Chapter 29-30

Chapter 29 - The Hero's failures Part 4

When we arrived at the royal capital, we immediately headed for the adventurers' guild.

"We're the 'White Fang', and I was wondering if you have any high-paying jobs."

I approached the counter and spoke to the guild staff.

I let him know the name of my party as quickly and casually as I could.

If you're an adventurer, you probably know I'm the hero.

Just hearing my name will make you shudder and kneel before me. Kukuku.

Come on, boy, be amazed. Worship me.

"If you're looking for a job, please look it up on the board. That's what everyone does."

"…Do you have any idea who I am?"

"?"

"I am Sain of the S-rank party! I am the man who has been chosen as the hero!"

"So what?"

The staff's reaction is horribly slow.

In my homeland, Balseille, the mere mention of my name would cause a stir in the guild.

And of course, the treatment is also special. With one word from me, the guild master would hurry to give me a good job with a high price while serving me tea.

I have been here several times, so why am I being treated so harshly?

I wasn't the hero at the time, but the treatment back then still wasn't as cold as it is now.

"I don't know if you're S-rank or a hero, but if you want to make a big name for yourself in this country, you'll have to start by doing great deeds and outdoing the 'Manyu Brigade'."

"Ha-ha-ha. Hey midget, surpassing the 'Manyu Brigade' is impossible!"

Two adventurers who were drinking alcohol started making fun of me.

A great, fierce anger surged up from the pit of my stomach.

At the same time, my ears turned hot and red from embarrassment.

I am the hero, a perfect man, and you have made a fool of me.

I will kill them.

When I realized it, my legs began to move on their own and my fists sank into the adventurers' faces.

One of the men is slammed against the wall, and collapses to the ground.

"Hey you as*ho**! What the fu** do you think you're doing?!"

"This is what you deserve for being rude to me! I am the hero! I am the one chosen to defeat the Demon King and save the world!"

"What kind of hero are you? I don't want to hear that kind of crap from someone who is irrationally violent!"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Dozens of adventurers started fighting against me.

The difference in his strength against mine was evident.

I am close to level sixty, and they on the other hand, their level is 30 or 40 at the most.

I hit them one by one.

"Sain, please don't do this!"

"Get out of my way, Soara!"

"But you're going to kill them!"

I grabbed an opponent by the chest and lifted him up while he was covered in blood."

…It's not a good idea to kill someone in the guild, at worst I could get arrested and end up in jail.

It would suck if it all ends here.

Huh, they saved your life, scum.

I threw the man away.

Soara began treating the wounded with his recovery skills.

"Hey."

"Y-Yes."

I called a woman from the staff.

"What's this 'Manyu Brigade' everyone's talking about?"

"It's a B-ranked party."

Huh? B-rank?

It is insulting to say that a party of that caliber is better than me. My party is S-rank, it's the hero's party.

Or are they stupid in this country?

However, the words the staff kept saying cleared things up.

"The 'Manyu Brigade' is the one that successfully defeated the Queen of the Death Ants, something that even the soldiers of the royal capital could not do, and became the first party in history to receive the title of Hero. As a guild, we consider them the only S-ranked party."

What the heck… A party is a hero instead of an individual?

That is impossible. That would make heroes out of everyone who belongs there.

It's like having more than one hero, and it never ends. Even if the central member dies, the title can be passed on.

Unless they are stripped of that title, they will forever be treated as heroes by anyone who interacts with these guys.

Even I have not been given the title of hero.

However, the Manyu Brigade and its members did something that was impossible for just anyone, apart from me, the hero.

This makes a mockery of my existence. I am going to be pushed aside.

My future was supposed to be great. My glorious path that was supposed to be full of flowers and praises….

"You don't look good."

"That's right, I feel terrible."

I am sure they are the ones who have ruined all my plans. Everywhere I go, they are one step ahead of me.

If they were able to defeat the Queen of the Death Ants, it means they have the same level as me.

I'm also not familiar with this party's name. It must have been formed very recently.

The leader slew the dragon, took the sacred sword out of the temple and explored the ruins of Einark.

It all makes sense when you put all the information together.

I am almost certain that the Manyu Brigade is the one getting in my way.

"Where can I find this adventuring party?"

"I know that they have already left the royal capital. Rumor has it that they are heading for the nation of Grigit."

So Grigit, huh.

Right there is a temple of the sacred weapon.

So far nothing has gone my way, but this time it will be different. I'm going to pull out the sacred sword and make a spectacular debut.

And of course, I will have to face the Manyu Brigade.

They have made me far too angry.

They are going to pay for everything they have done to me.

"It's time to go."

"But there are still many wounded."

"Leave them!"

"O-okay."

I called Soara and we left the guild.

"The Manyu Brigade? Oh yes, that party is staying here."

The inn owner tells me in a light tone.

I shuddered with pleasure to hear it.

As soon as I reached the remote nation of Grigit, I was able to find the inn where the party was staying.

I checked with the owner to find out which room they are in.

Now all we have to do is get rid of them.

The opponent is a bearer of the sacred sword.

Even if you are the hero, it is a bad idea to attack head-on.

First I have to get the sacred sword, then we will deal with them.

We hurried to the temple of the sacred weapon, choosing not to stay at the inn as it was in a very remote place.

"This is the Sacred Sword! At last! At last!!!!"

A sacred and beautiful one-handed sword is thrust into the pedestal in front of me.

It's like it's been waiting for me.

"Congratulations Sain! Your time has finally come!"

"Come on, hurry up and pull it out! I'm sure you're quite capable of doing it!"

"Well I mustn't rush it. You have to create an atmosphere for this kind of thing."

All three were convinced that I would succeed.

"Well, I'm going to approach…"

Gently grasp the handle.

From this moment on, I am going to become a hero.

And then, I will kill the members of the Manyu Brigade.

I'm so excited I can't wait.

I put all my strength into both arms, and pulled.

"Hmm! Hmmph! Hmmm!"

What's wrong? Why can't I take it out?

Is this some kind of test? Is that why I can't take it out?

Come on, get out of there already!

Don't play hard to get. You're going to become mine anyway, so get out fast.

I put my foot on the pedestal and tried to pull out the sword with all my might.

Blood vessels throughout my body began to rise and sweat poured from my forehead.

"Cut the jokes and hurry up, Sain."

"Yeah, you're the hero, you're supposed to be able to do that."

"Your face doesn't look good, it's too red."

This is stupid, why won't it come out?

I am the chosen one, the hero. I am the man who will save the world.

I am the most perfect person there is, I don't have a single flaw.

It is almost inevitable that the sacred sword will fall into my hands.

That's what I insisted for the next twenty-four hours, but the sacred sword did not come out.

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Chapter 30 - The Hidden Fairy Village Part 1

I grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled it with all my strength.

"Phew!"

A dazzling light came from the sword.

The light from the sword did not diminish, but became brighter until it dyed the room white.

And when the light went out, the sword in my right hand was gone.

"So that's the Master's new armor! It's beautiful!"

"It looks lighter than I expected. I thought a full suit of armor would suit the Lord, though."

"Kyu"

I touched my chest, and realized I was wearing metal armor.

It was located on the torso and both parts of my legs and arms.

The design was very simple, nothing flashy.

I was imagining full armor of some sort, but this seems to be sufficient.

If I'm going to be traveling, it's good to have light armor.

"How does it feel?"

"It's very light. I'm not sure how tough it will be, but it's holy armor, so it should be pretty tough."

Speaking of which, I never told Kaede to evaluate my sacred sword.

Let's take this opportunity for Kaede to take a look at it.

"Evaluate it?"

"Yes please."

"I can't do that. It is impossible to evaluate the armor because my level is not adequate, the information I would see would not be very accurate."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Unlike normal armor, the sacred armor makes all information unreadable… Perhaps it's level is so high that it can hide it's information."

For some reason, I already knew that analyzing the sacred armor was going to be impossible.

There is still much mystery surrounding the sacred armor.

If this sacred object could be analyzed, it would be known for many years where it was created, with what materials, the technology and the secrets it contains.

"Now that we've gotten what we needed, it's time to go to the fairy village."

"Excellent!"

We left the temple.

The sound of branches crackling on the fire enveloped the place.

"Supee, supeee."

"Master…"

Kaede stretched her arms over her head as she said things in her sleep.

I'm curious to know what kind of dreams she's having.

Two days have passed since we entered the forest, and we are still moving towards the hidden village of the Fairy Tribe.

Just above us, Rosuke flew through the air like a fish swimming in water.

Whenever we camp, I always have Rosuke keep an eye on the place.

It has the order to eliminate any demon or monster that approaches us.

It is the only way to sleep without worrying that something horrible will happen to us.

However, I have been in the habit of not being able to sleep when camping for many years now. And even knowing that I can sleep safely, it is impossible for me.

"Report: Experience-saving has been repaired"

Oh. So it's finally fixed.

But I don't like the idea of this ability sucking all my experience back in.

The experience-saving ability had been active since I was a baby.

In other words, it took twenty-five years for the ability to break down.

How long will it take for it to break again?

Will it be thirty years from now or will it not break until I die?

After all, the skill's level limit is broken, and now I have to raise it to fifty.

Well, I'm happy with lvl 300, so it doesn't really matter.

"No Master… Don't abandon me…"

Kaede continues to hold out her hand with a pained look on her face.

It seems to be a terrible dream.

I walked over to her and patted her on the head.

"Master… I'm glad that you're here….."

"Relax, I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled to reassure her.

"Please help me…."

That was the last thing she said before she began to breathe more calmly as she slept.

Perhaps she is remembering the days when she was a slave?

I will be here with you.

So you can sleep easy.

I stroked her head once more.

"Orya!"

Frau was using her hammer to get rid of some goblins.

From there, she spun around at high speed and knocked a group of goblins to the ground.

She perched on a tree branch and made a satisfied face.

"I'm pretty good at what I do. I'm sure you've noticed, Lord."

"But I hadn't doubted your abilities."

"No! You thought I was too small and cute to fight! Even Kaede was worried that I couldn't make it!"

"I'm sorry."

When Kaede lowered her head, I immediately apologized to Frau as well.

"I'm sorry. I really did underestimate you."

And I wasn't saying it because of your size, it's just that you have a very low level….

On the other hand, Frau's high-speed flying more than made up for her low level.

Even goblin riders who boasted of their speed believed they were capable of winning only to be beaten.

If she can raise her level a lot, there is no doubt that she could be very powerful.

"Hey, I'm already level 35!"

"That's because of my ability, it seems to grant the group an experience doubling effect."

"What is that, is that a cheat ability?"

"I think so, but it's something that can't be helped."

Frau smiles faintly and closes her right hand tightly, saying, "The power is boiling inside me."

I am sure she will continue to raise her level higher and higher.

It will be interesting to see how a high-level fairy fights.

"Well, I'm going to level up as fast as I can!"

"Hey, wait!"

Frau disappears alone in the forest.

You are supposed to guide us until we reach the village.

I don't know how to get there without you.

"I think it's better to wait."

"I'd like to take a break while I drink a cup of tea."

A small shadow jumps out of the bushes.

I quickly used my armor to block the attack.

"Human, how dare you interrupt Papau's attack?"

In the air was a tiny old man who was a little older than Frau.

On his back were a set of wings, the mark of a fairy.

In his right hand, he held a one-handed sword that reflected a glowing light.

"Papau's attack didn't work, we'll have to attack all at once!"

"Oooooooooh!"

The fairy men flew out of the forest one after another.

Some of them were women, and in all, nearly fifty fairies flew freely through the air.

"What do we do, Master?"

"We can't attack them. They're probably fairies from Frau's village."

It is true that they move fast, but not so fast that you can't see them.

Kaede and I dodge the attacks and wait for Frau to return.

"Hey, this human defense is solid!"

"If we don't do something, they will know where our village is!"

"I've got a trick up my sleeve! Let's use wide-area magic!"

"We have no choice!"

The fairies fly up to the sky and create a huge magic circle.

It appears to be a wide-area type attack magic made by several people.

A direct hit would blow up this entire area.

"Is Frau here yet?"

"She must be too busy leveling up to realize the situation."

We cannot wait any longer.

I have to stop them immediately.

I'm going to have to give that little girl a lecture later.

"Frau, this is an order! Come back now!"

My voice echoes throughout the place with a highly overpowering tone.

Something was approaching at tremendous speed, breaking through the tree line. The fairies took notice of it and stopped moving.

A large tree broke in half and collapsed.

At the other end was Frau holding the hammer.

The atmosphere is unusual.

She stared at the other fairies, her gaze deadly.

"How dare you try to kill my Lord while Frau is absent?"

"Frau!!! YOU ARE FRAU!!!"

The man who called himself Papau approached, stunned.

"Hmph."

The hammer shot out and hit Papau in the face with full force.

"The man you see there is Toru of the great race of Dragons! I, Frau am his faithful slave! What you have done is unbecoming of the fairy race!"

The fairies flapped their wings and descended to the ground to kneel.

"I didn't know you were of the great race we adore. Please forgive me for being so rude."

An elderly man who appeared to be the leader of the group ducked his head.

With those words, all the fairies bowed their heads.

This is very uncomfortable.

This transition from Human to Dragonoid is still not being processed by my brain.

Frau, who was on top of a panther, approached us and also knelt down.

"You should feel ashamed, too. If Frau had not returned in time, we would have had a mess on our hands here. You should obey your Lord more and not go off alone while leaving us behind."

I said, after tapping her on the shoulder, while smiling coldly at her.

"We'll talk later."

Frau looked at me while shaking like a rattle.