Fame
The morning sunlight streamed through the windows as Hwian and Serena met once again in the hallway outside the guest rooms.
“Good morning…. You don’t look so good. What’s wrong?”
“Ahaha…. I’m not used to the bed, so I tossed and turned all night. It’s nothing serious.”
“Really? Hmm.”
Serena rubbed at her eyes with her small, delicate hands, smiling awkwardly. Though faint traces of exhaustion still lingered on her face, she straightened her posture to show she was truly fine. Hwian felt a flicker of concern but finally shrugged.
“Just don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I won’t. Will you be heading to the mine again today?”
“I have to. I need to finish the request I accepted. While I’m at it, I’ll look into why there are suddenly so many mantises in the tunnels….”
The schedule was largely the same as yesterday—subduing monsters, treating the wounded, and searching for the cause if time allowed.
But not entirely.
“…The worshippers. I need to hunt down the ones I missed and wipe them out.”
Hwian muttered the words, clenching his fist lightly.
Worshippers, the Second Prince—anything that stood in his way would be crushed. That was all.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
With that quiet vow burning in his chest, he set off with firm strides. Serena followed close behind, her steps quick and light.
The morning sun beat down with surprising intensity, warming their hair. White clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky, lending a peaceful charm to the clear day.
After a ten-minute walk, they reached the entrance to the deep shaft.
Amid the rising clouds of dust, the same bustling crowd of miners from yesterday filled the area. Bearded, grime-covered middle-aged men. Rough workers with jagged scars and thick, corded muscles. Even miners missing an arm or a leg.
When Serena saw them watching the situation with visible tension, a faint shadow crossed her face.
“There are… so many of them. They were all so badly hurt yesterday.”
“This is the kind of place that draws desperate people. Losing a limb or two doesn’t even register for them.”
“…It’s sad.”
“Can’t be helped. Everyone chose this for their own reasons.”
Hwian led the solemnly nodding Serena past the iron bars that divided the sections. Their footsteps echoed heavily.
“It’s still early, so let’s head into the tunnels together for now. We’ll go in, analyze any traces of the ritual, come back out for a short break, then treat the injured. We’ll move as a pair today. We have more time than we did yesterday.”
“Understood.”
“Good. Once we’re inside, watch your step. Don’t walk blindly in the dark. Avoid making loud noises—it might draw the mantises. Also—”
Hwian passed on every piece of knowledge needed to navigate the mines. While it was certainly dangerous for a novice to enter recklessly, he had calculated that she would be safe at his side.
As he continued the explanation, he glanced around to read the atmosphere.
“Hmm?”
Something felt off.
The moment they appeared, the miners began murmuring among themselves, their eyes turning toward them. More precisely, toward Serena behind him. Hwian tilted his head.
What’s this about?
“Um…. Excuse me, Princess?”
“Yes?”
While Hwian was still puzzled, one of the miners approached Serena and spoke to her cautiously.
She turned her head, pure white hair fluttering lightly. The miner caught sight of the earring on her ear, and his face brightened as he bowed deeply.
“Ah…. Thank you!!”
“Eh? Oh, um…?”
“I heard you healed my father here yesterday! They said his torso was cut so deeply that he was in danger. If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened….”
“W-wait…?! P-please don’t cry! Are you all right?!”
Serena’s voice rose in panic as the young miner’s tears fell freely.
Even as she tried to comfort him, the man continued shedding tears of gratitude. Only then did Hwian understand the meaning behind all those stares.
Reverence….
Several of the younger miners gazed at her with deep gratitude. Others looked on with surprise and wonder, while a few watched her with faintly warm eyes.
Well, when you think about how rare healing mages are, it makes sense.
Even Hwian had cast aside his deep-rooted suspicions the moment he saw her pouring every ounce of strength into treating the wounded.
A small, youthful-looking mage who burned with compassion and rushed about without rest.
Once they learned she was royalty, there was no need to imagine how the miners would react.
A noble lady has come down from on high to heal us! Something like that. That must have been the feeling.
In a world divided by class, commoners often lived their entire lives without ever laying eyes on high nobility, let alone royalty. For a princess from the royal palace to personally bestow healing magic upon them must have seemed like a miracle made flesh.
In the palace she might be scorned as the child of a concubine, but among the common people, she was sacred royalty.
Both Hwian and Serena were freshly reminded that a person’s treatment could change completely depending on where they stood.
“…It feels strange.”
“What does?”
“Being thanked. In the palace, I could count on one hand the number of times I heard words like that.”
The miners bowed from a respectful distance. Serena waved back shyly, murmuring in a somewhat dazed voice. Startled by the sudden gratitude, her free hand had unconsciously clutched tight to the hem of Hwian’s clothes.
He placed a gentle hand on her soft hair and answered quietly.
“You’ll get used to it soon enough. That’s what it means to travel with the hero.”
“Is that so…?”
“It is. That’s the hero’s true purpose—to raise a nation’s honor. World peace, defeating the Demon King… those are all just the surface reasons.”
A hero was a political being.
A summoned existence brought forth to elevate a country’s prestige. That was what a hero meant in this world.
As the one being used, Hwian could only scoff at the idea, but facts were facts.
For his part, he would simply make full use of the fame gathering around him.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect the reaction to be this strong, but it’s a good thing. Hold your head high. This is your achievement.”
“…Did I really help?”
“Help? You did more than that. Look, here he comes.”
At the end of the direction Hwian pointed, a young man came running.
His clothes were neat for someone working in a mine, and his well-cared-for skin radiated the aura of someone important.
“F-first time meeting you, Your Highness the Princess. I’m terribly sorry for greeting you so late….”
“Um, who might you be?”
“Ahem. I am Hainkel, the fourth administrator of the Kelib Silver Mine! I only just received word that Your Highness had arrived and came running at once.”
The young man, Hainkel, bowed while sweat poured down his forehead.
As expected, a high-ranking official had appeared the moment their fame began to spread. Hwian smiled and stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you, Hainkel. Sorry to get straight to business, but I have a few questions.”
“Oh? This is an honor, but Princess, this gentleman is…?”
“Ah. He is the hero who was summoned recently.”
“…Ah!”
Hainkel straightened his back a beat late at Serena’s introduction. Deciding the man seemed rather entertaining, Hwian shrugged.
“I need as many tunnel exploration reports from the adventurers as you can gather. I’d also like to know if there are any natural caves leading deeper into the mountains. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could mobilize people to search for the latter.”
Before his regression, in the early days of his journey, Hwian could never have made such demands.
No matter that he was the summoned hero, to the people he was little more than mercenary A. Without fame, achievements, or proven skill, those in power had never bothered to listen.
Even after returning, he had assumed that part would remain the same. His abilities far surpassed what they had been, but he still lacked fame and a track record.
But….
“…Hmm.”
“…Hero?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hwian glanced at Serena beside him and shrugged again. The way she tilted her head in mild confusion brought an unexpected smile to his lips.
The situation was unfolding far better than anticipated. All thanks to the little princess working so hard on his behalf.
He had gained fame several times faster than expected, and he could now even make use of the authority and power that came with royalty.
He could move several times faster than he had before his regression.
“Y-yes! Understood, Hero. I’ll check right away and deliver them to you.”
“Good. You’re a lifesaver. In that case, we’ll head inside for a quick look around—”
“Ah, it would actually be better if you waited here for a moment.”
“Hmm? Why?”
Hwian tilted his head at the unexpected reply.
“His Highness the Second Prince entered the tunnels a few hours ago! He should be emerging soon to share the results of his exploration.”
At those words, Hwian’s face crumpled.
It was far from welcome news.