I’m a Hero, but I Gave Up Saving the World

2 – I’m screwed

The first attempt failed.

Serena felt the holy sword that did not belong to her suddenly become heavy. I want him to quickly leave my hand and leave me in the arms of the right person, but the other person doesn’t want to accept it.

“Fah, Faust? Faust~? Wanna come out again? Would you like to talk to me?”

A raspy voice that was forcibly squeezed out.

It was a voice filled with aegyo and servility more than necessary to be heard by the man who had been laughing and teasing the hero Lucy von Letlea until yesterday.

I can’t help it.

Because Faust is a warrior now.

“Faust uhhh? Because this is the King’s order. Faust? Can we come out and talk? yes?”

“Oh, you’re really fucking noisy.”

“Fah, Faust.”

“It’s disgusting, so why don’t you put that fake laugh away? Why don’t you treat me like you normally do?”

“… What are you talking about fake laughter? I sincerely… ”

“I’m sure you’re seriously trying to get a new rope.”

“… … … … … .”

A person who has penetrated the inner mind has no choice but to be silent.

with a huge blow to his pride.

“Uh, anyway, didn’t I say it was the king’s order? How many times. I’ll go with you. Do you really have to be that expensive?”

“Ah, now the true nature comes out. Yes, that’s how it’s serenade.”

“Ha-yes. I don’t like the sudden change in attitude, right? I couldn’t help it either. It was all to please Lucy, the former hero. Can’t you forgive me just once?”

“yes.”

A reply without the slightest hesitation.

Up to this point, Serena’s feeling of being fucked was temporarily stronger, rather than a sense of not wanting to bend her pride to someone she usually ignored.

Although he rationally understood that the other person was a new warrior, his sensibility did not accept it, so he dared to take an arrogant attitude.

“Wow, that’s really small. a man.”

“what? Are you short?”

Faust, who had been conversing through the cracks in the door where only his eyes could be seen symbolizing the closed door of his heart, opened the front door wide and came out. With a very angry face.

“Don’t you think about what you did to me? I don’t know if I was just teasing and bullying you, but you guys just interrupted me so I couldn’t do anything? Who was it that interrupted you while you were reading a book, saying that you were trying to take the place of the hero by increasing your magical power? Do you know if I lived after cleaning up horse dung because I liked it? Since you guys won’t let me do anything, I made money doing that.”

“So you did that because the hero ordered you to?”

“Ah, is it all my fault? Then how about this one?”

When Faust was first summoned to the kingdom of Aurelia, he did not despair even after hearing that he had not been chosen as a hero. In the first place, he was a person with a lot of curiosity and a desire for knowledge, so he thought it was meaningful enough to explore and experience this wide world.

It is only natural that he showed interest in the academy, which can be called a treasure trove of learning.

However, his wish to study quietly at the academy did not come true.

After only half a year of admission, he was caught up in an unfortunate case of plagiarism and was sentenced to expulsion.

Coincidentally, just one day before Faust’s paper was published, none other than Lucy von Letlea, or Kwak Dong-soo, submitted a paper with almost the same content, and Faust, who was late in publishing, was accused of plagiarism. However, Faust knew that it was he who wrote the paper. He did not plagiarize Kwak Dong-soo, but someone leaked his thesis and accused Faust of being an unscrupulous thief.

And Faust strongly suspected that the culprit might be Serena.

The reason is that the subject of the thesis was about the warrior party, and Faust informed the existence of the thesis only to the party members to be covered.

The culprit was definitely one of the party members, but Serena was the most likely. Serena has been frantically tormenting Faust because she wants to look good to Kwak Dong-soo.

It was very likely that he had stolen the thesis to bring to the hero.

“Is that you? Serena?”

“what? Oh, isn’t it? Don’t catch a live person.”

“… … … … .”

“anyway! How many times do I say that this is not my request, but the king’s order? Come to the palace at once! You don’t want to be photographed by the king, do you? you also?”

“doesn’t care.”

“what?”

“I will go home. I have no desire to become a hero and save you.”

“to? Going back… ? Where?”

“Of course it is my hometown.”

“… … … Aren’t you going to the palace?”

“You said you weren’t going. Get off now.”

“no… wait for a sec… ”

The door closed once more, and Serena stood there blankly for a long time.

Faust returns? to home?

So what’s going on?

Faust is currently the only person qualified to be a hero.

If he disappears, will the hero disappear?

The existence of a hero gives people hope apart from his actual power. The fact that a hero is fighting somewhere now gives courage that he is not being helplessly defeated by the Demon King’s army.

Conversely, if there is no hero, the expectation of being able to kill the demon king will disappear, and the world will fall into despair.

‘No matter how stubborn he is, what should I do?’

Serena took the holy sword and went back to her house. It was because he did not dare to set foot in the palace with a body that failed in his mission. I wanted to think about how to deal with it calmly while receiving advice from my mother.

“Oh, Serena? Welcome. I heard you. You said you protected the holy sword? Even the king was satisfied with it. ah… I’m so glad you did. Mommy is really proud of you… ”

Duchess of Atlea.

My mother, who was once called that, was now living a hard life, wearing rag-like clothes forcibly woven from fabric she had picked up from a garbage dump.

Cracked walls, floors crawling with centipedes and insects, poverty with only potatoes and cabbage for food was the reality her family was facing.

Actually, things are getting better now. In the middle of the day, right after my brother committed himself to the demon king’s army, people’s anger was so strong that I couldn’t stay anywhere.

The house where the family lived together had already been burned down, leaving no traces, and if they went into hiding in an abandoned house, they were often kicked out of there. Even if he wanted to avoid the rain, he set up a house in a cave, but he was discovered by a passer-by and had to vacate his seat after being stoned.

That is, they were not accepted anywhere.

The very fact that they could sleep safely in any house, no matter how shabby, was a blessing to them.

Extermination is a natural step for the traitor’s family, but it should be said that it was brave that they survived so far. In fact, my mother tried to commit suicide several times and suffered from aphasia that made her unable to speak in such great shock. Her once decent life as the duke’s wife was thoroughly destroyed by her beloved son, so if she remained sane, that would be even more strange.

Things got much better after Serena joined the warrior party, and her mother began to open her heart little by little.

The only person she talks to so far is her own daughter, but chatting with Serena was her only hobby.

The Duchess especially liked the story of Serena’s major, and when it came to the word of nobility coming out of the king’s mouth this time, she looked up at her daughter as if she were a benefactor, and liked it.

“That’s right Serena! A title of nobility… Ahh! The king gave my daughter a title of nobility! Ahh… finally! I’m finally going back to being a noble! Would the peacock be too much? right? He won’t suddenly promote you to duke. good though Viscount or… Or even a baron. If only I could return to being a noble!”

At the thought that the hell that seemed to last forever might finally end, Mom was already excited as if thinking about a dress to wear to a social party. Seeing that, Serena was also in a good mood and inadvertently confessed her mistake as if it were flowing lightly.

“Oh but… Things went wrong with the new hero.”

“… what?”

“There it is. Actually~”

Serena told all about the incident with Faust. Lucy von Letlea took the lead in harassing Faust, whom she hated, and then threw the live situation that she is now in trouble like a passing word, like a light nuisance.

However, her mother’s reaction was stronger than Serena expected.

“Are you crazy?!?!”

The mother urged Serena, exhaling a black aura as if her hated older son had returned before her eyes.

“Go and apologize to the hero right away! Get down on your knees, wag your tail like a dog, do whatever it takes to be forgiven by Him! okay?!”

“Sah, I apologized. But they didn’t accept it.”

“Go now! Apologize and come back until the hero accepts it!!!!”

Serena was frightened by her mother’s attitude of screaming so much that she was worried that she might not get a hoarse voice.

“Now we are finally starting to be recognized that we are not traitors, but the hero… If rumors spread that we are hated by the warrior, we are doomed!!! Are you really crazy Serena!!! Are you anxious to destroy our family? Are you going to kill your mother like your brother did?!”

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to. Faust… ”

“Call me Faust!!”

Serena kept her mouth shut.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that the situation might be more serious than I thought.

“Lord Faust!! You hold the life and death of our family! okay?! A word from him! Mom could die!!”

“… gulp.”

“Go and apologize! I mean, do whatever he tells you to do!! Don’t even come back home until Faust forgives you!!!”

When I thought about it, my mother was right. The current peace is maintained only by the trust and friendship of the hero.

The hero who made Serena his aide has died, and soon the news that Faust has become the new hero will spread throughout the country.

However, if rumors spread that Faust hated the traitor’s family, it was clear that public opinion, which had been dormant until then, would raise its head again and attack the Serena family.

… Mom didn’t have the strength left to endure that hell again. Serena, of course.

“me… It’s fucked up, really.”

Serena, realizing that it was not the time to be proud, went to Faust’s house again, but this time, no matter how much he knocked, he didn’t come out.

Eventually, Serena knelt in front of the door and waited all night.