The Resolve to Defeat Demon King Kanan
“No… things haven’t gone so smoothly. In this world, I haven’t been able to properly receive the oracles from Goddess Athena. The most I’ve managed is a vague sense that he’s somewhere in this region.”
“I see… but you’re certain he’s nearby?”
“The appearance of the monster King Wolf makes it all but certain. If we assume it was born from the corruptive influence of Demon King Kanan’s dark power, then it’s very likely he’s close.”
“Makes sense. That’s a solid deduction.”
Most likely, some stray dog in the area was corrupted by Kanan’s dark energy—transformed through demonic evolution into the monstrous King Wolf.
“But meeting Hero-sama first—before anything else—that was a stroke of fortune. There’s no way I could face Demon King Kanan alone.”
“Leave it to me. I’m not letting him do as he pleases in my world. I don’t care where he’s hiding—I’ll find him, and this time, I’ll obliterate him completely.”
“I’ll support you however I can, even if my strength is limited.”
“I’m counting on you, Riena. When it comes to the search, I’m out of my depth. You’re the expert here.”
“Understood. I’ll finish constructing the high-precision detection spell as soon as possible.”
“So, for now, we wait for that to be ready. In that case, this strategy meeting’s done. Hey, since we’re finally reunited, how about we celebrate by grabbing something to eat? How about ramen?”
“Ramen!? That’s the soul food you told me about from this world, right, Hero-sama? I’d love to try it!”
“There’s a great place nearby. Let’s go—ah, wait, hold on. Huh? A LINE message from Hasumin. Give me just a sec.”
I excused myself and checked my phone.
Sure enough, it was a message from Hasumin.
[Did you make it in time? Meeting your parents or something?]
(Ah, right. We kind of parted ways in a hurry, didn’t we? She’s probably worried. But… I can’t exactly tell her I was meeting Riena and planning to take down a resurrecting Demon King. Guess I’ll have to say I was with my parents.)
[Yeah, I was with my parents.]
There was no way I could admit I’d been drafting a demon-slaying strategy with Riena. The safe bet was sticking to the parent story.
I hated lying to Hasumin—but this wasn’t something I could explain. Not yet.
—And then,
“Hero-sama, what is that small board-like object in your hand?”
Riena leaned in curiously, her eyes fixed on the smartphone I was holding.
“Oh, this? It’s called a smartphone. As long as the other person has one too, you can stay in touch with them—no matter how far apart you are.”
“A-A device like that exists!? Could it be… this world is actually the divine realm where the gods reside!?”
Riena’s eyes widened in amazement as she took in my explanation.
“From my perspective, this is the normal world. It’s your world—where goddesses and blessings and skills are the norm—that feels unreal to me.”
“Oh no, there’s no question—this world is way more bizarre!”
“Maybe it’s just a case of the grass always being greener on the other side…”
And so, with that…
After agreeing on a general course of action with Riena, we headed out for ramen—to refuel and prepare ourselves for the coming battle against Demon King Kanan.
It turned out to be Riena’s first bowl of ramen, and her reaction far exceeded my expectations. Watching her eyes light up, I felt genuinely glad I’d brought her along.