After hearing about Rei-san and Fia-san's past from Shigenobu-san, our conversation shifted naturally toward the other otherworlders living in this world. As one might expect, the easiest topics to get excited about were the things we all had in common.
"Ho, so that Mitsunaga boy is a noble now? That sounds like quite a lot to handle in its own way."
"Yes. He seemed busy, but he also looked like he was leading a fulfilling life."
We were currently discussing Seigi-kun. As a side note, I used to call him Mitsunaga-kun, but I had switched to calling him Seigi-kun after his wedding. The reason for this was that upon becoming a noble, the Kingdom of Sinfonia had granted him a family name, which meant his surname had changed.
Specifically, his granted house name was Neverlight, making his formal name Viscount Seigi M. Neverlight. The "M" was an abbreviation of his original surname, Mitsunaga. To be precise, his name was Viscount Seigi Mitsunaga Neverlight, but apparently, they used the initial because the full version was a bit of a mouthful.
Technically, he had possessed that house name from the moment he received his title, so I was a bit late in changing how I addressed him. However, the wedding felt like a good turning point to make the switch. After talking it over, we agreed to go on a first-name basis, so I started calling him Seigi-kun, and he started calling me Kaito-san.
"Then there's also Akane Mikumo-san," I added.
"Oh? Is she a former Hero-role as well?"
"That's right. She's the Chairman of the Mikumo Trading Company and travels all over the world for her business."
"She’s a funny person who speaks with a Kansai dialect," Hina-chan chimed in. "She gave us some candy when we met her before."
Aoi-chan and Hina-chan followed up on my words, describing Akane-san to Shigenobu-san. Both of them had met her, and thanks to her friendly personality, they had hit it off.
Apparently, when she gave them the candy, she had said, "Exactly! These are the kind of girls I like. Unlike a monster like Kaito, you two are so healin’~." I still don't quite get why she calls me that...
"Come to think of it, Akane-san mentioned before that she wanted to hold a gathering for all the otherworlders who have migrated here," I recalled.
"A reunion for fellow countrymen? That sounds interesting. I’d definitely love the chance to join in on that."
At that moment, the existence of Noin-san—who could be considered another emigrant from our world alongside my parents—flickered through my mind. However, her situation was even more complicated than my parents'.
Not only was she the legendary First Hero, but she had also been reincarnated as a Demon. Furthermore, the world at large generally believed her to be dead.
...Well, truth be told, because Noin-san had fought in her original form during the Battle with the God Realm, many people had seen her. As a result, a "First Hero Survival Theory" had apparently begun to circulate as a plausible rumor.
However, she hadn't been wearing her armor during that battle; instead, she had fought in a form resembling a woman from the Taisho era, much like she had during the fight involving Fia-sensei. Consequently, it seemed that no one had connected the dots back to her identity as Noin.
Since Laguna-san and Falce-san were also feigning ignorance, I knew I needed to be even more careful than before when handling any information regarding her. The First Hero's fame was simply too immense, and with organizations like the Hero Religion existing to praise her, it would be a total disaster if her survival were officially confirmed.
Still, despite the numerous witnesses, the survival theory hadn't progressed beyond the level of gossip. I had a feeling that a certain member of the Six Kings with a talent for information was pulling strings behind the scenes to keep it that way.
Serious-senpai: "Ah, so the reason the business with the First Hero hasn't turned into a massive uproar is because Alice moved to suppress it after all..."