Ch.186IF. Saint Eric (2)

No matter how I thought about it, the Goddess was a bitch.

However, her divine authority could occasionally be put to good use.

“There’s a high possibility that the next summoned Hero will be female. You can tell just by looking at Saint Erick. If we set this up right, it’ll be completely…!”

“Arrest them all.”

“Yes!”

“Aaaah!”

Her authority was also useful for arresting those who dared to set up gambling rings on the gender and age of the Hero.

They seemed to have been planning to organize a large-scale operation through the Merchants’ Guild and Adventurers’ Guild, but fortunately, we managed to shut it down before the venue could be established. It probably wouldn’t have been possible without my position as Saint.

Preventing problems beforehand was better than cleaning up afterward. Hero gambling had appeal even to commoners.

With half the nobility already turned into idiots because of Cordana, if the commoners started getting seriously involved too, there would be no solution.

I don’t know why I had to be the one to stop it, but I did anyway.

Now it was time to welcome the Hero.

After receiving the revelation that the summoning was imminent, I headed to the Holy Palace.

“Here it comes-!”

The summoning circle began to emit a sacred light.

People watched that light with anxious eyes.

And finally, a figure appeared, enveloped in radiance.

‘It’s a woman.’

The new Hero was female.

Black eyes and hair that inevitably reminded me of Gwon Heejin. But unlike Heejin, she had a kind and cute impression. And unlike Heejin, who had shown a strange attitude from the moment of her summoning, this girl’s face openly displayed anxiety.

Though reluctant, I couldn’t just leave her standing there.

I approached the Hero slowly, swallowing my bitterness, reminding myself several times not to be too harsh.

“Hero. I am Erick Wellesley, tasked with being your guide.”

I skipped the detailed introduction.

There was no point in explaining that I was a plenipotentiary ambassador overseeing diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Papal State, a person who received the same treatment as the Pope. The Hero, coming from another world, wouldn’t understand anyway. Still, I did my best to appear gentle.

The Hero, who had been looking up at me timidly, slowly opened her mouth.

“I’m Gang Hannah.”

My first meeting with Hero Hannah.

The impression wasn’t bad, but I didn’t want to bear the responsibility for the Hero alone. I just wanted to monitor her to ensure she didn’t commit atrocities like Gwon Heejin while fulfilling my minimal role. Managing the Hero by myself was too heavy a burden.

However, it didn’t take long for my modest wish to be frustrated.

“Saint? Come to think of it, how many knights in the world are as skilled with a sword as you? I know it’s not a good memory for you, but you’ve also instructed Gwon Heejin before. Would you consider guiding this Hero as well?”

Sword instructor.

“It seems there are nobles slandering Hero Hannah. The antipathy toward Heroes is clearly a reality. I suspect there are political intentions behind it. It seems you’ll need to step in to address this, Saint.”

And even the role of protector.

Before I knew it, ‘all’ responsibilities regarding the Hero had fallen to me.

‘So it ends up like this after all.’

I wasn’t surprised, having secretly anticipated this.

The one fortunate thing was that Hero Gang Hannah was different from Gwon Heejin in many ways.

When I explained Heejin’s evil deeds, she reacted with shock. She even said she had been indirectly harmed by Gwon Heejin during her time on Earth. Apparently, her father had lost money in the front-running scam led by Heejin.

“To be honest, I basically ran away because I didn’t want to pay back the debt. Actually, my father forged pre-death records in my name… ah, that means…”

“I understand from the context. And I don’t think it’s really running away. It’s not your fault that you had such parents.”

“Thank you for saying that. What were your parents like, Saint?”

“They died while working. Both of them.”

“…Oh.”

This was the kind of conversation we had during breaks from sword training.

Fortunately, we had a strange connection. Unlike Heejin, who would spout nonsense at length, Hannah was someone I could have genuine conversations with.

This woman won’t make this already broken world any sicker.

After gaining this confidence, I decided not to put up walls against Hannah. About a month later, I even had a meal with her, accompanied by my assistant Ember.

Hannah seemed surprised when Ember introduced herself as my former fiancée, but that didn’t last long. Before long, they had become reasonably friendly.

It wasn’t so much that the two women’s personalities matched, but rather that there weren’t many mentally healthy people among those who could approach Hannah as the Hero.

‘Hannah should have at least one friend she can connect with.’

Harsh training for ten hours a day, studying to settle into this world, and a little rest.

Hannah’s peaceful days were short-lived.

Though she called it running away, her identity was ultimately that of the Hero.

On the surface, she was just a girl, but having received the Hero’s blessing, she had to go to the battlefield. If not for her sacred calling, then at least for her own survival.

“Hero. It’s time to depart.”

And guiding such a Hero was, naturally, my responsibility.

*

The first expedition of the new Hero party led by Gang Hannah (officially).

Of course, we weren’t going to enter the Demonic Land for a long-term expedition of a year.

We had only one target to subjugate.

“Currently, the only firm war faction in the Demon Lord’s army is the Beast King. The current Demon Lord… I mean, His Majesty the Demon Lord dislikes all-out war. Even when high-ranking demons advocate for invasion, he stubbornly ignores them.”

These were the words of a low-ranking demon who had joined the Hero’s party as a guide, carefully watching my reaction.

Iclit, a succubus who was captured near the imperial capital shortly after returning Gwon Heejin.

She was a demon who had been caught attempting foolish things with Cordana.

A succubus who had infiltrated with the intention of effortlessly undermining the Empire’s national power using Cordana. Remarkably, just one day after being captured by the intelligence agency, she chose to betray the Demon Lord and defect.

Since then, Iclit had been cooperative, readily divulging all the information she knew. As if she would do anything as long as her survival was guaranteed.

She was a shallow and vile creature, but I had no intention of condemning her.

‘I’m making good use of her too, after all.’

Here I was, a so-called Saint, placing a restriction on a demon and taking her as a guide on an expedition. Some might criticize me, but what does it matter if it saves power and time?

“So apart from Beast King Leoneo, there are no factions that want all-out war. Are you certain?”

“Yes. Actually, my infiltration into the imperial capital was one of the rare proactive moves from the Demon Lord’s perspective. Now that it has failed, he’s probably lost interest in the Empire again. Only the Beast King keeps pressuring him.”

“So the Demon Lord just sees the Beast King and his followers as a buffer zone between him and the Empire.”

“Exactly! The Beast King’s treatment is so trashy that even if he’s attacked, the Demon Lord’s army won’t actively help. Though completely annihilating them might be problematic.”

She answers so readily.

Iclit wasn’t just loose-lipped; she was quite intelligent too. Perhaps it was because she had lived for well over 100 years, moving between various countries. She had economic sense and had even mastered methods to stimulate humans’ base desires.

Her personal combat power was at insect level, but… in my view, she was more threatening than the Tetrad or army commanders. The Empire wasn’t in this state because it lacked power.

‘If this creature had achieved even a small success, the Demon Lord might have developed a taste for economic attacks. That would have made things more troublesome for me.’

I suppose it’s fortunate that such a demon didn’t also possess loyalty. Even now, Iclit was fawning and trying to please me.

“Iclit.”

“Saint-… Ah? Yes. What is it?”

“If you continue to prove your usefulness, I’ll guarantee you a comfortable life. Instead of wandering through the countryside and surviving miserably, you could live in the imperial capital, absorb high-quality energy, and enjoy good food, clothing, and shelter.”

“And if I fail to produce results, I get nothing, right? I understand.”

“It’s more than that. I’ll cripple you and hand you over to the Demon Lord’s army. They’re more proficient at tormenting demons than we are. They’ll probably give you a warm welcome, knowing you betrayed them.”

“Ah, I should be careful not to return to the Demon Lord’s army then.”

Iclit nodded without changing her expression. Not because she thought I was bluffing, but because she had some backbone as a demon.

Rather, it was Hannah, riding her horse beside me, who gave me an uneasy look. As if questioning whether this was really necessary.

“Um, Saint. Do we really not need to go on an expedition to the Demonic Land? From what I know, all Heroes except Gwon Heejin…”

“Risked their lives to kill the Demon Lord. Because that was the only way they could return to Earth. Even if that wasn’t the case, they couldn’t ignore the wishes of all humans across the continent who yearned for the Demon Lord’s subjugation. But you, Hannah, don’t need to risk your life for such a meaningless act.”

“Meaningless… you say?”

“The current Demon Lord avoids all-out war, and you don’t wish to return home. If that’s the case, we can simply live in our respective territories. However, we do need to subdue the Beast King, who has an aggressive disposition. That’s the purpose of this expedition.”

I was telling her that she didn’t need to sacrifice her life just because of her position as the Hero’s adversary. Fundamentally, this decision was for my benefit, but it would be better for Hannah too.

Hannah raised an anxious expression and said, “People will think differently from you, Saint?” but I quietly shook my head.

“It’s alright. I can shield you from that. In some sense, it might be more advantageous for us if the Demon Lord remains alive. …Of course, this is something to worry about after we achieve victory against the Beast King.”

Hannah’s expression became solemn again at these words. But not long after, as if steeling her resolve, she nodded while firmly gripping the sacred sword.

“I’ll trust you, Saint.”

Thanks for trusting me. After exchanging glances with Hannah, I naturally increased our pace. The other party members matched our speed.

It was to defeat the Beast King, the super-powerful being who had destroyed Gwon Heejin’s party.