episode_0002

“Leon!”

Tiris’s urgent shout echoed.

It was because a part of the monster she was blocking was running towards me.

It’s understandable that she would shout urgently, as Leon was a hero, but also the weakest combatant in the party.

Originally, without a response, I would have been seriously injured as expected.

But I am different now.

“Hoo…”

I remove strength as much as possible, and swing my sword at the monster running towards me, following the swordsmanship my body remembers.

The sharpness of the sword aura, realized through high skill, was truly unparalleled, and the monster’s body was lightly cleaved along the sword’s path.

“Ah.”

Oh, damn it.

Originally, I was planning to inflict a moderate wound and stop the charge, but I never imagined it would be cut in half.

Clearly, a movement that the usual Leon could not make.

I wondered if it was too noticeable, and I glanced at Tiris, who was staring at me with wide eyes, forgetting about the monster she was blocking.

But is it okay to be so distracted during a battle? Especially since she’s in the tanker position?

“Tiris! In front!!”

“Ah!….”

Bang!!

“Oh…”

As I feared, while Tiris was distracted by me, the monster she was blocking slammed into her.

As the sight of a human body flying like a baseball unfolded before my eyes, I unknowingly let out an exclamation of wonder.

Of course, thanks to Marie’s magic afterwards, the situation was somehow salvaged and the quest was completed.

* * *

A world inside a game.

About a week has passed since I possessed the protagonist of 『The Success Story of a Useless Hero』.

Life here wasn’t as bad as I thought.

If you exclude the fact that there are no modern amenities like the internet, making entertainment scarce for a modern person like me, life here was quite pleasant.

Everyday necessities existed under the name of living magic tools, so you could even take a shower at a decent inn.

Then, what do I do for a living in this place with no entertainment?

The daily routine of the Leon party was extremely simple.

Traveling around the continent, defeating monsters to build strength and experience.

Of course, this was the same not only for the Leon party but also for the other two hero parties.

“Hey, Leon. Have you been doing any separate training?”

“No, never.”

“Is that so?… Recently, you haven’t been doing morning or evening training with me, but Leon’s movements seem noticeably better….”

While hunting monsters nearby as a party for a week, Tiris, who could observe my movements most closely as a tanker, finally noticed something strange about me and spoke to me.

“Come to think of it…, Leon-nim rarely gets hurt these days.”

“It’s not rare, it’s like it’s completely disappeared….”

“Hmm, should I say you’ve gained composure…, or that there’s a sense of ease….”

But it seems that Tiris wasn’t the only one who noticed the change in the past week. Noren, Marie, and Piria also added a word each and looked at me.

Don’t look at me like that. I’ll get attached.

“Maybe the things I learned from Tiris-ssi are finally sinking in.”

I smiled slightly and brushed off the words of the disgustingly perceptive women.

If you keep talking about me here, I’ll be in trouble. I need to change the subject quickly.

And there’s only one topic that suits these guys best.

“By the way, when is the exchange meeting? I think we should start moving soon.”

“Ah…. Th-that’s right. It’s in about 2 weeks, so we can move slowly. This exchange meeting is scheduled to take place in the Roman Kingdom.”

“The Roman Kingdom, that’s….”

“….The homeland of the Ragna Hero.”

Tiris cautiously looks at Marie.

The reason she’s watching Marie is obvious. Marie is going to Ragna Roman’s party.

She’s probably worried that it might look like she’s hinting at it to me. Tiris is also a traitor like Marie.

As she feared, Marie’s expression momentarily soured.

It was such a fleeting change in expression that it would be difficult for anyone without high skill to notice.

Yes, if it were the original Leon, he would never have noticed.

“Let’s rest today and move tomorrow. How far is it from here to the Roman Kingdom?”

“It should be enough to arrive in about a week.”

“Then let’s arrive early and rest for a week. I’m a little tired, so can I go up first?”

“Okay. Get some rest, Leon.”

After being seen off by Noren, the four women looked at each other silently.

Leon himself says it’s not true, but they could tell. Something had changed in Leon.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what….”

“He’s definitely different.”

“We should be happy about the hero’s growth.”

“That’s true, but….”

Tiris trailed off at Noren’s words.

The hero’s growth.

That’s definitely something to be happy about. The hero growing stronger means that the power to fight the Demon King is getting stronger.

But at least for her right now, it wasn’t a good thing.

Because they’re trying to betray the hero.

Because he’s a useless hero, they can’t work with him as a party, they’re trying to switch parties while deceiving themselves with that reason.

“Everyone…, let’s go rest for now. As the hero said…, we need to prepare for the exchange meeting.”

* * *

The overall progression of this game is as follows.

『Growth Part -> Exchange Meeting Part -> (Repeat) -> Ending』

The growth part is literally a turn-based RPG.

There are H-scenes, but most of them are combat loss H-scenes, and the main focus is on character growth.

The exchange meeting part is a mystery and puzzle-solving game.

It’s the most important part as an adult game, and this is where the most heroine corruption and related H-scenes occur.

In addition, it’s also the section where the branching of multiple endings diverges, and at the same time, it becomes a crossroads element that determines the protagonist’s growth method.

RPG and mystery puzzle.

These two elements are properly mixed, so the game itself is above average.

It’s just that NTR is the main focus.

Anyway, after experiencing several exchange meetings, the final exchange meeting event is unlocked, at which point all the initial heroines leave the protagonist, and he proceeds alone. And looking at the situation, it seems like it’s time for the final exchange meeting.

“That’s great. Once this exchange meeting is over, I can move freely, so it’s perfect for meeting the Sword King.”

Smiling brightly at the thought of unleashing the Sword King’s Secret Technique, I called up my status window.

Level : 33 Stamina : 129870 / 16883 (13%)

Strength : 999 Magic : 79920 / 1840 (2.3%)

Agility : 999

Magic Power : 999

Skill : 999

Endurance : 999

First of all, there are a few things I’ve learned while living here for a week.

First, I can’t level up.

I don’t know why yet. Whether it’s because the level-up system is malfunctioning due to an error caused by loading the cheat file, or because the actual level and experience follow 93, even though the displayed level is 33 because this save file was originally at level 93.

“That’s a shame. I was aiming for full recovery of stamina and magic when leveling up, but I can’t do that.”

The reason I’m so obsessed with stamina recovery is simple.

The second thing I realized here. The stamina in the status doesn’t just mean my remaining lifeline.

I’m guessing that it probably represents the overall condition of my body.

What this means is that if 100% stamina is a complete body condition, the lower the stamina, the lower the limit of the power I can exert. In other words, the actual applied stats are lower than the numerical stats. It’s hard to say exactly because there’s no comparison group, but it’s certain that the power I can currently exert is not the limit of 999.

“In addition, it was unexpected that it would be difficult to fully recover stamina….”

Whether it’s because the priestess Noren’s ability is insufficient, or because my stamina is too high, the limit was raising about 16,000 stamina.

It’s possible if I recover several times, but that would attract too much unnecessary attention.

Even in this state, I’m incomparably stronger than the original Leon, so it doesn’t matter if I stay in this state for now….

But if I think about the future, I should prepare a means of recovery.

I can’t even dream of complete recovery potions like elixirs because it’s still the middle of the chapter, and unlike in the game, the means of recovering magic power here seem to be quite precious.

“The next thing to think about is the party.”

The current Leon party.

How to treat and deal with Tiris, Marie, Piria, and Noren.

At first, my combat ability was 0, so I couldn’t let them be taken by other heroes to survive, but it’s different now.

Thanks to the cheat file working better than I thought, I have enough combat power to survive in this world, so I don’t need them. It doesn’t matter to me whether they fall for other heroes and leave the party.

But to let them go as if nothing happened…,

I don’t really like it.

“The reason I came here is because Leon died. And the reason Leon died is because of the party’s betrayal, right? If they hadn’t betrayed me, I wouldn’t have had to go through this hardship here.”

Of course, the protagonist who came to another world.

It’s a position I’d want to get even if I bowed down and begged, but the problem is that that other world is a world full of NTR.

The game title is also mocking me, 『The Success Story of a Useless Hero』….

“Okay. I’ve decided.”

Since they left because I was a useless hero, it would be a good revenge if I succeeded without them as a useless hero and stood before them proudly.

Just like the game title, I should realize a success story.

“When I think about it again, the game title is The Success Story of a Useless Hero, but none of the endings are properly successful.”

Knock knock

Just as I was wondering if the game was deliberately named that way to screw over the users, I heard a knock.

The only people who would come to visit are the party members, and I remember telling them to rest, right?

“Who is it?”

“Leon, it’s me.”

“Piria? What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s not really anything…, but it seems like we haven’t talked together lately…, so I was wondering if we could just talk about this and that for a while before going in?”

A very cautious voice.

I think I know why, and the decision was simple.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been very tired since I was sick recently…, so is it okay if I just rest?”

“O-Oh, really?!…. I’m sorry. Get some rest….”

A disappointed voice was heard from beyond the door, but that was it.

The presence that had been standing outside for a while soon faded away with the sound of footsteps.

“Piria, huh….”

Hero Leon’s childhood friend and the heroine who plays the role of the party’s ranger.

According to the story, when Leon was chosen as a hero, she hated to part with Leon, so she ran out of the village with a poor hunting bow, so she can be seen as a heroine with a strong one-track mind that is commonly seen.

If the essence of this game wasn’t a fresh love story between a hero and a heroine, she would have definitely taken the main heroine spot. Of course, like all NTR heroines, she’s also Heroine A, who struggles alone to solve things without saying a word to the protagonist, and eventually succumbs to pleasure.

The H-scenes are quite arousing, so my little friend has been indebted to her a lot, but she’s an NPC that I don’t see very favorably because I’m planning Leon’s revenge.

“Don’t worry, Leon. This body will take revenge splendidly. Just trust me and wait in heaven.”

* * *

The Pilgreah Continent is largely divided into 4 regions: West, Central, North, and East.

The main stage of the Useless Hero is the central region.

The center is further divided into 5 countries, one of which is the Roman Kingdom. It’s the kingdom where this exchange meeting is held.

“We arrived earlier than I thought. I thought Marie would be camping out for another 3 days.”

“That’s right. This must be the goddess’s guidance.”

The characteristic of the Roman Kingdom is its ordinariness.

It’s not a country with strong military power, nor does it have special resources or elements, it’s just an extremely ordinary country. That’s why there’s a precariousness hidden beneath the surface, where it could be swallowed up by surrounding countries at any time. It’s a bit emotional to think that this country will be the turning point in my life.

“Leon, are you still not used to the capital?”

“Huh?”

“Oh?…, Or is it? I thought you still weren’t used to it because you look at the capital with a curious expression every time you come, but…, I apologize if I was presumptuous.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize….”

I waved my hand at Tiris, who was bowing her head and apologizing.

She didn’t say anything wrong. I’m here for the first time.

Stretching out and yawning, Marie.

I glanced at Noren, who was offering a brief prayer, and clapped my hands lightly to focus the party’s attention.

“Since we’ve arrived in the capital of the Roman Kingdom, let’s rest as planned. We arrived much earlier than expected, so everyone can take care of their personal business and then meet at the accommodation. Ah, is there anyone who won’t be back late tonight?”

“Um…, then, Hero-nim. Would it be okay if I stayed at the church for a few days?”

“Okay. Then we’ll see you again at the exchange meeting, right?”

As soon as my permission was granted, Noren bowed her head in gratitude and disappeared into the crowd.

Marie, who saw her disappear, also raised her hand slightly.

“Then I want to go separately for a while too.”

“Really? Okay.”

When I nodded obediently, Marie looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well…, aren’t you going to ask why?”

“Isn’t it personal business?”

“….That’s not wrong, but. Anyway, okay.”

With a somewhat uneasy expression, Marie also moved on.

I don’t need to hear the reason.

She’s probably trying to leave the party for a while to meet another hero, Ragna Roman, who came here in advance.

And Noren, who said she would go to the church, won’t be much different from Marie.

‘Then who’s left….’

Tiris and Piria. Are those the only two left?

“What are you two going to do? Now that things have turned out this way, I think it’s okay for everyone to do what they need to do and meet later. Nothing will happen in the kingdom’s capital, right?”

“I, I….”

“I think it would be okay if that’s what Hero-nim wants.”

Tiris said before Piria could say anything.

Because of that, Piria swallowed her words and looked at me.

Tiris may have said that to faithfully guarantee my personal time, but it seems that Piria doesn’t think so.

But that’s not something I need to worry about.

“Then let’s split up and meet again. The inn is right in front of here, right?”

“I understand.”

“Ah!….”

Before Piria could say anything, I left first.

* * *

“Then let’s split up and meet again. The inn is right in front of here, right?”

“I understand.”

“Ah!….”

Piria reached out her hand, but he had already moved on.

Eventually, her lost hand hovered in the air, unable to say anything and bowed her head.

Tiris, who watched her for a moment, scratched the back of her head awkwardly and said.

“Did I do something unnecessary?”

“….”

“If Piria…, has no choice but to follow him after all…, I thought this was better.”

At Tiris’s words, her body trembled involuntarily.

It wasn’t said with that intention, but it felt like her words sounded like this to her.

‘Since you’re the same traitor anyway, what are you trying to do?’

“Then I’ll…, be on my way.”

“….”

Tiris’s figure disappeared, and Piria was left alone in front of the inn, blankly looking in the direction where Leon had gone.

“…N-No. I’m…, I didn’t betray Leon….”

She said it vaguely, trembling, as if vowing to herself, with a voice that was being swallowed up.

“I’m…, yes…, to protect Leon…., that’s right…, to protect Leon…., from that jerk like Abel….”