Chapter 27 – [Hero] Gain and Lose
“Huh!”
Like someone struck by lightning, I shuddered.
Bar, what just happened?
The world shattered like a mirror.
The grand palace-like space was shattered, revealing a damp, dark cave instead.
It was the cave we entered.
The palace and the girls are nowhere to be found, and all that is there is a box the size of a person.
Nothing remained of the scene from a moment ago.
Like a dream
I was taken aback by the sudden change, but I only understood the situation after reading the text on the box.
Test.
Yes, this was all an ordeal.
From the name, it was a cave of trials, so I guessed that there must be something there, but I never thought it would be something like this.
It was in a way I couldn’t have imagined.
Why the hell did you show me this terrible sight?
Is it that I am concerned about such a future?
I felt bad.
Doesn’t that mean, after all, that I suspect my colleagues of being such shallow people?
And why is it that the porter is among them?
I was very offended that I seemed to be jealous of him.
Damn…
It never calms down
I tried to contain my emotions somehow, but my face was already distorted.
If there was someone else besides me, I would have been frightened.
Come to think of it, why is it only me?
I definitely came in with Arin and Uni.
Even Seria came in before us, but there was no one here except me.
Was I the first to pass the ordeal?
… No. It couldn’t even be called a pass with empty words.
‘Don’t disturb my sweet time with my slaves, incompetent thing.’
The last words he said lingered in my head.
Damn, damn, damn!
Who is the slave
Who is incompetent!
Are you saying that I have a scene like this in my mind?
I can not admit it!
Absolutely no way!
Unable to overcome my anger, I threw my sword away.
Clink!
When the sword hit the floor and screamed, it was only then that he came back to his senses a little.
… There’s no point in taking your anger out on the poor Carl.
He crouched down and picked up the knife again.
“Ha… Ha… Yo, hero?”
Then I heard Arin’s voice behind me.
“Scale?”
What had happened was Arin, who was breathing heavily, behind me.
Wasn’t there anyone before?
“You are all right! All, I’m glad… Whoa…”
She looked at me and suddenly fell into my arms.
“What, what’s going on?”
“I-I only knew that the hero was dead…”
Her hand on my back was shaking.
Did she see the ominous figure in her vision?
Before I could ask anything, I had to appease her agitated woman first.
“Wow, that was an illusion…”
She covered her face with her hands in her shame.
“What did you see?”
When I asked cautiously, she shuddered, saying she didn’t want to think about it again.
She barely manages to appease her, and from what she hears, Arin has met the demon king.
All of us had to fight against the demon king who suddenly appeared without being properly prepared, but he said that the demon king was so powerful that he couldn’t possibly deal with it.
Neither Arin’s blessing nor Uni’s spirit magic had any effect, but Seria said that for some reason she didn’t use magic.
“Seria… ?”
“Yes. It was behind me, so I’m not sure why. I’m glad it’s still an illusion.”
Because of that, I couldn’t stop the Demon King from approaching nearby, and I sacrificed myself to make the rest of her companions flee, Arin said.
“I-I… I’m scared… All I could do was run… You’re still a god… I’m sorry, warrior.”
I don’t know what that demon king was like, but it’s all an illusion anyway.
You didn’t have to feel sorry for me.
As I comforted Arin, she returned to my arms.
“… Thank you, warrior. Can I stay like this for a bit longer?”
“Yes…”
She stayed in my arms until Yuni appeared.
“Huh? … Ahh! Scale! What are you doing alone!”
Uni was bewildered by the sudden change, then she screamed at Arin and me.
“Oh! Yu, uni! Suddenly…”
“Death! As promised with us!”
“This, this, not that…”
I couldn’t quite understand what she meant, but she didn’t look as bad as Arin did.
Uni’s story was similar to Arin’s.
He met the mighty Demon King, and we all faced him but couldn’t win.
The only difference from Arin’s story was that I didn’t sacrifice and Seria actively fought while using magic.
“There is a slight difference in content… How was the hero?”
“Eric, did you win or not?”
Far from winning, I came to see a completely different side of them…
They grabbed my arms from both sides and urged me to respond.
It was somehow familiar.
I was sitting on the throne… Seria and Arin were standing next to him like this.
Damn, what are you thinking
It’s all fantasy Let’s not mind.
“Hero?”
“Ah, yes… I was like that too. Suddenly, the Demon King appears…”
I couldn’t bear to say it literally, so I made up words similar to what they said.
My conscience pricked me when I thought I was lying, but I didn’t have the confidence to put into words what I had seen.
That’s how we arrived at Seria, and we got the equipment left behind by the previous hero.
Seria wondered if she had suffered worse than Arin, and for a while she couldn’t speak properly.
Looking at her, the image of her fantasy crawled up again, but she struggled to contain it.
“… Let’s go back now.”
So we came out of the cave again.
We will be stronger now.
Through better equipment and trials, we became stronger.
No, nothing has changed except for my equipment…
Still, they seemed to feel something while fighting the demon king in fantasy.
If this makes our party stronger, of course we should be happy.
But I wasn’t happy now.
Because of the man, of course.
As soon as I got out of the cave, I ran into the man again.
Porter.
Just that man.
But in my fantasy it was as if I was the porter and he was the warrior.
If this is anxiety in my heart, am I really worried about that situation?
It’s nonsense.
I am the one and only hero chosen by the goddess.
It’s different from the dumb porter that anyone can do if they have the stamina to lift a load.
I felt like I was making excuses for myself, which made me even more uncomfortable.
Okay. Let’s not worry too much about it.
A fantasy is just an illusion and has nothing to do with reality.
Let’s focus on reality.
I got some great equipment.
A sharper sword. Harder armor.
It seemed like new despite the old equipment that magical measures had been applied.
In particular, the sword was unusual, but just holding it in your hand showed how powerful it was.
It was to the point where I wondered if I could slash goblins with the club they were holding.
You should be glad you got such a good weapon.
In fact, Arin and Uni had smiles on their faces when they saw the equipment.
Scale… UNI…
Even if I want to forget it, I think of it again.
Why are you making that face?
Why don’t you look at me
Why?
What does he say
My hand gripped the new sword, and strength went into it.
“Eh, Eric…”
Uni called from the side with a trembling voice.
The look on her face vividly reminds me of her last words.
‘Thank you so far. It’s thanks to him that I met the master like this.’
Damn! Damn! Damn!
“… Why?”
He tried to keep his composure and said.
I didn’t want to find out about my mental agitation.
“Su, why don’t you put the knife in? That’s why I’m a little scared…”
Come to think of it, I had already pulled out the knife.
It’s been like this ever since I left the cave.
When I saw him outside, I had to try hard not to drop the knife.
It seemed that her bloody feelings were felt by her as well.
“Yes… Sorry…”
I put the knife in the scabbard.
Let’s clear our minds.
Everything I’ve seen is fantastic.
Not true.
Don’t cut him
Because he did nothing wrong
… Really no?
Then what the hell was that thing I heard on the canal?
What on earth happened between the two of you who seem to have gotten closer recently?
I have a feeling there must be something, but there is no evidence to substantiate my guess.
It is still unknown what he did. It is not yet time.
So let’s wait for the evidence to come out.
When the time comes…
Damn, thinking bad thoughts is going to drive me crazy.
I tried to calm down and checked the condition of my colleagues.
Yuni put her newly acquired necklace around her neck and was looking around.
I’m not sure, but it’s said that my communication with the spirits has improved, so it must be a good thing.
The ghastly words and lewd expression of the vision are nowhere to be found.
Okay. That’s never real
Then what about Arin?
She had a new priestly robe in her hand.
She hadn’t changed since she hadn’t arrived at her quarters yet, but it was a dress not too different from the one she was wearing now.
According to Arin, it is a garment blessed by the highest-ranking priest.
Even now, as it is a lost blessing, she cannot recreate it, she said.
He said that he would not know what kind of blessing it was unless he checked it himself, but anyway, since it was the clothes worn by the priest of the last Hero party, it must be good.
She had been glancing behind her for a while.
Behind them are Seria and Jeren.
Why do you keep turning your head?
Is that guy there too?
The words Arin said while looking down at me were as painful as if he was holding my heart with his hand.
‘We don’t need an incompetent person like you in our party. The goddess chose the master, not you.’
No. It’s nonsense.
Goddess can’t do that.
This is just a product of my insecurities, not believing in my own strength.
No matter what anyone says, I am the warrior chosen by the Goddess herself.
I tried to ignore the anxious thoughts that kept coming to my mind and looked further back.
Seria has been in low pressure ever since she saw the vision.
She didn’t even tell me what had happened, she just kept her head down.
She got a staff that looked great, but she still had her old staff in her hands. Her new staff was tied to her back.
A different gloomy look than usual.
No These days, for some reason, it seems that there are many times when I seem to be in such a bad mood.
Is it all the man’s fault?
For what it was, she was very…
‘Are you still there? Will you disappear without interfering?’
… No. She doesn’t say that
Even in my mind, I wouldn’t imagine that.
Okay. Clearly, the fantasy is wrong.
It’s not like anxiety in my heart, but something is definitely wrong.
Okay.
The fact that the man reaches out his hand and tries to grab Seria’s breasts is all fantasy…
No, this is not fantasy!
“What are you doing!”
I yelled out.
Then Jeren looked back at her with a puzzled expression as he cleared the branches that were blocking her path.
“What’s wrong, Eric?”
Uni was a little frightened, she asked.
Was it my, my mistake?
He was just putting Seria away for fear of bumping into her branch.
“Ah… Thank you.”
Seria didn’t even hear my shouting. She was walking in a daze. She belatedly noticed that he helped and thanked him in a small way.
I hesitated and said nothing.
“Why is that?”
He looked like he really didn’t know anything.
My, what have I done…
Did I just imagine it in a weird way because I kept thinking about that fantasy?
The current situation, no matter who sees it, was my fault.
“Oh, no… I must have been mistaken for a moment sorry…”
I turned my head helplessly.
Arin was silently looking at me like that.
