The Former Hero Begins to be Re-evaluated

“No. Go back.”

When she said she wanted to make a request to me, I thought there might be some great compensation.

Well, of course, the compensation Ria was offering me might be considered great in a way, but it wasn’t particularly attractive compensation to me.

What would I do with the body of a kid like you…

In the end, I couldn’t accept the request.

The negotiation failed, I told Ria to go back.

“You might really regret it. I’ll definitely become a great beauty when I grow up… It’s not a lie.”

“Then come back then.”

“Ah… don’t be like that. Please listen to my request just once.”

However, Ria was persistently trying to entrust me with the request somehow.

She tried her best to persuade me.

She tried throwing a tantrum, and even tried to show her body.

She desperately tried to hire me.

“I’m going to do farming. Go ask someone else besides me.”

But no matter how much she tried, I had no intention of listening to her request without proper compensation.

I’ve just wasted time…

I expressed my refusal once again and tried to leave.

The break time was about to end soon. I had to quickly go back to farming.

It was when I was about to pass by Ria and leave the house first.

“Hero. If you don’t listen to my request, I’ll tell everyone in the village that you were a hero.”

Ria started speaking as if she was a little angry seeing me like this.

Is she trying to threaten me now?

“You were hiding your identity, right? You probably don’t want it to be known… Wouldn’t it be troublesome for you if you treat me like this?”

Ria spoke as if telling me not to ignore her, as if she was holding my weakness.

She said if I don’t listen to her request now, she would reveal all of this.

“Go ahead.”

Playing around a bit, and now you’re crossing the line?

I snorted at Ria’s words.

This little girl has already learned bad things…

I coldly told her that I didn’t care at all.

“What?”

Ria was flustered at my reaction, as if she hadn’t expected it at all.

Well, did she think I would obediently listen to any request if she threatened me like that?

If she thought so, I think she considered me too much of a pushover.

“I don’t care whether it’s revealed or not. You can do as you like, whether you tell or not. Of course, it would be quite annoying for me.”

I told Ria clearly. Go ahead and really do it.

Well, of course, as Ria said, it wasn’t that there would be no impact on me if she revealed my identity.

As someone who wanted to live peacefully here, I didn’t want my identity to be revealed.

If she spoke, it was certain that I would become somewhat annoyed against my wishes.

But I didn’t mind if she told.

“But you should be prepared. I’m not a hero anymore as you said. I don’t have any obligation to do you a favor. If you provoke me carelessly and can’t handle it, I won’t be responsible, okay? If you can handle it, go ahead and try.”

Ria’s behavior of trying to use me by threatening me was quite unpleasant to me.

So I spoke to her with considerable threat.

It would be annoying, but I will make sure she pays the price for annoying me.

I’m already in a bad mood after being exiled from the Empire, you know?

Moreover, I’m no longer a hero. I didn’t have any sense of duty not to harm civilians as a hero.

So I hope she doesn’t think I’ll ever go easy on her.

I’ll make sure she knows what happens if she messes with me.

“…”

At my threat, Ria was silent for a moment.

She just stared at me silently, and then, as if she finally understood the situation, she burst into tears.

“… Waaah… I’m sorry. I was too hasty. There’s no one else who can help me except you, Hero… I’m sorry… I won’t do it again… Waaah.”

Ria apologized to me while crying.

Saying that she was wrong.

She apologized for trying to threaten me.

“Sigh.”

Seeing that, I let out a sigh.

I got quite angry and upset at Ria’s words, but after all, she was still a young little kid.

What’s the point of a grown adult getting seriously angry at such a child?

Right… well, a young child could do that.

In the end, I decided to let go of my anger.

“I’ll listen to your story for now, why on earth do you need my power?”

And, I felt like listening to the story once.

No… what on earth does she want to request, to be doing this?

It doesn’t seem like she’s trying to ask for something simple…

It wouldn’t be bad to listen once.

#

‘Let’s see the skills of the hero party.’

The demon beast swinging its huge tentacles threateningly.

Nepenthes is not an easy demon beast.

Herald, as someone who has experience fighting nepenthes while leading the knight order, knows how dangerous that demon beast is.

However, that’s only by the standards of the knight order, it’s a different story when it comes to the hero party.

Isn’t the hero party created to face strong enemies like the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon Lord in the first place?

For such people, nepenthes would not even be a meal.

That’s what Herald thought.

“Kyaa…! Help me.”

“Ayla. I’ll help you right now. Aack!!!”

“I’ll just blast it away.”

But, the current situation was a bit very strange.

The hero party was struggling.

It was just one nepenthes, but they couldn’t handle it properly.

They kept allowing attacks from the nepenthes, couldn’t attack properly, and were just being dragged around.

Their appearance was too much to be called a veteran hero party that had traveled for over a year.

Isn’t it like the appearance of novices in battle?

Why is the hero party showing such novice-like appearance in battle…

“Huff huff… We defeated it.”

“Thank goodness. It was an unexpectedly formidable enemy.”

Of course, the result wasn’t bad.

The party members worked together and barely managed to defeat the nepenthes.

The result can’t be said to be bad.

But, still, it absolutely couldn’t be praised. Because the process was so seriously bad.

This is a hero party?

They only faced one nepenthes, but all 4 party members were extremely exhausted.

It’s no exaggeration to say they used almost all their power to defeat that.

Again, it was just a nepenthes.

For the hero party to struggle this much against such a nepenthes, it could only be a ridiculous thing.

‘Clearly, their individual abilities are excellent… but what on earth is this party?’

But there was something even more ridiculous.

It was because it wasn’t that they were weak or anything like that.

Their individual abilities were clearly excellent. Their talents were so outstanding that even talented knights couldn’t dare to match them.

Herald has experience leading many knights as the Knight Commander.

From Herald’s perspective, the potential of the hero party members is at an absurd level just by looking.

Saint, Elf, Beastkin, Mage, the skills and potential each of them use were more than enough to be called a hero party.

Yet they were so weak.

‘Their way of leading the battle is too terrible.’

That problem would undoubtedly be experience.

When watching the party members fight, Herald immediately sensed it.

They don’t use skills at the right time and place.

Moreover, the party members don’t move organically, and waste power unnecessarily.

As if they’re not used to battle, there were many unnecessary movements, and they couldn’t make quick situational judgments.

Compared to their very excellent talents, their ability to utilize them was really terrible.

As someone with experience leading the knight order, Herald could see all the flaws of the party members.

‘This is too strange…’

Herald was really thoroughly disappointed after seeing the party members’ skills.

Herald’s gaze looking at the party members was already beyond cold, it was dead.

Until now, Herald had accompanied them believing only in the party members’ combat abilities.

Even if they couldn’t cook or set up tents, and didn’t know the geography of the demon realm, he endured thinking their combat abilities would surely be tremendous.

But now, even that important combat ability is very poor?

At this point, Herald was beyond angry, he was curious.

“Party members, good work. However, I have something to ask.”

Then why do they have no experience?

As far as Herald knew, the hero and hero party were said to have defeated high-ranking demons up to the Four Heavenly Kings together.

But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem possible with these party members?

Let alone the Four Heavenly Kings, if they struggle this much with a nepenthes, they wouldn’t be able to properly catch even one high-ranking demon.

So he had no choice but to question the party members.

“What question…?”

At Herald’s words, the party members tilted their heads.

They still had expressions as if they didn’t know what was wrong with them.

“By any chance, do you have proper fighting experience as a hero party until now?”

Herald asked directly.

Have the party members of the hero party really been active properly until now?

It was a problem that had to be confirmed.