"Ah... huh...?"
Seeing Sylvia actually retreat with a drastic change of expression, the timid Kazuma was left somewhat stunned.
"J-Just a name, and it scared off a Demon Lord's Army officer?"
Kazuma looked as though he could hardly believe it.
But Sylvia kept her gaze fixed on Kazuma as she spoke.
"Just a name? You really underestimate the weight that name carries." Sylvia said, "Mikoto Kyoya, the Demon Sword Master, is heavily wanted by the Demon Lord's Army. Not only is he a powerful adventurer wielding a rare divine artifact, but his threat to the Demon Lord's Army has continued to grow. In the end, even the Demon Lord himself had no choice but to take notice of him."
Originally, Mikoto Kyoya had already been quite famous among the hero candidates blessed with cheat abilities. Otherwise, he would not have been pushed forward as their representative at that banquet.
Afterward, Mikoto Kyoya, having suffered a crushing defeat, began striving harder than ever. To increase his strength and raise his level, he constantly trained himself—and used the Demon Lord's Army as training fodder.
It could be said that Mikoto Kyoya had caused the Demon Lord's Army no end of trouble on his way to reaching first place in the Royal Capital's adventurer level rankings. Quite a few of their combatants had become his Experience Points.
Thus, Mikoto Kyoya had become the ace of the Belzerg Kingdom's Adventurer's Guild, while the Demon Lord's Army regarded him as a terrifying opponent second only to the royal family and placed a massive bounty on him.
"And yet, you defeated someone like that. You were recognized by the royal family's Holy Sword and proved yourself a peerless talent acknowledged even by the royal family."
Sylvia spoke with extreme wariness.
"The royal family has endured to