The Last Hero (7)
What, did the Hero's party come looking for me or something?
On my way home, turning over who might have come to find me, the members of the Hero's party crossed my mind. Around this time, that Jacks fellow—or whatever his name was—should have been failing about now. I'd been thinking they might start looking for me soon enough.
No matter how dense and stupid they were, after three Heroes had dropped dead, even they would have to catch on. So yes, I'd figured they might come looking eventually.
But setting that aside—there was no chance it was actually the Hero's party. How would those people even know I was here? The place I was living was nothing more than a backwater village with barely any contact with the cities. How were they supposed to find me in a place like this?
Besides, I had only just come back from the Artes Kingdom. I'd shown my face there and headed straight here. If anything, they would have gone to Artes—not arrived ahead of me and sat waiting. The odds of that were zero.
"Well then. Let's see who it is."
So who could it be? With that question hanging in my mind, I reached my house—and finally got my answer.
"Ah...! You're the Hero-nim, aren't you? Hello."
"A nymph?"
What? Why was a nymph here?
The woman waiting for me was a nymph. Golden hair, a delicate face—to ordinary eyes she would have looked like nothing more than a pretty human girl. But I was a Hero. I saw through her at a glance. Those translucent fairy wings ordinary people couldn't see—that was the proof she was a nymph.
A nymph knowing I was here wasn't strange, at least. That was when I understood how she'd tracked me down. By their nature, nymphs could speak with nature itself—trees, grass, and the spirits dwelling within them. She must have asked them where I was.
"What's a nymph doing all the way out here?"
"Ah... You're being awfully cold, aren't you? Does Hero-nim not like nymphs? Let me introduce myself first. My name is Elinia. And the reason I came looking for Hero-nim is..."
When I answered her frostily, the nymph girl looked like she thought I was being unfair—an injured, put-upon expression, as if there was no need to shut the door in her face quite so hard. Even so, she tried to push the conversation forward by introducing herself.
"That's enough. I don't know what you want from me, but I'm not a Hero anymore. Just go."
I wasn't an idiot. Why would a nymph go out of her way to find a Hero? She definitely hadn't come to some rural village for a casual visit. And she already knew I was a Hero. Obviously she'd come to ask me for something. Transparent. Completely transparent.
I cut her off and waved her away with a flick of my hand. I was busy. Leave.
"You're already trying to throw me out? Uuugh... Please don't. Can't you at least hear me out?"
"Nope. Move. I need to clean."
Even so, the nymph who had introduced herself as Elinia didn't leave. She hovered around me, clearly desperate to talk. I ignored her and sorted through my things. Sorry, but I had work to do. The house had been empty a long time—it was probably buried in dust.
Still ignoring the nymph, I picked up the broom by the front entrance and opened the door.
"Huh...?"
I was a little startled. Something was off. It shouldn't have been this clean. I'd been gone for well over a month. The place ought to have been thick with dust—and yet, somehow, the house was spotless. Not a speck to be found. Who on earth had cleaned all of this?
As I stood there looking baffled, the nymph behind me cleared her throat with a pointed little ahem.
"Hehe... If it's the cleaning, I took care of all of it while Hero-nim was away."
She looked immensely proud of herself. So she'd cleaned my house while I was gone?
"The cleaning's done, so won't you talk with me now?"
She demanded a conversation the way someone might demand praise—or a reward. I cleaned for you, so let's talk, her whole manner said.
"Move. I'm going to eat."
Of course I wasn't going to talk. Cleaning the place was a kindness, sure—but breaking into someone's home without permission was still a crime, wasn't it? And I had never asked her to clean. Anyone could see she'd done it expecting something in return. I had no particular reason to be grateful for that kind of self-serving favor.
I brushed her off and headed into the kitchen to eat.
"Whoa..."
And once again, I had no choice but to be surprised. The table was laden with a full feast.
"I prepared that ahead of time too. A proper, nutritious meal. I didn't know what you'd like, so I made lots."
This, too, was clearly the work of the nymph standing in front of me. Same proud look as with the cleaning. Impressive. Truly impressive. I had to admit I was impressed.
"Get out."
But impressive was one thing. Leaving was another.
I picked up the nymph—Elinia—and tossed her out the window.
"Kyaaah!!!"
Jacks Eners, newly appointed as Hero, could hardly contain his delight at the thought of sharing a mixed bath with his party.
Hehe... Getting to bathe with beauties like these...
After pleading with the party members—women counted among the most stunning on the continent—he had finally secured a mixed bath with them. Having them wear swimsuits was a bit of a letdown, true, but still. A mixed bath was a mixed bath. Even that much was more than good enough for him.
Becoming a Hero really was the right call.
The whole reason Jacks had wanted to become a Hero in the first place was the party members. Every last one of them was beautiful enough to rank among the continent's finest. Jacks had fallen for them at first sight. As a noble's son he'd seen plenty of women, but never any prettier than these. The Saintess, the elf, the beastman, the mage—each of them was a peerless beauty without exaggeration. How could any man not be taken with them? Any man who saw them would feel the pull, and Jacks was no exception.
Those party members are mine now.
Jacks had always envied the Hero. Living alongside beauties like that—he'd wanted to be a Hero so badly it burned. Of course, becoming one had been no easy feat. He wasn't a knight or anything of the sort. He had an ancestor who'd been the Sword Saint, sure, but that wasn't him. He was just an ordinary imperial bureaucrat. With no real opportunity, he hadn't honestly expected much. He'd written it off as a dream—and then this chance had fallen into his lap. Who could have seen that coming?
Looking at his party members, Jacks felt nothing short of rapture.
Once we take down the Demon King, I'll marry them all. Build myself a harem.
For now it was just a mixed bath, but Jacks fully intended to marry every member of the party—not one of them, all of them. Wasn't it common knowledge that a Hero took his party members as wives under polygamy? That was a Hero's natural right. Heroes throughout history had kept multiple wives. Jacks's goal was the same: a happy life surrounded by beautiful women every single day. And for that, he would need to defeat the Demon King.
Eh, it'll be fine. I've got some incredible power sleeping inside me, I'm sure of it.
Of course, Jacks knew better than anyone that he couldn't beat the Demon King as he was now. But he was a descendant of the Sword Saint—the man who had once stood equal to a Hero. There had to be some of that power in him. Legend said his Sword Saint ancestor had unleashed tremendous strength in moments of crisis. Jacks surely had that same gift. People had always called him a genius, just as they had the Sword Saint. Talent on that level had to be lying dormant in him somewhere.
"Lord Jacks... we're ready."
While Jacks was lost in his fantasies, the party members came in. As agreed, they were wearing swimsuits, here to share the bath with him. Ohhh... incredible. Jacks had already gotten into the hot spring and was waiting when the party filed in wearing their swimsuits. Each one had chosen something distinctive, and they looked adorable and beautiful. So this was the Hero's party's swimwear, huh? Jacks made no effort to hide his delight.
"Ugh..."
The party members, for their part, looked at Jacks with open distaste. For them, this was hardly a pleasant experience. But that didn't matter to him in the slightest. These were the women who would be his wives someday. So what if they disliked him a little now?
Should I just go for it?
If anything, Jacks wanted to move things along faster. After a moment's thought, he decided he would force himself on the party members that very night. They were going to get married once the Demon King was dead anyway... Mixing bodies a little early wouldn't be so bad. And who knew—maybe the party members were secretly hoping Jacks would take the lead himself?