I Finished Saving the World, But Then I Picked Up a Girl With Amnesia - Chapter 32

“Hero-san, Hero-san! It’s my first time riding a dragon!”

“Strictly speaking, you’re not riding the dragon itself; you’re riding the ship suspended by the dragon.”

The day after we had thoroughly enjoyed the beach and purchased plenty of souvenirs.

Red Hair-chan and I were in the sky. More precisely, we were aboard a flying ship. Up until now, we’d been hopping around using teleportation magic circles, but those aren’t something you find everywhere. Traveling from this town would take a fair amount of money and time. Thankfully, Necromancer-san had graciously offered, “Since you’re here, why not enjoy an air voyage aboard my ship?” We happily accepted and boarded her ship. She even had rooms prepared for us—truly, such generosity is a blessing.

“This is amazing, amazing! The clouds are below us!”

“Dragons are unmatched among monsters in terms of flight capability… In fact, theoretically, there shouldn’t be any creatures larger than them capable of flying.”

Necromancer-san had revived about ten dragons stolen from the Demon King’s army and was using them to amass an enormous profit through air transportation. Recently, she’d also expanded into tourism by running aerial cruises like this one. It’s no surprise; ordinary people rarely get the chance to fly, so it’s bound to be popular. Red Hair-chan, for instance, hadn’t left the window since we boarded and was completely engrossed in the view outside.

Seeing her so captivated, I figured it would be fine to leave her alone for a bit.

“Alright, I’m going to go talk to everyone for a bit.”

“Um, Hero-san.”

“Hm?”

“You’re going to talk about me… aren’t you?”

As expected, Red Hair-chan, despite her carefree demeanor, was sharp.

“Yeah. There’s no immediate problem right now, but there’s no doubt you’re being targeted. We need to discuss that.”

There was no need to bring up demons or anything like that, so I left that part out.

“I’m sorry. I must be such a burden. I’m putting you and everyone else in danger…”

“Okay, stop. Apologies are forbidden.”

Before she could say any more, I cut her off.

“You don’t need to worry about it. Honestly, it feels weird saying this myself, but I’m the Hero who saved the world, you know?”

We’d been chased by bandits, teleported all over the place, pursued by golems… It had been a challenging journey. But even so, traveling with Red Hair-chan had been filled with far more excitement and fun.

“Helping one girl isn’t a big deal.”

So, I figured I could afford to act a little cool for once.

—

“‘Helping one girl isn’t a big deal.’”

“My, my, look how cool Hero-san is!”

“‘Helping one girl isn’t a big deal.’”

“He’s totally showing off, isn’t he?”

“‘Helping one girl isn’t a big deal.’”

“Ahh~ Hero-sama is as wonderful as ever~!”

This was a mistake.

“Please stop, please forgive me, I’ll do anything you want!”

On my knees, I pressed my forehead to the floor.

The moment I entered the meeting room, my earlier words had been recorded and were now playing on loop at full volume for everyone in the party to hear. What is this? It’s practically a death spell!

“How is my voice even being picked up? Are the guest rooms on this ship actually poorly built? Is this ship all show and no substance?”

“Ara, how rude. The rooms I prepared for you and Hero-sama are the finest suites available, with impeccable soundproofing. Even ‘intense nighttime activities’ wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It’s thanks to the magic marker I placed. As long as I’m this close, picking up your voice is trivial.”

“My privacy!”

I slammed my fist into the floor in vain protest. Ignoring my lament, Sage-chan calmly offered me a chair. Fine, fine, I’ll sit already.

“Now then, everyone’s here.”

“Yep, all present.”

“Yes, we’re all gathered.”

The plan was to discuss our next steps.

In the meeting room Necromancer-san had prepared, familiar faces from the party were all assembled.

“Actually, Master isn’t here.”

“We never counted her from the start.”

“She’s impossible to track down anyway.”

“I’ll repeat myself—I can’t stand her.”

The treatment of Master was… harsh!

But well, considering how she’s always wandering off somewhere, I couldn’t really argue with their reasoning.

“So, have we figured anything out?”

“As Hero-san has likely also realized, that girl is clearly being targeted by high-ranking demons. I encountered the first one in the royal capital and killed it.”

“Then two showed up in my territory, and I dealt with them.”

“I’ve taken down three. Clearly, I win.”

“What? I took out the first one!”

“If we’re talking about speed, I was undoubtedly the fastest to kill mine.”

“Both of you are so undignified. Quantity is what matters, and I’ve bested you both.”

“Is this a competition?”

I had to interrupt.

Their casual argument was surreal. High-ranking demons are disasters capable of causing immense destruction to an entire town. Taking one down usually requires the commander or vice-commander of the knight order. They’re not the kind of enemies you compete over defeating.

“Six high-ranking demons in such a short period. This is clearly abnormal.”

“And none of them knew the nature of our ‘magic.’”

“Which means, in a way, they were trivial nuisances.”

I nodded lightly at their collective input.

“Still, even trivial demons are demons. They can’t be ignored.”

“Agreed. Dragging that girl around and attracting demons wherever we go isn’t an option. It would cause trouble for the places you stay.”

“True.”

“Um… Sage-san? My estate was completely destroyed, though?”

Though Knight-chan’s face bore a smile, the coffee in her mug was visibly boiling.

Seriously? They destroyed the entire estate?! I really owed Knight-chan another apology now…

“Being able to fend them off with zero casualties was impressive. It’s exactly as I predicted.”

“Spoken like someone who dumped the demon problem on us and walked away.”

“My, my, such sarcasm is unfortunate. I was planning to cover the repair costs, you know?”

“Great! I was thinking it was time for a rebuild anyway!”

Knight-chan’s quick turnaround was impressive. Is that really okay for a princess?

Sage-chan cleared her throat with a deliberate ahem.

“To avoid the kind of physical damage caused at Knight-san’s estate, this ship was chosen as a location where the girl can be safely protected.”

Floating in the sky significantly reduced the likelihood of an attack. After all, the ship was towed by dragons, the largest class of monsters. It was far safer than relying on any random knight for protection.

“And even if someone does manage to attack this airborne ship, the only damage would be to Necromancer-san’s property.”

“Ara, ara. From the way you’re speaking, it sounds like you’re perfectly fine with my company suffering physical damage?”

“That’s correct. And with Necromancer-san’s magic, even if there’s human damage, there’s no need to worry.”

“Are you indirectly telling me to die?”

“You can’t die anyway.”

Their menacing gazes intertwined, thick with tension.

Our party gets along great! Really, we do! I swear!