It was several hours later when the sky finally reverted from wine-red to normal, the purple swirling cracks vanishing without a trace.
The villagers of Lute Village had already finished evacuating by the time Naofumi had lured the monsters near the watchtower.
Thanks to their efforts, casualties among the villagers this time had been minimal.
Of course, damage to buildings was unavoidable.
As for rebuilding the village, that would depend entirely on how the nobles responsible for this area and the king himself decided to handle it.
But regardless, they'd successfully fended off this Wave. The next one would arrive at least a month later.
On their way back to the royal capital, they encountered the other three Heroes, being escorted triumphantly by the knights as if they'd singlehandedly saved the world.
Supposedly, the Wave had ended because those three had defeated the boss monster.
Seeing Kiriko and Naofumi, the other Heroes each wore openly disdainful, contemptuous expressions.
Naofumi was clearly annoyed, but Kiriko didn't care at all. She'd met plenty of people in her last life who constantly thought they deserved all the credit—she'd long grown numb to such nonsense.
Later that night, the king held a celebratory banquet at the castle to honor the victory over the Wave.
Kiriko's first instinct was to decline, but Naofumi kept pleading until she finally gave in.
It seemed he knew he wasn't welcome, so he wanted her along to help absorb some of the hostility.
Come to think of it, other than company annual dinners, she'd never really attended any sort of "party" before. Might as well take a look—and besides, Raphtalia and the others would probably enjoy it.
So, Kiriko led Raphtalia, Gabriel, and Lute, along with Naofumi and his companions, into the castle.
Inside the grand hall, bright lights illuminated exquisite dishes covering the banquet tables. Elegant music filled the room, as people in luxurious clothing mingled, talking in hushed, refined tones.
Those invited were all top-ranking nobles, highly influential merchants, or beautiful young women wearing low-cut evening gowns.
Interestingly enough, almost all those young women wore charming smiles while clinging to old men clearly old enough to be their fathers—flowers blossoming from thoroughly fertilized soil.
Amidst this classy, refined atmosphere, however, one particular group stood out awkwardly.
"Excuse me, can I get another bowl?"
Gabriel lifted a bowl roughly the size of a washbasin—which, minutes earlier, had been filled to the brim with food.
"Gabriel, you've got food on your face. Be careful, okay?"
Raphtalia gently wiped the crumbs off Gabriel's face, looking every bit like a kind older sister.
"Hehe~"
Gabriel flashed a heart-melting smile.
On the other hand, Lute barely touched any food. Since entering the banquet hall, he'd been glaring nonstop at Motoyasu Kitamura, who was currently surrounded by several female companions.
"Lute, you should eat something too."
Kiriko placed a dish of chicken in front of him.
"I checked it—it doesn't contain any poison. Perfectly safe to eat."
Yet Lute didn't move, nor even spare a glance at the food.
"Master, when can I kill him?"
"Don't rush. I promised I'd give you the chance."
Kiriko knew exactly what Motoyasu had done to Lute.
She wasn't going to urge Lute to be the bigger person.
Those who'd never experienced someone else's suffering had no right to preach forgiveness.
People who constantly spouted empty moral platitudes were exactly what you'd call "sand sculptures"—morons who didn't even realize their own stupidity.
People like Motoyasu, who had destroyed another person's life by reducing them to slavery…
The best solution was tossing a sack over his head, dragging him off to a dark forest, and then doing whatever you pleased—playing whatever games you wanted. Once bored, just tie him to some heavy rocks and dump him in the ocean.
Naofumi's group seemed to be enjoying themselves too; food disappeared from their table at a visible rate.
"How unsightly."
"Tsk, as expected from companions of the 'Shield' and that 'Zero Hero.' They're all demi-humans, after all."
"I heard they're all slaves."
"What? Even those cute girls and children? How awful."
The nobles and merchants invited to the party stood at a considerable distance from Kiriko and Naofumi, whispering among themselves, thinking they wouldn't be overheard.
Hmph, just a bunch of sand sculptures...
Kiriko nonchalantly picked up a chicken leg and started nibbling.
When crowds numbered in the thousands, collective IQ halved. Idiots were everywhere, and getting angry at sand sculptures was pointless.
At that moment, however, someone approached Kiriko.
Looking up, she saw none other than Motoyasu Kitamura.
Compared to a month ago, Motoyasu's equipment had drastically improved.
Actually, Kiriko had already noticed when they met at the Dragon Hourglass—but at the time, she'd been distracted by Motoyasu flaunting his relationship with that Bitch.
Now, looking closely, she noted his gear had truly become high-end.
Unlike ordinary iron armor, he now wore gleaming silver plate armor. Beneath that armor was a flashy crimson garment, seemingly enchanted with powerful effects. Thoughtfully, he'd even added chainmail between his armor layers, giving off the appearance of high defense.
The Legendary Weapon in his hand was no longer the cheap-looking spear he'd first wielded. Due to absorbing numerous materials, Motoyasu's spear now looked significantly cooler.
"What do you want? Something to say?"
Kiriko cast a glance at Lute.
As expected, the Dogkin was barely holding back his killing intent toward Motoyasu.
Thankfully, Lute still followed her instructions and didn't immediately attack.
"I've heard that those two lovely young ladies—Raphtalia-san and Gabriel-san—are actually your slaves. Is that true?"
Motoyasu suddenly spoke from some perceived moral high ground, filled with righteous indignation.
Hearing the Spear Hero's words, whispers rose once again from the surrounding nobles and merchants.
"So it's true, even those cute girls and that child are slaves…"
"A hero who uses slaves… how shameful."
"A disgrace."
"Oh?"
Instead of anger, Kiriko smiled faintly.
"So, you think using slaves is wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong! We're modern people—we shouldn't tolerate humans becoming someone else's property, let alone use slaves ourselves."
"Motoyasu, how can you say that with a straight face? Or is your skin thicker than the walls of Odawara Castle?"
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