Crushing the Empire's Chuunibyou Hero
Hero Elina hadn't shown her face since then. I thought I'd nailed the first impression. Had I gone too easy on her? Given her situation, surrounded by enemies on all sides, I figured she'd need someone reliable, so I'd played the humble card. Does she prefer a more confident type? If so, I'd blown it. To be honest, I'd expected some special treatment. It was a holy sword, after all. This wasn't a dimension without a goddess or church. From the intel on Elina's personality, even if she couldn't be overt about it, I thought she'd at least give me a subtle nod. But she hadn't even glanced my way, let alone shown any favoritism.
"I'm sorry... Holy Son."
The old priest I'd seen that day bowed deeply in apology. Back in the capital or other places, the church could cut a fart and make it smell like roses. But here, he said, "In the North, we can't wield much influence."
Maybe it was the harsh northern environment. Or perhaps because it was the front lines—the church's reach simply didn't extend this far. Just look at the old man; he'd clearly been demoted here. That said it all. The people around us barely reacted. Just a casual "Oh, really? Wild." And that was it.
I could understand their indifference. This was the northern battlefield, where death could come at any moment. Hell, enemies could swarm in right now and cut them down. So forget heroes or holy swords—they had to focus on surviving. They didn't have the luxury to care about anything else.
If I shine on the battlefield, they'll all take notice. Couldn't go straight for the Northern Archduke, so I'd start with the surface level. Once my name echoed through this frozen north, even she wouldn't be able to ignore me forever.
Wait, or am I imagining it, but aren't the requests getting harder? Was someone deliberately assigning me tougher ones?
"Sigh..." What was the point of overthinking? I couldn't know for sure, and even if I asked, they wouldn't tell me.
More importantly. What was our Archduke up to?
* * *
"Do you intend to use him?"
"Indeed."
I recalled the face of the man who'd lied about being a hero. He'd claimed the holy sword chose him, making him a hero.
But there's something even commoners don't know. Heroes aren't born from a holy sword's choice. They're humans summoned from other dimensions by the church. That's what the term "hero" refers to.
He must've gotten his hands on some nice artifact somewhere. That "Gram" he called a holy sword was probably an artifact infused with holy power.
Let's use him. I'd decided to exploit him for me and my people.
"We should deal with that fraud."
"Chris. You're right—we probably should."
I set aside the report I was reading at Chris's words.
"But not yet."
If the report was accurate, he could be the card to turn the tide of battle. So I'd squeeze every drop of use out of him... and then...
"We'll handle it then."
If he'd been honest and called it an artifact, I might've kept him around. Talented people were always in short supply.
Not that I can't understand his lie. He'd lucked into a powerful artifact and lied to protect it—and himself. That's why he chose words like "holy sword" and "hero." But that was a bad move.
"I think we should eliminate him immediately. The church is one thing... and those people too..."
"No need to worry about the church. The old fogeys are a hassle, but if we use him just enough and dispose of him neatly, they won't complain."
"...You're right."
I was aware of Chris's unease.
We have to walk a fine line. To survive the old fogeys. And to win the war, we'd have to tread some dangerous lines.
I don't love that the line involves a green rookie fresh to the war, but I'd ride it well, extract every bit of value from him, and then execute him.
* * *
A week had passed since I arrived in this dimension. No battles since the first day.
"Phew... It's peaceful."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than someone smacked the back of my head.
"Hey, self-proclaimed hero. Don't jinx it like that."
Seemed there was an unspoken rule here.
Ding-dong—!
"Enemy raid! Enemy raid!"
"Hah... Knew it."
The guy who'd whacked me started gearing up fast.
Oh, that's the jinx? Saying stuff like "peaceful" or "quiet" triggers some freak incident. Guess it existed here too.
Perfect! Time to rack up some merits!
Two days of boredom had dragged on. Training? Their level was too low. With the battlefield right there, no fun distractions. Only booze—and even that was rationed. So I bolted toward the dopamine rush of combat.
Damn, I've totally picked up Baekhyang's habits.
My lips curled into a grin as I charged the field.
"Come on! All of you!"
Gram swept in an arc, mowing down foes.
Clang—!
Amid the enemies, one blocked my strike.
"Well, aren't you interesting?"
An Eastern-looking guy parried my sword. Out of place among the Western-faced foes. He gave a light push with his hand.
What the? Not the protagonist? Didn't match the hero I knew at all.
"Are you my trial?"
The man grinned in the middle of the battlefield.
"I-it's the hero! The empire's hero is here!"
"Damn! No raids for a week 'cause they were waiting for the hero?!"
Hero? That guy's the hero? Then what's the protagonist?
Confusion swirled in my head as the enemy before me swung.
Think later. I bent backward, dodging.
"Oho! Not bad. Can you keep up with this speed too?"
The hero amped it up. Seemed serious from his side.
But to me, it looked like a kid's play.
I evaded every strike with minimal movement.
Dramatic showdown? Or overwhelming victory?
I pondered how to win to catch Elina's ear.
Attacks kept flying even as I thought.
"Heh~ You're pretty good!"
Spouting chuunibyou lines.
"Yeah! Right! For the hero's trial, this much is nothing!"
His speech, gestures—total showoff. He treated the fight like a game. And he was dead sure he'd win.
Decided. Overwhelming victory. Let's crush him.
I was sick of his whiny sword flailing. End it quick—but capture alive.
Boom—!
I unleashed Thunder God Mode. Golden lightning crackled everywhere. Foes clustering around the empire's hero got zapped away. Since it turned gold, the efficiency and power were insane.
"Whoa—! What is that? Some ultimate move?"
The empire's hero eyed Thunder God Mode with glee. He raised his sword into stance.
"I've got an ultimate too!"
Mana gathered—not just his, but from the air too.
"Hmm... What to name it?"
Still playful.
"Got it! Excalibur!"
The empire's hero smirked at me. Our allies' morale tanked.
"M-Mommy..." A soldier dropped his sword in despair.
"S-Spare me—!" One bolted for the northern walls.
"Ha, haha... Die here?" A mad soldier.
They'd given up on life. The empire's hero was that strong.
Of course. Boring. Impressive to everyone but me.
"Dramatic lines for dramatic times—!"
Grinning like he'd already won, the empire's hero slashed down.
"Excalibur—!"
The mana-charged blade arced toward my head. I raised Gram.
Clang—!
Snap. His sword broke in two.
"Clang?"
The empire's hero stared blankly at his weapon.
"Surrender."
I pressed Gram to his throat.
"Wha... What? I lost?"
He muttered to himself, unable to accept defeat.
Kill him if he freaks? Two reasons to capture: He was called a hero, though not the protagonist—killing might drag me back to trial. And to score points with Elina.
Worst case, hack off an arm first.
I steeled for the kill if needed, but he surrendered meekly. We bound him and hauled him to the POW camp.
Elina was already there, as reported.
"Good work."
She glanced at the hero and me, patted my shoulder.
What? The vibe's shifted a bit? Still stiff in expression and tone, but softer than a week ago.
Power of merits, huh?
I fought a grin.
"Than—"
"Whoa—! Ice queen alert!"
I tried replying, but the captured empire's hero ruined it.
Damn, should've killed him.
I glared at his neck.
"Hahaha—! So it's the northern route, not the empire route?"
Clueless to the mood, he kept yapping. His words felt off.
From 'Excalibur' to 'route'... Modern dimension summon?
Possible, like Baekgang from the Murim world.
"You!"
The empire's hero stared straight at Elina.
"Become Riku-nim's woman!"
And spewed that bullshit.