I don't want to be a heroic spirit

"Her name is Alice, but I hope you will call her Elise when there are outsiders around, for some very complicated reasons."

Nero's words made Youyou stunned for a moment. At this moment, Alice walked up and held Youyou's hand. Her eyes as clear as the blue sky looked into Youyou's eyes and said softly.

"Although this is our first meeting, since Sister Nero is willing to let you be our teammate, then I am willing to trust you completely... and please don't reveal my real name to outsiders."

"Please forgive me for not being able to tell you everything about myself right now. Perhaps my request is a bit excessive... But please believe me, I already regard you as my true partner."

Nero noticed that when Alice said "real partner", Youyou's body shook a few times.

Chapter 258 You Can’t Stop Someone Who Determined to Suicide

"Hmm! Great! Another beautiful girl who suits my taste has joined my Roman adventure team. What a joyful outcome!"

Nero said this happily to Alice and Yunyun.

"Yes... yes! I'm very happy too! Or rather, I'm so happy I almost cried. It's so great to be able to come to Axel and post that notice at the Adventurer's Guild..."

Youyou's eyes flashed red with excitement, and Alice came to her side and patted her back to help her calm down.

"I understand, I understand. Having a companion you can trust with your life is truly a blessing. But this is the only thing I can't do. As an emperor, I'm destined to be a solitary and unique existence. Hmm... Thinking of some bad things, my head is starting to hurt again."

Nero nodded seriously at first, then showed a painful expression because of his headache.

Hmm... If there were a Holy Grail, it would probably help alleviate this chronic headache a little, right? So why didn't you feed me the Holy Grail in the first place?

Hmm... Oh, I remember now. I fed the Holy Grail to that woman named Morgan who has the same face as me.

I even managed to raise Morgan to level 120... Not only did he use up all the Holy Grail, but he almost vomited from fighting that Fire Seeding dungeon. Why is it so difficult to level up after level 100?

Hmm! Master, you're such a biased bastard!

"Now that we have new teammates, I'm sure you all know what to do first, right? I don't even need to remind you, right?"

"Yes! Yes! I know!" Youyou excitedly raised her hand, her eyes sparkling like a primary school student eager to show off in class. "We're going to take on commissions and hone our teamwork, right? And also to familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities."

Originally, getting familiar with the abilities of partners should be done before new teammates join the team. If you feel that they are not suitable for each other, you can withdraw from the team, so this is also equivalent to a test. This is what Huihui has been doing these days. She has made commissions with several teams, and then these teams all drove Huihui away.

However, there was no such test when Youyou joined Nero's team this time.

Because Nero thought she knew Youyou very well, and based on her understanding of the combat power of this world, although she might not be able to walk sideways, there weren't many beings that could threaten her life.

Looking at Yunyun who was looking expectant after answering, Nero replied ruthlessly.

“It makes sense, but it’s wrong!”

"Huh?!"

Facing Yunyun's stunned expression, Nero raised the corner of his mouth and said, "What you said is irrelevant! Since we have new teammates joining, the most important thing is of course to celebrate them! Why not just hold the Nero Festival! Then invite the entire town to participate! Let everyone in the town share in my joy!"

"No... don't go that far!"

Youyou seemed to be a rather shy person, and her cheeks grew hot at the thought of the entire town celebrating because she had a teammate.

Imagine that on your birthday you were originally planning to celebrate it in your room with a few friends, but one of your friends suddenly bought out all the display screens on high-rise buildings in the city to celebrate your birthday all day long, and even had an airship flying over the city with a huge sign that said Happy Birthday to you. Although some people might find it romantic, more people would probably find it shameful, right?

"...Yes, if we want to hold the Nero Festival, there are a lot of things to prepare. If we have the Holy Grail, it will be much easier. We can easily bring the entire town to participate in the Nero Festival."

Nero also realized that he had been inconsiderate, which made Youyou feel relieved.

"Hmm! There's nothing we can do about it... Although my power as emperor is unlimited, plans for the Nero Festival can only be put off until later... But the celebration still needs to take place, it's a must! After all, the celebration is also Rome!"

"Hehehe! Even though it's not the Nero Festival... I will still make it the world's number one celebration! That's right! I will sing at this celebration! A concert prepared just for Youyou!"

Youyou's attention was always on Nero, so she didn't notice that Alice's expression became strange after Nero said he would sing.

"That's right! Light of Rome! The greatest, most talented musician in the world! I will sing songs for you with this inspiring joy, and you can cheer and dance to your heart's content! This is a reward even the gods would envy! Mmm!"

"Think carefully. You and Alice are both my friends, but only Alice has heard my heavenly voice. This is too unfair and too cruel. This won't do! I am a wise emperor. It is within my duty to hold the golden scales day and night to eliminate injustice for my people."

Alice frowned... After a mental struggle, she decided to remind her new teammate Youyou, but when she turned around...

"Friends, friends, friends..."

I saw Youyou's face flushed and she was in a strange state.

"Really...really? Miss Nero, do you really consider me a friend? From now on, when I meet others, will I confidently tell them that Miss Nero is my friend? Without any thoughts of disdain like, 'Ah, stupid woman, why are you always asking stupid questions?' or 'Why is this woman so natural and so familiar with me when we just met?'"

"Hmm! It should have been obvious when I asked you to join my team, right? Besides, do you think that people who are not my friends are qualified to be my audience?"

Nero said this as if it was a matter of course.

"Friends... Friends! Can I finally have friends? Finally, I won't be called 'the weird girl who can never be found and is destined to live a lonely life' by the people I know. Finally, I won't have to confide in the little grass on my windowsill and talk to it all day long. Finally..."

A very heavy atmosphere inexplicably filled the air around Youyou.

Suddenly, Nero's hand was held tightly, and Youyou's face, with eyes flashing with a strange red light, suddenly came in front of Nero.

"Listen! I want to listen! Wuwuwu... the song my friend sang to welcome me... I feel like my life is complete. Even if I die after listening to my friend's song, I won't have any regrets... I will spend my whole life remembering this day, record Miss Nero's song, and play it every year on this day... wuwuwu..."

"Hmm! You're really looking forward to my concert, I'm so happy! But how can a recording compare to mine? Even if the songs I sing are recorded without soul, they are definitely masterpieces that are hard to find in heaven! They are so beautiful that they can't be reproduced even in dreams! But you are very important to me. As long as you want to hear it, I can sing for you anytime!"

"Nero... Nero... wuwuwu... It's so nice to meet you..."

Looking at Nero and Yunyun hugging each other, Alice, who had already seen through the truth, gave up thinking after some thought...

Forget it, that's it, I'm done.

Some people are determined to commit suicide, and you can't stop them.

Chapter 259 The Devil in the Forest

The next morning, Nero and Alice came to the Adventurer's Guild to continue working on commissions.

That’s right, only Nero and Alice came. Yunyun, who had already joined their team, did not come.

The reason is...

"Hmm! Last night, when I was halfway through my passionate singing, Youyou actually fell asleep blissfully under the influence of my beautiful voice. I guess she must have had a sweet dream, even her face looked incredibly happy...but I didn't expect her to still be sleeping so soundly the next morning."

"Um... Sister Nero, I really want to ask... did you check if Youyou was still breathing before you left her room?"

Nero looked at Alice and blinked his confused emerald eyes.

"Hmm! I think I've heard something similar before... a lullaby with a strong effect can put people into a deep sleep and then make them fall into a deep sleep. I see, do you think my beautiful singing voice can be compared to a lullaby of that level? But don't worry, Youyou was still alive. I don't know what she was dreaming about, but her temperature was elevated and her breathing was accelerated, but her vital signs showed that she was still alive and well."

Alice always felt that... Youyou was a little pitiful.

However, as the saying goes, every failure makes you wiser. After experiencing it firsthand, Youyou should have a deeper understanding of the power of Nero's voice, right? She probably wouldn't act as recklessly as she did last night.

"Come to think of it, there seem to be a lot more monster-killing requests than yesterday... Isn't this a newbie town? Are there going to be that many monsters?"

Nero suddenly asked this after noticing the increase in the number of parchments on the wall.

"No... I've never been to Axel either. It's just that it seems a little strange..." Alice looked up at the requests for One-Strike Bears, Rookie Killers, and Ogres. "Claire taught me about monster habits. The monsters that appear this season are likely to be weaker but more numerous. The monsters that roam in winter are much stronger, so adventurers are much more active in the summer... Theoretically, monsters of the level of multiple One-Strike Bears shouldn't appear."

Even though Alice is a princess who has lived in seclusion for a long time, she knows much more about the habits of monsters than Nero, a visitor from another world.

"Ah, regarding your questions... I can answer them for you."

As if she had heard Nero and Alice's doubts, a waitress came up to them with a perfect smile on her face that would never bore you.

"Originally, most of the monsters that inhabited the nearby forest hid deep within it, with only a few occasionally wandering around the outskirts. Adventurers' missions were to deal with the less powerful monsters lingering around the periphery, which was quite easy."

As she spoke, the waitress stroked her face with an annoyed expression.

"But, I recently heard that some adventurers seem to have encountered a very powerful demon in the forest... Perhaps out of fear of that demon, the monsters that once inhabited the deep forest have become restless, even appearing near the town. As a result, there have been more monster-slaying requests lately. How could this happen?"

"Demon?" Alice was surprised, then asked in confusion, "Why would a demon appear here?"

"We don't know that either."

After the waitress left, Nero asked Alice about the demon.

"Demons are not native to this world, but rather come from a world called Hell. They are hostile to the gods from Heaven. The two sides have engaged in a protracted battle, but each side has always won and lost."

Alice explained to Nero, "Demons appear in this world for different reasons. Some are summoned, while others come here on their own initiative... However, the demons that can come to this world on their own initiative are all very powerful demons."

"A demon from Hell, hostile to the gods?" Nero murmured softly, "Hmm... Is that Satan? I'm curiously concerned."

Because of his experiences in his lifetime, Emperor Nero was regarded as an existence on par with the Beast 666 and the Whore of Babylon. In the Type-Moon world, the Sixth Beast, the seven-headed, ten-horned beast that controls the principle of corruption, is a trinity of the Beast 666, the Whore of Babylon, and Nero. It is the beast of destruction that was born by devouring the "savior" - Draco.

In the Bible, the beast 666 is also called the Great Red Dragon and is often believed to be the same being as Satan, the king of hell.

Nero inexplicably recalled an old anime called "High School," where for some reason the 666 beast and the great red dragon were considered two separate entities...

When Nero looked down at Alice, he found that her brows were deeply furrowed as if she was thinking about something.

"Do you care?"

"what?"

Alice came to her senses and raised her head, meeting Nero's gaze.

"Are you concerned? About that demon."

"Um……"

Alice pinched the corner of her clothes with her small hands and nodded.

Whether out of kindness or a sense of responsibility as a royal, Alice could not allow the demon to roam the nearby forest.

After all, he is an "evil" demon, and people always feel that he has some extremely evil conspiracy.

"Hmm! A demon...it seems quite interesting, I'll go check it out."

Nero said this to Alice.

When they fought the giant frog, Nero and Alice went to the plains near the town. There were basically no powerful monsters there, and it was also the most popular place for novice adventurers.

Then, if you walk a little further, you will reach the forest where powerful monsters appear, and this is also where demons roam.

However, the appearance of demons is completely random, and whether or not you can meet one depends entirely on luck. Although Nero has A-level luck, he is not sure whether he will encounter a demon today, so he accepted a few commissions to subdue monsters.

"Extelion!"

Alice drew out her legendary holy sword, which seemed to have been passed down from generation to generation in the royal family, and slashed at a monster in front of her.

It was a strange monster with a teddy bear's head but a body comparable to Escanor at Noon. The head-to-body ratio was completely disproportionate, and its huge body brought a very oppressive feeling.

This is the monster called One-Strike Bear, because not many people can withstand its attack.

However, even such a powerful monster was easily cut in half by Alice's brilliant slash.

Nero, noticing Alice's enthusiasm, nodded approvingly.

"Hmm! You are indeed my favorite sister. If I continue to slack off like this, I will be outdone by my sister."

After saying that, Nero turned around and looked at the five One-Strike Bears that were approaching him. The Primordial Fire in his hand cut through the air, making bursts of sword sounds, and red flames also climbed up the sword.

"Fountain of the Saint! O flaming sword! Dance magnificently!"

Chapter 260 A Talent Even Gods Would Envy

Just as Nero expected, she and Alice did not encounter the demon.

However, they defeated many monsters, so it was not a loss.

"Sister Nero! It's almost dark, so..."

Holding the magnificent holy sword in her arms, Alice looked at Nero with anticipation in her eyes.

"Hmm! Yes... Let's stop here for today."

Nero also took a look at the sky and made such a plan.

Then, facing Alice's expectant gaze, Nero said softly, "Then... let's go back to Axel."

"Eh~~~~"

Alice sighed with a frustrated expression, then hung her head and grumbled softly, "I thought I could experience sleeping outdoors today."

"You..."

Nero looked speechless.

"Those who camp outdoors are doing so out of desperation. But Axel isn't far from here, just a short walk away. Why would they need to camp outdoors?"

"But...but...this kind of development often happens in the adventure stories I've read before. The hero and his trusted companions camping in the wild, the atmosphere around the campfire is so wonderful..."

Alice blushed as she spoke, her tone full of envy.

"This is clearly a development many adventurers would most like to avoid. Why are you so envious?"