The Second Hero (1)
As I left the Empire behind, I took stock of my belongings.
A sword worn down to the hilt, a bit of bread, a few gold coins — that was the sum total of my worldly possessions.
"If I'd known it would come to this, I would've taken my cut."
I really had lived without a shred of greed, hadn't I? The thought hit me immediately.
The position of Hero wasn't some stray dog's name. If I'd wanted to line my pockets, I could have filled them as full as I pleased. Potion costs, equipment expenses, commission rewards, noble patronage — the money poured in from every direction, and not a single soul was watching where it went. Ideal conditions for embezzlement, really.
But I never embezzled a thing. Not so much as a copper, even though I could have.
"I was the idiot for trusting those bastards. Sigh."
It wasn't because I had no desire for money. I simply believed the Empire would take care of my share on its own. Back then, I'd been convinced that if I just worked hard enough, everything would fall into place without me having to scramble for it. I'd thrown myself into the role of Hero with everything I had, and I'd trusted the Empire completely. I'd figured that if they had any sense at all, they'd reward a man like me with appropriate wealth at the appropriate time. I was confident I wouldn't need to commit a crime like embezzlement. Any decent person, I believed, would naturally look after me.
"Damn it. Now I'm getting angry all over again."
And the result was this. All that effort, and I'd been banished. Looking at my empty wallet, I felt my heart empty out right along with it.
Should I just turn around right now, march back into the imperial palace, and thrash the lot of them? If I put my mind to it, I could manage that easily enough. The thought stirred something heated in my chest — but I decided against it.
After all, what I planned to do from here on was settle down in the countryside and farm a little. Farming didn't require money, and even if it did, it wouldn't be a problem. I'd been stripped of the Hero's title and cast out of the Empire, but this body of mine was still a Hero's body. If I wanted money, I could earn as much as I needed.
Besides, the idea of crawling back to the palace just to squeeze a few coins out of them left a bad taste in my mouth. For any number of reasons, I abandoned the notion of returning.
"For now, let's just get the hell out of the Empire."
Filthy, petty bastards. More than anything, I wanted to leave this place immediately. Just being in the same country as them made my skin crawl. Money wasn't important. I was leaving — right now.
"Excuse me. Could I ask for directions? What's the nearest village around here?"
"The nearest village… that would be Helena Village. Heading that way, are you?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…"
I'd approached a coachman resting by his carriage. He answered my question, but his expression wasn't particularly welcoming. When I'd left the palace, I'd been forced to surrender the Hero's armor and weapons, so I looked no different from any shabby adventurer in worn-out clothes. My ragged appearance clearly hadn't made a good impression. The coachman was a man who took paying customers, after all. I understood — I knew perfectly well how pitiful I looked.
"Here. Is this enough?"
"Hah… I'll take you there in comfort, sir!"
I tossed him a gold coin. His eyes went round as saucers, and the way he looked at me transformed completely — from a worthless adventurer to a customer he absolutely had to serve. Money really did have its charms.
The coachman scrambled to his feet and urged me to climb aboard at once, as if terrified I might change my mind. I didn't mind. I wanted to leave this place just as quickly as he wanted to take me. I boarded the carriage, and the coachman immediately cracked the reins, driving us out of the Empire. The horses broke into a vigorous run toward our destination.
"So, what did you used to do, sir? Why leave the Empire?"
"Oh, just circumstances."
After about thirty minutes on the road, the coachman must have gotten bored, because he struck up a conversation. What did I used to do? Until yesterday, I'd been the Hero. I could have told him the truth and it wouldn't have mattered, but I decided not to bother. Saying I was the Hero would only invite shock and a barrage of questions, and I had no patience for any of that.
When I brushed him off with a vague answer, the coachman happened to bring up the subject of the Hero himself.
Huh…? He was talking about me?
"Circumstances, eh. Well, whatever they may be, leaving this place doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Things have gotten pretty grim around here lately."
"Grim how?"
"You know — this generation's Hero. Apparently the bastard failed to kill the Demon King. Never happened once in the Empire's entire history. And now it's the common folk who are suffering for it."
"…"
That Hero bastard you're talking about is sitting right in front of you.
Of course it wasn't a flattering story. Common sense said that a banished man wouldn't hear anything kind said about him. Still, it irritated me. Listening to the coachman, I felt a slow burn of annoyance rising in my chest.
At first I was a little surprised that even a random coachman already knew I'd failed to defeat the Demon King — but thinking about it, it wasn't surprising at all. The Empire's people had no doubt spread the rumors far and wide before they'd even kicked me out. They really would circulate any garbage that suited them. Not a shred of respect for the former Hero who'd worked himself to the bone. I'd already found them disgusting, but now the revulsion sank into my bones.
"Sigh. Honestly, why is this generation's Hero so weak…"
"I'm not weak, damn it!!!"
"Pardon…?"
"It's nothing."
Hold it in… just hold it in.
Remembering that I hadn't revealed I was the Hero, I hastily turned my head away. The coachman looked startled by my sudden outburst, but I brushed it off as if it were nothing, and he simply tilted his head and let it go. He must have found it odd, but the idea that I was the Hero clearly never crossed his mind. Fair enough. Who in their right mind would look at me and think I was the Hero? He'd just assume he'd misheard. Somehow, I'd managed to smooth it over.
That said, the words I'd just heard were the kind I would never be able to tolerate, no matter how many times I heard them. Weak. That word made me furious beyond endurance.
Objectively speaking, I was not weak. This wasn't just my own opinion — I genuinely ranked among the stronger Heroes. I was strong enough to single-handedly slaughter most Demon Kings. Not once in my life had anyone ever called me weak to my face.
The reason I hadn't defeated the Demon King was simple: my opponent had been every bit as strong as I was. That Demon King was the real deal among real deals. I'd never faced a creature like her before, and I never would again — a strength so absolute it defied comparison. It was only because I was who I was that the fight had ended in a draw. If anyone else had been the Hero? They'd have been butchered long ago, and the Empire would already be under occupation.
Could the Empire even handle that?
And yet a man like me had been banished from the Empire. Honestly, I couldn't picture any future for them at all. Without me, no matter what schemes they cooked up, the only future I could see was the Empire falling to the Demon King. How exactly did they plan to dig themselves out of this hole? Did they have some secret weapon up their sleeve?
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I dismissed it just as quickly. I'd already left. What was the point of fretting over the Empire's future? All those years as a Hero must have given me an overdeveloped sense of meddling in other people's business.
I was no longer a Hero, and I was no longer a citizen of the Empire. Their problems were theirs to solve.
"We've arrived, sir. Helena Village."
From now on, all I needed to do was live my own life. Whether the Empire thrived or crumbled, prospered or perished — it had nothing to do with me anymore. I was no longer the Hero, and I no longer had any obligation to fix the Empire's problems.
From this day forward, I would start over somewhere new.
Meanwhile, at that very moment in the Empire.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with deep regret that I must announce the former Hero failed to defeat the Demon King. He has stained the name of every Hero who came before him."
In the wake of Hero Lee Hansu's banishment, a restless atmosphere hung over the court. Expelling a Hero was no trivial matter, so the unease was only natural. Even so, there was no time to wallow in sentiment. The Demon King still lived, and the Hero's duty remained unfinished.
And so the Empire resolved, without delay, to select a new Hero.
"However — the new Hero will not make the same mistake. We shall now choose a successor. Anyone who wishes to become the Hero, step forward."
The Chancellor addressed the assembled knights. A new Hero would be chosen, he declared, and those who wished to apply should come forward. A solemn opportunity to become the Hero was being offered.
The knights understood the weight of what it meant to become a Hero, and for a moment, silence filled the hall. But the silence did not last long.
Soon enough, three figures stepped forward.