"Phew, Takeru-sama, do you mean you want to face one of the Four Holy Beasts, the Spirit Tortoise, alone?" After a while, the Tortoise Kingdom's general spoke with disbelief.
"What, wasn't what I said clear enough?" Hearing his words, Takeru smiled contemptuously.
"The Spirit Tortoise's strength is extraordinary. Even as a Hero, you absolutely cannot defeat it alone." Hearing this, the Tortoise Kingdom's general continued, trying to persuade Takeru.
"Then let's wait and see. I will head to the Spirit Tortoise's location in an hour. You can come and watch my hunting feast." With immense confidence, Takeru said calmly with a smile.
"Excuse me." At this moment, a woman wearing a cloak entered the council chamber. It was the woman who had appeared earlier.
"You are..." Seeing the approaching woman, Mirellia quickly recognized her.
"Long time no see, Queen of Melromarc." Hearing Mirellia's words, the woman spoke softly.
"It's the woman who appeared and disappeared earlier." Looking at the woman, Emilia had also recognized her.
"Your Highness the Princess Consort, you are safe. That's wonderful." With the woman's arrival, the Tortoise Kingdom's general stood up, calling out with surprise.
"Your Highness?" Hearing the Tortoise Kingdom general's address to the woman, Emilia was slightly startled.
"She is the late Tortoise Kingdom king's consort, the Princess Consort Regent." Mirellia was also very familiar with the newcomer.
"I didn't introduce myself properly when we met yesterday. Your Majesty Sword Hero, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Ost Horai. I am the king's consort, the Princess Consort Regent... but this is only my surface identity." Looking at everyone, Ost Horai quickly spoke.
"Yes?" Hearing her say this was her surface identity, the leaders of the other countries were stunned.
"My true identity is... a familiar of the Spirit Tortoise." Soon, Ost Horai directly revealed her special identity.
"What?" Hearing Ost Horai's words, Naofumi, who had been in a couch potato state, was stunned.
"Your Majesty Sword Hero and Shield Hero-sama should have encountered other familiars of the Spirit Tortoise as well." Then, Ost Horai continued.
"You mean you are the same as those bats and yetis?" Hearing her words, Naofumi asked uncertainly again.
"Yes. I am a humanoid familiar." Hearing this, Ost again confirmed her identity.
"Your Highness, what are you saying..." The Tortoise Kingdom's general still looked at Ost in disbelief.
"I'm sorry. Actually, everything before was a lie. Infiltrating the country's center, secretly collecting the minimum necessary human souls, that was the mission of the humanoid familiar." Looking at the Tortoise Kingdom's general, Ost spoke with apology.
"Wait, what is this all about? Collecting human souls? What do you mean?" At this moment, Naofumi, who had been inactive, couldn't help but stand up.
"My creator is the Spirit Tortoise. The Spirit Tortoise's mission is to use human souls as a source of power to prevent the [Calamity Waves] from occurring." Hearing her words, Ost spoke seriously.
"What? Preventing the waves!" Hearing this, Naofumi was completely stunned. He instinctively looked at Takeru. Takeru just nodded gently.
"Humanoid familiars like me would deceive those in power, causing conflicts between countries to obtain human souls. If unsuccessful, we would use monster familiars to slowly collect human souls from all over the world. If still unsuccessful, the final resort is for the Spirit Tortoise to be unsealed and act personally. It would trample the entire world to obtain a large number of souls in a short time."
"But this time, someone suddenly removed the seal. The Spirit Tortoise began destroying against its own will. Even if this could obtain the power to stop the waves, the world would be destroyed. If this continues, I will be unable to complete my mission."
"So, Your Majesty Sword Hero and Shield Hero-sama, please destroy my creator, the Spirit Tortoise." After speaking, Ost Horai bowed deeply.
Although she should be the first to protect the Spirit Tortoise, under forced control, for the world's sake, both she and the Spirit Tortoise were willing to choose death.
"Wait, you said someone removed the seal. Can just anyone remove the seal?" Soon, Naofumi noticed something wrong.
"This matter should only be known to me. When the Four Saint Heroes of the corresponding era see through the scheme and are about to eliminate me, the humanoid familiar is obligated to tell the Four Saint Heroes the method to remove the seal." Hearing Naofumi's question, Ost answered without reservation.
"What do you mean? Why tell us?" Hearing Ost's words, Naofumi still found it hard to understand and accept.
"To protect the world from the threat of the waves, and when you are unable to do so, you must revive the Spirit Tortoise, collect people's souls, and suppress the occurrence of the waves. That is the mission of the Four Saint Heroes who possess the Holy Weapons." This time, Ost truly told Naofumi the immense mission of the Four Saint Heroes: the world or humanity, which to choose.
"If what you say is true, then fate has truly given the Heroes and us a cruel test." Listening to the entire conversation, Mirellia could imagine that desperate scene.
"Um, I'm sorry." Seeing Mirellia's sad expression, Ost said apologetically.
"Come to think of it, Ost, I never imagined you weren't human. That's what I find hard to believe right now." Then, Mirellia changed the subject. With the hope Takeru and the others had given her, Mirellia was very confident about defeating the waves.
"I'm sorry. I also had a mission. To act more like a human, I played the part of... a bad woman?" Hearing Mirellia's words, Ost apologized, though she hesitated at the end.
Seeing Ost's gap moe, Takeru found it a bit amusing. Although she was a familiar, meant to bring calamity to the world, she had on the contrary become a helper to humanity.
"So, this operation is not the Spirit Tortoise's own will, right?" At this moment, Naofumi asked further.
"Yes. It is probably being controlled by the person who touched the seal." Hearing Naofumi's words, Ost regained her serious expression.
"The controller? Takeru, what should we do?" Hearing Ost's words, Naofumi ultimately looked to Takeru.
Takeru had left too deep and reliable an impression on him. Whenever Takeru was present, Naofumi instinctively sought his opinion.
"Don't be nervous. Have you forgotten what I told you about the truth of the waves?" Hearing Naofumi's words, Takeru said with a light laugh.
"The truth of the waves? You mean this incident is the work of a [Vanguard of the Waves]?" Hearing Takeru's words, Naofumi stood up nervously.
"Yes. And without accident, the person behind this is the Book Vassal Hero, Kyo Ethnina." Looking at the surprised Naofumi, Takeru spoke again.
In the original work, the Spirit Tortoise incident was orchestrated by Kyo. His goal was to use the Spirit Tortoise to collect souls.
After all, soul energy is very powerful, especially the energy extracted from gathering a large number of human souls.
And Kyo didn't have the ability to collect energy himself, so he had to use the Spirit Tortoise's help, while also causing trouble for this world.
And last time, Yui and the others said Kyo left their world when they approached. He probably came to this world and did a series of things to unseal the Spirit Tortoise.
"It's him!" Hearing Takeru's words, Naofumi was shocked, but he had no doubt. After all, Takeru hadn't been wrong so far.
"Wait, what have you been talking about just now? What is the truth of the waves? And the Book Vassal Hero? And the person controlling the Spirit Tortoise?" At this moment, one of the kingdom's leaders couldn't help but stand up and ask.
The leaders of the other kingdoms also looked intently at Takeru and the others, their eyes holding the same questions. Even Ost looked at Takeru and Naofumi in disbelief.
"If you want to know these things, then go investigate them yourselves." Hearing his words, Takeru didn't intend to answer them.
"Your Majesty!" Hearing Takeru's words, Mirellia looked at him.
"Alright. Then I'll briefly explain the truth of the waves. The so-called waves are calamities created by a mastermind called a [Deity]. The so-called [Vanguard of the Waves] are Reincarnators chosen by the [Deity]."
"These people have memories of their past lives and knowledge not belonging to this world. After growing up in this world for many years, they will stop at nothing to complete the Deity's task of destroying the world. Moreover, these people can use special means to seize the Seven Star Weapons." Looking at everyone, Takeru said calmly.
"[Vanguard of the Waves] and a [Deity]?" Hearing Takeru's words, the leaders of the various countries fell silent.