After somehow managing to get acquainted with Veldora, I moved a little away from the place where he was sealed and looked around the area.
"What are you going to do from here on out?"
Chronoa suddenly tossed out the question.
Naturally, she was asking me.
"First, I'll head back to White Ice Palace and report to Guy."
After all, I had come here because of the mission Guy gave me in the first place.
"Then what?"
"Hmm... I guess I'll keep training under Guy and Velzard, or maybe travel around the continent?"
Since this was a rare chance to be in the world three hundred years in the past, I thought it might be worth touring the continent and meeting important figures like Leon Cromwell, who was still a Hero at this point, or Gazel Dwargo, who should still be the crown prince of Dwargo.
Someday, they would become famous as a Demon Lord and a great Hero.
While I was thinking that, Chronoa asked carefully, "Then... would you have any interest in traveling with me?"
"...Together?"
"Yeah. You're someone who knows about my regressions, so maybe... just maybe, you could become the clue that lets this one succeed."
"...Hmm."
'Traveling with Chronoa, huh.'
It definitely wasn't a bad offer.
When it came to people who even had a chance of beating her as she was now, there were only the [Scorch Dragon] and the king of giants. The only ones who could defeat her for certain were Guy Crimson, Velzard, and Milim.
In other words, if I traveled with her, I wouldn't have to deal with troublesome or dangerous situations.
Overwhelming power that bordered on the divine worked in any situation.
And if she used the epithet of the strongest Hero, there was no one on any continent who could afford to ignore her.
'I'll figure something out with Guy. As long as it doesn't cause him any actual loss, he's the type to let it slide.'
In that sense, Guy was a good boss. He didn't pry too deeply into his subordinates' affairs.
"Well, that doesn't sound bad. But even if I do end up traveling with you, it'd probably be at least a few years from now."
"...Why?"
"Because... I'm still training under Guy."
Guy's goal was for me to become humanity's strongest weapon and infiltrate their ranks.
To do that, I had to become even stronger than I was now.
"...At your level, you're already one of the top ten heroes of the current generation. You still need more training?"
"That's only by human standards. If you compare me to monsters, I probably wouldn't even make the top ten. I'd barely squeeze into the top twenty."
Even that ranking was only possible because people like Misery and Rain hadn't awakened yet, or because some hadn't even been born.
If I were up against a disaster-class monster like Guy, I'd be erased for sure in under ten seconds.
"So yeah, right now isn't possible. Still, I'll ask Guy about it, and I plan to come back here whenever I have time, so if you're near the Great Forest, we should be able to travel together."
I was planning to come check on Veldora often anyway, so meeting Chronoa wouldn't be difficult.
"...Can't be helped. All right. If you get permission later, come to the Kingdom of Blumund. I plan to base my activities around that country for a few decades."
"Sure. Let's meet again someday."
Adelio and Chronoa accepted that promise of reunion, one that would take quite a long time, with surprising ease.
But neither of them was bound by the limits of lifespan, so it hardly mattered.
'We'll meet again in a few years...'
Thinking that to himself, Adelio memorized the coordinates of the Great Forest and then teleported to White Ice Palace.
As soon as I arrived, an even colder, bleaker air than the Great Forest's poured into my lungs.
The chill of White Ice Palace, where extreme cold swept through every year, was enough to feel cold even to a demon.
Though I was starting to get used to even that by now.
"Tch... you're back already, Adelio."
"......"
Unexpectedly, the first demon to come greet me was Rain.
"...Rain. Sucking your teeth the second you see my face is a little harsh, don't you think? It makes the demon hearing it feel bad."
"Hmph, who cares! Feel bad all you want!"
She said that, but in truth, Rain had run over as soon as Adelio returned so she could be the first to greet him.
'Honestly, she really is kind. She just has a weird boss-like way of showing it.'
Adelio had more or less guessed as much already, so he hadn't said it with any real annoyance.
"...So? Did you get a good look at Guy's little act of consideration?"
When Adelio stayed silent, lost in thought, Rain crossed her arms, cracked one eye open slightly, and asked.
"Ah, yes. I saw Veldora with my own eyes."
"Hmph... then hurry up and go make your report!"
Turning her head away coldly again, Rain shoved me toward the audience chamber.
"Yeah, yeah."
.............
When I entered the audience chamber of White Ice Palace, I saw Guy standing there with Velzard at his side.
He had been staring expressionlessly at the floor, but the moment he noticed me, he smiled as if he'd been waiting.
"You're back early. Did things go well?"
"...The result wasn't bad, but it's a little hard to define."
"Hard to define? Let's hear it."
"Yes. Actually..."
There were three main things I explained to Guy.
That the mysterious powerhouse who had appeared in Jura Great Forest was a Hero.
That she had fought Veldora and sealed him.
And that she had even proposed traveling with me.
I vaguely glossed over how exactly I had gotten to know her, but I reported everything else truthfully.
"...A Hero strong enough to seal a True Dragon. That brings that man to mind... well, whatever. I was just thinking humanity needed another strong fighter on its side. Maybe this time the balance will finally be restored."
A new Hero and Veldora's sealing.
An increase in humanity's strength and a weakening of the monsters' side.
If I established myself among humanity as a powerful figure on top of that, then the balance would hold for a while.
Though the flaw was that in three hundred years, that balance was guaranteed to collapse.
"You said that Hero's name was Chronoa, right? You traveling with her certainly isn't a bad idea, but there is one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Is that Hero truly someone you can trust? Someone who would never betray you, a monster, and someone you could entrust your back to?"
"......"
Whether Chronoa was someone I could trust.
It was definitely a reasonable concern for Guy to have.
Guy knew the entire history of how humanity had grown.
'To Guy, humanity probably looks like a foolish lesser race that loves war.'
Among all humans, there was only one person he truly acknowledged: the First Hero, [Rudra].
So I could understand why he wouldn't trust Chronoa.
But still.
I knew Chronoa well.
I knew that she was a good and gentle person, enough to endure thousands, tens of thousands of regressions for the sake of the slime who had once saved her.
"...In my personal opinion, I think she's more than trustworthy."
At the very least, I trusted her—the Hero named Chronoa.
"Hmm... if that's your answer, then I don't mind. It's a pain getting involved in a subordinate's affairs anyway, so do as you see fit."
Maybe he liked the certainty in my response. Guy seemed to think for a moment, then finally gave his permission.
Though it came with one condition.
"However, until you've gained enough power for me to acknowledge you, your activities should remain centered here."
Still, that was about the level of condition I had expected.
"Yes, of course."
If anything, it was a condition that benefited me too, so I accepted immediately.
And so, five years passed—both very long and very short.
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