazement.

“Don’t worry, that's what I’m here for, to compensate for our group's relative inexperience.” She comforted.

“I’ll be in your care.” I say happily. She gives me a rare smile in response.

After waiting for several minutes, everyone had arrived, except for the Hero. Despite it being almost time to depart.

“Where is he?” Melly complains.

“He still has time, Melly.” Rapunzel states.

“Barely.” Melly responds. “But it’s common sense to arrive before the time of departure so that you can actually leave on time!” She continued in exasperation.

“There is a possibility the Hero meant this as the time to meet up, instead of to leave.” Gregory offers.

“That's not what he said though.” Melly retorts. “He said we would leave at six, right?”

“Indeed.” Hansen confirms.

“Regardless, even though the Hero was the one that created this plan, we should at least attempt to be patient. Besides, he is from another world, his words might contain slightly different meanings for him.” Gregory defends.

“Fine.” Melly relents.

“He’s here.” Rapunzel reports.

While everyone was busy arguing, the Hero had arrived.

“Took you long enough.” Melly complains.

“I arrived right on time. Now, if everyone is ready, we can head out right away." The Hero declares.

It was only then that I noticed that the Hero was wearing a completely different set of apparel. Instead of his odd, formal looking wear, he was currently wearing a standard cloth and leather outfit you often see travelers wearing. He even has a sword and spatial pouch. How did he get those? As far as I know, he never returned to the castle to request supplies or money.

“May I check what you brought, Hero?” Rapunzel asks.

“Sure.” he responded as he handed his bag over.

“Where did you get that stuff?” Melly questions.

“I helped out some people, so they rewarded me.” He responded indifferently.

“And how did you do that?” Melly continues.

“The Gods guided me.” He states factually.

…We couldn’t really respond to that. But, why would they do that for this hero when they haven’t for any others?

“Everything seems to be prepared. Also, do you plan on doing some mountain climbing?” Rapunzel asks after she checked everything. It seems that he prepared something odd.

“That's the plan.” He confirms.

“Why?”

“Because that's what the Gods told me we need to do.” He states, “So I prepared accordingly.” He continued before we could ask anything else. “Anything else? If not, let's head out.”

With that we could only follow him as he left the city.

“Where are we going?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Just follow me, I know where we need to go.”

“Understood.” I end up blankly responding. Ha, I guess we’ll just wait and see for now.

As we left the city, we finally got around to introducing ourselves.

“Hello, my name is Rapunzel Hawk. I am an archer and a scout. I can use a variety of special arrows should we need them, and I am also experienced in every part of traveling. Feel free to ask me if you ever need something.”

“Greetings, I am Gregory of house Magus. I have a basic mastery of all the basic elements, and am well versed in various fields of knowledge, such as history and geography, feel free to ask if you are in need of any information.”

“I’m Melly Stonehart, a warrior from a long line of warriors. As the primary vanguard, I will make sure no enemies can get past me. If you need muscle, I’m the one to talk to.”

“Hansen Rift, I have many elemental summons that are capable of many things. I’m looking forward to adventuring with you.” He introduces flatly. That’s apparently just the normal way that he talks.

“Hello Hero, my name is Elizabeth Michael, I am the new saintess of the church. While I may be new, I have directly received the blessings of the Gods, so my power and skill won’t hold you back. If you ever need anything, I’m always here to lend a hand.”

“I am the Hero, Franklin D. Roosevelt. As long as you listen to what I say, I can guarantee you the death of the demon lord.”

This Hero seems… confident. Yeah, let's go with that. I can't help but pray that the Gods chose the right person.

After we continued along the road for a while, the Hero, Franklin, suddenly decided to leave the roads and travel through the forest. He told us to just trust him, so we decided to see how things go. At least we are still near the city so it won’t be that dangerous, but I hope he at least realizes how difficult travel will be if we act like this.

After a while, Rapunzel stopped us.

“What's wrong?” I ask.

“There are four wolves up ahead.” she responds.

“If it’s just four wolves, why did we stop? We can easily handle some wolves.” Melly complains.

Before Rapunzel could respond, the Hero said ”I’ll handle them.” and went forward on his own. Before I could try to stop him, Rapunzel stopped me.

“Let’s see how he does.”

“But what if he gets hurt?” I ask worryingly. 

“That's what you’re here for. Besides, it’s better for him to learn his lesson now instead of when he’s in true danger.”

“But.” I continue.

“Don’t worry, I've seen many people arrogantly believe they were invincible. The best way to stop that behavior that I’ve found is to let them get hurt by their own decisions. Don’t worry.”

I nod in understanding, but that doesn’t make me any less nervous. As we were talking, the Hero met up with the wolves. But, why isn’t he ready? He doesn’t even have his weapon drawn. As the wolves lunged at him, I couldn’t help but close my eyes. 

I quickly realized that I needed to keep them open so that I could heal him as soon as possible. Haa, I’d even practiced this… Though, that was with trained professionals. When I opened my eyes though, Instead of an injured Hero, I saw that all of the wolves had already been slain.

“W-What happened?” I stutter. It was only a few seconds!

“He killed them.” Melly responds in shock.

“How?” I press.

“Perfectly.” Melly continued.

Before I could ask for clarification, the Hero called us to continue.

It didn’t take long for me to realize what Melly meant. Fight after fight, the Hero killed all of the monsters we met as if he's fought them thousands of times. That should be impossible though. The heroes summoned by the Gods always start out weak but have immense potential. That’s also why we were chosen instead of some of the many far more experienced and powerful people living in the kingdom. It’s so that everyone can grow together and eventually reach peaks far higher than normally possible. That’s how it's always been. Until now apparently. I’m not the only one that’s noticed as well. Everyone seems confused and concerned. Hopefully everything is fine. As long as he didn’t somehow lose any of his potential it should be fine… right?