"We are Heliana Evernight. The one to Our left is my right-hand, Lucent Hanford, the vice-captain of the Empire's knights. And to Our right is Kuroshi Kai, Alteria Kingdom's third princess' captain of the royal guard."

After being introduced, they all sat at the same table. While Lucent was reluctant to let Heliana sit in such a shabby place, she was always an empress who put people above her own after all. She didn't care for her social status if it came to the people, she only put up a front to the nobles.

"Then, what did Your Imperial Majesty want with this one?"

"...You can speak more freely. The one who has business with you isn't Us, but him."

Heliana gestured to Kai. Being prompted, Kai began to talk.

"I'd just like to ask you some questions about yourself, and the other heroes."

"Ehh... Sounds like a pain, but fine."

"..."

What happened to his act? Could he have ill feelings about the topic or was it Kai in general? Or did he just want to act nice to Heliana and Lucent? Well, it didn't really matter to Kai.

The heroes were necessary during the war, but not all of them. Even if he only had one of the heroes on his side, it would be enough. Anyway, he had already decided on the heroes he would try to get on his side. The light hero and the water hero who are properly fulfilling their duties.

With the other set of heroes that Kai knew, none of them got along with him. Going from zero to two was already a big step.

He needed a hero not because of the power they wield, but the connection they had with mana. He was praised by the Gods for being able to use something on the level of Abyssal Wolf which had influence from true darkness, something that could only be acquired with a strong bond with mana.

The heroes are blessed by the elements and are in turn, able to use a part of their true power. A dark hero would be able to create Abyssal Wolf after understanding the principle and gathering enough mana, a light hero would be able to attack at at a fraction of light speed, something that nobody could compete against because it was the fastest in the universe.

Regular users of light like Heliana would be able to use attacks that could surpass the speed of sound and sometimes even faster. There were no S-class light users so Kai wouldn't be able to tell for sure unless he did some tests himself. However, he wouldn't be able to do even 0.001% of the speed of light.

A hero of light, on the other hand, could go to 1% of light speed, which was faster than anything mana could do. Gods, however, were given the ability to travel at Godspeed upon their creation. While they couldn't attack at the speed of light, by employing Godspeed, they are able to travel to around half of its speed. The King of Gods and the Demon King could travel at the speed of light.

And, the Supreme Beings were far above light.

Kai could wrap his body in lightning, but he can only go to the level of thunder. If he dissolved his body to move faster, he could go to 0.01% of light speed, which is the same principle he uses for teleportation. When he became a God, he was able to use Godspeed and travel to around 75% the speed of light but he still couldn't keep up with the King of Gods and the Demon King.

However, divine beings were limited to a different plane of existence than the rest. If they were in the mortal plane, they would be bound by many things and if they were to travel at the fastest they could go, there would be unspeakable destruction.

For that very reason, Gods and Devils lived in a different space. The only reason his grandmother could go to the mortal plane was because she limited her power and that she was second only to the King of Gods in terms of authority and power.

The moment she used her true power, she would be sent back to the divine plane where many laws that govern the universe of mortals didn't matter.

"What happened that made the heroes break apart from each other?"

"Those shitheads were the dumbest people I've ever encountered. For people who lived on Earth, they acted like a bunch of kids who never stepped a foot out of their own homes. Especially that dark hero, acting like he was the strongest being in existence. The light hero was stronger than him."

Though now, I'm the strongest, he added. Rob had a fed-up expression on his face. Even if he met the other heroes again, Kai doubted they would be able to even have a proper conversation.

Kai ticked off the fire hero from his list completely. Heroes got stronger faster than anyone else. An E-class hero would get A-class within a year even if they were slow. The fire hero in front of him was already at C-class despite the fact that the information he received said that the fire hero was at F-class when he was summoned.

"Then, do you intend to stay in the Empire? And, what are you planning to do here, or wherever you plan to go?"

After paying off your debt, Kai decided not to say that part.

"For half a year at the very least, I'll stay here and eradicate every monster. After that, don't heroes usually fight demons? I might just go to the demon continent or whatever that was."

For someone talking about one of the most feared races of this world, he was acting pretty carefree and arrogant. It was apparent that he didn't know about the strength of demons despite losing to a bunch of goblins. It's been a little less than a month since the heroes were summoned and at most, they should reach D-class.

The fire hero in front of Kai was at E-class. Even the weakest demon would be able to send his soul to the underworld without any trouble.

"..."

Even Heliana and Lucent didn't know what to say. They could also tell how strong the fire hero is and could only wryly smile. They knew about the strength of heroes and how strong they could get within a period of time. Every country knows about this information, it was an open secret.

With just half a year of training, the fire hero would be able to reach B-class if he runs into some good fortune. However, he will most likely end his half a year at C-class. Even the hero of old took a few years before he became a legend.

Heliana had already sent someone to support the fire hero in simple ways such as information and a bit of monetary support. Even if he didn't join any of the kingdoms, he was still residing in the Empire, and he is a hero, a status that eclipses many others.

Though he didn't have much value now, the same couldn't be said in the future. However, Kai had already told her that the heroes weren't necessary so she didn't plan to do more than she needed to do. If the fire hero personally asked for help, she would be able to get a leash on him so it was a benefit as well.

But, she had already given up. Just meeting the fire hero today made it evident that he wouldn't become anyone great. Even if he were to achieve great power, he'd most likely abuse it instead.

After chatting a bit more, they left the inn. The fire hero muttered, "what the? so they weren't here to say that my debt was waived," as they left. He probably thought that they couldn't hear him, but they could. That just further made Heliana think ill of the fire hero.

As they boarded the carriage and were heading back to the palace, Heliana groaned.

"We have to let that man stay in the Empire for half a year?"

Lucent didn't know what to say.

"It would be best if he got a party but... that'd most likely just prolong his stay here."

A hero could be said to be humanity's greatest weapon, however, a weapon could be used both ways. Having an unaffiliated hero inside the Empire could prove to be a danger in the future.

"I'll find a way to take care of him if it's too much trouble."

Kai comforted Heliana. She looked at him with puffed cheeks and leaned on his shoulder.

"You're going to leave now?"

"There aren't just two kingdoms I have to do business with."

"I know..."

Seeing as how she was acting glum about it, Kai decided to accompany them to the trip back. He was originally planning to leave midway but there were things that couldn't be helped.

Styn Kingdom.

A woman with brown hair and a woman with black hair were accompanied by a man with red hair. It was the water and light heroes and the crown prince of the Auparith Empire, though it was already a ruined kingdom.

"As expected, in a fantasy world, it has to be a sword!"

The light hero, Karen spoke. She was holding a shining longsword in her left hand.

"Don't they teach you how to use katanas over in your home? Also, what's with the hype? We've been using these for like a month now."

The water hero, Sophia asked.

"Didn't I tell you I was sickly before? Also, using it for a month, you mean accidentally embedding our weapons into trees and dirt?"

Currently, the three of them were traveling through a dense forest and just finished killing a few Wolfen. The crown prince, Raul Gylbard was watching them from a short distance away. He was letting the two heroes gain experience by hunting themselves.

"Touche. Having that sword training for a week really helped somewhat..."

Well, it's not enough though, she added.

"Raul, how strong are we right now?"

Seeing as he was approaching, Sophia asked him.

"You two are well on your way to D-class. At the rate you two are going, you might be able to reach B-class in a few months."

Raul laughed. He was an A-class and while he definitely was outstanding for his age, the heroes were on another level altogether. It wasn't just their power, their skills and technique also improved very quickly. It would take a normal person weeks to be able to swing a sword properly in battle but in just a week of training, they already managed to slay Wolfen.

During their first three weeks, one was spent traveling, and the other two were spent in towns and sometimes the outskirts. While they did do battle from time to time, it wasn't to the extent that it could truly be considered a battle. Raul mostly took care of all of the monsters while they launched an attack from time to time.

Today marked the first day that he let the two of them slay monsters alone.

There were many who had approached them with the intent to recruit the heroes but because of their personal wishes, they had refused. They wished to at least help Raul as thanks for accompanying them so far.

That meant that the water hero and the light hero were affiliated with the ruined Auparith Kingdom. Although, they did take the offer of the neighboring country, Styn, to gain power in their lands.

"I wonder how the other heroes are doing..."

Karen muttered while taking materials from the deceased Wolfen. Although the Auparith Kingdom gave them a lot of money as a parting gift, it wouldn't be able to last forever. By hunting frequently, they'd be able to at least reduce their daily costs.

"The fire hero has caused trouble and burned down a forest. The dark hero has been imprisoned temporarily. And... the earth and wind heroes are working as adventurers, much like us. They refuse to ally with any of the kingdoms and have been a real headache though."

"...Burned down a forest?"

Karen asked Raul to confirm.

"Yes. It was because he was irked by goblins, if I recall."

"Looks like we were right about him being that much of a troublemaker. The dark hero too, how did he manage to get imprisoned so fast?"

Sophia laughed. She was a pretty carefree person.

"Jeez, don't laugh that much. They're going to give us a bad name if they keep that up."

As fellow heroes, Karen felt that she needed to at least acknowledge them but... hope was bleak.

And so, another day passed for the two heroes and the crown prince. Having little achievements yet no trouble made them the ideal in the continent's eyes. And, the start of their trouble was just beginning.