At this moment, they finally understood a little of how Naofumi had felt. So this is what it felt like to hear such despairing words.
Soon, during the interrogation, Myne, still trying to lie, could only confess everything under the influence of the slave crest.
The Three Heroes Church was implicated as well. The king and Myne had colluded with the Three Heroes Church. The church's evil tenets and the Pope's ambitions were also exposed under Takeru's manipulation.
"You heretics! I am the Pope! How dare you judge me and the king? You have been possessed by demons! All followers of the Three Heroes Church, eliminate the Sword Demon and the Shield Demon with all your might!" Seeing this implicated him, the Pope stood up.
However, upon hearing his words, the high priests and followers behind him seemed not to hear.
"High Priest, and you all!" Looking at the high priest and the few other followers present who were looking at him coldly, the Pope realized something was wrong.
"Sword Hero, please allow me to kill this evil person before us!" Looking at Takeru, the high priest spoke first.
"Bring him down. Let him honestly confess his criminal acts. Then we will hold a public trial tomorrow." Hearing the high priest's words, Takeru said calmly.
"Yes, Brave One." Hearing Takeru's words, the Pope was subdued.
During Takeru's interrogation, he confessed to the evil deeds committed by the Three Heroes Church.
Hearing the evil acts the Pope had made the Three Heroes Church commit, not only the ordinary people, but even the king who had colluded with them, was stunned. A feeling of regret slowly rose within him.
"I truly am not fit to be king." As he spoke, he completely lowered his head. His crown fell to the ground...
Looking at the dejected king, Takeru's expression was calm, without a trace of concern. Or rather, the fact that he still had his life was already Takeru's mercy.
Of course, keeping him alive naturally served a purpose.
Watching the people around him mostly cheering his name, Takeru nodded to them.
"Since everyone wishes for me to lead the kingdom towards revival, I will officially inherit the throne tomorrow. At the same time, a national assembly will be convened for the formal trial of Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, Malty S. Melromarc, and the Pope of the Three Heroes Church, Biscas T. Balmus." Looking at everyone, Takeru spoke.
As Takeru's voice sounded, although it wasn't loud, everyone in the arena heard it clearly.
"Sword Hero! Sword Hero!" Hearing Takeru's words, the crowd responded loudly.
"Wait! The true ruler of the Kingdom of Melromarc is Mirellia Q. Melromarc! You can't do this!" Recovering his senses, Aultcray shouted in opposition.
But amidst the cheering crowd, his voice was insignificant.
Some people sensed something wrong, but looking at the numerous zealous officials and nobles, they buried their doubts deep in their hearts.
"Naofumi, don't be absent tomorrow." Seeing things basically settled, Takeru came to Naofumi's side and gently patted his shoulder.
"Naturally. Takeru, thank you truly." Hearing Takeru's words, Naofumi bowed deeply to Takeru. At the same time, he sighed emotionally at Takeru's methods.
As for Via, she was stunned, watching the farce-like scene of the king's transfer of power.
The many zealous nobles and officials were something she had never imagined. Also, she had been with Takeru every day these past days, so she wondered when had he managed to win over so many nobles.
"Hee hee, Master is becoming king. Does that mean Filo can be a princess?" Hearing everyone's words, Filo said excitedly.
"Of course, if Filo wants to be a princess." Looking at the excited Filo, Takeru stroked her head.
"Yay! That's great, Master!" Hearing Takeru's words, Filo threw herself beside Takeru and shouted.
Then, Takeru didn't linger any longer. He led Esdeath and the others away.
Soon, Takeru and the others arrived at a mansion.
After all, they were to ascend the throne tomorrow... staying at an inn was no longer suitable. Finding a place to stay wasn't a troublesome thing for Takeru and the others.
Although the coronation was tomorrow, Takeru didn't find it particularly exciting.
For Takeru, becoming king was less worthy of happiness than some minor improvement in strength.
But while Takeru and the others weren't excited, Via, Raphtalia, and Filo were extremely nervous. After all, someone close to them was suddenly about to become an existence revered by tens of thousands.
As ordinary people themselves, they couldn't help but feel excited and nervous.
Soon, as time passed, it arrived at noon the next day. A large number of citizens gathered outside the royal capital. Outside, four high-definition, huge projectors were displaying images.
Takeru and the others were all gathered in the palace. The only thing puzzling the citizens was that the throne was empty.
Hosting this national assembly was not King Aultcray, but the minister.
"Fellow citizens, we have gathered you here today to announce several matters. First, regarding the wave. Thanks to the Heroes' heroic efforts, the wave was successfully repelled." Seeing that the time was right, the minister spoke directly.
"That's great! It must be the Spear Hero who bravely repelled the wave!" A fan of the Spear Hero spoke loudly.
"No, no, I think Itsuki-sama contributed the most."
"Hmph, the Sword Hero is the strongest!" Some people spoke back.
"The situation of the wave has been fully recorded. Please watch." Faced with the heated discussions outside, the minister spoke on his own within the palace.
Because there were also projections inside the palace, everyone could clearly see the citizens' reactions.
Motoyasu and Itsuki, hearing the praise from outside, couldn't help but lower their heads, looking very embarrassed.
Then, as the projected images began to change, the three screens quickly shifted, replaying the scenes of the wave.
The citizens outside quickly quieted down as they watched the projections. The projections showed the three perspectives of the Heroes' battles.
The incredibly ominous colored vortex in the sky, the dense hordes of monsters… even through the projections, everyone felt fear again.
However, when Motoyasu and the others appeared, the people cheered. But soon, they noticed something was wrong. Motoyasu's and Itsuki's performances were simply too poor.
Faced with the dense hordes of monsters, not only could they not dominate the battlefield, they could barely survive.
Meanwhile, Naofumi, the Shield Hero they had the least expectations for, performed quite well. Against the dense hordes, his movements were clean and efficient.
"How can this be? Is there a mistake? Why are the Spear Hero and the Bow Hero like this?" Watching the footage, some citizens questioned.
"Yes, and where is the Sword Hero? Was this wave repelled by the Shield Hero alone?" As time passed, some people couldn't help but speak up.
"No, look, the Sword Hero went to protect the villagers!" Soon, with some people's reminders, the citizens saw Takeru's figure appear on another screen. Also, Takeru giving instructions to Esdeath and the others.
"Those are the Sword Hero's companions? They're riding dragons! That's amazing!" Watching the majestic landings of Esdeath, Akame, and the others, the citizens exclaimed excitedly.
Soon, as the scenes continued to change, the citizens also saw Takeru, Esdeath, and the others in action. Even through the screen, they could feel the oppressive force of the huge hailstorm.
If one were released over the royal capital, it could probably cause massive destruction with ease.
And on Takeru's side, instead of just repelling the wave, they saw him choosing to protect the people.
"No wonder there were so few casualties in this wave. It's because the Sword Hero and his companions were protecting everyone with all their might." Watching Takeru organize the evacuation and rescue the people in an orderly manner, the citizens felt deeply touched.
After all, compared to the slaughter of monsters, the protection of the people touched them more.
The next time, they themselves might be the ones in danger. Naturally, they would want the Heroes to prioritize their lives.
Then, when the citizens saw the previously well-protected village being targeted by the kingdom's knight order, the knight order's attack turned the still-intact village into a disaster zone, and Takeru's confrontation with the knight order and their words, the citizens felt extremely angry.
And the eventual departure of the knight captain, Malder, made them even angrier. Fortunately, some knights stayed behind, which made the citizens feel a little less disheartened.