Chapter 182 – The Hero's Sword Can Finally Stand Tall Soon

When Alice pulled out the inferior weapon box she bought from a random street stall, the expressions of everyone in the room immediately turned odd.

The Hero's Sword was a normal-sized longsword, so it'd be inconvenient to carry out as it was.
Hence, it wasn't unusual for Alice to keep it inside a weapon box.

However, no matter how they looked at it, the dark green and cubical box with a plastic buckle was a weapon box of inferior quality that one could purchase from a street stall for a few copper coins.
It was something only mercenaries would buy and use when they were looking for disposable weapon boxes to hold their supplies temporarily.
It was the kind of weapon box that would be thrown away after being used once.

The weapon box's appearance wasn't a disguise like everyone assumed, either.
This was because as soon as Alice opened the weapon box, the Hero's Sword had immediately fallen out of the box and hit the ground, making a series of clanging noises that echoed throughout the room.

It should be known that even a slightly better weapon box would keep the weapon suspended in the air using mana after releasing it.
Either that, or it would gently lower it to the ground in a fixed manner.
Even better weapon boxes could release the weapon to a fixed position on the user's body.
The pendant holding Alice's power armor was one example of such a weapon box.

This meant that Alice had indeed stored the Hero's Sword in a weapon box of inferior quality.

Exactly how inferior was it?

The instant Alice opened the weapon box, the chaotic spatial mana that leaked out was already close to hitting everyone's faces.
This meant that the spatial mana within this weapon box was already infinitely close to collapsing, and the weapon box might very well break after a few more uses.

If not for the Hero's Sword's sturdiness, it would've been riddled with holes after being surrounded by such chaotic spatial mana for such a long time.

“Cough… Lord Hero, I'll get you a new weapon box once we head back, so please stop using that one.”

When Hatter felt the looks everyone was giving him, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
He truly did not know that Alice was keeping the Hero's Sword in a weapon box of super-inferior quality.
Thanks to this situation, everyone probably thought that he was a cheap bastard who wasn't even willing to give the Hero's Sword a proper weapon box.

Alice looked at Hatter in confusion, failing to understand why he would suddenly suggest getting her a new weapon box.
Spatial magic was a university subject, so Alice had yet to come into contact with space-related taboos.
Because of this, Alice was unaware of what kind of horrendous state her weapon box was in already.

But since Hatter had offered it, Alice had no reason to refuse.
So, she nodded to his offer and bent down to pick up the fallen Hero's Sword.

The runes on the Hero's Sword engraved by God shone with a faint glow.
Although everyone present recognized the runes on the sword, they couldn't replicate these runes no matter what.
Even replicating these runes in their minds was impossible.
This was ironclad proof that this sword was indeed the Hero's Sword.

Alice didn't seem to have any trouble wielding the Hero's Sword, either.
So, it was almost certain that she was indeed the Hero.

“So she really is the Hero…” the Ymir Kingdom's King Celtic muttered, a hint of envy in his voice.
In reality, he hoped that the Hero of this generation would appear in his country.

The post-war recovery period would follow once the war between the human and demon realms ended.
Meanwhile, the country the Hero was present in would undoubtedly recover the quickest.
The country's national strength would also improve the fastest.

Celtic had just taken over the position of the Ymir Kingdom's king.
If he had the Hero's help, he'd have a significantly easier time stabilizing his rule and developing his country.
Unfortunately, this situation was not meant to be.

“It seems this settles the question of whether Lord Hero is the real deal.
But this means that the matter of the Demon King's birth is also true,” the Vulcan Kingdom's Queen Abby said, sighing as she sank her plump body into her chair.
“I had hoped the fight between the Hero and the Demon King was merely an act the elves had put on for us.”

It was indeed an act, but it wasn't an act put on by the elves, Alice mentally retorted.
However, based on Abby's words, it would seem that the human rulers had indeed noticed that the fight between the Hero and the Demon King looked a little strange.
For example, the Hero did not move a single step throughout the fight.

However, the taboos Alice and Luna used were the real deal.
The various human kingdoms must've sent people over to the Elven Forest to inspect the residual mana on the battlefield, so they must know that multiple taboos had been used there before.
Combined with the fact that Alice had just proven her identity as the Hero, there should be enough evidence for the human kings to dismiss their previous suspicion.

Regardless, the fact that the Hero existed meant that the Demon King also existed, and this definitely wasn't good news for the human realm.

The Demon King was an existence bearing deep resentment toward the human race, and there was no hope for reconciliation.
Even the Third Demon King, who seemed the most normal out of the bunch, had only spared the human race after occupying most of the human realm.

Hence, immediately after validating Alice's identity, the various rulers present promptly made up their minds to avoid offending Alice no matter what.
Although the Heroes of past generations all possessed a pure soul, they could still feel happiness, anger, grief, and joy just like any normal person.
So, they'd be in big trouble if they offended the Hero.

In addition to behaving carefully around Alice, the several rulers present also started having other ideas.

“May I know if you have any interests or hobbies, Lord Hero?” the Rhine Kingdom's King Haydn asked as he looked at Alice.
He had also retracted his shadowy expression and revealed a not-so-appealing smile.
“If you have time, please do visit the Rhine Kingdom.
I will have son Etoria act as your guide.”

Having a country's prince and the most promising heir to the throne act as one's guide was considered incredibly good treatment.
Etoria also beamed a warm smile at Alice upon hearing his father's words.

If Alice were a normal girl, she would've most likely succumbed to Etoria's handsome looks and warm smile in the blink of an eye.
However, Alice was not a normal person.
Not to mention, Etoria's name was still on Alice's black list, so she naturally showed little reaction to his smile.

However, Alice had also realized what the Rhine King was trying to do—this gloomy king was trying to play the marriage card after realizing that the Hero didn't come from his country.

Alice immediately got goosebumps when this thought came into her mind.
Due to her identity before she transmigrated, she had no desire to get married to a man whatsoever.
So, King Haydn's idea was destined to fail.

Meanwhile, Luna, who stood beside Alice, also realized King Haydn's aim.
Immediately, she narrowed her eyes and began looking at King Haydn and Prince Etoria with an increasingly hostile gaze.