episode_0002

“Ian-!”

Penny, who had entered Ian’s tent, ran out as if she had been burned.

And while looking at the pile of documents burning in the bonfire, he shouted at Ian, who was leaving in the distance.

As he rode, he became smaller and smaller.

“Ian, Ian-! This crazy… !”

The sight of her screaming at the top of her lungs confused the first warrior party.

It was the first time that she got excited as she always spoke politely with a smile on her face.

Penny messed up her hair like a crazy person, then stuck her hand into the bonfire.

“Why are you like this!”

Kylie quickly blocked it, but Penny shook it off.

“Let go of this! Do you know what’s riding here now?! What did you do without blocking it?”

“What is that? We just did what you told us. I told you to only do what you’re told.”

Kylie shrugged and looked back at her colleagues.

The rest of the warriors also had a calm expression.

Penny gritted her teeth as she looked at them like children who had no idea about the world.

‘Ian, this crazy guy… . Anyway, are you going to burn it all? How much is this? . There must have even been Philip’s documents!’

There was no trace of the documents that had been swallowed up in the bonfire.

Searching will be of no use now.

Kylie tapped me on the shoulder.

“Why are you so worried? Don’t you know who we are?”

1st warrior party.

A star of humanity, boasting overwhelming power and unrivaled popularity.

But that didn’t matter to Penny right now.

‘ha… . I’m going crazy, why did I come here… .’

Philip, the true manager of the first warrior party.

He is not involved in practical work at all.

An absolute being who does not come to the forefront but controls and manages everything from behind.

He is Penny’s ideal and the benefactor who saved her life.

It was only because of that that he got rid of the hero and became a manager.

I realized a lot by analyzing his footsteps.

Making the warrior a symbol of hope, gathering people’s interest around the warrior.

Many other things followed his footsteps.

It started out of curiosity.

I quickly became fascinated by the achievements that bordered on omnipotence and the mysticism that hid oneself.

To Penny, Ian was a thorn in her eyes.

He is a puppet who carries out orders from the real manager named ‘Philip’.

An obstacle that hinders the meeting between himself and Philip.

We barely managed to get Ian out, but he burned all the documents about the first warrior party and Philip.

I’m just at a loss as to how to contact Philip.

“Anyway. Are you doing what you promised?”

“Promise?”

Penny openly laughed at Aria, who smiled warmly.

“Are you saying something like that after dealing with something like that?”

“Something like this? We faithfully performed our duties.”

“Ha… .”

It’s just as Ian said.

What should I do with these fish heads?

The decision came quickly.

One way or another, these are the first warrior party that Philip has raised with great care.

You will know how to reach Philip.

Penny quickly smiled.

“Promise. We must protect it. Do not worry. By the way, where is Philip?”

“Philip?”

Everyone tilted their heads in response to Penny’s question.

It seemed like no one knew who was looking at each other.

“I don’t know. You’ve been like this before, why do you keep looking for that person?”

Kylie asked on behalf of the representative.

“Aren’t you the actual manager who gives Ian important information and orders? Now that I’m replacing Ian, I think I should take a look at him.”

The response is not very good.

The four warriors frowned as if they did not understand.

“Is it that sound again? As I said before, Philip is one of the attendants hired by Ian.”

“Ha… . great. Then do you know the whereabouts of Philip, the attendant?”

“I don’t know. I’m not interested. If it were Ian, he might know.”

“… … .”

What happened?

Philip is the one who raised them himself.

It makes no sense for them not to know Philip.

However, there was no lie in the warriors’ expressions.

Penny was quick at calculating things.

‘Philip’s actions are no less than those of these warriors. Very few people know the whole truth, but they have a certain level of fame. But the fact that these warriors don’t know that… .’

The conclusion is that he hid his identity from the warriors so that they would not worry about him.

Penny laughed.

‘Philip… . That’s amazing. ‘You’re hiding your identity so perfectly.’

However, no matter how Philip is, he cannot continue to neglect the party he has raised.

‘I’ll wait, Philip.’

The place where Ian left.

Penny was the only one who would take Philip’s orders.

Penny gathered her thoughts and smiled.

“I will guarantee you much better treatment than when Ian was around.”

Only then did the warriors smile in the same way.

***

“Aren’t you Ian? W, what’s going on here… .”

A security guard in a small town I stopped by recognized me.

That’s because it’s the place we brought the first hero party to before.

“By any chance, are the first warrior party members coming?”

“No. I am alone.”

“Yes, yes… ?”

“I was fired. I’m not your manager anymore.”

The guard was confused but nodded as if he understood.

“Then, hey, can I ask you just one question?”

The guard spoke as if he was asking about some great secret.

“What is it?”

“I heard that a person named Philip is the real manager. Is this true?”

Because of the popularity of the first warrior party, the manager also received attention.

The pseudonym ‘Philip’ was used to divert attention.

An unknown being who raised the stars of humanity.

The name ‘Ian’ appeared only as Philip’s agent.

Because all the credit and interest had to go to the warrior party.

I simply told the warriors of the first party that I was one of my media attendants.

I didn’t want them to worry about that.

“In the first place, is that Philip a real person?”

The enigmatic Philip was talked about like a ghost story, but did not receive much attention.

Like this, most people don’t even know if something exists or not.

“Although it has been released, I cannot disclose confidential information. Sorry.”

I guess they asked because they thought they could tell me because I don’t belong there anymore.

Unfortunately, I have no intention of telling you the truth.

Philip will have to wander around like a ghost forever.

“Oh, I guess so. I understand.”

The guard smiled as if he understood the deep meaning.

A secret doesn’t tell you anything, but it can feel like it’s telling you an important truth.

If it wasn’t there, you could just say it wasn’t there, but since it said it was confidential, you would have felt like there was something there.

It doesn’t matter whether you misunderstand or not.

Philip remains alone for a long time.

The first party must still be alive and well.

While I’m growing the other party, at least to prevent the demon invasion from ahead.

As I entered the city square, I saw a large bulletin board far away from the bustling crowd.

At the top of the bulletin board was a full-length portrait of a member of the first warrior party, and below it was full of words of encouragement.

This is a bulletin board where you can see reactions to the warrior party.

There were other warriors mentioned, but most of them were about the first warrior party.

‘This is what I suggested too.’

During the second round, a civil war broke out while the warriors were struggling on the front lines.

We judged that something like this was necessary to unite public opinion, and proposed it to the imperial family.

The results were very effective.

Just like chatting about celebrities and celebrities on the modern Internet.

The people here became busy scrolling through the bulletin board without a break, looking for and listening to news about the hero.

“Hmph. People who don’t know anything.”

Mercy muttered in her pocket.

A burst of laughter broke out.

“Sure.”

I made all of that.

I was kicked out by the beneficiary.

It’s a really funny reality.

It would be a good idea to put the names of the new party members there as well.

No, we have to make it happen.

*

To be called a warrior, you must go through three steps.

Aspirants, temporary warriors, regular warriors.

A ‘superhuman’ who awakens special powers only through luck.

Among them, the hero who wants to become a warrior registers his identity on the list of aspiring warriors.

Those aspirants train and take the temporary warrior promotion test, and then build up their performance and take on the official warrior test.

What I have in my hand now is a list of applicants.

A list of superhumans taking on the temporary hero promotion test, with no results yet.

The less you achieve, the more likely you are to listen.

I came to the public library with the directory I received from city hall.

When I chose a seat and sat down, Mercy came out of my chest pocket.

He finds it difficult to walk on his own, so whenever he moves, he puts a spot in his pocket.

That’s comfortable for me too.

Even if you walk alone, it’s the same as traveling as a group of three.

“Are you looking for applicants? Not a temporary or official warrior?”

Mercy, sitting next to the list, asked.

Kati, who was lying down across from me, put her tail on my wrist and looked down at the list.

“If you are already a hero, you probably have a manager.”

Above all, a warrior with some skills has a very high arrogance.

Those guys are out of spec.

“Honestly, I’m worried. Those guys with ogre anuses that haven’t been washed in a few days may be unlucky, but aren’t they strong?”

“… Don’t use those words in that tone.”

“I am only angry because you are not angry.”

“Thank you for that.”

He chuckled and opened the list.

It is filled with a few lines of personal information and introductions.

“Oh! Here is a person called Sword Master!”

At the place Mercy pointed to, there was a person who introduced himself as one of the leading ‘Sword Masters’ in the empire.

Come to think of it, this is my first time seeing the list of Mercy and aspiring applicants.

I met this guy when he was growing up after gathering all 4 heroes.

“Look at that closely.”

“Huh?”

At my words, Mercy looked closely at the letters.

[Aspiring to become one of the best sword masters in the empire]

In the sentence, only ‘aspiring to’ was written very small.

“Why is this text so small?”

“Why. Because ‘Sword Master’ has to look big.”

“Wasn’t that a deception? Why?”

“You have to stand out.”

Just looking at the introductions of the applicants, it seems like there are about 100 sword masters in the empire.

Besides that, there are many traces of efforts to somehow package oneself.

[I dream of winning the Imperial Cup swordsmanship competition.]

[Practicing with the goal of solving high-difficulty dungeons.]

[Training with someone who is not a child of an acquaintance of the parents of a friend of the Grand Sword Master’s student.]

Some of them are truly someone’s students or children of a certain family.

These are not the people I need right now.

A person who exaggerates his or her self-introduction, whether true or false, is likely not to be listened to.

“That’s fascinating. So are you going to see all this thick stuff?”

“That should be it. I don’t know who might be a good person.”

“It’s terrible… .”

While working as a manager, I got sick of handwriting.

I quickly glanced through the list.

There were a few names I heard during the second round.

But after they all became stronger, they became arrogant.

There is no need for such a person.

“But can you tell just by looking at this?”

“I don’t know. If it looks good, the only way is to meet in person and check.”

“Hmm… . It’s difficult. I hope they aren’t like those last time who stuck troll pus in their ears and didn’t listen.”

“Do you usually study expressions like that?”

“Of course! I also have a collection of things that come to mind. Would you like to take a look?”

“No, I see you a lot… .”

Despite the expression, it is true that it is a difficult task.

You can quickly tell if someone is strong or not when you meet them in person.

But I don’t know if I will listen well or not.

You can’t tell if someone is nice or not even when you meet them.

You can act for a moment, and your true nature can be revealed as you spend time together.

While going through the list of applicants with nothing that stood out.

The introduction of an aspiring wizard caught my attention.

[Help me.]

Do you like it?

Concise and desperate.

Introductions like this are not uncommon.

Your family is like this, your clan is like that.

There are quite a few introductions that ask you to take them with you for various reasons, with the idea of helping them.

But please cut the front and back and save me, just one word… .

I’m intrigued for no reason.

I checked personal information with Mercy, who was exhausted and had lost interest.

‘Vivian, 25 years old. ‘Aspirant has 2 years of experience?’

What kind of wannabe did you do for two years?

No matter how long I hold on to it, I can see the sprouts, whether it will happen or not in half a year.

‘You even failed the temporary hero test 10 times?’

It seems like a desperation to climb up from the floor.

But failing 10 times in the not-so-difficult Temporary Hero Test was a bit… .

‘My place of residence is Arche Village. It is a village far northeast of the capital.’

It’s close to the road I’m on.

Because I was planning to head to the capital.

I searched through my memories of previous episodes to find helpful information.

[Memory Correction]

This is a very useful skill for someone who doesn’t remember everything.

Because I don’t know much about other than important events.

Conversations from the past flooded into my mind.

‘Did you hear that there was a mana explosion in Arche Village?’

‘Mana explosion? Did the madmen at the Magic Tower cause an accident?’

‘Seeing as the Magic Tower also started an investigation, I don’t think that’s the case. From what I heard, the epicenter was the orphanage in that village… . ‘The teacher was a wizard?’

The time is late spring of the current year.

not far.

Mana explosion, or mana runaway.

It is the worst tyranny committed by a wizard pushed to his mental limits.

It would be like a disaster because it could evaporate at least one village.

However, being a wizard does not mean that just anyone can commit it.

You have to be at least at the level to ascend to the Magic Tower to cause an explosion, and the number of people in the empire is less than 100.

This is not something that can be done at the level of an aspiring person.

The gaze that looked around the memories returned to the list.

‘Vivian, aspiring wizard… . There is something.’

Even looking at the back pages, there was no character that stood out as much as Vivian.

I immediately closed the list and got up.

“Huh? Did you find something?”

Mercy, who had been dozing off against Kati, woke up.

“Yes. I’m not sure though. The possibility is pretty high.”

Potential enough to cause a mana explosion.

The mindset of working as a teacher at an orphanage.

It’s just a guess, but it’s worth a walk.

They immediately arranged a wagon, loaded it with food, and left.

To Arke Village, where the suspicious aspirant, Vivian, is.