I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

48 – 48. Fires of Trials

“This is a bit harsh. Was it like this?”

Alfred smiled and looked down at his ground.

The ground was burning red, and people’s screams could be heard from everywhere.

“There’s no way I called out a goby like you for nothing. So what do you plan to do?”

“Yeah… even if you ask me what I plan to do, I don’t have much to say.”

Shion, who was observing the ground together, sat lightly on Alfred’s shoulder.

This was a village adjacent to the elves’ territory.

Of course, it’s like hell in the present world.

Did a monster invade this place?

Or are the demons plundering?

If you ask me which of the two, it’s neither.

It was knights in armor, not monsters or demons, who set fire to the village.

They are also trained knights from a certain kingdom.

The knights who fought in the past shouting the overthrow of the demon lord.

“This is just tail-cutting, the real thing hasn’t even started yet. And I can’t do anything to interfere with these things one by one.”

In just one month, more than a dozen villages were burnt down like this.

Outside, it is known that the village was wiped out due to the mass appearance of monsters, but in reality, the knights stepped forward to eliminate any remaining witnesses.

But that wasn’t the reason Shion called Alfred here.

It is common for villages to burn down.

It was also not difficult to find the death of hundreds and thousands of innocent people.

However, I haven’t seen anything like that.

Alfred saw knights fighting with swords in front of him.

There were some talented elves hiding here, but those knights cut down those elves without difficulty and brought complete destruction to the village.

“It’s really a pity, to have to watch my own people die like this.”

“What is the pity of a grandmother who neglects her direct descendants?”

Alfred smiled and told me not to say anything that wasn’t in my heart.

It was Zion who left the world because he was fed up with his own people.

There was no way I would say something like that now.

“Ignoring it, we call it grazing.”

“I never decided to call you that?”

“Anyway, everyone has a secret about their birth, I guess, that child is like that too.”

“…I’m so glad my grandmother wasn’t my paternal grandmother.”

Alfred said with a deep sigh.

“Are you sure you can leave the baby alone? You have a vague idea of what will happen there?”

“It’s none of my business what happens there, it’s Grandma Clen’s job to deal with. Besides, if I step in and finish it in the first place, nothing will change? Of course, if you call me, I will run to help.”

Shion also asked Alfred, puzzled.

It seemed like they were predicting what was about to happen there.

However, it does not come forward to solve the problem.

“That’s a task. It’s like an ordeal you have to overcome so that you can confirm your confidence in the path you’ve taken and your belief in yourself.”

I was always able to sort things out if needed.

However, that alone is not a fundamental solution.

At least since she is a hero.

If you want to keep moving forward as a hero without knowing what awaits you at the end, you should never step forward.

If she gave up being a warrior, her story might be different, but Alfred knew better than anyone else that she couldn’t.

“It’s me, I don’t care what happens to either side, but what about grandma? Are you just watching?”

“I did my job a long time ago. All that remains now is to watch out of impatience.”

Shion took out some wine from somewhere and savored it.

“…I feel sorry for him.”

The name of this wine is Vampire Tears.

“Would you like a drink?”

Shion suggested wine to Alfred.

“No? I’m still a minor in terms of demon age.”

“…Are you serious?”

Shion was dumbfounded by the reply, but Alfred lay down with his back to the moon, closing his eyes as if he were taking a nap.

Instead of a bed, she put herself on a cloud.

“Besides, they will call me in the end, but would you use it if you were drunk and turned into a whimper? Where is a savior as trustworthy, reliable, and wonderful as I am?”

“It would make more sense for the demon king to buy cakes for the orphanage children.”

“Do you need a stake? No matter how much grandma says such harsh things to me, she just doesn’t get over it.”

“Please do not hesitate. I’ll trust you to take care of the rest. I am preparing to receive guests.”

“Yes, I hope to meet a kidnapper in a deserted alleyway.”

And then Zion suddenly disappeared.

Alfred, left alone, quietly started counting in his mind.

‘One dwarf, two dwarves, three dwarves…”

When the number starting from 1 grows, will she call herself?

I wanted to see her face if possible, so I wanted her to call me soon.

†††

“Are you telling me to believe that right now? But no one else, much less the demon king swung that sword?”

“…”

Clen reacted in disbelief, but she knew that Arcel couldn’t lie.

That reaction just wasn’t something that could be faked.

Arcel showed fear as she caught her breath.

A nightmare you will never forget.

It was a response from the fear that was imprinted on my soul and I couldn’t let it go.

“I guess we should stop the auction first.”

“…No, there is no need for that. Anyway, the guy fell down. He no longer remains in the world. Besides, didn’t they say that the bidders were already decided?”

Clen tried to stop her auction right away, but Arcel shook her hand and stopped her.

She was very surprised the moment she saw the sword, but that’s all.

The devil has long since fallen, and nightmares are, after all, nightmares, like a midsummer night’s dream, just a piece of memory that doesn’t exist.

There was no need to ruin reality because of nightmares.

“Still, I guess I need to look more closely, but I thought that the holy sword could only be wielded by warriors… How could the demon king use that sword?”

Maybe it’s not something that only warriors can use.

“…Is that really a holy sword?”

Arcel said, sitting back in her chair.

It definitely looks like a holy sword from the outside.

I didn’t look closely when I fought the demon king in the past, but seeing it left alone like that, it definitely looks like a holy sword.

There is no particular reason.

It looked like a holy sword for the simple reason that it was as beautiful and shiny as a holy sword.

“Of course. The same power as the magical power possessed by past warriors resides in that sword. Like the holy sword, the fact that it is a sword made of an unknown metal is also the same.”

Of course, as it is a product to be put up for auction, it was judged to be a holy sword after a meticulous examination.

“Where was that sword?”

“I don’t know the details either. I only heard that I had found the holy sword and ordered it to be brought. But I heard they found it somewhere on the Cliffs of Eternity.”

A cliff that once you fall into it, you will fall forever.

It is a cliff that is rumored to say that those who fall there can never come back.

According to Alfred’s story, it was also the place where the 17th hero took his own life.

It is said that after the 17th hero defeated the demon king, he stabbed himself with a holy sword and threw himself down an endless cliff.

“Then is that really a holy sword…”

However, a few questions remain.

The demon king drew that sword when he fought Arcel.

However, after Arcel defeated the demon lord, he no longer held the sword, and even if he found it, it would be correct to find it somewhere in the demon castle.

But I found it not near the castle, but on that strange cliff.

There are still a lot of contradictions, but just hearing the story makes it seem like the holy sword has a foot attached to it.

How can the holy sword go to the cliff of eternity?

[Oh! Guest number 19, 500 million pounds! Guest 77 £600m! Guest number 19 800 million pounds! Customer number 77 is 1 billion pounds!]

In this way, the price of the auction went up endlessly.

Obviously, it started with 100 million pounds, but it has increased more than 5 times and increased to 10 times before I knew it.

Even there, it doesn’t end there, it continues to rise.

“…The price is skyrocketing endlessly.”

“Anyway, it’s a holy sword that the hero used, so it’s natural. It’s a bit surprising that the demon king used it, but if it is known, the price will go up even more.”

No matter how great the holy sword is, it was a legendary sword, but I couldn’t believe that it was worth that price.

Furthermore, according to the records, I heard that each holy sword has a slight difference in ability.

Although not very well known, the holy sword used by the 17th hero is said to have the power not only to cut and dissipate mana, but also to absorb it.

Of course, that alone is not the end.

Even Arsel hadn’t yet grasped the full power of his holy sword, Mystel.

[Customer number 77 £10 billion!]

“I’m asking just in case, but I can’t believe that customer number 77.”

“Of course he is my agent. So, you can easily call that amount of money. Of course, it’s not unreasonable to pay more than me.”

Smart clean, saying that it is still relaxed.

In the first place, it didn’t matter how much the price went up.

Clen is not the only wealthy demon, but Clen is the only demon who is rich and has both strength and an auction house.

[Customer No. 77 100 Billion pounds! Nothing more! It easily surpassed the previous highest auction price of 82.4 Billion pounds!]

“My God… what kind of money is that?”

Arsel was shocked and asked Clen.

Considering that 1 kg of gold is around £50 million, that is an unbelievable price.

That’s how the auction price seemed to stop at £100 billion.

Of course, the Holy Sword is a sword that is well worth it.

However, it is the Holy Sword that cannot be directly used against demons, and is even dangerous if handled incorrectly.

In other words, the demons want to buy a sword that they cannot use and that is just a decoration for that amount of money.

It wasn’t his money, but Arcel, feeling strangely uncomfortable, pointed his forehead.

“What are you so surprised about? That’s only a fraction of what I have. It’s too early to be surprised.”

“…When the Demon King’s army was right in front of us, a wealthy nobleman gave up fighting and tried to escape at night with all his possessions. Then, when I was caught by soldiers at the border, I heard that the amount was 10 billion pounds.”

But as Clen said it was too early to be surprised, the auction price did not end there.

“One trillion pounds.”

“What?!”

The eyes of Clen and all the demons in the auction house were focused on one place.

[Yes, yes?! What did you just say…]

“They said 1 trillion pounds.”

A man covered in a robe said that as he raised his hand.

[Customer #53… 1, 1 Trillion pounds! One trillion pounds is out!]

The presenter’s voice trembled at the enormous amount of money.

“What kind of joke is this?”

For a while, it seemed that the auction hall was silent, but Clen’s angry voice broke the silence.

“No. 53 Is a demon I know. According to the list, they are demons who form a small family in the periphery. But in a family like that, you can’t pay that kind of money. You even have a strange smell mixed in.”

Clen looked very upset.

That’s because, beyond simply deceiving himself, he dared to deceive himself and enter the territory.

“Did you think you could fool me to the end if you only deceived the shell?”

That’s a human, not a demon.

If it was usual, you would have noticed right away that there were humans hiding in this auction house.

But that man wasn’t the only human here, and the human Arcel was right next to him.

That’s why the smell of humans passing by his nose seemed to be just Arcel at first.

“Why do you do that, demons? Didn’t they say making a fuss during the auction was forbidden?”

“I am the owner of this land. Does that mean order is me? That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

The demons nearby moved away from the man.

Soon after, soldiers appear and surround the man.

“Calm down, of course I am not a demon like you. I have a trillion pounds of money.”

“It’s not even worth listening to anymore, kill it now.”

When Clen’s orders are given, the soldiers point their spears at the man.

Just before the sharp spears stab the man.

Quaaang!!!

“Kuu! This-“

“You bastard…”

Clen’s eyes became bloody.

The sound of a huge explosion came from outside the auction house.

It was a roar like thunder.

It didn’t end just once, but two, three times.

At the same time, Clen felt that many of the Watchers had disappeared.

Of course, this was not an accident, but a terrorist attack.

“…If it’s the heads of all the demons here, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

The man said with an eerie grin.