"Then, Lord Hero, please rest here for the time being. I will notify His Majesty the King about you."
Alice was given a room to rest in the church. Evidently, because of the presence of a surveillance system, there was no way Alice could hide the fact that she was the one who drew the Hero's Sword. Though, after giving the matter some thought, Alice found this situation to be reasonable. After all, this world had developed its magical technology to the extent that even mobile phones existed. So, how could the people of this world not have invented a surveillance system yet?
Fortunately, the white-robed elder, who was also the head priest of this church, showed a considerable degree of respect for the "Hero" Alice. Hence, he didn't hesitate at all to give Alice the best room available in the church. He also dared not disturb Alice for too long as he made himself scarce. Before the old man left, though, he said, "Lord Hero, I can see that you are quite humble and do not wish to announce your presence to the world, but the appearance of a Hero will inspire the people. So, I still hope that you can consider telling the world about your existence..."
"Let's talk about this in the future."
Alice frustratedly sat down on a chair in the room while secretly cursing at her curiosity. None of this would've happened if she did not try touching the Hero's Sword with her right hand. Now that her actions were caught on camera, she couldn't avoid becoming the Hero even if she wanted to. After all, the people of this world firmly believed that the Hero coexisted with the Demon King. If she adamantly refused to take on the duties of the Hero, the people of this world would probably panic.
However, while Alice had accepted her fate of becoming the Hero, she still hoped to keep her identity secret for the time being. At most, she would compromise with letting the higher-ups of society announce the birth of a Hero to the public. That way, she could get rid of her identity as the Hero once the Demon King remained a no-show for some time.
Though, when Alice looked at the situation from a different perspective, getting recognized as the Hero wouldn't be all that bad. After all, if the Demon King remained non-existent, she would get to enjoy the benefits of being a Hero without having to carry out a Hero's duties.
"Alright, then. I will relay this matter to His Majesty."
Seeing Alice's stubbornness, the head priest Kasandora let out a helpless sigh and took his leave, leaving only Alice and Zauna in the room.
The room deserved to be called the church's best available room as it was very spacious. There was also an object resembling a computer set up on a work desk. However, compared to the computers found on Earth, the computer in question had a somewhat different shape. The computer's display looked like a polished gemstone slab. If it weren't for the casing surrounding the polished slab, Alice wouldn't have recognized it to be a computer at all.
"How does it feel to be the Hero?"
After Father Kasandora left, Zauna looked at Alice with a smile. Unlike an old fossil like Father Kasandora, the young Zauna was much more open-minded. Rather than feeling awe and reverence toward the legendary existence known as the Hero, she felt more curious instead.
Alice did not wish for Zauna to grow afraid of her because of her identity as the Hero, either. So, she felt relieved to see hardly any change to Zauna's tone. Then, in response to Zauna's question, Alice complained, "Not that good. I already said I'm not the Hero. You know as well as I do that I don't have any combat power. What if the Demon King really appears? I probably won't last more than a hit."
…You don't have any combat power?
The wolf king's tragic end surfaced in Zauna's mind, causing her to subconsciously shudder. If Alice considered having the ability to summon a huge mountain to crush her enemies as not having any combat power, then probably only the Demon King, who was rumored to have the ability to move mountains and fill oceans, could be considered an opponent for her.
"According to records, all Heroes start weak. However, once they start training, they would gradually gain strength far surpassing ordinary humans. If you exclude your ability to create a mountain out of thin air, then you are indeed quite weak right now… But it doesn't matter. Since you are the Hero, you can definitely become strong quickly."
After taking a seat on the bed, Zauna looked at Alice and continued explaining, "The Demon King and Hero will always appear together in the same era. Since you are verified to be the Hero, this shows that the Demon King will soon appear as well. However, before the Demon King reaches maturity, nobody can tell where the Demon King is hiding. The Demon King might even be hiding among humans.
"Once the Demon King matures and can no longer keep themself concealed, they will take over the demon army and launch an attack on humans. So, you will have to stay alert and grow up quickly. If you lose out to the Demon King in terms of growth, things might become troublesome."
"I know. That's why I don't want to become the Hero."
Alice felt miserable. Her thoughts were different from the people of this world. The people of this world regarded becoming the Hero as an honorable thing, and should they be selected to become the Hero, they would naturally do their best to train and prepare to defeat the Demon King. Hence, most of this world's past Heroes had successfully defeated their Demon King counterparts.
However, Alice was different. She came from Earth and did not receive any cultural education related to Heroes. She did not have any desire to become a Hero. Hence, getting her to desperately train to defeat the Demon King was a tall order.
"By the way, based on your statement, does that mean the Demon King might originate from human society? If that's the case, can the demons accept a human as the Demon King?" Alice curiously asked.
"Once the Demon King's Power chooses the next Demon King, the chosen person will have their body modified. Strictly speaking, such a person would no longer be considered a part of the human race."
Zauna was relatively knowledgeable on this topic. After all, computers and mobile phones existed in this world. The human society here could be regarded as having entered the era of information explosion already. Hence, one could easily find information on the Demon King online. Not to mention, Zauna also attended history lessons at school since history was a compulsory subject. Only an illiterate like Alice would need to be educated on such popularized knowledge.
"Moreover, the humans the Demon King's Power chooses all possess unresolvable resentment towards humans. Hence, they can quite easily incorporate themselves into the demon race and initiate aggression against human civilization. Although we have taboo bombs capable of razing entire cities in our current era, the utilization of these weapons will similarly lead to the destruction of human civilization. Even if these weapons could do damage to the Demon King, they shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary."
Listening to Zauna's description, Alice guessed that the so-called "taboo bombs" were probably equivalent to Earth's nuclear bombs. Once used, they would cause large-scale destruction to human cities and civilization. Using these weapons would only lead to mutual destruction. Moreover, Zauna seemingly deemed that the taboo bombs were only at the level of "could do damage to the Demon King" instead of "could kill the Demon King." This revelation worried Alice, and she couldn't help but lose confidence in her ability to defeat the Demon King by throwing away her shame and panties.
After all, these were weapons capable of causing devastating damage to human civilization they were talking about here. Yet, Zauna spoke as if taboo bombs couldn't necessarily kill the Demon King. If that was the case, would Alice's panties be of any use?
After this revelation, Alice also realized why this world, despite having developed to such an extent, still feared the Demon King's birth so greatly. And if the Demon King's offensive capabilities were anywhere close to their defensive capabilities, then Demon King was basically a walking nuke that could be infinitely reused.
"Don't worry. To ensure you develop smoothly into a Hero capable of fighting the Demon King, not only our Gryffin Kingdom, but every kingdom in the world will do their best to help you grow," Zauna said after seeing through Alice's worries. "Also, after you defeat the Demon King, you will be regarded as the world's savior. At that time, noble ladies from all over the world will flock to you. Oh, but since you're a female Hero, you might not be too interested in this."
"But I can't bring myself to be happy at all," Alice complained.
No matter how much Zauna described the benefits of being the Hero, Alice only found the position of Hero to be a burden. This was especially true when she thought about how her trump card was panties. Once she started serving as the Hero, everyone in the world would pay close attention to her every action. If the public were to find out that her ultimate move was to convert panties into all sorts of powerful abilities one day, then that day would be her death in society.
"Regardless, I don't mind you people announcing that a Hero has appeared, but make sure not to expose my identity."
Currently, Alice was more inclined to believe that the Demon King would not show up. After all, she knew better than anyone that she wasn't the real Hero. If she really was the legendary "Hero chosen by God," then she should've been able to draw the Hero's Sword even with her left hand. However, the fact was that she could only draw the sword with her right hand. Hence, there was a high possibility that the true Hero hadn't appeared at all. Then, the Demon King naturally wouldn't appear, either.
"Well, don't overthink it for now. Go take a bath first and change your clothes," Zauna said, unable to help herself from chuckling when she saw Alice's pondering look. Alice's appearance was roughly that of a 16-year-old girl. Rather than making her appear serious, her pensive look made her seem cuter instead. This was also why Zauna didn't feel any pressure even after finding out that Alice was the Hero.
After saying so, Zauna turned around and removed her backpack. Then, she rummaged through the bag, pulled out a pair of panties and a bra, and tossed them to Alice. "You can wear my underwear for now. I'll also bring you a nun's garb for you in a moment. I don't think you can continue wearing that dress of yours anymore."
"Huh? Oh, alright…"
When Alice heard Zauna's words, she didn't think much about them and simply reached out to receive the underwear Zauna offered her.
[Weapon: Soft Blue-Striped Underwear]
[Quality: Artifact]
[Effect: Strength +3000, Constitution +5000, Speed +7000, Mind +5000, Control +5000, Mana +5000]
[Additional Effect:
Mana Cancellation (Passive Skill. You will not be affected by offensive magic);
Wind's Protection (Passive Skill. Your affinity with the wind element is maxed, and you gain the flight ability);
Spirit of the Sky (Active Skill. Upon use, releases a storm that shreds your opponent's soul.)]
The next moment, brilliant light flooded the room. Even the passersby across the screen had their eyes blinded by the holy light radiating from the second floor of the Gryffin Church.