You Are Already a Hero
Thanks to the repairs made the night before, the wooden barricade hadn't been completely breached. The main goblin force attacking from the front was mostly blocked by the fence and hadn't fully entered the village. Sophia and Hans knew exactly what they had to do. Leap over the barricade and cut down the goblins. Meanwhile, Isaac and Las would rescue Dig, who was trapped in the watchtower. Once they regrouped and prepared, they would have a real chance at victory. On top of that, the panicked villagers would eventually calm down and come to their aid as time passed. Hans believed it.
Swish!! Hearing the sound of blades from behind, Hans nodded. It seemed the Master had already begun. They needed to fulfill their roles quickly as well. Hans raised his greatsword. "No one passes through here!" With a short roar, the massive blade fell like a boulder, cleaving the ground and sweeping through the goblins. Not to be outdone, Sophia began sniping goblins one by one with her bow.
"There's a shaman and archers in the back."
"These are properly trained goblins."
"There might be someone pulling the strings behind the goblin army?"
"Whatever it is, we'll just wipe them all out."
"As if you needed to say it."
While Hans and Sophia held off the main goblin force like veterans, Las stared blankly at Isaac's back. It was only natural. Everything had happened in an instant. The moment he thought the Master had drawn his sword, Isaac had already sheathed it again. Just as Las wondered what was going on, he saw it. The heads of the goblins that had filled his vision all detached from their bodies at once. In other words, the Master had beheaded countless goblins in a single strike.
"Las! Don't just stand there!"
"Y-Yes! I'm sorry!!"
"Hurry and retreat to the rear with Dig. Don't forget to report the current situation to the village chief."
At Isaac's shout, Las finally snapped out of it and dashed toward the watchtower as ordered. Meanwhile, Dig was still in a panic, unable to regain his composure.
"Aaaah!! S-Save me!!!"
"Shut up and stay still!"
"W-What are you?! Are you a goblin too?!"
"I'm your teammate, you bastard."
Watching Dig point accusingly in terror, Las briefly considered knocking him out. But thanks to what the Master had said the night before, he somehow held back.
Meanwhile, after confirming that Las had retreated to the rear with Dig, Isaac slowly replayed what had just happened. He had set the concept of fighting only with iaijutsu, but he never dreamed it would actually manifest exactly as he imagined. As expected of someone who had once been a guild master, even if he was trash, he still possessed that level of power. 'I'll refine the iaijutsu concept later. Right now, I need to reinforce the others quickly.'
Isaac already knew Hans and Sophia were extraordinary, but leaving them to face the entire goblin main force alone was the worst possible strategy. They had no idea when a stronger enemy might appear. They needed to conserve their stamina as much as possible for that moment—even if the current opponents were just small fry.
Isaac moved swiftly. If he hadn't spotted a group of goblins circling around behind the watchtower, he wouldn't have noticed. Frowning as if he'd seen insects, Isaac wondered what those trash were planning.
"Master! I dropped Dig off in the rear and returned immediately!"
"How's Dig doing?"
"He's still in a panic, so I left him there."
"Good. Can you fight?"
"Yes! I can fight!"
At Isaac's question, Las nodded firmly. At least in the past, he had never felt such a strong desire to fight for others. But now, it was different. 'I want to be acknowledged by the Master. To do that, I have to show my strength...!!' The desire to earn the Master's recognition gave Las the courage to act. Besides, with veterans by his side, he calculated that he wouldn't die.
"Good. Then join those two right away. I'll handle the goblins moving around back there and then join you."
"There are more goblins?"
"Yeah. Looks like they're trying to attack from behind."
"Even trash like them managed to think that far ahead."
"It means they have a commander."
Goblins themselves weren't much of a threat. Of course, that was an exception for powerless villagers. At the very least, anyone who could call themselves a hero in Gideon wouldn't find them threatening. However, if there was a commander, the story changed. Goblins were originally soldiers created by chaos to match human numbers. Therefore, their danger level varied greatly depending on their commander.
'This one seems to have a decent head on its shoulders.' Isaac had no intention of letting the enemy do as it pleased, whatever its goal might be. To throw a wrench in their plans, Isaac quickly gave chase. Thanks to that, he was able to confirm the goblins entering through a hole they had made. It wasn't a hole dug from the outside, but from the inside. Was there a traitor? But there was no time to dwell on suspicions. The hole the goblins had entered led directly to the shelter where the villagers had evacuated. If he was late, people could really die.
"Where do you think you're going?!" With a short roar, a slash was unleashed. The flash of iaijutsu once again severed the goblins' heads in an instant. At the thunderous roar, the goblins' attention focused on him. But it was already too late. The hole they had dug split in half along with the slash. Naturally, the goblins who had already entered couldn't escape death either.
After quickly dealing with the goblins, Isaac finally spotted children sitting on the ground not far away. Damn, had they been harmed by the goblins? Isaac quickly checked on the children. Fortunately, they didn't appear injured. However, there was one peculiar thing—the older child was shielding the younger one with their body.
"Throwing yourself in harm's way to protect your little sibling. Impressive."
Thinking it was all over, the child who had tightly shut their eyes finally opened them. The moment their eyes met, Isaac immediately understood. Black hair and sparkling golden eyes. There was no doubt. This child was the protagonist, Zeek.
Now, what cool line could he say here...?
* * *
"I want to become a hero!" It was a dream every child who read fairy tales yearned for. Originally, the child's parents would have affirmed that dream. But unfortunately, the child had no parents. The child was an orphan in the village. The only family they had was a younger sibling, even smaller than themselves. Because of that, the child had to take on odd jobs around the village from a very young age. If they didn't, they couldn't survive.
After helping with chores and receiving a bit of food and daily necessities to bring home, it was always around the time the sun was setting. Still, the child didn't give up and held onto their dream. They would casually mention that dream to others. Perhaps they just wanted to hear someone say that maybe they could achieve it. But most reactions were cold.
[A hero? Is that really important right now?]
[You have a family, don't you?]
[Stop talking nonsense and help with the work.]
No one affirmed the dream of a child with no connections, a complete orphan. So it was only natural that the child would eventually kneel before the harsh reality. Yeah, someone like me becoming a hero? I should just take care of my sibling first. Their mind had already given up, but their heart still couldn't abandon the dream.
It was the same that day. They wanted to see the heroes defeating goblins with their own eyes. But the price was more horrific than they could have imagined. The moment they stepped out of the shelter, they encountered goblins. However, the child had a chance. They could have just run away.
"What? Why are you out here alone?"
"Hey, you...!!!"
If only their younger sibling hadn't followed them. They could have escaped. But it was already too late. The younger sibling suddenly appeared and startled them, causing them to cry out. Hearing that sound, the goblins turned their heads in their direction. The child instinctively pulled their sibling into an embrace. That was all they could do now.
However, no matter how much time passed, the pain never came. Thinking they might already be dead, they slightly opened their eyes—and saw it. Silver hair shimmering in the moonlight. A man with a cold expression who had instantly wiped out all the surrounding monsters. After briefly surveying the area, the man's gaze turned to the child. Then he spoke.
"Throwing yourself in harm's way to protect your little sibling. Impressive."
"Can I become a hero too?"
They knew it was an abrupt question. But the child was desperate enough that this was all they could manage to say. They thought that if not now, they would never hear an answer.
"I was wondering what you were going to say."
The man fell silent for a moment at the child's words, then chuckled. For an instant, the child's heart sank. So I really can't become a hero after all. They jumped to conclusions out of fear.
"If someone who risked their life for their family isn't a hero, then what is?"
"......Huh? Does that mean...?"
"From the moment you willingly threw yourself aside for someone else."
But that wasn't the case. The conclusion they had jumped to was erased from their mind. It wiped away all the resentment and denial that had built up from doing odd jobs in the village. In its place, a single phrase was overlaid.
"You are already a hero."
Those were the words they had wanted to hear most.