The Last Hero (5)
"Are you kidding me right now?"
When Hero Jacks first started going on about the bonds of the hero party, the party members had actually expected something constructive. Sure, he had plenty of ulterior motives, but they'd given him a second look, thinking that at least, as a hero, he was giving some thought to the party itself.
But what on earth was this supposed to be?
There was a hot spring village nearby, so why didn't they all go take a mixed bath together?
"I'd rather die...!!!"
The hero's party members erupted in furious opposition. Was he seriously saying that out loud? Fully grown men and women — and not just any men and women, but the hero party charged with defeating the Demon King and saving the world — going for a mixed bath in some hot spring village?
It was something they absolutely could not accept.
"We're not going. We didn't form this party to do things like that. Hero, we've been holding our tongues, but please — show some restraint."
They had no choice but to speak harshly to him. No matter how much they needed to stay in his good graces, no matter how much they told themselves this was their last remaining chance, there were things they could do and things they could not. They were members of a hero's party — not prostitutes. They would never, under any circumstances, grant a request like this.
"I'm begging you. Just come with me once."
Their refusal was fierce. They recoiled in disgust and turned him down flat. With a reaction like that, surely he'd give up?
The party members assumed the hero would gradually back down. Instead, the opposite happened. He began pleading with them even more insistently.
"Please, it's my lifelong wish. I'm seriously begging you. I won't ask for anything else after this."
Just once, he said. If they did just that one thing for him, he promised he would fulfill every duty expected of a hero.
"Absolutely not. Never...! We are never doing a mixed bath with you.!"
"I'm begging you, it's my lifelong wish. It's something we absolutely need for the bonds of our hero party, you know?"
"I said no...!!"
What kind of hero was this supposed to be?
Of course, none of that was going to make the party members agree. The hero whining for a single mixed bath and the party members dead-set against it kept at their back-and-forth without end.
"I finished the request."
Some time had passed since Aji's heat. She had thrown herself into my training, and by now she had the skill to complete requests on her own. More than that, she could handle the entire process — accepting a request and seeing it through — without any help.
All that hard teaching had paid off...
I felt an oddly swell of pride at how far Aji had come.
She's still lacking in places... but she'll figure the rest out on her own.
It wasn't as though she were perfect. High-difficulty ranked requests still gave her trouble, and she wasn't exactly smooth at picking jobs at the guild either. Sooner or later, working as an adventurer who took guild requests, those weak spots would get her burned — badly. No, there was no question a day like that was coming. You couldn't be that green working at a guild and never get blindsided.
But I figured she'd handle that much on her own. I'd already taught her the fundamentals, and I'd trained her hard enough that even if she took a few hits, she'd get back up. At this level, she wouldn't have any real trouble making a living as an adventurer.
Guess it's about time I left.
Didn't that mean my business here was finished? Everything I'd originally planned to do was done. Even if I left, she wouldn't starve. So it was time for me to go. I'd been away from the village for quite a while now — I really might need to head back. If I delayed any longer, they might assume I'd abandoned the place entirely and clear out my house. No... I couldn't even rule out the possibility that they already had.
I really did need to leave.
"What are you thinking about?"
While I was calculating my exit, Aji tilted her head and asked what I was thinking so hard about. Looking at her, I briefly considered being honest — then thought better of it.
"Hmm..."
Better not to tell Aji. Nothing good would come of it. She was quite attached to me right now. If I said I was leaving, she'd obviously try to follow. In a situation like this, it was cleaner to just go quietly without a word. I felt a little bad about leaving without even a goodbye, but there was no cleaner break than this.
"It's nothing, Aji. Let's go get something to eat."
"Okay."
I kept my expression carefully blank, as if it truly were nothing, and led Aji toward the restaurant. Along the way, I stopped short as if something had just occurred to me.
"I'm going to swing by the village real quick. Go ahead and order."
"Huh? Why the village?"
"Just something I need to buy."
"Got it. I'll order while I wait."
It was a lie, of course. There was nothing I needed to buy in the village. Completely unaware she'd been deceived, Aji went into the inn and started ordering food the way I'd told her to.
"Take care of yourself."
Watching her, I turned and found my own road out. I'd also doused myself in perfume I'd prepared ahead of time so she couldn't track me by scent. It'd be a problem if she caught my trail and came after me, right? Even if she realized I was gone, she wouldn't be able to follow anymore.
We'll run into each other again someday. Probably.
Honestly, maybe because I'd grown fond of her, it wasn't as though I felt nothing... but living on this continent, we might cross paths once more. And if we didn't, that was fine too.
Take care, Aji.
"Please. I'm begging you. Please... just one mixed bath. Sniff..."
"I said no."
The argument between the party members and Hero Jacks had been going on for thirty minutes. There was nothing particularly logical about any of it — just one side demanding it no matter what and the other side refusing absolutely. But a quarrel like that couldn't go on forever. They were a hero party. They weren't idle enough to waste time on pointless bickering.
"Haa... Hero Jacks, then let's make a deal. If we go to the hot spring village with you just once, you will genuinely go defeat the Demon King."
In the end, it was the party members who raised the white flag. At this rate, the Demon King would never be dealt with. On top of that, their standing right now was far from good. If this had been back in the days of the first hero, they would have refused a request like this even if it killed them. Their self-respect had been considerably higher then. But things were different now. After hero after hero had failed, their pride had been thoroughly broken. That was why they had no choice but to be the ones to yield.
"All right. I promise. Thank you so much."
Having finally wrung a yes out of them, Hero Jacks was overjoyed. Getting to take a mixed bath at a hot spring with his beautiful party members — for him, it was a triumph of the highest order. He looked as delighted as if he'd been handed the entire world.
"But we're wearing swimsuits."
"S... Swimsuits?"
A brief silence fell. The party members would go — but they had a condition. They would not be showing any bare skin. Jacks's face crumpled with disappointment. Come on... if they were going to do a mixed bath, why bring swimsuits into it...?
"This is already a huge concession. If you won't accept it, then we are absolutely not doing a mixed bath."
But the party members had no intention of yielding any further. Not even if it killed them. This was already more than enough. Wearing swimsuits for the mixed bath was their final line of defense, and they clung to it with everything they had.
"Fine. I get it. Let's go to the hot spring village...!"
No choice, then... Jacks had no option but to agree. Pushing any harder would clearly backfire. Still, getting a mixed bath with his party members at all was something, and he contented himself with that.
Haa... Why do I have to stress over garbage like this?
In the end, they were going to take a mixed bath with Jacks. The swimsuit condition helped, but the party members still felt a deep sense of self-loathing. The fact of bathing with Hero Jacks itself was humiliating enough — but there was something worse. The sheer fact that they were wasting energy arguing over something this petty was exhausting. Herald and Hero Lee Hansu, at least, had seemed genuinely committed to being heroes... so why did every hero after them refuse to act like one? The fact that they had to put their faith in a hero like this was just sad.
Can this hero even actually defeat the Demon King?
Honestly, the party members found it hard to put any real trust in this one. The other heroes hadn't inspired much confidence either, but Hero Jacks inspired even less. Three heroes had already failed to subdue the Demon King. Could this one possibly succeed where they hadn't? Right now, the party members kept their mouths shut out of a sense of duty — they had to defeat the Demon King. But deep down, the doubt never stopped gnawing at them. And no matter how much he claimed the blood of a Sword Saint, he seemed weaker than the other heroes, not stronger. He didn't look strong at all.
"Girls... what do you think about just deserting?"
In the end, unable to hold it in any longer, Luna — the mage of the hero party — opened her mouth, and they had no choice but to hold a serious discussion behind Jacks's back.
At this rate, something bad was bound to happen again.