I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

Fenrir arrived earlier than I expected and joined us with the feast. She narrated that some children kept chasing her around, specifically her tail.

"Those kids kept yelling at me, saying 'Tail! Tail!'. Before I know it, I'm already running back to this place," explained Fenrir, as she heaved out a sigh.

But that wolf girl widened her eyes upon meeting some people present at the event.

When Fenrir, Merleen, and I sat at the table, the children playing beside the girl went towards us. Those kids invited us to play, especially after seeing young girls blessed with youth. They also witnessed Fenrir's tail wagging at all angles as if it had a life of its own. When those kids chased Fenrir's tail, she had no other choice but to leave them be and wait for them to get tired.

Fortunately for Fenrir, a man's voice caught the kid's attention.

"Children, go back to your parents. Don't bother the heroes for now, okay? They need to protect us in times of need."

"Yes, Uncle Fisher!"

The choirs of children gave Fisher their replies and returned them to their families. Since the children already left our flanks, the noise level decreased tremendously. That silence gave Fenrir some peace to think about life on her own.

"Thank you for giving me a hand," I said, while lowering my head.

"I've already told you, Arthur. Please, it's my pleasure to help you. Raise your head."

After hearing his words, Fisher went to the main dishes and readied himself to serve these plates. Those bowls of soups and containers cooking some vegetable stew caught my nostrils, which also grumbled my stomach's insides. Those pinkish grilled rabbit meat and fried chicken amplified my hunger tenfold, luring me to grab a bite before anyone else.

Thankfully, Fisher noticed my eyes and suggested that I could grab my preferred meals. The feast technically started moments ago, since Fisher had already prepared everything here.

"We still need to tell everyone the reason behind this banquet. But don't worry about that. These meals we prepared are all for you since you saved my children," Fisher exclaimed, while nodding at his words.

It was what Fisher had mentioned. His wife, Gwen, went to the side and called for Fisher's attention. As soon as the soldier noticed his wife's figure, Fisher immediately went in her direction and met with her.

Within a few seconds, those two gathered the attention of all the villagers present at the banquet. Fisher gave a quick introduction about our existence. He told everyone that we were the ones who saved his child out from the forest and took out the demon.

Everyone who heard those words felt mixed emotions inside their chest. Demons were terrifying creatures that made these humans cower in fear. Since not all humans could control magical elements, these villagers wanted to flee the village upon hearing Fisher's sentences.

Fisher had to repeat those words while amplifying some specific points he wanted the villagers to hear. "These four individuals saved my children and took down the demonic aura beasts. My pets that they fought turned feral after combining themselves inside the demonic aura. Don't worry, those animals are currently undergoing treatment. And as soon as they received no further conditions, the dog could finally meet with my children soon."

"Where is the fourth one, Fisher?!" the villagers asked, but Fisher fell silent for a few seconds.

It was not because he disliked answering someone's questions. But Fisher did not even need to answer them in the first place.

As soon as Fisher mentioned Meliodas' name, a shadow appeared near the houses. That figure crept closer in our direction, with an object clipped around its arms.

The villagers who noticed that shape alerted other scouts and some civilians about the potential threat of this anomaly. But as soon as Fisher stood up, all the villagers became calm once again.

"That's just Meliodas. He's here to join the feast, and the fourth member of Arthur's team," Fisher continued, and requested a round of applause for Meliodas.

The villagers slowly accepted the bard to their kingdom. Although the bard had an intense gaze, that man still had some decency as a human. If he didn't, I would have kicked him out of my team and let him roam around some places some more.

It was better to accomplish one's goal as long as it would not step into anyone's life. And since Meliodas vowed to bring justice to his uncle's son, he wanted to change the world, starting with the knights.

And instead of killing them, Meliodas remained silent for now and allowed time to tell his fate.

Upon Meliodas' arrival, Fisher started the event proper and invited everyone to eat the meals Fisher prepared. He told me they rarely threw a party or a feast to anyone, since a famine hit the world. Any spoiled food would haunt anyone, especially those who cannot afford to eat decent meals.

But considering the occurrence, the demons had already breached this town's borders. It won't surprise Fisher if they all died instantly when the demon planned on attacking the nearby town. According to him, that event was not a rare occurrence. There were some cases where demons attacked our neighbouring towns for entertainment. Dozens of villages turned extinct when that happened.

"Celebrating our remaining days while filling our mouth with delicious food might divert their focus from the demon," said Fisher when he told me about the rationale for this party.

After eating our meals, it was finally time for us to rest. It took us approximately three hours to finish the banquet, considering all the meals placed on the table. Fisher and his family offered themselves to fix the things the villagers used for the event. He also told us we needed to rest our bodies for our upcoming fight for tomorrow.

"Since you guys are up against a demon, you need all the rest that you can to have a fighting chance. You can't clash against an opponent when you can't focus on the battlefield," Fisher exclaimed, while chuckling to himself.

We heeded his advice and went back to the building where Merleen and Fenrir rested. Meliodas also received his room filled with normal decorations and a bed. As long as it had a mattress and a clean studio, everything would become great.

The three of us fell asleep like soldiers getting ready for their next assignment. Within a few hours, the moon disappeared from the sky and got replaced by the scorching sun. That heat marked the day for us to fight the wandering demon once and for all.

Before leaving the town's premises, we went to Fisher and told them to relocate to the Caerleon Kingdom.

"Just mention my name to Green and he will accommodate you. He's a nice king, since the two of us fought for that position," I shared, whilst giving my ultimate goodbye.

Fisher did not know how to react to that message and accepted my proposal. Since this kingdom had proximity with the demonic land, relocating from this place would be a smart decision.

However, like any other place, this area held some remarkable history of the people's culture. Some people would plainly disagree with leaving this place unless they could bring the shrines and other sentimental values with them.

"I will see what I can do," Fisher replied, and saw us off towards the road.

The town's children also came to see us leave the village. They waved their hands and told their goodbyes to our figures. We waved back and returned the favour of these kids.

Within a few seconds, I went to Meliodas and asked him a couple of questions.

"What do you plan to do? Do you want to hunt down demons? Or do you want to exact your revenge against knights... some knights that really did something bad to your uncle's son?" I asked Meliodas.

Meliodas strummed a note from his harp and answered, "It depends. I will continue hunting down those knights who harmed my uncle. However, I also realised that some soldiers could also be good. It's not always the case, but sometimes it happens."

"People can change too! I changed! Arthur changed! Fenrir changed a lot!" Merleen exclaimed, and butted in our conversation.

"And what makes you think that?" Fenrir asked, while tilting her head to the side.

If I had to guess her, Fenrir became curious about Merleen's thoughts. It was the signal of their friendship compared to our first encounter with her.

"Will you accept me as your party member, Fenrir, Merleen, and Arthur? I know I already tried killing all of you…. But."

"You're in our team already, Meliodas. And besides, it happens. I tried killing Arthur too before. But we just brush it off like it never happened," Okami said, while gazing at the road. "We share the same goal. For now, you're always welcome to join our team, Meliodas. We're up against a strong enemy. I am not even confident about taking down one of them on my own."

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