She Becomes The Hero In Another World 93 She Speaks With Oracle

"But, Protectorate! It's the Hero! The nemesis of all Demons!" the captain of the guards objected. "He probably came to kill you, first!"

"If that is so, then you are probably not his match. This man killed a Wyvern not even a month ago. I would hate to lose a good man, especially when up against an unarmed, peaceful delegate, Bard."

"Unarmed?" The captain's eyes lowered to Robin's sword belt. True enough, the rumored hero's sword was missing.

"I said I'm just here to talk." Robin said with a comforting smile at the captain.

"How do we know it's not a trick to lower our guard?" the captain sneered in suspicion.

"True, even injured as I am, I could still probably wipe the floor with all of your men." Robin replied.

"But, if that were the case, then I wouldn't need any help in doing it. I am not going to willingly put my comrades in danger, especially since King Zephron is my new adoptive father, and a third of those present happen to be his relatives."

"Relatives?" The captain glanced over at Robin's companions. He hadn't really taken much note of their appearance, since his focus had been on Robin. His eyes widened.

"This! Isn't this Prince Christian!? And General Keith!!" He exclaimed.

"h.e.l.lo, nice to meet you!" Christian smiled. Truth be told, he was quite confident about protecting himself and escaping, if needed, so he decided not to worry since the beans had been spilled.

"My, my. I was just tagging along to make sure no misunderstandings arose." Keith clicked his tongue behind Christian, also at ease. "Your men sure are jumpy, Captain Bard...Also, I'm retired now, so you can drop the General."

Captain Bard's hands grew sweaty. There was no way that he would be able to best General Keith, the man who trained up half of Port Oracle's top men. And any a.s.sault upon Prince Christian could result in another all out world.

"Bard. I won't be telling you again. Please stand down." Oracle replied.

Elise sighed in relief as the captain reluctantly ordered his men to stand down.

"You have my thanks." Robin said.

Oracle sat back in his chair.

"So, what is this delicate circ.u.mstance you wish to speak about?" He asked.

"Hmm. I'm sure you already know from your observations, but I am not someone of this world."

"Oh, so you knew we were observing you?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't quite sure, at first." Robin shrugged. "But my cream cheese recipe couldn't have been copied otherwise, since the first time I instructed anyone on the method was several days ago."

"Oh. I see." Oracle nodded. "Are you angered at my use of your recipe?"

Robin shook her head. "It's fine. In fact, it's better if that recipe spreads. This was a common recipe where I come from, so it won't trouble anyone if I give it to you."

"Ho? Very well, then. Please continue with your story." Oracle waved his hand.

Robin nodded. "Whether by accident, or by another's design, I suddenly found myself in this land."

Oracle leaned forward. "And? Don't tell me that you became the hero not knowing what kind of path it entailed."

Robin shook her head. "I knew what it might mean. While the specific circ.u.mstances were not present to me at the time, the job of a hero is to bring about peace."

"Why would you take on the mantle of the monster which has slaughtered so many of my people?" Oracle asked.

"Because it was convenient." Robin said.

"Eh?" Oracle was surprised, sitting up.

"Eh!?" Christian was also surprised.

"As a normal person, how many would gain the qualifications to speak with the king, or people in power?" Robin asked. "Can any man, who desires it so, gain entrance into the castle? Which do you think would be the quickest route to an audience with the king? A chef? or a hero?"

"You do have a point." Oracle nodded.

Robin continued. "The common people would not know about such a complicated mysterious means of moving between worlds. The best way would be to speak with people of great talent and power, with scholars and those who study such phenomenon. And, where would those talented people soon gather?"

"The capitol, most likely." Oracle answered.

"Furthermore," Robin pointed out. "As someone that only arrived with what was on my person, I had no a.s.sets. Neither food, nor land, nor currency. All I had was myself. Even my first job landed me face to face with a magic beast, something I'd never encountered before. And, just when I was worrying what to do, news of a contest came to my ears."

"Wait, you don't mean..." Christian asked in shock.

"He who pulls the sword from the stone will get a gold coin." Robin said. "I might not have known how much it meant at the time, but I sure knew that it was enough to sustain me for a while as I looked for a way back. I also gained a sharp sword that could cut through steel without a scratch on it. It also gave me a free audience with the king, whom I would need to consult, anyways. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that they had actually harbored no intentions of summoning a hero? The contest was simply a means of entertainment for the locals."

"Are you trying to imply that you weren't summoned?" Oracle raised an eyebrow.

"If I was, then there sure wasn't any sort of greeting party to explain anything." Robin sighed. "Wouldn't there at least have been some sort of person present to explain the situation?"

Christian felt highly uncomfortable.

"That would make sense, if your story is true." Oracle said.

"But, here's the real crux of the problem." Robin said. "None of the learned people at the capitol have any idea how I can return to my own world. They only told me that perhaps the demon king would know about it."

"So, your purpose is..." Oracle began.

Robin nodded. "Yes. My purpose in speaking with you is, not to fight with you, but to ask your aid, ad the demon king's aid. Please help me find a way to return to my home world."

"Well, I can't say that it's not appealing." Oracle sat back in his chair.

"Protectorate, why would you help the hero!?" Bard objected.

"Didn't you hear him? He wants to scram back to wherever he came from, and leave us be. Isn't that better than enslaving our kind, or slaughtering our people?" Oracle said lazily.

"But, I suppose you know that you will have to meet with the other thirteen and get their approval, as well."

"I am aware. How am I to display that I have acquired your approval?" Robin asked.

Oracle tossed a carved jade seal at Robin, which she deftly caught.

"That seal is the sign of my approval." Oracle said. "I can only get into contact with the demon king after all of the seals are collected. So, once you are finished gathering them, you need to bring them back here."

"Eh? So easily?" Christian was surprised. "No difficult quests or near impossible undertakings?"

"We demons like to be more up front about such things. we have no time to deal with human's crafty schemes. I am not unreasonable. Besides, it is in our best interests to return the hero back where he comes from in order to promote a more peaceful environment. Peace is necessary for prosperity. " Oracle grinned at Christian.

"But, if you so desire an undertaking...how about handing over that sus.h.i.+ dish you made earlier?" Oracle looked pointedly at Robin's magic bag.

"That is only natural." Robin brought out an earthenware tray, upon which were displayed the remaining sus.h.i.+ and sus.h.i.+ rolls.

"So, that's why-Protectorate, this food might be poisonous!" Bard pointed at the plate.

"Ho? That would really be nasty of me to do something like that right after asking for someone's help." Robin replied, in an ordinary tone of voice.

"But, well, suit yourself. I'll prove it's safety, myself." Robin said. "Go ahead, point to any piece of sus.h.i.+, and I'll eat it."

"Why do you want me to point?" Bard asked suspiciously.

"Because if I choose, then you will suspect me of mixing poisonous ones in with good ones, to allay your fears. At least, if you choose, you can eliminate the posibility of my manipulation." Robin said evenly.