“A hero has been born!”

“Reblos has been saved…!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

As the townspeople wept with joy and some even worshiped us, I enjoyed the food that was being served. Before I knew it, the revelry after the unveiling of the heads had escalated into an even bigger festival than when we caught that giant fish. Nir, too, was devouring fish nonstop.

If the Sea Emperor Turtle had made landfall, the port town of Reblos would have been ravaged, and everything in its path would have been mercilessly destroyed. While its slow speed might have minimized human casualties, the damage to the town would have been immeasurable.

“You two took down that Sea Emperor Turtle. You should be proud.”

The Guild Master said so, but that didn’t mean I would get used to this kind of attention.

“Oh, and you might be summoned by His Majesty the Emperor soon.”

“Huh!?”

Why are we suddenly being called by the highest authority in the country? I don’t get it.

“You’re the heroes who saved an entire town. The country can’t just ignore that without rewarding you. They’ll likely handle the purchase of the Sea Emperor Turtle as well.”

“Oh, right. Since we were the ones who took it down. That sounds like a hassle… Can’t the guild just buy the whole thing from us?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? That’s impossible.”

I figured it was worth a shot since I didn’t want anything to do with the country, but he immediately rejected the idea with a look of exasperation.

“Besides, you took it down as part of a military request, even if it was through the guild.”

Ah, right. Officially, that’s how it was. Even though they told us not to get involved, that’s what it looks like on the surface. If I had to choose between what Wendy said when she came to get us and what Dogesha said, there’s no doubt about which one was the ‘official’ stance.

So, even if the Emperor summons us, what’s he going to say? Considering Dogesha’s case and the scummy royal family of the Arclight Kingdom, I have a bad feeling about this. I really don’t want to get involved.

“It’s a reward from the country, you know? You don’t have to look so displeased…”

He looked at me with exasperation, but seriously, just let me off the hook. Even though Rio was doing her best not to show her emotions, the Guild Master could probably see right through her expressionless face.

“Well, for now, just take it easy.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Oh, and make sure to drop by the guild again tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

And so, the celebratory chaos over the Sea Emperor Turtle’s defeat continued. The sun was already starting to set, but the festival showed no signs of winding down. The Guild Master eventually returned to the guild, saying he had work to do.

Now that I think about it, last time, I found Phonia at the end of the festival. I wonder how those two are doing.

“Should we check on Phonia tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Let’s buy some clothes and other things for them.”

“We’ve been tied up with the Sea Emperor Turtle for a while now…”

“Now that we’ve been attacked by it, faking deaths should be easier.”

“Oh, right. We should ask them about it when we see them. That way, we can remove the collar.”

“We also need to restock our supplies.”

“Hey, you two! I can’t believe you actually took down the Sea Emperor Turtle. That’s an incredible feat!”

As Rio and I discussed our plans for tomorrow, a familiar adventurer called out to us.

“Oh, Christoph. It’s been a while.”

It was Christoph, the bow-wielding adventurer we had previously worked with on the large ship escort mission. Beside him stood Alina, the rear guard mage, with her staff hanging from her waist.

“I had a feeling you weren’t just ordinary people, and I guess I was right.”

Alina patted my back firmly—several times. Given that she referred to herself with ‘ore,’ she definitely had a rather bold personality.

“Haha, we just happened to develop a spell that worked well against the Sea Emperor Turtle.”

“The fact that you created a spell in such a short time is impressive on its own. And you made it do exactly what it needed to—if I were you, I’d be bragging about it more.”

Well, I’m Japanese, so boasting like that feels embarrassing… Not that they’d understand even if I explained.

“Ahaha…”

“Shu, Rio, you guys are amazing!”

“Taking down that monster… That’s incredible!”

As I smiled wryly, Kanto and the others suddenly appeared, showering us with praise. Wait, what’s up with your speech? Did your character change?

A grown man, way older than us, acting like that? Seriously?

“Is it true that Linford, the ‘Silent Shot,’ personally taught you how to develop that spell?”

“Silent Shot?”

What the hell is that? First time I’m hearing it.

“It’s his title. Linford’s range is ridiculously long, right? Apparently, people call him that because he can fire at someone without them even realizing it.”

Beryl, the red-haired adventurer, eagerly explained. So people can get titles for reasons like that, huh?

“I wonder what kind of titles Shu and Rio would get.”

“What would suit them? But then again, we’ve never really seen them fight.”

“Yeah, during the ship escort mission, everything was over in a flash.”

“True… Oh! What about something related to fishing? I’ve never seen anyone fish like that before!”

“Hahaha…”

I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly at Kanto and the others’ lively chatter. Giving us titles based on fishing? Spare me. It’s embarrassing enough already—why fishing of all things…?

And so, amidst all the noise, the festival celebrating the Sea Emperor Turtle’s defeat continued long into the night.