While King Aultcray spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the four Heroes, with Kazuma at the forefront.
"The legendary weapons that you four Heroes now hold have been passed down through our kingdom for generations. They possess a special power... absorbing defeated monsters and taking their power for your own use."
As his words fell, the expressions of the four Heroes changed simultaneously.
After all, they were at an age where they were in high school or university, and had seen many superpower works, so they could naturally understand the strength of the weapons in their hands instantly.
Kazuma had the biggest reaction. "These things... are this powerful?"
After all, the weapon didn't look like much, but its ability was unexpectedly amazing.
Makoto glanced at this kid. He remembered that in the anime, Scumzuma used a bow.
Truth be told, this thing was probably far more useful than Aqua.
However, this ability to strengthen oneself by absorbing enemies reminded him of another weapon—
Tessaiga from Inuyasha.
That sword also kept upgrading as the main party went on adventures.
In the end, Makoto felt it wasn't the main character Inuyasha who got stronger, but purely the Tessaiga itself that became more and more powerful.
These four legendary weapons before him were probably following the same principle.
This was also a problem for many hot-blooded manga protagonists. It always felt like it was just their equipment that got stronger, not the person themselves.
Aultcray clapped his hands.
On both sides of the hall, the men and women standing behind the royal ministers walked out.
Some carried swords, some held staffs, some clutched bibles, some bore hammers on their backs... all with various profession equipment and different appearances.
These people had varied expressions, but their gazes never left the legendary weapons in the hands of the four Heroes.
"These are the top adventurers in our kingdom."
Aultcray waved his hand toward them. "The Heroes may undertake quests with them, strengthen their abilities, and prepare for the coming war."
Before the four Heroes could respond, the king's gaze had already turned to those adventurers.
"Now, please, adventurers, choose the Hero you will follow."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Naofumi's frown deepened. "What do you mean? Shouldn't we be acting together?"
Kitamura Motoyasu and Amaki Ren also showed surprised expressions.
At that moment, a minister with a goatee, wearing a grey robe, looking every bit the treacherous official, walked out from beside the king.
"Unfortunately, Heroes, these four legendary weapons of our kingdom have mutually repulsive properties... if they are too close to each other, they will interfere with each other's power, causing the growth rate of the wielders to slow down. Therefore, you can only act separately, grow separately, and then cooperate to fight the enemy when the great battle comes."
Kazuma was speechless. "What a superfluous setting!"
No one paid attention to his complaint. The adventurers had already started choosing sides.
The first to step forward was a burly swordsman. He walked straight to Amaki Ren and stood behind the Sword Hero.
The second adventurer followed behind him, also choosing Amaki Ren.
People also started going over to Kitamura Motoyasu's side.
Female archers in leather armor, burly men wielding giant hammers, magicians wearing pointed hats... all kinds of adventurers walked one after another to stand behind the Spear Hero, their numbers quickly exceeding Amaki Ren's.
But behind Naofumi and Kazuma, there was no one.
The two stood there as if forgotten by the entire world.
"What's going on?!" The two exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Aultcray stroked his beard, his gaze shifting between the two unwanted Heroes. "That no one would choose the Shield Hero was within my expectations. I didn't expect the Bow Hero to be the same."
He looked sideways at the adventurers who had already chosen sides. "May I ask you adventurers, why did you choose as you did?"
A male swordsman standing behind Kitamura Motoyasu stepped forward, glanced at Naofumi, his gaze lingering on the shield in his hand for less than half a second before showing thick disdain. "A weapon like a shield is utterly useless."
"It can only defend, and we adventurers would have to do the main damage output. Following a Hero should mean the Hero leads the charge. With the Shield Hero, we would certainly be the main attackers, the risk is too great. We don't want that."
Naofumi's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Wh-what about me?"
Kazuma pointed at his own nose, his voice rising a few octaves. "The bow is pretty strong, right?"
'Haven't they heard the saying 'Since ancient times, archers are always overpowered'?'
A female magic teacher with a pleasant face stood in the crowd, looking at Kazuma's overly excited face, and twisted her staff hesitantly.
"I feel... the Bow Hero doesn't seem very reliable."
Kazuma was stupefied.
From the moment he entered the main hall, his behavior had indeed been a bit unstable.
Those noisy, excitable reactions, and that arrogant demeanor that screamed 'I am the protagonist'... he just didn't look like someone you could trust to have your back.
At that moment, the priest spoke:
"Your Majesty, aren't there other summoned servants? Couldn't we just use them to fill the numbers?"
Yu glanced coldly at this priest. Compared to before, his expression hadn't changed much, but inwardly he had already decided to turn this person into candied apple.
"That won't work either."
Aultcray shook his head. "When Heroes first enter our world, they must have a local guide."
"Father, let me do it."
A graceful figure walked out from the side door behind the throne.
Wine-red hair reached her waist, glowing with a soft luster in the candlelight.
Her features were quite charming, the arc of her brows and eyes falling perfectly between a girl's sweetness and a mature woman's allure.
"Wow... a beauty."
The increasingly excited Kazuma's voice unconsciously softened.
Naofumi didn't speak, but the base of his ears reddened with a barely noticeable blush, and his heart skipped a beat at the same time.
Although Motoyasu and Ren didn't show it as obviously, they weren't much better off.
The red-haired woman walked before the four Heroes, her gaze sweeping over their faces one by one, finally stopping between Kazuma and Naofumi.
"Greetings to all. I am the First Princess of the Kingdom of Melromarc... Malty S. Melromarc. From now on, as the companion of the Shield Hero and the Bow Hero, I will introduce you to our country and the current world situation."
Fireworks had already started going off in Kazuma's head.
'Princess. Hero. Companion.'
These three words linked together had appeared countless times in the anime he watched and the games he played.
'The princess actively throwing herself at me, the Hero rising to prominence, and finally marrying the princess to reach the pinnacle of life.'
'All set, everything was set.'
Although Naofumi didn't show it as obviously, the corner of his mouth still couldn't help but curl up.
'Things didn't seem so bad after all.'
After greeting the two Heroes, Malty then turned to Makoto's group with a full smile.
"Guests from another world, please come along as well. Learning more about our world's situation will also help you grow, won't it?"
Her gaze lingered on Makoto's face for an extra half second, then withdrew.
Malty turned her head to look at her father on the throne, smiled slightly, and said, "Then, Father, I will serve as the guide for these two Heroes and these several guests from another world."
Aultcray nodded.
Ace, whose face had been dark, softened a bit and muttered to himself: "Looks like there are normal people in this world after all."
"Idiot." Yu's voice drifted from the side.
Ace's face soured again. "What do you mean by that?"
Yu couldn't be bothered to answer.
The moment Malty turned, his gaze caught the tail end of that smile.
That expression resembled Ogino Ko, who had framed him before.
'This woman was definitely up to no good.'