Chapter 401

After listening to Haruto’s explanation, Bernie turned toward Masayuki with a serious expression.

“Deliberately summoning Otherworlders and then placing them under magical control is prohibited by the nations of this world.”

As an Otherworlder himself, Bernie naturally found such practices particularly repulsive.

Being forcibly dragged into an unfamiliar world was bad enough. The idea of having one’s freedom taken away afterward was even worse.

Masayuki felt much the same way.

“If he really was summoned against his will, then we shouldn’t have accepted this commission in the first place.”

He paused before turning back toward Haruto.

“But how can you prove that you’re an Otherworlder?”

After all, they couldn’t simply accept everything Haruto said without evidence.

Although Masayuki’s instincts told him that the young man wasn’t lying about the summoning, he still needed something more convincing before abandoning an official commission.

Haruto considered the question for a moment before pointing toward Rapidash, which was standing patiently in front of the carriage.

“Doesn’t that horse look familiar to you?”

Although Rapidash had undergone an evolution after receiving its name, its appearance hadn’t changed particularly dramatically.

Haruto was fairly confident that another person from Japan would recognize it.

“Huh?”

Masayuki blinked before following the direction of Haruto’s finger.

Rapidash noticed him staring and gave a soft snort.

Masayuki examined the creature carefully.

Its magnificent flaming mane, powerful and graceful physique, and intelligent eyes all seemed strangely familiar.

The longer he looked, the stronger that feeling became.

Then his expression abruptly changed.

“Wait… Is that a Rapidash?!”

His voice was filled with disbelief.

Having grown up in Japan, Masayuki naturally knew what Rapidash was.

But that only made the situation more confusing.

‘Why is there a Pokémon in this world?!’

“That’s right.”

Haruto nodded.

Then, deciding that one example might not be enough, he brought out two more Pokémon.

Alolan Ninetales appeared beside the carriage, its luxurious white fur and elegant tails making it look like a creature from a fairy tale.

Pikachu appeared alongside it.

Masayuki’s eyes widened even further.

“That’s… Alolan Ninetales! And Pikachu!”

He stared at the three Pokémon in succession.

Rapidash, Alolan Ninetales, and Pikachu.

There was no mistaking them.

They were all Pokémon!

Masayuki had absolutely no idea how Haruto had managed to obtain real Pokémon, much less bring them into this world.

However, one thing was now certain in his mind.

Haruto was definitely an Otherworlder.

After all, the ordinary inhabitants of this world wouldn’t even know what Pokémon were.

Haruto smiled slightly.

“I think these should count as proof, don’t you?”

“Of course they do!”

Masayuki nodded without hesitation.

“In that case, we’ll have to abandon the commission.”

If Haruto had been forcibly summoned and subsequently subjected to magical control, then the kingdom’s accusation of attempted regicide was clearly hiding some important details.

At the very least, Masayuki was no longer willing to take the accusation at face value.

He had no intention of helping a king who enslaved Otherworlders simply because the kingdom had offered a reward.

The other three members of his party raised no objections.

Since their leader had decided to withdraw from the assignment, Jiwu, Jinrai, and Bernie accepted his judgment.

The four promptly moved aside, clearing the road for Haruto’s carriage.

Haruto was about to tell Rapidash to continue when he glanced toward Masayuki and his companions.

After a moment’s thought, he spoke again.

“You’re heading into town too, right? Why don’t you ride with us?”

It wouldn’t cost him anything to give them a lift, and there was no reason not to extend a little courtesy.

Masayuki immediately brightened.

“Really? Thanks! We’d appreciate that!”

He hurried over to the carriage and climbed aboard with surprising enthusiasm.

However, rather than entering the passenger compartment, he settled into a seat near the front, as close to Rapidash as he could manage.

His three companions also expressed their thanks before boarding.

“Wow… A real Rapidash…”

Masayuki spoke almost under his breath, his eyes shining with excitement.

“It looks even cooler than it does in the games…”

He continued admiring the Pokémon, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.

For Masayuki, encountering a living Pokémon was already extraordinary.

Getting to sit this close to one, and even travel in a carriage pulled by it, felt almost like a dream.

Haruto watched his reaction with some amusement.

‘Looks like he played quite a bit of Pokémon back in Japan.’

He turned toward Rapidash.

“All right, let’s get going.”

Rapidash responded with a clear neigh before setting off, pulling the carriage smoothly along the road.

Given its speed, reaching the town should have taken little more than ten minutes.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite according to plan.

…

“The third group already.”

Haruto sat on the carriage, looking down at several masked bandits sprawled across the roadside.

His voice carried a distinct note of helplessness.

Beside him, Masayuki scratched his head awkwardly.

“Well… Bandits do show up on the roads sometimes. It’s not that unusual.”

Meanwhile, his three companions were efficiently tying the defeated bandits together.

Their movements were so practiced that it was obvious they had performed this particular task many times before.

Haruto raised an eyebrow without commenting.

To be fair, the bandits hadn’t caused any actual trouble.

Each group had been defeated almost immediately by Masayuki’s companions.

The problem was the frequency.

They’d barely traveled any distance, yet three separate groups of bandits had already appeared to block their path.

At this point, it almost felt as though they’d stumbled into a bandit hideout.

‘Three groups on a road this short? Seriously?’

Haruto glanced thoughtfully toward Masayuki.

However, he decided against saying anything.

After dealing with those unexpected interruptions, the group finally reached the town.

It was a reasonably prosperous settlement, surrounded by tall stone walls.

The main gate was bustling with activity as merchants, travelers, and local residents moved in and out.

Vendors called out their wares, and the lively sounds of commerce filled the surrounding streets.

However, the moment Masayuki entered the town, the atmosphere changed.

“Wait… Is that Lord Lightspeed?!”

“No way! Look at his blond hair! That’s definitely him!”

“The Hero! The Hero has come to our town!”

“Lord Masayuki is here!”

Within moments, crowds began gathering along both sides of the street.

People pointed excitedly toward the carriage, their faces filled with admiration and anticipation.

Some called out Masayuki’s name, while others waved enthusiastically.

Masayuki, however, appeared thoroughly accustomed to this sort of reception.

He stood on the carriage with a relaxed smile, occasionally raising a hand to acknowledge the cheering townspeople.

His movements were natural and composed, giving him the air of a national celebrity greeting his adoring fans.

Watching the spectacle, Haruto felt a little regret.

‘Maybe inviting him aboard wasn’t such a good idea.’

The growing crowd was making it increasingly difficult for the carriage to move.

He’d originally intended to enter the town quietly, purchase a few things, and continue his journey.

Instead, he’d apparently joined a traveling parade celebrating the arrival of a famous Hero.

Unfortunately, the commotion was only beginning.

Just as Masayuki was acknowledging the cheers, an angry shout suddenly erupted farther down the street.

“OUT OF THE WAY! ALL OF YOU, GET LOST!”

A large, heavily muscled man with a vicious-looking face came swaggering down the middle of the road, accompanied by several followers.

He shoved people aside without the slightest concern for their safety.

Along the way, he overturned several merchants’ stalls, sending vegetables and fruits scattering across the street.

The man continued shouting abuse as he walked, clearly accustomed to bullying the local residents.

The surrounding townspeople looked furious.

However, none dared confront him.

Instead, they hurriedly moved aside, swallowing their anger as the bully and his followers forced their way through the crowd.

Haruto stared at the scene.

‘Wait. What’s going on here?’

News of the Lightspeed Hero’s arrival had already spread through the town.

People were shouting Masayuki’s name everywhere.

And yet this local thug had apparently chosen that exact moment to march down the main street and terrorize merchants?

‘Does he not have ears? Or eyes?’

Haruto couldn’t understand the man’s thought process.

Before he could consider the absurdity any further, Jinrai had already charged forward.

BAM!

One powerful punch struck the thug before he could even react.

The large man flew backward and slammed into a wall beside the street.

He slid down the stonework and collapsed unconscious.

His followers immediately realized that the situation had turned against them.

They spun around and attempted to flee.

Unfortunately, they had barely taken two steps before Jiwu raised her staff.

Binding magic erupted around them, restraining the entire group.

The confrontation was over in less than ten seconds.

“Are you all right, sir?”

Masayuki jumped down from the carriage and approached an elderly merchant who had been knocked over during the commotion.

He helped the old man to his feet before bending down to gather the scattered fruit.

“Do those people cause trouble here often?”

The merchant’s eyes filled with tears.

“Y-Yes, Lord Hero!”

He nodded repeatedly, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Those thugs have been bullying us for ages! People like us who run small businesses have been suffering terribly because of them!”

“Don’t worry.”

Masayuki smiled warmly and patted the old man’s shoulder.

“They won’t be causing you any more trouble.”

His smile was so reassuring that it seemed almost to brighten the street.

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted into thunderous applause.

“Lord Masayuki!”

“Thank you, Lord Hero!”

“You saved us!”

Cheers echoed through the streets as the townspeople celebrated the defeat of the local bullies.

Standing behind the crowd, Haruto felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

‘All right. Maybe that was just a coincidence.’

After all, it wasn’t impossible for a local thug to encounter a famous Hero at an inconvenient moment.

Such things happened.

Unfortunately, that explanation became increasingly difficult to believe as their journey through town continued.

Not long afterward, they encountered a thief.

Then a wanted criminal.

And more trouble followed.

Each time, Masayuki’s three companions dealt with the offender effortlessly.

And each time, the surrounding townspeople became even more impressed with the Lightspeed Hero.

By the time the latest commotion had ended, their gazes were practically overflowing with admiration.

Haruto, who had been following behind, was beginning to run out of patience.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Before entering town, they’d encountered three separate groups of bandits.

After entering, they’d run into a violent bully, a thief, and a wanted criminal.

Every incident unfolded almost as though someone had carefully arranged it in advance.

A criminal would appear directly in Masayuki’s path.

His companions would promptly defeat the offender.

The townspeople would cheer, and Masayuki’s reputation would grow.

Then, a short while later, the entire sequence would repeat.

Haruto glanced around.

What made the situation even stranger was that nobody else appeared to find it unusual.

Masayuki’s three companions behaved as though this were perfectly normal.

The townspeople were simply delighted to witness their Hero defeating one criminal after another.

Even Kagura, Kanna, and Gardevoir seemed to accept the constant interruptions without much concern.

Apparently, everyone considered it completely natural for the Lightspeed Hero to encounter trouble wherever he went.

Haruto, however, couldn’t ignore the obvious absurdity.

‘Think about it for a second.’

Masayuki was a famous adventurer known throughout the region.

The moment he’d entered town, people had recognized him and started shouting his name.

By now, almost everyone in the settlement must have heard that the Lightspeed Hero was here.

Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t the local criminals be doing everything possible to avoid him?

If Haruto were a wanted criminal, the last thing he’d do upon hearing that a renowned Hero had entered town would be to stroll directly into that Hero’s path.

Yet these people seemed determined to do exactly that.

One after another, they practically lined up to get themselves arrested.

‘What, are they tired of being free?’

‘Do they all want to experience life in prison or something?’

Haruto looked toward Masayuki, who was walking ahead with his usual friendly expression.

There was no doubt about it.

All these strange coincidences had something to do with him.

More precisely, they were probably connected to his Unique Skill.

Chosen One.

The ability possessed an extraordinary influence over the people surrounding Masayuki.

It passively inspired trust, admiration, and reverence, allowing him to become the center of attention almost wherever he went.

It also seemed to arrange events in ways that strengthened his reputation as a Hero.

From what Haruto could observe, the skill might even be attracting nearby criminals and troublemakers into Masayuki’s path.

Those criminals would then be defeated by his companions, resulting in another heroic achievement being attributed to him.

And as those achievements accumulated, his fame and popularity would continue increasing.

‘So that’s how it works?’

Haruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The skill was certainly interesting.

Although it constantly drew trouble toward Masayuki, every incident provided another opportunity for him to enhance his heroic reputation.

More importantly, the results weren’t necessarily bad.

Whenever Masayuki’s party defeated a criminal, they were genuinely helping ordinary people.

The bandits, bullies, thieves, and wanted criminals they encountered were real threats to public safety.

Removing them made the surrounding communities safer.

From that perspective, the skill’s effects were almost beneficial.

Just by traveling through this town, Masayuki and his companions had already dealt with several dangerous individuals.

For a while, at least, the residents would probably be able to enjoy more peaceful lives.

Their overall sense of security would undoubtedly improve.

Meanwhile, Masayuki himself was receiving an enormous boost to his reputation.

Every criminal defeated was another heroic deed.

Every grateful resident was another admirer.

By the time he left town, his popularity would probably have increased yet again.

Haruto couldn’t help finding the situation rather amusing.

‘With a skill like Chosen One, Masayuki couldn’t avoid becoming a Hero even if he wanted to.’

It was practically an ability tailor-made to manufacture heroic accomplishments.

However, the longer Haruto observed the phenomenon, the more he felt that remaining near Masayuki might be unwise.

The skill’s influence was far too unusual.

He had no particular desire to become involved in an endless succession of conveniently timed incidents.

More importantly, there was no guarantee that he himself would remain unaffected if he spent too much time around Masayuki.

For all he knew, the ability might already have influenced him without his realizing it.

After all, hadn’t he been the one to spontaneously invite Masayuki and his companions aboard the carriage?

Haruto glanced toward the blond Hero once more.

Then he quietly made up his mind.

‘Yeah. I’d better part ways with this guy as soon as possible.’