Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Scar-5
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"...Stop fooling around and just come in."
"Got it."
I was sitting on the inn room bed when Nerwen opened the door and stepped inside.
"I figured seeing my face wouldn't sit well with you..."
"Of course it doesn't."
Still, leaving her outside a perfectly fine inn door would draw too much attention.
"I got your signal."
We were traveling at a distance from each other, but I needed a way to contact her in an emergency.
Burning that specific incense to summon her had worked better than expected.
"I thought you'd report in first. There was talk of an orc horde."
Obviously, no scout in this backwater village, no matter how skilled, could outdo an elf.
"Mm. About that..."
"Spit it out. Why did I have to hear about this from someone else instead of you?"
Nerwen hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Fine. That was my mistake. Sorry."
"Mistake? There's no way you didn't know about it."
"Of course I knew. But I didn't think it was worth reporting."
"Why not?"
The orc horde's stirring was major news. Her not reporting it could only be deliberate.
"...In our previous journeys, orc packs that size wandering around were just par for the course."
"Ah."
"Fighting them was a waste, and we could dodge them easily. Once we put some distance between us, Pashier handled it with her concealment spells."
"Yeah, that tracks..."
When we entered demon territory, packs stronger than that were countless. Compared to them, a few thousand orcs were just fodder not worth mentioning.
"But you couldn't win against them, right?"
"I still don't know your full strength. Compared to the previous... no, the fake Hero."
I gave a wry smile and stroked the holy sword.
'Hero's sword aura. When can I use it...'
-You might be able to if you fought right now? But don't get your hopes up. Normally, that light fades after the Demon King is defeated, you know? That picky girl was the exception—usually, it's like that!
I still couldn't infuse light into the holy sword.
When I focused or got angry, light particles would flare around my body, but to use it in combat, I'd have to drop the sword and learn hand-to-hand fighting instead.
"Sigh... Much weaker. Hate to admit it, but I'm not that strong yet. Can't even handle sword aura."
"According to Elenor, using sword aura consumes the Hero's power too. Skipping it should boost your combat endurance."
"That's not the issue."
I'd swung the sword alone a few times. Bit by bit, I was judging myself objectively.
Compared to the Hero's mythical movements, combat skills, endurance, and raw power, I fell woefully short.
Of course, the Hero's power wasn't insignificant—even in a little girl, it would make her a powerhouse.
"No need to compare yourself to her. She was just a fake Hero swayed by fake power."
"Still, she was your friend and comrade. That's pretty harsh."
"I have no intention of treating someone who hid the most important fact as an elf friend."
Come to think of it, I hadn't even wondered what she was up to in the capital. Hopefully, she was suffering.
"But that power of hers was real."
As time passed, the Hero's role in battles grew larger. She'd charge enemy lines first to draw attention, handling everything her sword could with her sword.
"I said it again—no need to compare. Her power was just abnormally strong to begin with."
The uproar at the palace succeeded half due to luck and circumstances.
No matter how mighty that old knight was, he couldn't go all-out in the chaos and must have felt his stamina limits.
Elenor hadn't adapted to suddenly losing the Hero's power, and I knew her inside out.
Even accounting for all that, I could rank among the world's top fighters, but my abilities weren't infinite.
"...Yeah. Anyway, she'll never wield the Hero's power again."
A warrior since childhood, the most talented one who'd gained the Hero's power too. In a world without the Demon King, that overwhelming strength wasn't needed.
"If you fought the orcs, would you lose?"
"No idea. Brute-force stamina battles aren't my forte, and I don't know your exact capabilities."
"A thousand orcs? If the others hold out, maybe..."
"Four thousand. And growing."
Even more than I thought. At this scale, the territorial army would be annihilated the moment we clashed head-on.
An excessive number, but fighting demon hordes in open fields was absurd to begin with. Human lives are finite; demons' aren't.
By the book, we'd use castles and siege engines. Lured demon packs would charge through any terrain, so we'd pour boiling oil and drop heavy stones to even the exchange rate.
Or use mages. If Pashier prepared, one grand spell could turn countless orcs into burning meat lumps.
But I doubted we could pull off strategies like that here.
"More dangerous than I thought."
No castles nearby. Even if there were, they'd likely not suit defense. Or lack space for all the citizens.
"Nah, not dangerous. With just you, we could relocate anytime."
"...True enough."
Facing thousands of orcs head-on might be tough.
But dozens of tamed wolves? Nerwen's arrows would handle them easily.
Unlike what the noble said, escaping with just myself was simple.
"Not sure about the maid, though..."
"I could carry her and run. I've got the strength."
"Again...? Again?!"
But fleeing like that meant I couldn't guarantee these people's lives.
I didn't have to care. I had no duty to worry about every one of them.
Still, who knew how many would die. Even if reinforcements arrived miraculously, those in the fight would suffer near-total losses.
People I'd just been talking to would die. Their lives would end, and I'd never see them again.
No deep attachment. Just folks I'd brushed past once for some amusement. Strangers who didn't even know each other's names.
I'd sworn off playing hero. I wasn't the Hero, nor on the Hero's journey.
Still, it left a bitter taste.
I bit my lip.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Two more quit today."
Elenor had barely donned her armor again, but no good news came here either.
"Traitor bastards..."
"Don't say that. It's my fault."
"..."
Her knights' loyalty was unquestionable, but that same steadfastness bred ambition for honor.
Knights were someone's sons, friends too. Rare orphans aside, they all had ties outside the order.
The social climate was brutal. Nobles deliberately branded them "bandit knights" and worse.
No matter how much they trusted Elenor, they couldn't publicly rage and refute topics she'd told them not to mention.
They'd followed her for glory. Because she deserved glory.
Not all, but some felt betrayed learning she wasn't the Hero.
"Could it be, like the rumors say... you're being threatened by that man?"
"Don't entertain nonsense. He just took back power that was never mine."
Opinions on Leodrín Enel varied.
Some saw him as a traitor slandering Elenor; others, a victim caught in conspiracy.
"I'm sorry. Because of me, I've caused trouble for everyone."
"Compared to what you've done for us, Captain, this is nothing. And above all... we believe in you."
Elenor bowed her head deeply, speechless.
"What was he doing now... that man."
"Traveling somewhere. Sharing inns with one maid."
Even without plans to grab him yet, imperial agents still monitored Leodrín Enel.
"An elf archer was moving nearby too, but we haven't clarified their exact relation. Is he tailing the elf, or is she luring him into a trap...?"
"...Understood."
Elenor ground her teeth. The situation had already slipped from her grasp.
This made her see why the Emperor had begged her to mend ties with him.
Even imperial authority was no longer a shield against him.
If he returned, the situation would still be beyond his control.
No matter his conciliatory words, those slandering her would see it as coercion or submission.
"If the next battle starts, how many do you think will follow?"
"The ones left will come in the end. It's Her Highness the Princess's order, after all... But those hesitating will leave the order."
Enemies aplenty, tasks piling up. Yet no drive to move.
Today, Elenor's armor felt heavier than ever.