"Eh?"
The people in the Adventurers' Guild looked at Kanae and Megumin with puzzled expressions.
"That weird girl with a screw loose? The Hero wants to recruit her?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Megumin herself was also stunned.
After a brief moment of surprise, she snorted softly and stood up.
Pulling her witch hat lower, she let out a small chuunibyou-style laugh.
"Hmph..."
"So you've also noticed my extraordinary nature, have you? Even a Hero who defeats the Demon King finds my power intriguing, yes?"
"I am Megumin! My class is Archwizard, and my specialty is the ultimate offensive spell—Explosion Magic!"
"If that's the case, allow me to offer the Hero my grandest explosion—"
"?"
Kanae was both amused and amazed by her dramatic tone.
"So this is what the Crimson Demon Clan is like, huh..."
She sighed lightly and patted Megumin's shoulder.
"That's right. The Commander has chosen you. Are you coming or not?"
"Of course!"
Megumin was nearly starving at this point. Despite her Explosion Magic being powerful, its practicality was poor—it left her drained and unable to fight again, which made finding teammates nearly impossible.
Now that she finally had a strong backer, how could she refuse?
"Um... I still owe Miss Luna a meal... would it be okay if..."
Megumin fidgeted nervously in front of Kanae.
"I-I'll pay her back later with completed quests!"
"That's a small matter."
Kanae walked up to the counter. Under the astonished gaze of the receptionist, she pulled out a pouch full of Eris coins.
"This is to settle Megumin's debt. Also, Miss Luna, the Commander would like to invite you to take up an administrative position to help coordinate new recruits for the Hero's expedition."
"Would you be interested in working somewhere new?" she asked with a friendly smile.
"M-me? Me?!—"
Luna froze in disbelief, and the guild immediately erupted into a commotion.
They'd seen adventurers being recruited before—but never the receptionist being poached along with them!
After only a brief moment of hesitation, Luna nodded quickly.
"I accept!"
The Adventurers' Guild's daily workload was overwhelming—handling intel, assigning quests, and cleaning up after incidents.
After so many years of singlehood, Luna was both tired and lonely.
Now, a young, strong, and handsome Hero himself was offering her a job—how could she possibly refuse?
With those two recruited, Kanae tapped the holographic interface to check the roster.
Then, she approached another woman—this one wearing heavy armor and watching the scene unfold curiously.
"Hmm, your name's Darkness, right? You don't have a party yet, do you? Would you be interested in..."
...
It wasn't just Axel.
Setsuna's recruitment teams, traveling aboard flying ships, were sweeping across the entire world with astounding efficiency.
Because of their thorough preparations before departure, every target's name and description had been recorded. Once the sensors scanned their surroundings, locating them precisely took no time at all.
Meanwhile, Eris's divine oracle greatly assisted Setsuna.
The Eris Church was the state religion of this empire, with believers spread across the globe. They had complete faith in the goddess's oracle.
Even those of other faiths, influenced by Eris's followers, had heard of a strange Hero who piloted a flying ship and defeated the Demon King.
With divine endorsement, recruiting companions became far easier.
Belzerg Kingdom's Royal Capital.
Within a lavish palace, a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl dressed in a white gown trained with her knights in the courtyard.
She was graceful and beautiful, a strand of purple grapes adorning her hair. Facing her was a short-haired female knight, trading swift strikes.
Though she looked delicate, every swing of her sword carried the force of a seasoned warrior. Her blows drove the female knight steadily backward.
This was Princess Iris of Belzerg Kingdom.
Because the kingdom lay close to the frontline against the Demon King's forces, the royal family and nobles had long encouraged intermarriage with powerful heroes from other worlds, strengthening their bloodlines and dramatically enhancing their potential.
—Those who had crossed from other worlds possessed strength far beyond that of any native.
As a descendant of heroes, Princess Iris possessed extraordinary strength. Slaying dragons was nothing more than a trivial task to her.
"Hmm... recently, the Demon King's army seems to have stopped attacking."
"It must be because that Hero defeated the Demon King, right?"
During a short break, Iris gazed down at the city beneath the castle.
At first, the kingdom had been locked in fierce battle with the Demon King's forces.
But after the Demon King was annihilated, the remaining troops scattered across the world began to weaken rapidly and were easily wiped out.
According to reports from the Eris Church, a remarkable Hero had slain the Demon King.
"I wonder what he looks like... and how powerful he really is..."
Princess Iris fiddled with the weapon in her hand, her expression curious.
"Well... Princess, if a powerful Hero truly has appeared again, then according to royal tradition, it would be best for you to marry him..."
"That way, your descendants will inherit an even stronger heroic bloodline..."
Beside her, a girl dressed in a mage's robe spoke. She was Iris's personal guard and instructor—Rain.
"Eh?"
Iris tilted her head thoughtfully.
"No way. I mean, sure, a Hero strong enough to defeat the Demon King must be amazing, but I've never even met him, and I don't know what he looks like..."
As she was grumbling—
Vwoom—
The air trembled as a small starship broke through the clouds, appearing above the royal palace.
"!!!"
The guards, princess, and knights below instantly erupted into chaos.
"The Demon King?... No, according to Lady Eris's oracle..."
"That must be the Hero's ship?!"
Click—
The hatch opened, and out jumped a blonde, blue-eyed knight in shining armor—with a distinctive ahoge swaying atop her head.
"You're Iris?"
The ahoge knight gave the princess a serious look.
"My Master told me to come pick you up. He said you also wield a Holy Sword, right?"
"Hmm, care for a little sparring match?"
...
In just a few days—
Groups upon groups of girls from all over the world were brought aboard Setsuna's ship.
Aqua and Eris looked on as one peculiar girl after another came aboard.
There was a chuunibyou little mage obsessed with Explosion Magic, a former general of the Demon King's army who had turned over a new leaf, the idol group from Axel, a royal princess... and more.
Most of them had come because they were inspired by the Goddess Eris's oracle and wished to meet the legendary Hero and adventure alongside him.
They agreed to join almost immediately, without hesitation.
The Angeloids and the girls from the Starsea Empire guided the locals through the ship, explaining everything as they went.
Stare...
Aqua glanced around, her brows furrowing as she felt something was terribly off.
Something was strange—Setsuna's criteria for choosing companions made no sense.
There was the odd little girl obsessed with daily explosions, the masochistic knight who couldn't land a single hit, and...
"Wait a second... you're only recruiting pretty girls?!"
Aqua's eyes widened in realization.
"Are you forming a party or building a harem?!"
"..."
Setsuna simply smiled, saying nothing.
"Heh... looks like you're not as dumb as I thought..."
...
A few days later—
Inside the starship hovering above Axel City.
The wide command bridge had become much livelier, filled with a large number of new companions recruited from across different worlds.
The once-quiet interior now bustled with chatter and excitement.
"Whoa~ This place is even bigger than the royal capital of Belzerg! Truly impressive—just what I'd expect from a Hero."
"Excuse me, which nation's craftsmen built this starship, Hero? I'd like to invite them over to work for our kingdom—"
Princess Iris, accompanied by her two attendants, curiously examined the ship's interior, asking one question after another as she explored.
"Bulin? What's a Bulin?"
Among the new recruits were princesses, adventurers, and locals from Axel.
But the most eye-catching group was a cluster of little girls brought aboard by a small shuttle.
"Oh! So this is where we'll be following the Hero from now on? The one who defeated the Demon King truly is extraordinary..."
"But we are all the greatest Arch Wizards in the world! Bear witness to our power! Hahaha...!"
This group of little girls radiated the same chuunibyou aura as Megumin.
Most of them wore matching school uniforms, all with black hair and red eyes.
The older ones were about Megumin's age; the younger ones were so small they peeked timidly from behind the others.
They carried simple luggage and a variety of magic staves, marveling in awe at the ship's interior.
"Master, these are children from the Crimson Demon Village," Jeanne d'Arc reported, rubbing her temples.
"That village's people... how should I put it—they're a bit strange. It took quite a bit of effort to recruit them."
Her words were tactful, but Jeanne Alter just shrugged bluntly.
"Just say they're all nuts, it's faster!"
Pfft—
Setsuna glanced at Aqua and nearly burst out laughing.
The Crimson Demon Village—also known as the Land of Crimson Demons.
As the name implied, its inhabitants were called the Crimson Demon Clan.
Long ago, one of the reincarnators Aqua had sent to this world was granted bizarre powers.
Later, the local nobility asked that reincarnator to create weapons to fight the Demon King's army.
So the reincarnator experimented on the natives, modifying them into magic-enhanced humans—the Crimson Demons.
Their descendants were all born Arch Wizards. Every graduate from the Crimson Demon School reached at least an Advanced-class level.
Of course, the founder's chuunibyou personality was passed down as well, so their way of thinking tended to be... unusual.
"E-excuse me... you must be the Hero who defeated the Demon King? My name is Yunyun. I'm an Arch Wizard, and I... I hope I can adventure alongside you. P-please take care of me."
A girl wearing a robe similar to Megumin's stepped forward, clutching a silver staff. Her voice trembled nervously, showing her excitement.
Yunyun was slightly taller than Megumin, slim, with her hair tied neatly by a ribbon. Her features were quite pretty.
"Oh, nice to meet you. Welcome aboard. Let the Angeloids brief you on the situation—we'll be departing soon."
Setsuna gently patted Yunyun's head.
She was probably one of the few Crimson Demons who thought normally and didn't suffer from chronic chuunibyou.
Beside her stood several other black-haired, red-eyed little girls.
"Hello, Hero! I'm Arue—"
"My name is Junjun! I'm also an Arch Wizard! Master of advanced magic! Um, by the way, do we get pocket money for traveling with the Hero?"
"I-I'm Dodonko! Miss Jeanne said if we join the Starsea Empire, we can get a free Advanced-class magic staff—is that true?"
Jeanne d'Arc had persuaded the Crimson Demon girls with both kindness and incentives. Some came to see the legendary Hero, while others were enticed by money or rare magical artifacts.
Setsuna agreed to all of it.
"No problem. Whatever you need, we'll provide it later."
Finally, at the end of the line, there was a tiny, adorable girl.
She peeked out shyly from behind the others—so young she was smaller than even a Sakura Empire destroyer.
"My name is Komekko, designated housekeeper—and the Crimson Demon's number one little sister of temptation!!"
"Ugh... I'm hungry..."
"Hero big brother, you defeated the Demon King, right? Can I have some Demon King meat? I'm really curious what it tastes like..."
Komekko tugged at Setsuna's sleeve, her eyes wide with innocence.
"...He was sliced into dust by the Immortal with a single sword, thanks."
"Go to the cafeteria and have the Angeloids make you something to eat."
Setsuna sighed, a line of exasperation forming on his face.
As expected, every Crimson Demon girl was truly one of a kind.
...
A few days later—
When the final expedition shuttle returned, carrying the princess from the distant Kingdom of Brydle aboard the starship—
"Reporting, Commander. Recruitment operations in this world have been fully completed," Kanae announced cheerfully.
"Additionally, we've collected some interesting specimens from this world—like those running cabbages and the saury fish that grow in fields."
She smiled proudly.
"The Life Sciences Department will love those, right? We also gathered a fair number of magical artifacts and equipment."
"Oh, and... one big thing."
The Angeloids began unloading over a dozen large crates.
Inside were various melee weapons, staves, scrolls, armor pieces—and even a much larger vessel carrying a massive, spider-like steel machine.
It was nearly the size of a shuttle, its body covered in weapons and armor plating.
"What's that...?" Fu Hua and Tohru stared blankly, both sensing something very out of place.
"That's the Mobile Fortress Destroyer! We had to spend quite some effort getting the Electronic Warfare Angeloids to hack and disable it. Figured we'd bring it back for the Engineering Division to study."
Kanae flipped open the machine's log files. "According to the records, the creator mentioned he was sent here long ago... by a certain blue-haired goddess?"
"..."
Shinobu scratched her head awkwardly.
In a world of swords and magic, most tools were fairly similar—holy swords with powerful effects, instant-cast scrolls, and blessed equipment of various types.
For the Starsea Empire, these were nothing special.
The only unique things here were the so-called 'cheat items'—artifacts granted by goddesses to reincarnated heroes.
When those heroes died, their divine items remained in this world.
The Mobile Fortress Destroyer was one such relic—built by a hero whom Aqua had sent here, powered by his divine cheat ability.
"..."
"The Crimson Demon Village was your doing, the Destroyer was your doing, even the Demon King traces back to you... Just how much chaos have you caused, Aqua?"
Setsuna pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, staring at the clueless goddess.
Then, he glanced down at the completed roster.
"Well then, with all companions recruited, our objectives in this world are fully achieved."
"..."
Eris and Aqua exchanged astonished looks.
In just a few days, Setsuna had used his title as Hero to gather a large group of companions.
Every one of them had joined with the dream of adventuring alongside the Hero to other worlds—and now they all waited eagerly for departure.
"Hero, are you returning now?" Eris asked softly.
"Of course. But before that, there's one last thing."
Setsuna reached out and gently patted Chris's head.
"Let me meet your true form, Eris."
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven