episode_0101

The Demon King and the Hero.

The story of this world that has maintained the balance of this land for a long time.

At the beginning of this story, there was a human who broke the peace and banished the demons.

The demon K’bat created the Demon King to help the banished demons, and the goddess created the Hero to protect the humans from the Demon King.

That has been the core of the story up until now.

And always, every story ends with the Hero defeating the Demon King.

As time passes and the next Demon King appears, the story repeats itself.

“Hmm….”

I asked the guild to gather information about the Hero and the Demon King roaming the kingdom, as well as the goddess.

Algot suddenly became curious about why I wanted this information, but I couldn’t honestly tell him.

Revealing the existence of a narrator who can reveal all events from an omniscient perspective to others carries too much risk.

Even though they probably wouldn’t believe me, there was no need to take such a risk.

Even without revealing the existence of the narrator, by attaching the assumption of ‘if,’ I could provide any reason.

Of course, knowing for sure that the next Hero won’t appear and speaking with the assumption of ‘if’ are different in weight, but still.

One day, curious about Algot’s thoughts, I asked about the possibility of the Hero not appearing, and he replied like this.

“According to the information from the capital, that dead Hero seems to have been a fake. It is said that the Saint intentionally distorted the goddess’s prophecy and selected a fake Hero.”

“A fake Hero?”

“That’s why the Saint took responsibility and was banished from the kingdom. In fact, the Hero was never properly chosen from the beginning. I thought it was strange. A Hero committing such evil deeds, losing to the demons, and dying. Such a thing shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

It was a story I had never heard before.

A fake Hero? That couldn’t be true.

“But didn’t that Hero find the Holy Sword?”

“Because he was a fake Hero, he might not have been able to fully utilize the power of the Holy Sword. Even if the seal could have been broken somehow, if it couldn’t be used properly, the Holy Sword would just be an ordinary sword.”

“So, the possibility of the next Hero not appearing….”

“The Central Church side says they will definitely find the real Hero this time. Since the talk has come this far, isn’t it likely to be true?”

Algot said to me with a calm face.

By saying it so confidently, it seemed like the Central Church side really believed that.

That dead trash Hero was actually a fake Hero?

Thinking like that, I could understand why people were so peaceful even after knowing the Hero’s death.

In this situation, if I were to say, “The next Hero will never appear,” I would probably be stoned.

“So, Yunoa, don’t worry too much. Since the Hero was never chosen in the first place, it’s just a matter of time before they find one.”

Algot said to reassure me.

If that trash Hero was a fake Hero, and if a real Hero was never chosen from the beginning….

People would naturally think that a real Hero would appear this time.

A real Hero never appeared in the first place, and didn’t die either.

But then, that doesn’t match with what the narrator said.

The narrator clearly stated.

“The Hero is definitely dead.

Hero Cain was not a fake Hero.”

The narrator confirmed the fact once again.

The situation is getting stranger.

What on earth are the people from the Central Church thinking?

And the Saint was banished….

Then they would have banished the ‘real Saint’ by putting her on trial.

“Still, I want to continue receiving information. I have personal curiosity as well.”

“That’s not difficult. I requested copies of the relevant books from the Pifnel Grand Library through an acquaintance, so they should arrive soon.”

“Thank you.”

“It seems like you’re trying to be a scholar rather than an adventurer.”

Algot joked with a smile.

I didn’t feel like laughing at the joke, but I smiled out of courtesy.

Whether the Central Church spread fake hero stories intentionally to prevent chaos or believed them to be true, it didn’t matter to me.

I was just trying my best to find a way to avoid destruction.

* * *

“Ugh… I feel like my eyeballs are going to fall out…”

I’m not particularly fond of books.

If I look at letters for too long, my eyes hurt.

The black thing is the text, and the crinkly thing is the paper… The content doesn’t stick in my head.

I was reading various books about heroes and demons that I obtained through the guild at home.

I don’t know where to start looking for a way to prevent destruction, so I collect all the relevant information that comes my way.

I have a means of information called narration.

I can’t communicate with it directly, but it provides quite accurate information.

Since I can’t ask the narration directly, maybe if I collect relevant information indiscriminately, it will provide new information.

“People are tired of doing things they didn’t do before.

Yet, Yunoa was buried in a pile of books to find a way to prevent destruction.

And of course, I couldn’t find what I wanted in the books right away.”

Then tell me how I can prevent destruction.

I’m trying my best too.

“However, knowing the structure of this world, which people only know through old stories or commonly known facts, was helpful.

There is no one who doesn’t know about the goddess and the saint, the hero and the demon, but those who truly understand these concepts are extremely rare.

Especially in the kingdom, information has fragmented over time and turned into myths unlike in the demon realm.”

“Myth…?”

The narration came out, but it wasn’t very helpful.

I couldn’t put any more words into my head, so I closed the book and stretched.

Shari was sitting on a small notebook on the shelf, swinging her thin, short legs and looking at me.

Upon closer inspection, she was sitting on a note written by Shari’s mother.

Whenever I see that, I think about which side of the race I should stand on.

If I think of heroes and demons as a system that maintains the balance of the world, right now that system is broken.

A broken system disrupts the balance and leads to the destruction of one side.

And the only one who can fix that system is the goddess who created it…

“Meeting a god is an absurd thing…”

I muttered, wiping my forehead.

The narration said that the solution to this problem is a god.

But I don’t know how to meet a god.

Even if I find a way to meet a god miraculously, it was a problem.

Setting aside whether a god would listen to a mere human’s plea, is it right to bring back heroes to this world to restore the balance of this world? I had fundamental doubts.

I had been vaguely feeling it all along.

Something is wrong with this world.

Heroes and demons, it’s just a facade.

But when I think about whether those two things are really necessary in this world, they aren’t.

Heroes will never appear again, and if only demons remain in this world… wouldn’t it be better for demons to disappear like heroes?

* * *

Late afternoon.

Thud thud thud!

While investigating information about demons and heroes at home, someone loudly knocked on the door.

I closed the book and opened the door, and Marier extended her index finger and shouted at me.

“You! Didn’t you promise to charge the magic charger for me!”

Did I say that?

Ah… now that I think about it, I think I heard similar words when I went to rescue Mila.

“I didn’t promise that.”

“Ugh! This can’t be happening! You said you would charge it, but you ended up using up all the magic in the charger!”

“You used it all up already?”

I recalled the massive magic charger that drained my magic and energy, leaving me exhausted for a week.

Honestly, I didn’t want to recharge it unless absolutely necessary.

Even if I did recharge it, Mariel would probably demand a hefty price and find a safer way to do it.

She always makes outrageous demands when she wants something, so I wouldn’t be at a loss.

“Huh? Why do you have so many books piled up like this? Were you a scholar all along?”

“Oh, I’m researching something.”

“Excuse me for a moment!”

Mariel entered the house and examined the scattered papers on the desk.

She acted purely out of curiosity in front of her.

“Hmm, it’s all about heroes, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been interested in them lately.”

“It seems like you’re not interested in magic….”

Disappointed by the lack of interest in magic, the curiosity monster slowly turned to leave the house.

As I watched Mariel silently, something suddenly came to mind.

“Hey, Mariel. Come to think of it, didn’t you say you would make me a magic tool?”

As I asked, Mariel turned around in surprise.

“I… did I say that?”

“Yes, you did.”

“That… that’s…”

Why is she reacting like this?

Unlike Milaia, she’s so easy to read with her visible embarrassment.

Did this eccentric mage do something sneaky?

“Be honest. I have the right to know properly since I provided the magic, right?”

“Well, but… I have something urgent to do…”

“So, what about the magic tool you promised me? If you don’t tell me properly, I won’t provide magic for you forever.”

Even if I told her properly, I had no intention of providing magic until she improved that charger.

Did the threat work? Mariel looked teary-eyed and said, “I… actually… I used up most of the magic you gave me while trying to make the successor to Guardian No. 1 that you destroyed.”

Guardian No. 1, the tin can that self-destructed while guarding the mansion?

Did she use my magic to make that trash…?

“It wasn’t me who destroyed it, it broke on its own. So, does that mean you didn’t make any magic tools?”

“I did make one… but I only made one, and its function was less useful than I thought, so I was thinking of discarding it.”

Mariel said hesitantly.

This pathetic eccentric mage… well, I wasn’t really angry.

I had no intention of interfering with how she used my magic, and it didn’t diminish my magic either.

But breaking a promise to provide a magic tool after promising to do so seemed like something worth scolding her for.

“However, Yunoa was unaware.

That the failed magic tool Mariel was planning to discard was the magic tool Yunoa needed the most right now.”

At that moment, a narration came unexpectedly.

Mariel’s magic tool is needed by me?

“Sniff… I’m sorry. I tried to make a useful magic tool, but it was more difficult than I thought. However! If you fully recharge the magic charger again, I will definitely make it this time!”

“I won’t do it unless you improve the charger to charge it safely.”

“Oh! This can’t be happening!”

Mariel exaggeratedly covered her head with her hands, looking like she was in despair.

“More importantly… do you still have that failed magic tool?”

“Yeah? I stuffed it in a miscellaneous box in the lab…”

“Well, at least give me that. A promise is a promise. And if you want more magic, you better improve that darn charger.”

“Ugh… understood….”

Mariel easily accepted my request.

Well, she was going to throw it away anyway.

I will make good use of the magic tool you discarded.

…I don’t know what that is, though.