I’m a Hero, but I’ve Given Up on Saving the World

The death of the hero—the shock it brought to the Kingdom of Aurelia was tremendous.

From what I heard, he was beaten to a pulp by a not-so-impressive monster and fell off a cliff. It was an embarrassment like no other.

The fact that at least Serena managed to retrieve the holy sword, preventing the hero’s lineage from being cut off, was something to be grateful for in this situation.

“To think the hero would die. I thought this expedition wasn’t that dangerous. It’s truly lamentable. However, with everyone impoverished due to the war against the Demon King’s army, we can’t afford to spend a lot of money on a funeral. That’s the reality. Let’s forget the past and move forward.”

The King of Aurelia pushed for the appointment of a new hero to lift the dampened spirits and breathe new life into the kingdom.

Faust.

Another man who came from another world along with the previous hero.

He had the same qualifications as a hero.

“Summon Faust. I will appoint him as the hero and operate the hero’s party as before.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. However…”

“What is it?”

“Faust, well… you know. He’s hated by everyone.”

“But we have no other alternative at present. You know that the summoning magic circle from another world is an alchemy that can only be activated once every 100 years. We have to wait 100 years for the next summoning. Are you saying we should leave the hero’s position vacant for 100 years? That would be the end of humanity.”

“……..”

The ministers expressed their perplexity, and the king wasn’t comfortable either, but no matter how much they thought about it, there was no other way.

To begin with, Faust was the one they had kept around in preparation for just such a situation.

They just never thought the hero would actually die.

The king suddenly recalled the contents of the letter he had sent to Faust at the hero’s suggestion.

It was half sincere concern that arose from seeing Faust cooped up in the stable all day with a gloomy face, and half forced words written to please the hero.

I heard that Faust received thousands, tens of thousands of letters with similar content.

But now, to have to ask him “Please become the hero”… hmm.

“What are you hesitating for, Father? As long as he lives in Aurelia, he is also our subject. Does a commoner have the right to refuse Your Majesty’s order?”

Princess Isabel, who was being considered as the successor despite being a woman due to the absence of a prince, chimed in.

It was an authoritarian idea befitting her innate royal blood. The logic was that if we tell him to do it, he should do it; Faust doesn’t have the right to refuse in the first place.

“That may be true… Isabel, did you write a letter to Faust?”
“Of course. It wasn’t just because the hero told me to, I also had something I wanted to tell that man.”

“…Why did I even ask. No, I’m not in a position to criticize others either.”
“? Did I do something wrong?”

The princess, obtained late in life and raised preciously.

There was no one who dared to speak harshly to the next successor who was the king’s favorite.

“Enough. Anyway, the princess’s opinion that we should summon Faust is correct. Serena!”
“Yes, yes! Your Majesty!”

Serena, the magician who somehow managed to protect the holy sword even amidst the tragedy of the hero’s death, prostrated herself before the king with her body still not fully recovered from the battle wounds.

“You are a proud magician of the hero’s party and a hero who protected the holy sword! I will discuss with my ministers and bestow upon you a suitable reward. Expect even a noble title.”

“I only did what was natural… how could I expect such an excessive reward?”

“The merit of protecting the holy sword is greater than anything else.”

A noble of Aurelia!

It was the route that any ambitious young person would dream of.

Working hard to become strong, achieving merits in the war against the Demon King’s army, catching the eye of the king or influential people, and gaining recognition for one’s position.

If that meant a noble title, it couldn’t be better.

However, the king placed a burden heavier than the reward on her fragile shoulders.

“Serena, guardian of the holy sword. You shall hand over the holy sword to the next hero.”

“…What?”

“Why are you surprised? Should the hero’s position remain vacant? You can’t go on expeditions without a hero, can you?”

“That, that is true, but…”

Serena’s expression turned pale.

“You are a member of the hero’s party and a hero who protected the holy sword, so you are the most suitable person to bring the hero. Now, quickly bring the hero to the royal palace for the appointment ceremony.”

“…I, I understand, Your Majesty.”

The king is not a fool either.

He had some idea why Serena was showing reluctance.

In fact, she was the very person who had become the hero’s henchman and maliciously bullied Faust. It wasn’t so much personal animosity towards Faust as it was bullying for show to get in the hero’s good graces, but from the victim’s perspective, it’s all the same.

Magician Serena had only one dream.

To become a member of the hero’s party and revive her family.

I’ll keep the complicated circumstances secret, but she was once a lady of a ducal family that had great power. Serena’s life, which would have been sufficient if she had grown up smoothly as a young lady and married some nobleman, began to fall apart when her brother, who was supposed to inherit the family, betrayed humanity and defected to the Demon King’s army.

She doesn’t know why, for what purpose her brother did such a thing, no, such a terrible thing.

She only remembers, like a film, that at some point the people who had been flattering her suddenly turned frightening, and the ducal family was beaten to dust and shattered in a single day.

Her father died of shock after fainting, and her mother suffered from aphasia.

The ducal family was erased from history as if it had never existed, leaving only the stigma of traitors.

The young Serena harbored a dream that was no different from a complex, along with hatred for her brother.

To wash away the stigma of her brother who joined the Demon King’s army, there was no better way than to become a member of the hero’s party, the group at the opposite end of the Demon King’s army.

Who could call someone a traitor when they’re hunting the Demon King’s army alongside the hero?

People have various motivations for learning magic, but Serena had only one:

To fight alongside the hero.

More precisely, to gain recognition from the hero and secure a definite status as .

She learned magic solely for that purpose.

Because being associated with the hero was in itself the surest guarantee of not being part of the Demon King’s army in a world that revolved around the dichotomy of hero and Demon King.

From a young age, she had heard taunts like every single day. For her, being recognized by the hero was more important than anything else.

You still call me a traitor when I’m recognized by the hero?

From that point on, it becomes possible to counter with .

Indeed, after she finally managed to join the hero’s party after much effort, no one dared to call her a traitor. At least not openly.

How long had it been since she gained this peace? It was right after she joined the hero’s party that her mother, who had aphasia, started to speak simple greetings for the first

time.

“Mom… I’m going to stick to the hero’s side no matter what and never let go. Let’s… let’s try to raise our family again. Okay? Just trust me! I’ll wag my tail like a dog if that’s what it takes to please the hero!”

However, if she were to be kicked out of the hero’s party, or if rumors spread that she was disliked by the hero, the peace she had barely obtained would shatter, and she would return to the darkness of being hated by everyone again.

Serena tried her best, literally like a dog, to score points with the hero.

She took the lead in bullying Faust simply because it seemed the hero disliked that man, and she wanted to curry favor.

Yes, honestly, now that she thinks about it, she realizes she got carried away and bullied him a bit too harshly.

‘I… I should apologize, right? Hmm. Let’s apologize. Faust is kind, so he’ll accept if I apologize.’

Serena’s steps were as heavy as lead as she headed towards Faust’s shabby shack, carrying the holy sword Exord on the king’s orders.

Who would have thought the hero would die?

And to think Faust would be the next hero.

It’s unbelievable, but that’s already the reality.

‘If Faust becomes the hero, will the party be reorganized? I don’t care about the others, but I must be in the party no matter what. I must…’

The right to appoint members to the hero’s party is a power given only to the hero.

In other words, whether Serena would remain in the party or be kicked out depended on Faust.

Serena composed herself in front of the entrance, practiced several times to make her expression as friendly as possible, and then knocked.

When Faust came out, Serena spoke with a smile kinder and gentler than that of a business class flight attendant.

“It’s been a while, Faust. You’ve heard the news, right? The previous hero died, and you’ve been chosen as the new hero. Congratulations! I believe you’ll do well. Will you accept this holy sword and come to the palace? The king himself has requested it, so let’s go to the palace together. And, ahem… I think it would be more stable and better to maintain the existing members of the party… what do you think?”

“I’m not interested, so get lost.”

Slam!

The door closed.