Chapter 100 – The Uneasy Hero
“The hero has returned!!”
Flower petals fluttered down from the sky.
The people cheered loudly as I walked down the road, showering me with endless praise.
Their eyes were filled with pure goodwill, admiration, and respect, without even the slightest trace of doubt.
There was absolutely no way a shut-in gaming addict like me could endure looks like that.
But putting that aside...
“...Have you perhaps considered taking a desk job from now on?”
“He-Hehe...”
“Don’t laugh.”
“...Yes...”
I had definitely taken the blame for destroying the Trial Tower in the Hall of Heroes.
And it hadn’t simply collapsed.
Apparently, it had exploded from the inside, sending pieces of the tower flying all across the continent.
Haha.
I said I had “taken the blame,” but...
If I really thought about it, it actually was my fault.
I wanted to believe otherwise, but the more explanations I heard, the more convinced I became that I was the one responsible.
“Understand that I am only letting this pass because you did not do it intentionally, and because no one other than me noticed what happened.”
“Yes...!”
“If you hadn’t used those quick hands of yours to grab Root’s arm, if you hadn’t protected the people in the Hall, and if you had simply left the tower fragments alone when you had the chance to collect them, I would not have overlooked this.”
“...Thank you!”
“And remember, I still haven’t forgotten that you initially tried to hide Root’s arm and the tower fragments.”
“I’M SORRY!!”
Let’s destroy the Empire.
Yeah.
Let’s just destroy it.
What?
The tower was completely immune to outside attacks?
I know!
I saw it survive Grandpa’s attack with my own eyes!
What?!
The only way to destroy the tower was to momentarily weaken the heroes of the Hall and break it from the inside?!
And because the heroes gave their power to me, and because of the Domain Skill I used, their strength temporarily weakened so much that they couldn’t even protect the tower?!
What...?
The heroes’ souls were slightly infected by the power of Madness because of me, so the Hall of Heroes had to... close its doors for a while...?
What?
The Madness brought by the fanatics, along with all the fragments of Madness I had collected, were absorbed into me...
So I couldn’t even use the excuse that I hadn’t done it myself?
Heh.
Hehehe...
Ugh...
If I’m being completely fair, wasn’t this basically... accidental intent?
Or whatever that legal term was?
Couldn’t they count it as self-defense?
Y-Yeah...
How about we call it a draw?
A draw sounds good, right?!
“I am overwhelmed by the boundless understanding and mercy of the Great Hero of Righteous Insight.”
“If you had said that to anyone else, they would have assumed you were mocking them.”
“There isn’t even a grain of dishonesty in my heart.”
“I know. That is precisely why I said it.”
Were those flower petals the people were throwing into the air?
Or stones of condemnation aimed at me?
Was what fluttered down from above their admiration for a new hope?
Or was it me falling endlessly into despair?
Those sounds I heard were cheers, right?
Surely my brain wasn’t automatically filtering their insults and contempt into cheers in order to protect my sanity?!
“Ahhh... I feel like I’m going to get sick. I’m seriously losing my mind...”
“Do not behave like that in front of the people. A hero must be like an unshakable pillar.”
“...Then can I act like this when I’m alone?”
“I have no intention of interfering with your private life.”
With paranoid suspicion and anxiety weighing heavily on me, I somehow managed to reach the relatively quiet Imperial Palace.
...Actually, the silence made me even more nervous.
Those people standing silently in long rows as though blessing the road ahead of me...
What were they thinking while looking at me?
This was terrifying.
Ah... I miss the kids.
I had met them once after the incident at the Hall.
I had even handed Aien the potion needed for her promotion.
But Grandpa Alo had suddenly dragged me back to the Imperial capital, saying there was something he needed to do, so I hadn’t gotten the chance to properly talk to them.
My anxiety was slowly growing.
I wished someone were here beside me to support me.
But there was no one.
So, just like before, I had no choice but to endure it by myself.
How sad.
Truly, this thing called “being together” was terrifying.
I had once been comfortable with loneliness.
I had once found being together with others uncomfortable.
And yet, now, being together with people had somehow taught me that loneliness could be painful and sad.
What kind of incurable disease was this?
“Aren’t you walking a little too much like a criminal? Straighten yourself and walk proudly, like a hero.”
“...Hmm...”
“At least to those people, you are a hero. Even if you are not one to me.”
“Umm!”
Murmur, murmur.
I ignored the whispers coming from the people behind us and followed Grandpa Alo.
...We were going to meet the Emperor now, right?
I remembered seeing the Emperor before in a video posted on the forum, giving some kind of speech.
He was ridiculously handsome.
If he had been a real person, I probably would have thought he was someone who had everything in life, from power to looks.
And now I was walking toward that Emperor while feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
How was I supposed to puff out my chest and walk heroically?
Grandpa expected too much from me.
“We have been waiting for you, Great Hero of Righteous Insight.”
In front of a large door leading to what looked like an extremely important room, decorated with obviously expensive and elegant ornaments, stood a dignified-looking middle-aged woman.
She slightly lowered her waist and greeted Grandpa.
She looked a little over fifty.
But the moment Grandpa saw her, he dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.
She must have held an incredibly high position.
I should probably lower my head too.
“What brings you here? Has your health improved?”
“I am more worried about you than myself, Great Hero. You are already seventy years old, yet you still remain on the front lines. Are you not tired?”
“The continent calls me the strongest Great Hero. I am merely doing what is necessary to live up to those expectations.”
Ohhh...
This feels like I’m watching a historical drama.
After exchanging brief greetings, Grandpa only stood after the woman told him to rise.
The two smiled gently at each other.
It didn’t seem like they were political enemies or anything like that.
For a moment, I had imagined she might be one of those characters you often saw in historical dramas.
The former Emperor’s wife, but not the current Emperor’s mother, secretly scheming to put her own son on the throne instead.
...Wait.
Am I the dirtiest and most twisted person here?
Is my mind more rotten than these people who actually live in the middle of politics?
“Is this the new hero who played such a major role in the recent incident?”
“Hello.”
I awkwardly lowered my head in greeting like some shy employee on their first day at work.
I thought this every time, but meeting high-ranking people was annoying because you had to bow and greet them way too often.
Tap. Tap.
I heard the strangely intimidating sound of her heels approaching.
When I carefully raised my head, the woman was already standing directly in front of me, staring straight at me.
“You are quite a fearful person.”
I was about to turn my gaze away as usual.
But before I could, she reached out and gently held my cheeks with both hands, stopping me.
Her hands were slightly rough and cold, perhaps because she had lived a difficult life.
She had light blue eyes and gray hair that matched them well.
I had guessed she was somewhere in her fifties, but she looked young for her age.
As expected of a game character.
She was incredibly well designed.
The phrase “aged gracefully” suited her perfectly.
“Please stand proudly and bravely, in a way worthy of the name ‘hero.’”
“Uh... if I can.”
She was the second person after Pie that I had maintained eye contact with for this long.
The woman smiled softly and stepped back a few paces.
...Fine.
It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I should think of making eye contact like this as another step toward escaping the past created by the Chairman.
“In-gwang, this lady is the Empress Dowager... the mother of the Emperor.”
“Ah~! Oh. Yes. I see.”
I wasn’t interested.
Whether she was someone’s mother or not, I really wished they wouldn’t introduce minor characters who had nothing to do with me.
Blah blah blah.
The boring conversation continued.
They talked about whether things had been peaceful and other things that had absolutely nothing to do with me.
As always, this game desperately needed a Skip Story button.
“Now, let us go inside.”
“Yes.”
“...Good grief!”
Pat! Pat!
Grandpa Alo suddenly smacked my hunched back a couple of times as if trying to pump some energy into me.
...Seriously.
This man was a master at making people’s lives troublesome.
Fine.
I would do what he wanted.
I straightened my back, puffed out my chest, and decided to act as though I really were some kind of hero.
Creeeak.
The massive door slowly opened.
Bright light poured through from the other side, so powerful that it hurt my eyes.
It reminded me of when Mallang had hit me with Holy Light before.
There was no damage, so I stepped forward after Grandpa.
The painfully bright light seemed to press down against my entire body.
[You have escaped the effect of the Domain Skill ‘Overwhelming Presence of the Ruler’! The beings within the Domain have begun to become wary of you!]
Well.
That wasn’t a particularly good sign.
Grandpa might be fine, but everyone else here probably already knew about my connection to Madness.
They were surely suspicious of me already.
And now this had made them even more cautious.
Troublesome.
If I wanted to change how people looked at me, as Grandpa had advised, I needed to make at least a somewhat good impression.
...Wait. Didn’t the Empress Dowager tell me to act proudly and bravely, like a hero? Maybe acting confidently will actually earn me more points.
Their gazes were still uncomfortable.
But instead of shrinking away, I puffed out my chest and stared into the distance as if gazing toward some glorious future.
Did I look more heroic now?
“Come in, Great Hero of Righteous Insight, and the Empire’s new hero. I am the Emperor of the Wiese Empire, Iempeolloal. Since you are an Outsider, simply giving my name should be enough, correct?”
“...”
I had meant to respond.
But the atmosphere around me was so overwhelming that no words came out.
I simply looked at the Emperor.
As expected from the videos I had seen, he was ridiculously handsome.
I was trying my best to maintain eye contact while talking, but these things couldn’t suddenly improve overnight.
Fine.
At least I had tried.
I could work on it next time.
For now, I should answer him somehow.
“Mm. I’m Kim In-gwang.”
I was nervous, but I hadn’t stuttered.
Good job, me.
Excellent!
I had once met an Emperor in Karantlia too.
But compared to that gigantic, fantastical orca Emperor, this human Emperor felt much more realistic, which somehow made him more intimidating.
This felt like a larger version of the interview I had gone through at the Hall yesterday.
I didn’t like it.
I want this to end quickly.
More importantly, why had they specifically summoned me here?
And why had the Emperor deliberately called me the Empire’s new hero?
Why were there far more people gathered in the audience chamber than I expected?
Even if they weren’t at Grandpa Alo’s level, I could see several monstrous talents just beneath him.
Were the Emperor’s words meant for me?
Or for the people watching me suspiciously?
He was a politician, so it was difficult to immediately understand the meaning behind every word he said.
“As an Outsider, I imagine gatherings like this are uncomfortable for you. Therefore, I will get straight to the point.”
“...Grandpa, did you tell Mr. Emperor about me?”
“In-gwang... what kind of ridiculous way of addressing him is ‘Mr. Emperor’? Could you at least call him ‘Your Majesty’? If even that feels too long, just ‘Majesty’ would be enough.”
He wasn’t my boss, so why should I?
If he wanted that kind of respect, he should pay me first.
Still, I liked the Emperor’s attitude.
Someone with this much power could easily have become naturally arrogant.
Yet when dealing with an Outsider like me, he basically said, “You’re an Outsider, so I’ll keep things simple.”
You would need to be pretty open-minded for that.
Ah.
Come to think of it, that king in Karantlia...
Whatever his name was...
He had also been fairly casual.
Even more casual than this Emperor, actually.
Right.
That king had been fairly young too.
Were all younger characters designed that way?
“First, I am grateful for your decision to lend your power to the Empire. I have also heard that you intend to help improve relations with Karantlia.”
“Yes, well... that’s right!”
“I also heard that in the Hall, you willingly tried to sacrifice yourself to protect its guardians. I would dare call you an example for all knights.”
What?
Why was he praising me so much?
What was his goal?
He must already know everything that happened.
So why was he saying all this aloud?
Was he trying to clearly establish, in front of everyone gathered here, what kind of person I supposedly was?
Even if that was the case, wasn’t he praising me a little too much?
Was he trying to make the nobles less hostile toward me while placing some heavy title or responsibility on my shoulders so I couldn’t move freely?
“It was all thanks to the Great Hero. How could an Outsider like me have risen to the position of hero so quickly? It was only possible because the Great Hero of Righteous Insight guided me properly with his righteous judgment.”
“...In-gwang...”
“Hahaha! Someone who just became a hero already speaks like a seasoned politician!”
Grandpa Alo looked like he desperately wanted to say something.
But the Emperor sitting above us laughed heartily and slowly approached me, causing Grandpa to lower his head instead.
First the Empress Dowager, and now this guy.
Did this family have a hobby of staring at people from extremely close range?
“Very well. Indomitable Hero, who stands beneath the prestige of a Great Hero... what is it you wish to gain by serving the Empire?”
Oh.
That was surprisingly direct.
I just wished he would understand that every step he took toward me shortened my lifespan.
Still...
On the surface, this was supposed to be the birth of a hero.
I had supposedly been willing to sacrifice myself in a place where Root, an enemy I had no chance of defeating, had been rampaging, all for the sake of protecting the Hall.
Yet everyone here looked at me with disgust.
Even after the Emperor publicly said, in a very roundabout way, “Hey, this guy has done a lot of good things,” every one of his officials still looked hostile toward me.
Should I assume the Emperor himself didn’t think very highly of me either?
How could I possibly know what kind of conversations the Emperor had shared with these people while I wasn’t around?
“I don’t particularly want anything else. I would simply like permission to enter the Forest of Labyrinths.”
“Permission? Are you saying that even though you were already a knight before becoming a hero, you still did not have permission to enter the Forest of Labyrinths?”
“You already know my circumstances. You’re pretending not to know a little too much.”
Everyone in the world had told me that entering the Forest of Labyrinths would make me a criminal.
Sigh.
Seriously.
I had no idea what this man was thinking.
I definitely felt like I was being manipulated.
But I couldn’t even figure out what situation I was being manipulated into.
“If that is truly all you desire, then I will gladly grant it.”
Murmur, murmur.
“Your Majesty!”
Blah blah blah.
“How could...”
Blah blah blah.
“However...”
Blah blah blah.
Mutter, mutter.
So noisy.
Watching historical dramas was enough for me.
I had no interest in living in a world without Wi-Fi.
I was perfectly satisfied reading about the lives and history of those ages.
I did not want to experience them personally.
Why you people were fighting among yourselves...
Why you hated me so much...
I had decided not to care anymore.
I would just follow Grandpa’s advice and gradually change the way people saw me.
Wait.
I never cared much about the people around me in the first place.
Why was I suddenly pretending not to care?
Was my middle-school syndrome coming back?!
That...
would be troublesome.
I wanted to live an ordinary life as an ordinary human being.
“Your Majesty!”
“How about this, Emperor?”
To escape this embarrassing middle-school-syndrome mood, I wondered what I should say.
That whole,
“I live in my own world. None of you understand me. Do you understand, you inferior fools?!”
...kind of feeling.
That was unacceptable.
I was just a frightened Chihuahua.
I shouldn’t act like some lonely wolf.
I hate wolves anyway, don’t I?
“Since so many people oppose it, let’s consider my previous achievements settled by my becoming a hero. I’ll complete another task useful enough to the Empire, and in return, I’ll receive the permission I requested.”
“What absurd nonsense! You already declared that you would become a hero of the Empire, yet you still speak of calculated exchanges instead of simply serving the Empire?!”
Ugh.
N-No.
Hold it in.
I had almost laughed, “Ha!” like everything they said was ridiculous and answered—
“You all sound pretty confident, huh?”
That would have been awful!
I almost acted like I was the greatest person here, looking down on NPCs who were obviously more capable than me.
If I wanted to escape the Chairman’s shadow...
If I wanted to break free from the ghosts of the past...
Then first, I should try becoming an adult.
Stay calm.
Stay rational.
Don’t let emotions control me.
“Would you at least hear me out first? Listening will cost you nothing.”
“What you are about to say will benefit the Empire, correct?”
“Your Majesty! Why are you even listening to someone like him?!”
Aaaah!
I wanted to cause trouble!
I wanted to continue the character I had been playing in this game and flip everything upside down!
I wanted to make everyone angry and irritated!
But I had to endure it.
If I really did whatever I wanted here, there was a very high chance it would seriously interfere with my future plans.
“The truth is, within a special place called the Abyssal Pit under Karantlia’s control, I saw a spear left behind long ago by humanity’s Great Hero of Hope.”
Back then, I hadn’t touched it.
I had nowhere to use it anyway, and somehow, leaving it there had seemed more fitting.
But now it had suddenly become useful.
And if I promised that while traveling to Karantlia I would also help improve relations between the Empire and Karantlia...
From the Emperor’s perspective, there couldn’t be a better deal.
“The Great Hero of Hope! You are saying the spear left behind by that legendary Great Hero is in such a place?!”
“Yes. And to be completely honest, is there anyone among humanity right now who can retrieve that spear without causing conflict with Karantlia?”
“Your Majesty! Karantlia is currently not particularly powerful. Sending a Great Hero to retrieve it would be more than enough. We can simply reward this man separately for providing the information.”
“Haha. You want to send a Great Hero into Karantlia after they have already begun interacting with the Alliance? Have you lost your mind?”
Ah!
Calm down.
Respond like an adult.
Excessive sarcasm and looking down on others were textbook symptoms of middle-school syndrome.
“Ahem.”
“As you said, it is true that Karantlia currently does not possess particularly strong military power. However, if the Empire tries to suppress them by force, who would continue to accept the legitimacy of the Empire, which calls itself the ruler of the continent?”
I continued calmly.
“The Great Hero of Salvation from the Alliance might immediately intervene. If a Great Hero from another nation invaded the Empire while our own Great Hero was deployed far away, would the Empire truly possess the strength to stop them?”
“Hmph! The Empire was already called the ruler of the continent because of its prestige even before it had a Great Hero! Those are truly the words of an ignorant Outsider who knows nothing!”
How arrogant.
No matter how magnificent a castle looked from the outside, if the inside was rotting and its pillars could no longer support it, even a small impact could bring the whole thing down.
The nobles I had seen during the previous Zamani incident...
And several other things I had experienced...
The Empire showed weaknesses in more places than I expected.
Was the current Empire simply surviving on the glory of its past and the existence of a reliable Great Hero?
If the Alliance, which was approaching the level of modern civilization, truly united and made a serious move...
Could the Empire really withstand its power?
Could anyone be certain of that simply because Grandpa Alo was here?
Wasn’t the only reason the Empire could resist the Alliance because the Alliance itself had never completely united?
Murmur, murmur.
Thankfully, a few people seemed to agree with my argument.
Moving a Great Hero was an incident of enormous political significance.
Compared to that, using a newly appointed hero like me was much easier.
Even if I failed, they could dismiss it as the recklessness of a young and inexperienced hero.
“Your Majesty. If you truly care about the Empire’s future and wish to make that future prosperous, you cannot remain satisfied with the present. You must continue moving forward.”
The hall became quieter.
“The Alliance already possesses strength comparable to the Empire. They accept countless things without discrimination. While the Empire hesitates over whether to take a single step, the Alliance takes three uncertain steps forward.”
“How insolent! Your Majesty! Please do not listen to the words of such a man!”
“The Emperor can make that decision himself.”
I looked straight toward him.
“The Empire’s future depends entirely on your judgment. You are the Emperor of this Empire, aren’t you?”
If I wanted to establish my position within the Empire, I needed to win this argument.
The very appearance of the Emperor siding with me would give legitimacy to my future actions.
Whether the things I planned to do were actually for the Empire...
To be completely honest, I didn’t particularly care.
Perhaps the men opposing me weren’t doing so simply because they disliked or distrusted me.
Maybe they were genuinely loyal officials who believed they were protecting the Empire.
“Hmm...”
“Your Majesty...!”
Still, from what I could see, the Emperor cared greatly about the existence of a Great Hero.
Even his own mother, the Empress Dowager, had personally come to greet Grandpa Alo.
And throughout the argument with the nobles, the Emperor had occasionally glanced toward Grandpa as though waiting for him to say something.
That made it almost certain.
And perhaps partly because of the insincere praise I had offered earlier, the Emperor had personally described me as someone standing beneath the prestige of the Great Hero.
In the Emperor’s eyes, I probably looked like someone favored by Grandpa Alo.
Something like that.
“Very well. Indomitable Hero Kim In-gwang.”
The Emperor finally made his decision.
“You will immediately travel to Karantlia and retrieve the legendary spear left behind by the Great Hero of Hope.”
“Your Majesty! You must not trust someone so closely connected to the power of Madness so easily!”
“Silence. It appears my words no longer sound like commands to you.”
“...!”
“Your Majesty! What are you saying?!”
“Even the Empire’s great and honorable code of law declares that one must not condemn a person for a crime they have not committed. Are you telling me you have forgotten even that?”
Ohhh...
Once the Emperor made his decision, his voice carried an incredible amount of authority.
Seeing the nobles immediately fall silent made it easy to understand just how powerful his position was.
“However, since there are so many voices opposing this decision, you must understand that I cannot trust you completely either.”
Oh?
“Therefore, I will assign one of my personal knights to accompany you.”
“That is fine. However, the Abyssal Pit is an extremely dangerous place. Whoever you send should be highly skilled.”
I had warned them.
So if someone stubbornly insisted on following me and something happened, it wouldn’t be my fault, right?
Right?
Come on, then.
Anyone confident enough could try following me.
“Very well. Sir Heroson.”
Step. Step.
At the Emperor’s call, a broad and dependable-looking knight walked forward confidently before dropping to one knee in front of him.
...I felt like I had seen that face somewhere before.
“From this moment onward, accompany the Indomitable Hero to Karantlia and assist him in completing his mission.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“...Ah!”
Even though I wasn’t particularly short, this man was tall enough to look down at me.
He had a large frame.
His features looked foreign, so it was difficult to judge his age exactly, but he seemed to be around my age.
And he was handsome.
“It is an honor to undertake this mission with you. I am Heroson National, Knight of Endurance.”
“Uh... huh...”
Then Grandpa Alo chuckled.
“Hoho. Please take good care of my son, In-gwang.”
...
Hmm.
This...
This is troublesome.
