Chapter 2 : A Somewhat Strange New Hero

The Renal Empire held a grand celebration for seven days following “that day.”

The expulsion of the useless hero was seen as a national triumph.

Everyone drank, danced, and sang.

Emperor Carlos watched with satisfaction as his people celebrated.

“Hehehe. Expelling Victor was the right choice. We couldn’t keep wasting taxes on that incompetent hero any longer. Heh heh heh.”

The remaining members of the hero party praised the Emperor’s decision.

“Your Majesty made the right decision. From what we’ve seen, that guy was the epitome of incompetence.”

“He couldn’t even fight properly because we had to protect him. It’s as simple as that.”

“Victor, right? Let’s not talk about him anymore. Heh heh.”

Cynthia, Tiffanya, and Jeanne joined the crowd, drinking and partying.

The Emperor, too, mingled freely with his ministers during the seven-day celebration.

The only one who did not join in the festivities was General Hogu.

He had a very complicated mindset.

‘What now…? With Victor expelled from the party, the buff effects will surely end. That means… the current members of the hero party will lose their strength and become powerless. If we go on an expedition with them, there’s a real risk of annihilation, not victory. But if I reveal the truth now, I’ll take all the blame… Hmph…’

‘Wait… there’s still a way.’

‘There’s still hope.’

‘We can place our hopes on the next hero. If the new hero is skilled, they can cover for the weakened members and bring back some achievements. Yeah… it’s too early to despair.’

General Hogu Zeroh patiently waited.

After the seven-day celebration, the next event would be the summoning ceremony of the new hero.

And seven days later, the Emperor summoned the court mages to draw the dimensional summoning circle.

“Be careful drawing it. Do you know how much it costs to create a dimensional summoning circle? We’re about to re-summon Victor Evans, that incompetent hero, after only a year. It’s an incredible waste of national funds. You’d better think of this as the last summoning. Risk your life on this one.”

As the Emperor said, creating a dimensional summoning circle was an enormous cost, equivalent to the country’s entire annual budget.

But they couldn’t survive without a hero, so they were willing to bleed their resources for it.

Everyone’s wish was the same.

“Please let the summoned hero be someone great.”

No one could predict which hero would be summoned…

It was all a matter of luck.

However, under the goddess’s blessing, there was a high probability that a great hero would be summoned.

That’s why people could not forgive the incompetence of the previous hero, Victor.

They regretted drawing a loser last time and hoped that this time, the dice would land on a winner.

Indeed, no one had ever summoned two useless heroes in a row in history. That’s why everyone had high hopes for this summoning.

“Your Majesty, the summoning circle is complete.”

“Good. Then, I, Carlos Drelnal, Emperor of the Renal Empire, declare: Goddess Ariane! Please summon an appropriate hero from another world to save our Lave continent!!!”

The summoning circle glowed, and a gust of wind swirled, soon revealing a person.

“Huh? What’s this? Why am I summoned here?”

The person was… barely over 160 cm tall, but with a bulky figure close to 100 kg.

No, to put it plainly, they were fat.

Additionally, they wore thick glasses, as if they had poor eyesight.

“Woooah! Could it be?! I’ve been summoned to another world! I’ve been waiting for this day!!!

Woooooah!!!!

Let me introduce myself!!

My alias is Raul Grounder!!!

My real name is Kim Kyungho, but I want to be known by my alias, Raul Grounder!!!

But where’s the cute girl?

Where’s the cute girl who’ll like me?!”

It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on everyone.

The room fell into an eerie silence.

Only Raul Grounder (laughing) ran around excitedly.

At that moment, Emperor Carlos, maintaining his composure, spoke solemnly.

“Ahem. Sir Raul, I am Emperor Carlos Drelnal. I would like to entrust you with the task of being our hero.”

“Just leave it to me! I’ll defeat the Demon King! Is the Demon King also a busty cute girl?!”

“…Probably not.”

“That part is a bit disappointing… But surely, as a hero, all the party members must be cute girls, right?”

“…Cynthia, Tiffany, Jeanne. All of you, come forward.”

The members of the hero party stepped out from the crowd.

They too wore somewhat uncomfortable expressions.

The previous hero, Victor Evans, may have been incompetent, but at least he had a dignified presence, while this new hero… it was clear that he belonged to the pathetic category.

Still, a hero is a hero.

The party members greeted him politely.

“Greetings, hero. I am Cynthia.”

“I am Tiffany.”

“I’m Jeanne.”

“Woooah! They’re all cute girls!!! Heh heh! Are we going to travel together… I’m so excited!”

Raul was so pleased that he even had a nosebleed.

The Emperor, watching this spectacle, suppressed a bitter smile and turned to General Hogu.

“Zero… What does your analysis say? What is this hero’s potential? What skills does he possess?”

“W-well…”

Zero concentrated and observed Raul closely.

<Skills: Annoying speech pattern>

Zero was trembling in disbelief.

This was an analysis unlike anything from Victor’s time.

“W-well…”

“Hurry up and speak, General Hogu. You’re not saying it’s another dud, are you?”

“I-I’ll say it already!”

“Ah, very well, Your Majesty.”

Under the Emperor’s pressure, General Hogu had only one choice:

To speak the truth.

“This hero… has no potential. He’s just an ordinary person… No, he’s more of a weakling, someone with poor physical strength.”

“WHAT?!”

The Emperor was furious.

Everyone watching couldn’t help but feel tense.

The Emperor was someone who could kill with a single word.

“You said the last hero was incompetent, but now this?! This has never happened in history! No one’s ever summoned two consecutive failures! Your family’s analysis skills must be rusting, huh? The abilities that got you this position as General Hogu… this is like dressing up a defective item and calling it a masterpiece! Check it properly! Two consecutive failures are impossible! In history, incompetent heroes are summoned only once in a century! A hundred years ago, a fool was summoned from a country called Japan, and recently, Victor was summoned. We’ve reached the limit! There’s no way another incompetent one will appear! We can’t even afford to summon another hero! If you fail the inspection again, I won’t forgive you, General Hogu!”

“B-but…”

“Check again!! Check again!!”

The Emperor shouted so loudly that his voice cracked, and General Hogu’s mind became a whirlpool.

If he repeated the truth, he would lose his title.

The Emperor’s words were valid.

Historically, two consecutive failures had never happened, so this summoning must have been another failure, just like Victor.

But if he told the truth, he would have to confess to the lie he’d told about Victor, and that would mean his end.

That… was suicide.

Reluctantly, General Hogu decided to lie again.

“Ah… I-I’m sorry. I must have made a mistake. This person is an excellent hero. He possesses an S-rank skill! Ah… He’s truly amazing! This person is our savior!!!”

General Hogu clapped and exaggerated his praise, and only then did the Emperor’s expression soften.

“That’s more like it. Now it feels worth spending all that money. Well then, Hero Raul. The previous hero was useless, no matter how much support we gave him, and he couldn’t even take one of the Four Heavenly Kings’ heads. I hope you won’t follow in his footsteps and save our empire… no, the whole Lave continent.”

“I got it! But how much support are you giving me, as a hero?”

“You’ll receive 10,000 gold a year, so don’t worry.”

“Woooah! But how much is 10,000 gold worth?”

Thus, a new hero was appointed.

Emperor Carlos held another seven-day celebration to honor the birth of the new hero, and the people of the Renal Empire raised their glasses, celebrating the arrival of a proper hero.

The person who drank the most was none other than Hero Raul.

It was his first time being treated so well, and he was so excited that he boldly declared he would defeat the Demon King, assuring everyone that they had nothing to worry about.

Everyone believed him, except for General Hogu, who, filled with concern and doubt, couldn’t bring himself to drink a drop.

Meanwhile, the former hero, Victor Evans, was…