Chapter 6: Nosiness

Kkamang and I were making smooth progress through the land of the demons.

We had packed a decent amount of food, and thanks to Kkamang’s speed, stamina, and exceptional night vision, we were able to keep moving even through the night without stopping.

‘Wasn’t traveling at night dangerous?’ You must not know who I am. I’m a Hero, and Kkamang is a beast at the very top of the food chain.

Unless something stronger than Kkamang showed up, no creature would dare attack us.

‘How much time had passed like that?’ Just as I started thinking that we were getting close to the border where the demon territory met the Holy Kingdom—

“I’m exhausted.”

—Grrr…

“Had we pushed ourselves too hard, trying to avoid the succubi’s pursuit?” Both Kkamang and I were starting to feel the fatigue by this point.

“Yeah, Kkamang. You’ve worked the hardest. Good job.”

—Grrr…

For such a massive wolf, he sure was cute.

In any case, we both felt the need for proper rest.

It wasn’t like we had never stopped to camp and take breaks before, but for the most part, we had been running non-stop.

Fortunately, though we hadn’t left demon territory yet, we were close to the border.

The succubi’s pursuit would no doubt be relentless, but I doubted they had already reached this far.

“There’s a city up ahead, so let’s rest there for tonight.”

Saying that, I pulled my robe down low over my face.

This was still demon territory, and as a human, I couldn’t simply live in a demon city like any other resident.

However, there were plenty of demons whose physical features weren’t all that different from humans.

Sure, many had distinctly non-human traits, but there were also plenty whose differences were limited to something like a tail or horns.

As long as I kept myself well-covered and stayed inside an inn without going out, I should be able to stay for a day without much issue.

Besides, with Kkamang by my side, no one would suspect much even if I bundled myself up tightly.

Humans typically couldn’t tame beasts, so demons wouldn’t immediately assume I was human.

One day.

Just one day should be fine.

At least, that’s what I thought—

***

“Hey, stop! Don’t move! If you make a move, I’ll turn you and that beast beside you into pincushions!”

The moment we approached the city walls, a guard stationed atop them shouted down at us.

He had a ballista aimed right at us.

A certain thought crossed my mind.

‘So much for making it to the Holy Kingdom smoothly. So long as nothing unexpected happens, right?’

A mental replay of my past words flashed through my mind like a panoramic slideshow.

I suddenly had the urge to go back in time and slap my past self.

‘An issue?’ Yeah, it seemed like one had just popped up.

That level of hostility was something you’d expect only in wartime when dealing with unknown outsiders.

No, it was even worse than that.

They looked ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

No matter how I looked at it, the situation in the city wasn’t normal.

Something serious had to be going on.

“The problem is my mouth. My damn mouth.”

Sure, I could take off with Kkamang right now, but running away blindly without knowing what was going on could bring unnecessary risks.

‘Who knew if Serentia had already put out a wanted notice for the Hero who escaped her castle, spreading my description across the entire demon territory?’

‘If that were the case, and they were already suspicious of me because I had a beast with me, running away could confirm their suspicions and lead them right to me.’

‘No matter how fast Kkamang and I were, we couldn’t outrun teleportation magic.’

‘Serentia knew that if I escaped, I would head for the Holy Kingdom. ‘

‘If she realized I was already this close to the border, she could just teleport ahead and lock it down completely.’

‘Of course, this was just speculation. Maybe I was wrong, or maybe time-stopping magic would work on Serentia just like it did back in the castle.’

But I wasn’t about to take that gamble.

I could always decide to run later.

For now, I needed to figure out what was going on.

I slowly raised my hands to show I meant no harm and spoke up.

“May I ask why you’re reacting this way? My companion and I are simply travelers. It’s quite shocking to be threatened so suddenly—”

“S-Shut up! Just stay still if you don’t want to die!”

“…Could I at least hear the reason? If you explain the situation, I would be willing to leave peacefully.”

“Hah! Leave? Who says you can just leave? For all we know, you could be the reason our city is in this state!”

‘The city’s in a state?’

At a glance, nothing seemed wrong.

I hadn’t entered the city itself, so I couldn’t be certain, but from the state of the walls, there was no sign of an external attack.

‘So whatever happened, it was from inside the city… Meaning this isn’t about Serentia’s wanted notice.’

I looked up at the guard as he continued shouting.

“The beasts we’ve been raising inside the city all went berserk at once! The place is nearly in ruins! Do you have any idea how many people died or got injured?!”

“Even though we managed to kill or lock them all up, the damage is catastrophic! There’s no way we’re letting another beast inside! Who knows what kind of disaster it might cause?!”

…This wasn’t something I could just ignore.

Now I understood why there was only one guard stationed on the wall.

They were too busy dealing with the chaos inside to spare any more men for outside defense.

‘You have to help.’

A voice inside me whispered.

I found myself responding inwardly.

‘…Help? Help what?’

‘Help them.’

The absurdity of it left me staring blankly up at the guard.

“We don’t even know what caused this! And then suddenly, an outsider shows up with a beast? Of course, we’d be on edge! You get it, don’t you?!”

The guard was practically shouting in frustration.

Hearing his words, I could feel something stirring inside me.

The Hero in me—the Hero that used to be Ain—wanted to meddle.

Before I became Sung Yohan, I was Ain—a classic, naive Hero with a bleeding heart.

Whenever I saw injustice, I got angry.

Whenever I saw people in need, I wanted to help.

I had always thought of a Hero’s duty as saving people, not just fighting demons like some kind of war machine.

That belief had made me a misfit among Heroes.

I had more achievements in rescuing people than in battling demons, and because I hesitated to kill even my enemies, I often had my victories stolen away by others.

The rational part of me—Sung Yohan—found that kind of thinking foolish.

But in the end, Ain was still a part of me.

Just because the two of us had merged didn’t mean my core nature had changed.

‘Ain… snap out of it. This has nothing to do with us. Just ignore it.’

Meanwhile, Sung Yohan—the realist—didn’t care about justice.

People would always create conflicts.

No single person could change that, no matter how hard they tried.

More importantly, the world didn’t love humans.

‘So why should I love the world?’

I knew that better than anyone.

‘How could I not?’

A mother who, in public, acted like the kindest woman in the world, but behind closed doors, was a religious fanatic who abused her own child in the name of faith.

A father who, unable to endure reality, had hung himself—leaving me alone in that house for over a week.

The world didn’t love humans.

I had learned that truth in the cruelest way possible.

And yet…

“…Would it be alright if I helped?”

“…What?”

Right now, I was reaching out my hand to something that had nothing to do with me.

‘Ain… you’re a complete idiot.’

Even after realizing my past life as Sung Yohan, after being mocked daily by other Heroes and the world, and after ultimately being abandoned by my comrades—this damn fool, Ain, still couldn’t let go of his meddlesome nature.

Today, I realized just how much of an idiot I truly was.

***

Meanwhile, in the Holy Kingdom of Eden.

Inside the Papal Palace in the capital—no, the Holy City of Elia.

A round table sat in the center of what looked like a conference room, surrounded by various individuals.

Among them was Saintess Ellen, who had previously met with the former Pope, as well as men and women of diverse appearances.

One of them, a young man with golden hair and tanned skin—a characteristic of the Southern Heat Kingdoms—smirked.

“So, what urgent matter has our dear Saintess gathered us for?”

Golden Sun Netorian.

A stereotypical blonde, tanned delinquent, and the son of a count from the Southern Heat Kingdoms.

Among warriors, he was infamous for his underhanded fighting style.

As he spoke, the others turned their attention to Saintess Ellen.

Closing her eyes, she calmly spoke.

“As you all may already know, Hero Ain has gone missing.”

“Oh, that idiot? Now that you mention it, I was wondering why there was an empty seat. I didn’t even notice he was gone. The guy was such a loser.”

Golden Sun snickered as he said that.

A few people at the table frowned at his words, but—

“Golden Sun, watch your mouth. Show some restraint.”

—It wasn’t because he was insulting Ain.

The brown-haired young man who spoke was Hero Ludric Sagear, a representative of that sentiment.

The Rubenion Empire, stronger than even the Holy Kingdom in terms of power, had many influential pillars, and he was the second son of the Sagear Ducal House, one of them.

Golden Sun chuckled at his words.

“Yeah, yeah~ Look at you, high and mighty ducal heir. You think a mere count’s son like me should just shut up, huh?”

“I don’t like your tone.”

“And I’m being sarcastic on purpose. Honestly, you and I aren’t so different, are we? Both of us broke apart other parties just to get a bigger slice of the pie. Who are you to call me out for being crude? Know your place, trash.”

“…You dare—”

“That’s enough.”

Before the situation could escalate, Saintess Ellen intervened.

Golden Sun sneered, while Ludric, though still visibly irritated, couldn’t ignore the Saintess’s words and fell silent.

“Let us not lose sight of what is important. A Hero has gone missing, and we have no clues to his whereabouts.”

“Maybe he just offed himself? A loser who got all his women stolen—it’s obvious what kind of choice he’d make.”

Golden Sun chuckled.

At his words, three women seated at the round table flinched.

Ellen shook her head.

“Even if Hero Ain had taken his own life, there would still be a body. More importantly, long ago, when one of the previous-generation Heroes died, the Goddess’s blessing dispersed, triggering a powerful divine reaction and a revelation. That has not happened.”

“So, he’s still alive.”

At that moment, a deep, rough voice broke the silence.

Hero Mark Patrick, a dark-skinned, bald man with a heavily muscular build, spoke up.

Ellen nodded.

“That is correct, Hero Mark.”

“Then why bring this to us? You know we’re all busy. Do you expect us to search for him? The Papal Palace must have already launched a search.”

“Of course. But we’ve found nothing.”

“Then what makes you think we’d have any better luck—”

“I’m not necessarily asking for that. I am merely holding you accountable for your actions. I believe at least six of you here understand exactly why this situation came to be.”

Ellen opened her eyes as she spoke.

As her piercing blue gaze swept across the room, several people flinched.

“I called upon only three parties among the Heroes for a reason. You are the ones responsible for this situation. If you recognize that your actions led to this—”

“How is this our fault? That idiot disappeared on his own.”

Golden Sun shamelessly interrupted, smirking.

“And let’s be real here, Saintess. You knew about it and did nothing. Now you want to blame us? That’s a bit pathetic, don’t you think?”

He leaned forward with a mocking grin.

“What, did the Pope scold you or something?”

Ellen remained silent.

Golden Sun snickered.

“Ah~ That explains it. This is why I like you, Saintess. You didn’t even spare him a glance when he was of no use to you, but now that someone important has warned you, you’re suddenly all concerned?”

“Golden Sun, you are being disrespectful.”

“What? Did I say something wrong? Looks to me like the Pope gave you a serious warning, and now you’re scrambling to save your own skin. If you don’t get His Holiness’s approval, those old cardinals might take the next Pope’s seat right from under you.”

Ellen said nothing.

Golden Sun laughed.

“This is hilarious. A so-called Saintess? You’re just as self-serving as the rest of us. That’s why I like you. You should consider joining my party. I bet we’d get along great. Oh, and in other ways too, of course.”

He smirked and wiggled his pinky finger suggestively.

For a brief moment, disgust flashed in Ellen’s eyes.

Ludric spoke up.

“Enough. You’re being vulgar. Show some respect to the Saintess.”

“Relax, it was just a joke. Ugh, Imperial guys are so uptight.”

Golden Sun shrugged and stood up.

“Anyway, I couldn’t care less. You all have fun searching for that idiot. I’m out.”

He casually threw his arm around the shoulder of a blue-haired woman beside him.

She trembled slightly and bit her lip.

But no one in the room reacted.

To them, she was nothing more than a trophy for Golden Sun.

She had lost all value in their eyes.

Golden Sun, along with his party members, turned to leave—

But then.

“The Trial of the Holy Sword.”

***

“If anyone here wishes to search for Hero Ain, I will grant them priority access to the Trial of the Holy Sword under my authority.”

At Ellen’s words, Golden Sun and the other Heroes stopped in their tracks.

They turned back to look at her.

Ellen met their gazes, her expression unwavering.

“Will that be enough?”