Chapter 11 – Those Who Hunt Heroes
In the early hours before dawn, when the morning star shone in the sky, Sheto slipped into the ruined fortress.
Though it was dark, the destruction from the fire was still apparent. But as it had been ruled by monsters for so long, it would take some time before people came from the nearby town.
From amongst the numerous remains, he managed to find the bones of his friends, which he placed into a bag.
“Finished. Now, will make a grave in the mountains.”
‘It should be a place with a good view. They can watch over us from there.’
“When you die, your soul vanishes. No?”
‘You sure know nothing of poetic sentiment… Don’t you want to show them? How we shall hunt the Hero.’
Sheto laughed at her words and nodded. After that, his eyes turned to the sight of the rising sun, and the shadows cast in the valley.
“There is no time. I want to prepare quickly.”
‘I know. Preparing you is very important. But first, towards that gate there, take ten steps.’
It was a strange order, but he took the steps carefully.
‘Look down and dig the ground… Just a little.’
He dug through the burned earth, and a small blue stone came out. The vine had burned away, but the stone shone just as it had before.
‘Make sure that you never lose it again.’
“…Yes.”
His mouth tightened as he felt the stone in his grip.
“Let’s go, Salia.”
‘Aye.’
While looking at the river on the left, four horses trotted on.
To the right, there was a tall cliff, and a sprawling forest. The roads here were quite wide, as it was an important road that connected to the neighboring town.
In the lead, the Hero in blue armor. Next to him was the monk. And behind them the sorcerer. Axle saw it all from the rear.
“And then I was woken up by my brother, but the event was already finished. Everyone was mad at me, as we missed a rare hunt.”
“You really are experienced, Hero. You have hunted monsters all over the place.”
“Well, it’s like my life’s work. Hahaha.”
Axle had worked in the Knights Order of a small country for a long time. And he felt that he could not keep us with the Hero’s words and actions. Apparently, in the other world, he was not a Hero. Just something called a ‘highschool student.’ And so much of what he said did not make any sense.
In this world, depending on where you were born, you could squire for a knight at the age of ten.
After that, you trained for ten years and lived with the other members of the order. He had learned to wield a sword and spear.
As for Ril, she was a strange girl who was absorbed with speaking to the gods. Elka had wandered as a sorcerer for hire. So perhaps it was less surprising that those two became used to Koji’s ramblings.
But Axle still felt odd about him.
What were Heroes anyway?
One day, a divine revelation had suddenly descended upon the small frontier country where he lived, and Hero appeared.
He was wearing armor that could not have been made by any human hands. His sword blocked everything, and could even erase Elka’s magic.
Recently, he had dealt with an entire fortress of monsters on his own.
It was indeed the work of a Hero, and the people were grateful to him.
Still, there were thoughts he could not ignore.
Was this really alright? A voice whispered.
‘Fool. No one can understand the will of the gods.’
His elderly father had scolded him. He was grateful to the Hero. He was a new light in a world that was being ravaged by monsters.
A wonderful power. A gift from god. That was what the country thought. Ril’s eyes shone brightly, and she held this servant of god with great reverence.
But it was this fanaticism that scared him.
Though, it must be right. In the first place, he was fighting for this world that had nothing to do with him.
He was like the perfect example of God’s messenger…
“You look gloomy, old man.”
The sorcerer laughed as she moved next to him. Now that he thought about it, though they irritated each other at first, he had been able to talk to her more freely of late.
“Sorry. It’s just that, ever since we entered the mountains…”
“Huh… You too.”
She could be lazy and had very questionable characteristics, but after going through many battlefields, she had rather sharp senses. And her eyes currently had the same look as his.
“I have a bad feeling. Like the back of my neck is tingling. As if…”
“A sword tip is being pressed against it?”
“…Really, I don’t know how they can be so relaxed.”
Elka said in a low voice.
While looking at the two in front of them.
She seemed annoyed.
“It seems you have lost in the contest of love.”
“You have no right to speak about it, country knight. In the first place, I hate kids like that.”
“He is a Hero chosen by god. You shouldn’t say such…”
“Oh? I didn’t say anything about the Hero. Perhaps I was talking about Ril.”
She said with a grin. But it was clear that she was still annoyed.
“A long time ago, I took a certain job. To the east, in the city of Kaiter.”
“The capital of White Peak, huh? It must have been quite the job.”
“It was from a great nobleman. I was to travel with his son for a while.”
She said with disgust.
“He would never listen to what I said. If I told him to avoid something because it was dangerous, he would do it. He would swing around this useless jeweled sword in battle. We almost died because of him. Still, we were hired, and could not complain. What do you think he said, after we somehow managed to fend off the enemy?”
“I can imagine. Probably something about how you should watch him and learn.”
“I suppose you met people like him! We’ve suffered so much.”
Elka laughed happily when she saw how they were alike.
And then they looked ahead again.
“He is not like those rich sons who are all talk. At the very least, he knows how to fight.”
“It’s not so different. Fighting is a game to him.”
There were words that were at the back of his throat, but he swallowed them down.
“Spit it out. We’ve had tough jobs, and can share such things.”
“I wouldn’t be a knight if I could do that.”
“You are so serious… Well, let me say something then.”
The sorcerer looked around with sharp eyes and then opened her mouth. Even while chatting, she did not lower her guard at all.
“The way he fights. It relies entirely on God’s gifts. He has not acquired a single thing on his own. He was able to come this far because of them, and these strange tactics he learned from somewhere. Indeed,using bait to lure out the enemy is normal enough, but you only do it with multiple people.”
That was something that bothered Axle as well. The man had no doubts when putting himself in danger. It went beyond mere heroism.
It was as if he had never considered the possibility of being injured… He was like a madman.
“I understand that it is his style of fighting. But…what if that power vanished?”
“Is it possible for a god’s power to vanish?”
“I don’t know. But I’ve seen things on the battlefield. People who thought they were invincible will still die. That is reality. But he has never thought of that. Or so it looks.”
“I have no idea if it is true, but he apparently cannot die…”
He recalled the words he had heard at some point.
‘Huh? Ah, apparently, I cannot die. There are exceptions, but for the most part, there will just be a little penalty, and I’ll be brought right back.’
Yes. It was those childish words that had first brought the doubts.
How was he able to speak of death so casually?
“That’s impressive. I wish I could become a Hero.”
“Aye. It would be something.”
Though, he was more fearful than amazed.
“…Well, it’s fine. At the very least, we know that he is strong. So we just need to cover for him. The parts that he doesn’t notice.”
“Indeed…”
He lowered the visor of his helmet and unsheathed his sword while kicking his spurs. His horse dashed forward towards the Hero. At the same time, the sorcerer also moved.
“Here they come.”
“I know.”
“What is it?”
The Hero looked at them quizzically.
The shadows from the trees grew longer as the light weakened. He could feel the tension coming from deep in the forest.
It was so painfully obvious, but the Hero did not notice anything.
“Wh-what is it? Enemies?”
“In any case, Ril. You protect the Hero. Keep the horses in the middle of the road, and don’t let go of the reins!”
“What! How many are there!?”
“Shut up! Keep it down!”
The sorcerer said as she looked through the trees.
And then she shouted.
“It’s a trap! Turn your horses to the mountains! Hurry!”
With a vicious sound as if to whip the ground, it rained down.