Neril said, “Lucky you, huh?”
“Lucky how?”
“All I hear is your name from every direction. Looks like the baron’s plan failed. I bet this trial was supposed to be all about boosting his own fame.”
“It’s just his usual behaviour catching up to him. If he had run his domain properly, people would be saying, ‘That’s our lord!’ by now. He brought this on himself.”
“Hmph.”
Neril let out a snort and looked toward the trial bench.
There sat Grey, looking up at the sky, with barely a flicker of strength left in his expression.
Neril clicked her tongue.
“That bastard’s not gonna die in prison, is he?”
“People like that don’t give up their lives so easily. The more lightly they treat others’ lives, the more precious they think their own is.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. He’ll last at least seven years.”
Neril didn’t respond.
I kept talking.
“Let’s come back here together in seven years after I deal with the Demon King.”
“……”
“By then, I won’t stop you. You could probably storm that prison and take his head off on your own, but if it’s too hard, I’ll help you.”
“I don’t get it. Why is it okay in seven years but not now?”
“Because you can’t let yourself become a butcher anymore. I mean, most of those accusations against you were probably false to begin with.”
Neril tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
I crossed my arms and gave a wide grin.
“You’re about to become a member of the party that’ll save the whole continent. Did you really think I’d let your rampages slide anymore?”
“Ha. So basically… you don’t want my bad reputation staining the radiant path of your heroic journey, is that it?”
“Mm. Nailed it.”
Before the regression.
At that inn table, Kaeld had said the exact same thing.
That he couldn’t allow any more bloodshed.
In a way, I was saying the same thing now.
Except back then, Kaeld had been far more serious about it, and the mood had been gentle.
But Neril’s response had been ice-cold.
Yet now—
“Pfft. Ahahaha!”
She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
This is weird.
I said it way more lamely than Kaeld did—so why is she enjoying it so much?
After a while, Neril wiped away tears and said,
“You really don’t hold anything back, do you?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. You say it straight up, and it’s kind of refreshing. Alright. No more bloodshed. I was planning to disappear after Grey anyway.”
She turned to look at Grey, who was nearing the end of his trial.
But calling it a trial now felt generous.
The crowd had turned into a mob, throwing stones, spitting, and shouting.
Normally, the lord would’ve stepped in to restore order, but he seemed to think this was a good chance to let people vent their fury and remained silent.
Thwack.
Grey, blood trickling down his forehead, cried out.
“Ugh. Y-Your Honor! Someone just threw a stone at me!”
“Silence!”
“No, you have to stop this! I haven’t even been officially found guilty yet—”
“I declare Grey Palm guilty!”
The judge cut him off and slammed the gavel.
Grey collapsed in his seat, dazed, as if the sky had fallen on him.
“Uwahh… Please… have mercy. I swear I’ll live honestly now. Please, forgive me…”
“Shut up, you wretched scum!”
“He’s the Demon King! The Demon King reborn!”
“Burn him now!”
“Give me back my daughter!”
In the hellish uproar where up and down blurred together, Grey’s pitiful sobs rang out.
Neril folded her arms and smiled in satisfaction.
“If I had just killed Grey back then, none of his other crimes would’ve seen the light of day. People might’ve even pitied him.”
“Yeah. Probably.”
“Thinking about that made me sick. I’m glad I listened to you.”
“……”
“This really must’ve been the right answer. So… uh.”
Neril scratched her cheek and turned slightly away from me.
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“I actually struggled a bit to say that, and you just answered right away? Were you waiting?”
“Yup. You’re not the type to let a thank-you slide by half-heartedly.”
“Hmph. Talking like you’ve known me forever.”
I just smiled.
Neril scowled at me.
“You really think you can become the Hero?”
“Yeah. But…”
“You won’t. Heroes chosen by divine prophecy have this glow about them. And the Hero’s Mark appears.”
Well, she’s not wrong.
Before regression, I had doubted and doubted Kaeld. But not once did I think, “Maybe he’s not the Hero,” because of that mark.
The chosen Hero gets a symbol on their forehead.
Neril said,
“So the first thing we need is a fake symbol.”
“I’ll have to find a good makeup artist. There should be some in the Mercenary Guild.”
“That won’t cut it. It might fool commoners or low-tier nobles, but the higher you go, the quicker they’ll see through it.”
“……”
“I’ll make it for you. The mark.”
My eyes widened.
Neril continued.
“With my magic, I can fool anyone. Well, not the real Hero, but that’s your problem.”
“Neril.”
“There’s a lot more you need too. You’ve got to be able to wield the Hero’s Sword, earn the spirits’ recognition, and overcome the trials of past Heroes, right?”
She stared off into the distance and added,
“You can’t do all that alone. I’ll help.”
And for some reason—
My heart thumped.
I started to wonder why, but before I could dwell on it, a screen popped up.
<You’ve earned 100 Fame Points!>
<Your name echoes throughout the Drucker Territory. (All available points retrieved!)>
<Points needed to reach next level: 970/1,000>
<Points expected from this event: 790>
<Neril Slane now sees you as ‘a man her eyes keep wandering to.’>
Uh.
What is this?
‘What the hell, Mr. Trail?’
[You’re flustered. Your tone got weird.]
‘Ahem. Sorry.’
[No, I get it. “A man her eyes keep wandering to”? Is this what I think it is? Is it that?]
You’re the one with the weird tone now.
I changed the subject.
‘Anyway, bring up the map.’
[Good idea.]
‘Time to fix your tone again, too.’
The map of the continent appeared on screen.
The light that had only faintly glowed over Drucker Territory now shone far more brightly.
Quelk Territory was glowing as well.
My fame was spreading across the land.
I stared quietly at the map.
‘What about Kaeld’s side?’
[Let’s see… oof. It’s no joke.]
Last time, Kaeld’s fame—that is, the black aura—was affecting four territories.
But in less than two weeks, that number had increased by one.
Now the guy’s influence reached across five territories.
‘What’s his total Fame right now?’
[It’s still hard to get an exact figure. So level up quickly. Once you raise your level, you’ll be able to check.]
I guess I’ll have to.
I once again examined the black aura.
It wasn’t just the size of the area—it was also the density of the glow. That suggested his fame must be quite high.
‘Trail. The Empire can be divided into a total of forty territories.’
[What, are we having geography class now?]
‘Just listen. There’s a mountain range called the Koskart Mountains running horizontally across the center of the Empire. It practically splits the Empire in two.’
I pointed at the map with my chin.
‘And by coincidence—or maybe not—it’s almost perfectly divided, with twenty territories on each side of the mountains.’
[Hmm.]
‘I need to claim the northern half first. I have to hurry. Kaeld’s already way ahead.’
[Alright. So what’s your plan now?]
“What’s your plan now?”
Right on cue, Neril asked the question.
Pretending to think for a moment, I opened my mouth.
“First, I need to spread my name a bit more.”
“I figured. I still don’t get how that’s connected to becoming the Hero, though.”
“My plan is to travel through the northern regions first and slowly work my way down. Any idea where I might find some work?”
“Not sure. I’m not some wandering mercenary, you know. I don’t keep tabs on that kind of thing.”
“It’s fine. Truth is, I’ve already decided.”
“…You’re kind of annoyingly smug, you know that?”
Ignoring her, I pulled a map out of my bag.
It used to be one of my prized possessions before I met Trail, but compared to the digital map from earlier, it now looked embarrassingly crude.
[Do you finally understand my greatness?]
“Alright. We’re currently here.”
[Excuse me?]
“Next, we’re heading here—the Lior Territory.”
[Hey.]
Neril tilted her head and asked,
“What’s in this place?”
“Nothing much. For now.”
“You’re talking like you can see the future.”
I casually shrugged.
“Anyone trying to make a living needs a few trump cards up their sleeve, right? You’re the same.”
Neril flinched and shot me a sideways glance.
“I thought it was strange how you listed off all those dirty secrets about the baron and that Grey bastard… Do you have some kind of power that lets you dig up people’s secrets or something?”
[Indeed! That is the power of my all-seeing eye!]
“If only. Just think of it as insight built from long years of experience.”
[Hey! Listen to me!]
“Whatever. But if you try digging into my secrets, you’re dead.”
[Uh… would it kill you to acknowledge me a little?]
“I’ll be careful. I may be younger than you, but I’m not ready to die just yet.”
[…]
“Now that we’re on the subject, use honorifics.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“…Just talk normally.”
“Will do.”
And so, we bickered over nothing as we began leaving Quelk Territory.
Behind us, the heat of the ongoing trial could still be felt.
Once we had secured a wagon and were completely out of the territory, I suddenly heard Trail sniffle.
[Sniff]
‘What now? Are you crying? Why?’
[I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll always stay humble.]
What a weird guy.
After Mide and Neril departed for the Lior Territory, a visitor came to Baron Frank.
Normally loud, Baron Frank couldn’t raise his voice in front of this guest.
One of the Empire’s two swords.
The Vice-Captain of the Holy Knights of Light had arrived.
While the other sword, the Alkahad Division, symbolized pure military force, the Holy Knights of Light were responsible for investigating and resolving unusual phenomena and incidents across the Empire.
Their investigative authority came directly from the Emperor.
No mere lord could challenge their authority.
And this was the Vice-Captain.
Baron Frank sipped his tea and looked at Vice-Captain Xenia Seide.
A young blonde woman who looked barely over twenty, she was considered the most brilliant talent in the Holy Knights’ history.
Baron Frank spoke.
“It’s true there was a bit of unrest in my territory recently, but I didn’t expect it to warrant an investigation by the Holy Knights. The incident happened only a few days ago—how did you arrive so quickly?”
Despite the slightly sarcastic tone in his voice, Xenia replied nonchalantly.
“Let’s just say the Empire has some very fine horses.”
“…Alright, then. But still, why the urgency? I didn’t think that trial would draw this much attention from the capital.”
“No, I’m not interested in that matter.”
“Excuse me? Weren’t you here to investigate that scum Grey?”
“Who’s Grey? Actually, never mind. Don’t answer. Like I said, I’m not here for that.”
Her indifferent tone made the baron’s brow twitch.
This brat’s getting cocky. Giving a rookie like her lofty titles like ‘God’s Agent’… The Holy Knights sure love their exaggerations.
If Mide had been there and heard the baron’s thoughts, he would’ve laughed until he cried.
The woman before him—Xenia Seide.
Before the regression, she had been Mide’s comrade and a hero-level member of the Hero’s party.
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