The Second Hero (15)
In the end, I made up my mind to help Ria.
I had agonized over it more times than I could count, and even now I wasn't entirely sure it was the right call — but I was going to help her anyway.
So I took Ria and set out for the Artes Kingdom.
"Are you… are you really going to help me?"
My decision left Ria looking thoroughly flustered. She wasn't putting on an act. She genuinely hadn't expected me to agree.
"What, you don't want me to?"
"No, that's not it…"
"Then why?"
"Well… I just didn't think you would. And besides, a Hero isn't supposed to step in and stop a rebellion in some kingdom."
Had I really come across that cold?
Ria clearly hadn't put much faith in me. That was probably why she hadn't told me her real identity in the first place.
Apparently she knew a fair bit about what a Hero was supposed to be. Heroes generally didn't involve themselves in human affairs. A Hero existed to defeat the demons — not to meddle in conflicts between people. By principle, a Hero was meant to remain neutral in any fight among humans.
As a former member of the royal family, Ria would have known that much. Which made my decision all the more unusual.
"And honestly, you could even say the rebellion was justified."
That was the real problem.
The truth was, the Artes Kingdom had every reason for a rebellion to break out. I didn't know the full details, but I'd heard enough to get the picture.
Ria's father — the late king — had been a terrible ruler. He neglected the affairs of state, drowned himself in luxury and pleasure, and crushed his people under crushing taxes. A tyrant. A ruinous king. That was why the rebellion had happened. Staying under a man like that meant everyone was going to die together, so they rose up to save themselves.
Ria couldn't have been ignorant of that. As someone who had lived inside the royal court, she would have known her country's history far better than I did. The guilt sat heavy on her. Asking me for help under those circumstances had to be mortifying. She wanted the throne, yes — but she kept questioning whether she even deserved my help.
"You sure talk a lot."
I brushed her words aside. I had already thought this through, and I wasn't interested in second-guessing a decision I'd already made. I had weighed all of it when I chose to help her.
"Enough with the depressing talk. I'll take responsibility and get you that throne."
I intended to put Ria on the throne. Even if I had failed to slay the Demon King and been stripped of my title, I had still been a Hero. A year of hard campaigning had left me with considerable influence. Maybe not enough to move a nation the size of the Empire — but a remote little kingdom like this? My word alone would be more than enough to seat Ria on the throne.
Whether she wanted it or not.
"That said, don't take it to mean I'm going to help you all the way."
"I'm sorry…? What do you mean by that?"
Ria looked startled, clearly wondering what I meant by not helping her completely. I made sure she understood I wasn't putting her on the throne with no strings attached.
The rebellion had happened for good reason, and I knew that. So I also knew that if Ria took the throne, the complaints would start immediately. Voices calling her the tyrant's daughter. Voices accusing her of coming back to bleed them dry all over again.
"Prove yourself."
She would have to show them.
"I'm only giving you the bare minimum of a chance."
I explained what I intended to do. I wasn't handing her a guaranteed outcome. I would get her the throne — but holding onto it was her job, wasn't it? I would give Ria an opportunity and nothing more. Beyond that, I wouldn't interfere.
"I'll help put you on the throne. But after that, I'm not lifting another finger."
Whether she ruled wisely or cruelly after claiming the crown. Whether she made her people happy or miserable. Whether she held power by killing or by living alongside them — whatever she chose to do, I would no longer be involved. My help extended only as far as getting her the succession.
"Whatever happens after that is none of my business. There might be another rebellion. You might actually die next time."
Everything that came after was entirely on Ria. She would have to carry that responsibility alone. That was how I had decided to help her.
"Well? Feeling confident? If not, you're free to turn around right now."
In short: win the throne with your own ability. It might have sounded irresponsible — and honestly, it was — but I had no intention of doing more than this. If she didn't want it, she could simply renounce the throne here and now and go back.
"That's more than enough. I will become a great king. Unlike my father."
But Ria seemed satisfied. More than that — she looked overflowing with confidence. She told me, with absolute resolve, that she would see it through.
"All right. Give it your best shot."
That was all the encouragement I offered her.
With Ria in tow, I entered the Artes Kingdom.
By now, they should have slain the Demon King.
Roughly a month had passed since the second Hero had been chosen. The Chancellor figured that was more than enough time to have reached the Demon Realm and finished the Demon King off. Lee Hansu had already cleared out most of the Demon Realm, so there shouldn't have been any obstacles along the way. On top of that, word had come that the Hero's party members were staying in a city near the Demon Realm's border.
The Chancellor summoned the Hero's party at once. He wanted to throw them a celebration. He had prepared a grand banquet in honor of everything the party had endured, and he waited.
"Ah… at last, the members of the Hero's party have arrived."
Not long after the Chancellor sent his letter, the party members appeared. Nearly a month, was it? The Chancellor looked them over with deep satisfaction. These were the heroes who had defeated the Demon King, after all.
"You've done well."
"…"
But the Hero's party did not share his joy. More than that — something about them seemed off. Why? Were they simply not in a festive mood?
"But… where is Sir Herald?"
"About that…"
And that wasn't the only problem. Herald, the Hero, was nowhere to be seen. Only the party members had returned. No matter how the Chancellor looked, the Hero himself was absent.
Had they disobeyed orders? The thought crossed his mind, but this was Herald. He would never. Before he was a Hero, he had been the Empire's Knight Commander — a man who had served the Empire with unwavering loyalty. He would never defy a command.
Then what on earth…?
Surely not…?
When the Chancellor put every piece together, he arrived at a devastating conclusion.
"Sir Herald, the Hero… has passed on, hasn't he."
Herald had slain the Demon King and died doing it…
Only then did the Chancellor understand. The reason the party members looked so grief-stricken, the reason Herald had not come — it had to be because Herald was dead. The death of a knight who had devoted his entire life to the Empire was no small thing. The Chancellor took a moment to mourn.
"Even so, Herald defeated the Demon King, did he not? We shall give him a funeral befitting the honor of every Hero who came before him."
Still, the Chancellor intended to repay Herald's loyalty as it deserved. He had lost his life, yes — but he had brought down the Demon King. The party members standing here were living proof. They had survived the battle with the Demon King and returned. Herald may have died, but he had completed every duty assigned to him. He could never be underestimated. His name would stand without shame among the Heroes of history.
"It's all right. Please, do not grieve too deeply. Looking upon an Empire free of the Demon King's threat and flourishing in peace, Herald will have departed in comfort."
The Chancellor tried to console the still-somber party members. This was supposed to be a time and place for celebration. He hoped they would lift their heads and enjoy the banquet.
"…"
But their faces did not change. Were they simply that devastated by Herald's death? No — something about it didn't quite fit grief alone. It was more like… guilt. As if they were carrying some terrible remorse. What could they possibly feel so sorry about?
The Chancellor didn't know.
But he was about to find out.
"Um… Chancellor. The truth is… we didn't defeat it."
"…? Didn't defeat it? Defeat what, exactly?"
"The Demon King."
The party's mage confessed the truth in a timid voice — that they had failed to defeat the Demon King.
"What???"
The Chancellor, struck by this bombshell, could only reel in shock.