An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

As a result, Meld was brutally murdered that night.

"I haven't repaid you yet... I haven't repaid you anything yet!"

Even as blood flowed from his clenched fist, Kosuke didn't notice. As he expressed his regret, his heart also bled.

At this moment, he recalled the time when he was attacked by Cattleya and the monster army in the [Orcus Great Labyrinth] and almost his entire army was wiped out.

The knights led by Meld risked their lives to buy Kosuke time to escape. Kosuke never forgot what Meld said that day.

He said, there is nothing we can do, sorry.

He said, you can only make a choice, sorry.

At this critical moment, Guanghui must at least be allowed to survive—he could only entrust this with reluctance.

Even so, when necessary, Meld and others sacrificed their lives to buy time and keep Kosuke alive.

Meld taught Kosuke that facing the cruel reality, "choice" is necessary. At the same time, it also made him understand how heavy it is.

He made Kosuke understand that this was the true nobility of self-sacrifice.

His companions and the people in the palace all praised Kousuke for bringing Hajime to the scene, praising him for dodging all the monsters, navigating the depths of the Great Labyrinth, and finding help. This was indeed a remarkable achievement.

However, Kosuke has never been proud of this.

Because the heroes at that time, the heroes in Kosuke's mind, were undoubtedly Meld and the knights who died gloriously.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

Kosuke himself didn't know why he apologized. Meld had finally survived with him, only to be killed. Kosuke's heart hadn't yet come to terms with the truth, he didn't even have any real feelings. He could only apologize, unable to stop.

At this moment──

"Endo-san..."

"Ah...Princess Liliana..."

Suddenly someone called Kosuke from behind. He was startled and turned around to look.

Standing behind them was Princess Liliana, likely presenting a flower, holding one. Behind her stood two women, one dressed in a maid's uniform, her long, dark brown hair tied back with a hairband. The other had blond hair and purple eyes, and was dressed in a knight's uniform. They were the head maid, Holina, and the new leader of the Knights, Kujeli Rael.

As a scout in the team and active on the front line, he allowed the princess and the maid to approach him from behind without him noticing. This fact made Kosuke look down on himself even more, and he couldn't help but smile at himself.

"...You look terrible. I heard from Mr. Nagayama and the others that you've barely gotten any sleep lately, right?"

"Uh, no... I..."

"Perhaps you should let Miss Aiko cast some calming magic on you."

"...I'll think about it."

Kosuke lowered his head and turned, as if ready to flee the scene. His sullen expression made it clear he had no intention of following Liliana's advice. He didn't want his feelings of regret and self-blame to fade.

Kosuke lowered his head and hurriedly passed by Liliana and others.

Liliana also understood that even Kosuke's good friends couldn't help him with his heartache, and that nothing she said would help. Although she was filled with helplessness, she couldn't stop Kosuke.

Surprisingly, another person spoke up.

"No one can replace Meld Loggins."

The new leader, Ku Jieli, said this unexpectedly. Kosuke seemed to think Ku Jieli was blaming him, so he shrank back and stopped.

"He is great. Not only the knights and soldiers, but even the common people love him. He is admired by the warriors and a symbol of the kingdom's knights."

Ku Jieli stared at the Chunrei Pagoda, and when she said this, she turned to face Kosuke, her long golden hair swaying.

Her slender eyes, like amethyst, stared intently at Kosuke. Ku Jieli was tall and beautiful, and her gaze was powerful. Kosuke was startled by her glare and took three steps back.

However, what she said next was completely opposite to what Kosuke expected, and was actually discouraging.

"I simply cannot replace such a great man. I don't have the ability to take his place. I can't even compare to him in terms of popularity or ability. The mere thought of such a heavy responsibility makes me feel like I can't even stand."

"Kujieli, that's not the case—"

"Princess, please wait a moment."

Knowing that Ku Jieli felt unworthy of her current position, Liliana subconsciously wanted to correct her. However, Helina seemed to notice something and shook her head, stopping her.

"Excuse me...what do you want to say?"

"Lord Loggins has passed away. However, he also left behind something precious. That's what I want to say."

Kosuke, who had been refusing to look the other person in the eye, only raised his head slightly at this moment.

"You left behind something precious?"

"Yes. He left us the truth of the sword and the character of a knight. More importantly, Endo-sama, he also left you behind."

"us……"

"Exactly. That's why, even though I knew I couldn't handle it, I still decided to take over his position."

Everything was done to protect what that person wanted to protect, and all the teachings he left behind. After summarizing herself in this way, Kujieli's expression suddenly softened.

"Endo-sama. He often spoke of you when he was alive... He said you were a strange creature, that you were always nowhere to be found, that you frightened people, and that you always got into bad luck. He also said he had never seen anything as strange as you in his life."

"Is he... uh... insulting me?"

If this were true, it would be too much for Kousuke to cry. In fact, tears were almost flowing. However, Ku Jieli chuckled softly, her expression still gentle, and continued:

"But it's very reliable."

"what?"

"Even though he's not very impressive, he'll definitely become more intelligent and reborn in the future. Then he'll definitely be their trump card. Kousuke's future is the one to look forward to—that's what he said."

"Captain, you actually... said that..."

Kosuke's vision blurred, his voice trembled, and he was completely speechless. Ku Jieli walked towards him and shook his hand.

She cast recovery magic to heal Kosuke's bleeding palm and asked in a calm tone.

"Master Endo. You probably also have something left behind by Meld Loggins in your heart, don't you?"

Kosuke gritted his teeth, his mind flashing back to the time he spent with Meld.

“I…I…”

Of course he did. The man he looked up to as his elder brother had left him with so many things.

Thinking of this fact, a little fire seemed to ignite in his frozen heart. Kosuke began to feel ashamed of himself for being so depressed. If Meld saw him like this, he would be so ashamed that he couldn't even raise his head.

My heart, weighed down by regret and self-blame, cheered up a little.

However, it seemed a little too late for him to cheer up.

A silver flash shot up into the sky, at the other end of the palace.

After a pause, the silence was replaced by a loud noise that seemed to wake even the dead.

“W-What’s wrong!?”

Kousuke jumped in surprise and turned his head. Ku Jieli quickly stepped in front of Liliana and said in surprise.

"Could it be... an enemy attack!? But where on earth are they coming from!?"

"Princess, please evacuate immediately!"

"Wait, Holina! That place is... bad! Aiko-san and the others are in danger!"

Liliana's face turned pale, and Holina, who was standing beside her, pulled out a dagger with a fierce look on her face.

At this time, Kosuke had already run out.

This was not a conscious action on his part, and he could not hear the voice calling him from behind.

Driven by anxiety...

"Everyone……!"

The body moved on its own.

Almost at the same moment.

There was thunderous cheering in the central square, and Youhua's stunt performance entered its most exciting stage.

Now she was throwing not only the knives but also pieces of fruit, each about the size of her palm, in graceful parabolic arcs. Twelve knives, eighteen pieces of fruit. In this incredible juggling act, she was throwing a staggering thirty objects.

"Open your eyes and watch carefully! Yuuka-nee is about to show off her ultimate move! Clap! Clap!"

"Children who cheer for their sister will receive a reward!"

Nana and Taeko jumped around Yuka happily, livening up the atmosphere and making the cheers in the square even louder.

The children watching from the front row had their eyes sparkling. Even the adults were thrilled to see the knives and fruits flying high like a fountain.

Even if it's just for a brief moment, I hope it can help people escape their sadness temporarily.

Yuka performed with such care and undoubtedly achieved the effect she wanted.

Honestly, even for Yuka, throwing thirty objects at once was a struggle. However, even if she failed, she could still play the clown and make you laugh, so she decided to use a special move at the end.

"Hah, yo, ha!"

She forced herself a little to let out an exaggerated cry, showing off her miraculous skills, making the short knife intersect with the fruit in the air, cutting the fruit into several equal parts in mid-air.

Nana and Taeko quickly caught the cut fruits on plates and distributed them to the children with a smile.

"Yuuka-chan, your skills are getting better and better!"

"Well, ah! From a certain perspective, it can be considered as training, right?"

With fewer objects to throw, Yuka seemed relatively relaxed and responded to Nana's compliments with a smile.

"Now Nagumo-san will surely admire you! That's great, Yuuka!"

"What's good about that!?"

Yuka's face, which was still smiling, suddenly turned red. Suddenly, she lost her grip and the short knife fell on Nana's forehead.

These twelve daggers are actually a set of artifacts. As long as one of them is in hand, the others can be recalled at any time. Therefore, Yuhua's failure this time did not lead to tragedy. However, it is still very scary.

Initially thinking there had been an accident, the audience was so nervous they forgot to breathe. However, Nana immediately smiled cheerfully, making the audience think that the mistake was part of the performance, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, not noticing the little tears in the corners of Nana's eyes.

"Yuuka-chan! If you want to blame someone, blame Miu-chan! I thought I was dead!"

"I'm sorry, Yuuka! You should choose the right time to tease me. It's my fault!"

"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't tease me?!"

The three continued to smile at the audience and chatted as usual. Finally, Yuka threw the last knife high into the air, and just as she was about to bring the performance to a close,

"Hmm...? What's that?"

A sight out of the corner of her vision caught her attention.

There seemed to be something above the palace... Yuhua narrowed her eyes and was about to confirm when she saw a silver light falling towards a corner of the palace.

The silver light actually blasted through the roof made of solid stone and metal.

"Nana, Nana! Taeko!"

"Huh!? What's going on? What happened?!"

"Yuuka!? I'm sorry, there's no need to be so harsh!?"

Amidst thunderous applause and cheers, the audience saw Yuuka's face, not a charming smile, but a sullen, threatening expression. As for Nana and Taeko, since they hadn't seen what had just happened, they were naturally confused by Yuuka's reaction.

Without caring about the audience and the other two's mood, Yuka caught the last short sword and started running.

"Everyone, excuse me! Also, please stay as far away from the palace as possible!!"

Seeing Yuka's anxious expression, the audience made way for her like Moses parting the sea. Yuka passed through at an astonishing speed, and Nana and Taeko hurriedly followed.

"Yuuka-chan!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Can you at least explain it!?"

"The enemy is attacking! Silver light is falling on the area where we live!"

The two looked in surprise in the direction Yuka pointed, and their expressions changed suddenly.

Parts of the roof and wall vanished without a trace, leaving behind neat, almost frightening cuts. Witnessing this silent destruction, the two men gasped.

"That magical light is the same as Kaori's after she changed her body! I heard from Koai-sensei that the enemy who captured her and fought against Nagumo at that time would use magic to disintegrate the target!"

Yuka said this as she leaped onto the roof of a lower building. Using her physical strength, which far surpassed that of the Todas people, she continued to jump from roof to roof, reaching where her companions were in the shortest straight line.