I Am the Hero
I was confused. Had I really undergone what they called a regression? How had I come back? No — was this even a return at all? Was I simply dreaming?
The more important question, though, had already been decided. If I truly had come back — how was I going to live?
That wasn't something to dwell on right now. The king was currently escorting me to the palace, after all.
"His Majesty has returned!"
"Your Majesty!"
Dozens of soldiers moved as one at a single tilt of his head.
"I didn't want to startle you, so I had the soldiers wait here."
What, you want a cookie? Did I do well? Is that it? Looking for a little praise?
"Haha. I'm grateful for the consideration."
"It's only natural. You are the only one who can save us, after all."
What had I said before the regression? I remembered how, in the early days after I was summoned, I hadn't known what to make of any of it. The title of Hero had felt like too much to bear, and I'd stumbled around like a complete idiot. That was why I'd struggled so much to earn this bastard Magnius's trust.
Not this time.
This man had died of old age during the war, so he wouldn't know — but his son had wiped his mouth clean the moment we defeated the Demon King, and hadn't given us so much as a scrap of land or a single coin. He would almost certainly do the same this time around. So I would go in with the mindset of squeezing every last drop from the sitting king standing right in front of me. The money I never got from the son, I would take from the father. Simple enough.
"You seem remarkably composed. Does the fate laid before you not frighten you? Does it not leave you bewildered?"
"Fate, you say. Then there is even less cause for surprise. It is simply what will come to pass, according to the natural order of things. And if that fate is the salvation of a world, then I will accept it gladly."
The king looked at me with eyes full of wonder and emotion. A little intense, honestly.
"The mindset of a true Hero. God has bestowed hope upon us."
"You flatter me."
Wait — it was this easy? If I asked for gold right now to slay the Demon King, he looked ready to hand it over. If I asked for land, he looked ready to give me land. How stupid had I been before the regression?
"Look around as we make our way to the palace. This is the landscape of the kingdom I govern."
It was a rural scene not unlike the countryside where I had settled. I could even see men digging potatoes, just as I once had. Perhaps the bitterness showed on my face.
"That expression of yours looks strangely familiar. I was told you came from another world — does that world have places like this as well?"
Of course it looks familiar. I spent twenty years digging potatoes in your kingdom. Oh, of course — you were already dead by then.
"Yes, it does. I used to visit the countryside where my grandmother lived quite often, when I was young."
"Remarkable. Perhaps your world and ours are more alike than I had imagined. If that helps you adapt, so much the better."
"It's another reason I must save this world. I've grown fond of it, you see."
I tossed out the sappy line and glanced sideways at the king's face. Honey was practically dripping from it. The high and mighty always fell for this kind of thing.
"About ten minutes remaining!"
A soldier's shout, letting us know we were nearly there. The outline of the royal castle was faintly visible now. Time to get my head on straight. Nothing much had happened so far, but the moment I passed through those gates, every action I took would become a new future.
Trying to match the king's register, I found myself composing the most cringeworthy lines without even meaning to.
"His Majesty has brought the Hero! Open the gates!"
The gates swung open, and a thunderous roar of applause and cheering burst forth. People drunk on the hope that their savior had finally arrived.
God, how long had it been since I'd felt this? A mere turn of the head, a slight glance, and the cheers swelled to meet it. The feeling that everyone was welcoming me — that I was being recognized. It was intoxicating. It was electric.
I couldn't take it. I couldn't hold back. I had to enjoy this while I still could.
"Forgive me — could we halt the procession for a moment?"
"Hm? Why? Is something the matter?"
"No. It's only that... there is something I wish to say to the people of this kingdom."
"Then do so. These people have waited a long time for you. I imagine they would like to hear your words as well."
"Thank you."
"You there! Did you not hear? The Hero has something to say! Inform the people!"
The procession stopped, and several soldiers approached the thickest part of the crowd.
"Everyone! The Hero has something he wishes to say! Please be quiet while we make a space!"
Word that the Hero would speak spread through the crowd like fire. The excited spectators gradually fell silent, and every gaze turned toward me. Meanwhile, a few soldiers had pulled out several wooden crates and stacked them into a makeshift platform.
"Forgive us — we had to put this together in a hurry, so it's rather humble. Will it do?"
"It's splendid. What matters is what I have to say, not the stage I say it from."
I didn't forget to give the soldier a small smile as well.
I climbed onto the platform and looked around for a moment. Every person there was watching me and me alone, tracking even the smallest gesture, anticipating my next move. The thought of it made me feel all over again just how important I was to these people.
A strange tension ran through the silence hanging in the air. I parted my lips to break it.
"People of Laplonia. I greet you."
I watched their faces change as I began to speak, and I went on.
"My name is Kyle. But many of you here know me as the Hero."
At the word Hero, their eyes lit up.
"Yes. I am the Hero you have been waiting for."
I let the silence hang for a beat.
"But I am not the Hero you want."
"I am a man who came from another world. I know nothing of this world. I know nothing of the plight you face."
A bewildered look crossed the king's face.
"What's more, I am not a man of the mighty strength you imagine, nor one who can work miracles."
The crowd began to murmur. The king moved to quiet them, but I raised a hand and stopped him.
"I am a person just like all of you. And so I am weak."
"However!"
The discontent that had been about to erupt settled at once.
"I know what I must do. And if that means helping you, then of course I will do it."
"Why? Because though I do not know the situation you face—"
"I know how you feel."
"In this place that looks peaceful on the surface, I felt a strange tension in the air."
"I know well that you are exhausted."
"And so I will save you."
"You will think to yourselves: How can a mere human boast that he can save us?"
I pointed at a child and his mother standing before the platform, and I raised my voice.
"Look at that child standing there. What is it that will make that child into an adult?"
"It is you! Your teaching and your effort can raise that child into a great human being!"
"I am the same!"
"With your faith and your help, I will become the strong Hero you desire!"
"The Hero who slays the Demon King — it is not I who will write that legend. It is you!"
"People — let us become a living legend! Your God has not yet forsaken you!"
"Believe in God! Believe in this king who worries over you day and night!"
"And believe in this Hero who will save you!"
By the end I was shouting without even realizing it. And with my last words, the people roared.
Ah — they were calling my name. The crowd was filled with faith in me, and that faith rang out as a roar.
Swept up in the moment, I threw out my chest and spread my arms wide, and the thunderous cheering swelled even louder.
Look. Were the people not crying out my name? Could you not see their trust in me? Even the king of a nation stood below me, gazing up with eyes full of wonder.
If a man like this was not a Hero, then who was?
The farmer who had once been a Hero was gone.
The man who had tilled potato fields was gone.
I was a Hero.
The ppongpongnam who had once been a Hero was gone.
The man who couldn't even protect his own wife, who had died alone and wretched — that man was gone.
He no longer existed.
I had killed him, and I had been born again as a Hero.
Ah... I really was a Hero after all.
"I should like to thank you for what you did earlier."
"Pardon? For what, exactly?"
"The speech, I mean."
Well. I'd done it for myself. I had starved for that kind of recognition, that kind of fervor, for a very long time.
"It's something I had always wanted to do, from the moment I learned I was the Hero. I consider giving hope to the people of this land part of my duty as well."
"You cannot know... you cannot know how much this means to me. The people of our nation... they have waited far too long. Waited for the despair to end. They are exhausted now. Announcing your arrival in this way will give strength to everyone."
"That's a good thing."
"Let me thank you once more. And — welcome to the royal palace."
"His Majesty arrives!"
Before I knew it, we had reached the royal palace. Its gates swung open.