The Hero Was Weaker Than Imagined (2)
The hero was weaker than imagined. But the reason Karin felt disappointed wasn't because of his weakness. From the start, they had built the party around promising talents who could grow alongside a weak hero, which was exactly why she had been chosen. She held no complaints about that.
What truly disappointed her was his complete lack of sincerity. At first, she had genuinely tried to help him grow, teaching him even the most basic magic spells meant for magic swordsmen. She had been prepared to give him private lessons.
But this bastard—despite being a man—had a brain full of nothing but flowers. He would spout garbage like, 'You're just making up excuses about private lessons so you can have me all to yourself,' and never once completed the homework she assigned.
And did he at least train properly? Of course not. He skipped training to wander around outside, constantly pestering them to visit a resort and enjoy a vacation. His excuse was surprisingly convincing.
"The goddess told me when I drew Gramhilt! She said that when I realize true love, I'll awaken and become stronger. Gramhilt's power is the power of bonds. We have to cultivate those bonds and connections if we want to overcome the trials ahead!"
Surprisingly, those words were actually true. It was written in the legends of the holy sword Gramhilt. The legend also said that whoever drew it would eventually marry one of their adventuring companions and live happily ever after in blissful harmony.
Me? With this guy?
Every time Karin thought about it, goosebumps crawled across her skin. Unless that so-called awakening from Gramhilt was some kind of hypnosis, it seemed utterly impossible. And it was only then that she finally understood why the other women had refused so vehemently to join this party.
If even the hero himself believed the legend with absolute conviction and treated every decent party member like a potential bride, of course they would feel repulsed. The hero's only redeeming quality was his handsome face, but after dealing with so many good-looking nobles at the academy, Karin had come to hate even that.
Still, the hero had justification on his side. With the excuse of 'awakening the holy sword's power,' there was no choice but to visit beaches, flower-viewing spots, and resorts. Yet Karin didn't enjoy a single moment at any of those vacation destinations. She only felt increasing impatience.
Of course, the hero showed zero signs of actually achieving that awakening or whatever it was.
"I can't take this anymore!"
Eventually, Karin's patience reached its limit.
"You're just acting angry because you're embarrassed like always."
"What are you talking about? I'm genuinely pissed!"
"Ah, is it because your chest is small and you're afraid of comparison? Don't worry. I like them small too."
"Naelle, let go! I won't do anything too bad—I'll just kill him!"
"Y-you can't! You absolutely can't kill or fight your own comrades!"
The reason Karin was this furious was simple. After putting up with him for so long, he had finally crossed the line by suggesting they all visit a mixed-gender hot spring together.
Karin's rage was quite intentional. Everyone found this particular suggestion extremely repulsive. Even Elaine, who always wore a foolish smile, had turned deadly serious and looked utterly disgusted.
"But if we just go here, I feel like I'll awaken Gramhilt's power."
"We've heard that excuse one too many times! Do you really think we'll agree to anything as long as you bring up that story?"
Struck right where it hurt, the hero whistled and pretended to look elsewhere. At that moment, someone unexpectedly took his side.
"However, the fact that the holy sword awakens through the power of love is clearly documented. We cannot simply dismiss it."
It was the female knight, Leticia. This blunt woman surprisingly often defended the hero's outrageous behavior.
"Yeah, the hero's desire to become stronger is genuine, so don't get so angry. Here, let's shake hands and make up!"
Naelle beamed brightly as she grabbed both Karin's and the hero's hands, forcing them together in a handshake. Her smile was so pure and innocent that Karin couldn't bring herself to refuse. The moment their hands parted, she summoned a stream of water magic to scrub her hand vigorously.
Whether it was because she was an elf or simply her personality, Naelle was absurdly defenseless. She treated everyone like friends the moment they became comrades, spouting childish fairy-tale logic, and her understanding of relationships between men and women was practically nonexistent.
With those two defending him, the hero pretended to cry as he spoke.
"Everyone loves me this much, yet I still haven't awakened... I'm such trash."
"Yeah. You really are trash."
"D-don't be so hard on yourself. It'll work out. You can do it."
"Ren, stop feeding him. I hate it when he acts weak to get attention. And leave me out of that 'everyone.'"
"Aww, you're getting embarrassed again."
"I'm serious! What do I have to do to make you believe me?!"
From Karin's perspective, it was enough to drive her insane. No matter how sharply she spoke, everything was interpreted positively—'You're just being shy, what a tsundere'—so her true feelings never got through.
Karin sighed again and looked at the party members comforting the hero with an expression of pure headache. Truthfully, she liked this party well enough. Except for the hero.
Excluding him, every other member was fundamentally naive and kind. They had even accepted her without batting an eye after learning her brother was a human traitor.
Because they were so kind, whenever the hero acted weak, they would panic and immediately offer sympathy and comfort. He seemed addicted to that reaction.
If we leave this alone, one of the greatest gigolos in history is going to be born.
Most disastrous marriages—like an abused wife and a gambling-addicted husband—probably started from combinations like this. Thinking that, Karin resolved to protect the other party members from his clutches.
She announced her decision as their representative.
"Fine. I'll go to the mixed bath."
"Really?"
The hero, who had been pretending to cry, stopped immediately. Karin looked at him like he was filth and continued.
"But I have conditions."
"Tell me!"
"First. As soon as this is over, we enter the Demon Continent and start fighting."
"B-but..."
"I can't watch you waste any more time. We're the hero's party. Not some imperial tourist appreciation club, right?"
It was a logical argument. After some hesitation, the hero nodded heavily. Karin smiled and immediately presented her second condition.
"Second. We're all wearing swimsuits in the bath."
"That's impossible! By regulation, clothing like swimsuits is—"
"We can rent out the entire place. I have plenty of money. I'll reserve it exclusively and get permission for swimsuits."
"But then... wouldn't that just make it a swimming pool instead of a mixed bath..."
The hero looked around desperately for someone to take his side, but this time was different. All the heroines had brightened up and were silently expressing their agreement.
"Don't like it? If you don't, I'll quit everything—hot springs, all of it. I'm sick of indulging your nonsense."
"Then at least let us wear bikinis..."
"We're wearing full-coverage swimsuits! This is already a huge concession, so be grateful."
"You're doing this because your chest is smaller than everyone else's and you're afraid of comparison, what tyranny..."
"I said that's not it, you bastard! Let go—I'm just going to kill this guy and become a human traitor myself!"
After that whole chaotic mess, they did end up visiting the hot spring, but of course no awakening occurred. At least she could be satisfied that they had finally dragged the hero to the Demon Continent.
*
And on the Demon Continent, the hero was exactly the burden everyone expected. From the very beginning, before they had even properly entered the continent, he couldn't handle a single weak monster and constantly held them back.
The ace of the party at that time was clearly Karin. The skill of the academy's top graduate combined with the Archsage's staff she had borrowed from Ruina shone brilliantly. While she swept away the weak monsters with various spells, the hero would struggle in a life-or-death battle against a goblin porter, get cut, and then whine for healing.
Sometimes he caused major accidents.
"Hey, what the hell did you touch! What did you do to make a chimera pop out?!"
"Th-there was this weak-looking monster, and I thought I'd at least kill it and offer it to you, but it turned out to be the chimera's tail!"
"That's bait for luring low-intelligence monsters, you idiot! Are your brains at beast level? Who falls for mimicry like that? When this is over, I'm beating you until you're on death's door and then hitting you one more time to finish the job!"
"If I survive, I'll propose to you!"
"I'll reject you, so just die now!"
What had happened was that he grabbed the chimera's tail after mistaking it for a weak monster, which caused the chimera to suddenly chase them. The other party members had all been off gathering herbs when it occurred.
The two of them ran for a long time to escape the chimera, their faces darkening as a sheer cliff blocked their path ahead. Behind them, the chimera's roar was getting closer.
"It's a dead end..."
"Then I guess we have no choice but to believe in Gramhilt's awakening here!"
The hero spoke nonchalantly to the despairing Karin. In his hand, Gramhilt sparkled as it caught the sunlight.
"It is said that when true love is witnessed, Gramhilt emits light that purifies all evil. Here, we must awaken through the power of love."
He's still going on about that even now? Karin wanted to say, but there was no other way out.
"Wh-what exactly do we have to do?"
"Let's hold Gramhilt together and shout that we love each other."
This? She shot him a glare, but there was no alternative. The chimera had already drawn near. Its shadow joined the cliff's shadow over them. She could even see the monster's snake-like forked tongue flicking, dripping saliva.
"I... I love you."
"Louder!"
Still gripping Gramhilt together, Karin shouted in resignation.
"Ugh, seriously, I truly, sincerely love you!"
The next instant, a massive whirlwind of scorching heat shot forward and skewered the chimera's massive body like meat on a spit. Half its torso twisted and shattered. The chimera couldn't even let out a scream before it collapsed with a thud, dead.
Karin stared blankly at the sight and muttered.
"It... actually worked?"
"Did Gramhilt do it?"
It seemed that damn awakening had finally triggered in a moment of crisis. Thinking this, Karin broke into a wide smile.
"This guy really is the hero, even if he's trash! He can do it when he tries!"
"And I was starting to suspect—just a tiny bit—that you might actually hate me, but it was all in my head after all!"
Overjoyed at having survived, Karin and the hero embraced each other and jumped up and down. Their excitement was shattered when someone called out from atop the cliff.
"What the hell are you two doing?"
Only after hearing that cold voice did the pair, still hugging and bouncing, come back to their senses. Looking up toward the voice at the top of the cliff, they saw a black-haired mage. He stared down at them with an icy expression.
Judging by the crimson robe wrapped around his body and the white cross pattern on his shoulder, he was unmistakably a Red Mage.
It turned out the chimera hadn't been slain by Gramhilt's awakening. The Red Mage they had coincidentally encountered had taken it down with his magic. The timing had simply overlapped, making it seem like Gramhilt had done it.
"Ugh, shit. Of course."
Karin immediately shoved the hero away and summoned water to scrub her hands raw. But the Red Mage atop the cliff continued looking down at her—and the hero—with the same expression one might give to filth.
Wh-what? People can make mistakes. There's no need to look at us like we're not even human.
Karin had been about to argue, but remembering the disgraceful scene she had just performed with the hero, she shut her mouth. Thinking about how she had shouted "I love you!" while embracing him made her face burn. The idea that a third party—the Red Mage—must have seen them as an unbearably cringey couple filled her with such shame that it rose all the way to the top of her head. If she had poison, she would have swallowed it immediately to escape this humiliation.
Still, the one who had saved them from danger was this Red Mage, so Karin approached him with the intention of expressing her gratitude. The Red Mage was stroking his chin and muttering something with a serious expression.
"Let's see... heart... period... Both of them appear to have definitively entered cum-rag non-virgin status. Since Karin—the highest difficulty target and literal gatekeeper—is already in that state, the rest must be the same."
Huh? Karin briefly doubted her own ears.
I must have misheard. Who says something like that to people they've just met?
She tried to erase what she had just heard from her mind and bowed to thank him for saving them, but the Red Mage spoke first.
"Hey. This is a really important question, so I'm asking seriously."
"Y-yes? What is it?"
"Are you a virgin?"
Slap!
Her face burning bright red, Karin reflexively slapped the Red Mage across the cheek.
"What kind of crazy bastard are you?!"
That was the first question he asked before they had even exchanged names. And that was how her meeting with the Red Mage Jain began in the absolute worst way possible.