The Second Hero (3)

The village I arrived at this time was Helena Village.

It was a modest little settlement not far from the Empire, and aside from one thing, there was nothing particularly special about it compared to any other village.

That one thing was this: the people here didn't farm for food. They cultivated flowers.

They made their living selling the oil pressed from the blooms, the seeds, and the flowers themselves to the Empire. That was why it was known as the Village of Flowers.

"Hello. My name is Hans. I've come from the Empire looking to settle down and take up farming. I hope we'll get along."

I had only just arrived.

The moment I set foot in the village, I went to find the village chief. I explained my situation and asked to be accepted as a member of the community.

I used the alias Hans instead of my real name, Lee Hansu, and I made no mention of the fact that I had been the Hero. Telling them would only make things awkward, and for someone who just wanted to live a quiet, ordinary life, there was absolutely no reason to bring it up.

Hopefully they'll take me in.

"Ah, so you're Hans, from the Empire. I don't know what brought you to a place like this, but new faces are always welcome. Come along—I'll introduce you to everyone."

When I greeted the chief, he welcomed me with a warm, easy smile.

Huh? That easy?

Without missing a beat, he led me straight to where the villagers were working the fields.

"This is Hans. He's new to our village. A young man who came looking to leave the city behind and take up farming, so treat him well."

"Hans, is it? I do blacksmithing over that way. Name's Rex. Just call me Uncle Rex."

"I run the restaurant on the other side of the village. Come by whenever you're hungry. Though don't expect free meals, hoho."

The chief introduced me to the others, and one by one the villagers greeted me with genuine kindness. They offered their names, welcomed me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the village, and not a single one of them showed so much as a hint of rejection.

I had been half-worried that they might shun an outsider from the Empire, but those fears turned out to be completely unfounded.

Back on Earth, rural communities had often been colder and more closed off than city folk. In this world, though, that culture didn't seem to exist. They welcomed me with open arms.

Not bad people at all.

Pretty decent, actually.

First impressions were good. Of course, I'd have to live here a while to be sure, but nothing about the place struck me as unpleasant. The people were kind, and settling down here to farm in peace didn't sound half bad.

I was standing there, soaking in the attention and the warm welcome, when I suddenly felt a strange gaze fixed on me.

"Hm...?"

I turned my head. Off in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠distance, a girl was watching me intently. She had a rather cute look about her, but the way she was staring was... odd.

Why is she looking at me like that?

Is she one of the villagers too?

Her interest naturally drew mine in return, and before I knew it our eyes met.

She bolted.

The instant our gazes locked, the girl spun around and fled in a panic.

And now she's running away? What is going on?

I stood there completely dumbfounded.

What is with that kid?

"Ah. That child? She's one the church is looking after for the time being. No parents, and terribly shy around strangers. Be kind to her, will you?"

The chief, who had been watching beside me, offered an explanation. An orphan taken in by the church—what people commonly called a parentless child. A bit of an unusual one, he said, but nothing to think poorly of.

"Hmm... I see."

Not that I had any reason to think poorly of her in the first place. I'd just been a little startled by the way she'd been staring from afar. I wasn't particularly interested beyond that.

Still, for someone who supposedly had nothing to say, she had looked like she wanted to tell me something.

Wouldn't hurt to talk to her if the chance comes up later.

I decided to leave it for another day and went back to chatting with the villagers.

"It's getting late. I'll show you to an empty house—you can stay there for now."

"Understood."

Time slipped by as I exchanged greetings with what felt like every member of the village. We made small talk, got to know one another a little, and before I realized it the day had faded into evening.

The villagers drifted off to their own homes, and the chief led me to a shabby little house.

"So this is where I'll be living."

This was going to be my home from now on. Honestly, it didn't look like much. The place was run-down in every direction, and stepping inside kicked up thick clouds of dust. There were repairs needed just about everywhere you looked. It was the kind of house no one would willingly live in.

But a free house was a free house. I had been fully prepared to sleep in a stable if nothing turned up, so I was more than grateful. And as bad as it looked now, a thorough cleaning and some patching up would probably make it decent enough. If I still hated it after that, I could always earn some money and move somewhere else later.

"Cleaning can wait until tomorrow. For now, rest."

Right now, all I wanted was to lie down.

I brushed the worst of the dust off the bed and stretched out on it. With a Hero's body, physical fatigue barely registered—but mental exhaustion was another matter entirely. Even a Hero needed rest for the mind. Heroes were people too. People.

I lay there and let my thoughts settle into a quiet stillness.

"Starting tomorrow I'll be farming with everyone else. It's really starting to sink in that I've quit being a Hero."

The chief had said we'd work the fields together beginning tomorrow. Flower farming was still farming. Hard physical labor made up most of it, and a young man's strength was always welcome.

From this point on, I would live as an ordinary member of this village. The fact that I was no longer a Hero felt more real than ever. Just yesterday I had been the Hero, and now I was going to farm flowers. Life really did take the strangest turns.

"Alright. Time to make a good life here."

Not that I had any lingering attachment to being a Hero. If anything, I never wanted to do it again. No matter how much honor the title carried, the job fundamentally required putting your life on the line. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Risking your neck was never easy. And if I kept at it, I'd eventually have to face that insanely powerful Demon King again. I had zero interest in a rematch.

Looking back, I was lucky things turned out this way. I should have quit being a Hero a long time ago.

"Hm...? What's that?"

As I lay there idly passing the time, something on the floor caught my eye—a newspaper that had fallen there.

I got up and picked it up.

Someone was reading the paper in here?

Well, lounging around with a newspaper in an empty house wasn't exactly unheard of.

"Yesterday's date. Might as well take a look."

The date was recent—yesterday's paper, still practically warm off the press. I had assumed a rural village wouldn't get newspapers at all, but this place was closer to the Empire than I'd thought. The papers apparently arrived right on schedule.

I had nothing better to do and was bored anyway, so I opened it up. Yesterday was the day I'd stepped down as Hero. I was curious what the papers had to say.

"Figures. Nothing nice."

Of course not.

I had expected as much, but the paper was filled with nothing but venom.

The entire front page was plastered with nothing but negative coverage of me.

"Ugh. Tch..."

These bastards.

Part of me wanted to rip the paper to shreds on the spot, but I held back and turned the page. The Empire was just being the Empire. I should have been used to it by now.

I steadied myself and kept reading at a measured pace.

"Hm...? A new Hero?"

What was this?

Something interesting had caught my eye.

They'd already picked a replacement the moment I stepped down?

Who on earth had they chosen?

As someone who had been the Hero until literally yesterday, I couldn't help but be curious. I turned the page slowly, eager to find out who my successor was.

What? This guy is the Hero?

What I found made me doubt my own eyes.

"What? Herald is the Hero?"

My successor was Herald.

The Herald I knew was a Knight Commander well over sixty. There might have been some other Herald out there, but odds were this was the same man. And he was the Hero?

"Are these people filming a comedy sketch right now?"

Why in the world was he the Hero?

No matter how I looked at it, that man was nowhere near Hero material. I would stake my life on it—if a guy like him went up against the Demon King, it was a one-way ticket straight to the afterlife.