I Became a Hero With a Lot of Experience

5 – 005: 28 people

How many minutes had passed since Jarvis, who had come to take care of me, went out to call someone?

It felt like only a few minutes had passed, but it also felt like several hours.

In this underground prison where there was no light other than a small light on the opposite side of the corridor, the sense of time was twisted to the point where it could not be recognized, let alone the clock.

I don’t know exactly how much time has passed since I was trapped in this f*cking prison, but it felt like at least a year had passed.

The prison was not even comfortable in words. The endless darkness filled my vision, and the sound of rats crying from all over created an atmosphere of unease.

I am not in a state where I can properly control my body right now. If those rat bastards gather and scratch me, I won’t be able to endure it at all.

“…If you’re going to kill me, just do it quickly.”

It was at that moment, while lamenting why my situation had turned out like this and burning with hatred towards the tyrant.

With the sound of the distinctive tapping of high-heeled shoes, a single light gradually approached the prison.

What could that light be? But judging from the footsteps, it wasn’t Jarvis’.

Since knights or castle workers would never wear such high-heeled shoes, by process of elimination, there was only one person left.

“This guy is the hero. (Experience Acquisition: 1 person)”

It was a voice I had never heard before, but the face illuminated by the small light remained vivid in my memory.

The owner of the face, which would probably be remembered as a trauma for at least ten years, was one of the reasons why I ended up in this prison.

Princess Penny, with a lantern shining on my face, pointed at me with one hand.

As I gently opened my eyes and looked through the bars, I saw three people following behind her.

A young man with a seemingly easily imaginable physique, despite wearing armor, and a fair-haired woman who looked like a nun in her attire but had an entirely unrefined body.

And a black-haired magician who, despite being a woman, had a tall height but appeared shorter due to her tendency to bend her upper body forward.

＜Experience Acquisition: 17 people＞

＜Experience Acquisition: 4 people＞

＜Experience Acquisition: 7 people＞

The fact that the total experience acquired by the three of them was an astonishing 28, which was not discriminated against by a country that did not discriminate against non-virgins, left me speechless in astonishment.

Even if that man and the wizard are like that, isn’t it a bit too much to have even a priestess serving a god with such acquired experiences?

No, but how is it that three women gathered, yet not a single one is a virgin?

I was not a clingy man fixated on virgins, but seeing even a priestess without virginity, I strongly felt the necessity of a virgin allocation system.

“Just looking at him, he seems weak, doesn’t he? (Experience Points: 1)”

Thinking I had fainted, the tough princess laughed and scoffed at me.

A human who happened to be a princess of a country with an empty head but not an empty lower garment—I couldn’t help but feel a sense of solidarity in that regard.

It was entertaining to shock them with a word thrown in, but it wasn’t the right time yet.

Until a better moment arrived, I listened attentively to their words while holding my breath.

“…Penny, even if you’re confined, you shouldn’t speak disrespectfully to the knight. (Experience Points: 17)”

“Lord Ras is correct. Princess, please maintain decorum…. (Experience Points: 4)”

“I don’t acknowledge this guy as a knight. (Experience Points: 1)”

When the young man and the priestess did not agree with their own words, Penny turned her face away, cutting off the conversation.

I had recognized that woman with a corner like a child since she made threatening gestures in the temple, but there was a childish aspect in a non-virgin matter.

Well, with a father like that, there was no way she could be whole. Raised under a foolish father without proper education, she probably grew into such a person.

“I, I don’t mean I don’t understand the princess’s feelings…. (Experience Points: 7)”

There were people who agreed with Penny’s childish words. The sinister woman, wearing a hat with a long brim like a witch from a fairy tale, nodded in agreement with Penny.

“If only this person wasn’t here, maybe Ras would…. (Experience Points: 7)”

The sinister non-virgin, breaking the sleepless rule, glared at me with resentful eyes, having accepted seven men before marriage like Snow White.

“Stop it. Now… because it’s all in the past. (Experience Points: 17)”

Though she said that, Ras sighed and bowed his head as if claiming injustice.

Looking pitiful like a priestess, the woman who seemed to be deeply sympathetic to Ras’ unfairness placed her hand on his broad back and closed her eyes.

Seeing the disheartened Ras, Penny, with an even sharper gaze, raised her leg as if to kick the window… or more precisely, aimed at me.

It’s the right time to speak up. Instinctively realizing it, I opened my eyes wide and shouted loudly towards Penny.

“Ack!!!!”

“Kyaaak!! (Experience Points: 1)”

In response to my spirited army-like voice, Penny not only stopped lifting her leg but also fell back, hitting her head on the wall.

Thud!!! With a sound that seemed like either the wall or her head had broken, Penny’s lantern fell to the ground, and the corridor was once again engulfed in darkness.

“hahahahaha!!!”

“aaah!!! (Experience Points: 1)”

Amidst booming laughter and agonizing groans, the sensation returned with the sound of fingers snapping, and the light came back suddenly.

A synthetic blue light, distinct from the gas lamps, illuminated the corridor with a color similar to the light that danced on the swords of the knights who surrounded me.

“You… you were awake?! (Experience Points: 7)”

“Yeah, I was awake. Unless you’re here to serve food, could you turn off the lights again?”

Perhaps due to being in the darkness for a while, the dim light created by the somber wizard was harsh on the eyes.

The three who had been caught gossiping couldn’t say a word, but Penny was different.

“Ouch! What the hell are you doing, you lunatic!! (Experience Points: 1)”

“Even if getting stuck to the wall hurts, do you have to hurt my wounded heart too? Endure that much, at least. It’s not like you’re a kid.”

“What?! You rude bastard…!! (Experience Points: 1)”

“Yeah, I can be a bit rude. But I don’t gossip in front of someone unconscious. Well, I guess it’s not gossip if it’s said in front of them.”

“…I apologize for that. It was dishonorable as a knight. (Experience Points: 17)”

“Apologies are for the one who did wrong.”

Saying that, Penny remained silent, casting a piercing gaze with a stubborn expression.

“Whatever. An apology forced out has no meaning. I’ll just go back to sleep.”

“You’re… calm. Considering what you did in that room, you should be executed at least. (Experience Points: 7)”

“If it bothers you, kill me.”

If you ask if I’m afraid of death, I’m not. I’m still seeking life now.

But if that story has already left my hands, if it’s a story that can’t be changed no matter what rebellion I make, then it’s probably a good story to just do as I please and die less unjustly.

“But out of pure curiosity, what happens if I die? Does someone else become a hero?”

“If that were the case, it would have happened earlier!! (Experience Points: 1)”

“Princess… (Experience Points: 4)”

Calming down the donkey-like Penny, a priest-like woman spoke with a sigh.

“Even if a hero falls in tragic defeat without accomplishing the task of subduing the Demon King, there have been several, but the selection of a new hero has never occurred. (Experience Points: 4)”

“Well, I see. But has there ever been a hero who died at the hands of a human? Or maybe sentenced to death like me?”

“..No, there haven’t been any like that so far. But why suddenly… (Experience Points: 4)”

“No, if a hero dies at the hands of a human, shouldn’t there be some divine punishment for the one who killed them?”

“What? (Experience Points: 4)”

“Not ‘what,’ I’m sent by a god, right? In a way, I’m like a representative of the god. So if someone like me is killed, shouldn’t some divine retribution come down on the one who killed me?”

Up until now, it had been unprecedented, but the four of them looked at each other with expressions that couldn’t be put into words, thinking that the unimaginable might not be impossible.

It wasn’t that such a thing hadn’t happened yet; my words were reasonable in essence.

Punishment. On Earth, the phrase that was dismissed as the nonsensical rambling of a loser had transformed into a bomb with an uncertain detonation time for my existence as a death row prisoner.

It was just a casually spoken word, but what if punishment really rained down when I died?

“Come to think of it. Just sitting and waiting for execution is too boring.”

“What? (Experience gained: 1 person)”

Leaning forward and creating space, I threw my body backward with all my strength, slamming the back of my head against the wall.

Thud!! It wasn’t as loud as when Penny hit her head, but it echoed in the silent prison.

“What the hell are you doing?!! (Experience gained: 1 person)”

“If there is such a thing as punishment, does it matter if it’s suicide or execution? What matters is that you are involved. Don’t you think so?”

Thud!! Again, the dull sound echoed, and the four people banged on the bars in confusion.

“You madman!! Stop it!! Stop!! (Experience gained: 1 person)”

“Keys!! No, Runia!! Use magic to open the prison door!! Hurry!! (Experience gained: 17 people)”

“Uh, okay!! (Experience gained: 7 people)”

“…Is this guy really a hero? (Experience gained: 4 people)”

hehehe, my first suicide.