Ryuji and Alan gathered inside his office, the grey skies starting to fade, with sunlight peeking through the broken clouds.

"Alan, you were a pretty useless hero, huh?"

"... Ryuji, I was young, and it was my first actual battle. Do you think I can be like those damn psychopaths we summon and claim, ''I am the chosen one.'' Then start killing things with no remorse and act like it''s normal to do so?"

"Eh... It happens a lot in the novels, though, right?"

Alan gave a slight snort before opening his prized glass case full of expensive spirits and liquors; for a moment, he seemed to think about the bottle. Then he turned to Ryuji after selecting a bottle that seemed to be something similar to scotch. "Well, I''ll tell you honestly, those who don''t feel fear and act like nothing changed after killing their first humanoid enemy.

They die first and cry the most about how scared they are."

"Really? I thought they would die with an edgy line before blowing themselves up to stop the enemy."

"Heh... those novels, sometimes one of the nerdy or fat students will have them. I''ve seen some, too. Ryuji and the protagonists in those novels do not exist. At least in this world, they pretend to be cool and act like they are unbreakable. Then the moment an ally dies, they crumble when their strength is needed most."

"Hmmm, sorry for saying you''re a useless hero. Though you failed, you seem to have never given up completely. I was wrong, Alan."

The cosy room filled with the sound of Alan pouring the liquor into two glasses, with a large sphere of ice placed inside.

Both men seemed to be more moody than usual. It seemed the things they needed to say and discuss caused them to change their usual routine.

"Ryuji, actually, I was going to die. I planned this time to take the heroes myself... To make up for my two mistakes and if I couldn''t defeat the monster." He sipped his glass, closing his eyes with a serene atmosphere. "Then I would die and become part of that thing for eternity."

"I never thought you would feel that way..."

Ryuji looked a little strange. He observed his friend while grasping his drink tight and took a sip. He smiled bitterly as the warm, sweet taste of aged caramel and a hint of smoky aftertaste slipped down his throat.

"Well, that was till I met you and got to know you. The first genuine psychopath who didn''t seem to be playing hero."

"Psychopath... man, that''s a bit harsh..."

"Haha, don''t be weird. I mean, you literally took that fox into your room without a second thought. That wasn''t normal, then you slaughtered five knights. And offered your body to us like some kind of meat shield for hire. What were you even thinking back then? That''s not a normal person''s thought path...

Couldn''t you read the room?" Alan looked genuinely interested. He wanted to know more about the man who inspired him to stand up one last time. To not give up and rush to his death and to give his all.

Ryuji, on the other hand, didn''t even realise these things.

He sipped his drink, closing both eyes. Then began to consider his actions from the moment he arrived. It took a few moments, the sound of the enormous grandfather clock ticking several times... before finally, as if in beat to the clock, he spoke.

"I didn''t feel anything after losing my mother and hurting my only friend. The teacher I beat up was nothing special; he just looked at me the wrong way. I knew that I had problems—the medication stopped working, and I couldn''t control my body''s urges for violence, sex, and excitement, be it from alcohol or watching married women fall into depravity."

"Yikes... you''re a little bastard, aren''t you? So, when you arrived, I remember you... You seemed strange, your little speech. It sounded like you wanted to change, or at least make friends or something back then. A lot of the knights found it amusing."

Alan shook his glass, enjoying the sudden embarrassed look of Ryuji, who normally seemed impenetrable. His cheeks turned pink, and he looked away.

"Forget that! I just... I felt that there was nothing for me after losing that comfortable place; rather, I destroyed it myself, and even now, I don''t regret sleeping with her and making Alex look at me that way, but maybe that''s the demon in me speaking. While the human in me felt lonely, I took Yumiko as my slave because of that.

''This guy... he must have really needed this drink!''

Ryuji dashed away with a sense of danger and a beating sounding alarm bells in his head. He dashed towards the door as Alan seemed to follow him with stumbling movements. Though he escaped the room, the feeling of danger didn''t vanish as he dashed down the corridor.

"Ryuji! You can''t have Alice, too!"

"I get it! Stop chasing me!"

"No.. you, I know what you are like! C''mere!"

"NO!"

***

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Liana, Yumiko, Alicia and Erika were having a small tea party or rather a gathering of their own.

"Since we are all women related to Ryuji, then you should all understand, right?"

Liana''s voice echoed while she looked into the garden, where her uncle was chasing Ryuji at full speed with his divine aura on full display. The image is like a cat chasing a mouse after it gets overconfident.

''Uncle?''

Her eyes widened as she watched the two men start to exchange blows, with Ryuji''s attempts to defend himself quite commendable against the kingdom''s hero...

"Does he really see me in that way? I mean, I asked him to take responsibility. But I can''t force him to be attracted to me, right?" Alicia spoke with a concerned voice, her long ears drooping along with her eyes as she pressed her index fingers together.

Yumiko shook her head; she saw Ryuji being beaten by Alan before throwing mud and dirt in his eyes and reversing the situation, causing her to burst into a smirk, laughing. "You fool... If you were to wait in his room naked, then I guarantee he would ravish you until you couldn''t walk the next day."

"Ah... no way..." Alicia turned her head and covered her face.

Although she liked to act like Sheila, when it came to really thinking about things beyond just teasing him, it caused her to become shy.

"No, Yumiko is right... He would devour you and leave no meat on the bone... It''s like you are his ideal in every form." Erika muttered while eating one of the butter biscuits and watching Alan swinging Ryuji around like an athlete in the hammer throw.

"I see... Ehehe...." Alicia''s response seemed to make the other girls, but a fair amount of jealousy was allowed. They had already agreed to this.

"I am still going to become his favourite~ so try your best, little elf princess. Your mother is our enemy now, though, so why hasn''t she come to get you?" Liana asked, with a serious question added to her boasting, her eyes narrowing as she watched both Alan and Ryuji, now covered in dirt and bruises, lay on the ground, laughing like madmen while pointing at the sky.

''What are those idiots doing? How do they go from fighting to laughing together like nothing happened?''

"Oh... she sent me a warning last month that my sister had taken the throne. So I shouldn''t come back, because my sister seemed strange. Then, thanks to Alan and your Dad... They seemed to accept me as ''Alicia, the knight'' temporarily thanks to Simon, Paul and Ryuji''s existence. If not for those three, I would be a political hostage by now.

Ahaha."

''No, it''s definitely my dad and Alan plotting against Ryuji, knowing he liked you...''

"I see... well, since you''re one of us, it doesn''t matter. If things get bad, we can just get Ryuji to kidnap us both and flee the kingdom!"