“I will do my best. However, it is possible that if they feel they’re being blamed for the spread of destruction, they might behave rashly. I have ordered that they be handled with caution.”

Jeez . . . Just how much trouble did they need to cause before they would be satisfied? Those fools!

“We must consider the possibility that another country might attempt to take advantage of the heroes’ emotional vulnerability resulting from defeat to gain their favor and secure the country’s position as the leading world power.”

“Ah, so there are groups that might try something like that after all.”

“Of course, such an act would be criticized harshly. We would not stand by quietly, nor would Faubrey, I am sure.”

“Umm . . . That’s the huge country that first attempted to summon the four heroes, right?”

“Yes. The country is closely involved with the four heroes. If another country were to attempt such a thing without the consent of Faubrey, war would likely be unavoidable.”

I’d thought that war and all of that mess was less of an issue here than in Kizuna’s world, but I guess that kind of thing was always just right around the corner.

So if the heroes were to flee to a country attempting to gain their favor, they would risk being used as political instruments. I had refused such an invitation without even realizing it and so nothing ever came of it, but those guys were definitely liable to fall for something like that. What a bunch of good-for-nothings! Of course, I didn’t really have room to talk since I was part of their group.

So for the time being, all we would be able to do is call together the seven star heroes. I wasn’t sure whether I should consider them friends or foes, but I needed to meet and speak with them either way. It was critical that we shared our power-up methods.

Of course, there was the issue of whether or not they would be willing to talk. There could always be someone like Kyo from Kizuna’s world, so I wasn’t sure if the seven star heroes could be considered allies yet. Still, I had to get them to share their power-up methods somehow to make up for my stats being lowered by the curse.

“Understood about the heroes. Other than that, with the extent of the damage . . . is recovery even possible?”

Upon hearing my question, the expressions of the queen and her advisers grew even grimmer. So it really was that bad, after all.

“The coalition army itself suffered significant losses during the incursion into the Spirit Tortoise’s body and also while distracting it outside.”

“Sorry I couldn’t protect them.”

As the Shield Hero, it was my job to think about how to prevent casualties and act accordingly. And yet, there had still been considerable losses.

“Oh, no . . . They were there because they wanted to be, I am sure. Everyone that participated in the incursion has indicated that it was thanks to the Shield Hero that any of them were able to escape alive.”