72. Do You Remember Me?
72. Do You Remember Me?
Normally, adventurers take on jobs that serve humanity's security or resource needs—dungeon exploration, monster subjugation, garrison defense, that sort of thing.
The reason we'd ignored all that and spent three straight months hunting Fallen Heroes was simple: the unsavory reputations each of us had picked up made it damn hard to operate as normal adventurers.
In my case, it was the "Hero Killer" label.
In Ga-ram's case, it was the stigma of being a "Discarded Hero." Neither of us had an easy time finding willing party members.
"Hey, is that the guy? The adventurer who supposedly climbed to Silver Grade by taking down Fallen Heroes?"
By now—roughly three months in—I'd already brought in over ten of them.
I stood waiting for the guild clerk to bring out my bounty money while the whispers around me steadily drove home that all the effort had actually paid off.
"He's only been a proper adventurer for, what, four months? And they say he's already Silver Grade."
"Considering Gold is generally where the Heroes end up, doesn't that practically make him the most capable guy here?"
"Nah, how's some non-Hero supposed to take down a Hero? I heard he's partnered with one. The Hero does all the heavy lifting while he just coasts along for the ride."
"Oh, about that... rumor has it that same Hero got wrecked by this guy once and ended up becoming his underling."
"Yeah, I saw that too. Back then, the Hero was so terrified he nearly had a heart attack..."
The crowd merrily cobbled together every scrap of rumor and eyewitness account, spinning their own version of what kind of person I was.
Still, I could tell the overall hostility toward me had died down considerably.
With my ability, it's not like they could forget about me anyway.
Rather than waste breath trying to persuade every random fool, nudging public opinion in a better direction like this was a far more efficient approach.
"By the way, that fellow... his name was Woo Hyosung, right?"
As I listened to the chatter, one particular exchange caught my ear.
The moment I registered it, I redirected every scrap of my attention straight at them.
Of course I did.
Remembering names is literally my Unique Ability, yet every single bastard I meet manages to mangle mine into something unrecognizable.
"Man, those people from other worlds all have such weird names."
"So how are you supposed to say that guy's name?"
It's Woo Hyosung.
Hyo as in "ringing out," Seong as in "voice." Woo Hyosung.
"Hey, dumbass. Do you seriously not know how that works?"
"You take the Seong off Woo Hyosung, so obviously it's Woo Hyo!"
Oh for god's sake—why the hell would you drop that part?!
"Yes, Adventurer Woo Hyosung~ Your bounty has arrived!"
Just as my irritation was about to burst out of my mouth, a guild clerk came bustling up.
The moment I laid eyes on the hefty coin purse placed on the counter, the anger simmering inside me instantly cooled.
Yeah, money really is the best treatment for a foul mood.
Let the idiots run their mouths. For now, let's just focus on the cash.
"Hehe, Adventurer Woo Hyosung, you haven't even been an adventurer for half a year yet, and you've already made Silver Grade."
"Well, the bounties on everyone I caught were pretty high. That probably sped things along."
I said it casually, but objectively speaking, it would've been weirder if my promotion hadn't come fast.
The Empire that elevates these people to Hero status knows better than anyone just how dangerous a Hero can be once they've turned on humanity.
Sure, the work had nearly killed me more times than I could count, but by squeezing every last resource I had, I'd managed to keep breathing and rack up results.
Better gear, hard-won experience, reinvested earnings, and the full, unwavering support of Ga-ram...
And by now, something I'd come to consider an indispensable part of my daily life—"her advice" as well.
"Getting promoted to Gold requires a national commendation and certification from the Imperial Household, so it might be tough without being a Hero. But with this kind of track record, you might get personally nominated for a large-scale commission soon!"
"Hehe, I'll be counting on you when that time comes."
Survive—even if it means risking your neck—and apparently, you start picking up people who genuinely celebrate your progress.
That must be a sign that I'm doing something right. I took that thought with me as I collected the bounty and stepped out of the guild, just in time to see Ga-ram, fresh from hauling a wanted criminal off to prison, come jogging toward me.
"Big bro, you got the payment okay?"
"Of course I did. Here."
The hefty pouch in my hand was worth more than the average take-home of most Heroes, let alone ordinary adventurers.
Ga-ram checked the sum and let out a little gasp, her eyes glinting.
"Ooh, this is way more than usual~!"
"Yeah, I should be getting more. Turns out this bastard had such a nasty reputation he'd already buried several Heroes before."
"He definitely seemed the type. And the obsession was something else. Even on his way to the cell, he was shouting at the top of his lungs, 'Hyosung boy~! One day I'll devour you, mark my words~!'"
"...Heh. Let me know once his execution date is set, will you? I'll grab a VIP seat and watch it happen in real time."
I said it as a joke, but in all likelihood, none of the Fallen Heroes I'd dragged in would ever see the gallows.
The whole reason bounties are only paid in full when you bring them in alive is that if there's even a slim chance of rehabilitation, the Empire wants to recycle them back into its military machine.
They say people don't change, but well—at least there hadn't been any news of imprisoned Fallen Heroes escaping or stirring up trouble again. So it should be fine.
Deciding to stop worrying and just split the earnings, I immediately set about transferring the contents of the gold pouch into another container.
"Anyway, today's work is done, so let's divide this up. Here, Ga-ram, you take six..."
"No way. Big bro, you were the one on the front lines fighting, so you should take six!"
"Come on. The whole operation would've been impossible without you in the first place, so it's only right you take six."
"You're the one who landed the final blow on the bandit leader."
"Yeah, but you're a Hero..."
"And you're a Hero Hunter..."
You first. No, you first.
As always, we bickered back and forth over the payout until I finally scooped out half and handed the pouch over to Ga-ram.
"So, same as usual then? Fifty-fifty?"
"Sounds good to me."
After we'd split the earnings, we exchanged one crisp high-five—smack.
Grinning at each other, Ga-ram and I walked home side by side, filling the time with idle small talk.
"Someone died again this time."
"...Can't be helped. That's the world we live in."
For the most part, it was a time of reflecting on what had happened during the mission.
Given the nature of the work, you could never expect every conversation to be a cheerful one...
"The Hero who died this time... his age wasn't much different from mine. If I'd never met you, Big bro, I'd have ended up just like him, wouldn't I?"
The longer these days went on, the more I could feel Ga-ram's dependence on me deepening.
The weight of it wasn't small.
Even so, I did what I always did—put on a mask of calm and gave her a wry, bitter smile.
"It's not that simple. Not every Hero I've met turned out like you."
That wasn't an empty platitude.
Of all the Heroes I'd encountered, all but three had either ended up dead, or so crippled by trauma that they'd quit being Heroes and now lived lives worse off than Foreign Workers.
And one of those three had raised his flag against the Empire and was even branded a Fallen Hero himself.
When I first started hunting Heroes, a small part of me wondered if I'd eventually cross paths with him, but honestly, I'd rather that day never came.
Our time together was short, but he'd been a genuinely good guy who helped this struggling Foreign Worker learn how to adapt to this world...
"But anyway, compared to when we first met, you've really changed a lot, Big bro."
As I was chewing on that bitterness, Ga-ram suddenly piped up.
I turned toward her, slow on the uptake, and found her eyes half-lidded as a sly, teasing grin spread across her face.
The mischievous streak she'd gradually revealed as she opened up to me over the past three months was starting to come out.
"When we first crossed paths, you came at me absolutely murderous... Do you have any idea how terrifying you were when you were trying to protect the person I was after? Honestly, I nearly crossed the Sanzu River that time."
"Hey, I didn't have a choice back then... Anyway, you're alive now, so it all worked out."
"No, I mean, it's ancient history, so I'm not bothered by that anymore. I'm just a little curious how your wife would react if she found out you went against me to protect another woman back then..."
—Clatter-rattle!
Before I could even process Ga-ram's words, my body hit the ground.
The armor kept me from getting scraped up, but the shock of what she'd said sent my brain into a complete tailspin.
"...Wife? Who the hell are you talking about?"
"Aah~ Playing dumb~! I'm talking about Airi unnie! That gorgeous lady who welcomed us the last time we went to your place!"
"Ah, no. Airi isn't exactly..."
"I mean, if you're living together, isn't it basically that kind of relationship?"
Well... I mean, sure, we were living together.
Ever since I started working as a hunter, my income had gotten decent. And rather than just letting the money pile up in a bank account, I'd figured it was smarter to buy some land or at least a building.
Since the house I bought was empty most of the time, I offered Airi—who happened to be camping out in a tent on the streets—a free room as a way of thanking her for all her advice. I just took her in as a boarder.
...Sure, during that process, we ended up splitting the housework, sharing meals, and occasionally sleeping together after... spending the night in bed, but that's... uh...
"...I think you're misunderstanding something. Airi and I aren't really in that kind of relationship."
Yeah. I don't know all the details, but she has her own mission, and for my part, I want to focus on my adventurer work for now.
Even if we both felt something, taking that all the way is something we'd need to be careful about. How could I just thoughtlessly rush into things with her?
"...Really?"
At my response, the little brat tilted her head with that signature sly expression, pressing me like an interrogator.
"Really? You and Airi unnie are nothing at all?"
"Yeah. At least... not the kind of thing you're thinking."
Feeling an inexplicable twinge of guilt, I stared off into an alleyway beyond the street and quietly finished my answer.
"...Not yet."
That even if it's not possible right now, someday I'd like it to be so.
I let that humble, faint wish slip out.
"He-eh~ Not yet, huh?"
"Hey! If you keep messing with me, Big bro's gonna get mad!"
"Hehe, sorry. You're just so cute when you get flustered, I couldn't help it."
Ga-ram teased me as she stepped back. Then, arriving at a fork in the road, she stopped and gave me a little wave.
"Anyway, I've got a dinner appointment scheduled with my sponsor, so I'll take my leave here. You have a lovely evening with Airi unnie too, Big bro!"
"...Yeah. See you tomorrow at the guild."
Part of me wanted to chase her down and rap her on the head, but well. This was infinitely better than her moping around all the time.
Besides, the kid wasn't teasing me out of malice. If anything, she was cheering for Airi and me.
Since I was pretty content with our cohabitation arrangement myself, I decided to take the sentiment positively and started heading home, where she'd be waiting.
"Wonder if Airi's made dinner by the time I get back."
The little ripple of happiness I felt on the way back was surely because everything had been going so smoothly lately.
The work was dangerous, but the pay was good. I'd risen as fast as humanly possible without being a Hero. And there was someone waiting for me at the place I returned to.
Sure, luck had played its part, but I hadn't achieved all this on luck alone. I felt I had every right to be proud of the results.
Yeah. I was doing well right now. Definitely doing well.
It's not enough.
But was there any guarantee this smooth sailing would continue into the future?
Even those called Heroes could drop dead in the blink of an eye here.
Who could promise that being satisfied with this alone would be good enough?
Not enough. I need... more.
My rationality slowly drowned beneath the whisper that had, at some point, begun echoing inside my skull.
The sound of music reached me at the very moment I registered my breath growing short and my vision starting to blur.
—Tiri-ring~
It was a clear, pure melody.
The kind created by plucking the strings of a lute, carefully controlled in rhythm and register...
The moment something that could unequivocally be called music resonated through the streets.
—Tiri-ring, tiring~♬
The timbre caused a surging impulse to swell within me, but an even stronger sense of familiarity drowned that impulse out, steering my steps toward the source of the sound.
Yes. I'd heard this before.
So much time had passed. Certain I'd never hear it again, I'd been gradually letting myself forget.
But someone who only needed the right trigger to resurface at any moment was drawing me in from somewhere nearby.
—Tiri-ring~ Tiring~
I arrived at a fountain plaza, situated at the very center of the street.
And there, captivating the attention of every passerby, stood a bard wrapped in a black cloak.
—Clap, clap, clap.
Applause rippled through the crowd as her performance ended, and the bard bowed her head graciously to acknowledge the audience's praise.
Then, as she lifted her head again, her eyes locked onto someone standing amidst the throng, her gaze sharp with recognition.
"...Oh my?"
It was me.
Just as I'd recalled her, it seemed she'd recalled me as well.
No—thanks to my Unique Ability, there was no way she could have forgotten me. Of course she'd react the moment we saw each other face-to-face.
"It's been a long time. Hyosung. Have you been well?"
Just as she'd written in the last letter she'd left me.
That if by the slimmest chance we ever reunited, it ought to begin not with the joy of reunion, but with a simple, humble greeting.
"Ehe~ I hope it hasn't been so long that you've forgotten me?"
Because I'd believed I would never see her again.
A modest reunion that had, for that very reason, become something profoundly precious.