The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

16 – The Second Hero (15)

I eventually decided to help Lia.

I thought about it countless times during the process, and I still don’t know if this decision is correct, but I thought I would help.

For that reason, he took Lia with him and headed to the Kingdom of Artes.

“Really… Are you really going to help me?”

Lia looked quite embarrassed by my decision.

She wasn’t saying that out of pretense.

He didn’t seem to expect that I would really help him like this.

“Why don’t you like it?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Then why?”

“Well… I didn’t think it would help at all. Besides, being a hero can’t stop a country’s rebellion.”

Did I look that cold?

Lia didn’t seem to have much faith in me.

That must have been the reason why he didn’t tell me his true identity in the first place.

In fact, it seemed that Lia also knew something about the existence of a hero.

The warriors usually do not try to intervene in the problems of humans.

A hero is a being who defeats demons, not a being who gets involved in problems between people.

Basically, a warrior must remain neutral in fights between humans.

Even Lia, who was a royal, wouldn’t know about that.

So, I could say that this decision I made was quite unusual.

“Furthermore, it can be said that it was natural that a rebellion occurred.”

And this is the biggest problem.

In fact, the Kingdom of Artes was worthy of a rebellion.

I don’t know exactly, but I know to some extent because I heard the story.

Lia’s father, the previous king, was not a very good king.

He was a king who put the affairs of the country aside, indulged in luxury and pleasure, and imposed heavy taxes on his people.

He was a king who could be called a tyrant or a king.

That is why the rebellion occurred. It’s obvious that if we live under a king like that, we’ll all die together.

They rebelled to survive.

Lia probably doesn’t know that either.

No, as someone who was in the royal family, he probably knows the history of his country better than I do.

So he seemed to feel a lot of guilt.

In many ways, it was an embarrassing situation to ask me for help.

Although he wants to inherit the throne, he seems to keep questioning himself as to whether he deserves my help.

“Wow. You really talk a lot.”

I ignored Leah’s words.

I also had no intention of being criticized for an issue that I had thought about and decided upon.

I took all of these things into consideration and decided to help.

“Stop telling such boring stories. I will take responsibility and inherit the throne.”

I plan to make Lia the throne.

Even though I was unable to subdue the Demon King and was stripped of my title as a hero, I am still a warrior.

After working hard for a year, my influence can be seen as enormous.

It may not be possible for a country as big as an empire, but for a small country like this on the border, if I had my influence, I could easily establish Ria as the throne.

Whether Lia wants it or not.

“But that doesn’t mean I will completely help you.”

“Yes…? What is that?”

Lia was surprised by my words.

He looked as if he was wondering what he meant by saying that he would not completely help.

I made it clear to Lia that I was not trying to make her the king without any conditions.

The rebellion happened because it was deserved, and I know that to some extent.

So, I also know that if Lia is on the throne, she will inevitably make voices of dissatisfaction.

There will certainly be voices saying that she is the daughter of a tyrant and that she is exploiting them again.

“Prove it yourself.”

So, I have to show it.

“I will give you only the minimal chance.”

I explained it to Lia.

What I am going to do from now on.

I didn’t mean to give Leah a definitive result.

I will inherit her throne, but wouldn’t it be up to me to maintain it?

I will only give Leah a chance and not get involved any further.

“I’ll help you put you on the throne. But after that, I won’t really help you any more.”

Whether she takes over her throne, chooses or tyrannizes.

Make the people happy or unhappy.

Whether you maintain your throne by killing people, or live together in harmony.

No matter what she does, I won’t get involved anymore.

The only thing I can help you with is helping you inherit the throne.

“I don’t know what happens after that. There might be another rebellion, and I might really die then.”

Everything after that was entirely Lia’s responsibility.

She will have to take responsibility on her own.

This was the way I thought of helping Lia.

“What do you think? Are you confident? If you’re not confident, you can just go back.”

To put it simply, it meant winning the throne through skill.

At first glance, it may seem irresponsible, and in fact it is, but I had no intention of going further than this.

If he didn’t want to, he could just give up the throne and go back.

“That’s enough. I will definitely become a great king. Unlike my father.”

However, Lia seemed to have had enough.

Rather, she seemed overflowing with confidence.

Leah said she would make it through with determination.

“Okay, give it a try.”

I only gave a little support to Lia.

Taking Lia with me, I entered the Kingdom of Artes.

# # #

‘By this time, the demon lord must have been defeated.’

Approximately a month has passed since the second hero was selected.

The prime minister thought that if this much time had passed, he would have arrived in the demon world long ago and killed the demon lord a long time ago.

Since Hansoo Lee had almost completely cleared out the Demon World, he was certain that he would not encounter any obstacles along the way.

In addition, there was news that the warrior party members were staying in a city near the Demon World.

The Prime Minister told me to come quickly and see the warrior’s party.

To hold a celebration party.

The prime minister prepared a grand party for the warrior party members who had worked hard so far and waited.

“Oh… The warrior party members have finally arrived.”

And the warrior party members arrived not long after the prime minister sent the message.

Has it been almost a month?

The Prime Minister looked at the warrior party members with satisfaction.

Now, they were the heroes who defeated the Demon King.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“…”

However, the warrior party was not happy despite the Prime Minister’s welcome.

Not only that, the current state of the warrior party seemed a little strange.

Why on earth is this like this?

Are you not happy about the party?

“But… Where is Herald?”

“That’s…”

And it wasn’t just that.

Herald, the warrior, was nowhere to be seen.

The only ones who have returned now are the hero’s party members, and no matter how hard we search, the hero is nowhere to be found.

Could it be that I disobeyed the order? I thought about it, but there was no way it was the Herald or anyone else.

Before he was a warrior, he was a man who loyally followed the empire as the leader of its knights.

There is no way he would disobey orders.

Then what on earth is it?

Could it be…?

When the Prime Minister sorted out this whole situation, he came to a shocking conclusion.

“Herald Hero passed away.”

The Herald died after killing the Demon King…

It was only then that the Prime Minister could understand the situation.

The reason the warrior party members are sad and the Herald did not come here is probably because the Herald is dead.

The death of a knight who worked hard for the empire all his life was not light at all.

The Prime Minister took a moment to mourn.

“Still, didn’t Herald defeat the Demon King? He will be given the most honorable funeral as a former warrior.”

However, the Prime Minister still planned to reward Herald for his loyalty.

Even though you lost your life, didn’t you defeat the Demon King?

The party members here now were proof of that.

Because the party members returned alive from the battle with the Demon King.

Although the Herald died, he had accomplished all his duties.

So you could never underestimate him.

He was also someone who was never ashamed of the names of past warriors.

“It’s okay. Don’t be too sad. I’m sure the Herald went away comfortably, seeing the empire prospering and free from the danger of the Demon King.”

The Prime Minister still comforted the depressed party members.

Still, now was a time and place that should be celebrated.

Now I wanted you to hold your head high and enjoy the party.

“…”

However, the faces of the party members did not change.

Are we that sad about the Herald’s death?

No, there was something a little different about him being sad.

How should I say that he feels guilty? It felt like that.

What on earth am I sorry about?

The Prime Minister did not know.

But he soon found out.

“Well… Mr. Prime Minister. Actually… I couldn’t defeat him.”

“…? What do you mean you couldn’t defeat it?”

“The devil.”

The wizard of the warrior party timidly told the truth.

The fact that they could not defeat the Demon King…

“Yes???”

The Prime Minister hears shocking facts.

He couldn’t help but be horrified.