Chapter 8: A Hero’s Decision

In principle, I should have gone to meet the lord who commissioned me first, but right now, that wasn’t the urgent matter.

As soon as I returned to the lord’s castle with Siwoo and Chloe, I headed straight for the cathedral.

“Hero?”

Ugh, I’m still not a hero…

Well, whatever.

I had tried to correct that title several times already, but it was a losing battle.

I decided to let it go for now.

I threw open the cathedral doors, and there, holding a broom — looking quite out of place in his lavish clothes — was the bishop.

Well, maybe not exactly welcoming us — more like frozen stiff in surprise.

He must have been sweeping the floor until just a moment ago, judging by the way he stood there, mouth agape, staring at us.

Without any pleasantries, I marched right up to him and blurted out,

“Could I borrow the holy relic for a bit?”

“Eh?”

The bishop blinked in confusion at my blunt request.

After a moment’s thought, he asked,

“Is the situation… even more serious than we imagined?”

It was.

If things went badly, I might end up dragging a completely untrained nun into battle.

I had to make sure that didn’t happen.

I nodded gravely.

“Yes, it is serious.”

Seeing my solemn expression, the bishop also nodded, then leaned his broom against a nearby chair.

“Follow me.”

I followed the bishop, and behind me, I could hear the hurried footsteps of my two companions.

***

The cathedral’s underground section was surprisingly clean.

Candles burned here and there, providing a decent amount of light.

Of course, the flickering candlelight gave the place a slightly eerie atmosphere, and some of the candles had burned down so much they were little more than stubs, making the scene feel almost grotesque.

In the center of the basement stood a glass case.

“Here it is,” the bishop said.

The holy relic wasn’t much different from what I had seen last time.

A white cloth, embroidered with a golden cross inside a circle — the symbol of the church — covered the relic.

The way the relic jutted awkwardly under the cloth made it all the more unpleasant, now that I knew what was underneath.

But what could I do?

The bishop pulled a golden key from his robes, unlocked the glass case, and carefully wrapped the relic in the cloth.

“I pray that you all return safely,” he said.

No need to worry about that.

I was going to settle this right here and now.

I respectfully took the holy relic with both hands, then immediately turned and strode toward Chloe.

She stood there with her mouth slightly open, not fully grasping the situation yet.

I stopped right in front of her and said curtly,

“Hand.”

“Ah, yes!”

Startled by my firm voice, Chloe reflexively held out her palm, and I plopped the holy relic into her hand without hesitation.

“Hero?”

Ugh, this guy’s calling me a hero too.

Is it just too much of a hassle to say ‘Hero Candidate’?

I stepped back, leaving Chloe frozen in shock, her face stiff.

“Try praying to the goddess while holding the holy relic.”

“Huh?”

“You were trying to borrow the relic, right? Wasn’t that because you knew how to use it?”

“Eh? Uh? Ah?”

“Just give it a shot. It’s not like something terrible will happen. Besides, I need to check something.”

“U-uhhh…”

Chloe darted her eyes around nervously and ended up looking at the bishop.

The bishop, initially just as bewildered, seemed to think there must be a good reason once he saw the ‘hero candidate’ asking so seriously.

He nodded at Chloe encouragingly.

“O-okay… I mean, I only planned to borrow it for emergencies, but… alright.”

Clutching the relic carefully in both hands, Chloe finally seemed to steel herself and closed her eyes.

I also laced my fingers together and shut my eyes tightly.

Please, please, please.

Jesus, Buddha, Allah—wait, no, it’s just the Goddess here, right? Whatever.

If anyone’s listening up there, please, just this once…

Please let Chloe be a Saint, like in the game.

And please don’t let it be one of those conditions where everyone in the village has to die first or anything crazy like that.

Please don’t let me have some weird bad ending…

—Flash.

Even with my eyes closed tight, I could see a brilliant light shining through my eyelids.

I slowly opened them.

The entire underground room was bathed in a blinding glow, emanating from Chloe’s hands.

It was a light far stronger than what ordinary holy magic could produce.

The same light I had once seen when I proved I had the qualities to become a Hero.

“W-what…!”

I heard the bishop gasp in horror.

I glanced over at Siwoo.

He just shrugged at me like, “Told you so.”

Seriously.

That took years off my life.

After practically peeling the bishop — who had thrown himself face-down on the floor to pray to Chloe — off of her,

I accepted the letter he wrote by hand and took it straight to the lord.

When the lord confirmed that a Saint candidate had appeared from his lands, he literally started dancing for joy.

No, really.

He literally danced.

After flailing around for a while, the lord seemed to finally realize that he hadn’t exactly been supporting Chloe’s village properly.

He abruptly sobered up.

Then he dropped to his knees.

“I am deeply sorry for failing to recognize the Saint. I am utterly ashamed!”

“Uh, um, I’m not a Saint yet, just a candidate…” Chloe mumbled.

“But to already be chosen by the Hero’s party! I am simply overwhelmed to be the steward of this blessed land!”

“I… I said I’m a candidate…”

Even as I tried to correct him, the lord leapt to his feet, grabbed a bell from his desk, and rang it enthusiastically.

It made a pretty pleasant sound, honestly.

A secretary rushed in, and the lord barked, “Bring the prepared offerings — no, double them! The Hero’s party has moved for our sake. It’s the least we can do!”

I had expected there would be some kind of reward.

After all, inviting us into his castle, feeding us expensive food, and treating us so well wasn’t just about commissioning work — it was about forging ties with the future Hero.

Giving some reward would be cheaper and safer than paying mercenaries poorly and risking losing soldiers.

Still… the amount he was offering was a bit much.

If what the lord had originally planned to give Siwoo and me was only about half of this, it still would have been a hefty amount—enough to pay a party of adventurers for clearing out a goblin den and then some.

With no guild fees deducted, and even adding a bit of a bonus… yeah, about that much.
But now, he was offering double that.

“This is just a small token of gratitude for handling the task and for discovering a Saint candidate.

And if you ever visit our territory again, I will personally see to it that you are treated with the utmost hospitality.”

It sounded good.

Honestly, too good.

I sneaked a glance toward Chloe, who was staring at the pile of coins with a complicated expression.

Well, of course.

She was about to leave her hometown behind, unable to see her familiar neighbors for who knows how long.

And on top of that, the village’s nun would now be missing — her.

The biggest reason for all that… was probably me.

I silently stared at the heap of silver and copper coins for a moment, then turned to the lord and said,

“Would it be possible… to use this money to support the frontier villages instead?”

“…Pardon?”

The lord looked confused at my sudden request.

Honestly, it hurt a little.

It’s money, after all.

Who in this world doesn’t like money?

Even a Hero Candidate like me loved money.

But…

If I accepted this reward now, I had a feeling it would gnaw at my conscience for a long, long time.

I plucked two silver coins from the pile.

“This much is enough for our party. Please use the rest to strengthen the surrounding frontier settlements — send soldiers, build defenses… or at the very least, provide weapons and training so the villagers can protect themselves.”

Lord Cloren stared at me, stunned for a moment.

Then, his face grew solemn as he gave me a deep nod.

“I understand. I will personally ensure your wish is carried out, Hero.”

Again, I’m not a Hero yet…

***

Once we stepped out of the lord’s castle,

I turned to Chloe and Siwoo and said,

“Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Both tilted their heads in confusion, so I let out a sigh and explained,

“I mean, because of me, you guys missed out on the full reward.”

I’d talked so much about how important communication was, only to completely run ahead with the final decision on my own.

I owed them an apology — even if Chloe didn’t realize the full reason behind it.

“My village will be safer now thanks to that money. Why would I be upset? If anything, I should be thanking you,” Chloe said warmly.

“You did the right thing. If it were Rira, she would’ve done the same,” Siwoo added.

Hearing how kind they both were, my conscience stung even more.

Feeling guilty, I said, “Both of you, hold out your hands.”

They obediently held out their hands.

I dropped one of the silver coins I had kept into each of their palms.

“This is your share of the reward.”

“Huh? What about you, Hero?”

“I made the decision without asking. So I don’t get a share.”

Chloe stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Se—”

“That’s it for today. Then next… Oh, right. Chloe doesn’t have a room. It might be a little awkward to have her sleep in our room, though.”

“It’s probably a bit awkward, yeah.”

At my words, Siwoo nodded seriously and responded.

“Huh?”

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

But upon hearing that, Chloe reacted, and both Siwoo and I turned to look at her and asked at the same time.

“Do you two share a room?”

“Oh my, oh my.”

When we couldn’t answer right away, Chloe’s face turned red.

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh my, oh my.”

I was wrong.

When I reacted with “no,” her face turned even redder.

I was about to ask Siwoo to say something, but when I turned to him, his face was even redder than hers.

Ah, right.

This guy is just as shy.

He was even more sensitive than I am in situations like this.

He’d be embarrassed just from seeing someone’s undergarments.

Realizing there was no point in trying to communicate, I sighed deeply.

…It’s impossible to communicate when we don’t even understand each other.