I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

1 – 1. Why did you come to my house?

My mother asked me before she passed away.

-Alfred, keep in mind what this mother says. This is more important than any magic my mother taught me.-

At first, she expected how grandiose the mother’s words would be, but what she heard was unexpected.

– Survive. Whether the opponent is a demon or a human, you must make a choice only for yourself.-

In other words, don’t judge the world’s right and wrong.

Don’t think too much about the world’s good or evil, he told me to choose to survive.

That must be the way for me to survive, neither as a human nor as a demon.

Even though he was a human, he must have had that kind of mindset to marry a demon.

Besides, my mother said that she was a fairly famous wizard in the past.

But I accidentally met the demon who went to subjugate.

Humans called such a mother a traitor, but she didn’t care at all about her.

The rebellious demons were suppressed by force.

After learning quite a bit about the human society and the demon society, I admire how such a thing was possible.

Humans are clever and demons are ferocious.

Similarly, if you look at her father’s diary, you can see that her mother caught the villagers and the knights who came to catch traitors and used them as firewood.

Although she is my mother, she seems to have been very hot-tempered.

And who is not the mother and the child, I am also called a traitor by the demons.

To humans, they are just called demons, but they don’t mean much.

The cause of being called a traitor is right in front of my eyes.

It was because of this woman, Arcel, the hero chosen by the holy sword who defeated the demon king five years ago.

The problem is that the warrior suddenly came to the old demon castle, which is now my home.

Why?

For what reason did you come to me?

The hero looked like he was really rough.

The armor I saw before was broken here and there, and it seemed like it couldn’t be used even with a rag, and the body was full of scars that looked like cuts or punctures.

I don’t know who it is, but it’s great to make a hero like this?

I don’t know why it’s in this state, but it’s raining outside, so I brought it inside.

‘It looks like he came alone without any companions.’

So what should I do now?

‘Did you come to kill me?’

My first thought was, of course, that they came to kill me.

According to the legend, a warrior never spares the demons that stand in his way.

However, I am of mixed human and demon blood, and I surrendered quickly in the middle, so my life was fortunately saved.

Moreover, he himself decided to save me, and let me go despite the objections of others.

So now you’ve come to subdue me?

This doesn’t sound like much.

‘Or are you aiming for my treasure?’

So my second thought was that there were still countless gold and silver treasures left in the Demon King’s safe.

Perhaps the son of a demon king confessed about his treasure before he was killed by the hero.

The Demon King is a vicious child who takes care of people as he pleases and does not pay well.

For example, surrendering and begging for your life to be spared because you will servilely hand over your treasure.

What demon would beg for a life like that?

However, the hero only heard of the existence of the treasure and killed the demon king.

This assumption seems quite convincing.

He must have been a hero who went back after defeating the demon lord and received countless treasures, but for example, he might have wasted all his fortune in gambling.

Then it is understandable that the hero is such a beggar.

I don’t even have the holy sword that I’ve been with for half my life, so I think I’ve already sold it.

Since there is only one holy sword in the world and it can cut down demons like tofu, it must be quite expensive.

Especially, the human heroes I saw in books were always overflowing with people who were drunk and disgraced.

Since this warrior is also called a hero, it was very likely that he did.

In the end, the warrior came to get the treasures left by the demon king in order to replenish his squandered wealth!

‘Then I’ll have to deal with it while I haven’t come to my senses yet, because it’ll be difficult if I call my colleagues for no reason.’

After my mother and father hand in hand and went to the underworld, I was forcibly conscripted by the demon army.

The demon king took it by hand, saying that I, as a child, look useful because of my father, who was a famous warrior in the demon realm.

If I rebelled against the demon king, I would surely die, so I had no choice but to obey.

Thanks to you, how many troublesome things have you done?

-Oh, Alfred. The food you bring is cooked to the right level, so the soldiers really like it.-

– You bastard! How dare you take our students hostage…!-

-Is anyone there! The evil demons here… Kwaaagh!-

Catching humans invading the castle, handing them over to the orcs, destroying some magic school, or assassinating the king of the kingdom… The devil ordered a lot of troublesome errands.

I don’t know anything else, but isn’t it too much to wake me up at 2 am and tell me to kill people?

Thus, the treasures of the devil are the same as mine, having served as the devil’s henchman for a long time.

The situation is pitiful, but the treasure cannot be shared.

All of these things were created with my own blood and tears.

I don’t want to wake up and lose the treasure, so let’s get rid of the trouble here quickly.

I don’t do stupid things like the demon lord and give a warrior a chance after being careless.

-But Alfred, even if you choose to survive, there is one thing you must never forget.-

At that time, the words of my mother suddenly came to my mind.

-If you have received grace, never forget it. And make sure to repay the favor.-

It’s been decades since I put it in the finest coffin, and I can still hear that voice vividly.

In addition, I remembered clearly the memory of being thrown down a cliff with no end in sight after disobeying my mother’s words.

After falling for two full days, I was barely saved by my father.

‘…Should I give away some of the treasure?’

Of course, such a mother had already died.

However, because the education was so thorough, my body trembled with fear.

Although there is no specific grace from the hero, if there is one, it must have been that his life was saved 5 years ago.

-What are you talking about? This guy is the demon king! That’s also the one who was called the right hand of the demon king!

– That’s right. The author is the one who kidnapped and killed the kings of the kingdoms who fought against the demon king’s army. Never show mercy…

When the demon king fell and I was deciding what to do with my surrender, the hero Arcel was the only one who sided with me.

Those who said they would spare me if I surrendered belatedly changed their words and tried to execute me after the demon king fell.

How embarrassing it was to have surrendered to survive, and now come and kill me.

Be they saints or wizards, they were all liars.

-No, without this person, we would not have been able to go to the Demon King. Besides, he promised to spare his life if he surrendered. I can’t change my words now.-

If I made a mistake, I tried to tear myself up and make them my companions, but thanks to the hero, I didn’t have to do that.

If it was only then, I would have been very grateful.

I don’t know anything else, but I really hated dying.

‘I’ll have to get some gold coins for now.’

I had no choice but to take out as many treasures as possible to avoid looking like a beggar.

Today’s hero was a pity even for me to see.

Cheolgeureok-

At that moment, I heard the sound of chains moving behind me.

The sound came from the chain that bound the hero.

The hero has awakened.

“Is it this late?!”

“…?”

If it’s a hero I know, it’s not strange if he immediately counterattacks as soon as he wakes up.

I prepared a strong chain, but if you’re a warrior who has even defeated the demon king, you should be able to break it easily.

No matter how injured or sick, a beast is a beast.

The same goes for warriors.

I immediately used defensive magic and at the same time prepared to run away if I was wrong.

Treasure is important, but the most important thing is life.

“…”

But strangely.

The hero Arcel looked at me for a moment and then quietly lowered his head as if he had resigned himself.

I thought he would attack me right away, but it was an unexpected reaction.

And quietly open your mouth.

“…If you’re going to avenge the demon lord, do it, but please do it quickly.”

Not to mention attacking me, they didn’t even resist.

The chains were tied so tight that it was bound to hurt, but none of that seemed to matter.

Is this really the hero I know?

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me already…”

In my head, I was a little confused as to whether it would be right to kill him right away when he told me to finish it quickly.

If you want, you can end it painlessly, but…

I changed my mind, however, because it seemed a little off to me to kill right away.

When I think differently, what I see has changed.

I can’t believe I’ve forgotten something so important.

“Let’s think about killing it later, let’s talk a little bit first.”

“Conversation…?”

I said as I loosened the chains that bound the hero.

“…I see, it’s just that killing me isn’t satisfying.”

After hearing my words, the hero let out a sigh and laughed out of the blue.

“Do as you wish, handing me over to the orcs who fed me to monsters. I was prepared for that a long time ago.”

Since he laughed as if he had lost his mind and said strange things to himself, his mental state began to be questioned.

Couldn’t you have touched a dangerous drug?

A drug addict is a category that even the demon lord is filtered out.

I have heard that there are children who take drugs to soothe their spirits that have been ravaged by gambling.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Why? Wasn’t it to avenge your king?”

“Am I the son of a b*tch’s enemy? Why?”

I have no special loyalty or loyalty to the demon king.

Others tried to avenge the demon king and went to the demon king’s side, but I don’t know.

Not only did I never want to see that son of a b*tch again, and troublesome things like revenge weren’t my concern.

“Then why were you waiting for me here?”

“Why am I waiting for a hero? Is this just my house? The demon king is dead, so now the name is in my name.”

I don’t know what you’re thinking, but trying to avenge the devil’s enemies is a huge mistake.

On the contrary, I wanted to be free, so I poured deadly poison into the demon lord’s meal hundreds of times.

It’s just that the devil’s son was too strong, so it didn’t have any effect.

“Then it wasn’t that I was trying to avenge the king, it was just my misunderstanding…?”

“Yes, but how about washing up first? It’s still muddy and dirty, and it even rains, so it smells a bit.”

I nodded and pointed to the bathroom.

It was the monsoon season, and it was pouring rain outside, making the warrior look like a wet, muddy beggar.

I was so shocked by the hero’s sudden visit that I forgot such an important thing.

The clean floor was soiled with mud and rainwater.

“?”

Oh, was it a mistake to try to talk to a human?

It’s momentary, but the warrior’s eyes change like the past and the floor is wet! And it cracked.

The lethargic face also turned red and turned red.

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I seem to be angry.

Even tears welled up in his eyes.

Thanks to that, I started to think of the image of me attacking the castle to defeat the demon king in the past.

The appearance of a warrior advancing with the light of the holy sword, slashing down the demons who stood in the way without hesitation.

What does that mean when you release the chain?

Could this be what you were aiming for?

“…Ugh?!”

Why are you saying that all of a sudden?

He tried to run away because he thought he might attack right away, but the hero grabbed him by the chest and made a painful expression.

“Kuk…!”

In the end, he coughed up blood and collapsed again.

“Is he dead? No.”

His consciousness seems to be confused, but he is still holding his left chest as if squeezing it.

From the looks of it, it seems to have been cursed with a bad quality.

Maybe he gambled and got into debt.

It would have been fine if I had just died from it, but this is a curse that only gives me pain without any damage to my life.

It must have been created by wizards to get money from creditors.

A curse that has been maliciously adjusted to only cause pain, as you cannot collect money upon death.

As expected, this guy had to gamble somewhere and must have incurred a huge mountain of debt.

‘Then what should I do with the warrior? Kill? Or save.’

After confirming that the hero had definitely lost his mind, I thought about what to do again and made a decision.

It is good to repay the favor, but I have no intention of repaying it with my life.

‘The Demon King must have been caught off guard and was attacked by the hero. I don’t want to end up like that…’

As expected, let’s wash a little first.

I put the fallen hero in a cart and headed for the bathroom.

It was too dirty to keep in my clean house.