Summoned by a Goddess, the Strongest of Our Time Goes to Another World to Defeat Twisted and Corrupt

Returning to the center of the city of Melwa, Eisuke and his group gathered the citizens and held Hiroto, bound with ropes, before their eyes.

“This is the Hero who has been threatening your city. I have already defeated him, so from now on you can sleep without fear.”

Eisuke said irreverently. The citizens just looked at him and his group in disbelief at the sudden turn of events. Eisuke sighed and looked at Marielle. She removed the hood she was wearing, exposing her beautiful blonde hair to the dark night.

“Pri-Princess Marielle! Why are you here?”

“You-You’re safe…!”

The citizens became instantly noisy. Marielle spoke to them calmly.

“Dear people of Melwa. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for allowing the Hero to reign for so long due to my inability to stop him. But we have already captured him here. By the hands of those I have recently summoned and trusted.”

The attention of the citizens naturally turned to the people Marielle pointed out. When the citizens saw the defeated Hero, the questioning eyes that had been fixed on Eisuke and the others were replaced by respectful glances. Marielle raised her voice.

“You need no longer fear the Hero. I pledge that, with the cooperation of these people, I will restore this country and bring true peace. Let us begin here in Melwa! The restoration of the Arestine Empire by our hands!”

The citizens looked at each other at Marielle’s lofty declaration. …But soon, there was a burst of applause from the crowd. It spread quickly and gradually grew louder. Soon, loud cheers joined the applause, and a festive mood spread throughout the place.

“…I am very happy for you, My Lady…”

“Yes, so am I.” Marielle responded to Rukino’s soft tone with a tear on her cheek, not taking her eyes off the excited citizens. This was a big first step. It might not be long before this scene could be seen in the Imperial City… Marielle had such expectations in her heart.

“Hey, and why did you do it?”

Serika casually asked Hiroto, who was still tied up and tilting his head back. Hiroto was silent for a moment, then answered with an exhalation.

“…Because I hate couples…”

“Thank you very much for that simple and arguable reason.”

“I don’t want there to be any romantic feelings in this world. Only humans have romantic feelings while animals do not. That’s why there are so many problems in the human world. I wanted to create a world without the need for love here…”

Hiroto said while grunting. Sometimes romantic feelings could cause excessive jealousy. Sometimes problematic lust could be mistaken for romantic love. Those problems, which did not exist in animals, occurred among people who had romantic feelings. Hiroto was not wrong.

“…But there are times when you can give your best because you have feelings for someone, like romantic feelings.”

“What?”

…It was Yui who said those words to Hiroto. She put her hand on her chest as if to confirm her feelings.

“I want to communicate with them. I want them to respond to my feelings. That feeling can turn into unlimited power. I want to do my best for this person. I want to move forward together. Just by thinking about that special someone, everything around you can become positive. I think that’s why people… fall in love…”

Saying this, Yui tightly grabbed Eisuke’s sleeve. Eisuke seemed to hesitate at the sudden gesture, but Yui smiled softly. Hiroto’s mouth dropped open at the sight.

“I’ll return you to the world you came from.”

Marielle’s body was enveloped in a holy light. Pale light particles of seven colors gushed forth, and a geometric magic circle appeared at Hiroto’s feet. He looked at Eisuke for the last time.

“Hey, you.”

“What do you want now?”

“Let me tell you something.”

Eisuke frowned. Hiroto laughed and said a few words to him.

“You make me jealous.”

“Shut up!”

“Ma-may the Goddess bless you in your future life?”

With Marielle’s confused parting words, Hiroto too was enveloped in the dazzling light and returned to his old world…