Editing Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica:Volume 4 Prologue (section)

===Part 4===

War should have ended. 

On the world called Alayzard, the war between humans and demons had continued for a long time.

Then, a single young man summoned from an alternate world put an end to it by felling the Demon King. 

The name of the young man was — Ousawa Akatsuki.

However, when he first was summoned, Akatsuki didn't have any kind of power. Like that, Akatsuki obtained strength, grew to be called a hero, and managed to defeat Garius, who was feared as the most powerful Demon King in history, due to having a single chance.

When Akatsuki was summoned, there was already a hero in Alayzard.

The knight of the sorcery kingdom of Sherfied, Leon Aceperio.

That Leon, who should be called the symbol of hope, died an early noble death. 

What's more—he protected Akatsuki from the killer dagger of the Demon King Garius. To Akatsuki, it was the death of the first true best friend he had made in the alternate world.

Hope was lost. Furthermore, having lost even the kingdom capital Erdia, the people of Alayzard, fallen into despair, naturally directed the blame towards Akatsuki. Subjected to relentless slander, Akatsuki concealed his whereabouts soon after that. And as result, Akatsuki drew even more criticism upon himself.

Everyone, with things like 'That guy has run away' and 'He's a bastard', one after another branded Akatsuki as a coward.

—However, Akatsuki had not run away.

He went alone to <God’s Dimension>, the world gods live in, and risking his life he mastered the "Renkan Keikikou", which let him manipulate at will the ki inside his body. Then Akatsuki rushed a strategy to recover the capital, rescuing princess Risty, who had fallen into a predicament. Repelling the Demon king's army, he led the liberation army to victory.

Suddenly, Akatsuki had become Sherfied's true hero. And thence a miracle happened.
 
By overcoming numerous ordeals, a multitude of hardships and a large number of adversities, before he knew Akatsuki came to be called a hero. And yet, Akatsuki was still hated by the devoted people who mourned the dead Leon. As a result, they branded Akatsuki with the stigma of "Rogue Hero".

Nevertheless, Akatsuki, content with shouldering that stigma, after a long journey succeeded in killing the Demon King Garius. And the peace the people of Alayzard had been waiting for a long time arrived at last.

It was as expected.

 

"Akatsuki......"

The young queen of Sherfied, Alayzard's sorcery kingdom, whispered that name.

Risty El Da Sherfied. She, who traveled with Akatsuki through various places of Alayzard, was one of the heroes that kept fighting in order to defeat the Demon King Garius.

Risty remembered what Akatsuki often said during the final stage of the trip to defeat Demon King Garius.

—To bring about true peace to Alayzard, it's essential to overthrow the Demon king.

For this reason, Akatsuki single-handedly defeated the Demon King Garius.

From the praising and envies of being the hero who defeated the Demon king, to the schemes and plots to make use of such a hero, till the hatred of the faction that resented the "Rogue hero" who caused the death of the hero Leon.

Shouldering alone anything and everything, Akatsuki returned to his own world. That was what Ousawa Akatsuki thought the best choice.

Of course, Risty and her comrades, Zecks and Ruthie, stopped Akatsuki. Why should only Akatsuki act as if he got the short end of the stick? 

However, they ended up being told by Akatsuki. Think about what's the best choice to Alayzard. And also, there are some people in my own world I have to stop— telling them that, Akatsuki's decision was firm and unwavering. Because of that, Risty's group was unable to say anything more.

—And, giving their farewells to Akatsuki when he returned to his own world, Risty's group was entrusted with the mission of turning the peace that came by overthrowing the Demon King into true peace. What especially concerned Akatsuki was how to face the Demons after the demise of Demon King Garius. Joining hands in friendship was impossible, but he wanted at least that from now on they would stop quarreling. Otherwise, who knows till when war will continue, that was what Akatsuki frequently said when he was travelling.

Risty agreed with that idea. Of course, the sentiment of unforgiveness against the Demons remained firmly rooted inside the people. To tell the truth, Risty was the same. Leon wasn't the only one who died in the raid of the Demon King's army to the capital five years ago. Starting from her parents the King and the Queen, all members of the royal family but Risty died. She couldn't forgive them for that.

—However, now Risty had become the Queen of Sherfied. If Risty kept hating the Demons and warring against them, not just Sherfied's soldiers, even the masses would become exposed to danger. Wars are, above all, fights between nations. The responsibility is entirely shouldered by their Kings. The beings known as Kings, come the time, must die in exchange for the lives of all the people in the kingdom. And seeing that that Demon King Garius had passed away, the war between humans and Demons had ended.

...... Despite that.

Grumbling a bit inside her heart, Risty slowly raised her head to look in front of her.

Right now, before Risty, there were the backs of many soldiers.

It was the army of the kingdom of Sherfied.

And at her right were deployed the troops of the mechanical militarist nation, the empire of Disdia.

On the other side, at her left, were deployed the troops of the religious country, the Holy Empire of Arekrasta.

The troops of the three countries, right now, as allied armies, were grouped in a single formation.

Anyone who stood on that place would focus on the same thing Risty did.

That is, a deep forest that stretched along a certain national border.

Beyond that point lay the Demon country of Galevain.

Even though Demon king Garius had died, a lot of Demons lived in Galevain.

They had stopped warring against humans, rejected war, and chose to quietly live a peaceful life in the depths of the forest. 

—That was what they had thought.

However, just recently the situation abruptly changed. 

The surveillance troops of Sherfied and Disdia deployed along Galevain's border to observe the movements of the Demons were annihilated overnight.

While they were camping, they were attacked taking advantage of the darkness of the night. From the testimony of a soldier that barely survived, all of the current situation was determined. He said—that they were attacked by demons.

"—You don't look well." 

Casually, Risty looked at the young man standing beside her, who threw those words to her.

The one who told her that while focusing not here, but only in the forest at the front, was the proud kingdom of Sherfied's general, Zecks Doltrake.

"If the Queen shows such a bewildered countenance, the soldiers will feel uneasy. It's not too late. How about I fetch you an escort and you return to Erdia?"

Even while he was addressing the Queen, his tone held a bit of severity.

After all, to Risty, Zecks was someone who surpassed the relationship between a Queen and a General. 

There were two people aside from Risty who traveled with Akatsuki in order to overthrow the Demon king. 

One of them was the high elf Ruthie Trum. After the journey, she became Sherfied's chief of Spiritual Affairs who sustained Risty's statecraft. 

And the other one was this Zecks. 

They, who rode past numerous hardships, to Risty, though surely they were her retainers, in fact they were undoubtedly true friends. Risty understood Zecks's words were said out of concern for her wellbeing. For that reason,

"...... Sorry. I did not notice that I had made such a face. I'll improve my countenance as much as you like. So, please—let me stay here."

Muttering an apology, she looked up front with a resolute expression.

Risty El Da Sherfied knew it.

What would start from now on at this place, she knew it.

For that reason, overcoming Zecks, Rushie and the grand chamberlain Walkyuria's opposition, Risty stood at this place.

War. 

That's right...... Risty felt it once again.

From now on, the war between humans and Demons would start once more. 

They couldn't grant the wish Akatsuki entrusted to them.

Apart from the option of war, they couldn't make another choice.

That being the case—at least she had to properly observe the start and the end.



And, at noon, when the sun approached its highest point.

The three kingdoms allied army started the charge in silence. 

Their target, the place where many Demons reside—the Wandering Forest.

Still, there was something they must not forget. 

In this war there's no Demon king.

In this war there's no hero.



In that case, this war's ending has been decided—



[[File:HYnA vol 04 017.jpg|800px]]



Since then, I have always been thinking.

We—where did we go wrong?

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