The Hero's Companion (1)
It's already been ten years since I started traveling the world with the Hero. After riding around on the Beast God and checking out every corner, we managed to clean up most of the problematic monsters.
Now that we'd smashed all the big ones, the new monsters popping up weren't all that strong anymore. They'd dropped to a level where even human armies could handle them somehow.
Hmm. Maybe it's time to wrap up the Hero's duties? His adventures have gone on long enough, and he's getting close to his thirties now. In this era, people usually marry in their mid-to-late teens! A man in his thirties without a family... that's basically treated like he's impotent— a huge deal.
The Hero's turning into a super-late bachelor! He's starting to get kinda pitiful, so maybe I should let him drop the burden of being the Hero and live freely. Of course, his own intentions matter most.
"Hero. Don't you think it's about time you got married?"
"N-no?! Wh-what?! M-marriage?! Who?! Me?!"
"Who else is here? You think this Beast God is getting married?"
I picked up the cat curled up in a ball on my lap. It stretched out into a long, rubbery Beast God.
But seriously, how long is this Beast God gonna stick around? Rumors about it are spreading, gathering some faith, and I even spread tales that boosted its intelligence a bit, so its brain should be sharper by now. Yet it won't leave my side. Well, fine by me—I get a ride out of it with the Hero.
"B-but... I mean... there's no one... for me..."
"Hm. A marriage partner, huh."
Yeah, marriage isn't something you do solo. You need a proper match to build a family!
"Plus, I don't even know when my Hero duties will end! Wandering the world aimlessly... settling down would be tough. Unless it's someone who can travel with me..."
"Exactly! Remember that girl you met when you ran away from home? What about her?"
I figured she'd make a pretty good match! Oh, but she's probably pretty old now too. Wonder if she's still single...
"Haa..."
But for some reason, the Hero just sighed at my words.
"Well, you can't adventure as the Hero forever. Time to put down that burden and prepare to settle, right?"
The human body peaks in its twenties, and from the thirties on, every day gets tougher. Sure, the Hero could still paint the walls with most monsters even then—he's way stronger than your average soldier or hunter.
"Yeah, I've thought about that... but hearing it straight from you kinda stings."
"Hm?"
"N-nothing."
The guy. Getting all bashful. Hmm. Yeah. I should find him a match later. Can't pick the Hero's companion lightly—it's an important role. Gotta think it through carefully, considering the symbolism.
Of course. First, that girl he met when he ran away... well, not a girl anymore. Anyway, starting there, I'll gather info from all over and find someone worthy of being the Hero's partner. He's devoted decades to this tough path as the Hero—if I don't set up his life after, it'd be like I just used his prime and ditched him. I hate that! If you're gonna work someone during their heyday, you gotta secure their future too!
As I mulled that over, the Beast God was staring right at my face for some reason.
"What? Something on my face?"
The Beast God just shook its head slowly.
Finding the Hero's companion can wait. For now, we keep traveling.
With fewer monster outbreaks, human territory is expanding fast. Hmm. Worth all the effort with the Hero.
Human villages were sprouting everywhere—except in one spot.
"Hmmm."
A huge swath of land with no human villages at all. There were traces of old ones, but...
Hmm... A barren wasteland where not even a single weed grew. No birds, no beasts—just eerie silence.
This is... oh, right. The site of that kingdom I cursed way back. Now just an endless wasteland—super desolate.
"What monster swept through here to leave it like this?"
"Not a monster. Remnants of divine punishment."
"Divine punishment?"
I nodded slightly and explained.
"Long ago, this land held a kingdom... no, too big for that—an empire, really. Anyway."
"An empire?"
"Yeah. The empire of Akad."
At my words, the Hero's face shifted to realization, like he'd remembered something.
"Wait, that..."
"Mm. The nation cursed by the Life Goddess."
It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, but... this is my first time seeing it firsthand. No reason to visit a place devoid of people or monsters. We're just passing through now.
"It's really barren. Not a blade of grass anywhere."
Bald mountains without a single tree, ground too sterile for weeds. Hmm. I did it without much thought, but... the aftermath is pretty brutal.
"What happened to the people who lived here?"
"They probably moved elsewhere."
I'd warned them and given plenty of time, after all.
"So, isn't it time to lift the curse on this land?"
"But the one who earned it still hasn't repented."
The second prince is still wandering the world, suffering every hardship imaginable. He can't eat properly, bad luck follows him everywhere, people call him cursed and pelt him with stones, shunning him. He can only sneak around at night because sunlight hurts, so they mistake him for a thief and shun him even more.
Isn't it about time he repented and came crawling back to the temple for forgiveness...?
"How can I take back words spoken in a god's name? Can't go back on my word."
"But... the people who lived here are so pitiful."
Hmm... Yeah, the humans here suffered because of one rotten royal. Ugh. Feels bad for blasting without thinking, hurting innocents.
"The curse on this land stays until the culprit seeks forgiveness."
Can't easily forgive someone who mocked the top god of this era and talked about destroying her temple. It's a matter of divine dignity! I figured he'd come crying to the temple within a few years... hmm. Maybe the guy's got annoying grit. Or... did he forget how to break the curse entirely? Nah, no way. I explained it all in detail—what he did wrong, how to fix it...
He couldn't have forgotten, right?
"Anyway, let's hurry through."
The lifeless wasteland felt endlessly lonely—no desire to linger. Hmm... From now on, no more cursing in a god's name. Time to reflect. Maybe gods shouldn't meddle directly with humans...
As we crossed the wasteland...
"Halt! Halt! Halt!"
Lightly armored cavalry appeared before us: two humans on horseback and one beastkin with a horse's lower body.
"Crossing this cursed land! State your identity!"
Hmm. Humans call it cursed land too.
"The Hero and his party. We wander the world, slaying powerful monsters."
I spoke for the Hero, and the riders' faces lit up in surprise.
"Ooh! The Hero! We've heard the tales. You've slain countless monsters."
"Then this little miss must be the Hero's companion, the Dragon Priestess."
Hmm...? Companion...?
"Companion? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Huh? You're not?"
No, companion? What? Why would I be his companion? I looked at the riders in confusion, then back at the Hero behind me.
Companion. Me, as the human's companion. No way! I'm only wearing this Dragon Priestess mask to help the Hero—why's there a rumor I'm his companion?
My question got no clear answer. The Hero just hung his head, face red.