Chapter 133. Are You Seriously Saying That?
A short while ago—about two weeks earlier—a man came to see me.
I was already overwhelmed with work, so when someone walked into the mayor’s office without even announcing himself, I had planned to throw him right back out.
But I couldn’t.
The man was dressed almost like a barbarian. In his arms, he carried a small child with branches growing from her forehead, and on top of his head sat a wobbling slime.
More importantly, he was currently the most famous man around.
“The Indomitable Hero? G-Good heavens... I heard you were coming, but I never imagined you would arrive this soon.”
He was an extraordinary hero who had suddenly risen to prominence one day.
A man acknowledged by a Great Hero...
“Let’s keep this quick and get straight to the point.”
“Ah, yes.”
...The rumors saying he was somewhat frivolous were apparently true as well.
I had thought, Surely a hero wouldn’t behave like that.
But in a way, it suited someone from another world, so I didn’t think much of it.
The Hero immediately asked about the current state of the city, information regarding the orcs, and, for some reason, where he could find the best sausages.
After nodding several times, he finally shared his thoughts.
“As expected, someone who has actually experienced everything firsthand knows far more. You must have been deeply worried.”
Then he smiled confidently.
“But you don’t have to worry anymore! I’ll take care of it.”
“Ohhh! As expected of a Hero! Hearing that alone already makes me feel reassured!”
“Yes. In that case, I’d like to borrow some land on the outskirts of the city. Would that be all right?”
“Pardon? I don’t believe there is any unused land within the city large enough for someone like you to use...”
The Hero said that land outside the city’s official borders would be fine.
He only needed my permission.
He even said he was willing to pay if he had to purchase the land.
When I asked what he intended to do there, the Hero simply replied,
“I’m going to call the otherworlders here. Let’s just say I need somewhere for them to stay.”
“Ah...! I understand. Since you are an otherworlder yourself, I suppose the Indomitable Hero would understand them better than anyone.”
“Exactly, exactly. Just leave it to me.”
Recently, the sudden increase in otherworlders had begun pushing the city beyond its capacity.
We were already having trouble accommodating them.
So when he offered to build facilities for them free of charge, I almost cheered without realizing it.
After that, the Hero went to a piece of land some distance away from the city.
It wasn’t suitable for farming because monsters lived nearby.
He then began wiping out every monster in the area.
The adventurers complained loudly about it, but the Hero gathered their representatives, held meetings with them, and somehow managed to reach an agreement.
Even his negotiations with those rough adventurers went smoothly.
He truly seemed impressive.
“Mayor, it seems the number of people entering the city from outside has increased dramatically lately. Are you sure this will be all right?”
The knight in charge of public security came to me with that concern.
Our city wasn’t particularly large.
With so many people flooding in, there was a real possibility that crime would begin to increase.
On top of that, even more people had started gathering after hearing about the recently arrived Indomitable Hero.
The situation was becoming troublesome.
Still, I believed there was no real need to worry.
We had the Indomitable Hero, after all.
He had placed his own subordinates at the front and led the adventurers in a massive monster-clearing campaign.
As a result, peace had returned throughout the city.
So I thought we still hadn’t reached the point where I needed to seriously worry.
Yes.
At the time, that was what I thought.
“H-Hero... If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you building?”
“A recreational facility.”
It had been one week since the Indomitable Hero arrived in the city.
The adventurers had started following him.
Meanwhile, beside the city, an absolutely enormous building had begun to rise.
It was large enough to easily fit three or four entire villages inside.
Most of the labor was provided by adventurers who practically worshipped the Indomitable Hero, so it didn’t have much effect on the city itself.
Still...
Watching that facility grow larger and larger almost every time I blinked sent an inexplicable chill down my spine.
“Thanks to the Indomitable Hero, peace has returned to the city. Now that most of those useless adventurers have left the city proper, the citizens are saying they can finally breathe again.”
“I-Is that so? It should be fine, then, right? More importantly... ahem! What happened with that thing I asked you to look into?”
“Ahem! Ahem! As the commander of the knight order, do you really think I would forget something like that?”
The man speaking had recently become the knight commander.
Thanks to the large military support provided by three somewhat strange knights under the Indomitable Hero, along with numerous adventurers, his position had risen sharply.
For some reason, he seemed far more confident than before.
His loyalty toward the Indomitable Hero also seemed unusually strong.
“You really don’t need to worry too much. The facility the Indomitable Hero is currently building is exactly what he claimed—a recreational facility with lodging accommodations.”
“B-But if that is true, why has he gone to such ridiculous lengths with soundproofing? Why is he installing every kind of security magic and surrounding the place with walls so high that no one outside can even see in?”
The knight commander laughed.
“Hahaha! Hopborn is currently suffering from constant orc attacks, isn’t it?”
“Of course, ever since the Indomitable Hero appeared, our military strength has improved so greatly that they are no longer a serious problem. But they are still dangerous. He is simply taking proper precautions.”
“I-I can trust that, right?”
“Yes!”
The knight commander proudly thumped his chest.
“I swear it on the hope of this city! It is a truth as unshakable as the fact that I am the Descendant of Hope!”
Not even a full day passed after he declared that.
I saw orcs being dragged inside the Hero’s facility.
“W-Wait! Please wait, Hero! What exactly are you doing?!”
“Ah, preparing for the festival.”
“F-Festival? What do you mean, festival?! Our city doesn’t even have the money for something like that, and the orc attacks are still continuing!”
“Come on~ It’s fine. A looot of money will be coming in soon.”
“H-How exactly?!”
“How else? I invited rich people from all over the place. I already sent the invitations.”
“????”
And so, two weeks passed.
Exactly two weeks.
In that short amount of time, the Indomitable Hero had somehow become the perfect hero of the city and gained the support of nearly every citizen.
Then, once the facility was completed, he hung enormous banners across the front.
[♚♚ COLOSSEUM GRAND OPENING ♚♚ Enter Now and Receive 2 FREE Lodging Vouchers ☜☜ First Ticket FREE ￥]
[★☆★ LIVE WINNING & LOSING STREAK §§EVENT§§! ★NO SCAMS★ NO DISAPPEARING ★☆SAFE PLAYGROUND☏☎☏☎! Lodging and Every Convenience Facility Available♬♬]
“What... What in the world is this...?!”
Just as the Indomitable Hero had claimed, people flooded toward the facility in massive numbers.
The surroundings were packed shoulder to shoulder.
An unbelievable amount of money began changing hands.
Seeing all that money moving around, street merchants naturally gathered as well.
They sold all kinds of strange things in front of the facility.
There were even fortune-telling stalls.
Some people were reselling entry tickets at absurd prices.
Clink, clink.
Hearing the rattling of chains, I turned around.
Somehow, monster capture had already become a perfectly normal sight.
All kinds of captured monsters, chained together, were being led inside the facility.
Members of the knight order walked at the front, clearing the road for them.
I assumed the sudden appearance of monsters would cause the crowd to panic.
But surprisingly, not a single person seemed frightened.
Instead—
“Ohhh. Is that a crossbreed between a giant and a pig beastman? Its level looks pretty high, and that equipment is quite impressive.”
“I heard ‘Claw’ is competing today. Maybe that monster is his opponent.”
“Hmm... Claw hasn’t been doing too well lately. What do you think? Personally, I’m thinking about betting big on that monster defeating Claw within ten minutes.”
The man turned toward his companion.
“You’re going to bet on Claw winning, right?”
“Hah! What kind of obvious question is that? If I’m not betting on the underdog, then why would I even bother gambling?”
There was a brief silence.
Then—
“...Exactly! You’re absolutely right!!! LET’S GO, UNDERDOG!!!”
