Chapter 245: Crush One by One

After the fierce battle with Hund of the Great Eight Demons, the heroes of Adelheit returned from Crocus. What awaited them was a grand welcome at the castle and a luxurious celebration. Dias got a call from Clarius, the queen of Crocus, that she was sorry for not being able to provide much hospitality, so he was secretly preparing for it.

Of course, the four who played a big role in the Hero Alliance will receive special rewards in addition to this. Since it’s a large sum of money, the rewards will be paid after the situation has settled down. However, in order to avoid any confusion, the destinations for the payment were decided now. Therese’s money to her parents’ house, the Batten family’s mansion, and Weerel’s money to the Joshua family. Chinatsu’s money will be used for the knight order’s fund at her request. And then, Haruna’s money will be received by Deris, her guardian and master.

「Send the money to my mansion. I will give it to Haruna.」

「To Leader Nell’s mansion? Understood.」

「O-Oi, I said, I will give Haru her share.」

「No. Deris, if you have extra money, you will end up using it to buy scrolls.」

「Even I won’t use my disciple’s money….」

There was such an argument between Deris and Nell, but in the end, it seems that Nell won and the reward will be sent to her residence at a later date.

Then, Haruna and the others were invited by King Dias to have dinner at the castle. At night, Haruna and Chinatsu returned to Nell’s mansion for the first time in a while, and Haruna quickly collapsed into her bed.

「I-I suddenly feel tired…. A fork in my right hand and a spoon in my left hand, huh? A knife in my left hand…. I wanted to use chopsticks….」

「Fufu, are you not good at eating in such places, Haruna?」

The dinner at the castle was luxurious, and the taste was amazing even for Haruna. But for Haruna, dinner with table manners is harder than fighting a demon king. Sitting across from her was King Dias, whom she had beaten up at the graduation festival, and the atmosphere was very formal.

The situation became even worse when Haruna, sweating a lot, peeked at her friends sitting beside her. Table manners are not a hindrance for Therese, who’s originally a noblewoman and the daughter of a lord, and Weerel, who came from a distinguished family, and they had completely shifted their focus to enjoying the meal. Therese even had the composure to make a joke.

As for Chinatsu, she had no problem at all. Having grown up in a family with strict manners, she elegantly carried the food into her mouth. Even if Haruna didn’t understand the basics of manners, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by that gesture.

In the end, Deris, who also sat across from her, noticed the situation and sent eye contact, telling her to imitate him. Then, she imitated him with all her best. She somehow managed to finish the meal while giving off a bloodcurdling aura.

「Come to think of it, it was the first time for me to have dinner with Haruna in such a place, huh. When I noticed, you were already only looking at Deris-san.」

「Ah, so you noticed, huh?」

「No, it was more like that you didn’t try to hide it. You looked as if you were in a match, you know?」

「Uhh, I was so desperate that I can’t even remember it….」

Deris was being seen with those eyes throughout the meal that he couldn’t put his mind at ease. Sitting next to him, Nell noticed it and she was holding her laugher until she got used to it.

「Maybe cooking is more suitable for me. Ah, I also like eating, of course.」

「That’s if you don’t have to mind about table manners, right? I’m sure you will be fine if you study a bit. I will teach you, so let’s do our best until you got used to it, okay?」

「I-I will do my best….」

While showing a bitter smile, Haruna turned off the light in the room. They have just returned to Adelheit today and they are still tired. After a light training and a small talk, they decided to go to bed――

――――BAM!

When Chinatsu was about to fall asleep (Haruna was already sleeping peacefully), the door suddenly opened. The door was locked, but the doorknob was twisted forcibly. Naturally, Chinatsu jumped out of bed, and Haruna, who was sleeping soundly, took a battle stance.

「Both of you, get ready to leave! We’re leaving now!」

「「…… Eh?」」

The one who broke the door and entered the room was Nell. She’s wearing knight armor and even has a sword on her waist. She’s dressed as if she’s heading to the front line of the battle.

「Hey, the door is broken…. Also, they won’t understand if you say it like that, you know?」

「We can fix the door later. More importantly, we don’t have much time now. We have to get rid of the hindrance!」

Not knowing the details, the two looked at each other and tilted their heads.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welp. I was trying to share the information I got from Lily with Nell, but I think maybe it was a mistake. When Nell’s face, which had been in a good mood until then, became expressionless, I was prepared to die. That’s how scared I was.

The information I shared? It’s about the Great Eight Demons would be coming to our wedding. The original plan was to invite only Alezel, whom we’ve known for a long time, and Lilyvia, who’s my familiar. Nell also had agreed to that. However, she hadn’t heard that the others would be coming, and she doesn’t want them to participate in the ceremony, so we are in this situation now.

Only at this time, some of the Great Eight Demons leaked their presence, so Nell slightly felt their presence just a moment ago. Really, what a bad timing. Yeah, some of them have already arrived here in Adelheit. After making a battle preparation, Nell visited the room of Haru and Chinatsu to raise the fighting power even a bit. They must be dumbfounded because they are suddenly being dragged in such a thing. I’m also one of them, of course.

「Nell, you don’t have to be so murderous. Even they won’t do anything to destroy the ceremony.」

「You won’t know it until that very day! It’ll be troublesome if all of them gathered and conspired. If we are going to do it, now is the chance to crush them one by one!」

「Calm down, please calm down for now.」

「Grrrrr…!」

Uh-oh, it’s no good…. Maybe because the ceremony is involved, she has lost her composure and she’s now like her past self. At this rate, I won’t be able to calm her down.

「Alright. If you say it that far, let’s try to meet them and talk things out first. If it doesn’t work, I will cooperate with you to get rid of them!」

「…… Really?」

「Yeah. So, until then, don’t pull out your sword. It’s seriously going to be troublesome if you do, so be patient, okay?」

「…… Okay. If Deris says so, I’ll be patient for now.」

After that, Nell crossed her arms and turned away, Ah, yes. It’s a sign that we should get ready quickly. Still, it’s becoming quite delicate, huh….

「You two, sorry to bother you at this hour, but I need you to hurry up and change into your combat gear. I’ll explain it as we walk.」