Who Killed the Hero? Volume 2 Chapter 5.5

Interlude: Efsei
 

 
After the Battle of Malica, I had no desire to continue being an adventurer.
 
I couldn’t stand the thought of teaming up with others. Anyone who didn’t participate in that battle seemed like a fake to me.
 
Still, I needed to earn money to survive. So I looked for jobs I could do alone, making a daily wage by completing those tasks.
 
Thanks to the human side’s victory in Malica, things were peaceful for a while.
 
But after five years, the Demon King’s army began to move again.
 
Despite all those sacrifices, peace only lasted five years.
 
But that had nothing to do with me. I thought I had fought enough back then.
 
It was around that time that I heard rumors about Leonard.
 
An adventurer who boasted about surviving Malica and only took high-paying jobs.
 
Moreover, he’d do anything for the right price. I couldn’t believe there was someone who survived that battle and was now profiting as an adventurer.
 
I caught a glimpse of him once in a tavern where adventurers gathered. He was about my age, with a shallow smile plastered on his face.
 
“What an unpleasant guy.”
 
That was my first impression of Leonard.
 
He didn’t look like someone who had gone through the same experience as me.
 
How dare he live so shamelessly? How can he smile? Have you forgotten what happened back then?
 
And then I realized: Ah, I can’t forgive myself.
 
For surviving the Battle of Malica.
 

 
The situation worsened day by day. The Demon King’s army began invading again, and the human side kept losing.
 
But that didn’t mean I was going to do anything about it. For me, the world had ended with the Battle of Malica. I was as good as dead.
 
I turned a blind eye to the world’s fate, just swinging my spear. Silently earning my daily wage. That’s all.
 
But then someone approached me.
 
It was Leonard.
 
He called out to me from behind as I was about to enter my house.
 
“Hey, I’ve heard about you. You’re a Malica survivor, right? How about teaming up with me?”
 
I knew he didn’t stick with specific adventurers. He was famous for changing partners depending on the job and taking most of the reward for himself.
 
“Try someone else. I don’t like you.”
 
Of course, I had no reason to be nice to Leonard.
 
“That’s too bad, because I like you. Come on, won’t you team up with me?”
 
I thought he’d curse and leave if I rejected him harshly, but Leonard’s response was unexpected. His usual shallow expression remained, but his eyes were serious.
 
“I’ve heard about you. You change partners depending on the job, right? There are plenty of other spear users out there. Why does it have to be me?”
 
“Efsei, I’m not inviting you for a cheap one-night stand. I want to be your comrade. If that happens, no cheating. I swear to God.”
 
Leonard approached me as if he were trying to seduce a woman.
 
I backed away, trying to remember if he had such preferences.
 
“It’s not a bad deal, you know? My other two companions are women. And they’re both knockout beauties. This kind of chance only comes once in a lifetime. What do you say?”
 
He sounded like a sleazy tout from the red-light district. It didn’t seem like he was inviting me to be his comrade at all.
 
His forceful invitation backed me up against my door. I had never been in such a pinch before.
 
Just then, a staff came swinging down towards Leonard’s head from behind him.
 
“Ouch!”
 
As Leonard clutched his head in pain, I saw two women standing behind him.
 
“I was a fool to leave this to you.”
 
The one who spoke with exasperation was the woman with glasses who had hit Leonard with her staff. Probably a mage, she was a beauty with long black hair tinged with purple.
 
“Using us as bait for recruitment isn’t very admirable.”
 
The other was a red-haired woman with her hair cut evenly at the shoulders. Dressed in priest’s robes, she seemed plain at first glance, but upon closer inspection, her features were refined, giving off a modest impression.
 
These two must be the companions Leonard was talking about. If so, what he said wasn’t entirely a lie.
 
“Would you like to talk for a bit?”
 
The black-haired woman said.
 
“We’re all survivors of the Battle of Malica. It wouldn’t be so bad to reminisce about old times, would it?”
 
There was no way I could refuse such an invitation from a beautiful woman.
 

 
I let the three of them into my house. Leonard was unnecessary, but I couldn’t help it.
 
“So what kind of old stories are we going to talk about?”
 
I asked the black-haired woman, who introduced herself as Sophia, ignoring Leonard. The red-haired woman was apparently called Nina. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing young women about their age – a mage and a priestess – among the volunteer army during the Battle of Malica.
 
I offered chairs to Sophia and Nina, intending to leave Leonard standing, but he had already seated himself.
 
“Just our life stories. It’s like a small ritual. Everyone who experienced that battle carries something with them. By sharing it with others, we lighten our hearts. We can decide whether to become comrades or not after that.”
 
Sophia seemed to have a straightforward personality, though she did speak with a bit of an air of superiority.
 
“You want me to talk about my past to people I’ve just met?”
 
I felt a bit reluctant, even if they were beautiful women.
 
“I see. Then how about we start?”
 
Saying that, Sophia began talking about her upbringing. She was surprisingly good at storytelling, as if she was used to it. Nina spoke next, her tone solemn, befitting a priestess.
 
Despite their different backgrounds, it seemed that after surviving the Battle of Malica, they had lived similar lives.
 
They had turned away from reality due to the guilt of surviving – just like me.
 
After the two finished speaking, I looked at Leonard, but he shrugged and gestured for me to go first. I was a bit annoyed, but it wouldn’t look good if I didn’t speak after the two women had shared their stories. Reluctantly, I began to tell my own life story.
 
“My old man was a mercenary. He was skilled with a spear, and I used to play around swinging spears since I was a kid. So my choices came down to either becoming a mercenary or an adventurer, and I chose to be an adventurer.
 
My father told me, ‘Being an adventurer is better than being a mercenary.’
 
I hate to say it myself, but I was pretty skilled for my age. I had more experience than the others. So I joined a party with good treatment, and I was living a fairly successful life. Just like you two.”
 
I turned my gaze to Sophia and Nina, and they both nodded slightly.
 
“So, just like you guys, I had a rough time in the Battle of Malica. All my familiar comrades died there. It can’t be helped. Those without skill die. That’s how it is for adventurers. But I couldn’t stand losing constantly. So I decided to target the leader of the Demon King’s army.”
 
Sophia and the others gasped. A good reaction. Worth telling the story.
 
“I found him quickly. Among the clustered demons, there was an exceptionally large black one. His aura was different. He reeked of danger.
 
I moved low, trying to avoid fights as much as possible, somehow managing to get behind him. To thrust my spear into that black demon’s neck.
 
I succeeded in getting behind him. It wasn’t because I was skilled. It was because one warrior was fighting the demons flashily.
 
Luke—the strongest human warrior you mentioned in your story. He charged straight towards the black demon. It seemed reckless. Impossible. But thanks to that, the enemy’s attention was on Luke, and I was able to get behind the demon.”
 
Before I knew it, Leonard had dropped his frivolous expression and was listening intently to my story with a tense face.
 
“I leaped. Much higher than the black demon. I thought I had it. My spear was aimed at his neck. But the spear was easily deflected by the demon’s arm. As if swatting away an insect, with a light touch. As I rolled on the ground, he said to me:
 
‘You who targeted me were correct. You just lacked the power.’
 
It was a difference in class. As expected of the Demon King’s army leader.”
 
Even now, thinking back on it makes me shudder. Facing him head-on, he didn’t seem like an opponent humans could defeat.
 
“And then?”

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Sophia urged me to continue. She seemed eager to hear the rest.
 
“I spouted the best bravado I could. ‘At least tell me your name,’ I said. He kindly told me, ‘It’s Belzera.’ He might be a pretty good guy.”
 
I said it jokingly, but no one laughed.
 
“That nice Mr. Demon, with black aura clinging to his great sword, swung it down at me. Honestly, I thought I was dead. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. But in front of me, who had given up, stood a warrior. It was Luke. He had made it through those enemies to Belzera. I couldn’t believe it.”
 
That back view is something I’ll never forget. For me, there can be no hero other than him. No matter what anyone says.
 
“Luke caught that demon’s great sword with his own and said to me, ‘Leave the rest to me. You just run straight back.’ Indeed, there were fewer monsters behind. But I have my pride too. I thought I’d help Luke. At first, anyway.”
 


 


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I shook my head.
 
“But it was impossible. The battle between Luke and Belzera was so fierce that I didn’t have the power to intervene. It wasn’t just me. Even the other demons couldn’t get close.
 
Their fight was evenly matched at first, but gradually Luke started to be pushed back. Of course. Luke had repeatedly fought intense battles to finally reach Belzera. He had almost no strength left. But Luke shouted without even looking back at me. ‘What are you doing?! Go quickly! Don’t die in vain!’
 
So I ran. I was of no use at all. I at least wanted to avoid being a hindrance. Belzera said, ‘You’re becoming a shield to let that level of human escape? You’re the one dying in vain.’ I was frustrated beyond words.”
 
I paused there to catch my breath, but no one said anything.
 
“After that, I heard Luke’s shout, ‘Don’t underestimate humans, demon!’ When I looked back, the shadows of Belzera and Luke overlapped. They were slashing at each other’s shoulders. But Luke’s sword only slightly cut Belzera’s shoulder, while Belzera’s sword reached Luke’s chest. I ran. And I never looked back again.”
 
I heaved a deep sigh. It was a pathetic and bitter memory.
 
“That’s the end of the story. I survived, but it’s more like I was allowed to escape. It wasn’t because I had any strength.”
 
A heavy silence fell over the place. But as Sophia had said, I felt like something that had been stuck in me was gone. I didn’t feel too bad.
 
After a while, I turned to Leonard.
 
“You talk too, Leonard. Honestly, I don’t remember you being in the volunteer army, but you fought on the same battlefield, right?”
 
“I didn’t fight.”
 
Leonard said with a hard face.
 
“What? I heard you came back alive from Malica?”
 
I thought he was different, the man who came back from Malica, and he was even rumored among adventurers.
 
“That’s not a lie. I did come back from Malica. Before the battle started. I ran away without fighting, because I got scared.”
 
Suddenly I felt angry. This guy had been lying. As if he knew that battlefield, as if he was a seasoned adventurer.
 
Sophia and Nina also looked surprised, not knowing this.
 
“Don’t mess with me! Who would team up with a bastard like you?! Shameless!”
 
I stood up from my chair and tried to push Leonard, but my hand was caught.
 
“I know. I’m a bastard and shameless. So, Efsei. What are you? What are you doing now? Why are you here?”
 
“Wha-!?”
 
I tried to shake off Leonard’s hand gripping my arm, but instead, I was pinned down with strong force.
 
“You said you were allowed to escape, right? Is that all? What did Luke die for when he let you escape? To push back the Demon King’s army for about five years, and that’s it?”
 
“…What do you know? You who ran away from there.”
 
“Who knows? Maybe I understand, maybe I don’t. But that doesn’t matter. I ran away. It irritates me constantly like a pebble in my shoe. Until I do something about it, I can’t move forward. You understand that, don’t you, Efsei?”
 
Leonard’s words dug deep into my heart.
 
“…What are you planning to do, Leonard?”
 
“I’m going to kill Belzera. Help me, Efsei. I want to make it as if I never ran away that day.”

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