The Former Hero Begins to be Re-evaluated

“What? Are you serious right now? You’re going to strip me of my hero status?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I had just returned to the Empire after a fierce battle with the Demon Lord, and now what on earth was I hearing?

Instead of congratulating or thanking me, the hero who had fought until my body and mind were in tatters, the Empire was spouting nonsense about exiling me.

I couldn’t help but use rather harsh language when I heard those words.

This was absolutely not an appropriate treatment for a hero who had worked so hard until now.

“Are you guys joking right now? Where was this attitude when you were begging and pleading with someone who didn’t want to become a hero?”

I wasn’t even originally from this world.

The place I was born was a blue planet called ‘Earth’, a completely different place from this planet called Altena.

The reason I’m here is that the Empire summoned me arbitrarily.

They suddenly summoned me from Earth where I was living peacefully, and then suddenly asked me to become a hero.

Of course, I tried not to become a hero at all. What hero in a place I didn’t even understand…

It wasn’t even the world I lived in, so why should I risk my life to protect it? I had no obligation or duty to do so.

But because they begged me every single day to become a hero, I accepted the position of hero.

It was just a year ago that they were on their knees, pleading for me to save them just this once, saying the Empire would fall without me.

“Now you’re saying you’re going to exile me? If you had any conscience, how could you say such a thing?”

But now what?

Now, a year after I was summoned, the Empire was saying they were going to exile me.

Of course, I couldn’t help but get angry.

I’m so dumbfounded that I can barely speak properly.

Have they all gone mad?

“Do not raise your voice. Hero… no, Han Soo. Do you really not know why the Empire is trying to exile you? You were defeated by the Demon Lord. A hero being defeated by the Demon Lord, isn’t that reason enough for exile?”

“What nonsense is this now.”

But here, I heard something even more ridiculous.

They were saying something so absurd, so unbelievable, that I had been defeated by the Demon Lord.

I was defeated by the Demon Lord? When did that happen?

“Who says that? Who says I was defeated by the Demon Lord? I’ve never lost. The battle just hasn’t been decided yet.”

This was clearly fabrication and instigation.

I absolutely did not lose to the Demon Lord.

I said I would defeat the Demon Lord, and I did return without defeating him, but that’s just not being able to defeat him, not losing.

It’s just a draw.

“That is a loss.”

“What nonsense is that!!! How does a draw become a loss?”

“It’s essentially a defeat. All past heroes have defeated Demon Lords in one go. Shouldn’t a hero naturally be able to defeat a mere Demon Lord? It’s not an exaggeration to say that you’re tarnishing the name of past heroes.”

But the Empire was spouting nonsense about how I had essentially been defeated. They were saying that past heroes had defeated Demon Lords in one go.

The very fact that a hero drew with the Demon Lord was unprecedented, so they were saying I had ‘essentially’ lost.

What kind of bull*** logic is this?

Have you guys ever fought the Demon Lord?

“Then the Demon Lords that the past heroes defeated must have been weak.”

To hell with the past heroes…

I guarantee that even if those guys came here alive, they would never be able to defeat the Demon Lord I faced.

No, if they all went together, it’s obvious they’d all be annihilated.

“If it was an ordinary Demon Lord, I would have defeated him long ago. The Demon Lord I faced is on a different level.”

That’s how ridiculously powerful the Demon Lord I faced was.

He was truly a monster among monsters. It’s only because I’ve been holding that Demon Lord back until now.

I guarantee that if I disappear, this Empire will fall in an instant.

That’s how unmanageable the Demon Lord I met was.

“Don’t insult the past heroes, you failed hero.”

“Huh. What do you know, living safely and comfortably in the capital?”

But no matter what I say, the people in front of me now don’t understand.

Right now, I feel like I’m talking to a wall.

To think these are the people leading the Empire…

I can’t help but sigh.

They’ll only come to their senses when they’re actually destroyed.

“Hey. Say something, you guys. I’m going crazy with frustration here.”

Finally, I looked at my party members and spoke.

In this frustrating situation, the only ones I could trust were my party members.

I thought my party members would help reveal the truth.

You guys know how helpful I’ve been, right?

“How ugly, Hero.”

But what is this woman saying now?

The first to open her mouth among the party members was the Saint, Eila.

She clicked her tongue while looking at me.

“Eila, are you done talking? You’re calling me ugly? This is not the time to joke around.”

I wasn’t on very good terms with Eila.

Eila, the Saint of the Goddess Church, constantly tried to convert me, but I’m not a religious person.

So there was always trouble between us over that issue.

But even so, you shouldn’t say such things in this situation, right?

“Are you still upset that I’m not a believer of the Goddess Church? Hey, considering how much I’ve done for you, you shouldn’t say things like that in this situation.”

But we were still party members who had been through thick and thin together.

There were times when we didn’t get along, but we lived like proper party members, like comrades, completing missions together, eating delicious food and talking.

But now that she’s saying such things, I felt a sense of betrayal on a different level from when the ignorant chancellor was criticizing me.

It hurt much more because it came from someone I trusted.

“I’m just calling what’s ugly, ugly. You failed at something a hero shouldn’t fail at, and now you’re insulting the past heroes. I knew you were ugly, but to think you were this ugly… This worked out well. The next hero can be chosen from among the believers of the Goddess Church.”

“This is really…”

As they say, you shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast, it’s no use treating them well.

No matter how much I fought with this party member, I made a Saint candidate into a Saint, helped her learn high-level skills, and helped her gain considerable influence in the Goddess Church, and now she says this?

How can a person be this disgusting? To think that someone like her will lead the Goddess Church as a Saint.

She was on the same level as the Empire that essentially exiled me.

“Hey. Don’t you guys have anything to say? You’re not agreeing with Eila, are you?”

But the other party members will defend me, right?

I looked at the other party members and spoke.

Even if Eila was like that, I thought the other party members would believe in me.

“Umm… Well…”

Ha. You guys are going to be like that too, huh?

However, the other party members weren’t much different.

The other party members, except for Eila, were just watching the situation, not stepping up to help me.

“Hero. I don’t dislike you.”

“Yes, Luna. You should know. How strong I am.”

“You are certainly strong, Hero… but…”

At least Luna, who was close to me in the party, tried to help me while hesitating.

But even Luna couldn’t fully support me.

Am I actually weak for a hero?

Luna didn’t seem sure if I was stronger than the past heroes.

Because there’s no comparison between those past heroes and me.

“Ha. I really can’t prove this and it’s driving me crazy.”

I feel like resurrecting all those dead so-called past heroes with necromancy and having a showdown with them.

If I knock them all down directly, would they then know how strong I am?

I can’t help but laugh bitterly.

“Fine. Fine. In the end, you want me to leave, right? I’ll leave.”

No, why should I prove such a thing?

I’m already thoroughly disgusted with the Empire.

We don’t want to see each other anymore, so it’s right for me to just leave.

“I don’t want to play hero for the Empire anymore either.”

Despite all my efforts until now, no one in the Empire is trying to stop me.

I feel like the last bit of my goodwill is completely disappearing.

“But don’t regret it. Even if you come crying and begging me later, I won’t be a hero again.”

Even if you come looking for me again and apologize, I will never forgive you.
I clearly gave you my best, but you threw me away.
Even if the Empire is on the brink of destruction because of the Demon Lord, I absolutely won’t save you.
Because I’m no longer a hero.
That’s how I left the Empire.
My one-year journey as a hero came to an end like this.