The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

5 – The Second Hero (4)

While coincidentally reading the newspaper in the village, I couldn’t help but be astonished.

The hero that the Empire expelled me for and newly recruited is just Herald?

No matter how I think about it, this is logically absurd.

“I had a friendly match with Herald before.”

I know how much power Herald has.

Because I fought against him in the past.

When I was active as a hero, Herald requested a friendly match saying he wanted to learn from me.

It was bothersome, but I couldn’t refuse when a knight commander of the elderly who had a certain reputation in the Empire demanded it.

And that’s how the friendly match started.

During that process, it may have seemed like I was being pushed back at first glance, but it was only because I was going easy on him.

After all, if something went wrong while sincerely facing an elderly person over 60, who would take the responsibility?

Naturally, I had no choice but to go easy on him.

“The result ended in a draw.

In the Earth I used to live on, respecting the elderly was a fundamental aspect of Korean culture. It wasn’t like Harold had done anything wrong, and he worked hard as the commander of the empire’s knights. Giving his pride a boost wouldn’t hurt.

So, I approached the match with a fair attitude, and it ended in a draw. I found satisfaction in that outcome.

Seeing Harold, elated from his victory in battle, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had planted some unnecessary delusions. But did it really matter?

After all, Harold was soon to retire as a knight. Knights, with their confidence and arrogance, could sometimes be their own downfall. I didn’t deliberately slack off in our duel, but I didn’t pay much attention to such things, knowing he would retire soon.

‘Why on earth did they turn Harold into a hero?’

But looking at the current situation, something seemed off. Did Harold mistakenly believe he was as strong as me? Was that why he applied to become a hero?

I felt bewildered by Harold becoming a hero, and the Empire’s decision to accept it baffled me even more. More than that, what was the Empire even doing? How blind were they to turn a sixty-year-old man into a hero? Where did Harold even display hero potential?

*Sigh*…

Of course, even without Harold, there was no one to replace him as a hero. By the time I left the Empire, none of their knights could possibly stand against the Demon King.

But even so, Harold couldn’t be the right choice.

Wasn’t he just an old man who knew a bit about swordsmanship?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why they made such an old man a hero. Even if the possibility was almost nonexistent, it shouldn’t be entirely ruled out.

If Harold were sent to the Demon King’s castle, the chances of victory would be practically 0%.

Did the Empire intend to fail completely? I couldn’t help but wonder.

‘Enough. Why do I even care? It’s none of my business.’

I decided to stop caring. Although I kept hearing news about the Empire, it had nothing to do with me now.

Whether the Empire defeated the Demon King and prospered or failed miserably, it didn’t concern me at all.

Of course, judging by the way things were going, the latter was highly likely, but did I have any reason to save the Empire?

There was absolutely none.

In fact, I might even look forward to its downfall.”

I covered the newspaper while thinking about that. When I looked outside, it had become completely dark night. I should probably start sleeping soon if I want to work in the fields with the villagers tomorrow. It was just the moment when I was about to fall asleep, lying on the bed. Knock, knock. Who could it be at this hour? I heard the sound of someone knocking on the door from outside. It was quite late at night, who on earth could have come to see me? Was it the village chief? I couldn’t quite guess who it could be, but I should go out and see first. I got up from the bed and went to the door. And I opened the door. “Huh…? Who are you? That time. That.” When I opened the door, I saw a slightly unexpected face. It was the girl who had been watching me from a distance when the village chief introduced me to the villagers earlier. The girl had come to our house now. What was her name again? The village chief just introduced her as a child that he was taking care of at the church, I should have asked for her name. What should I call her… “My name is Ria. Hello. I’m sorry for coming so late at night.” When I had a slightly uncomfortable expression, the girl said her name first. Ria introduced herself with a slightly trembling voice. “I see. So your name is Ria. What brings you to our house?” I greeted Ria appropriately, and now we got to the point. Why did this girl named Ria come to see me in the middle of the night? Well, it’s not like she came because she fell in love with me at first sight or anything like that. I waited for Ria’s answer, and I could hear a slightly surprising response. “Oppa. Are you the hero?” “Huh…?” It seemed that the girl named Ria knew something about me. What could she be that she knows about my identity?

The party members who will only be together for a short time to defeat the Demon King are still party members who need to be together.

As a knight commander for decades, Herald, who has led groups, knows the importance of relationships better than anyone.

“Ahahahaha. The alcohol here is really good, isn’t it?”

“This is a bar we often go to, we are regulars here.”

In the drinking party organized by Herald, they exchanged quite a lot of stories with each other.

They were party members who drank alcohol and happily shared various stories, from trivial matters to important ones related to the hero’s party, with Herald.

Of course, there was a generation gap for Herald to understand since all the members of the hero’s party were in their early 20s while he was in his 60s.

There were slightly awkward moments for Herald, but it wasn’t that bad.

He felt like he had taken one step closer to being a party member through this drinking party.

‘They are not bad party members.’

Herald looked at the party members and thought that they were not bad because they treated him as a hero.

He was worried that they wouldn’t acknowledge him because of the previous hero, Lee Hansu, but that wasn’t a problem.

In that aspect, he considered himself lucky.

The girls didn’t seem to have any hostility and didn’t seem to have bad personalities.

Of course, at first, the party members were a bit cautious of Herald, but even they treated him well when Herald treated them well.

The magician named Luna still seemed unfamiliar with Herald, but she generally treated him as a hero.

Seeing that, Herald felt that they were not bad party members.

‘But Hyoyoung is quite conceited.’

However, it wasn’t that there were no problems like that.

While drinking alcohol, Herald naturally couldn’t help but notice the valuable possessions they had.

The equipment that looked extremely expensive at a glance, the armor and weapons they wore, and the accessories they had, all of them were incredibly expensive items.

Moreover, not only that, the meat and alcohol ordered at this place were also top-notch, and he heard that they often ordered these kinds of menus.

No matter how much funding the hero’s party had, Herald couldn’t help but wonder if it was okay to spend like this.

‘I don’t know about their skills, but they are not great party members to stay with for a long time. Previous hero Lee Hansu didn’t seem to have that kind of conceit…’

Thanks to that, the remaining funds of the hero’s party were almost running out.

Even though they received so much funding from the empire, Herald found it troubling that their financial situation could be in such a state.

In his heart, he wanted to manage their finances and prevent such luxury, but ultimately decided to give up.

After all, the hero’s party would disband once they defeat the Demon King.

What does it matter if there is conceit in a group that will soon have no reason to exist?

It would be better not to point out such trivial issues.

There was a chance that it would only cause discord at the party by unnecessarily pointing out things like this.

The important thing was their abilities.

“Their abilities should be sufficient. After all, they were brought by Lee Hansoo.”

For Herald, as long as the party members had abilities, it didn’t matter to him.

Whether they had a bad personality or were filled with vanity, what mattered first and foremost was their abilities.

And those abilities probably didn’t need to be evaluated by himself.

Because it seemed that it had already been proven, considering that the former hero, Lee Hansoo, had been together with them for a year.

Lee Hansoo may have failed to defeat the Demon Lord, but he had defeated all of the other Four Heavenly Kings and high-ranking demons.

Surely, the party members must have been with him throughout this process.

Even if they were soldiers with no talent, if they spent a year on the battlefield, they could only become trustworthy veteran soldiers.

Therefore, Herald decided not to evaluate their abilities unnecessarily.

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They would manage just fine on their own.

“hehehehe…”

“Phew. It’s about time for everyone to go to sleep.”

“Moo-seun, you’re making noise. I… I’m not drunk…”

Before they knew it, the drinking party had reached its peak and the party members began to leave one by one.

Herald personally carried those party members and took them to the accommodations on the second floor of the inn.

“We should leave as soon as tomorrow.”

And just like that, Herald also entered the remaining accommodations.

He had no intention of delaying.

Herald planned to leave tomorrow with the party members to where the Demon Lord was.