Ch.12Hero Esmeralda (1)

Hero Esmeralda (1)

Of course, Esmeralda wasn’t a hero from the beginning.

She was an ordinary country girl who lived a monotonous life day after day.

Though that’s not to say every day was exactly the same.

There was a time for sowing and a time for harvesting. She had grown up helping her parents with their work since childhood.

Each year, the tasks she could handle increased, and her skills expanded. There was never a dull moment.

But in the autumn when she turned 17.

As she was about to harvest crops as usual, she realized something.

‘Ah, I’ve learned everything now.’

The year ahead would no longer hold anything new.

A monotonous daily routine was about to begin.

Unless she ventured out into the world, she would spend her life in this small, quiet countryside, simply plowing fields, sowing seeds, and harvesting in autumn.

“Hmm…”

Typical adolescent angst.

She recognized the nature of this feeling that had come to her later than most.

She wanted something special. She yearned to escape her monotonous daily life.

But such thoughts were merely a child’s fantasy. She knew the world.

Having grown up learning and working under her parents, she understood how harsh the real world could be. That’s why she knew that this fantasy of specialness she was dreaming of would surely become a deadly poison.

“Let’s stop this.”

Esmeralda shook off these thoughts.

She decided to live this monotonous but precious life.

Though it might be boring, she knew it was the greatest happiness she could enjoy.

But one day.

The fantasy she had erased appeared right before her eyes.

“The holy sword…”

It appears in countless fairy tales and historical texts.

A sword for the savior who would protect the world when threats arise.

The proof and guiding light of a hero.

It was floating right in front of Esmeralda. During her daily routine, amid monotonous work, when she suddenly reminisced, thinking ‘I once had such thoughts.’

The moment she recalled her desire to be special, the holy sword appeared before her.

“…”

But Esmeralda knew.

That specialness was poison. The moment she grasped this sword, she would be rejecting with her own hands the peace that she now considered boring.

And she knew.

This holy sword didn’t respond only to her.

It had already passed through many hands and would continue to do so.

The qualification to be a hero wasn’t that special after all.

Many people could qualify. It was just that only one would be chosen.

If she didn’t take this sword, it wouldn’t be a problem.

The holy sword would disappear just as it had appeared, seeking a new owner.

“But.”

Through whose rejection had this holy sword come to her?

Just by facing it, she could tell the sword had passed by countless people. Even in this round, there must have been many others besides her.

They all refused, which is why the opportunity came to Esmeralda.

“Haha, I know. If I pick this up, my life is over, right?”

Just by facing the holy sword, she could understand.

The moment she grasped it, all sorts of hardships would bind her fate.

It would be a difficult journey with no guarantee of success.

The burden she alone would have to bear would become too great.

Ah, yes. That must be why.

“But if someone has to do it…”

She once desired to be special.

But she knew it was an illusion. Being special meant living a life one could never get used to.

Yes, because she didn’t want to be special, she didn’t grasp the holy sword.

“At least I who know all this…!”

But if she turned away from this holy sword like others had done, who would be the next suitable candidate?

She was just an ordinary girl living in this rural backwater.

Having once dreamed of being special, she understood the weight of the holy sword and the title of hero.

But what about others?

Would everyone the holy sword would seek out next be just like her?

What if they knew nothing?

What if they carelessly grabbed the holy sword that appeared before them?

What if it went to a child too young to understand, who only knew fabricated stories from fairy tales?

“I will walk that path.”

Yes, she made her decision for the sake of those she had never met—no, for possibilities she could only guess at.

Her motivation might have been specialness, but her choice was rooted in goodwill.

And so the girl took the sword.

She decided to walk the most special and treacherous path in this world.

***

A hero born in the borderlands.

She neither particularly hid this fact nor deliberately revealed it.

According to her expectations, there would be people coming to find her.

In the meantime, she practiced how to hold and swing the sword.

She tried to become familiar with the powers she gained by becoming a hero.

After about a week had passed.

“Whaaaat? She’s the hero? She looks about the same age as me!”

Someone found her first. It was Tina, a scholar from the Eye of Truth.

Somehow, she was the first among various groups to find her, and they became friends.

Honestly, Esmeralda, who had been tense in many ways, could feel relieved.

[Note: She thinks you’re amazing for becoming a hero at an age similar to hers.]

She purely respected Esmeralda’s choice.

She praised her noble intentions. Despite knowing everything, she opened her heart and wanted to be friends.

And one by one.

People who found the hero’s existence through their own methods gathered.

The Seven Magic Towers, who found her through astrology by observing the flow of stars.

Their elder mages came.

The Divine God Order, who received her location through divine revelation and came to greet her.

Their high priests came.

And the Empire, which possessed the largest territory in human history, encompassing all of these.

Their officials flocked to her.

Envoys representing each group filled the small rural village on the border.

Esmeralda declared her name and intentions as dignifiedly as possible.

Of course, she had no intention of letting her guard down.

She had already researched the numerous historical attempts to exploit the symbolism of the hero.

She intended to be careful with every word she uttered.

It was the maximum struggle possible for her, who knew nothing of politics and had no backing.

The fruit of a hero who wanted to fight for humanity’s future, not personal gain.

“Hello, Hero. I am Eirene Saintess, a saint of the Divine God Order. I look forward to working with you.”

[Note: She intends to use you as material for holy relics in the future.]

But that was…

“Nice… to meet you. I’m Millia Asrin. Ah, I’m a Mage. Please take care of me?”

[Note: She plans to use the hero’s corpse to research new magic.]

Just a meaningless struggle.

“Haha…”

Yes, how much could she do alone?

She had no funds for travel, no place to stay.

She was a commoner whose knowledge of the world came only from books, unable to discern the political landscape of the Empire.

“…I look forward to working with you all.”

From the start of her journey, she received two time bombs that could explode at any moment.

Tina’s presence was somewhat comforting, but she didn’t seem likely to be much help.

If those two revealed their true nature, wouldn’t Tina be the first to be disposed of by them?

Esmeralda felt her insides burning, but she didn’t show it.

At that time, her greatest weapon was information.

The information that she knew the other’s intentions.

She had to live with that in mind.

However, if the other side also learned this information, it would become troublesome.

It was a powerful weapon but also a bomb that might stab her at any moment.

Yes, this too was a bomb.

She felt like she had become a walking bomb.

“Wow! Thank you all! Let’s work hard together to save the world! We’re the proud hero party after all!”

She had to act as an innocent, stupid country girl as much as possible.

If they discovered the effects of her power, it would be over.

She had no strength, power, connections, or wisdom to survive between the two major forces of the Order and the Magic Towers.

She proved her worth with her life on the line at every moment. While being mindful of enemies in front and behind.

To avoid becoming material for holy relics, to avoid becoming an experimental subject.

To not lose those friends, despite wearing such a facade.

As Esmeralda was gradually going mad under pressure from all directions, a fateful encounter came to her.

“Sob! The monsters living in the forest reduced the village to this state! I want revenge, but I don’t have the power! Please, Hero, please…! Please…!”

[Name: Lug]

[Race: Mixed Demon]

[Trait List]

Common Magic Lv. 32

Black Magic Lv. 34

Blue Blood Lv. 1

[Overall Estimate: Lv. 274]

[Note: He plans to investigate the hero party and, depending on the situation, eliminate everyone.]

The worst enemy for a hero who was around Lv. 100 at that time.

***

Esmeralda stares blankly at Lug. The demon spy she fatefully encountered that day.

“Can’t we rest a bit longer?”

“Wow, Lug, how can you be so relaxed after being kidnapped?”

“If, if Lug wants to rest, shouldn’t we let him rest?”

“If you’re tired, would you like me to cast holy magic on you?”

Esmeralda looked over the members of the hero party, each thinking only of themselves, and then let out a deep sigh.

“We’re leaving now, so let’s go?”

She walked forward, looking ahead.

With bombs strung out behind her.

Today too, she walked alone among people to save the world.