The Hero Party Marches to Its Doom, Blissfully Ignorant
The Hero Party set out without the faintest idea that they were utterly fucked.
Three years have passed since I, Leonhart, received the oracle from the temple and was bestowed with the glory of the Hero.
And it was around that same time that the detestable traitor suddenly appeared before me.
Yes… Werther came looking for me as if he had been targeting me from the start.
I should have realized his wicked true nature back then…
Leonhart’s handsome face truly shone in moments like this. The delicate, almost androgynous pretty boy delivered his lines like a seasoned actor, and the older noblewomen were already firmly on his side.
“He was strangely obsessed with the Demon Continent. Yes, it was almost… like homesickness. Perhaps he intended to use us to return to his homeland and offer us up to the Demon King. As proof, from the very first day he kept pushing recklessly to go slay the Demon King. Think about it. How long had it been since I became the Hero? To already rush off to fight the Demon King? That was clearly the Demon King’s scheme to kill the Hero before I could grow strong!”
“So what you’re saying, Hero… is that this Werther person was a spy for the Demon King’s army?”
“Exactly!!”
When one of the noblewomen raised her hand to ask a question, Leonhart clapped as if he had been waiting for it.
“Just think about it, everyone. That bastard injured me—the Hero—so badly that I couldn’t even move, and he had the audacity to rebel against His Imperial Majesty. Because of that incident, His Majesty suffered full-body burns and is still suffering even now…”
“Enough about me, Hero. I don’t even want to think about that day.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Thanks to Perma’s desperate efforts, the Emperor had barely survived with half his body covered in severe burns. Even now, he spent more than four hours a day on burn treatment, which interfered with his political duties. The furious Emperor had tried to exterminate Perma’s entire bloodline, but Perma—who had lived a lonely life treating the princess like his own child—had no living relatives except for his recently deceased wife. In the end, the Emperor was left like a dog chasing a chicken that had already flown away.
The greatest grudge, however, was that the burns had spread to his scalp, preventing him from wearing a wig. As a result, he was still exposing his bald head for all to see, living up to his nickname of “Octopus-Head Emperor.” Honestly, it was hard to say that no one had come just to see that bald head.
“The reason I couldn’t use my power that day was because of some black magic cast by that demonic bastard. I never imagined he would be a traitor, so I had no choice but to suffer helplessly.”
“Black magic?”
“That’s right, young lady.”
A cute young noble girl who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen widened her eyes in disbelief. She had actually met Werther before. During a social party, she had suddenly suffered a terrible stomachache and was in dire straits. Werther had handed her some medicine for diarrhea, saving her from embarrassment. Because he always carried emergency medicine due to his little sister’s condition, he had been able to help on the spot.
The young lady, who remembered the kind Werther, found it hard to believe he was a demon.
“I-is there… any evidence?”
“Evidence? Of course there is! On that day, where did that monstrous vitality of his come from? He was stabbed and slashed by the imperial soldiers, bled that much, and still ran around like nothing happened. Is that even human?”
“………But. Mmph!”
A middle-aged woman who appeared to be her mother quickly covered the girl’s mouth. If rumors spread that they had defended a demon, even nobles could face the extermination of their entire house. This was exactly the effect Leonhart had been aiming for.
If he could establish the rumor that Werther was part of the Demon King’s army as fact, then the humiliation of that day could be twisted into a tragic tale of being stabbed in the back by the Demon King’s forces. The witnesses who had been present that day felt uneasy deep down but couldn’t openly voice their doubts. Doing so risked being accused of siding with the Demon King’s army.
“If you still doubt my words, then listen to the testimony of my other comrades.”
When the Hero snapped his fingers, the party members who had finished preparing for the expedition began to appear one by one. Saintess Teresa, Elf Sharon, Princess Knight Jeanne… and even the rumored Princess Cynthia.
At Cynthia’s appearance, murmurs spread throughout the hall and the Emperor’s expression twisted, but given the emergency situation, he had no choice but to act maturely.
“Distinguished guests. I am Jeanne, knight of the party. I swear on my honor that everything the Hero has said is true.”
“I-I’m Sharon. It’s true that Werther was strangely obsessed with the Demon Continent and tried to drag us into danger before we were ready. Looking back now, it definitely felt intentional…”
“There’s no need to say more. He was a traitor who openly showed hostility toward humanity. Our party has fully recovered. We will never be defeated again.”
Each of them spoke in turn, leaving only Cynthia.
She appeared not in the attire of a princess but in the garb of a witch—black cloak and pointed hat—shocking everyone who knew her from the imperial court. The ebony staff that only archmages would use was also quite striking. As expected of the Hero Party’s mage; she was fully equipped.
“No questions needed!”
Thud! The staff struck the floor.
Cynthia looked around the room with overwhelming presence and declared boldly.
Her provocatively drawn-out tone. The mocking expression. The protagonist of a shocking scandal, Princess Cynthia de Lydorphia, had boldly entered the imperial palace and stared directly at the Emperor.
No matter how arrogant the Emperor was, he could not order her arrest in front of all these people. That would be political suicide.
“…I hope… you will demonstrate the same capability as the legendary princess Irene and save humanity from this crisis… mage.”
“Yeees~ I look forward to Your Majesty’s passionate encouragement and full support~.”
The Emperor’s lips trembled violently. If the domestic and foreign dignitaries hadn’t been watching his reaction so closely, he would have immediately ordered Cynthia detained and resumed her brainwashing education. However, the large-scale invasion by the Demon King’s army sent a chill even through the Emperor’s spine. Now was the time to endure.
“…Then, since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, we shall proceed immediately with the departure ceremony for the Hero Expedition.”
The Guardian Duke Zero spoke in a voice full of dignity that wrapped around everyone’s ears. His voice possessed a mysterious power that could reach even distant people and the lower nobles waiting outside the palace without him needing to raise it. People roughly guessed it must be some kind of magic.
The Hero Party proceeded to the grand garden along with the influential figures from each nation. Including the lower nobles who had already been waiting outside and the citizens of the capital who had closed their shops to come watch, well over a hundred thousand people had gathered to witness the departure ceremony.
“O legendary princess Irene, who saved humanity a thousand years ago when we stood on the brink of destruction. Bless us once more. Save us from the Demon King’s clutches.”
In front of the majestic statue erected in the center of the grand garden, Guardian Duke Zero offered a prayer on behalf of the expedition. Even the ministers from nations that hated Lydorphia bowed their heads toward the statue.
Irene de Lydorphia. As Zero had said, she was the princess of Lydorphia who had dramatically saved humanity a thousand years ago when its fate hung by a thread. Historians said that without her, humanity’s destruction would have been certain. She had also been a member of the First Hero’s party. After her death, it became tradition for every Hero’s expedition to receive her blessing before setting out on a major battle.
“I hereby officially declare that Hero Leonhart and his proud comrades depart for the sake of humanity! For the Pangaea Continent! May the gods’ blessings be upon these proud warriors!”
The nuns and priests dispatched from the church all knelt together and recited prayers. For this one moment, political disputes were forgotten, and everyone united in wishing for the victory of the Hero Party.
“Victory to the Hero!”
“Victory to the Hero!”
“Victory to the Hero!”
With tremendous cheers, the party set out on their expedition. Their destination was the border region between Lydorphia and the neighboring Galileo Kingdom. They had received information that the Demon King’s army was flying in through that very area, which was difficult for humans to traverse due to its steep cliffs.
Stopping the Demon King’s army at the border. That was the goal of this expedition for the Hero Party.
Well… there was nothing to really worry about.
The Hero Party recalled what the Emperor had told them privately right before their departure.
“If you achieve victory in this expedition, I will reward you with 100 million shillings.”
“One… hundred… million…!!!!!”
Everyone’s jaws dropped at the amount. One hundred million? That was enough money to build a small country. It was a contract condition that clearly showed how urgent the situation was even for the Emperor.
“However, keep this in mind. If you fail, I will repay you with suffering worse than death.”
The Emperor spoke with the cold, filthy face of a politician that he never showed in public.
“I will strip the elf Sharon of the privilege of freedom she enjoyed as a member of the Hero Party, and I will erase Jeanne’s name from the knight order’s roster so she can never be employed anywhere. The Saintess Teresa will be excommunicated from the church, and Cynthia…”
Cynthia, dressed as a witch, did not back down and met the Emperor’s gaze head-on.
“…we will discuss her treatment slowly in the detached palace.”
“Oh—hohohoho! The infantile octopus-head who can’t escape from his own daughter’s shadow isn’t very scary with his threats, is he?”
“…What did you say?”
“What you did to old man Perma. I will never forget it.”
“This is ridiculous. What exactly did I do to him? On the contrary, because of him I suffered burns—do you have any idea how painful that is? I am the victim here. It’s truly unfair. Don’t you feel any worry for your father?”
“…Sigh.”
Cynthia newly realized that one could still be disappointed even by someone they had no expectations for. Still, both of them could at least agree that now was not the time for a father-daughter argument.
The Emperor once again put on a solemn expression and warned the Hero.
“Especially to you, the party leader, I say again—I will inflict suffering worse than death. I will not let you die easily. I will give you a punishment where even living is no longer living. Remember that.”
—What’s there to worry about!
“Hahahaha!! The Eight Protection Army, right? Those are the guys we killed four of last time, yeah?”
“That’s right, my lord! Since we killed four, there should be four left!”
“It’s been… six months, so we must be much stronger than before!”
“One hundred million shillings is enough that we wouldn’t even need to return to the palace anymore. It feels like we’re taking one more step for the peace of humanity.”
The Four Heavenly Kings might be scary, but the subordinates below them weren’t particularly frightening. An unprecedented, unknown demon might be worrisome because they wouldn’t know what techniques it might use, but the Eight Protection Army was an opponent they had already fought before. They had even killed four out of the eight, so they were familiar and manageable.
Aside from the success bonus of 100 million shillings, they had already received generous sponsorship money. They showed off their newly purchased clothes to each other and set out on the expedition with the lighthearted feeling of going on a picnic.
——Never dreaming that this would be the final expedition of the party led by Hero Leonhart.
It didn’t take long for them to realize that something had gone terribly wrong.