LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 4: Weakling Hero Party
“Is there some kind of festival going on…? The city is quite noisy.”
That was my first impression upon entering the city of Goldsmett, a place I had stopped by briefly to resupply and rest. It was big and incredibly noisy.
On the map, it was marked only as a small mining town. But this was almost comparable to a small city.
Listening to the words echoing around, people seemed excited and nervous at the same time, making me mistake it for a festival for a moment. All the words I could hear were filled with anticipation.
“I wonder how much they’ll bring this time,” “I hope they come to our store.” Most were talking as if something good was about to happen.
“Idiot, in your world, were the guards busy during festivals? It’s obvious something’s happened. They’re heading outside the walls, so it looks like some monsters are coming. Or did your precious blessing tell you something else? At least to my ears, all I hear is a bald guy shouting louder than a pig being slaughtered.”
But after hearing Akash’s sharp remark piercing my eardrums, it did seem strange to call it a festival.
…Well, it’s true that something resembling guards would be active during a festival. But they wouldn’t be moving around fully armed like this.
“It doesn’t seem like a festival. It looks more like they’re preparing for a repulsion battle or an invasion by external enemies.”
Yuna, unusually, agreed with Akash, saying it didn’t seem like a festival. By the way, if such a large force was mobilized, what was coming?
And why were there excited voices? Leaving these difficult questions behind, I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to fulfill my original purpose.
If that many people were mobilized, I wouldn’t be of much use anyway.
“I’m sorry! The Adventurer’s Guild is temporarily closed! If you need to deal with rank-related matters or use the guild’s facilities, please come back in about an hour… Wait a minute, that mark, and that strangely shaped weapon… Could it be, are you the Hero from Collucia?”
The Adventurer’s Guild was also strange.
Despite being a fairly remote branch, it was as luxurious as any kingdom’s branch, and inside, adventurers of at least silver to gold rank were carrying weapons, creating a tense atmosphere.
“…It seems the Adventurer’s Guild is not unrelated to the events outside. What on earth is coming…?”
Yuna whispered softly, expressing her doubts. It was true that we had encountered many fierce monsters on our way here. It wouldn’t be strange if there were some that attacked civilian homes.
…But still. Usually, wouldn’t the guards be insufficient in such a case? Are the guards here each equivalent to a quasi-gold rank?
While my doubts grew, for some reason, I answered the heavily armed receptionist’s question.
“Yes, although I’m lacking, I am called by the title of Hero. This is Yuna, the archer, and this is…”
“The greatest blessing that the heavens have bestowed upon the earth, the unprecedented genius, Akash. Not the original, but screw the dead main body.”
“…Anyway… Yes. That’s right.”
His ego was as high as the sky, even though he couldn’t properly cast a single spell without his grimoire.
“Myo…ng…ho? Mi…young…ho…? Hmm, it’s hard to pronounce… Can I call you Hero-nim?”
“As you wish.”
“Thank you! Anyway, Hero-nim. We need your help. Soon, something tremendous will arrive at the Adventurer’s Guild, and we need you to prepare for the ‘worst-case scenario’ along with the people here. We’ll definitely pay you!”
Worst-case scenario? Something seemed to take shape, but it was still unclear. Still, if they were going to pay, there was no need to refuse.
“Yes, I’ll help.”
In the country that summoned me… they were a bit stingy with me.
In this world, ‘Hero summoning’ was not uncommon. In the long and short past, when humanity was threatened by the demon race, the goddess pitied humans and bestowed upon them the Hero summoning ritual.
As is common in such fantasy worlds, the summoned Hero defeated the demon king. But here a problem arises. The ritual bestowed by the goddess still worked even after the demon king was dead.
I had fallen asleep as if collapsing while attempting a speedrun challenge of an old game, and when I woke up, I was so surprised to see a beautiful woman who looked exhausted.
For that reason, kingdoms or large city-states had at least one Hero. Although they were qualitatively inferior to the first Hero, to the point where they should be called mercenaries rather than Heroes.
So, the blessings and power that should have been concentrated on one person were divided among many, making them weaker.
Anyway, when a Hero is summoned from another world, they receive some benefits, such as an increase in basic physical abilities and a basic understanding of magic.
In this world’s terms, the body is basically silver rank 3, and the understanding of magic is 3 circles. Compared to ordinary people, it’s outstanding, but it’s far from being called a Hero.
However, the ‘blessing’ and the holy sword that comes with it were the reasons why a Hero was called a Hero.
The blessing could determine the usefulness of the Hero.
Heroes with blessings like invincibility from the sun or the ability to create a blade-sharp wind that could tear skin were revered as national heroes.
Me?
The blessing I received was, incredibly, the ‘blessing of language.’ It was a blessing that allowed me to understand any language and convey my intentions to any living creature. The form of my holy sword was a large brush, fitting for such a blessing.
It’s good if you look at it that way… but Heroes are usually summoned to fight. Not to negotiate or bargain.
Moreover, the country that summoned me was a not-so-wealthy island nation, so I received very little support and was effectively exiled under the guise of ‘training.’
Well, that’s why I’m in this state. As I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, the guild door suddenly burst open.
And a girl as beautiful as a goddess walked in from outside.
Horns, a tail, sharp claws, and vertically slit pupils that clearly indicated she was not human. Attractively tanned brown skin.
It was a girl wearing clothes that made you question whether she intended to cover herself and a cape with fur attached for some unknown reason.
“…That’s, I’ve only heard of it in rumors. A half dragon… I never thought I’d see one in person.”
Even the noisy and annoying Akash became serious, so it was clear that she was something special. But I didn’t know what a half dragon was.
“…Akash. Sorry to interrupt your admiration, but what’s a half dragon?”
“This is why ignorant fools… Listen carefully, kid. You know what a dragon is, right?”
He’s showing a rare side of himself today. I nodded and quietly waited for Akash’s explanation.
“Good. Then it’ll be easier to explain. Dragons received power from the gods, but they also inherited their duties. And the gods gave them a way to play so they wouldn’t go crazy from boredom while working. This is the game that storytellers love so much. Hiding their appearance and identity, they mingle among the lesser beings. But there’s one rule to the game. Just one rule.”
“…What is it?”
As expected of the know-it-all Akash, he told me as soon as I asked.
“Clean up your own shit.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Explain it so I can understand.”
“Stupid idiot. You have the blessing of language, and you can’t even understand a metaphor? It means that when you’re done playing, you clean up what you made during the game. If you made a merchant company, that company, if you made a noble family, that family, if you made a country, that country. Don’t leave your mark on this world. And this is why half dragons are special.”
“…Sorry, I’d appreciate it if you could explain that reason too.”
“Fuck. Why did I agree to go with this moron? The underground prison would’ve been better. I told you to clean up your own shit, right? That includes family and children. A child who inherited such strong dragon traits is practically killed as soon as they’re born. Because it’s harder to kill them later. Surviving those odds means they killed their dragon parent and survived. To put it in terms you’d understand, they’re fucking strong.”
I see. I listened to his explanation half-heartedly while taking in the girl’s appearance. Is that the tremendous being the receptionist mentioned? She’s too pretty for that.
Despite Akash’s enthusiastic explanation, I didn’t think the girl had that much power. Rumors tend to be exaggerated.
And Akash wasn’t exactly a trustworthy person.
“Akash, please speak a little more politely. Aren’t you bothered by the way people are looking at you?”
“Oh, I don’t give a damn. They all look like monkeys to me anyway. Hey you, what are you staring at? Got a problem? Then you should’ve learned something.”
Ignoring Yuna’s actions as she punched Akash to stop him from picking fights with everyone around, I watched what the girl was doing.
She took out a lot of things from a sack and handed them to the receptionist, who then tallied them up and handed the girl a hefty sum of gold coins.
The receptionist, who spoke to the girl in a childlike manner befitting her language level, visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief as soon as the girl left.
“…Everyone, good work! The auction will begin in 10 minutes, so those who wish to participate, please stay. First, please collect your service fee!”
The suffocating atmosphere from before was gone, and the place became noisy again, as is typical of any Adventurer’s Guild.
The service fee I received was a whopping 1 gold. It was a large sum for just standing around doing nothing.
Normally, I would have booked a guild-affiliated lodging, but it didn’t seem necessary right now.
That’s right, I wanted to keep an eye on that girl for now. I didn’t know why.
“…Yuna, that’s enough. Let’s follow that girl from earlier.”
“How can an archer be this strong… Didn’t you hear me? I said she’s incredibly strong! Strong enough to split a Hero in half, you know? Hey, hey! Augh…”
Taking Akash’s opinion into consideration, I decided to observe from a distance. As I left the guild, I noticed that others were also following her.
“What? Are you guys after her too? Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve already claimed her!”
“By her, do you mean the half dragon?”
“Yeah, who else would I be talking about? It’s hilarious how everyone’s scared of a girl who looks so weak, isn’t it? But that heart is real… As a man, shouldn’t you aim for it? Hey, don’t you agree? Jake.”
“…Uh, I don’t think this is a good idea, Finn. Is it really okay…? I heard rumors that she completely folded even a gold rank in half…!”
“Psh, that’s just rumors. How could a girl like that have any strength?”
Judging by their attire, the one called Finn seemed like a conceited noble’s son, and Jake looked like a mage who had just come out of a magic tower. They were both silver rank.
“Yeah, yeah. If you’re born a man, you should have that much ambition! Right. Of course.”
“This guy gets it! Then I’m off, nobodies! You there, I’ll give you a line or two when Lord Finn writes his autobiography later, so consider yourself honored!”
Seemingly emboldened by Akash’s ill-natured encouragement, Finn and Jake’s group overtook us by a large margin and approached the guards surrounding the girl.
“…I’m curious to see how those idiots will end up.”
…It seemed like I had another reason to follow that girl.
To see how much power she had, and in case those guys tried to kill her or she tried to kill them, I would intervene.
It felt a bit like using them as bait, but it would be a great lesson.
With that thought, I followed Finn and Jake.