I chased after Furiae-san.
I pass by the plaza in front of the guild where everyone is being noisy at, and arrive at the public graveyard of Makkaren.
Furiae-san seems to like graveyards…
Reminds me of the time I first met her.
Her light color one piece and long black hair was shining within the moonlight and it made for an illusory sight.
It is kinda hard to talk to her, so I was watching her state from the shadows of a tree.
“Tsui~. Urya, urya.” (Furiae)
“Naaa, naaa.”
Furiae-san was rubbing the chin of a familiar black cat and it purred in response.
Wait, the name of the black cat has been set, huh…
I was watching for a while, and she turned over here.
“Need something, My Knight?” (Furiae)
Oops, got noticed.
“You stealthily disappeared, so I was wondering what’s the matter.” (Makoto)
I came out from behind the tree while scratching my head.
Of course I would get noticed without using Stealth.
“…Today was rough, right? I heard you lowered your lifespan to defeat the Ancient Dragon?” (Furiae)
“There was no other method.” (Makoto)
The black cat, Tsui, comes over to me and rubs its face on my pants.
This little one is cute.
“That demonic beast seems to have taken a liking to you.” (Furiae)
“Yeah, it is a pretty amiable cat—demonic beast?!” (Makoto)
I quiver and look at the black cat.
Its round eyes were looking up at me.
It has chihuahua-like eyes.
This is a demonic beast? No way.
That’s a joke, right?
“You didn’t notice? Even your weak Charm Magic was effective, so it probably has water element mana. Maybe you synced with it unconsciously?” (Furiae)
“…Seriously? You were a magic cat?” (Makoto)
I rub the head of the black cat.
It nuzzles against me with its head lovingly.
You won’t be using water mid rank magic in the future, right?
If you do that, I will cry, you know?
“…By the way, it isn’t dangerous, right?” (Makoto)
“It is a monster larva, so it is weak. And in the first place, it has been Charmed, so it is okay.” (Furiae)
I see. If she says it is okay, fine.
Let’s finish the casual chat here.
“You seem to be in low spirits.” (Makoto)
The expression of Furiae-san darkens.
She doesn’t want to talk about it?
I don’t really want to force her into saying it…
“My Knight…” (Furiae)
Furiae-san looks straight at me.
“…The Snake Church was apparently the one behind the stampede of today.” (Furaie)
“Aah, did the people at the guild say that?” (Makoto)
It is still on the level of a rumor.
Once the investigation progresses, it should be made clear.
“The Snake Church is composed of demons. You know that, right?” (Furiae)
Furiae-san continues speaking with a dark expression.
“I do know that.” (Makoto)
What is she trying to get at?
“…I have demon blood… In other words, I am a devilkin.” (Furiae)
She says this with a fleeting voice and averted gaze.
“I see.” (Makoto)
I heard that most of the people that lived in Laphroaig were devilkin.
Furiae-san is from the Moon Country.
I feel like that’s not too surprising of a statement.
“Are you surprised? The Moon Oracle being a devilkin.” (Furiae)
“Not really…” (Makoto)
“You are lying!” (Furiae)
Eeeh…
“There was a time when I was invited to become an executive of the Snake Church. I obviously refused, but the attack this time might have been aiming for me…” (Furiae)
Furiae-san’s voice was sullen.
She was thinking that, huh.
I don’t know why Makkaren was attacked, but I don’t think the reason for attacking a whole city is because of Furiae-san.
“Being together with the Cursed Oracle that has demon blood won’t bring anything good. Hey, My Knight, it was for a short while, but I had fun. You must have continued being my Guardian Knight because Ryosuke asked you to, but I will undo the Guardian Knight pact h—” (Furiae)
“Wait, Furi!”
A shout echoed in the silent graveyard.
When I look back, Lucy and Sa-san were there.
Hm? Since when were they here?
“Lu-chan said ‘Takatsuki-kun and Fu-chan have sneaked out secretly together, so we have to chase them’.” (Aya)
Sa-san chuckles as she explains.
“Wa?! Aya! You don’t have to tell them that.” (Lucy)
They were worried about that?!
“In the first place, Takatsuki-kun wouldn’t do something like that… He already has 3 girlfriends…” (Aya)
S-Sa-san, your Intimidation is leaking!
My Detection is ringing alarms here.
Also, eyes devoid of light are scary.
The Intimidation of Sa-san was making my back shiver.
Tsui at my feet is grooming itself carefreely.
You seriously lack a sense of danger.
That’s Intimidation that made even dragons run away, you know…
This little one might be bigger than we think.
“What did you come here to do, Mage-san?” (Furiae)
Furaie-san’s tone was tough.
“What, you say? You plan on leaving the party of Makoto, Furi?” (Lucy)
Straight to the point. That’s Lucy.
“Yeah. A problematic girl like me will only bring trouble to you people.” (Furiae)
“That’s…not true. Right, Takatsuki-kun?” (Aya)
Sa-san looks at me as if asking for help.
“A girl travelling alone is dangerous.” (Makoto)
“I will be okay. I will make a number of undead knights from this graveyard and have them protect me.” (Furiae)
Looks like she has properly thought about it.
But I can’t just go ‘fine then’.
(Hmm, this must be that…) (Makoto)
I remembered the conversation I had with Sakurai-kun.
◇◇
The conversation I had with him when he was teaching me Sword Magic.
“Furiae doesn’t call you and Sasaki-san by your names, right?” (Sakurai)
“Aah, that’s true. I wonder why.” (Makoto)
She calls me ‘My Knight’.
Lucy ‘Mage-san’.
Sa-san ‘Warrior-san’.
She calls them by their job names.
Only Sakurai-kun is called by his name.
I didn’t pay it much mind though.
“That’s apparently because the people close to Furiae-san in the past all died.” (Sakurai)
“……”
“The people who raised her, her friends, the people who worshipped the Moon Oracle; they all died. That’s why, when she calls people by their name, she would get sad when they die and are separated from her, so she doesn’t call people by their names.” (Sakurai)
“…That’s heavy.” (Makoto)
Seriously?
That was the reason?
“By the way, I am the Light Hero, so she said ‘you won’t be dying no matter what happens, so I will call you by your name’.” (Sakurai)
“I-I see…” (Makoto)
I thought for sure she was a tsundere that only called the person she liked by his name.
“Why are you telling me this?” (Makoto)
“I thought that maybe you would be able to open the heart of Furiae.” (Sakurai)
“Eeeh~.” (Makoto)
I have communication anxiety though.
“You have been the kind of person that weird people get attracted to since way before, right?” (Sakurai)
“…That’s not true.” (Makoto)
“Our english teacher in middle school, Takahashi-sensei, had taken a liking to you, right? Even though she was strict to all the other students, she was kind only to you, Takatsuki-kun.” (Sakurai)
Sakurai-kun grins with a mischievous look.
“Please forget that story…” (Makoto)
That’s a dark past of mine.
I ended up calling the english female teacher, Takahashi-sensei (30 years, unmarried), when she was relieving her stress in the game center, and competed with her then.
She ended up taking quite a liking to me since then…
We exchanged contact information.
Long mails began to come.
Calls would be made every single night to my cell phone.
That was scary…
“Well, I will do my best in opening the heart of Furiae-san.” (Makoto)
“Yeah, I know it will be okay if it is you, Takatsuki-kun.” (Sakurai)
Leaving aside the talk of the past, I tell Sakurai-kun that I would do what I can.
I remember that conversation.
◇◇
(Looks like I couldn’t make her open her heart, Sakurai-kun.) (Makoto)
Furiae-san is trying to leave on her own.
But well, I feel like it should be okay to speak out openly for a bit before that.
“Hey, you are bothered by the fact that you have demon blood, right?!” (Lucy)
That Lucy, she used Eavesdrop, didn’t she.
“…That’s right. It is obvious that no one would want to get along with a devilkin—” (Furiae)
“By the way, my father is a demon! In other words, I am half-demon! What do you think about that, Furi?” (Lucy)
“Heh?” (Furiae)
Ooh, that’s rare.
The cool beauty Furiae-san is shocked.
Now that I think about it, we haven’t told her about our backgrounds.
“Eh? Aren’t you an elf? Ah, but your hair is red… But, half…demon?” (Furiae)
“That’s right! But Makoto didn’t mind that! You look completely like a human, so your demon blood should be even thinner than mine, right?” (Lucy)
Lucy is showing a face of ‘how’s that?!’.
Furiae-san was looking over here with an expression as if saying she doesn’t know what to do.
“U-Uhm, does My Knight and the Warrior-san…not mind?” (Furiae)
Sa-san and I look at each other.
“That’s…to tell you the truth, I am like this.” (Aya)
Sa-san undid the Change.
The Lamia Sa-san appears.
It has been a while since I have seen that form~.
“Kya! M-Monster!” (Furiae)
Furiae-san screams.
“Aah, it hurts a bit when you scream like that.” (Aya)
“S-Sorry, Warrior-san.” (Furaie)
“Oh well, that’s fine~.” (Aya)
Sa-san returns to her human form while laughing.
“Weren’t you an otherworlder, Warrior-san…?” (Furiae)
“Yeah, from the same world as Takatsuki-kun. But I reincarnated…apparently -as a Lamia in Laberintos.” (Aya)
“…T-That can happen?” (Furiae)
She looks at both Lucy and Sa-san.
Furiae-san then looks over here.
“Hey, My Knight, what about you?” (Furiae)
“What ‘what’?” (Makoto)
“You actually reincarnated as a demon or a monster?” (Furiae)
“No, I am a pure otherworlder.” (Makoto)
“I-I see.” (Furiae)
Furiae-san sighs in relief.
“Well, I am the Apostle of an Evil God though.” (Makoto)
“Huh?!” (Furiae)
The loudest voice she has let out today.
“You are the Hero of Rozes, right?! Don’t say made-up stuff! I won’t be fooled!” (Furiae)
Even if you tell me that…
“It is true. It may be vexing, but Hero Makoto is an Apostle of an Old God.”
A clear voice suddenly resounds.
“Sofia?” (Makoto)
Princess Sofia in priestess clothes.
Why is she here?
“Princess Sofia, you are the Water Oracle, right?! There’s no way the Water Goddess would designate the Apostle of an Evil God as a Hero!” (Furiae)
“…I have received permission personally from her.” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia speaks in a slightly defeated tone.
“…There’s no way…such a ridiculous thing is…” (Furiae)
Leaving aside Furiae-san who is frozen stiff in shock…
“Sofia, why are you at a place like this?” (Makoto)
This is a graveyard, you know?
“Eir-sama told me that Hero Makoto is here.” (Sofia)
Eir-sama…you are pretty frank in your conversations, huh.
The same as Noah-sama.
“…E-Even if that’s true! It is said that I am the reincarnation of the avatar of calamity from 1,000 years ago! You will be hated no matter where you go! If you are together with me, you people will definitely face misfortune! I am a troublesome existence that doesn’t fit in any country!” (Furiae)
Furaie-san continues to belittle herself.
“Hey, Princess.” (Makoto)
I take a step and grab her hand.
“““……”””
The gazes of Lucy, Sa-san, and Princess Sofia get more severe.
No, I won’t be doing anything weird, okay?
“Shall I tell you my objective as an Apostle?” (Makoto)
“…What’s that, so sudden.” (Furiae)
“Defeat the Great Demon Lord, take away the authority the Holy Gods have in this world, and restore the family of Noah-sama.” (Makoto)
““?!””
Ah!
Not only Furiae-san, even Princess Sofia stiffened.
Right, I don’t think I have told her that yet.
“E-Eir-sama! You knew the objective of Hero Makoto? …Eh? You did? I-I see… Haah, you say there’s no problem? …Are you sure?” (Sofia)
That’s a relief. Eir-sama covered for me.
I should properly explain it to her later.
Furiae-san is still frozen.
“Ooi, Princess.” (Makoto)
“……Is My Knight an idiot?” (Furiae)
Hmm, it is true that my objective is slightly grandiose, but there’s one thing I can say for sure.
“No matter if you are here or not, I am an Apostle of an Evil God, and the enemy of the world.” (Makoto)
I pause for a second and…
“That’s why, turn around the world together with me!” (Makoto)
(Nailed it.) (Makoto)
Perfect communication skills, negotiation 100.
I thought that was pretty good but…
“““……”””
Lucy, Sa-san, and Princess Sofia were showing dubious reactions.
The important Furiae-san is making a hard to describe expression.
I don’t know what she is thinking.
But she said one thing.
“…I will put the matter of undoing the pact on hold.” (Furiae)
She mutters.
We succeeded in stopping her!
We did it, Sakurai-kun!
You three, stop making those apathetic expressions!
◇◇
We returned to the guild together.
Ah, Princess Sofia is together with her bodyguards.
The surroundings of the guild are filled with drunkards as always.
One of them approaches us.
“Hey~, Makoto-kuun. I have something to talk with you about.” (Emily)
“Emily? It is rare to see you drunk.” (Makoto)
Emily had a red face as she dragged me and Lucy to their drinking party.
Oi, Jean, do something about this girl.
She is your fiance, right? Watch over her properly.
Is what I was thinking, but he is sprawled on the floor sleeping.
“You were kissing Lucy when we were fighting the stampede, right? Even though everyone was desperately fighting… That’s unbelievable~.” (Emily)
“Y-You were watching, Emily?!” (Lucy)
“No…that was to use Spirit Magic…” (Makoto)
Lucy and I flusteredly explain.
“Aah! I heard that too, Makoto-kun! Even if you are a Hero, doing lewd stuff with a girl in the middle of battle is not good! And so, me too~.” (Mary)
Even Mary-san joined!
Wait, don’t come kissing me so casually!
Don’t push me down!
My lifespan was reduced and I don’t have any stamina right now!
The adventurers were going ‘woo!’ and others were clicking their tongues.
The usual Adventurer Guild of Makkaren.
“Oh, the one being attacked seems to be my fiance.”
A cold voice blows by.
Princess Sofia looks down at us with a freezing gaze.
Yeah, we were together after all.
I had been pushed down to the ground by Mary-san.
“…So…fia…-sama?” (Mary)
Ooh, Mary-san went past sobriety and was now pale white.
“Oi, did you hear that? Fiance.” “Eeeeh?!” “No way, Sofia-sama?!” “Oh mai Gad!”
I heard screams from everywhere.
As popular as ever, Princess Sofia.
“Hero Makoto, it is good that you are acting like a ‘Hero’ here, but keep it in moderation.” (Sofia)
She looks at me as if watching a pig as she passes by.
The Guardian Knight Old Man and the bodyguards were following her at her back.
Princess Sofia whispers something to the Guardian Knight Old Man.
“We apologize for dampening the mood of today’s celebration! Celebrate to your heart’s content! Everything will be paid by the Rozes royal family today!”
When the old man announces this, the adventurers go ‘UOOOOOOH!!’ and cause a ruckus.
Princess Sofia speaks at that moment.
“However, that Hero Makoto there is my fiance, so, from now on, whenever you want to get close to him, you have to pass by me first.” (Sofia)
She declares flatly.
From now on, huh.
“Looks like there’s no problem, Mary-san.” (Makoto)
“E-Eh? Really? I won’t be fired from my job as a receptionist?” (Mary)
“I think you will be fine.” (Makoto)
Not sure though.
After that, Princess Sofia and the Water Templar were placed at a special table deep at the guild.
I spoke to Princess Sofia for a while, and was made to drink by the Guardian Knight Old Man.
After that, I was made to drink in a whole lot of tables.
(This is bad. It has been a while since I have drunk this much…) (Makoto)
I was sitting at a random part of the floor and was drinking water.
The noise at the Guild was not showing any signs of stopping.
I wanted to hear the conversations of the people around, so I used Eavesdrop and…
—These are the conversations I heard.
“Man, that’s impressive, ain’t it? Our Hero-sama of Makkaren.”
“Yeah yeah. I got shivers when he drove off the horde of monsters. I even thought ‘please embrace me!’ after all!”
“Aah, I should have joined his party with Lucy when he was a Bronze Rank.”
T-They are talking about me.
“Stop that. You are going to get glared at by Princess Sofia.”
“Right right, the current Makoto is the brother-in-law of the coming King.”
“Moreover, he is in a romantic relationship with Lucy-chan and Aya-chan, right?”
“Tch! That damn harem bastard.”
The one saying extreme stuff is the man that screamed at the betrothal announcement of Princess Sofia.
He probably liked Princess Sofia.
“Alright! Let’s decide on a nickname for Makoto! Three-Way Hero?”
“No, from what I can see, that Makoto bastard must have put his hands on Mary-san and Furi-san already.”
“…Seriously? Doing whatever he wishes to 5 girls?”
“Shameless Pole Hero.”
“Shameless Pole Hero it is! The birth of the Shameless Pole Hero Makoto of Makkaren!”
“Alright! We are spreading that nickname!”
“““““Yeaaaah!”””””
“You guys! Don’t screw around!” (Makoto)
I am a virgin!
I obviously couldn’t condone that and raided that table.
“W-Wait, Makoto?!” (Lucy)
“Takatsuki-kun, calm down!” (Aya)
Sa-san and Lucy immediately held me back.
L-Let me go!
I am gonna hit them with Water Balls (0 damage)!
I flail around, but being held by Sa-san, I couldn’t budge an inch!
“This is the first time I see My Knight so uncomposed.” (Furiae)
“Aah, he is simply drunk. Makoto-kun is weak to alcohol after all.” (Mary)
“Haah…I don’t think I will be able to speak alone with Hero Makoto today.” (Sofia)
Those voices reached my ears.
The celebration continued till morning…apparently.
I lost consciousness in the middle of it.
“It may not have been explained the best, but it is as I told you…
“Uguo… That felt terrible…” What I saw within my vision was an endless white space.…
It is not like I was certain, but I did think that we might end…
“Eh? It wasn’t that you came to visit me?” (Furiae) “Aah, yeah…you could say that.”…
There may have been cases when I would begrudge my own lack of strength, but…
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter “Nfufu! This one is back after a while! Made ya…
View Comments
Thanks for the chapter.
Man just when I thought Makoto couldn't get a worse title...
Whoops. Mary found out Makoto is engaged to Sofia. If she can't join the harem then let her be an actual mistress. Please don't let Mary become like Yuuka from Arifureta who's called a mistress but nothing happens between her and the MC.
So that cat is a baby/larval monster? Why do I get the feeling that it'll evolve into a catgirl monster?
Oho, what's this? Makoto you dog. Unintentionally seducing his 30 year old unmarried single teacher back when he was in middle school. At least according to Sakurai and he should have experience in this since a college teacher forced herself on him.
OK looks like Furi route is a-go. It seems like Sakurai has decided to give up on her in the flashback. It feels like it's one of those, "I just want my beloved to be happy." deals where he thinks she'd be better off with Makoto. Which honestly is probably for the best. Sakurai can't do anything for her the way he is now. If I were to describe him bluntly, he's spineless. Now don't get me wrong, I like Sakurai but he just doesn't do anything despite being the hero and supposedly having immense influence. Well given how he's entrusting Makoto to open up Furi's heart instead of himself, it sounds like he realizes his own shortcomings and will hopefully begin to work on that.
Welp now Furi knows about Lucy being a half-demon, Sa-san is a lamia and Makoto is the Apostle of an Evil God. Add in the monster cat, a socially awkward princess that will get possessed by her own goddess to try to seduce Makoto at times, Makoto's own goddess sexually harassing him and an immortal vampire loli that people claim is Makoto's lover makes Furi the most normal one out of the entire group. Also it was kinda funny how Sofia just found out about Makoto's goal to take away the Holy God's authority and free Noah and her family of Old Gods and that Eir is totally OK with that.
Agree with almost everything, the one thing I disagree with is Sakurai being spineless.
As mentioned in earlier comments he takes his responsibilities very seriously and he has placed working to save the world and helping the country and princess that first took him in over his own desires and wishes. He is working to change what he can whilst facing opposition and being worked to the bone (in more than just one sense!). None of this makes him spineless but it does entrap him and prevent him from acting purely on his own desires and wishes.
He arguably has more spine as he is acting to fulfil the responsibilities he has accepted even when they go counter to his own ideals and desires. That requires an immense amount of willpower.
Still a shame he can’t work out a way for Furiae to be accepted as someone he loves. Frankly I think he would rather have a smaller harem.
P.S. I agree it looks like the Furi route is appearing but I do prefer her as a platonic friend. Guess we shall just have to wait and see.
Well like I said, that's if I were to describe Sakurai bluntly. If I were to say it in nicer terms then I'd say he's not assertive. Sure he fights monsters to protect people and he takes that responsibility as a hero very seriously but that's ALL he's does. He is supposedly the reincarnation of the Hero Abel so he should have so much influence that he could practically be the God-Emperor of Highland. Yet he won't even refuse any mission that the corrupt nobles and church send him on. He'd only been sent to Laberintos because the princes' factions wanted him dead or for him to suffer so many casualties that would be blamed on him so that it would ruin his reputation and he knew that was their goal but he still went and didn't even try to ask for reinforcements. The Great Sage and Noel went with him of their own choosing and he was lucky that Makoto happened to be there too. Or how about when the shit pope made him go hunt down and exterminate all of Furiae's followers in order to capture her? He could have refused on the grounds that they weren't doing anything bad or at the very least try to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
Then there's the fact that even though he agrees with Noel about reforms, he doesn't actually help her in any way. If he put his support behind her then Noel would have accomplished something but not once have we heard that any reforms have succeeded. There's been no improvement for any demi-humans and there is still rampant elitism and classism.
The only other responsibility Sakurai carries out as a hero is trying to leave behind descendants. And he doesn't even like how he's being treated in that regard. Since he's a guy he probably doesn't hate the idea of a harem in and of itself but he doesn't like his current situation. I bet probably half or even more of his harem don't even have romantic feelings for him and probably were either forced by their families in order to get benefits of being connected to the hero or they chose it themselves because they want to be golddiggers. Sakurai could have easily just said that he'd only accept women who genuinely like him instead of the 20+ women that he might not even remember their names. There's also the fact that the nobles are forcing him to spend every night with a different woman like he's breeding stock. He's gotten so tired of it that he looks for any excuse to get out of it whether it be going out on dangerous missions or getting blackout drunk with his friend Makoto so he doesn't have to spend time with his harem. He could make an argument that doing it every night is leaving him too tired and that it would be dangerous if he suddenly collapses during a dangerous mission or during the battle against the demon lord because of it and thus he shouldn't be expected to spend the night with a woman every day. Then even if the women do get pregnant with his child, he's not even allowed to see them and will immediately be trained as soldiers like cannon fodder and if Noel can't produce a male heir with Sakurai then one of his daughters will basically be whored out to the son of one of the princes just to gain the bloodline of the hero and introduce it to the royal family. Sakurai could tell the nobles to go fuck themselves and that they can't use his children as their tools and there is nothing they can do about it.
Basically what I'm saying is that Sakurai is like a tactical nuke so he COULD do what he wants and there is literally nobody that could stop him. Maybe someone else would become a megalomaniac if they were in Sakurai's position but Sakurai himself is a nice guy so there's nothing to fear that he'd abuse his influence for selfish or evil reasons if he actually asserted himself some.
The thing about nukes, is that you can’t actually use them because they destroy everything. Tactically yes they represent immense power and negotiating potential however for all practical purposes they are neutralised.
You could say the same thing for Sakurai, although I think things are far more complicated with his position, he could just say he won’t do what they want; they must do what he wants on certain things... and what would the consequences for that be? Sakurai - “I shan’t sleep with all these women.” Response - “ok [drugs him or gets him drunk then has multiple women rape him continuously]”. Sakurai - “I am not going to attack these people because they aren’t doing anything wrong’l. Response - “ok [has normal soldiers massacre everyone]”.
Pure blunt force does not itself assure victory or tactical superiority, especially not in the field of politics where being able to trick or manipulate your opponent are far more potent forces.
Let us examine the statements you made piece by piece:
He did not refuse going to Laberintos despite it being a plot by the princes to kill him. Well here is the thing. SAKURAI went in order to subdue a Taboo dragon and save everyone else there. This is a perfect example of manipulation of circumstances and your opponents principles against them. What could Sakurai do? Refuse? And likely doom the people of Laberintos to certain death should the Taboo dragon escape? He has to chose, risk his life or disregard all those others just to spite the twits trying to get him killed? He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself knowing he had made that choice. It wasn’t a subtle manipulation or even a very good one. But it was a manipulation that used Sakurai’s own nature against him.
Then there is the situation with Furiae. Sakurai already states he was mislead by people about the situation and only discovered what was happening after he arrived and likely after the fighting had already been instigated by several of the Zealous Templars so he likely saw a fight going on, trusted what the pope AND princess Noel told him and only realised they mislead him after Furiae shouted at him. This is another manipulation, manipulation by obfuscation and distortion Of the truth as well as outright lying. Unless Sakurai goes in expecting to be lied to he will trust some people and they could be used against him. Such as Noel wanting to calm the hearts of her kingdoms people and making the devilkin living peacefully being the scapegoats.
Having immense combat power doesn’t mean Sakurai is immune to being hoodwinked or knowing the truth.
Then the Demi-human reforms, ok so what exactly COULD Sakurai do? How could he help her with reforms? Does he have money of his own or is it all given to him by the crown? Does he have powerful allies that can invoke/inact socio-economic pressure such as withholding trade or enacting trade blocks? Does he have any influence on making those in powerful positions agree with him? The answer is no. His money, wealth, resources all come from the crown and no doubt they would be able to stop it if they felt like it (in fact the resources likely come through Noel as the others seem mightily opposed to him) does he have other allies... well the royal family wants him all to their selves and the women, we shall come to those in a moment, are from families chosen by the royal family i.e. arse kissers/brown nosers. Sakurai doesn’t even have a choice in whether he sleeps with them or not! And they are likely the furthest thing from political allies he has. And I suspect there was a lot of control on who he saw and how he interacted with them as well so he couldn’t make connections with other factions that could potentially support him and Noel.
Now for the women. You make my point for me. The nobles forced him to marry many women, the forced him to choose the ones they wanted, the do not let him see his own children, he has no choice but to sleep with the women because he is forced to. He is sickened by it so much he does look for excuses to escape (which are granted) but when he goes back the harpies are there waiting for him. Again what can he do. If he refused I do not doubt that he would be offered a drink and then tied down and have a train run on him. The nobles don’t see him as a hero per se but as a brood stallion. As for controlling him, all they had to do was get a woman to become pregnant and then threaten the child to make him comply. And no doubt the first few advances where carefully construed to make him think they liked him and then once they had what they needed things would turn.
A lot of the “power of a hero” comes from everyone believing he is a hero and expecting him to behave in a certain way. Case in point, the Oracles are meant to be direct conduits to the very Gods, the 6 divine Gods that rule their world, the public sentiments turned against the moon oracle because she went against what the others all wanted. The water oracle is seen with certain levels of contempt by others because she is from the weak water country and she can’t get heroes/otherworlders to stay in her kingdom.
Power resides in the minds of people. And frankly, there is more than just one type of power, Sakurai’s power is in combat... and nothing else. He DOESN’T have influence, powerful people won’t listen to him because they don’t see him as anything besides a big dumb sword to be pointed at enemies and an ambulatory penis to be used to breed more weapons.
So, if Sakurai currently doesn’t have “political power” due to not having his own source of independent income that = a huge amount, or the ability to enforce trade restrictions or blocks, or the ability to persuade his enemies to work with him or at least manipulate them to act how he wants them to because he isn’t a schemer, what can he do? What could he do with his immense combat power? Attack them and kill them all? Or at least brutalise them until they agree with him?... he could but then we run into that little problem of his own morals and principles.
Also there is the other fact that, there are a large number of other people who DO have political power. The church have power equal to that of the crown and arguably similar power/position as the light hero themselves, the royal family have vast amounts of wealth and an army at their personal disposal, as well as allies with command over trade routes and necessities, then the four main noble families have their own wealth, militias, trade controls AND allies both within the country and outside of it.
My point is that Sakurai has a single blunt and frankly brutal card to play, his enemies in the sun country (that provides him with armour, weapons, transport, coin, food, accommodation, information and all manner of other plethoras of resources) all have their own level of power which if used correctly can check or neutralise his own power or worse have ways of manipulating him so that his own personality entrap him to their whims.
In that regard Takki-dono is miles ahead of Sakurai, he has his divine weapon from his own God that he gained himself, he has his own allies he met himself who trust and believe in him because he has proven himself to them and CRUCIALLY, he has Fuji-yan have you seen how much Takki-dono relies on Fuji-yan and how much Fuji-yan’s contacts, wealth, resources and connections have saved him/helped out. Fuji-yan can’t fight at all and yet he has been instrumental in solving all of the major political Plots because he has a different sort of power. Economic and trade power. Something that counts far more at the higher echelons of society than brute force.
You could say that Sakurai is a useless schemer and has no ability at political machinations and that would be a fair and valid criticism. Spineless, not assertive, gutless, dithering or pathetic not at all.
What I think we can and should agree on is that he is useless at the game of politics and needs to learn in order to survive.
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks!
\(^^)/
Interesting who the cat is. Could be Makoto's teacher... or considering they said the cat was of the water element, my personal favorite theory is that could it be Undine deciding to become a physical entity so she could be with Makoto?
Damn I never thought about that. it makes total sense and it explains why she hasn't shown herself.
Nice theory there
I wonder what is adult form of that cat.
>Inb4 it's some divine beast.
Well... I guess he has 5 years now? or did I get that wrong? did he get more years or nah?
Thanks for your work.
If ever mary and makoto get married their first night/sex will be the guild master room.
Info
You can see cute furi smiling face as the illustration of its 5th novel
Note
Man.... i think her clothes is lewd-er then lucy's 😂
Shameless Pole Hero Banzai!!
Thanks for the chapter