Tales of the Heroes

The day after acquiring that mysterious magical girl skill no one knew anything about. Since it was the weekend, we decided to take a day to rest. Larirure Larirarion suggested going on a city date, but I had to repair my weapons, and I wanted to check if there was any new info on that murderer from before. She accepted surprisingly easily and said we'd play tomorrow instead. And so, I headed to the adventurer guild's archive to do some studying. I knew nothing about the history of heroes or other races. It was a pain getting weird looks all the time for not knowing stuff.

When I entered the archive, there was Knox munching away on papers from a box labeled for shredding, one sheet at a time.

"Munch munch. Hello there."

"...Uh, y-yeah..."

"Oh, I'm shredding paper."

I can see that, but you're eating it. Isn't that why I asked?

She reintroduced herself as Helena Knox Ramuh—a grand, impressive name. Were all demon names like that?

"I've heard the rumors about you, human. Selling stuff in the plaza, right? I wanted to go, but the line's too long and it doesn't fit my work hours~"

I'll bring you some fried chicken next time I have a chance, I said, and she grinned ear to ear. I told her to eat something other than paper and handed her a paper bag filled with fried chicken. She was surprised at first—"Isn't this like a lunchbox?"—but that hesitation didn't last. Tempted by the smell of meat, she squeezed her eyes shut, said thanks, and started devouring it.

"So, what brings you to the archive, human?"

"Ah... I wanted to look into the Five Heroes."

"Huh? You don't know about them?"

She looked at me like I was some uncivilized creature who'd never learned basic common sense. When I explained my situation, she tilted her head—"Well, you're human, so maybe that's it"—but still sharply criticized me, saying it was weird even for a human not to know about events from 400 years ago. Since I'd fed her fried chicken, though, she cleared the table and offered to tell me herself.

"It was an age when all races suffered under the continental conquest of the Three Great Elf Kings, Cust Pire."

With excited scribbles on a paper, she drew five figures—cute doodles capturing their class traits.

"Five heroes blessed by the gods rose to save the world! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Oh, and of course, the Maou crossed the sea and invaded too."

Isn't the Maou the most important part for demons...? She seemed uncomfortable talking about the Maou.

Though she called them the five heroes, she marked an X over the thief figure before even starting.

"Many historians say there was a fifth hero, but it's unconfirmed. There are testimonies from the heroes' tales, but it's unclear if they were a hero or just a human companion."

Poor fifth hero... The goddess said they died pathetically to the plague. No great deeds recorded, treated like a rumor—tragic.

"The heroes' leader, Trust! His class was Red Mage, and there was nothing he couldn't do. As a Master-class, he led the hero party. He united the subraces, drove out the elves, and liberated the races from them."

After that, he gathered the races, founded kingdoms on the largest lands, and those kingdoms formed the alliance that became today's Trust Union, she explained. She even drew the human kingdom of Piens in the corner, maybe for my sake.

"If you want to see traces of Hero Trust, go to Piens Kingdom. Non-humans need permits to enter now, though."

The kingdom had barred non-humans by royal decree for over 40 years, she said. Closing the entire country by king's order—what could be the reason? She laughed, saying it was amazing I, a human, was wandering around. She exaggerated with gestures about never seeing a human shadow before dying.

"The hero with the most lasting legacy is probably Hero Daegomgei. His class was Warrior. He wielded countless swords—holy swords, demon swords, magic swords, no discrimination. His most famous feat in the Mongrel Kingdom is soloing down to the 1000th floor of the Magic Palace, slaying the Evil God, and sealing it!"

She spat excitedly as she spoke. His strength surpassed Overlord into demigod territory. He beheaded evil dragons, sea devils that ate people, indescribable interdimensional beings from other worlds, elf armies, Maou armies—

"He overcame the Four Heavenly Kings, the Maou, and even the Mashin, forcing them back—the strongest warrior. That's why they say the supreme weapon is the sword."

"That's impressive..."

But the scale's way off compared to the others...? Hard to believe one of his swords was mine—an egg I couldn't even swing.

"He's also the only one whose end is unknown. Rumors say he ascended to godhood—probably Sword God, I think."

"That'd be weirder if he didn't..."

This hero's in a different genre... He went to fight the Maou alone because the others were busy with various disasters.

"There are theories, but the Chronicle Continent is vast... They say they couldn't unite because each faced their own calamities."

Is that it? The continent did look huge. Then she mentioned Captain Eagle, a respected hero and king to demons—the one I was most curious about. He seemed the most problematic hero so far. Didn't they say he and Trust killed each other over a marriage dispute? Heroes falling apart over infighting?

"Hero Trust insisted on exterminating the elves and driving invading demons off the continent. Even during the Maou war, elves attacked the heroes. Elves deemed them dangerous and killed countless companions, including lovers."

His hatred for elves was beyond imagination, she said. Heroes lost comrades and loved ones—not just Trust's issue.

"Then his comrade, Captain Eagle, a Monk class, said yes, elves are bad, but not all elves or demons are."

"Huh?"

"Not wrong—lowly elves were treated poorly too. After the World Tree burned, elf inequality worsened. Demons had weak ones oppressed by the aggressive, brutal ones."

She pointed to herself. Her ancestors were treated like livestock for wool or milk.

Captain Eagle always said surrender before fighting and live. He had tons of wives too. While Trust built the alliance, Eagle increased the races. He even wrote papers like On Interracial Breeding. Some races compatible, some not—with so many subraces.

Humans worked with anyone, so he had many wives. Rumors said humans with Ratlings birthed Rattlings. Truly anyone.

"Elves did breeding experiments on captured humans with monsters, creating weird ones—goblin-looking humans, orcs, lycanthropes..."

The more I hear, the more they sound like trash. Fighting Maou was tough, but heroes fought elves, continental calamities, elf-made monsters too.

"Oh, and elf plagues, Maou curses."

Heroes were worked like dogs. Total black company.

"Hero Park Chun-sik's class was Engineer—super famous. He made potions, infrastructure, conveniences, tech, food, clothes, vehicles. So busy inspecting dwarf research till death, no time for proper last words: 'Dwarf girls must be beautiful. Dress them cute.' Then he passed."

What kind of last words...

"Sadly, no successor. He said 'Don't touch beautiful girls—protect and cherish them!' But after elves killed his partner, he took no one else."

Everything traced back to elves as the root of evil. Elf hatred in the blood at this point?

"Trust built bonds and nations, Captain Eagle advanced races and blessings, Park Chun-sik gave survival tech, and Daegomgei exterminated all evil on the continent."

"One guy's genre is way off..."

"He's a hero."

I'm a hero too. Heroes shatter limits, symbols of justice forging hope. Super excited, she showed her limited-edition Hero Chronicles book, her treasure.

"One day, Captain Eagle married Trust's daughter, who said she was pregnant. Trust raged naturally. He wanted elves exterminated to the end, but the alliance had elves and demons. They argued and fought."

She paused in silent tribute, saying a surprising truth hid there.

"Actually, Trust's daughter was pregnant with the son of the Three Great Elf Kings' fourth prince, Rogerst Pire. He betrayed elves first, brought followers to the alliance, fought Maou army, and died young."

"Why say Eagle got her pregnant?"

"Before dying, he told his subordinate: 'That old man would've beheaded his own daughter if she didn't say that! I accepted elves, so I'll take responsibility and die! Don't pass grudges to the innocent new era! And cremate our bodies! There's always one reviving us as undead!'"

Impressive last words. I nodded; he sounded crazy. After, heroes' bodies were cremated per his will, ashes scattered at sea. Souls taken by gods to reincarnation, or back to original worlds—various tales.

She rambled on about heroes for hours, tirelessly, even minutiae. Companions, who Rogerst Pire was, etc. Wasted the whole day on hero biographies, no race info.

Taking a break, the area suddenly darkened.

"Enjoy the tales, Hero?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Uh... yeah..."

"Moira Providence Atropos here."

Third time hearing this... Goddess laughed, not mad I couldn't remember her name. She called to chat, placing cola and chips on the table. Like these, right? I nodded.

"Gods blessed the heroes. Five is correct—one died in a freak accident. 'Gotta ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠save potions,' then plague."

Even heroes die pathetically. No revival like in stories—reality's harsh.

"Daegomgei overcame even Mashin, drove them out. Then we sent him home as wished. Before: 'Real man honors parents.' Probably reincarnated normally after ages."

"And the others?"

"Trust raged but after 100 years in divine realm: 'I was wrong! You were right!' Then reincarnated. Eagle: 'Don't let anyone revive our bodies as undead or exploit souls—handle afterlife properly.' Then fearlessly reincarnated."

"...Weird guys. The last one?"

"Same. Heroes fulfilled duties splendidly. But 400 years later, Fate's Scale tipped. I summoned you per karma. No complaints despite right—grateful you're diligent. Proud I called a true hero. I'll watch over you."

No big grudge on summoning—world needs me, happy to bear hero title.

"Uh... No typical fantasy like inheriting hero power or fighting revived undead heroes?"

"Hero power as Skills? Via Avatar! Hero incarnations—descend with their legacy. Hope constellations grant it!"

"Not from you, Goddess...?"

"Fate power depleted... All used summoning you."

She apologized sadly. Good no revived/corrupted heroes—Eagle preempted that cliche. Or hated postmortem exploitation. Maou remnants reviving him? Drove out, but Maou Territory remains...

Confirm, resolve—that's my goal. Everyone knows Maou lives, barely surviving, recovering.

"Instead, one Constellation Ticket~"

"You know my pain pulling dailies...?"

"Constellations are quirky... To higher dimensions, we're entertainment?"

Couldn't argue—even goddess can't control them. Some helpful, some spiteful. Oversized gifts warp into weird skills. Or straight gag from start.

I tore the ticket. Goddess sat beside, eyes sparkling: What's it gonna be?

"...Good luck!"

With her cheer, I blinked awake on the bench. Cola and chips in hand—tears at her thoughtfulness. Save fate power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for skills, Goddess...

"What the hell's a lower body?!"

Obviously, "precious" meant my crotch. Casually activated—sword hilt in hand. Plain red-gemmed sword. Then hollow sensation below—despair.

"...Hold on."

I touched myself, used Gender Swap. Vision shrank briefly, body changed—used again immediately. Checked: back to normal down there.

"Thanks, Constellations!"

Overlapping skills made it work! Two TS skills saved me! Grinning, gripped Spirit Sword Yokoshima. Grows with anguish... but no blade emerged.

"Ah."

No anguish even with lewd thoughts. Lacking imagination...

...Just in case, recalled Larirure Larirarion's panties from before.

Sparkle sparkle—tiny white blade peeked from hilt. Then poof, gone.

"I told you I'm not into that stuff!!!"

Even without Clear Mind, I couldn't use this garbage!