Outside the castle, rain poured heavily. Takashi ran to the training ground in the pouring rain, which was battering against his skin.

The rain was raging. Of course, no one was around in that weather. Only the straw dummies used for sword practice were exposed to the wind and rain, swaying sadly.

"Damn, Damn it!"

Takashi swung his wooden sword at the straw dummy. He was angrier at himself than with Nephira. What a Hero. The girl he was trying to protect ended up having both her tendons severed, rendering her unable to run.

Wielding the wooden sword with his emotions and without proper control and form, he eventually hurt his arm when he hit the dummy. Takashi lost strength and dropped his wooden sword to the ground. A throbbing pain came from his wrist. He felt like he had been defeated, even by a motionless straw dummy.

(Nephira is right. I can\'t do anything on my own. I\'ve only been living off the kindness of the demons up until now.)

Facing the rain-soaked straw dummy, he extended out one hand.

"Fire!"

He tried shouting, mimicking a wizard he had read about in an isekai novel. He tried yelling again and again while being drenched by the torrential rain. However, no matter how he shouted, nothing came out of his palm.

He lay down on the ground, battered by the rain, disgusted by his own incompetence.

...

How much time must have passed? Suddenly, he noticed a hairy monster looking down at him.

"Yo, Gregorio. What are you doing out here, in the middle of this rain?"

"..."

"You\'re still as quiet as ever. That\'s fine. You don\'t have to talk. I just wish you\'d listen to my complaints as you are."

"..."

"Being cute is not enough to save the world. Haha. Of course not."

After saying this, Takashi noticed that Gregorio had disappeared from his sight.

(He must have been so exasperated that he left. Yeah, that\'s right.)

But when he raised his head, Gregorio was a short distance away. He was moving his hand a little bit. He seemed to be telling Takashi to follow him.

In the constantly pouring rain, Takashi silently followed Gregorio.

After a long walk, they finally arrived at a cabin on the outskirts.

"Hee. It\'s quite a nice house."

He could see chopped firewood piled up near the house. There was an axe close to the pile.

"Chopping firewood? By any chance, is this how you train your body?"

"..."

"I see. I should train my body harder too. And one day, I\'ll be strong enough to surpass Nephira."

It was at that moment.

"You fool. Are you really a hero?"

Takashi was absolutely speechless. From the quiet Gregorio came the voice of a fully grown woman.

"Gre--Gregorio?"

"Even if it is decades. Even after decades of physical training to the point of sweating blood, you have no chance against Nephira."

Gregorio\'s body started glowing. The huge, hairy frame shrunk, and he became as tall as Takashi. Peach-colored hair trailing behind. Light clothes on a slim figure. An adult woman with slanted eyes and an intellectual face was standing there.

"Wha--!? You are!?"

"My real name is Leelou. I\'m a human, just like you."

"Lee... lou!? Human!? Wh--, Why, is there another human besides me in the Thunder-Lance Charge!?"

"I am just like you. In order to bring peace to this chaotic world, I infiltrated the Thunder-Lance Charge, aiming to disturb the Demon Lord\'s army. However... I changed my mind after I saw you."

(Changed her mind... after seeing me...? Ha--... I suppose my incompetence as a hero, disheartened her so much that she lost all motivation...)

Even he was aware that he was incompetent. But to be reminded once again by a stranger. Moreover, being looked down on by another human like him, Takashi ended up shouting---

"THAT\'S RIGHT! I\'m incompetent! HELPLESS! But I wanted to help at least the people around me! That\'s why I joined the Thunder-Lance Charge! But I have neither attack power nor magical power! And... Excella had the tendons on her feet severed, losing the ability to run again!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as he cried out, feeling ashamed of himself. Even so, Leelou still spoke coldly to Takashi.

"Pathetic. It\'s because you are not making an effort--that you ended up like that. Human beings are striving creatures. Progress and improvement are what being human is all about."

"Do--Don\'t talk nonsense without knowing anything at all! Effort? I\'m making an EFFORT! I train with a wooden sword and train my body every day,"

"That is why you are a fool, you know. You put your efforts in the completely wrong direction."

"Wrong direction...?"

"Listen to me. You are not incompetent. I have abandoned my original plan and revealed myself to you only because I have seen the awe-inspiring power of a hero. Because I thought you could bring about a revolution without nearly any bloodshed and save the world."

"A--Awe-inspiring... my power? My only ability is being adored by fiends!"

"Hero! Earlier, you said being cute isn\'t enough to save the world."

"Because you CAN\'T! I can\'t even save myself just because I have the ability to be cute! There is no such thing as a demon that can lose a duel just because someone is cute!"

Leelou turned her sharp eyes to Takashi and said with a solemn tone.

"I assure you. It is possible to save the world just by being cute."

"Th--That\'s absurd!! Saving the world with cuteness alone!? How in the hell!?"

"Follow me."

In the continuous downpour, Leelou turned away and started walking toward the cabin. With her beautiful peach-colored hair drenched in raindrops, she spoke to Takashi without turning her head.

"I\'ll teach you. The 48 adorable gestures that have the potential to liberate the world from the forces of the Demon Lord---- \'Pretties\'."