Since its founding, Melromarc had been a nation devoted to the Three Hero Church.
The so-called Three Hero Church had split off from the original Four Hero Church, which had revered all Four Cardinal Heroes equally, to become Melromarc's unique national religion.
This church worshipped the Spear, Sword, and Bow Heroes as saviors, while denouncing the Shield Hero as a demon.
Originally, the summoning of the heroes should have been a joint decision among all nations, each nation individually summoning only one Hero. Even then, after being summoned, the Heroes should have freely chosen their host nation.
But Melromarc's king and the Pope of the Three Hero Church had secretly used the holy relics to summon all four heroes at once while Queen Mirellia, the true ruler of the nation, was away attending a world conference.
Their logic was simple: It was better to summon the hated Shield Demon onto their own land—where they could freely suppress his growth—rather than allowing the Shield-worshipping demi-human countries to get him instead.
The Pope had ample reasons to hate the Shield Hero as a heretic. As for the King, siding with the Pope also had its advantages:
By marrying off his daughter to one of the three "proper" heroes, he could merge heroic lineage with royal blood, solidifying the royal family's dominance.
And so, the Shield Hero and this extra "Zero Hero" became sacrificial pawns to facilitate this union.
But…
The King stared furiously at the girl standing below, who was defiantly meeting his gaze.
He hadn't expected that the carefully prepared accusations would be so easily dismantled by her, even causing the other three Heroes—who had initially sided with him—to waver again.
Such cunning manipulation—yet you dare claim you're not a witch!
But even if this witch had a silver tongue, so what?
By tomorrow, rumors of the "Shield Demon" and the "Heretic Witch" would spread through the entire kingdom. Merchants and townsfolk alike would shun them. Ultimately, even Heroes had to bow to his authority…
As the King comforted himself with these thoughts, suddenly, the witch—who was standing far below him just a moment ago—appeared right in front of him and pushed him firmly in the chest.
Caught off guard, the King stumbled back, collapsing onto his throne.
Though physically unhurt, his heavy gold-and-gem-encrusted crown fell off his head, clattering loudly to the floor.
"You! Heretic wit—Zero Hero! What are you doing?!"
The King was both startled and enraged, almost blurting out his true thoughts. However, since she'd dared to disrespect him openly, the title "Heretic Witch" was now fully justified.
Yet Kiriko showed no remorse at all; instead, her expression became even angrier than the King's own.
"Your Majesty, why did you use your shoulder to hit my hand?"
"What?!"
Although the King was already past forty—though, looking at his aged, white-haired appearance, he might as well have been past fifty or sixty—he nearly fainted on the spot from sheer rage.
The onlookers were also stunned speechless.
Granted, Kiriko had moved extremely fast, practically teleporting before the King's throne, so no one—not even Motoyasu or the other heroes—had clearly seen who struck whom first.
But "using your shoulder to hit my hand"?
This was absolute absurdity!
Still, the King was an older man and had some composure. He realized Kiriko was simply furious at being falsely accused.
But the more she irrationally lashed out, the more the situation would tip in his favor.
As long as the three heroes stood with him, the Shield Demon and this witch were no threat.
Thus, taking several deep breaths to calm himself, the King responded sternly:
"Zero Hero, what is the meaning of this? I am the King of Melromarc. Mind your status—"
But Kiriko roughly interrupted him:
"I asked, why did you deliberately hit my hand with your shoulder?"
"You woman, what exactly are you—"
"I don't care what kind of rules your nation—or even this world—has. But in my homeland, this is an insult, and I demand a duel!"
Kiriko was technically telling the truth. She may have come from China during modern times...
But back in ancient pre-Qin China, nobles were scholars off their horses and warriors on horseback—martial artists roamed freely, swordsmen walked every street, and one wrong word could lead straight to blades being drawn.
Using the logic of ancient China's swordsmanship on these people—what's the problem?
Absolutely nothing wrong at all.
"Zero Hero, you have gone too far!"
The minister beside the throne finally snapped back to his senses.
"Standing before you is none other than His Majesty, the King of Melromarc! You're nothing but a commoner—what right do you have to challenge the King to a duel?!"
The King's eyes immediately lit up as he latched onto this.
"That's...that's right! I am the king of this country! I have every right to refuse—"
Kiriko shrugged helplessly, clearly annoyed.
"Sorry, but even though you're the King of this country, in my eyes, you're no different from any commoner. Enough talk. Draw your sword!"
"Kiriko-san, what nonsense are you spouting now?"
Motoyasu Kitamura below finally intervened as well.
"I've never heard of such a ridiculous custom from our country!"
Kiriko didn't even bother looking at him.
"That's because you failed history class! Go home and read your textbook a hundred more times!"
"You... Fine, fine, fine—"
Motoyasu repeated "fine" several times in a row, visibly frustrated.
"I get it now. You're just angry and looking for someone to vent your frustration on, aren't you? Well, then duel with me instead! I'll stand in for the King—does that satisfy you?"
"Ohh! As expected of the Spear Hero-sama, so reliable!"
The King was so touched he nearly squeezed out a few crocodile tears on the spot.
"Yes, yes! Just as he said, I nominate the Spear Hero to fight on my behalf. Does that meet your satisfaction?"
Kiriko frowned, appearing genuinely troubled.
"Motoyasu, are you seriously going to duel me in place of this Trash King?"
The moment Kiriko uttered "Trash King," both the King and his minister opened their mouths to argue, but immediately closed them again after Kiriko shot them a cold glare.
"Kiriko-san, if you and Naofumi are truly innocent, then simply requesting another investigation will clear your names eventually. Why must you act so disrespectfully?"
Motoyasu shook his head sadly.
"I agree with Motoyasu."
"So do I."
Ren Amaki and Itsuki Kawasumi, who'd been mostly silent thus far, voiced their support.
"Motoyasu-sama, why waste your breath on these disrespectful people? Hurry up and kill—um, defeat her, and rescue my fa— His Majesty!"
Myne seized the opportunity to urge Motoyasu on.
"Even now, you still don't see it clearly? Forget it. Even before coming to this world, I already knew 'some people simply can't be reasoned with.' Since you insist on dueling me on behalf of this Trash King, fine, have it your way."
Kiriko sighed, abandoning her attempt to educate this self-righteous Spear Hero.
"Kiriko-san, even if you're angry, calling him 'Trash King' is just too disrespectful!"
Motoyasu corrected her irritably.
But Kiriko completely ignored him, turning instead toward the King, who was still sprawled awkwardly on his throne—though doing his best to hide it, his face clearly showed delight.
"Trash King, your luck really isn't half bad. You actually managed to find an idiot willing to fight your battles for you."
The King didn't respond, simply snorting coldly.
With the Spear Hero stepping forward, there was nothing to fear.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if the Spear Hero began losing, he could always interfere secretly to ensure victory.
The King had just relaxed slightly at this comforting thought, when Kiriko suddenly raised her foot and—
A searing, unbearable pain shot through his body, radiating upward from between his legs. His mouth involuntarily formed an "O" of shock and agony.
Yet even more infuriating than the pain was Kiriko's next bewildered accusation, which nearly made him pass out on the spot:
"Your Majesty, you've gone too far! You already offended me once earlier—why are you now using your ass to assault the bottom of my foot?!"
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T/N: LMAOOOOOO KICK HIS ASS!! LITERALLY!!
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