The battle for the bestowal of titles, which began in Kingdom of Tils, became deadlocked and reached a stalemate. Each country then criticized Kingdom of Tils's preemptive actions, and suggested that the seven countries should have a thorough discussion among themselves, as this would only cause trouble for Mile.
The other three, aside from Mile, were hunters with excellent abilities, but in the end, they were merely ordinary humans with strength of around A or S rank. That's a different story from Mile, who was the Angel-sama, had connections with ancient dragons, and was a master of offensive magic comparable to the Goddess' Hammer. Besides, Mavis and Pauline were genuine _TIRUSUUKOU_ people with families in _TIRUSUUKOU_, and there's no way they could poach them—the former was the daughter of a merchant, the latter was the daughter of a count.
However, Mile had abandoned her country and fled—or rather, she was "just a wandering C-rank Hunter of unknown origin", so they insisted that there was no problem with a country taking her in as a noble. Across the continent, she introduced herself as "Once Upon a Time, I am Baron Adelle von Askham", but the other six countries, except for Kingdom of Brandell, completely ignored her. They said, "Since she didn't give the name of her country, there must be a noble family in some faraway country whose name sounds similar to 'Askham' and she must be from there"...
There was also the argument that 'If she has exiled, it would be inhumane to hand her back to her home country.' ...Anyway, no matter how far-fetched or false the accusations, the other six countries had no intention of handing over Mile to Kingdom of Brandell.
The seven countries then held a lengthy international conference that lasted for several days. However, as the awards and appointments had already been notified and announced, they could not be revoked at this point, for the sake of the nation's dignity, and so they remained valid.
And then the period of calm came again. The guild was in no position to take on requests, and with the large number of people flocking to the inn struggling to cope, Crimson Vow left the royal capital and devoted themself to hunting and gathering in the deep forest. Of course, they stayed overnight.
"Ahh, I feel so calm..."
"It reminds me of my days at the training school, when I was just trying to make money day by day..." (Pauline)
"Yeah, you can't forget the basics and your beginner's mindset..."
"Ahaha..." (Mavis)
But they couldn't stay in the forest forever. Come to think of it, they hadn't even shown up at the guild branch once since returning. It's about time things started getting dangerous. There's a chance that some communication had come from the royal palace as well—Well, since they were hunters, they could say that they were "regularly out hunting and gathering on request", so there wouldn't be a problem—No one was going to be able to complain about a hunter being away on business without any prior arrangement. Because that's what a hunter was like...
And so, Mile and her companions returned to the inn after a few days...
"Hmm? There's some kind of sign posted in front of the inn... Something..."
"Regular accommodation for Angel-sama and Crimson Vow"
"There is a "miracle bath" built by the Angel-sama. Female guests are allowed to bathe."
"You can experience the magic of supplying water and boiling water in the 'Miracle Bath', which was performed by Angel-sama."
"You can see the sword cuts on the pillar when Crimson Vow and Wonder Trio fought each other."
"They were raised by us!"
"......" (All CV)
"Lenny-chan, huh..." (Reina)
"It's Lenny-chan..." (Mile)
"It's Lenny-chan..." (Pauline)
"Ahaha..." (Mavis)
"We've returned..." (All CV)
"Oh, big sisters, a messenger has come from the royal palace. Here, this is the letter we were given. Well, I'll go and tell them that big sisters have returned and received the letter!" (Lenny)
Saying that, Lenny-chan handed the letter to Mile, then ran outside. Probably, she would receive some extra money later.
"How could anyone at the palace know how to treat a Lenny-chan?" (Pauline)
"That's what kids are like..." (Reina)
Reina answered Pauline's question. Pauline, who had been brought up lovingly in a fairly wealthy family, did not seem to understand such things—Even though she was such a miser...
"Thank you for coming! Come on, take a seat!"
A few days later, Mile and her companions visited the royal palace. And the place where they were led wasn't an audience hall or anything, but a room that looked like a conference room.
Naturally, they didn't know any of the people there. There were all around 20 elderly men whom they didn't know. Everyone was seated around a large table.
They could imagine that they were probably important people. High-ranking noblemen, or worse ministers. That's what Mile and her companions thought, but...
"Please sit down, otherwise we can't start talking." (King)
The man from before, who seemed to be the host, invited them to take their seats again, so Mile and her companions bowed their heads and took their seats. Then…….
"Thank you for coming. I am the King. And those attending here are diplomats from seven neighboring countries, including ours." (King)
(Is he the king?! He's the humblest person here!!) (All CV)
The four of them couldn't help but make up their own stories and make comments in their minds...
"...So, the reason why this 'dimensional rift' closed is not clear?" (King)
"Yes. It's possible that our attack destroyed the machine on the other side... a magic circle or something..., that the magician (the machine's operator) died (or was destroyed), or that the conditions due to the alignment of the stars were disrupted, meaning it was meant to close at that time to begin with, or there are various other possibilities, but it's unclear what the reason was. So..." (Mile)
"There may not be another invasion, or there may be another one someday... And by that time, you may already have reached the end of your lifespan, is that right?" (King)
"…………" (Everyone)
The attendees fell silent as they listened to Mile's explanation and the King's words.
It seemed that His Majesty the King of this country was accurately aware of the situation. As expected of the king of a country. There may be another invasion. And by that time, those who were active this time may no longer be around. If so, then this world would be...
"No, there’s nothing to worry about. This time, we were able to repel the invaders. So next time, there will surely be brave warriors here to protect this world in our place!" (Mile)
(No one can replace yooouuuuu!!) (Everyone)
And the attendees were desperately trying to hold back the screams in their hearts...