Chapter 104 – Heroes

Heroes

My head aches.

Where on earth did Bella hear that I was a hero? Why did she throw away the letter I had struggled to deliver so far away?

It’s just too much that nothing goes right in this world I’ve come to without anyone’s permission.

What sins must I have committed in a past life to live like this? I thought there would be at least one thing that would go smoothly. But in the end, it looks like I’m destined to wallow in the mire until the very end. To think that even at the end of my journey, I still have to cater to these women’s whims.

There’s a saying that the closer you get to the end of an ordeal, the more unbearable it becomes. It’s impossible not to compare the distant end of the ordeal with the current misery. As one approaches the end, even the smallest things can break a person, isn’t that human nature?
Or maybe it’s the opposite.
Maybe when the end is in sight, anything you do feels happy and comfortable. That could be the saying…

But my current situation is closer to the former.
So, it’s fine to think of it as the former.

With great effort, I suppressed my heated mind and responded to Bella.

“So, what exactly is your complaint? Does anything change just because I’m a hero? People might value different things, but I don’t think that’s a reason to throw away a letter.”

First things first, the letter.
We need to go down and find the letter, check if it’s been opened or not.

It doesn’t seem like it will open even if we find it, but there’s no better way. It’s not great to start fighting at the very end.

“Your being a hero is important. To have gained such a starting point as a hero so easily, and to treat the honor of a hero like that…”

“What honor are you talking about? If you think a dying body, gasping for breath and climbing mountains, looks honorable, I sincerely recommend you visit a doctor as soon as possible.”

Bella’s expression didn’t change. The same indifferent face with a hint of faint anger. I was really curious about what was so important about me being a hero and what was so honorable about this dog’s life, but it seemed futile to continue the conversation.

“Even you can’t deny that the honor you’ve earned by killing wyverns for over a year is less than the honor that comes naturally with being chosen as a hero.”

“…Since I can guess everything you want to say, let’s drop it. How about we have a more constructive conversation?”

“If I had known you were a hero earlier, I should have gotten rid of you then.”

That time must have been… when Troka committed suicide.

Well, the situation was still not good.
Who would have thought that nothing would go right until the very end?

Bella despised Troka. She did so in a different way than Chloe.
If Chloe merely felt disgust, Bella’s feelings were compounded with jealousy.
It’s a bit more troublesome to deal with.
So, in times like these.

“Alright, I won’t drag this out. I’ll admit it. I was a hero. To be precise, I used to be a hero. But now, I’m just an ordinary person.”

I acquiesced.

I was something like a simple hero candidate number one… But if agreeing with Bella’s words could bring some resolution to the situation, then so be it.

“…You don’t seem to understand how important this is.”

“I wish you understood how important the letter I handed over was. Funny, isn’t it?”

I thought that and finally acknowledged it. But nothing changed.
Always dealing with someone who doesn’t understand.

But I must endure.
I’m almost home.
Am I going to crumble here when the end is so close?

I wanted to let everything go, to explode right here and now. Whether it’s the holy sword, the cursed sword, or these damned emotions.

But I held back.
I suppressed it.

“What does being a hero mean to you? I should have asked this first.”

“Vermin. Trash, that’s what you could say.”

The answer was immediate.
I wanted to say something else, but my body reacted before I could.

To me, a hero is that bastard.

And it’s me.

It was me.
It should have been myself.
It used to be.

The guy who killed countless people and the one who broke his promise and ran away.

If those two aren’t trash, what are they?

This was something I couldn’t lie about. I couldn’t hold back these words.

“Now that I’ve answered your question, may I ask one?”

“I had a feeling we wouldn’t understand each other… but to this extent. I heard you killed tens of thousands before. From a reliable source. And yet, you can’t grasp the current situation?”

“That’s impressive. High intelligence gathering… You’ve got enough qualities of a hero, don’t you?”

“I have a duty to take you down. If you had understood your situation, I would have let it slide for now with just the holy sword… But there’s no helping it. Even with a body that’s not well, to eradicate evil until the very end. That’s what a true hero does.”

Still, we didn’t understand each other.
Only misalignment.
And she kept making irritating remarks, but I could still bear it. If it seemed like a fight was going to break out, I could just step back.

After all, even if it becomes unbearable, I must endure.

Once the letter is fully opened and a few days pass… I’ll return to my original world.

As a member of society, no matter how enraged one might be, one should never do something like killing another person. Nor should one resort to fighting. After all, it would be quite the sight to return to my original world only to end up in prison because I couldn’t control my temper.

And I’ve already checked off ‘wanting to experience prison’ from my bucket list one evening in the past. I have no desire for a repeat performance.

Moreover, and most importantly, there’s my health to consider.
If I were to fight with that guy here, I might never make it back to my original world.

Though, if I’m lucky, I might still get there.

As a corpse, that is.

Dying from using the holy sword in a last-ditch effort to survive. The goddess would have a good laugh at that. I absolutely must not fight.

“Ah, and hand over the holy sword. I know you have it, so it would be nice if you didn’t resist. It’s more effective to take you alive than dead. And you’d prefer to be alive, too.”

Is it going to be a fight to the end?

Well, that guy isn’t exactly normal, but that doesn’t mean I’m in top condition either. A close combat with a mage might be worth the challenge, but a melee with a swordsman is nothing short of suicide. Even if I were in peak condition, fighting Bella now would be out of the question.

…Whatever the reason, I should hold back here. I can just step aside.

I’ve shed enough pointless blood. I don’t want to dirty my hands any further.

To not be a shame in her eyes.
To not become someone I myself would be ashamed of.

After all, this journey began as a way to erase my sense of guilt. It certainly should have been.

But why then?

“Both Troka or you fell short as heroes to the very end. Indeed… it should have been me.”

Now.

‘Live as you wish, freely.’

Why do those damned words he left behind come to mind?

Bella approaches.
Clutching the sword she had hidden away.

Slowly.

Heading towards me.

* * *

The atmosphere was tranquil.

Wyverns flowed in the distance.
A red letter was neatly placed upon a tree branch, carried by the wind.

And on the mountainside, Flan and Bella stood off in a nameless clearing. The neatly fading sunset had already dyed even Flan’s hair red before disappearing. Flan’s face was hidden in the shadow, and Bella was looking at him.

“Speaking of which,”

Flan collapsed to the ground as if he was throwing himself down.

“…Hmm?”

Flan’s body began to tremble.
His shoulders and arms shook. From his head to his legs, there wasn’t a place that wasn’t quivering.

“Nothing’s going right… from the beginning to the end, really. It quite the shitty world.”

Flan’s body fluttered like dandelion seeds in the wind.
It was a clear anomaly.
In the Dragon Kingdom, such trembling suddenly appearing meant the emergence of an earth dragon. Earth dragons that burrow through the ground and shake the surface, causing immense damage. Their exteriors are extremely hard, impenetrable without specialized equipment. The only meaningful way to attack them otherwise is to strike at their belly.

But on the mountainside, there was no way to strike at the belly of an earth dragon.
And there was no equipment to penetrate the dragon’s exterior either.

In other words, it was a considerably dangerous situation.

“…”

However, Bella’s expression was calm.

She just looked at Flan with the eyes of a bystander watching a spectacle.

Flan, who had been sitting down, had already lost his tremors.
That’s right. It wasn’t the ground that was shaking.

“Isn’t it funny? How… how… could I do such a thing in the first world I came to. Until just now, until that moment, I was. Yesterday, I went to buy flowers.”

He had been holding back laughter.

Bella’s steps halted, as if on guard against Flan’s behavior.

But he continued to tremble, seemingly indifferent to any situation.

Was it because he used too much strength to hold back his laughter that he couldn’t even utter proper words, just spitting out words? After trying several times to form sentences while suppressing his emotions, what Flan ultimately chose was.

“Pfft… Hah…”

A short snort and a long sigh.
Eyes filled with resolve and the corners of his mouth drooping as if he was sick of everything, as if he had given up on it all.
And then, step by step,
Flan approached the cliff with a dark expression.

“I really shouldn’t have been a hero.”

It was surrender.

“Yeah, Bella. You become the hero. Hero, right. Good. Yeah, hero, hero, hero, you kept shouting it, but if you want it, then do it, go ahead!! So please…! Just leave me alone…. This damn sword… if you want it so badly, just fucking take it!!!”

And like spewing out his last bit of resentment, Flan hurled the sword towards Bella.

Bella naturally caught the sword that flew towards her, despite her wounded body. Then she scrunched up her face as if something didn’t quite make sense.
The sword Flan had thrown was too small. It was the size of a throwing dagger.
This differed from the information the woman in his dreams had given her. The holy sword was supposed to exist only as a hilt until power was infused into it. That’s certainly what she had heard. It could be smaller in size, but not to this extent… Besides, this one had a blade.

Bella’s mind raced.

‘This isn’t… the holy sword.’

If what was thrown just now wasn’t the holy sword, then what would Flan do next?

She prepared for his next action, taking a stance.
But it was already too late.
Flan had closed the distance to her in an instant. With a speed never shown during their time in the hero’s party, he covered tens of meters in a single breath. It was something that should not, could not happen.

However, Bella was a renowned swordsman, not one to be caught off guard.

She bent her knees. She lowered her stance to the extreme, ready to spring out in response to the enemy’s attack. In addition, she aimed her blade at Flan’s approaching shoulder. It didn’t matter if it hit or not. As long as she could widen the distance between them, that was all that mattered.

The original Flan would not have been able to respond to this.
He changed his stance at a speed several times that of a human. It was impossible to react.

But what Bella saw in her field of vision was Flan’s pupils, turned stark white.
Bella didn’t realize what it was, but she felt one thing for certain. The Flan before her was dangerous.
It was the awakening of the Mind’s Eye. A super-sensory perception that couldn’t be described merely as reaction speed.

Flan had seen through all of Bella’s actions. He had anticipated every stance she would take.

Bella’s sword, unable to follow the elegant trajectory.

Thud,

Bella’s sword naturally stuck into the ground.

Whack!!!

Flan’s fist struck Bella’s jaw.

“What… the…!”

Bella was sent flying into the sky──and then crashed to the ground.
Being airborne was not a major issue in itself. But because her wings were injured, she couldn’t stabilize her posture. Bella’s body, which rolled several times on the ground, was covered in gravel scratches from the rocky mountain. Injuries piled upon injuries. It was a disaster for her.

“…Ugh!”

A groan of dismay involuntarily escaped her lips.

Why had she been sent flying? The difference in strength should have been clear.
How could he move with such speed?
That guy was supposed to be a halfwit, that’s what she had heard.

“…Maybe I should have just done this from the start?”

As if to say there was no need to answer such curiosity, Flan was staring at Bella with a smile. Like a wolf chasing its prey, he was thorough and relentless.

Not long after, Flan’s smile gradually faded.

But the intensity in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

“From now on, I’ll do as I fucking please.”

Picking up the dagger that had fallen to the ground.

“And… since it’s the end anyway.”

And with his other hand, he grasps the holy sword.
The blade of the holy sword began to emerge bit by bit.
The holy sword was emitting a brighter light than ever before.

Flan was smiling.

He smiled as if nothing mattered.
With a determined gaze and a face flushed with intensity.

“I won’t send you off nicely, not you.”

Now, his eyes were like those of the hero who had contended with the Demon King.