A Summoned Hero CANNOT Be a Saint!

"I won't wear this!"

"But you must! We paid a lot for it!"

Maybe I should not have healed the resurrected these guys. Apparently, they bought me a "normal" clothes in advance, because they were afraid that clothes from my world will be "too strange"! But of course, the most common, painfully bland and overall stupid cleric robe isn't! 

"As if you lack money!"

"We do!", replies Elaina.

I look at Alaric. Yeah, I'm not buying that.

"Do I at least get a cool hammer, or a morgenstern?"

"Aren't you... a healer?"

"Well, in my home world, clerics were often also paladins with armor, shields and weapons!"

"But prophecy says that the Harmony Adept wields no weapon to harm the enemy!", Alaric said.

"Well, it is most certainly the first time I hear about it, as the last time the only part of the prophecy about me was the vaguest thing possible, about how me being summoned means that the evil will be vanquished or something like that. Or am I wrong?"

"Well, in any case! No, you shall not have a weapon!"

God damn it. I can't even be the cool type of support. 

"Whatever you say, man. Let's just go and get this over with."

The happiness from my powers quickly faded after that back-alley fight. After all, it means that I was exactly what I hated: an overpowered Isekai protagonist with unreasonable powers. At the very least I don't have a harem, otherwise I would crash out and heal myself to death. Moreover, there are too many variables that are either unknown, or just negative. The "chosen hero" is incompetent. Hell, Baldie seems to be the only person here besides me who has a brain! And then there is that whole back-alley ambush... considering one of the attackers talked about "intel", it was most certainly pre-planned.

"You... don't want to know more about this world?", carefully asked Elaina.

"Why would I want to know? We're getting the big bad evil guy slain and then I leave this mess of clichés of a world."

"And here I thought a summoned hero must be a saint.", she sighed.

"Oh, I would say that a summoned hero CANNOT be a saint. You pull a man out of his home world and expect you to like it? To enjoy being forced into a role he doesn't want?"

Hm. Sounds like a cool name for a satirical novel. I should think about it once I return. I won't even need to make anything up, just write down what I actually experienced... 

"Forget it, Elaina.", said Alaric, "However, Kai, we will only move out onto the journey once you put that on."

He pushes these... rags onto me again. Sigh... 

"Fiiine, just give me some time."

Going once again deep into a back alley, stepping over corpses of the former assailants, I can't help but think about how quickly they went on about it. Elaina was dead, and yet now she seems fine. Alaric almost died and saw the death of his... who is she to him again? Close friend, I think? Anyways, he saw her death in front of his eyes... and he is perfectly normal now that she is revived... are all people in this world so apathetic to death?... or are their personalities so bland that they lack strong emotions? Wouldn't put it past an Isekai character. Whatever, it's not like I am forced to bond with them.

Soon enough, after changing into the "generic cleric outfit number 3971", hanging the necklace with the church's symbol over my chest – they said it's important, plus it doesn't look back – and putting my Earth clothes to the bag, I start to go back to the bigger street to return to the group. Now that I think of it, this outfit isn't that bad. Shoulder cape is nice and the church symbolic is... honestly, it's kind creepy. A cube with an eye on each side? How exactly does it represent Mother of Origin? If that is any alike to her, then I think she is an eldritch deity! Alaric, Boldwyn and Elaina seem are waiting for me... and yet, I stop, squatting down near one of the corpses of the bandits. The rigor mortis has just passed, and it will start to rot soon, but it isn't exactly my problem.

I check his clothes and look at the body. Nothing out of ordinary, except for some kind of tattoo on the body's right shoulder. I think it is some kind of wolf, but the image is too angular, made of simple geometric shapes, and pointy, I can't figure it out too well. Other two bodies seem to have it, too. Perhaps, a symbol of their gang? Or of someone who hired them and gave them the "intel"? Well, if it is important, I bet we will see it eventually... if not, all the better, I don't want to figure boring stuff out. I return to the party.

"Is that all? I hope we don't need to visit some elderly priest to get a blessing or something?"

"No? Where did you even get this from?", asked Alaric.

"I mean, not something I'd put past you two!", said the dwarf and laughed.

This man gets me!

"So, what now? Where are going?", I ask.

"And that's exactly why I suggested you learning about the world!", said Elaina.

"Look, I am here as a combat unit, not as tourist."

"Sigh... now, we go to the eastern gate of Sanctus Spire. Then, we traverse straight to the east, until we reach the Sundered...", started Alaric.

"What is Sanctus Spire, again?"

"And that's exactly why I suggested you learning about the world!", said... Alaric, this time, "Sanctus Spire is the holy cathedral-city capital of Holy Dominion Lumina. That is where we are right now. Currently, we are standing next to Grand Basilica of Origin, and..."

"Okay, okay, I got it! You could just say 'it's the city we're in', no need for exposition dump!"

"But... it was you who asked?"

"Yeah, and I asked exactly singular thing, no need to explain to me what a church is. I ask about a thing, you tell me about a thing, no need to tell me about 10 other things, ok?"

"Hah, practical fellow, are you? Don't worry, you'll soon realize that you need the info.", said Boldwyn. 

"In any case, we must go to the east now. We are currently in the middle of the city. Please, follow us."

Having said this, the chosen hero turned his back on me and walked forward, with the rogue and the mage following close. If I won't catch up, I will be left behind and get lost... may as well tag along at their pace. Just... a little bit behind.

When I make a few steps forward, I the sun that seemed bleak before, starts shining brightly. The tall buildings surrounding the... how was it called again? Grand Basilica? Anyways, the tall buildings that surround the church end, and I realize we were on a gigantic white structure that holds the church and surrounding buildings all that time. From here, it feels like the entire city is on my palm – sunlit streets, nice and tidy houses, people going here and there in crowds... honestly, it is quite beautiful. Who would've thought that once you ignore all the "high and mighty" high fantasy tropes, the normal medieval world is great! But no, we need prophecies, chosen heroes, demonlords, gods and other stupid stuff, as if nobility conspiracies and in-depth politics aren't interesting enough!

We descend down the pure-white stairs onto the streets and I look behind us – a colossal building that looks like it is multiple hundreds of meters tall, stands behind us. But it is no time to stand still. Streets we walk, however, seem empty, with people crowding along the edges of the roads, looking at us with awe, inspiration, hope and excitement. It takes strength to not make faces at them, but... eh, let people have their idols, I guess. Even if their idols are flawed. Same crowd closes in behind us, waving us and wishing for safe and successful journey. Despite their previous talkativeness, Swordface, Witch-hat and Baldie seem to maintain honorific silence... that makes me want to start a farce even more. However, after I already said "you will die in 2nd act" to Alaric's adoptive father... I better restraint myself. Besides, I am sure this world will be a farce on its own, without me.

After a tiring walk that took at least an hour, we stop between a huge gate. On it, there is some form of image carved into the dark metal of the doors, seemingly depicting a woman, holding a sphere... I also saw it in the Grand Basilica. That must be the "Mother of Origin", as they call their god. On the image, she extends her hand towards another gate side, on which a man with a sword stands on one knee... no idea who it is. Also, only now I realize just how big the gate is – probably about 4 meters tall and 9 to 10 meter wide. Are they welcoming giants here or what? Whatever, none of my business. A guardsmen walk up to us and Alaric stops, with us stopping alongside him. Is it a toll? Do chosen heroes also must pay taxes to even embark on their heroic deeds? The soldiers bow down, with Alaric and his friends bowing in response. I don't. 

The helmeted knight with the bright-red church of Mother of Origin symbol over their armor starts talking... in a female voice. Huh, they couldn't even get the middle ages right.

"Sir Alaric Dawnfire of Heridra, with a goddess' blessing you embark on this journey, full of dangers and..."

I zoned out. The speech the guards recited was long, boring and uninformative. At the very least, they did bother to memorize it, unlike the Archbishop! Maybe there were some important mentions of locations and our path, but... I'll let the hero deal with that. Also, "Alaric Dawnfire"? Talk about original last names.

"Of course, High Inquisitor Seraphine. May the dark war finally come to an end.", Alaric finally responds when the knight stops.

"But first, we need to verify identities of your valiant followers.", says one of the guards.

Even in a fantasy world, bureaucracy rules all. That's a pleasant surprise.

"Of course. This is Elaina Emberleaf, from Heridra. She was a friend of mine throughout my life."

More generic last names! What's next, Boldwyn's surname will be "Ironstone" or something? As the hero points to the mage, the crows behind us starts whispering and giggling. My ears catch words like "isn't she the infamous weakest mage?" and "why is she even allowed to accompany the chosen one?" Elaina probably hears it too, since she pulls the edges of her hat lower, trying to hide her face. I do mock Alaric's incompetence, but it still doesn't sound nice to listen... especially for her.

"This is Boldwyn Kerscheinter, from the Ironheld Union. My mentor and a voice of reason, second only to His Benediction."

Ok, Boldwyn's last name is actually nice. I expected something with stones, blacksmiths or weaponcrafts, or whatever is often associated with dwarfs. The rest of the crowd, however, seemingly didn't like what Alaric said – at the mention of "Ironheld Union", whatever it is, the people in the crowd start to chatter, whisper and gossip even more than when Elaina was introduced. "From Ironheld?!", "He's an enemy!", "A spy!" and other... less than welcoming sentences. However, unlike Elaina, who was really dissatisfied with the whispers, Boldwyn chuckles and shrugs... and winks at me? I think he means to say something like "Don't bother, haters gonna hate". I can respect that mentality.

"Finally, the summoned hero, legendary Harmony Adept, Kai.", says Alaric, pointing at me. 

The guardsmen, who were writing down all that he said before, were specifically thorough when noting stuff about me. Not surprising, considered I'm from another world. I may be even more suspicious than Boldwyn, who is from the "Ironheld"... whatever it is.

"Ah, the Saint of Prophecy. Of course, we are sorry for our uninsightfulness.", says the soldier.

"Huh?"

A saint? Me?... what's worse is that the crowd is now in awe again. Who do they think I am, some mythical deity?! I am just a salaryman who supports my family and hangs out with his friends! At least I was, before I got caught up in this stupid summoning! And if it couldn't get even worse, the... what was her name? Seraphine, I think? The knight comes closer to me... she's about 20 centimeters taller than me, I'd say she is 2 meter tall, or maybe even more. 

"We can see you are a loyal follower of Mother of Origin, too", she says, "May your belief guide Alaric to victory."

Despite her words being that of encouragement, her voice reeks with poison, as if she wishes she could break my neck here and now. I don't know what's with that woman, but I'm happy she stays behind, in the capital... or at least I think she does. Who knows what she'll do to me if we were to meet not in front of a huge crowd. 

She walks past me, and the soldiers step aside, making the path to the gate clear. At the same time, the gate starts to open with the heavy, loud sound of metal being dragged against the stone. The more doors open, more of outside world beyond the stone walls of the capital – there is a huge bridge that could probably fit 6 or 7 road lanes. Moreover, from here, I can barely see the bridge's end. 

"We prepared the carriage that will take you to the border", says one of the soldiers on the right side and bows down again.

As he says it, a large white-and-gold carriage that would be a better fit for 6 people, being pulled by 4 horses, comes from behind a wall, right to the gate, and stops there. Well, at least we won't have to travel on foot. Although, I am disappointed that it's horses. Surely in a fantasy world our ride could be pulled by something more interesting, but I seem to demand too much from this universe.

"You are very kind, there was no need.", says Alaric.

"How could we not! We need to assist the hero in any way we can! Despite, it is most likely that once you reach Freeholds, we will not be able to take your further."

All of this courtesy is annoying, but understandable. Following Alaric, we walk to the carriage and go in, one by one. First, Alaric, then, Elaina, then Boldwyn... Elaina helps him to get up, due to his short stature. Finally, I also climb the carriage's stairs and close the door. Alaric, Elaina and Boldwyn sit near each other, on the same part of the carriage, while I... sit on opposing side, surrounded by pride loneliness.

Inside of it is what I expect from limousines rich people travel in – velvet seats, windows with curtains and... an air conditioner? I do not see anything like that inside, but it is clear that the air is not stale here, and something creates the "wind" inside of the carriage. Perhaps some magic enhancement? Never heard of things like that in D&D, but... where did I even get the idea that this world obeys Dungeons & Dragons rules? Yes, the 3 spells I used were all low-level spells from that world, but... it may as well be a coincidence. That makes me think, I need to test it out more. Yes, next time I can, I shall go somewhere alone and test if I can use other spells that will come to mind. But until then...

"Oh, thanks god they actually got us carriage!", said Alaric, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Haha, and I thought you said there was no need?", teased him Boldwyn.

"Look, it was an official sendoff, I needed to be as polite as possible!", answered the hero.

"Sorry for interrupting you, but... where are we going now?"

Only after I said it, I realized the mistake I made. But it was, unfortunately, too late.

"And that's exactly why I suggested you learning about the world! Bahahaha!"

This time, it was Boldwyn. He suddenly pulls out some folded piece of paper from one of countless small bags he has on his belt. The dwarf starts to unfold it... just for it to be a map. A huge map. In fact, it is that huge that it barely fits into this carriage!

"We... are here."

He points to the westmost part of the map labeled "Sanctus Spire"... that's the city we just left. From the map, it seems it's the part of quite a big kingdom called "Holy Dominion Lumina"... although, I already knew it. Baldie's finger travels to the right... or, to the left for him. It passes some other dots with names, probably cities... I will remember them when we will actually get there. If we will. And even then, I will probably not remember them. Although, I notice a city called "Heridra". It is where Alaric and Elaina come from, I think. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind: the language these words are written in is not English, nor it is any other language I recognize. So how can I read it? Moreover, I know I have been talking in English, but people here understand me, and I understand them. Perks from being summoned?

"So, that's the border between Lumina and Freeholds."

To the east of Lumina, there is a smaller country called "Freeholds of Veldros". It has a ton of cities, represented by small dots. 

"Our ride probably stops there, and we will have to travel the rest on our own", said Boldwyn.

"I see... and where is the end of this journey?", I ask.

"Well, we need to go there."

After saying it, he points to the east-most part of this map. There is a huge area marked with darker color than everything else on the map. It seemingly has no towns, and is labeled "The Sundered Wasteland". Only a singular symbol that looks like a black, thorny spire is in there... at the absolute eastern border of the map. So we have to travel basically entire world through. Amazing. 

"See the Black Thorn? Yeah, that thing on the map. That's where the big bad evil guy resides. At least, we think so... nobody went far into the Wasteland and returned alive. However, according to captured monsters who were servants to the Demonlord, that seems to be the case."

Baldie's explanation seem rational. I would assume lack of info on the map is because nobody knows what truly is in the Sundered Wasteland. 

"That's all?", he asks, preparing to pack the map back.

"Hold on, I actually wanna check the rest of it. I am still not interested in this world, but... it is practical to know where we travel, at the very least."

"Haha! Sure, sure!"

Let's see... between Freeholds and Wasteland, there is a big country called "Drakspine Empire". It may be called "Empire", but it is not much bigger than Lumina. To the north of both Empire and Freeholds is a very long, but thin part of land called "Ironheld Union". It borders all of the previously mentioned regions and... from what I remember, Boldwyn is from there. Finally, on the south, sharing borders with Empire, Freeholds and Wasteland, is "Azurean Kingdom". It is about the same size as Lumina. Hm. That's about all I wanted to learn. I better keep my knowledge on the need-to-know basis.

"That's all, you can put it back", I say.

"Oh, right! Here", he points to the Drakspine Empire, "is where Emperor Rahanor Bernado IV rules! You know, one that has a dog with your name!"

Yeah, of course he felt the need to bring it up. Finally, he folds the map back and puts it in one of his bags. I better not clog my head with all of that. Let's just hope we don't get roped in some political dramas here. It would be way more interesting than "go and kill evil dude", but it's a side hassle that would just take time. 

I look through the window. The bridge we are is so wide I can barely see it, but below it is a river... or, considering how wide it is, it is more akin to a lake. But it flows, so it must be river... yeah, I'm not a geologist. But even I can notice that it radiates a faint glow... and bridge is over. Now, we on a stone-pawned road. Also, I haven't realized it before, but carriage... is extremely slow. Of course, it is faster than walking on our feet, but I expected something faster. I wonder if I...

No, if I use Haste and speed it up, it will probably run over the people that travel the roads. After all, there is a lot of them – most seem to be merchants, but there are some soldiers, and cloaked figures, too. Pilgrims, I think. Well, at the very least it means we will be moving until we reach the border, or until the sun sets, with nothing to interrupt us. I doubt highway robbers would dare to attack a carriage with the "chosen party", especially since we're accompanied by at least a dozen of knights...

...so yeah of course we suddenly stop. The stop was so sudden that I, who was on the back seat, almost fell forward. How did they even do that? Did horses just come to a full halt from movement?! And what even prompted...

"Clear the road! The holy hero is traveling in that carriage!", says one of the soldiers outside.

All 4 of us tense the same. Nothing good can happen now. We lean to one window. Some suspicious figures in cloaks and leather armor, their faces hidden behind a masks, are gathering on the road. Tension is increasing, as soldiers that escort us are holding onto their swords, without drawing them. Our party nearly breaks the door open and gets outside. That makes the knight of Lumina turn to us... and at that moment, tension finally snaps. 

One of the cloaked figures pulls out a short sword from below the cloak and dashes towards the knights.

"Shield!"

My reaction may not be the best, but this, even I can do. That's the only barrier-like D&D spell I know, but... it works, despite, once again, it shouldn't. Light-yellow transparent magical barrier engulfs the attacked swordsman, stopping the thrust. Without wasting a second, the knight I saved counterattacks with a rising slash... not the most efficient attack, but it's enough to prompt the enemy to block the swing and jumps back, returning to the perfect line. Alaric and Boldwyn draw their weapons and make a few steps towards the enemy, and Elaina seemingly prepares for something, but...

I couldn't help but notice that one of the strangers, standing behind the rest, was looking at me all that time. They tilt their head to the side and then raise their hand. Despite others were facing their backs to that one, they all somehow understood the command and, after making a few steps forward, scattered into the woods. As for that supposed leader of the group? Nowhere to be seen. I am sure they didn't run off with the others, but somehow disappeared.

"After them!", said one of the soldiers.

In fact, it was the same one I saved. As part of knights went into the forest, in hope of finding the assailants, that knight went to me.

"Thank you, o Saint! Without you, I..."

"Spare me that. I just didn't want to see another person fighting for us die."

"Another?", he repeats in confusion.

"Ah, don't mind!", says Alaric.

"Look, I know it may sound like a bad idea", starts Boldwyn, "but what if from here on, we continue on our own? The big carriage will attract all kind of vagrants, and I doubt anyone here would want to be a reason any of you guys end up dead. Even temporary."

And lose the comfort of an escort?! Tsk... I should've known something will go terribly wrong. Well, here it is. That "wrong" that sure was going to happen.

"W-we are flattered by your kindness, sir Boldwyn, but..."

"It isn't about being nice! What I say is that, essentially, you are a dead weight", Baldie replies.

Did he lose his mind?! Both Alaric and Elaina seem like even more of dead weight than these guards! At least the soldiers know how to actually wield a sword, unlike... I glance at the chosen hero, who seems as shocked by Boldwyn's suggestion as I am... but most likely for a different reasons.

"Traveling with just us 4 will help moving unseen, which is essential for such an important mission. Is it not?"

"Yes, but..."

"I see... Boldwyn is right. We may lose a fast and comfortable method of traveling, but if it is to not endanger people I swore to protect... I agree, we must go without an escort."

"Oh, if the hero says so... of course, we obey!"

No way! Tsk, what is even wrong with these guys?! Who cares if some nameless NPCs will suffer a bit? I can revive them just fine!... I think. Whatever. It will just give me more time to practice so that when an actually strong enemy will attack I will have strength to save these idiots.