The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

3 – The Second Hero (2)

“Those who wish to become a hero, please step forward now.”

With Hero Lee Han-su expelled from the empire, the vacancy needed to be filled again.

Jae-sang called upon all the imperial officials to gather and continued the recruitment of hero candidates.

Thus began the next round of recruiting heroes, where a multitude of people gathered with a keen interest in the position of the hero.

“Here, it seems like I should step forward. The Knight Commander, Herald. I will become a hero and definitely defeat the Demon King.”

Herald, the Knight Commander who was over 60 years old.

“No, Herald, haven’t you already aged quite a bit? Just take it easy. I will defeat the Demon King.”

Alex, who had just been appointed as the Knight Commander.

“Knights, you must protect the empire. In times like this, I, as a member of the Ennis family, will step up. As a noble, I must set an example.”

Even Jax Ennis, who was not a knight but held an official position in the palace as a noble, showed interest in the position of a hero.

And although they didn’t step forward, others behind them also showed interest in the hero position.

They simply couldn’t confidently step forward due to their lower standing compared to those three.

“Being a hero right now is an incredible opportunity.”

The hero position was highly popular among many people, and the reason for its popularity was quite obvious upon closer examination.

At this point, almost all the demon races had been dealt with by the former hero, Lee Hansu.

Objectively speaking, except for not defeating the Demon King, the former hero Lee Hansu had handled his duties competently.

He had defeated nearly all the demon races, and the only things left were the Demon King and a few minor demon races. The formidable and terrifying Four Heavenly Kings that had once served the Demon King were no longer in existence.

After repeatedly winning in the war against the demon races, over 90% of the continent was now under human control, with only the remaining 10% belonging to the demon races.

In this situation, capturing just the Demon King was a piece of cake.

“There’s no reason not to become a hero right now.”

Furthermore, even if the current hero failed, there would be no shame, considering that the former hero had not completed his mission and had left his post. Becoming the hero to succeed him, even if he failed, was not a significant loss, and if he succeeded, it would be an excellent opportunity.

In other words, becoming a hero right now was a guaranteed investment without any risk of failure.

The hero’s position came with honor and respect, but it was also a demanding and challenging role. However, at this moment, it was an extremely valuable opportunity to easily become a hero of the empire.

So, everyone was eager to become a hero.

“It seems three individuals have volunteered to support us. Knight Herald, Knight Alex, and Secretary Jax as well.”

However, even though they had multiple volunteers, there was only one hero position.

And the one who decided who would occupy that position was none other than the ruler of the empire.

The ruler carefully considered the three candidates and pondered briefly on whom to choose as the hero. The ruler was aware that the hero had little to do at the moment, but there was no reason to make a hasty appointment.

The position of the hero was not only about defeating the Demon King but also about being a symbolic figure in the empire’s future.

So, the ruler, as the person responsible for leading the empire, had to make the choice of the hero carefully.

He continued to think about whom to choose as the hero, and after a while, he made his decision.

“Indeed, in my opinion, Herald should have been entrusted with it.”

The decision made by Jaesang was to appoint Herald, the chief of the knights, who was over 60 years old.

Though some people couldn’t help but wear puzzled expressions at the sight of this white-haired old man – an old man like him as a hero, most people accepted it.

At first glance, Herald might seem like an elderly man, but the people in the palace knew that his skills had not rusted at all.

He possessed the ability to hold his ground even against young knights.

Furthermore, the countless experiences he had accumulated over many years of service as a knight could not be ignored.

Perhaps, if Lee Hansu had not been summoned to this world a year ago, Herald would have undoubtedly been assigned the role of the hero.

“Thank you, Lord Jaesang.”

“Please do your best, Herald Gyeong. I trust only in you.”

“Thank you. Although my body is old, I will show that my skills have not deteriorated at all. Unlike the previous hero, I will definitely defeat the Demon King and uphold the honor of the past heroes.”

Taking all these factors into consideration, Jaesang believed that Herald was the most suitable for the role of the hero.

In front of many onlookers, Jaesang appointed Herald as the hero, and the newly appointed hero was determined.

Although the previous hero, Lee Hansu, had failed, Herald firmly declared that he would not fail and would lead the fallen hero’s honor.

Many people cheered for Herald’s determination.

“Wow…!”

Applause and cheers rained down.

“Yeah, this was rightfully my place.”

And Herald, who became a hero, had his own sense of pride.

Despite his age, he did not consider himself old. In fact, he believed that he was much stronger now than when he was young.

His body may be aging, but his skills and strategies had become much more refined.

In reality, he even thought he was stronger than the previous hero, Lee Hansu.

“That Lee Hansu guy was nothing special.”

Lee Hansu was said to have received direct blessings from the goddess as a special person transferred from another world.

That’s why, back then, Herald couldn’t become a hero because Lee Hansu outshone him.

But at the time, he didn’t have any strong feelings about it. Even if he wanted to become a hero, he believed that the title of hero was reserved for the strongest. However, if the hero, Lee Hansu, was weaker than him, the situation changed.

In the past, Herald and Lee Hansu had a friendly duel.

A battle between the hero and the renowned knight leader of the empire. Herald had expected to be completely defeated in that battle.

But the result was different. Although it ended in a draw, Herald did not feel at all that he was inferior to Lee Hansu.

Rather, if you judge it as a victory, it was his own victory. He consistently pushed forward Lee Hansu.

Because such a thing happened, Herald could not acknowledge Lee Hansu.

He thought there was nothing he couldn’t do while that guy acted as a hero.

He thought for sure that guy would fail in subduing the Demon King.

And that prediction turned out to be exactly right.

From now on, the things that were taken away from him by Lee Hansu when he became a hero were the time to reclaim them.

“Hello. Herald Kyung. No, Herald Warrior. It may be a short time, but please take care of me from now on.”

“Oh-oh. You must be the warrior’s party members. I will rely on you.”

While Herald was rejoicing in becoming a warrior, the party members of the warrior came from far away.

The saint, Aila.

The elf, Kirne.

The mermaid, Nafira.

The magician, Luna.

These were the party members led by the former warrior, Lee Hansu. They were all beautiful women who would captivate any man at first glance. Just standing there, they emanated their own charm.

However, Herald had no interest in them.

To him, who was over 60, they simply looked like grandchildren or young children.

‘Well, it’s probably better to continue like this.’

Originally, greetings to party members were at the discretion of the warrior.

If the warrior needed party members, they could be recruited, and if not, they could be released.

However, Herald had no intention of changing his party members.

The women were already perfect as his party members.

Also, at this point, where they only had to defeat the Demon King, there was no reason to change party members.

Well, of course, that was only true for the current moment.

If the party members were not particularly favorable to him, Herald had always been ready to replace them.

However, he didn’t seem to need to worry about that.

“By any chance, Herald Warrior. I’m curious, what is your religion?”

“I have never believed in any religion other than the Goddess religion since I was born till now.”

“hehehe. I like that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime.”

Among the party members, the saint Aila was the first to speak to Herald.

With a somewhat blunt expression, Aerla asked Harold about religion, and Harold answered that he believed in the Goddess religion.

Then, Aerla’s expression quickly relaxed. She looked at Harold with a gentle expression, as if asking, “Since when?”

For Aerla, a warrior… no, any human should naturally believe in the Goddess religion.

From her perspective, the moment Harold believed in the Goddess religion, he was already appointed as a human who should be treated as a warrior by Aerla.

“Please take care of me.”

“I will entrust myself to you as well. It may be a short time, but let’s work hard.”

“Yes. I will do my best as a warrior, even though I may have shortcomings. Please trust and follow me.”

Aerla treated Harold kindly, and the elf, Kyrne, the water nymph, Nafira, also welcomed Harold as a warrior.

It wasn’t like they welcomed him in an overly warm manner, but at least they did not reject Harold.

They intended to treat Harold as a warrior.

At the point where all they needed to do was defeat the Demon King, they didn’t really care who became the warrior.

‘Hmm… no matter how much I think about it, he seems much weaker than Yi Han-su…’

However, there was one exception.

When the wizard Luna exchanged greetings with the party members and Harold, she simply watched from a distance.

It wasn’t that Luna didn’t like Harold.

Although he was old, she thought he was polite and a decent person.

But apart from that, why didn’t she have much faith in him? Luna did not feel Harold was much like a warrior.

If she had to describe him as a warrior, he felt more like the former warrior, Yi Han-su.

No matter how much she thought about it, Harold did not give her the feeling that he was like the former warrior, Yi Han-su.

That’s why she couldn’t welcome Harold.

Because he didn’t feel like a warrior, no matter how she thought about it.

“Um… Wizard? Are you well?”

“Ah… Yes. Hello.”

“I may be lacking, but please take care of me. If there’s anything I can’t do, please point it out.”

“Ah. I should be the one saying that. I will entrust myself to you.”

As Luna stood there, watching from a distance, Harold approached her and greeted her first.

In response to Harold’s inquiry as to why she was like that, Luna said she was nothing.

‘Don’t have anxious thoughts.’

But he’s still a new warrior, so for now.

Despite that, Luna decided to try and believe in Harold as a warrior.

At this moment, just after being chosen as a hero, it was not a good practice to judge people already.

There might be something unknown, and no one knows how the future will turn out…

Luna suppressed her anxious thoughts as much as possible.

“Ugh… Is this really the right thing?”

However, the anxious thoughts continued unabated.