Hell Mode
It wasn't going to be easy.
At a glance, it might look like I'd done everything for Ria. I'd said I wouldn't do much for her, and then I'd gone and handed her the throne. If you considered claiming the crown the only thing that mattered, you'd naturally come to that conclusion.
But even a little thought made it clear that wasn't true at all.
Right now, the Artes Kingdom was in the middle of a rebellion sparked by a tyrant. And in that state, the tyrant's own daughter wanted to inherit the throne again — how could there not be pushback?
Sure, if I, the Hero, put Ria on the throne, I could quiet some of that resistance. But I could never silence it completely. A nation that had already erupted into revolt could erupt again. Public sentiment had cratered that badly. The moment people found even a little reason to resent Ria, another rebellion would flare up, and she'd lose the crown all over again.
By every measure, the situation was stacked against her. If I had to put it in terms of a game from Earth...
Hell Mode just unlocked. That about covered it.
Holding onto the throne was never going to be simple. I was sure of that. And Ria couldn't possibly be unaware of it either. She knew full well the weight of the crown she was taking up under these conditions.
And still, she had chosen to claim it herself. That took real resolve. All I was doing was helping her see that decision through.
"Who goes there? Identify yourselves!"
The moment I stepped into the Artes Kingdom, rebel soldiers surrounded me. The country was in the middle of a civil war, and outsiders were forbidden entry. Walking straight through the gates like I owned the place left them no choice but to go on high alert.
"H-Hero...?"
"Is that the Hero?"
"That's the Hero?"
But the tension didn't last long. As expected, there were people who recognized me. I wasn't exactly a household name among the common folk, but I wasn't a complete unknown either. Stand in front of enough people and a few of them were bound to know your face. And once those few spoke up, word of who I was spread fast.
Once they realized I was the Hero, the rebels cleared a path.
"Is that really the Hero?"
"I'm telling you it is. I've seen him before. I'm sure of it."
"But isn't that Princess Ria next to him?"
"Huh...? You're right."
"Why is the Hero with Princess Ria?"
They kept glancing at me and murmuring among themselves. The Hero showing up in the Artes Kingdom was something none of them had seen coming. Bringing Princess Ria with him was even further beyond anything they could have imagined, so of course the gossip wouldn't stop.
"More than that — I saw it in the paper last time. Didn't they say the Hero got banished from the Empire?"
"What? For real?"
To anyone who kept up with the news, I was the hot topic of the moment. Interest poured in from every direction. But I wasn't about to answer every question thrown my way.
"I want to see the commander of these forces."
I walked straight through the ranks of rebels toward the large tent at the center. Whoever led them would be in there. I stepped inside and called for the man in charge. When I said I wanted to talk, a middle-aged man seated in the middle rose to his feet. That would be their commander.
"...Greetings. You must be the Hero."
"Hm. Have we met?"
The rebel commander bowed his head in greeting, then acted as if he knew me — like he was glad to see me again. But who was this guy? Had we actually met? The thought crossed my mind, but no face came to me.
"Back when I was still a common soldier, I once received your protection, Hero."
"I see."
From the sound of it, we hadn't shared any particularly deep connection.
"I believe I can guess why you've come here. With Her Highness the Princess at your side, my guess is correct, isn't it? You've come to put a stop to this rebellion?"
After the brief exchange of greetings, the commander cut straight to why I was here. He glanced sideways at Ria, then let out a sigh. Even so, he wanted confirmation that he'd read the situation right.
"That's right."
No point denying it. I had come to end the rebellion, which made me the rebels' enemy. Nothing to hide. I told him the truth.
So how would he play this? The former Hero had just become the rebels' enemy. Surely he wouldn't decide to fight me?
I watched the commander carefully, waiting to see which way he'd go. I hoped he'd make the rational call.
"I see. Then we will withdraw. We are hopelessly lacking in both justification and strength compared to you, Hero."
Fortunately, the rebel commander made a thoroughly reasonable decision. Choosing not to fight me was the right call. Even if they tried, they couldn't win — and even if they somehow did, they would never earn legitimate support afterward.
If he'd been someone who didn't understand what a Hero was, he might have made an irrational choice and become a mild inconvenience. Thankfully, that didn't happen. The commander surrendered cleanly and declared his intention to yield.
"However, there is one thing I would like to ask you, Hero."
That didn't mean there were no conditions.
"We rose up simply because we wanted to live. We had no other designs. And if life becomes unbearable again, we will almost certainly rise once more."
He explained why they had rebelled. The tyrant's oppression had been unbearable, so they had had no choice. And if the same thing happened again, they would be back. It was a kind of warning.
"Hero. Tell me yourself. Is Princess Ria someone we can trust? Is she someone who can keep us alive?"
So he needed certainty. His speech had been long, but stripped down to its core, what he wanted was this: a guarantee from me that it was safe to entrust the throne to Ria. If the Hero himself vouched for her, they could at least believe that much.
"I don't know either."
"Pardon?"
Sorry, but I couldn't give him that guarantee. My completely unaccountable answer left the rebel commander stunned. His eyes said it all — in a situation like this, wasn't vouching for her the obvious thing to do? He stared at me as if waiting for me to take it back. Stare all he wanted. I still wasn't going to vouch for her.
"I'm sorry, but I can't make any promises. I've only spent a short time with Ria. I can't claim to know her particularly well."
I just told him the truth. At most, I'd known her for about a month. We'd stuck close during that time, sure, but that didn't mean I truly knew her. There were sides of her I hadn't seen, and those sides might not be flattering. Beyond that, I had no idea whether she even had the ability to lead a kingdom. For all anyone knew, she could run the place into the ground.
"That said, what I will say is this — I'd like you to give her a chance. I believe she has the basic qualities for it. Try trusting her once."
Come on. One pull of the gacha wouldn't kill anyone. And who knew? You might even pull an SSR.
"And if... if we trust her, and she follows in the previous king's footsteps — then what?"
My irresponsible answer left the commander looking half-incredulous as he pressed me. What kind of nonsense was this supposed to be? Their lives hung in the balance. He looked at me with a faint edge of resentment, as if I hadn't grasped how desperate they were. He was asking what happened if they pulled the gacha again and got an F-rank.
"Then rebel again. I won't interfere next time."
Obviously, if it came to that, there wouldn't be much I could do to cover for her either. At that point, kill her or throw her in a cell — their call.
"...Are you serious?"
"I am."
That was everything I had to say. And I meant it, in my own way.
"I see. Very well. I'll try to persuade those who took part in the rebellion."
The commander didn't look satisfied after hearing that. But he didn't look completely hopeless either. Just... ambivalent. The Hero had gone that far, so he'd give it a try. That was enough.
He bowed once to me and left the tent. From here, he'd start sorting everything out.
"Congratulations. You've got your throne back."
I offered a simple word of congratulations to Ria, who remained behind. Things had worked out, and from this moment on she was queen. You could say she'd achieved what she'd set out to do.
"Hero Oppa... thank you. For believing in me."
But she didn't seem able to simply be happy. Maybe everything she'd endured until now had finally caught up with her. She didn't cry, but she made a point of showing her gratitude.
And then—
Smack.
She pressed a kiss to my cheek.
"What are you doing?"
Someone watching might have called it a romantic moment. It really wasn't. The person giving me a peck on the cheek was a little kid. There was nothing to feel. I looked at Ria without so much as a change in expression.
"...You don't have to react like that."
She protested, as if she'd worked up the courage only for me to be completely unfair about it. Look, you could complain all you wanted — I wasn't some deviant with weird tastes, so there was nothing I could do. Now, if a beautiful adult woman kissed me, that might be a different story.
"Anyway, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself from here on."
I had done everything I could for Ria. It was time to part ways for real. She was about to get very busy. Just rebuilding after the civil war would leave her buried under a mountain of work. Leaving quickly was the kinder thing for her.
I waved and turned my back.
"Come visit the Artes Kingdom again someday. I'll show you that your faith in me was never misplaced."
"Yeah. Do your best."
Ria smiled softly and returned the farewell.
Meanwhile, at that same hour — the Hero's party.
"What exactly were the party members doing while Hero Herald was dying?"
"..."
They were being grilled by the Chancellor over everything that had happened.