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CHAPTER 5 – A STORY THAT’S STARTING TO CHANGE
PART 03
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By the time we returned from the Demon King’s fortress, Harissa’s execution was already underway.
Weighed down by cuffs on her wrists and neck, Harissa knelt on a platform before the masses, a haggard expression on her face. An executioner stood wordlessly behind her.
The plaza was absolutely crowded with people, eager to witness the public execution.
The crowd was so thick that it seemed impossible for me to push through, until I saw Iris pick up one person at a time and toss them aside, effectively clearing a way for us to make our way to the execution platform.
On a balcony of the palace behind the platform, a courtier unfurled what looked like a scroll. He was probably about to start pronouncing Harissa’s crimes…and when he finished, the axe would land on Harissa’s neck.
I’d never let that happen!
Hadn’t I already put an end to Harissa’s “story” and her misery!? Happiness was just waiting for her around the corner!
I wouldn’t let it all end this way!
The courtier rolled up the scroll again, before signalling to the executioner on the platform.
Lifting up a huge axe, the executioner made his way to stand beside Harissa. The blade was dull and chipped, but the axe looked heavy enough to cut through her slim neck with its massive weight alone.
“Stop right there!” I shouted in fury, but my voice was lost amidst the jeering crowd before it could reach Harissa.
The executioner lifted his axe.
I yelled out again, but my voice was once again drowned out.
Shit! This couldn’t be happening!
Harissa, can’t you put up a bit of a fight!? Why are you kneeling there so silently!?
She had said that she was a crybaby, but she wasn’t crying now.
There was no expression on her face.
It was clear that she had given up on everything. As if welcoming death, Harissa closed her eyes.
…Hey, don’t be such a fool!
“I told you not to give up, didn’t I!?”
*CRASH!*
Whoa, heavy! The axe was so heavy! But I managed to stop it. This was truly the “Hero’s Sword” I held in my hands.
“……”
However, the executioner, his face obscured by a mask, calmly pulled his axe away and raised it again.
Then, Iris lunged at him.
“What are you doing to my Rekka!?”
In a flash, she kicked out!
Thanks to the kick with a force several times that of an ordinary Earthling’s, the executioner flew off the platform.
“Hero-sama…?”
Harissa had opened her eyes, and was staring at me disbelievingly.
Before we could exchange more words, soldiers started to surround us, probably to capture us for interrupting the execution. I needed to do something about them first.
I looked up at the palace balcony, where the King and his courtiers were gathered to watch Harissa’s execution.
“Your Majesty! You recognize this Sword, don’t you!!?”
I raised up the “Hero’s Sword”, which I had used to fend off the executioner’s axe, and a commotion rose up from the group on the balcony as well as the masses. It seemed like the “Hero’s Sword”, together with the legend, was well-known amongst the people of this kingdom.
But I couldn’t rely on that. Rather than try to convince the King, it would be more effective to rouse up the public first.
“I am the true hero, chosen by the ‘Hero’s Sword’! I was summoned by the great mage Harissa Hope from another world to save this ailing kingdom from the Demon King, and I have just returned from his fortress!”
The commotion rose to a roar.
A hero had appeared, had been to the Demon King’s fortress, had returned… The anticipation in the masses’ eyes grew.
“Everyone, do not be fooled!”
Just then, a courtier yelled from the balcony.
It was the old man who had doubted the fact that I was a hero when I was first summoned to this world. I recognized him right away from his bald head and tiny moustache.
“This child was summoned just this morning! Even if he is the hero, it is impossible that he had travelled to the Demon King’s island and back again in such a short time!”
It was a justified accusation, based on common sense.
“Shut up, tiny moustache! I am the hero! Nothing is impossible for me!” I yelled back disdainfully.
I would have loved to explain the wonders of scientific advancements, but since time was tight, I had to do it another way.
That was why I had to produce undeniable proof right now.
“Iris, show them what we got.”
“No problem!”
Iris unclasped her pouch and opened it behind her, shielding its contents from everyone’s eyes.
Then, a large impact shook the plaza.
From the worm hole of her pouch, Iris pulled out…a roasted dragon head.
The sight of the dragon head, standing taller than a full grown man, was impressive enough. It would definitely convince everyone, who had never seen the Demon King before, that this was really its head. All the people in the plaza stared at the head, as if they had forgotten to panic.
And I was the man who had brought it here, the one who had retrieved the “Hero’s Sword”. There was no way that anyone could not believe that the dragon was the Demon King.
Even if that tiny moustache courtier were to create more trouble, I just had to cut through the barrier surrounding the Demon King’s fortress with the “Hero’s Sword”. With the barrier down, anyone would be able to enter the fortress and see the charred corpse of the Demon King. Nobody would dare to call Harissa a liar then.
I raised the Sword high again, so that it caught the light from the Sun.
“I’ve defeated the Demon King! You don’t have to live in fear of the Demon Army anymore!”
It was several seconds before deafening cheers filled the plaza.
Before the cheering masses could swarm over us, we escaped from the plaza. Harissa’s legs were too weak to run, so I swept her up in my arms.
We moved to a relatively empty location, where we met up with the waitress woman.
“Harissa-chan… I’m so glad.”
“Madam…”
Harissa and the sobbing woman embraced happily.
I let out a relieved sigh, finally certain that I had rescued her.
“I’m sorry to have doubted hero-zama,” the woman apologized between sobs.
“It’s alright, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that Harissa is alright.”
“T-T-Thank you, hero-sama~” Harissa gushed, with tears streaming down her face, and soon her thin prisoner’s garb was stained dark with her tears.
“Hey hey, you’re crying too much,” I joked.
“Uuuuh~ But my tears and sweat just won’t stop coming when I’m with hero-zama…” Harissa mumbled as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve. “Hero-sama has saved my life once again.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“B-but! I said that I wanted to help hero-sama, but~”
“Harissa… If you really want to repay me, will you come to Earth for a little while?”
“Earth?”
“It’s the world where I’m from. Something really bad is going to happen to it soon, and I’d like Harissa to help me save it.”
I disliked sounding so weak, but I really needed Harissa’s help.
“You really need me…?”
“Yes, please!”
“…Alright!”
Wiping at her eyes once more with her sleeve, an energetic smile bloomed on Harissa’s red face.
“I’ll do anything to be useful to Rekka-sama! Please let me help to save Earth, Rekka-sama’s homeland!”
“Thank you… First, let us go get your clothes and staff, Harissa.”
With this, all my characters and cards were in place.
It was time for the battle of the era.