The Untrusted Wastrel

Faran.

Even her stats made it obvious — this was a woman destined to make a name for herself as an assassin. An S-class assassin. The absolute pinnacle of her profession. In the game, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say the kingdom's entire underworld already belonged to her. A woman like a cold blade: whatever she set her sights on, she would achieve, no matter the cost.

The shocking part? She already possessed those same in-game stats. So why was she here?

The question brought her backstory rushing back. She was an NPC I had created around a battle maid concept. According to her lore, she would grow disillusioned with the master she served, assassinate him, and then walk the path of a true assassin.

The important part? Right now, her master was me.

I had become the sacrificial lamb of a setting I created myself. I supposed I had no one to blame but the version of me who had gotten so obsessed with maids back then. I hadn't fleshed out her past in any real detail, so I had no idea what about her master would end up disappointing her. Then again, looking back at how I had been acting up until now... it might already be too late.

Nothing was certain yet. But I was going to need to watch my step from here on out.

Following Faran and the other maids, I arrived at a room dominated by an enormous dining table. A delicious smell drifted through the air. Maybe because this was my first meal since coming to my senses, my entire body welcomed that scent from the marrow of my bones.

I was starving.

Two people were already seated and eating when I arrived. Those had to be my father and mother. The previous Alvin had lived as a wastrel, but even he had always taken breakfast with the family. His mother had insisted it was the one rule a family had to keep, at the very least. She no longer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠involved herself in anything else, so it was probably the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one thing he hadn't been able to wriggle out of.

When I reached the table with Faran, she pulled out my chair and guided me into my seat. Even after I sat down, my parents showed no reaction whatsoever — as if nothing had happened. As if no one were even there.

"Father, Mother. Good morning."

I decided to greet them first. I couldn't just leave things to keep rotting like this. I was the one who had to start repairing this relationship. I needed to think about what it would take to earn their trust back, and for now, the first step was a greeting and a conversation.

"Mm."

Thankfully, he acknowledged it. Father glanced at me once, then went right back to eating. And so breakfast continued in silence. I figured the meal would simply end like that, the plates emptying without another word — until Father spoke.

"His Majesty says they'll be summoning the Heroes soon."

"Oh my. You'll be quite busy, then."

"I'll likely be away from the estate for the next few days."

The Gilbert Ducal Estate was well known as the house of the previous Hero's descendants. As part of that duty, they played a major role in the Hero summoning ritual.

This is my chance.

The perfect topic had just fallen into my lap.

"Then they'll be recruiting companions to stand on the front lines with the Heroes soon, I take it. Father."

Father looked at me as if he hadn't expected that at all. The summoning ritual called forth multiple Heroes. They would eventually wield tremendous power, but right after being summoned they were inevitably weak. To prepare them for the front, the kingdom trained the Heroes and recruited companions to fight alongside them.

House Gilbert believed it was their sacred duty, as descendants of a Hero, to aid the Heroes. And Father himself harbored a deep, almost obsessive affection for Heroes as a concept. He had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted to share that passion with me, but the previous Alvin had hated it. Just hearing the word "Hero" made his body tremble on its own. Father knew that better than anyone.

Until now, his son had thrown a fit whenever Heroes came up. And now that same son was the one engaging with the topic first? What was going on?

Father studied me in silence, lost in thought, before finally speaking.

"That's right. Just as Heroes do what only Heroes can do, we give our all to what we can do."

"You haven't changed. So you'll be helping train the Heroes, then?"

"If not me, then who in this family is supposed to work for the Heroes?"

This was a man who had wanted me to step forward as a Hero's companion and stand on the front lines beside them. It had been his dream, which was why my current state pained him so deeply. These days, Father had far too many duties and responsibilities to chase that dream himself. Which was why, they said, no one had been happier than him when the family's eldest son was born.

Hmm... Heroes, huh.

I had an obligation to meet the Demon King again. There was the promise I had made to meet Reina and talk things through, of course — but there was also this.

The objective that appeared after starting the game had shown up for me as well. Defeat the Demon King? Me? I wasn't a Hero. I wasn't even a player. Was this thing insane?

But I had no idea what would happen if I ignored this notification. Thinking about that mysterious presence that had stood between Reina and me, I needed to be careful. There was something here I didn't understand. And considering I had already promised to meet her anyway, helping the Heroes and going to see the Demon King that way didn't seem like a bad idea.

Alright. Let's start by meeting the Heroes.

"Heroes, huh... If you feel that strongly about it, Father, I think I'd like to see them for myself."

"Do you mean that...?"

His voice was thick with suspicion, but his eyes were already overflowing with anticipation. After all the disappointment, I thought he had given up on expecting anything from me. But leave it to a Hero fanatic.

"Yes."

Father and Mother exchanged stunned looks. Then Father, unable to hide his smile at my answer. Seeing him this happy, I started to think there might actually be a chance of mending things with my parents. Achieve my goal through the Heroes and restore their trust in me at the same time. What a filial son I was.

So why not try to squeeze a little more out of this?

My parents were genuinely delighted, but they also looked thoroughly bewildered. They clearly had a lot more they wanted to ask, but they were being careful — afraid I might change my mind. At this rate, the conversation was going to stall out and die.

"As a member of House Gilbert, I intend to help the Heroes as well."

I needed to make my intentions clear first.

"Are you saying you'll apply for the companion recruitment?"

Even if I wanted to help the Heroes, there was only so much I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do as I was now. I couldn't train them the way Father could, and I couldn't fund them out of my own pocket either.

Everything I have belongs to the family, after all.

"I'd like to, but honestly, I'm not sure I'd be any good at it."

"Hmm..."

Father sank into thought. That was enough. What I wanted to do was something he had wished for all these years — the thing he had wanted more than anything, a matter of the family's glory and honor. He would be so desperate to help that even if I backed out right now, he would try to talk me back into it.

But how, exactly, was I supposed to help?

"Which is why I think it would work if you just helped me with a few things, Father."

"Alright. Let's hear these conditions of yours."

"My conditions are..."

The condition was permission to use the family's money.

My body was completely untrained, and I had next to no combat experience. So I wanted to hire adventurers and get some monster-hunting experience under my belt. I didn't have the funds to try it on my own. I had to admit that, as I was now, there was a limit to what I could do alone.

If it was just experience I needed, I could always go out with the family's knights. But I figured I would get less out of that, so I framed it as wanting to spend time with adventurers and understand them better. If the knights stepped in, I could sit there twiddling my thumbs and it would still get done. And more than anything, what I needed right now wasn't just experience — it was money.

In the end, Father reluctantly agreed. He was surprisingly generous about it, probably because it involved the Heroes. But given everything I had done up until now, he gave me a task I had to complete first. I had to join the family's knights on a monster hunt before anything else. A guy who had never even fought a monster wanting to go out and gain experience on his own? Of course he would be suspicious.

Still, things had gone better than I had expected. I was satisfied with this. My steps felt so light on the way back to my room I thought I might take off.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Young Master."

Faran, who had been quietly keeping pace beside me, spoke up first. Even in Alvin's memories, it was rare for her to ask a question unprompted. I must have been more excited than I thought.

"Well, it's been a while since I actually talked with my parents..."

The truth was things had gone better than I had hoped. The image I had wrecked, the trust that had hit rock bottom — considering all that, I could easily have ended up having to do everything on my own. If I built up enough trust, that trust would become faith, and my words would start to carry weight. The first step, contrary to my worries, had gone exactly as I had planned. It was something I needed in order to become a Hero's companion, and I had made a reasonable case, so that was probably why he had agreed.

I would keep moving forward like this, little by little.

Because right now, I'm so weak I'm basically a sheet of paper.

"Heroes... I didn't realize you had such an interest in them, Young Master. Even though I have been by your side all day."

I couldn't quite catch the meaning of that last, quietly muttered part, but whatever. She was allowed to be curious.

"I'm still a member of this family, after all."

I stopped walking and looked at Faran.

"It's about time I started acting like one."

Faran gazed at me steadily. I couldn't read her at all. But that was fine. I could read Faran's psychological state. When it came to getting along with someone this hard to read, it was practically a blessing — an essential one.

Alright then. Let's take a look.

Huh?