I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

5 – 5. Incomprehensible Behavior

“Would you really mind giving me this room?”

“After all, the castle is large and has many rooms. If you don’t like it, you can choose another place. Oh, except for my room.”

I need to sleep, so Arcel told me which room to use.

But you don’t like the room?

Even though we picked the best room, Arcel wasn’t even stepping on the carpet, let alone lying on the bed.

“You don’t like the room?”

Hey, if you were a warrior, a hero of the humans, you could have used any number of better rooms.

I also prepared a room in a hurry, so I’m not particularly confident.

Should I prepare another room now?

“No, it’s not like that. The room is very nice. Too much for someone like me…”

Arsel hesitates with his foot on the threshold.

I didn’t understand and asked.

“Why is this room oversized?”

“A room like this can only be used by the children of high nobles. It should be at the level of a noble from a very large estate.”

“You were a warrior, didn’t you get treated like a noble? Didn’t you get a lot of gratitude from the nobles by traveling to various regions and subduing the troublesome monsters there?”

Heroes are the heroes of humans.

On behalf of humans, he set out on a journey to subdue the demon king while openly expressing his hostility to the demon king.

That means that you can lose your life at any time by the demon king.

Originally, a warrior is an artificially created hero, so it is easy to disappear, and it is often seen that his name disappears from everyone’s memory without a rumor.

Even by taking such a risk, Arcel became a warrior, and in the end, the warrior’s long-cherished wish came true.

Would you be able to receive this kind of treatment?

“Those things are too much for me. Dealing with dangerous monsters is something you can do without being a hero. What I have to do is to slash the demon lord. You couldn’t get it until you made it.”

“You have lived a frugal life…”

If you visit the warriors from time to time when you have nothing to do and are bored, most of them are sleeping in the forest or staying at an inn with good value for money in the village.

“And I couldn’t receive anything from the local nobility except for the public part. I had to remain neutral in human society.”

The hero has power comparable to that of the demon lord.

If such forces are concentrated in a specific region or country, it may be possible to conquer the entire world if desired.

For this reason, it is said that Arcel kept neutrality.

Only then could he have been able to travel to many countries without any nationality issues, and the meaning of the name “Hero” Will not fade.

What kind of living right life is this?

“Then it won’t matter anymore.”

“Oh, wait a minute again-“

I picked Arcel up and put him down on the bed.

“How is it comfortable?”

“Okay! Better send them to the stable! This is too much for me…!”

“Just lie still.”

Who is not a former warrior is very strong.

I couldn’t help but think that I was weakened by the curse.

“You’re not feeling well right now, so you can’t have an arm or a leg removed like you did to the rebellious princesses.”

Of course, it was difficult to use strength for a long time, but he soon calmed down.

“…I am neither noble nor royalty. When I was young, I was an ordinary child in a rural village. A place like this is too burdensome.”

“Just because it’s burdensome doesn’t mean it’s not comfortable. Can you see my muscles relaxing with my eyes right now?”

“Ugh… You have really good eyes.”

I have good eyesight.

Because I can see things that are invisible to others.

“You’re not even a hero anymore, are you? Then why do you need to care about that? In the first place, even the children of nobles and royalty are human beings, except for meeting wealthy parents.”

“Still, all I have now is this broken body. There is nothing I can do to repay you.”

It wasn’t something I specifically asked for in return.

If you like something, you can just take it away or pay a fair price rather than receiving it in return, so what I want especially from Arcel right now is…

“Then can’t I repay you with that body?”

“What…?”

Arsel was startled with a blushing face.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t take my body and use it as a puppet or as a ritual sacrifice like other demons. That kind of thing is for kids who are lagging behind in their skills.”

And then, as if he was frightened, he turned blue.

But you can rest assured.

My mother said that those who use sacrificial offerings are inferior in skill to third-rate people.

Because I’m first-rate, I was able to solve most of the problems on my own.

Above all, it is more comfortable to use my body instead when needed.

“Then, what kind of reward is that…”

“It might be a little annoying, but can you wake me up every morning? My room is poorly lit, and I can’t wake up with the sound of the alarm clock.”

Is there anything better than having a woman like Arcel waking you up every morning?

One day, the devil told me that the best alarm clock in the world is the touch of a pretty woman.

Especially if her hands are beautiful, it’s a perfect score.

But maybe I have too high an eye for it? The woman that others say is pretty is a bit subtle, whether it be humans or demons, so she usually doesn’t think much of it, but Arcel was here.

Arcel was fully satisfied with the condition.

“Jung, are you really okay with that?”

“It’s not as easy as I thought, right? Waking up every day as soon as the sun rises is surprisingly difficult.”

I stretched lightly and closed the curtains so that the moonlight wouldn’t disturb my sleep.

Although the moonlight is dark, if the sun rises, the sunlight will shine and tell you when to wake up.

Even though the lighting in my room was bad, Arcel was able to do it.

“Good night then, get some rest and wake me up in the morning.”

“…Okay. I will pray to the stars that you too will have good dreams.”

I finished turning off the lights with Arcel’s faint smile in my eyes.

I went back to my room and put myself on the bed, but I still couldn’t fall asleep easily.

I was very excited just imagining Arcel waking me up in the morning.

Depending on today, the night only feels long.

It was a long night, but this is the first time since my parents passed away that the night has felt so long.

I have to go to sleep early so Arcel will come to visit me in the morning.

Close your eyes and count the number of skulls in your mind.

†††

The humans said.

One day, the hero all agreed that he would subdue the demon king and bring peace to this world.

It was like that now and it was like that in the past.

Especially when I went to kill the leader of the country according to the devil’s order, they said that a hero would come and kill me as if they had all promised.

Every time I heard that, I couldn’t understand it.

“Why don’t you guys think of overthrowing the demon lord yourself? Of course he’s as strong as a monster, but he’s more comfortable taking the initiative than putting his life in the hands of others.”

It was the same when he killed the pope, who was said to have the greatest influence among humans.

It is said that he was destined to overthrow the demon king, so he was chosen by the Holy Sword.

“Hey, when a person speaks, the answer is… Is he already dead?”

A holy sword.

An ancient sword said to be used only by warriors.

From what I’ve seen, the holy sword doesn’t seem to have anything special except that it’s just a frighteningly sharp sword.

On the contrary, it is considered that its value as a weapon is low in that it cannot be easily used by anyone.

Of course, it is said that if a hero catches it, he will have the power to overthrow the demon king, but if only a hero can use it, that is tantamount to proving the limits of the holy sword.

In other words, it is because it instills the perception that no one but the hero can defeat the demon lord.

Humans tend to believe what they see.

“Then what do you think? The chosen warrior. Is this the second time we’ve met like this? I think I’m stronger than I was back then…”

I said looking at the fallen hero on the floor.

“How can a hero like me who can’t win defeat that monstrous demon lord?”

“…”

The hero at that time was weaker than me.

Perhaps it was because it hadn’t been long since he was chosen as a hero, even if he was well beaten, he was a little better than the elite guards of the Pope.

The corpses of those guards covered the floor.

“Honestly, it’s funny, suppose you have the power to eventually defeat the demon king someday. But what if I kill you before that? Or what if the holy sword is taken away?”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, he pulls out his tongue, rolls it up and stuffs it into his mouth?”

“…Do whatever you want.”

The hero had no answer other than that.

He just bit his lip as if resenting himself for being weak.

Today is different from what I saw back then at magic school.

This time, the demon king meticulously ordered to kill all the humans of the rebellious church while killing the pope.

It seems that I was quite annoyed at the fact that I saved people’s lives at school.

It seems that the hero came here because he had some business to do at church.

“Why don’t you use that tongue for conversation? I told you that if you let me kill the Pope, I’ll spare the rest. But why do you dare to come and go to see God together with the Pope?”

This is something I really can’t understand.

To die representing one person, or to die together hand in hand.

No matter how you think about it, the former is a much more reasonable and advantageous choice than the latter, so why choose the latter?

From a human point of view, the pope was an old man who had little time left to live, so why do young people who still have 50 more years to live die?

“…Stop killing me. Twice I couldn’t protect the people even with the demons in front of me. Something like me doesn’t fit the title of a hero.”

“Yes, even though he is strong for a human, he is weak for a hero who can defeat the demon lord.”

I grabbed the fallen warrior’s wrist and raised it up.

I couldn’t move my arms and legs that were limp.

It rebelled so badly that I had the bones in my shoulder and leg pulled out, and now I’ve calmed down.

I feel sorry for that, but I was about to kill the last warrior and go back, but I suddenly had this thought.

“Right. Do you believe in god The god worshiped by the humans in the church here.”

“If there was a god, he wouldn’t have let go of a villain like you.”

“That’s right, my mother said that God created it to secure his legitimacy by a man with power.”

“…?”

I took the hero to the holy sword stuck in the floor.

And exquisitely, he moved his collapsed body and made it look like he was barely holding on to the holy sword after an arduous fight.

“This is…”

Suddenly, the time has come for people to come.

Obviously, there were some words that some demons said in the past when they got beaten up and ran away while arguing with a hero. What was it?

“You know, the demon king ordered me to kill all the humans in the church, right? But you just talked like there is no god. So that means you are not a member of the Church?”

“What are you talking about?”

The warrior’s voice began to tremble as if he was taken aback.

If I’m wrong, I don’t mind killing you here.

“If it was my mistake, I’ll just kill you here without hurting you. I’ll stick my hand into your chest and pull out your heart, or I’ll pull out your hair and put it in your arms.”

He said while stroking the warrior’s face.

Looking at it like this, I thought it looked pretty good.

Although it was stained with blood and dirt because of me, it might be quite pretty if it was washed clean.

At least, it’s better than most of the princesses the devil told you to kidnap.

“How about you, do you believe in God? Or I don’t believe in God.”

“What the hell are you-“

Hmm, were my words a bit difficult?

My mother said that human beings have short lifespans and often have low intelligence.

It seems that the hero hasn’t even passed 20 years since he was born, so let’s be a little considerate.

“To put it simply, would you like to die here? Or live.”

“Why are you giving me such a choice?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you answer late, I’ll just shove the holy sword into your mouth right here.”

You’d better think carefully.

Everything ends when you die.

When you die, there is nothing after that.

The nonexistence of nothing is death.

That’s why I fear death.

What happens to me if I die?

What will remain after I die?

Even if they tried to revive the dead by turning them into undead, they did not respond.

No, I couldn’t exactly.

Even if they die, it is because they do not know what will happen after death.

Of course, such unknown territory is fearful.

The only thing she fears besides being angry is death.

“…I, I.”

At first, the calm warrior cried.

Clear, transparent tears ran down my chin and fell to the floor.

“I don’t like dying… at least dying like this…”

“Yes, I like honest people.”

Hearing the hero’s answer, I shouted loudly so that the humans running outside could hear it.

I’m sure they said something like this when they ran away.

It’s a bit embarrassing, but if you can give that devil a shot, this level of acting is enough.

“You are indeed a hero! You are the first to inflict such a fatal wound on me! Let’s get out of here today! But next time, I will never look at you!”

Can’t say enough is enough.

When I tried it myself, the lines were better than I thought.

“There it is! I can hear the demon’s voice from there!”

People outside heard my voice and started flocking to me.

I killed all the knights of the church, so they must be guards who have nothing to do with the church.

‘In the first place, he told me to come back immediately after killing the Pope.’

Anyway, thinking that many people must have heard that line, I started to feel more embarrassed than I could have imagined.

I hope it’s worth what I said.

“Why-“

“You better be careful next time we meet, because the demon king will be very angry when I go back. From now on, the order I will give you will tell me not to look at the hero and kill him.”

I added a word before escaping through the hole in the ceiling.

“At least fight me and run away, or if you don’t have the confidence to retreat, just run away. The same trick won’t work anymore.”

It was nice to meet you, so I went out to the ceiling waving with a friendly smile.

Soon people came and started to grasp the situation, and when they found the only surviving hero, they seemed to find hope even in despair.

Yes, that’s a human advantage.

“And, indeed, the hero! To defeat that diabolical Satan!”

“Right! If it weren’t for the hero, he would have killed everyone in the city, not just the church!”

“What are you talking about… That wasn’t me- ugh…!”

“Oops! Call the medic quickly! The demons were defeated, but the injuries are serious!”

The honest warrior tried to deny the situation, but he collapsed as if he had reached the limit of his endurance.

A hero would not be able to tell the truth anyway.

As a result of this incident, humans suffered the damage of almost losing the church and their resting place, God.

The Demon King originally wanted this to make humans lose the driving force to resist him.

But the hero is the diabolical Satan… Wait, who is that? Anyway, I didn’t let go of the string of hope in the fact that I retreated, and now the hero must have become a salvation in despair.

Only by denying that, humans really crumble.

Any hero I know will notice that much.

‘But is it really okay? A kid like that really defeated that demon lord? No matter how much I think about it, it seems like nonsense…’

But it was useless worry.

In fact, the hero acquired incredible strength as a human being through rigorous training, and eventually subdued even the demon king.

I thought that no matter how strong a human becomes, I would not be able to defeat the demon king, but I can’t believe how he subdued him.

Honestly, when I heard the news that the hero had subdued the demon king, even I shook hands with the human soldiers and cheered.

There seems to be a reason why legends are legends.

It surprised me when I hadn’t expected it at all.

…By the way, I was disappointed with that hero for the first time today.

“…You didn’t come to wake me up.”

Morning came and I opened my eyes, but Arcel did not come.

Looking at the time, I think it’s around 7:00 AM, but maybe Arsel overslept.

Do I have to go wake him up myself?

“Where have you been?”

But even after teleporting to Arcel’s room, he was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, all sorts of thoughts started running through my head.

Anxious, I opened the door and went out into the hallway.

Fortunately, I was able to find Arcel right away.

He lay helplessly on the floor ahead of my visit.

“Are you okay? Where did you even slip?”

“Eh…”

I immediately ran to check his condition, and his whole body was as hot as a ball of fire.

Seeing him struggling to breathe, it seems quite distressing.

Maybe it’s because of the curse of the heart.

“…If you are not feeling well, why do you force yourself to rest?”

I can fully understand that.

I didn’t understand, thinking that he must have struggled to get to my room.

“Ah… Did you wake up?”

Feeling my presence, Arcel struggled to greet me in the morning.

I’m happy to say good-bye in the middle of this, but I’m also worried at the same time.

“Mi, I’m sorry. I was going to do something if I could repay you with something like this… But I still seem to be lacking…”

“Okay, just get some more sleep. I have a place to go for a while.”

“Be careful… Go back…”

Like that, Arsel lost his mind again.

I’m sure it would be painful, but now I’m only worried because I forced myself to smile.

I must go to my mother’s study today.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen her grandmother.

I’m not particularly on good terms with her grandmother, but I’m sure nothing will happen.

…Maybe?