I don't want to be a heroic spirit

He looked like he had something on his mind.

But... everyone has worries, right?

Thinking of this, Nero decided not to interfere and pretend that he hadn't noticed anything.

The castle where Alice lives is the most conspicuous and iconic building in the royal capital.

Because it was the first time for her to see such a magnificent building, Youyou opened her mouth in surprise, and it felt like her small mouth could fit an egg.

After surprise came tension.

"Please don't be nervous, Miss Youyou. You and Nero-sama are both friends of Her Highness Alice. Even after returning to the capital, Her Highness still misses you two. So... if you show nervousness in front of Her Highness Alice because of your status, it might make Her Highness Alice uncomfortable."

Claire used a gentle voice to try to cheer Youyou up, and it could be felt that she was truly doing this for Alice's own good.

Unlike Claire, she still harbors certain thoughts about Alice that a subject shouldn't have.

"Friends?"

"Indeed, I hope you two can continue to treat Her Highness Alice as an ordinary friend, just like you did in Axel, rather than as a high-ranking princess. I'm sure this is what Her Highness Alice would like to see."

As soon as the word "friend" appeared, it was like turning on a switch in Youyou, and she immediately cheered up.

"That's right! Alice and I are friends!"

Seeing that her comfort had worked, Rain smiled and then looked at Nero who had been silent.

"Hmm! I have always regarded Alice as a younger sister who needs to be worried about. The so-called status and position are useless in my eyes! Because no matter how high your position is or how much power you have, it is not as good as mine! Hmm!"

"Nero, you haven't changed much since then. I'm glad to see you're still as energetic as ever."

Afterwards, under the leadership of Rain, several people walked into the castle together.

Then they were greeted by many maids.

Youyou's body was a little stiff, probably because she was not used to such a scene.

Chapter 309 I miss you

"Oh? Isn't this Mr. Nero?"

"I remember you are...Mr. Yu Jian?"

In the white corridor, a man wearing dark blue heavy armor walked towards them, with a large sword emitting powerful magical power hanging on his waist.

Miku Ken Hibiki, the most famous person who traveled from Japan, the lord of the demonic sword Grame.

Nero had met him before in the royal capital and chatted with him for a while.

I heard that the other party had come to Axel some time ago, but they hadn't met yet, so Mitsurugi Hibiki returned to the royal capital.

At the same time as seeing Mitsurugi Hibiki... Nero also felt a gaze filled with strong malice.

Such blatant and undisguised malice came from Claire, who was beside Mitsurugi Hibiki.

"Hmm! Long time no see, Claire."

Nero ignored Claire's hostility and responded with a very sunny smile.

"...Long time no see, Lord Nero."

Claire felt like she had been holding back her punch for a long time but hit cotton.

Next to Nero, Rain patted her chest gently and breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Youyou, she was very self-aware and knew that this was her first time here. In order not to embarrass herself and not to bring shame to Nero, she had not said a word since entering the castle. Even she knew that the more she spoke, the more mistakes she would make.

Watch more, listen more, talk less.

Nero looked at Yu Jian Xiang Ye and smiled slightly. "Hmm! Your aura is much stronger than when we last met. It seems that you have become much stronger during this period of time. Very good! I have never disliked warriors who are brave enough to climb to the top!"

"We can't help it. With Nero-sama constantly putting pressure on us, we can't even slack off if we want to." Mitsurugi Hibiki scratched his head and gave a wry smile. "We successfully defeated four Demon King Army leaders! When the news reached the capital, everyone in the guild was terrified."

"But... well... how should I put it, it's your words, Nero-sama. I find them surprisingly acceptable, and I don't know why."

"Hmm! Of course it's because I'm awesome! If you want to admire me and rely on me, I'd welcome it!"

"Mr. Nero is such a joke."

Yu Jian Xiangye waved his hand, and then his eyes became firm.

"I can't commit all the heavy responsibilities to one person while I comfortably enjoy the peace brought by others. Such cowardly behavior is unacceptable to me. Just wait and see, Master Nero, we will catch up with you soon. There are still four Demon King Army cadres left, and the Demon King who is the greatest scourge. We will not let them go easily! Because of the influence you have brought, everyone in the guild is already gearing up! We also have our own pride!"

Seeing Mitsurugi Hibiki's resolute expression, Nero's mouth corners slightly raised.

"Hmm! That's how it should be!"

"Go ahead and show your bravery! I'll be watching!"

Then, driven by curiosity, Nero began to ask why Mitsurugi Hibiki appeared here.

"Recently, the Demon King's army has been making frequent attacks on the capital. I'm here as a representative of the Adventurer's Guild to report on the battle situation to Her Excellency Claire."

No wonder Mitsurugi Hibiki stands with Claire.

"Where's Lord Nero? Is he finally planning to return to the capital to support the battle? And who is this..."

"Hmm! Is that why I came back this time? It's because of Alice's invitation, as a reward for defeating four Demon King Army leaders. By the way, Satou Kazuma, Aqua, and the others were also invited, and then there's this person next to me..."

Nero suddenly grabbed Youyou's arm and held it tightly, while looking at Mitsurugi Hibiki.

"She's my trusted teammate, Youyou, the great magician from the Crimson Demon Clan."

It's normal for girls to hug each other...but Youyou became particularly stiff for some reason.

His eyes opened wide and his face became hot.

Feeling the soft touch coming from my arm, joy continued to surge from the bottom of my heart.

"Oh! I remember now. Back when we were in Axel, I invited you to join my team... So you ended up joining Lord Nero's team."

Mitsurugi Hibiki showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

At this time, Rain took two steps forward and spoke to Nero and others with some apology.

"Mr. Nero, Mr. Edgeworth, I apologize for interrupting your reunion... Her Highness Alice is still awaiting Mr. Nero's arrival, so please follow me to see Her Highness Alice."

"Hmm... Indeed, it's not good to keep Alice waiting too long."

Nero and Mitsurugi Hibiki looked at each other.

"Then hurry up. I have something else to do and need to get back to the guild. No one knows when the Demon King's army will attack again. I need to get back and prepare."

So, Nero continued to follow Rain and walked towards where Alice was.

Claire seemed to want to be with Nero and the others, but due to her duties, she still had some things to discuss with Mitsurugi Hibiki and his companions.

Therefore, she had to suppress her resentment temporarily and rush back to Alice immediately after resolving the matter over there.

Without her supervision, she was not at ease leaving Princess Alice and Nero together.

Nero discovered that they were not going directly to Alice's room.

Come to think of it, after all, Alice openly invited the great hero who contributed to the defeat of the Demon King's army cadres to have dinner together.

How can it be sent directly to Her Royal Highness the Princess's boudoir?

Regardless of whether others can accept it, Nero can guess that Claire will definitely be the first one to disagree.

Even though Nero had been to Alice's room many times, Claire would not allow this to happen.

"arrive."

Rain's words brought Nero back to his senses from his thoughts.

They came to the end of the corridor and stood in front of a door engraved with gorgeous patterns.

There were maids guarding both sides of the gate, and it was their job to open the door for Nero and others who came as guests.

When Nero stepped forward, the next moment, a golden light as bright as the sun caught her eyes.

"elder sister……"

That soft call was filled with longing.

Like a bird returning to the embrace of the sky, the girl in a white dress that looked like white feather wings threw herself into Nero's arms.

The sunlight shining into the house offered blessings for the reunion of the two.

Alice's snow-white arms wrapped around Nero's slender waist, and she sniffed Nero's body fragrance.

Suddenly, a nostalgic sense of security filled her heart.

Only in front of this person, Alice was unwilling to hide anything, and the thoughts that had accumulated over time were revealed without reservation.

"I miss you."

Chapter 310 Isn’t This Iris

Nero was shocked.

Alice is so bold.

If Claire were there, Nero guaranteed that the guy would go crazy.

After the reunion hug, Alice took Nero's hand and sat down, the remaining blush on her little face still not dissipated.

Naturally, Nero was pulled by Alice to the seat closest to her.

"Where's Rain? As a personal guard, she should be the closest to Alice, right?"

When Nero looked at Rain in confusion, Rain replied, "This meal is prepared for Her Highness Alice and the commended warriors. Claire and I cannot take a seat, but should stay beside Her Highness Alice."

"Youyou, come here too." Alice said to Youyou.

As Alice's teammate, the seat prepared for Youyou is naturally the one closest to Alice.

At the rectangular dining table, Princess Alice, who had the highest status, sat in the main seat, while Nero and Youyou sat in the two seats closest to her.

Rain did not sit down, but stood respectfully beside Alice.

"Since returning to the capital, I've been keeping an eye on your news, Sister. I've long known that you'd be able to defeat the Demon King's army leaders with your strength, but I never expected you to defeat half of them in such a short time! You're truly a sister."

"Hmm! It's Yu after all!" Nero crossed his arms over his chest, his tone full of confidence. "However, the credit this time doesn't just belong to Yu alone. It also goes to Youyou, Huihui and the others. After all, that slime's immunity to physical attacks and its huge size make it difficult even for Yu."

"Yes, I've heard that too. Whether it's High Priest Aqua who dealt the final blow to the Toxic Slime Hans, or the Great Magicians Megumin and Yunyun who dealt the final blow to the Synthetic Beast Sylvia, their achievements are irrefutable. And Lalatina and Satou Kazuma, I heard they also made many contributions to those battles."

To be honest, Nero and that poisonous slime Hans don't get along very well.

With a body as big as a hill and the characteristic of being immune to all physical attacks, Nero lacks the means to eliminate Hans without large-scale attacks such as laser cannons.

In the end, just like in the original story, Aqua absorbed all the beliefs of the Axis Cult and knocked Hans to pieces with one punch.

The same goes for Sylvia. Even after devouring the magician killer, Sylvia was still no match for Nero and was killed with one sword.

However, Sylvia, who was supposed to be dead, somehow managed to reappear in the form of having devoured the Headless Horseman and the Toxic Slime.

Not only has his ability value been greatly improved, but he has also gained the system of the poisonous slime that makes him immune to physical attacks. Combined with the shield of the magician killer that makes him immune to magic damage, he is basically invincible.

In the original work, Kazuma used his beauty to let Sylvia devour him, and then Kazuma himself became Sylvia's only weakness. Finally, after receiving the magic power of all the members of the Crimson Demon Clan, Youyou and Huihui used their strongest magic to kill Sylvia and Kazuma together.

However, if Nero were here, Kazuma wouldn't have to die again.

Nero in the game's Noble Phantasm is not the "Golden Theater that Invites the Heart and Soul" but the "Glorious Empire Sung by Virgins."

The effect in the game is to launch a powerful attack that ignores the defense of all enemies and reduce the enemy's defense for one round.

Using this move, Nero broke Sylvia's magic defense shield. Finally, Youyou and Huihui added the strongest sword of light and explosion magic, successfully defeating Sylvia, a cadre of the Demon King's army.

When Nero talked about the battle with the Demon King's army cadres, Alice became particularly excited.

Noticing this, Nero's mouth corners slightly raised.

"Hmm! Kazuma and the others haven't arrived yet, so there's still some time before dinner starts... Let me tell you about the adventures that Yunyun and I have had recently."

"Yes! I'm looking forward to it."

Rain, who was standing next to Alice, also smiled with relief when she saw this scene.

When Claire arrived here, she saw Nero telling a story to Alice, and Alice was listening attentively with her eyes shining, nodding from time to time.

Although she frowned and felt a little unhappy, Claire was tactful and said nothing. She stood silently beside Alice, just like Rain.

After a while, Kazuma and the others arrived.