Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Return to the World - 1
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Elenor was trapped in darkness.
"Pretty little thing, ain't she? Sell her off to some noble, and we'd make a proper fortune, right?"
"Cut the bullshit. She's high-born, and the Imperial Family's hunting this bitch down. Focus on completing the contract."
Her body wouldn't move. Paralyzed with terror, she could only pray for a way out of this dim, suffocating place.
But for a little girl like her, there was no escaping this box. The small coffin loaded onto the wagon was bound tight.
Even if she somehow fled, the men standing guard would beat her senseless and drag her back here. Just like they'd done several times before.
'...It's a dream.'
Yet her mind, imprisoned there, vaguely recalled that this was all an illusion.
Even so, she couldn't open her eyes. No matter how much she strained her eyelids, nothing but pitch blackness met her gaze.
'I have to move...'
Her body no longer felt like her own. She couldn't even twitch a fingertip.
Powerless. Utterly helpless.
She couldn't put up any resistance against the people out to harm her.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
With a scream, she jolted awake from the nightmare.
It was the Imperial Family's hospital ward. She could hear the footsteps of nurses and priests bustling about.
"You've awakened, Princess."
"The situation! What's the situation? It was urgent..."
"For now, don't think about anything. Just rest. And please don't try to force any movements."
The place where she lay was no cold, hard coffin, but a soft, warm bed.
"My body... ugh, it won't..."
"Even recovery spells can't mend crushed bones in an instant."
As she tried to twist her body ever so slightly, pain exploded within her—like tiny swordsmen hacking her apart piece by piece.
Her shattered bone fragments sliced into every bit of flesh, stabbing and slashing like the blades of master butchers carving up a carcass.
"Ugh... hff, the situation..."
"You're safe for now. At least at the moment. His Majesty's orders prevent me from saying more."
She collapsed back, powerless once more, forcibly dredging up the rest of the dream she'd just had. That memory was what had sustained her.
"You're not hurt, are you, my dear?"
The golden-haired elder in splendid robes chuckled heartily as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Jewels and ornaments dangled from his body, but beneath them, he felt soft and comforting.
"My daughter."
She'd never seen the man before. Without understanding why he called her daughter, the young Elenor nestled into his arms anyway.
"Why are those people... doing this to me..."
"That's a tough question. It's because they shirk their duties."
"Duties?"
"People with responsibilities don't neglect them. Be it their family, their empire, their own lives, their efforts—or even just a patch of land or a rundown shop."
The emperor's glittering jewels and the guards surrounding them burrowed deep into the young Elenor's heart.
"But people with nothing to protect... they're different. They have no responsibilities, nothing worth guarding. That's why they fall so easily to temptation."
Simple words, but to Elenor—rescued from a kidnapping where she couldn't see even an inch ahead—they held profound meaning. They became a milestone in her life.
She trained to fulfill her duties. Endlessly, with an intensity that seemed brutal for a child, for a woman—for anyone.
For a knight's duty. For a princess's duty. She pushed herself to the brink with the harshest training imaginable.
But now, she couldn't even move.
"...Wasn't I the Hero?"
From some point on, she'd been deluded.
Using the Hero's power, fighting monsters firsthand with blood and sweat pouring down, everyone calling her the Hero. She'd fallen for the illusion.
The Emperor had performed the ritual to transfer his power to Elenor, believing it the most efficient choice. But had it really been?
The Hero doesn't have to fight with a sword. They would wield a holy sword in some form or another, but there's no need to stand at the forefront slashing enemies down.
History recorded Heroes who used magic, Heroes who used bows, even ones who fired small metal projectiles—odd as that was. In extremes, there were even necromancers.
If he truly could reclaim the Hero's power 'at any time' as he'd said, the depth of his patience and consideration was beyond imagining.
If she'd used that power for divine arts instead.
Perhaps she could have slain the Demon King before him.
Perhaps she could have ended this journey with far fewer sacrifices than she had.
Lying in her sickbed, staring at the ceiling, Elenor felt her own powerlessness acutely. The thought of how to face his anger now filled her with a dizzying despair.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Revenge is revenge, and life is life.
Even if I made some grand decision, not everyone else would notice or care.
In the end, having resolved to survive here and achieve my goal, I had to play by this world's rules for the time being.
Sitting blankly on a rickety chair, waiting around, I realized just how many privileges I'd been enjoying before.
Not that I wanted to go back, of course.
"Enerel. Your goblin extermination quest has been officially issued. We recommend a party of four or more. You need to bring back at least two goblin right ears per person."
The receptionist's flat, toneless voice drilled into my ears. She'd repeated the same spiel several times just today alone—her expression looked utterly drained.
"Once you've submitted proof, we'll issue your basic adventurer certification within two weeks. There's a huge backlog of applicants right now, and we have to shuttle the paperwork ourselves, so it might take a bit."
"Something going on?"
The receptionist didn't change expression as she replied.
"When the Demon King shows up, adventuring gets risky. The monsters that appear get all jumbled in number and type, so most people avoid that period."
"Got it."
"Also, be aware that if it's later proven you bought goblin ears for the qualification process or have a criminal record, it can be revoked at any time."
I nodded blankly.
Without any real plan, I'd just blundered my way out of the palace. A blood-soaked guy wandering the imperial castle should've drawn attention, but the chaos let me slip out unscathed.
I had no desire to beg the palace for more handouts. Even if I ended up needing a mage or priest's help eventually, I wanted to handle what I could on my own first.
To do that, I needed to carve out something for myself.
-Can I talk now?
As I left the guild building and walked the streets, the holy sword spoke up quietly.
"Do whatever."
-S-Sorry about before! I was suddenly in your hand and didn't know what was going on...
"Doesn't matter."
If I'm going solo, this sword might be my only conversation partner. Better to get friendly early.
I'd hated it when it got grabbed amid life-or-death chaos and started chattering excitedly about adventures. But somehow, here I was, forced into adventuring anyway.
-Phew, I'm glad! Alright, I'll guide you step by step! I still remember the capital pretty well. The goblin nest is...
"Wait, you actually know where it is?"
I'd been wondering who to even ask about that.
-Those places don't change much. Human greed doesn't shift across the ages!
"Oh..."
Stepping outside, a wave of exhaustion hit me out of nowhere. I wanted to collapse right there. I'd rushed out without a single coin, and the clothes that'd seemed valuable were shredded from yesterday's fight.
If I hadn't been summoned as a Hero but just dropped into this world with zero explanation, this is probably how it'd have started.
I looked up at the sky—the same empty sky I'd seen countless times.
No Hero nagging me to train. No archer giving me cold looks and telling me to wash up.
No need for nonstop marches to stop the Demon King. No suffocating pressure that someone would die if I rested.
Walking for myself. Moving for my own homecoming. It was a thrilling sensation I'd long forgotten.
Or maybe I was just a bit giddy from not seeing those party members for a single day.
-Gonna rest up today?
"Rest where? I don't have a penny to my name. Goblins aren't that dangerous, so might as well wrap that up and earn something."
I had no intention of sticking around the capital long-term. I quickened my steps toward the goblin nest the sword had mentioned.
-Right turn here. Hmm, it's changed a fair bit, but this should be fine!
"No, seriously, you remember all this?"
I'd figured she only recalled the general area, but surprisingly, she nailed the exact spot.
-This alley's only changed three times, I swear!
"That's a dizzyingly long time..."
But the place she'd led me to—what she called the goblin nest—was just an empty lot strewn with rubble.
"Nothing here?"
-Th-There should be a cave right there! It's... gone, I guess! Even with my good memory, comparing to a few hundred years ago...
I let out a deep sigh. My mistake for trusting a sword that can't even move on its own.
"Well, we'll just have to search slowly."