The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

20 – The Third Hero (3)

‘Hmm… I guess it would be better to buy some lamb, right?’

After finishing my meal, I woke up in the restaurant.

And I bought some meat and alcohol at the store.

From now on, I was planning to visit a long-time relationship.

It’s been a while since I visited, but I can’t go empty-handed. I guess I should buy some presents.

After taking some food to give in addition to alcohol and meat, I headed to my destination.

‘This is the place.’

I left the Kingdom of Artes and entered the nearby forest.

The forest of the Kingdom of Artes where various plants and animals live, but this was not the place I wanted to go.

I continued into the forest of the Artes Kingdom.

Then, it gradually began to turn into a land devoid of life.

A place so severely overrun with magic that it cannot be called a forest, where all the plants have died and animals no longer live. This was the place I would come to visit.

I started preparing the food I brought here one by one.

It seemed like there was no one around.

No, it is true that there was actually no one.

But, here was what I was looking for.

“Rest in peace.”

This was the purpose of my visit to the Kingdom of Artes.

It was to commemorate the dead.

But how do we honor the dead?

I didn’t know how to do that, so based on my experience, I put my hands together and lowered my head.

In the past, in Korea, where I lived, there was a culture called ceremonial rites. I did it roughly the same way as when I did that.

Of course, it’s just a tribute to the ancestors, but it doesn’t really matter.

How important is that method in honoring the dead?

The heart is important.

‘Whoa…Is it already half a year?’

Here in the past, I fought against the Four Heavenly Kings.

Even now that I think about it, the Demon King couldn’t have been a smart guy.

How did they come up with the idea to send four of the Four Heavenly Kings at once?

In the past, all the Four Heavenly Kings came to me at once here and struck me.

Even thinking about it now, I was really dizzy back then.

Because the party members were of no help at all.

Maybe that time was my biggest crisis.

Still, it wasn’t that there weren’t people helping me.

The soldiers of the empire who followed me helped me.

There were many sacrifices, but we were still able to prevent it.

‘Well… It’s a shame I’m still strong.’

As an aside, this is why I think of myself as strong.

No hero can defeat four Heavenly Kings at once.

There is also an assessment that the Four Heavenly Kings are subordinate to the Demon King, and in reality, this is not wrong, but when the four of them come together, the story changes.

Basically, if about 4 people come together, they are much stronger than most demon lords.

Because I defeated all of the Four Heavenly Kings at once, I thought I was basically stronger than other heroes and demon kings.

So I just took the party members with me even if they were useless.

I will be able to defeat the Demon King alone anyway.

But who would have thought that the Demon King would be as strong as me…

‘Well, it doesn’t matter if you’re not a hero.’

Anyway, I was busy with various heroic matters at the time, so I couldn’t make a grave or pray for his soul.

But, I still didn’t forget it.

I thought that if I defeated the Demon King someday, I would come back and pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Of course, I couldn’t defeat the Demon King, and since I wasn’t a hero anymore, I didn’t have to fight the Demon King, so I was a little hesitant about coming here, so I debated whether to come or not.

Let’s just give it a go.

I was worried, but I came here while I was in the Kingdom of Artes because of Lia.

‘Well, I don’t think I can keep my promise…’

I promised them in the past that I would protect the empire, but unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to keep that.

Who would have thought that the Empire would abandon me?

No matter how much I promised, they kicked me out saying it was unnecessary and I had no intention of keeping it.

I hope you can understand that.

I am also human. Person.

“Shall we finish this soon?”

I poured some alcohol on the ground and was about to finish.

Rest in peace, and now everything we have to do here is done.

Then I guess I should go back to the village.

Now, my main job is farming, and my occupation was a farmer.

I live comfortably while working in the village.

That was my job.

Thinking like that, I was about to leave this place.

“There. How long do you plan on hiding?”

There were eyes watching me from afar.

Actually, I had already noticed it since I came here.

There is no way I, a warrior, would not notice such trivial behavior.

I told the guy who was hiding and watching to come out immediately.

Maybe I should come out.

If it doesn’t come out, well, you can make it come out.

“…”

Tap, step, step.

After a while, the hiding person appeared.

# # #

“Warrior Alex, what are you saying now…?”

Alex’s comment just now was very shocking.

Are you interested in destroying the empire? Doesn’t that mean you’re plotting a treason?

The party members could not hide their embarrassment.

From the first meeting, you immediately start talking about treason?

Is this hero perhaps out of his mind? I even thought that.

“Well… You can’t say that.”

Of course, I couldn’t agree with that statement.

This was a very serious problem.

They were a warrior party and belonged to the empire.

Of course, among them, the beast Naphira and the elf Carne did not belong to the empire, but they were basically part of the warrior party, and although they followed the empire’s orders, they could not agree to it because it was treason.

Because of this, each person stopped Alex with a cold expression.

I was trying to say that you shouldn’t do that.

“hahahahaha. You can’t even joke. Even jokes.”

In response to the party members’ reactions, Alex smiled and said, as if wondering why they looked so serious.

The attitude was that it was nothing, that it was just something I tried once.

“The mood was so down that I tried to lighten it up a bit, but what happens to me if I react like that?”

He said he was just telling a funny joke.

I asked you not to take it too seriously.

‘Huh…? Was it a joke?’

The party members couldn’t help but be momentarily dumbfounded by Alex’s words.

Aha… It was a joke.

The party members were unable to make the right decision for a moment because they had just said something so cold-hearted, but their minds seemed to clear up a little after hearing those words.

Yes. In common sense, what kind of treason would a warrior suddenly think of?

I really thought about it with common sense, so it couldn’t have been that way. If you think about it with common sense.

Alex just said something in moderation, but they took it too seriously.

Party members reflected that Alex had only said it as a joke, but that they had taken it too sensitively.

“Really? You’re kidding, right? hahahaha…”

The party members were finally able to feel at ease.

I answered Alex’s words with a smile.

I felt like Jin would really get offended if I made this joke one more time, but I was glad that it was just another joke.

I hope you don’t do it again.

“But… If I said something like that would happen, would the party members follow me?”

No… We’re doing it one more time?

Alex again implicitly asked the party members.

He still had a smiling face, but he continued speaking to the party members in a slightly more serious tone than before.

“Uh… Um…”

The party members were equally perplexed by the same question.

However, I couldn’t help but be even more embarrassed than before.

I just dismissed it as a joke earlier, but at this point, the party members had no choice but to know.

This is not just a joke.

When they realized that, the party members’ expressions gradually became more serious.

What on earth should I answer here?

If you say one wrong thing, you could be in big trouble.

If you say you are following Alex, you may be accused of treason together.

If the empire is accused of treason, three generations will perish… This is absolutely not something that can be said carelessly.

If other people had said this to them, the party members would have told them never to dream of such a thing.

However, the opponent was a hero.

They were warriors who held their own personnel rights.

If you go against the grain and follow the empire, you might be abandoned by Alex.

If you are disliked by the hero, you have no choice but to be kicked out of the hero’s party.

What if you get kicked out of the warrior party? They are unable to achieve what they want.

Everyone joined the warrior party because they had a purpose that they could not give up.

So the party members had no choice but to say anything now.

Should I say that I follow Alex? Or should I say that he does not betray the Empire?

It was not a problem that could be talked about carelessly.

I maintained silence because of this.

No one came forward willingly.

We just looked at each other’s thoughts and didn’t want to give an answer.

“I’m just asking because I’m curious. Don’t think too deeply about it. hahahaha.”

However, Alex persisted in asking.

With a still smiling smile, he told the party members to answer without pressure.

“…”

The party members remained silent once again.

Because I really can’t say anything.

“Aren’t you going to answer? I told you not to think too deeply. Just speak comfortably.”

“…”

But in the end, I don’t think I can avoid the answer.

Alex pressed for an answer once again.