Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Seeing Ota's frail appearance, the nobles couldn't help but nod in admiration. Even with all this toil... Prince Ota remained incredibly diligent. He truly was the future of the kingdom.

“Hey, Prince Ota, you’ve come at the perfect time.” Duke Moss smiled.

"The gambling table is about to close. How about you join in?"

Ota paused slightly, a hint of hesitation on his face.

In the past, he would have participated to some extent to salvage some of the losses in his savings. However, this time, "that one" also wanted to participate in the awakening ceremony, and so many nobles were watching...

Ota thought about the empty vault and was about to steel himself and take out a hundred gold coins to bet on Dane.

Duke Moss's greasy voice rang out again:

"Your Highness Ota, given your relationship with Hero Mino, surely the only one you can bet on is that one? Ah, how touching!"

Ota's smile froze on his face.

The surrounding nobles wore expressions of schadenfreude.

As expected of Duke Moss, the most troublemaker in the kingdom, he's lazy, insensitive, and loves to tell the truth... We all adore him.

"Duke Moss, I don't know what you mean..." Otta could only pretend not to remember and said vaguely.

Moss slapped his thigh and laughed loudly:

"Of course it's that slightly mentally unstable hero candidate. Let me think... Oh! Shana! I remember now."

"The odds for Shana as a candidate for Hero are one to one hundred. Your Highness Ota, you and Hero Mino are close friends, so you probably won't choose any other candidates, right?"

Ota took a deep breath, looking at Duke Moss's fat face, and felt his fist harden.

"You're right." Ota forced a smile, the gold pouch he was about to pull out of his pocket trembled slightly, and finally, with a pained expression, Ota pulled out ten gold coins from it.

"Ten gold coins, I bet on Shana."

The crowd looked slightly disappointed, and could only sigh inwardly, not daring to show it in front of Ota.

"Everyone, pay close attention to the awakening circle." Ota coughed, his expression gradually turning serious: "The new hero after Mino is finally about to appear..."

The resounding chimes echoed across the sky above the capital.

At Lak's urging, the entire awakening magic circle enveloped all the potential heroes present in the training camp...

Demon City.

Kleidina stood atop the city tower, with the will-o'-the-wisps of Svir gently drifting beside her.

Kleidina sighed softly: "It's finally starting... In the end, we still couldn't find an opportunity to sabotage it."

Swell said softly, "Humans should always be on guard against us. The Nightmare Mirror, which had just awakened, activated a little power again, but was immediately backfired by another corrupt power."

“What kind of power is this… that even the Magic Mirror…” Kleinna frowned, but her attention eventually turned to the other side.

How is Mino now?

"He...he doesn't seem to care much." Swell shook his head after sensing for a moment. "He's playing with Lady Mia in the cell..."

"..."

Klettina felt she understood Mino less and less.

If a powerful hero were to be born, Mino would have a greater chance of being rescued from the Demon King's castle. But the way the other party is acting now... clearly he doesn't care about such things at all, which can only mean two things.

One possibility is that Mino already has someone she is absolutely certain will become the hero.

Another possibility is that Mino's hope for escaping the Demon King's castle doesn't lie in anything external, but in herself! It's as if she possesses limitless potential!!

Is he truly a hero dedicated to creating miracles? He's so confident in himself.

“Ah~~!”

Inside the cell, Mino lay on the bed with a listless expression.

He would toss Mia high into the air every now and then, and then catch the little ball of flesh amidst giggles.

"My lord, I can sense that the Hero Awakening Ritual has begun again," Altote's voice echoed in my mind.

"Aren't you curious about which hero will take your place?"

"What does this have to do with me?" Mino asked, looking completely bewildered.

"Will they be able to conquer the Demon King's castle if they become heroes?"

“…Probably not.” Recalling that Mino’s achievements were limited to restoring the kingdom’s borders, Altottai swallowed his unrealistic fantasies.

"Anyone is fine, anyway, whoever it is, the hero is the hope of the human race."

Standing on the bed, holding Mia in his arms, Mino slowly lifted Mia up, assuming a classic Lion King pose, but the words he spoke were unusually serious.

"After all, the goddess will definitely choose someone from the kind and neutral camp—"

But then, looking at the bewildered Mia, Mino started making silly faces:

"Like if my slightly mentally challenged sister became the hero..."

"That human faction is truly utterly ruthless!"

Chapter 43 Laugh! Everyone can laugh!

"All brave candidates, please stand inside the magic circle."

"Once the Awakening Array is activated, it will be able to communicate with the goddess's gaze. At that time, she will choose the most radiant one among you and bestow upon him the blessing of a hero."

"Don't be nervous, you will all be the future of the kingdom."

Lak stood in front of the magic circle, and the Royal Knights stretched out a long defensive line, not allowing anyone to approach at this moment!

Jenny and the other candidates for hero, who were all from commoner backgrounds, opened their mouths in surprise.

It turned out that the old man in front of them was none other than the kingdom's most wise Archmage of the Round Tower, Chief Lak!

"An awakening ceremony presided over by the Holy Archmage! This time, the goddess might pay even more attention to the hero's awakening!"

One of the candidates exclaimed excitedly, earning enthusiastic nods of agreement from the others.

Upon hearing this, Lark's lips twitched, and he felt inexplicably uneasy, so he subtly took two steps back.

“I brought the statue of the goddess, hoping that she could see the piety in my heart.”

A candidate from inside the church expressed his hope.

"Wearing certain items during the awakening ceremony can attract the goddess's attention and make it easier to become a hero... Heh, it's all just superstition. You don't actually believe it, do you?" The Duke's second son, Tang Ke, couldn't help but chuckle from the side.

The candidate turned around, looked Tang Ke up and down, and hesitated before handing over a roughly crafted, somewhat old-fashioned doll to Tang Ke.

"Tang Ke, what's that in your hand?"

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it." Tang Ke smiled nonchalantly.

"It's just a doll that the previous hero collected."

"..." The hero candidate fell silent.

You're the one who actually believed it, aren't you?!

“I only have the holy emblem I use when I pray…” Jenny pursed her lips, asking Dane beside her with a hint of unease and curiosity.

"Dane, what did you bring?"

Dane, with a gentle smile on his face, spoke quite frankly:

"I didn't bring anything special, I just put my usual rating record on the Hero Candidate Certificate, hoping the goddess will see it."

Dane received a perfect score of 100 in every training camp assessment, which was recorded in the logbook.

He's become quite a legend in the training camp.

"Rating? How superficial. The goddess doesn't care about such honors."

A cloaked figure darted past, then suddenly stopped, one hand deeply covering his eye patch:

"That is synonymous with glory and justice, the terrifying existence of a creator god. Ah, one day, I will embark on the opposite path..."

“Uh, Shana.” Jenny looked at the red-haired girl standing nearby, still in her pose, and could only manage to strike up a conversation:

"Have you prepared anything?"

“There is nothing beneath my cloak.” Shana tilted her head back and gazed at the sky.

"If I had to pinpoint it, it would only be my dark bloodline..."

"Hey, hey, hey, stay away from me during the awakening ceremony later, I'm afraid the goddess will strike the wrong person." Hearing the conversation between the group, Tang Ke behind Shana twitched his lips.

At this moment, a rich magical power gradually spread throughout the area.

"It's about to begin!"

A sacred aura permeated the air, and the magic of the air continuously filled the magic circle. A group of brave candidates stood scattered in the center of the magic circle, each emanating the aura of their soul.

Some resemble pure white wings, others pure water droplets, and still others crystal clear bubbles.

coming!

Dane stood in the center of the magic circle, nervously clutching the grayish-white stone with its eerie power to his chest, carefully concealing the thoughts in his mind.

In an instant, his demeanor became increasingly radiant and gentle... his breath pulsated like the gentle beating of a holy heart.

"Judging from the aura of the soul, Dane is indeed the one who best fits the standards of the goddesses of the past..." On the palace terrace, the nobles quickly saw the trend, and their smiles became more and more comfortable.

They had all placed their bets on Dane.

"Heh, indeed, heh heh." Ota's smile was forced, and amidst the smug laughter, he could only stare blankly at the gambling table piled high with gold coins, secretly drooling.

Just then, Duke Moss, feigning ignorance, craned his neck and asked, "Hey, what about Shana, the candidate His Highness Ota favored? How's she doing?"

The nobles' gazes quickly focused on the red-haired, red-eyed girl, whose soul energy, like clouds, condensed into a fluffy... little white cat?

"nya——!" The little white cat glared fiercely at the scene, but its size had shrunk considerably, like a small tiger in the palm of your hand. Compared to the other intense auras, it was rather insignificant.

"This might be the weakest hero candidate in history..." Ota sighed, but he wasn't too disappointed. He knew a thing or two about the situation of the various hero candidates.

Shana is still young, and it's already quite good that she's reached the threshold of becoming a hero candidate.

"It would be more of a headache if Shana really became a hero... On the contrary, it would be the best outcome for the kingdom and even humanity to have a hero like Dane who is impeccable in every aspect."

Thinking of this, Ota finally managed a forced smile, but when he thought of the ten gold coins in his little treasury that had shrunk again, a look of heartache flashed across his face.