“Am I… competent?”
It feels like this is the first time I’ve been told I’m competent—no, to be honest, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard such a thing in my life, ever since I was summoned to this world.
Rather than feeling happy, I’m more confused.
Isn’t the king misunderstanding something?
“Your Majesty, I think there’s been some sort of mistake. I was a hero, yes, but I didn’t really do anything noteworthy. I was even mistreated by my comrades.”
“Are you talking about the comrades who were wiped out this time?”
“Yes.”
“The comrades you were with once boasted of unparalleled strength, but as soon as you were gone, they were suddenly wiped out, I hear?”
“I, too, find that suspicious.”
“I’ve been puzzled by that too. Ever since I heard about the failure of the last hero party’s expedition.”
The king continued speaking.
“The protagonist, the hero, is incompetent, while the people around him are absurdly capable… that’s been everyone’s perception until now. Once the incompetent hero was replaced, everyone thought they could finally rest easy. They believed that if a competent hero, verified under the Hometown Defense Minister Zero’s state, led a new party, they would easily capture the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King.”
“Everyone thought so. But it wasn’t the case. In fact, the hero party experienced an unprecedented defeat.
This is something that never happened when you were leading the hero party.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say I was leading…”
“But you were always at the center of the party. You were a part of it.”
“Well, yes.”
“When you were there, the hero party never experienced a single defeat. That is a clear fact.”
I was about to say that I hadn’t really won any battles, but I held my tongue.
“Listen carefully, Victor.”
The king spoke.
“You must not know much about history, since you’re from another world. Let me explain it to you.”
History.
For someone like me, who majored in history, that caught my attention.
“In the past, the Kingdom of Renal and the Kingdom of Grimoire were two great powers, standing as equals. There was a time when they were referred to as ‘Renal of the West, Grimoire of the East.’ However, the balance of power collapsed. Why? Because the Kingdom of Grimoire was closer to the Great Continent. While the Kingdom of Grimoire was constantly fighting off the invasions of the demon race, depleting its national strength, Renal could use its geographical advantage to preserve its power. And this led to the rise of a single superpower. Now, only Renal is referred to as an empire, and only the ruler of Renal Empire is called the Emperor…”
“I see. I didn’t know that.”
“The Empire of Renal, over time, became the country that represented humanity, and it monopolized the role of supporting the heroes. Using that as a justification, it was also able to force tribute payments from other countries.”
Tribute payments.
I had heard that term a few times.
They say it’s money taken under the pretext of funding the hero’s expeditions, right?
This part needs to be addressed.
I feel wronged.
“Your Majesty, I really only spent 10,000 gold per year.”
“But our kingdom paid a tribute of one million gold. It was an incredibly difficult tax.”
“I’m wronged. I’ve never seen that kind of money.”
“Then someone else must have seen it. If what you’re saying is true.”
“…Who might that be?”
“The Emperor, Carlos.”
The king uttered the name.
With eyes that seemed to look far away, he continued.
“I’ve known that child since he was very young. When Carlos was a child, he was full of curiosity but was a good boy. He would always say that he wanted to go on a world trip someday. I really liked him.”
“But at some point, he started to change. He became greedy and cruel, as if he were a completely different person. The Carlos of today doesn’t seem like the same person as the Carlos from his childhood. In my opinion…”
“? What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“…No, I’ll refrain from saying more. I don’t want to confuse you with baseless claims, especially without evidence.”
Though I was curious, I decided to hold back.
It seemed like there was still other important information to discuss.
“Anyway, the current Carlos is a very greedy person. He craves status, power, wealth, women… he can’t stand not having everything in his grasp. However, even as emperor, he can’t privately accumulate wealth.”
“Everything comes from taxes, you see. But of course, Carlos isn’t the type to give up. If Carlos has been using the excuse of hero tribute payments to increase his wealth…”
“If that’s the case…?”
“The world’s anger would be directed at him. There are people dying of starvation because of the tribute payments.”
“…But there’s no evidence…”
“I think perhaps Teresa holds that evidence.”
“Teresa?”
“Right now, she’s locked up in a deep underground dungeon. Would they go that far for embezzlement? It makes more sense to think that it’s a measure taken to hide the truth that even the Emperor fears.”
“Oh. Or maybe it’s because she discovered a secret about you.”
“A secret about me?”
“Yes. What if the so-called ‘incompetent hero’ is actually incredibly capable? What if you were the true backbone of the hero party?”
“What nonsense… that’s impossible.”
“Brunhilde is a very competent individual.”
The king suddenly changed the topic.
No, he hadn’t changed the topic—he was starting to explain in order to help me understand.
“Though Kralus, a friendly nation, is competent as well, his skills are different. Kralus is the best in the world when it comes to making money. He bought a title with that wealth and rose to the position of the Minister of Defense, which is impressive. But he can’t compare to Brunhilde’s exceptional abilities. She’s someone who could rival Princess Irene of her own country. The only difference is that Brunhilde is a woman as sharp as an ice blade.”
“Is that so?”
“Brunhilde is a very prickly and difficult woman. She doesn’t easily acknowledge others. Yet, she recommended you. She even petitioned me to grant you a title.”
“Just that alone doesn’t prove that I’m competent… It’s not enough evidence to assume I was the backbone of the hero party, is it?”
“Bru…”
“It may not compare to the Minister of Defense Zero’s state, but it’s still a rather sophisticated tool. Using it, she made a judgment and declared you competent.”
“Exactly.”
I pointed out the king’s contradiction.
“The state of the Minister of Defense Zero is known as the best appraisal tool in the world. Yet, when that same Zero saw me, he shook his head and said I was the epitome of incompetence. The moment that happened, wasn’t the game already over? Whether it’s the monocle or Brunhilde or anything else, it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s precisely it.”
The king sharply pointed it out.
“We’ve been fooled by the authority of that appraisal tool all this time.”
“What do you mean?”
“The appraisal tool is absolute, but the person Zero himself is not. A person can lie as much as they want. What if Minister of Defense Zero was lying?”
“Why would he…”
“There are countless reasons we could think of. The issue is that, if we assume that Minister of Defense Zero’s words were lies, everything suddenly falls into place.”
…
“That… that can’t be…”
My mind became a mess.
“I think you’re a very competent person. I can’t know the full extent of your abilities, but you must have supported the hero party with those skills.”
“…I… supported the hero party?”
Me? The incompetent hero, me?
“The Empire is in a dangerous situation. Under the pretext of supporting the hero party, tribute payments have been collected from various countries, but the expedition ended in a disastrous failure. The hero, Raul, was captured by the demon race, and his life or death is unknown. To summon a new hero, an enormous amount of money will be required, but if we try to collect more now, the backlash from the nations will be fierce. In the end, we have no choice but to call back the hero we already have… that is, you.”
“You’re planning to make use of me as a hero again, aren’t you?”
Well, that’s true.
Even Eri Limery had come to find me for that very reason.
“I’d like to ask you one thing, Lord Evans.”
The king asked.
“If the Empire comes looking for you again, how will you respond? If humanity desires you, will you be willing to fight the demon race once more as a hero? I want to hear your true feelings.”
“My… true feelings?”
Suddenly, the first day I was summoned to this world came to mind.
“”
With those words from the Minister of Defense, sighs echoed from all directions.
“<Ah! Why! At a time when the Demon King is about to revive after a hundred years, why must we have such a worthless hero!>”
“<Has the goddess forsaken us!>”
“<That damn hero has doomed us all!>”
Everyone was clearly disappointed by my appearance.
Ever since then, I think I’ve always felt small.
It was as if I had become a criminal, and wherever I went, I felt sorry and guilty.
It was the same after the hero party was formed. Compared to my ever-growing, stronger comrades, I was stuck in place, a disgrace to the party.
“<What exactly are you doing?>”
“<You’re really frustrating.>”
“<Just stay quiet and don’t make things worse.>”
Being scolded by my comrades had become a daily routine, and like someone who had been gaslighted, I had to walk around with a forced smile.
That was the way I spent that year.
Looking back now… well, I realize there were some things that felt unfair.
I didn’t come here because I wanted to, and I didn’t become a hero because I chose to.
“Moreover, what if I was actually competent all along and had been treated unfairly?”
Honestly, placing my hand on my chest,
I speak my mind.
“Ugh! If that were true… I would want to take revenge on those who have tormented me all this time.”
“Not a bad answer,” the king said.