Chapter 10: I Became an Idol
“…Oh, has it subsided?”
In the royal palace behind the Demon King’s castle in the land of the demons, the hero Alfio, who was inspecting the treasure vault, looked up at the ceiling nervously during the repeated earthquakes, worried the building might collapse.
Although he was a reincarnator from a country prone to earthquakes, he felt uneasy in a building that looked like it was just piled up with stones. Ironically, his noble and mercenary companions who had many opportunities to experience magic in this world remained calmer than him.
Alfio and his unauthorized hero party could not receive support from the northern countries, and due to cultural differences, they unintentionally committed crimes. To prove their innocence, they headed towards the land of the demons to defeat the Demon King.
However, the problem was that Alfio and his group were extremely lucky, but also extremely unlucky.
Due to the sudden all-out invasion by the demon army, the demons and dangerous monsters that were scattered had gathered together. Then, a mysterious force caused the exceptionally powerful demon army to disappear, allowing Alfio’s group to reach the land of the demons without encountering any powerful enemies.
As a result, they could not plunder food or supplies from enemies, but fortunately, they were able to borrow food from a village filled with stone statues for some reason.
In the northern lands, self-proclaimed heroes periodically appeared, claiming to defeat the Demon King and heading towards the land of the demons.
However, most of them lost their lives to dangerous monsters along the way, fled from the demon army they encountered, were persuaded by kind beast people villages, became discouraged, and ended up returning to their hometowns.
On the other hand, heroes recognized by the nation and given a mission would grow stronger by overcoming those dangers, mature their hearts through encounters and partings, and grow into true heroes without being disheartened by defeat.
But Alfio’s group reached the Demon King’s castle without facing any dangers, encounters, or defeats. They simply set out like they were fleeing, lacking any sense of mission, enduring no hardships, and only occasionally complaining about missing their beds.
“…Hey, Al.”
“What is it, Cheria?”
When the warrior Cheria called out, Alfio turned around to see her frowning at him as she put an old longsword with a holy inscription back on the shelf with a complicated expression.
“Even if it’s the demons’ vault, wouldn’t it be considered theft to take the belongings left behind by the human army?”
“…Eh?”
Caught off guard by her unexpected words, Alfio unintentionally responded simply, slightly averting his gaze while putting on a bright smile.
“What are you saying? It’s natural for a hero to obtain new equipment in the Demon King’s castle before fighting him! This is for world peace!”
In any case, they had reached the Demon King’s castle without any difficulties.
Moreover, the fewer demons they encountered as they approached the castle became weaker. In the town near the castle, the demons that attacked them were unarmed and emaciated, easily defeated by Alfio with a single swing of his sword.
However, the warrior guarding the gates of the Demon King’s castle was clearly in a different league.
Standing over three meters tall, he carried a rugged halberd as long as the tall Alfio like a dagger, and his rock-like appearance and sharp glare overwhelmed those around him with an imposing presence. Seeing this majestic figure, Alfio’s group assumed he was the Demon King and retreated without fighting.
Thinking there might be a “power-up event” before fighting the Demon King, Alfio thoroughly searched the area and discovered this treasure vault in the palace.
However, in this old palace where the Demon King merely resided, there were no convenient items that would make them stronger just by equipping them. If such things existed, no one would struggle.
The weapons and equipment left behind by those who came to defeat the Demon King were either bestowed upon the demon warriors or were merely decorative items placed here because their appearance was admired, making the so-called treasure vault more like a large storage room.
“Hey, Cheria! This one is still usable. It would fulfill their wish to be used by us, their belongings.”
“Ah, yeah……”
Cheria accepted the silver, ornately decorated one-handed sword Alfio handed her with a complicated expression.
A silver weapon not even made of mithril, what use could it have? What did he intend to defeat with a “still usable” weapon?
In Cheria’s memory, Alfio had taken others’ weapons with reasoning she could not understand.
Ever since she was a child, she had admired Alfio, who was older, stronger, and knew more than her. She had harbored a faint crush on him and came to believe that whatever he did must be right, despite feeling a sense of dissonance.
That would be fine on a battlefield. In a conflict of interests like war, it is legal to take weapons from enemies. If the enemy is a criminal, using or taking their belongings is permitted.
But when it comes to stolen goods, the situation is different. Even if criminals have been using them, taking stolen goods with rightful owners would be considered embezzlement. Most owners cannot provide proof of ownership and have to resign themselves, but it is still not a praiseworthy act and can easily earn resentment.
What about this silver one-handed sword? It was probably owned by the head of some noble family. If it really is a usable weapon, then fulfilling its wish by using it might be reasonable, but thinking about it belonging to her own family and only being sold for money, the knight-born Cheria could not feel happy about it.
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“………..”
The elf Anticova watched the two inspecting the weapons with a cold gaze.
When a herd of elephants attacked the elf village, and the desperate villagers only cared about taking out their money without fighting back, Anticova decided to stand up to them, aided by Alfio, a human child.
Known as the Elf Saint, Anticova became convinced that Alfio, who protected the village with his wisdom and strength, was her hero.
Certainly, compared to elves, humans were crude beings, but his childlike nature meant it was not particularly offensive. When she introduced herself as an elf, he made an odd face, but she attributed it to the ignorance of a child and decided to journey with him.
But how did it turn out like this?
At first, things went well. As Alfio gradually gained the villagers’ acceptance and was called a hero, Anticova felt proud, and her disdain for humans lessened, even allowing her to gain a friend in Cheria.
But at what point did things start going wrong…?
After getting involved with the golden princess, the half-sister of the noble sisters…and those around her, Alfio gradually seemed to pale in comparison.
The golden princess was called the true saint and accompanied the true hero. And yet…as they came to enemy territory, Anticova’s so-called hero started to look increasingly faded as he acted like a thief.
“–Ugh!”
At that moment, sensing an ominous presence from above, the sensitive Anticova first covered her mouth. Next, the noble sister Ataline staggered, and even her sister Aureline, who quickly supported her, frowned.
“What’s wrong…Ugh!?”
“This is…”
Even Alfio and Cheria, who were less affected due to being warriors, looked up.
Not at the ceiling, but beyond…the far reaches of the sky. Feeling an unprecedented “evil” from that direction, everyone fell silent in fear.
Was this the [Demon King]? Could they really fight something like this?
(No, it can’t be. Otherwise, I won’t be able to protect what’s important!)
Among them, Ataline believed that as a [Hero], Alfio would surely overcome the hardships and bring victory.
Certainly, Alfio appeared to be an unreliable, frivolous man. However, Ataline recognized that despite his childish attitude, he possessed knowledge surpassing even nobles and scholars, which he must have acquired through unseen efforts.
When Alfio was still twelve years old, his frivolous attitude even looked charming, but after four years as an adult, his flaws became more apparent. Yet Ataline thought he might be intentionally acting that way to avoid worrying his still immature companions.
Otherwise, she would have considered making his entire family homeless again, like in the past.
“Alright, then let’s get out of this town immediately!”
“…Eh?”
But Ataline unintentionally let out a voice at Alfio’s words.
(Why? Didn’t we come all this way to fight the Demon King? Then why did we even come here?)
Due to her intelligence, she overthought and had too many doubts to voice immediately, so Anticova put a hand on Ataline’s shoulder.
“Ataline, calm down. Although the Demon King is too far for us to judge accurately, he at least possesses power greater than we expected. We lack information.”
“Yes, Al is being vague, but capturing a demon army officer who has left the land of the demons and making them talk would be more certain before fighting, right?”
Agreeing with Anticova’s follow-up, Cheria looked to Alfio, who blinked before grinning and nodding in affirmation.
“Exactly! We’ll leave this town immediately and pursue the demon army!”
“I see……”
Realizing she had not grasped Alfio’s deeper thoughts and got flustered, Ataline forcibly calmed herself down.
“Big sis……”
“It’s alright.”
Ataline gently stroked the head of Aureline, who worriedly hugged her arm.
Although her sister, who became an adult this year, still could not voice her own opinions and remained inseparable, Ataline realized she could not recklessly endanger her kind-hearted sister.
For her own goal, to protect what was important, she could not afford to die here.
Still…….
(……What is this presence?)
Ataline felt a sense of unease from the familiar “presence” she sensed coming from the sky.
And so, the self-proclaimed hero party of Sigres retreated from the land of the demons without experiencing any proper battles.
But whether that was fortunate or not for them remained to be seen.
TLNOTE:
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