/
CHAPTER 2 – I’M JUST A LEVEL 1 VILLAGER, CAN I DEFEAT THE DEMON KING?
PART 07
——
Using the warp watch, we returned to the palace’s resource room.
“Now, please return me to the world I came from.”
“Are you going already!?”
“Yes.”
I’d said it numerous times, I really didn’t have time.
In order to return to where I came from, I just needed Abraham’s summoner -Harissa- to teleport me back. It should be easy.
“Come on, I’m begging you.”
“
So you’re really going to leave?”
Yes, wasn’t that what I’ve been saying all along?
Just why was Harissa hesitating to send me back? The hero she’d summoned (I guess it really was me) had defeated the Demon King. She just needed to report to the King and get herself pardoned. I was sure my presence wasn’t required there.
“Stareeeee
”
With that stupid sound effect, R stared at me as well, waiting for an answer.
I just don’t get it.
Guess I just have to convince Harissa.
“Why don’t you want me to leave?”
“That’s because
 Well
 I haven’t reported to His Majesty yet
 He will surely wish to celebrate the defeat of the Demon King. S-so, hero-sama will need to attend the festivities
”
“No. It was pure luck that I managed to defeat the Demon King, so I don’t need any celebration. Besides, I really need to return to my former world.”
“
Is there someone waiting for hero-sama there?”
“Huh? Well, yeah.”
I’m guessing Satsuki and Iris were still waiting for my rescue.
“I see
”
Huh? Why did Harissa suddenly look so sad?
“Jesus
”
R exclaimed as she spun herself round and round in midair. She sounded exactly like my old man when he couldn’t get the cap off of his beer bottle.
“I understand. I’ll send you back to your former world.”
“Yes, please.”
“But before you go
please take this with you.”
Harissa passed a bracelet neatly woven out of red thread to me.
“A red bracelet?”
“It’s a magical item known as a ‘Red String’. Now
”
Harissa pulled out a single thread from the Red String and tied it around her little finger.
“The Red String serves to weave people’s destinies together. As long as hero-sama is wearing it, you just have to wish really hard and you will be transported to Abraham anytime.”
“Ooh.”
So it was a one-way ticket to travel between worlds.
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“I know I wasn’t of any help when hero-sama was battling the Demon King, but should you meet with any difficulty when you return to your former world, I hope that I’ll be able to help as much as I can.”
“You’ve helped me out lots, Harissa, so don’t worry about that,” I said as I smiled sheepishly at her.
“What do you mean!?” Harissa shouted angrily.
It was the first time I’d seen her angry.
“Hero-sama has no idea how grateful I am to you! If you hadn’t come, I would have been sentenced to death. You battled the Demon King in my place, because I was too pathetic. This gratitude will never be repaid no matter how much I do.”
Shocked at Harissa’s threatening look, I could only nod in agreement.
Harissa rubbed at her eyes. Her outburst must have reduced her to tears.
“Please use the Red String. I’ll definitely make myself useful.”
“
Alright. Thank you.”
I couldn’t bear to return the Red String after what she’d said, anyway, so I just took the item and thanked her.
Harissa drew a geometrical magic square on the floor of the resource room. I couldn’t decipher any of the characters written inside the square, but I could see that it was just wide enough for one person to stand within.
“This one looks alot smaller than the previous square.”
“Summoning is a difficult process, but teleportation is relatively simple.”
“Hmm
 So I guess the most important part of the procedure is the summoning itself, right?”
As we chatted, I finally decided to ask Harissa about something which had been on my mind all this while.
“Harissa, you’re actually a very talented mage, aren’t you?”
“Huh? T-t-that’s not true. I’m a failed summoner
”
“But it must have been a really tough spell, that secret royal ritual that summoned me to this world?”
“Well, I guess.”
“See? Harissa definitely has the talent to summon spirits and other beings. And to control the summoned spirits, you just need to be driven and focused, right? I don’t really know
 But Harissa, I think you just need a little self-confidence.”
“Self-confidence?”
“Yes. I mean, you’re the only mage in the hero’s party, and we defeated the Demon King. So you just need to be more confident from now on, and stop beating yourself down.”
Whoa, just when did I become such a lecturing old man?
Even so, I knew in my heart that what I said was the right thing.
The real reason why I was determined to defeat the Demon King was because she really wished for me to do so. Before she’d given up and resigned herself to unhappiness, she had believed that she could be happy
 Without that, one can never lead an ordinary life.
I wished for Harissa to hang on tight to happiness from now on
 Was I asking for too much? Oh well, I’d probably never see her again, so I guess it was alright to leave her with such cheesy sayings.
The magic square filled with light
and just before I was teleported away, I thought I heard Harissa whisper,
“
If I can, I really hope to see you again, my hero-sama.”