The Hero Returns to the Battlefield!
The Saint had said she believed in me.
...She always teases me by calling me a scrub, but when it really matters, she gives me a boost.
“Then I’ll be going. You have to protect Chloe too, Hero-nim♡”
“Yes.”
The Saint vanished in an instant, faster than any warrior I’d ever seen.
...She’s amazing.
I wonder when I’ll ever get my revenge on that.
“Gwoaaar!! When my brothers come, you’re all dead… huh? A single girl just vanished!”
Even the ogre, who was supposed to be dumber than a troll, finally realized the Saint was gone.
...What an idiot.
“Maybe your brothers won’t even be able to come.”
“What are you talking about, gwoaaaar!!!”
“Is the thing dangling from your neck just decoration? Try thinking for once.”
...Huh, that line just now sounded kinda familiar.
“Gwoaaaaar!!! Human, have you said everything you’re going to say?!”
The ogre sounded pretty pissed. I needed to fan the flames a little more to make him lose his composure.
“Hey, ogre. You know what? Out of all the monsters I’ve seen, you’re the ugliest. Goblin level and below. Goblin level and below. Your face is ugly as hell, but your head’s just for decoration. There really isn’t a single brain cell in that skull.”
“Gwoaaaaar!!! Some human dares to mock me?! I’ll kill you, gwoaar!!!”
He kept spitting out the same words the Saint had used to insult me, and it hit like a hammer. The ogre’s face turned bright red as he swung his iron club with one arm.
…He’s strong.
I barely blocked it this time, but the ogre’s force was so overwhelming I got pushed aside. He immediately raised the club again and started raining blows down on me without mercy.
…Dammit, no time to rest!
This was different from the troll. We were supposed to be on the same level when it came to cheap taunts, but the ogre was far stronger and faster in power and speed. I hadn’t been pushed back even once while blocking his mace against the troll, but now…
“Ghk!”
Even when I blocked the club, the sheer force still sent me flying. Wasn’t this strength insane?
“Ice Blast!”
Chloe used magic to help me. Countless ice shards pierced the ogre’s skin, but he just brushed them off like they were crumbs from a snack.
…His skin really is that tough.
Chloe’s magic probably wasn’t going to be enough. The ogre only went after me now, as if he thought I was the only threat worth killing.
Because of the insane power, his club-swinging speed was terrifying. Without blessings, I might have been crushed by those blows long ago…
I needed to cut the chain connecting the club’s head and handle. The ogre’s weapon was huge, so the chain was thick, but the Saint’s cutting power should do the trick.
“Flame Buster!”
At that moment Chloe cast a pretty big spell. A perfectly aimed fireball melted part of the ogre’s skin.
Oh, this one actually worked.
“Gwoaaaar!! You little bitch!!!”
The ogre’s gaze locked onto Chloe, one side of his face already melting away.
“…Hic!”
Chloe was terrified and immediately started preparing the next spell, but the ogre wasn’t going to wait around.
He swung the club straight at her.
“Hero-nim! Help me!”
His eyes weren’t on me, and this was the perfect moment. I didn’t need to swing at the club.
I crouched low, muscles taut like a drawn bow. The moment was right.
I pushed off the ground and shot forward like an arrow.
“Kyaaah!!!”
Snap!
Before the ogre’s club could crush Chloe, I sliced off his ankle.
“Gwoaah?!”
The ogre’s body tilted, and the club he swung at Chloe slammed into the ground beside her with a thunderous crash.
“Hic, Hero-nim!”
Clods of dirt exploded from the impact. Chloe charged toward me through the dust, looking panicked.
“Huaa… I was hoping you’d save me…”
“There’s a little bit of damage over there.”
I gave her a quick warning and sprinted forward, but something flew at me with a whoosh.
Thud!
It turned out to be a tree. A stump pulled straight out of the ground.
Looking closer, the ogre who’d lost his ankle was still on the ground, using one hand to rip up a nearby tree and hurl it at me.
“Gwoaaaaar!! You damn human! Where the hell are you?!”
He had no idea where I was and was just swinging wildly. Honestly, it was awe-inspiring how he could lift and throw that tree with his remaining arm.
Still couldn’t move, huh? Easy to catch.
I sliced the incoming tree in half and kicked off the ground, leaping straight onto the ogre’s body. I drove the Holy Sword straight into his neck.
Thud!
The blade pierced his tough skin with almost no resistance. No matter how hard the skin was, the Holy Sword was still invincible.
“Gwoaaah?!”
He was still moving despite the wound. I grabbed the sword with both hands and twisted it sideways.
Crack!
Bone shattered. The ogre finally stopped moving.
“…Huff.”
Tough bastard.
When I yanked the Holy Sword free, a fountain of blood erupted from his neck.
“…Ah.”
Just like with the troll, I got completely drenched in ogre blood.
“Dammit.”
...It’s sticky as hell.
“…As expected, you’re a real hero, Abel.”
Chloe watched me from behind with pure admiration. She saw how calmly I fought the ogre while swinging that massive Holy Sword like it was nothing.
We had planned to ambush and cut off one of his arms, but even so, this was one of the stronger monsters in the upper rank. Yet Abel had beaten it without a single fatal injury.
Especially when Chloe was about to be crushed by the club—Abel had sliced off the ogre’s ankle in a split second to save her. It really felt like one of those classic fairy-tale heroes.
“...I wonder if I’ll ever be like that one day.”
Abel checked to make sure the ogre was dead and walked over to Chloe. He was completely soaked in blood, his whole body drenched red.
“Chloe, are you okay? Any wounds?”
“Thanks to you, Hero-nim. I’m still in worse shape than you…”
“Ah… that’s not my blood.”
“Not that. You got hit by the club earlier, right?”
“...It hurts a little, but if the Saint shows up I can just ask her to heal me.”
Even though he had blessings, he looked like he’d been in pain. Yet Abel showed zero signs of it. Maybe he was holding back because he was a hero. Even his demeanor screamed hero.
Seeing that, Chloe remembered the hero from the Royal Magic Academy—Levius Grossphel.
The short-haired man from the Minerva Kingdom’s famous Grossphel family.
When he was chosen as hero, the kingdom had been in an uproar.
Chloe had once admired him a lot. Back then she was still young, and it was only natural for her to look up to her country’s hero. Who wouldn’t?
But that admiration shattered one day.
On the day she entered the Royal Magic Academy, she learned Levius was giving the graduation speech. Her heart raced with joy.
It was the happiest thing in the world—her idol would be there to celebrate her graduation.
With sparkling eyes, she stepped into the courtyard and… found him.
Levius greeted her with a warm smile.
“Nice to meet you, new student?”
“Y-yes! I’m Chloe!”
“...Chloe? What’s your surname?”
“Umm… I’m commoner, so I don’t have one.”
As soon as she said she was commoner, his gentle smile vanished and his eyes turned cold, like he’d stepped in something disgusting.
“…Tsk.”
Still glaring at her, Levius walked away without another word.
Chloe was left frozen in place for a long time after that humiliation.
After that, she gave up on the idea of being a hero. Even when she heard about great heroes from other kingdoms, she remained apathetic.
But the hero standing in front of her now was nothing like that Levius.
Even though he was also from a commoner background, he always spoke politely to Chloe and never looked down on her. Even when she was being sheltered as a guest.
And his calm, unflinching fighting style… honestly, it was cool as hell. Though his looks helped, it was still the true mark of a hero.
Abel wiped the blood off his Holy Sword and said softly, “...You’re different from him, Hero-nim.”
“Huh?”
“You really feel like a hero.”
“...I get why the Saint calls me an idiot now.”
“...Please don’t lump me in with him, Chloe.”
Chloe giggled, and Abel thought to himself, ‘I hope she doesn’t get hurt too.’
He was worried because he’d misread her laughter.
Then—
Kwoong!
A massive boom shook the ground. It wasn’t over. Another thud followed.
“Looks like more ogres are still out there!”
“Hmm… the Saint left…”
“...So she failed?!”
Chloe had been confused about something all along.
The plan had been to leave one ogre to Abel and let the Saint handle the rest. Did that even make sense when you thought about it?
Abel rested his chin on his hand and muttered, “...That’s not possible.”
“Huh?”
Kwoong!
A blast came from very close. But there was no sound after that, no ground shake.
Instead, the sound of rustling bushes filled the air.