I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

"Hey…. Are you alright? You should be resting right now... You're quite stubborn, aren't you," I whispered, while caressing Merleen's head. "I told you to wait, yet you didn't listen."

"I just want to…."

Before Merleen could even continue her sentence, I hugged her and interjected, "If I hadn't come, I would be dead right now…. Thank you for helping me... Thank you."

I closed my eyes while my arms were still wrapping around Merleen's body. After a few seconds, Merleen turned towards me and met my already closed eyes. However, she immediately thought something was off and soon shook my body.

"Arthur? ARTHUR?! H-HEY! D-Don't leave me! I-I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!"

"I'M NOT DEAD, YOU IDIOT! I'M JUST RESTATING! I…. sorry…. I just need a five minutes' rest…. I still need to find those herbs and make potions out of it."

"Oh…. Okay, Arthur."

After our exchange, Merleen gave me the best five minutes of my life as I rested on top of her thighs. It was every man's dream just to lie down on a beautiful girl that cared and loved me. This event only amplified my feelings for Merleen, since she was always there for me when I needed her the most. And I was always there to rescue her when she needed my help.

We were partners in crime inside this different world, where magic and fantasy existed, compared to mine. If Merleen existed inside my world, we would still be partners, despite the differences we had.

Well, everyone could afford a dream or two. And having her as my wife would complete my family.

But right now, there were other things that we needed to do before we could get all lovey-dovey. We still needed to create the potions and give them to the injured once.

After taking my brief break, I sluggishly stood on the ground and asked everyone for their help. All those who could walk insisted I should rest and wait for those villagers to return. I described the materials I would need and asked for the materials to mix the herbs. But even fetching those instruments, they insisted that those villagers and mercenaries would be the ones to prepare it.

"You saved the kingdom, Arthur! Let us do the miscellaneous stuff!" Galehaut offered, and became the temporary leader of the scavenger hunt.

Green guided everyone, including the injured people, inside the castle to rest for the time being. Those who had lost their homes would temporarily live inside the citadel until further notice. Since we were the ones who caused the uproar, Green and his friends would build the kingdom once again. They also needed to uphold the proper management and order as the new ruler of this town.

The female mercenary, who liked Green, confessed her love to him. It was a unanimous vote that the girl would become the queen of this kingdom.

Merleen and I arrived inside a room and rested for the time being. We shared a bed without having extra mattresses or a mat. I told Green about this incident, but he refused to listen and locked the door. Merleen, who heard our conversation, though I didn't want to sleep beside her.

Of course, I explained everything and told her my incoherent explanation, which only made her laugh.

Merleen slept beside me while hugging my arm while I fiddled with my system. Her snores echoed right beside my ear, but those sounds never disrupted me from my thinking.

According to the villagers, they will give me the herbs I need in this room. I did not have to go down or meet them at the entrance, considering that we already exhausted all our energy from the battle.

While browsing the system, a knock from the door echoed inside the room. After a few seconds, a feminine voice called over for my attention.

"Arthur, it's me, Fenrir."

"Come on in," I replied.

The door slowly slid open, revealing Fenrir's worn-out fur and body. We already talked earlier. And I told her to rest, together with the mercenaries who needed a room. It surprised me that Fenrir showed up inside my bedroom and asked for my presence. If I had to add the cherry on top, Fenrir politely addressed me.

"Are you sick? Did someone knock you on the head?" I said.

"Ha?! Are you an idiot who lacks a brain?" Fenrir retorted, and stomped her feet.

"Pfft."

"What's funny?"

I shook my head and replied, "Nothing... Well, that's the Fenrir I know. When you opened that door, I thought you're going to be polite around me. It's okay, Fenrir. You could say whatever you want in front of me….. In front of Merleen."

"And be sure to lower your voice. Merleen's sleeping right now. We don't want to wake her up, now, do we?" I whispered, while pointing my forefinger at Merleen.

Fenrir heaved out a sigh and finally cut the chase. "I feel a dark presence ahead of us, Arthur. It's a demon. And not just any demon….. He or she has close ties with the demon lord."

My body froze after hearing such words coming out of Fenrir's mouth. A demon had an equivalent power of a hundred average players playing this game. And if we were ranking those demons, a demon lord could have a strength of ten high-level players.

I could only take three general demons at a time. But despite my overpowered character, I had never fought against a demon lord in my life.

Demons had congested arcane, which made them effortless to find. None of the arcane suppressor abilities could hide their mana, considering the abundant capacity they had inside of them.

I did not know what to do but stare at Fenrir, processing everything she had said. Although Merleen was still resting right now, I needed to wake her up because of this dire situation. We cannot afford to take any breaks for now, especially when we're up against a force that could destroy this world.

And to make matters worse, those demons had the Excalibur sword. Nobody knew what kind of power they truly possessed, together with that legendary weapon.

"Were you followed, Fenrir? And tell Galehaut about the herbs. Make them quick…. Tell them they need to find it right now…. And I want an audience with Green, the king."

It was the first time for Fenrir to witness my authoritative state. When I was still using my overpowered character, I acted like a leader who ordered everyone what they needed to do. Nobody disobeyed my words, since I had the charm of a king….

Well, most people described me like one, so I had to go along with it. They placed an image I needed to follow. I was also the number one player in this game, which meant more fame and power.

Fenrir launched herself outside the room and instructed everything I mentioned earlier. After a few minutes, the villagers arrived and placed all that they could find on the table.

I, who had the system, used the ingredients as potions. My system immediately did its magic and made results slightly lower than my expectations.

Since I was a knight and not an alchemist, the potency of the potions I made was around 70%. Despite not hitting 100%, I shared the flasks with the injured villagers and observed their reactions.

Within moments of drinking the bottle, those wounds that the injured people had healed as fast as they could. It was as if they had the abilities of a werewolf and vampires, which they had in this world.

After a few minutes, those wounds closed up and returned the villagers to their shape. They all thanked me as soon as they realised I created those potions.

Galehaut went to me and bowed his head, together with the rest of the mercenaries behind him. Green, who finally appeared, expressed his gratitude for saving these citizens.

However, we had yet to solve our problems….

"Green, I need an audience with everyone inside this kingdom. If possible, I want you to spread this news around Albion."

"How do you know about Albion? It was just recent documents kept by the previous king?" Green asked, but he was not suspicious about me.

He just widened his eyes in surprise upon hearing Albion from me. Nobody should know about it, except for the kings of each kingdom. I, who was just a strange wanderer, knew about the contract.

"It's a long story… Anyway, Green... We're dealing with demons. Fenrir felt the presence of a demon up ahead of us," I whispered near his ear, and avoided creating a scene from these people behind me. "And we must warn everyone about it… That demon has powers beyond our imaginations. I don't know how we could stop that force…."

After listening to my words, Green swiftly ordered the soldiers to gather all villagers around the kingdom. Within a few seconds, those townspeople gathered around the plaza, ready to listen for the speech we prepared.