Chapter 53 - Then Me Too

Heroes created by humans, not by god.

This would mean one thing.

That was, at some point, a “real hero” chosen by the goddess stopped appearing.

"I think you've roughly figured it out, but your guess is correct. For a long time, there have been no divine revelations from the goddess."

Ruen seemed cautious about saying this, fiddling with her torn lip.

Then she took a deep breath and calmly continued speaking, "The reason heroes keep appearing despite this is because... if this fact became known to the public, it could cause great confusion. So the imperial family and the church are working together to hide it."

Dasoon, who knew the original story like me, found this hard to believe and questioned Ruen in a voice full of bewilderment, "N-no way, how can that be? I even received the holy sword and was acknowledged by it!"

Dasoon raised the glowing holy sword.

Ruen looked at the holy sword and smiled awkwardly as she explained the truth about it, "Well... it's just an artifact with a glowing function?"

"..."

Dasoon, not wanting to accept this truth, froze with a blank expression.

I glanced at Dasoon, then asked Ruen about a strange curiosity that kept nagging at my mind, "I'm asking just in case, but is the reason for putting forward commoners as heroes because they're easier to replace?"

A hero not acknowledged by the goddess was nothing more than a lottery ticket without any destiny assigned.

In other words, it meant that during the mission, “they could die at any time, in any way.”

When I asked about this, just in case, Ruen calmly nodded and said, "...Yes. Unlike nobles, with commoners, if you just make their appearance similar, you can solve the rest without much problem."

If the chosen hero died, they created and sent out a new hero.

If that hero died, they produced and sent out another new hero.

And while countless fake heroes were sacrificed to “cover the eyes of the citizens”, she told me that the imperial family, the church, and numerous families were creating methods to subjugate the Demon King.

...I thought something was strange.

I had wondered why those described as much stronger than the protagonist weren't participating in the battle, even though the world was on the brink of destruction.

The moment I heard this reason, I could understand all the context.

They probably deliberately didn't invest to launch an all-out war after finding a method.

That investment included financial investment.

I could understand why the imperial family didn't give the hero any items or money.

"...This is the truth about the existence of heroes."

Ruen seemed to feel miserable about the existence of this fact and the reality that it couldn't be stopped because there was no other way.

With a very bitter expression, she concluded her words and picked up the holy sword that the Dullahan had been holding.

The corrupted holy sword was emitting light, just like the one Dasoon had held.

Looking at this, I pointed at the Dullahan and said, just in case, "...Then this guy might have been a hero, too?"

"Yes."

Hearing those words, I couldn't help but make a strange expression.

Dale was a very unusual case.

A strange being who defeated the Demon King without being acknowledged by the goddess.

I thought I could understand why Ruen cherished Dale so much in the original work, and closed my eyes.

***

Since the Dullahan was the core focal point, the moment it was defeated, all the undead scattered in all directions and disappeared.

I approached those who were trembling, relying on the almost extinguished barrier, declared victory, and announced the end.

Those who had been trembling in anxiety sat down on the ground, showing relief along with sadness.

Watching this scene, I had many thoughts and was leaning against the wall for a moment when

Ruen slowly approached me and handed me an old book.

"This is the reward I mentioned before."

The reward she had promised to give if I destroyed the auction house.

As I was accepting this and examining what it was, Ruen bowed deeply and expressed her gratitude to me.

"I've said this a few times already, but let me say it once more. Thank you so much for helping. Thanks to you, Damian, we were able to protect this village."

I waved my hand to indicate that there was no need to be so grateful, but Ruen, still feeling grateful, kept bowing repeatedly and said to me, "...Hehe, and it might sound a bit foolish, but I think I'm really fortunate to have met you, Damian."

I felt the same way. Thanks to her, I was able to solve various incidents more easily by forming a connection with Liana.

As I was nodding in agreement, Ruen fiddled with her platinum blonde hair and continued speaking, "How should I put it... It's like having a light in the dark night...? It's hard to explain, but when I'm with you, I feel like I know where to go, and I like that."

"Really?"

"Yes! So when we're together... Ah."

Ruen seemed to realize that these words were quite embarrassing, and she started to creak slowly like a broken toy doll.

She smiled awkwardly, then stepped back and said to me, "Anyway, thank you! I'm grateful!"

"Uh, yeah."

"Yes, thank you!"

Then she repeated "thank you" strangely many times before quickly running away.

I was smiling awkwardly, wondering what that was about, when someone poked my back repeatedly.

Wondering who it was, I turned around and saw the little girl who had given me a flower before I went to catch the Dullahan, holding something out to me.

"Thank you."

When I accepted it, the little girl bowed and then ran off somewhere.

Judging by how carefully it was made, it seemed she had been making this during the time I went ti subjugate the Dullahan.

As I was looking at this and smiling bitterly, remembering what had happened in the North, I heard a voice from afar.

"Shall we head back soon?"

Liana stretched and suggested we return.

I was curious about what was written in the old book and whether Siren had finished her research, so I nodded and agreed.

***

As soon as we arrived at the Saint's hideout, the first to speak was Dasoon.

"Ahh! This is it!"

She jumped onto the sofa as if she had returned home, then buried her face in the sofa and flapped her whole body.

Thinking she was a strange one as always, I was shaking my head when Siren and Loraine came out to the living room to welcome me.

"Welcome back."

"Oh, what? Young Master, did you perhaps reach low-grade Expert?"

Siren showed me her welcome, while Loraine showed her surprise as they looked at me.

I was about to nod and boast about it when Ruen approached my side and proudly told everyone around,

"Damian did an amazing job this time. You'll be really surprised when you hear about it."

Perhaps because she was a comrade who had carried out the operation with me, risking her life.

Or maybe because I had saved her life from the undead, but I felt the distance between us had become considerably closer.

I was about to smile and agree when I saw Siren approaching me with a hardened expression.

Seeing her look displeased, I was wondering why when Loraine lightly patted Siren's back and told me what Siren had done.

"Siren stayed up all night researching to show you, and she says the research is about 90% complete."

"Oh, really? You worked hard."

"Yeah."

I was patting Siren's head in front of me and praising her when I noticed Siren looking at Ruen with a somewhat subdued expression.

It might be an exaggeration to feel that Siren's current expression was subdued, given that she was usually expressionless.

But somehow, it gave me that strange feeling. Just then, Daisy thrust her body out of my chest.

"Myeong!"

"Myeong myeong ah...!"

Siren seemed very happy when Daisy waved her hand.

She put Daisy on top of her head and said in a somewhat excited voice, "Heavy."

"Myak!?"

As I was watching the suddenly started war with an awkward smile, Liana took something out of her chest and said to me, "Here's what you asked me to record before."

I couldn't remember well what it was, so I accepted it with curiosity, and an interesting video unfolded on the crystal ball.

As I was watching this and pondering how to use it, Dasoon got up from her seat, scratching her belly, and said to me in a somewhat excited voice, "What's that? Let's have a party! We can drink that alcohol and, you know? How about we build some camaraderie while eating delicious food?"

"Alcohol."

"Yeah, alcohol. That's what makes it feel like a party. Don't you think?"

At those words, I handed the crystal ball that Liana had given me earlier to Dasoon.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"You'll see when you look."

Dasoon raised the crystal ball as if to ask what it was, and at that moment, the things Dasoon had done appeared as a video.

[Waaah. Damn it. I'm a man... Why am I like this?]

The shameful behavior from when she had been drinking last time echoed loudly around.

Dasoon, who was watching this, looked at it with a blank expression, then shouted, "Ah, shit!" and threw it at the wall.

"Ah, that was expensive!"

"Why did you record something like this!?"

Liana's lament and Dasoon's scream mixed, causing chaos around.

I was laughing loudly, finding the scene funny, when suddenly Liana closed her mouth, closed her eyes, and frowned.

"..."

Considering Liana's ability, there was a high possibility that a problem had occurred somewhere, causing her to react like this.

I silently watched Liana, waiting for her to open her mouth, when with a big sigh, Liana brushed up her hair and said to me,

"...They say black mages have launched a terrorist attack on the Carsaril family."

Hearing this, I pondered for a moment and then briefly said, "Then shall we go terrorize the black mages back?"