Bustling Capital

Today, we woke up early to explore the capital. As soon as we stepped downstairs, we immediately heard several whispers discussing something.
"The Princess defeated the Demon race..." [A passerby]
"Today, they will return..." [Another passerby]
"The army was annihilated..." [A third passerby]
"One of the Demon race's generals..." [A fourth passerby]
Countless rumors about something that I couldn't hear clearly. The other guests in the inn were buzzing, discussing a certain battle.
Seeing this, I approached Lady Mei Lin to ask about the topic being so widely discussed. She was busy recording something; seeing me, she flashed a smile and listened cordially.
"Hello, Lady Mei Lin! Is there an event today that everyone is talking about so much?"
"Oh, haven't you heard? Today, the Princess's expeditionary force will return to the city. It's said many members fell after facing the Demon race, yet victory still belonged to the expeditionary force after wiping out all the Demons on the battlefield."
"Thank you, My Lady."
I thanked Lady Mei Lin, then Yui, Asp, and I prepared to step out of the inn.
"So she didn't mention me, Yui, or Asp. Quite wise," I thought to myself.
Stepping out the door, it was a different scene from yesterday, a very strange and grand sight.
Countless citizens in the capital stepped out of their houses and poured into the streets, gathering around the main road, waiting for something. Flags printed with the national flag were hung everywhere around the main road, the road leading straight to the Royal castle.
They were whispering about the Princess's imminent return, bringing victory from the war with the Demon race.
I ignored them and proceeded with Yui to the Adventurer's Guild to see if there was any new information. Specifically, I didn't care much about what they said, as long as my identity wasn't widely revealed.
On the way, I also saw a group of Church followers waiting just like everyone else. The group chose a pure white color scheme, making them quite prominent compared to the other citizens.
The nuns and other followers were standing around a rather large and ostentatious carriage; that must be for a high-ranking member of the Church. I didn't want to get involved with Church people, so I walked past calmly.
"Hmm, there's the presence of a Demon." [Person in the carriage]
That person quietly called two soldiers nearby and told them to find something.
I ignored it and quickly reached the Adventurer's Guild. Entering the Guild was a different scene from the usual days I saw.
All the staff in the Adventurer's Guild were quite busy. Many adventurers gathered in the Guild and were all whispering. All work seemed to be pushed to full capacity.
Everyone was preparing for the Princess's return after the campaign. Seeing this, I didn't want to bother others, so I automatically went to the quest board to look.
"The Princess has returned to the city!" A person from the Adventurer's Guild shouted, making the whole Guild fall silent and then frantically run out of the Guild to the main road. The scene was like a disturbed ant nest; all members and adventurers poured out to see the kingdom's Princess's army return.
After Yui and I selected a suitable quest, we also left the Adventurer's Guild. It was a herb-gathering quest.
Since Yui and I had hunted a number of goblins exceeding the requirement, they didn't offer that quest anymore. Indeed, the number we hunted was quite large, but I only sold the normal ones while keeping the mutated ones.
Leaving the Adventurer's Guild, an extremely bustling scene appeared on the main road. Walking along the roadside, where citizens were gathered very densely.
A convoy of carriages went down the center of the large road; it was the Princess's convoy that had reached the capital. Leading the way were two soldiers riding warhorses, fully equipped with shiny armor.
Next, I saw a White Warhorse, a magic beast of the horse family; only the leaders of the country could ride them. On its back was a girl with red hair fluttering, along with a shiny golden armor, cold eyes that yet hid a deep sorrow. That was the Princess of this country.
Walking alongside were the guards, including the girl who had ordered the attack on Yui, named Aga, I believe. Then came the carriages pulled by warhorses, numbering three, with about fifteen people.
They were stepping toward the Royal castle.
We continued toward the city gate to a forest near the capital to do the quest.

That person is?
Princess Ai Na's face suddenly turned pale when she saw a figure flash past the crowd.
"Though I didn't see the face, I'm quite sure that's the young man," Ai Na thought.
The Princess was looking after someone who had just left the crowd, the person who had annihilated the entire Demon army.
"Why is he here?"
"Princess-sama, are you alright?" A guard asked the Princess upon seeing her face suddenly turn pale.
"I'm fine, just keep going," she replied while trying to calm down before the appearance of someone who made her fearful.
I just walked peacefully out of the city gate to do the quest, while behind me, there was still noisy talk about the Princess's appearance.

As for the Church, when they saw the Princess's convoy arrive, the Church group also followed, and both proceeded to the Royal castle.
Returning to the castle, the injured were taken for treatment, and rewards were prepared for the rest. Because an unwanted event had occurred, each person received an additional fifty Platinum coins. As for the treatment costs, the Royalty would cover everything.
The Princess returned to her room; she kept thinking about whether the image she saw earlier on the street was that person.
"What is someone like that doing here?"
"But that looked so much like him!"
Countless questions were raised after seeing that person, the one who had defeated the Demon army.
She still hadn't told anyone else about that person's appearance. Other than the survivors and Aga who knew of his presence. But all were strictly instructed to keep it secret if they didn't want the nation to face a great disaster.
Except for the Princess and Aga, who were the two who had seen the faces of the young man and the girl. However, due to panic along with the night sky, both couldn't remember the faces of those two clearly.
Currently, the King was meeting with others, including the Church, to explain the reason and cause for this ambush. The meeting went quite smoothly; most issues were resolved, such as: Reason, how to fix it, how to prevent it...
All believed the Princess's words that the Death Dragon had destroyed most of the enemy and our troops, so our army fought to eliminate the Demons and achieved victory.
Though that wasn't the truth, it was the best way to keep the nation safe.
"That person looked quite like an Adventurer, so perhaps I will ask the Adventurer's Guild for help in finding information on the person from earlier," the Princess thought.

The Hero Group:
In a few days, we will set out for the Kingdom of Apeat to meet and discuss the strategy to fight the Demon King and his henchmen.
All four people with the Hero vocation were going there. It was also an occasion to learn about that kingdom's strength.
"Hey Aruto, we will reach that kingdom in three days?" Emi asked.
"Probably so," Aruto replied.
"This is also an occasion for me to compete with the warriors of that kingdom, to see who is the strongest," Seki said.
"Maybe we can find some other strange magic there," Isuka said.
The other three in the room all nodded in agreement.
"Since that useless guy was killed by us—no, helped us kill monsters—we have become much stronger," Emi said.
"Are you talking about that Suo Qi guy? Was he worthy of helping us? He was less than a tool!" Aruto said.
The other three all laughed contemptuously after mentioning this name.
"And you were childhood friends with him, Isuka?" Seki asked.
"No, no, I'm not friends with that useless guy at all!" Isuka replied.
So the whole bunch burst out laughing when mentioning the name that had just been brought up.
"If that guy were still alive, he'd probably be a slave or replacing the role of an animal by now, right?" Emi said.
"At least his equipment and money still have value, unlike him. That money is enough for me to eat and drink for a week," Aruto said.
"All five people were summoned, but only he was extremely useless; even the Princess hated him and blamed herself for summoning a piece of trash like him for a whole week," Seki said.
"She even ordered to find and kill that piece of trash, but he died earlier than expected," Isuka said.
"Trash belongs with trash; that guy died in a place no one knows or cares about," Emi said.
The whole bunch laughed loudly again; they quite enjoyed talking about the 'useless guy'.

"Thump!"
"What's wrong, Suo Qi?" Yui calmly asked me.
"It seems an ant just bit my toe."
I was currently lying with my head on Yui's lap under a giant ancient tree next to the forest. Since we had finished the quest, we had quite a bit of free time.
This soft, smooth 'pillow' easily lulled me to sleep. Asp was currently running and jumping far away near a high mound. Hard to believe this was the dragon that had killed hundreds of Demons and dragons not long ago.
But Asp was very understanding; he went far away because he wanted to let me and my wife be close and affectionate.
And for a while now, I kept feeling something tickling me, like someone was mentioning me or speaking ill of me. However, I didn't want to miss such a peaceful moment.