Is this Hero for Real?

[Act 4] Karma

Essopresso.

The fairy lady with the name meaning ‘lovely spring showers’ in the ancient language of fairies was going through primitive treatment.

“Ow.”

“I’m almost done putting on the ointment. Please bear with me a little longer.”

“…”

The ointment the doctor was putting on was only relieving the pain of her current wounds.

The scars that covered her body couldn’t be erased with magic, nor could the dignity that had been cut off with her ears be healed…

“Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“…”

Only the miracle of the Saintess that could revive the dead could return her body back to normal.

But that was just false hope.

There was no chance a noble Saintess, with only two existing in the world, would grant a miracle to a mere fairy who wasn’t even part of the Royal Family.

“Rest. We will capture that human at all costs, so do not worry.”

“…”

Essopresso did not thank the doctor silently leaving the room.

Although the culprit who had made her body into ruins was the chief of the village, the villagers who only sat back and watched were no different.

They might even be considered accomplices.

Maybe they had all shut their mouths and pretended they didn’t know anything as things took a turn…

Knock knock.

“…Who is it?”

Essopresso flinched, trembling at the knocking that broke her train of thought.

It was because she could still see the chief walking through the door of the basement whenever she closed her eyes.

“Essopresso, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Essopresso let her companion in to visit.

They didn’t meet in their hometowns. It was only the sense of companionship that resulted from sharing pain together inside that wretched basement.

There were many other fairies besides that one that she could call a companion; there used to be even more, but they all left her side one by one as they were cajoled like toys by the chief.

“It seems the village mercenaries lost him.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because he’s the one who saved us…”

“It’s the humans’ problem. There’s no need for us to care.”

“But he saved us from the chief’s evil hands…”

Essopresso shot back at her companion’s timid argument.

“Then what about the Princess’s dagger that human was holding?”

“Th-that’s…” 

She cried out with confidence to her wavering companion.

“Do you want to be fooled again?! Humans are beasts who shouldn’t be trusted…!”

“But Essopresso, he saved us…”

“That’s why I’m keeping my mouth shut, can’t you see? Did we tell them to kill him? It’s the beasts fighting amongst each other.”

“You’re calling them beasts…”

Although she had lost her beloved husband in front of her eyes, she didn’t detest all humans like Essopresso.

But like Essopresso, every single fairy turned their backs to their hero.

For one reason…

“Essopresso, was that dagger really the Princess’s?”

“Yes. I’m certain of it. I may look like this now, but in the past, I was chosen from my looks alone to work in the Palace. Thanks to that, I had a lot of chances to see the Princess, so just trust me.”

“Alright…”

“Are you still in doubt? Then think about the conversation the chief had with him.”

“He said he murdered the Princess and stole the dagger…”

“That’s right.”

Essopresso was finally satisfied after seeing her companion agree.

Just then—

Bang!

—the door burst open as a scrawny elf walked into the room.

There was no doubt Essopresso was not in good shape, but it was incomparable to the fairy that just entered.

“Essopresso! Just what are you doing!”

“Councilwoman Celebless, how are you feeling?”

“Just answer my questio-kirk..!”

The fairy, having moved too much, barely held on to the wall just before she collapsed. 

Celebless…

A fairy from the Royal Family with her name meaning ‘Sacred Sun’ in the ancient fairy language.

She was chief Crimson’s favorite toy, as she was immortal, despite being a collateral line of the Royal Family. 

Because of that, she was also confined there the longest.

“Calm down, Councilwoman.”

“Calm down?! How dare you speak of calming down in this situatio-kirk…”

“We’re safe now. It will be all over once our motherland knows of this.”

The humans in this town were also suspicious.

The first thing Essopresso planned to do when she returned to her motherland was report the village.

—For the true end of things.

“Just what are you saying is over?! Nothing is over! Nothing…!” 

“Calm yourself.”

“…He let me free even though he could’ve escaped by himself.”

“He was going for your immortal lifespan. Subdue your anger and look at this situation with a cool mind.”

“Ha…!”

Celebless leaned on the cold wall and recalled the incident with closed eyes.

Kang Hansoo, at his wit’s end from chief Crimson’s black magic, had used ‘breach of contract’.

Black magic contracts…

A violation of one resulted in one losing as much as they gained.

It may seem like nothing, but the greater the cost, the greater the risk.

Like how chief Crimson lost ‘immortal lifespan’ from breaching his contract.

“Councilwoman?”

“Are you aware our savior used the black magic contract?”

“Yes. They say that a mercenary named Misa he had wagered for the contract is missing and hasn’t come back. Isn’t that suspicious?”

“…”

Celebless didn’t know what to say.

Chief Crimson ruined himself when he was lured to breach the contract because he underestimated Kang Hansoo’s lifespan.

Is what she wanted to say…

“Councilwoman Celebless. Have you calmed down?”

“…Poor Essopresso.”

“Excuse me?”

“I still remember when you were a naive, beautiful maid running around the Palace… It saddens me to think they’re just remnants of the past now.

“You.. don’t understand how I feel. The despair and humiliation I felt…!”

“Of course I don’t. How could I when I am not you?”

Celebless slowly reopened her eyes and sighed deeply.

“Who could’ve known things would turn out like this while I was asleep for a bit…”

“Go back to sleep, Councilwoman. It will all be over when you wake up.”

“Sure. Sure it will. If only I could rest in peace. I’m going to go find him.”

“C-councilwoman…?!”

To the fairies, ‘Council Women’ were adults that demanded respect.

Their intelligence, no different from living history books, let them lead their people with ease.

Of course, some councilwomen were ‘stuck-up old elders’, but Celebless was not one of them.

And if she died astray somewhere while wandering with her weakened body?

No one but the stuck-up elders would welcome the news.

“Don’t refer to me as a Councilwoman if we meet again. A short-tempered elder doesn’t deserve such merits.”

“…”

“…”

Celebless turned her backs to them and limped out of the room.

[A certain god slowly leaves the scene.]

* * *

* * *

[A certain god asks the outsider if he’s alive.]

“Can’t you tell?”

There weren’t any gnolls to take the fall that time, but instead, there was a dense forest under the cliff.

One could call it a stroke of good luck.

Good thing I had memorized the overall geography while looking for a human village.

“*$&^@*&( #&*@?

“#*@#& ##@? #(@.”

“#(@&. @*(#^.”

They were mercenaries that persistently tracked me down since the village inn.

I had no idea what they said, but they quickly retreated after they failed to find me hiding in the dense forest.

“…That was dangerous.”

Dealing with humans was much more different than gnolls with simple strategies.

If a guard friend I bought with money hadn’t opened the village entrance for me, I would have been caught immediately.

[A certain god advises you to watch your ass.]

“…my ass? Oh!”

I thought I’d landed safely, but stuck on my butt was a thick, sturdy stick.

Did I almost die?

One wrong move and I would have met a humiliating end.

[A certain god looks at you pathetically.]

“Stop looking at me! This goes down to the grave…”

“Meat! It’s meat!”

“Meat on tree! Meat!”

“Meat! Come down!”

The gnolls welcomed me with an endearing greeting as soon as I left the village.

Ironic how they were more trustworthy than the humans and fairies who attacked me out of the blue.

“…Oh! Right.” 

‘Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask these guys.’

Although I only had my tattered leather suit and blue dagger with me, I could handle a couple of gnolls.

I’ve become quite arrogant, haven’t I? I’m still a level one rookie in a fantasy world.

“Meat! Me-blech?!”

I jumped off the tree without warning and kneed the top of a gnoll’s head.

It wasn’t over just yet.

“M-kek?!”

After stepping on the fallen gnoll to regain my footing, I flung my left elbow at the fellow next to it…

“Human me-aagh?!”

And at the same time with my right hand holding the blue dagger, I lightly cut the throat of another fellow.

Drop! Drop! Drop!

Cased closed without another chance for them to say “Meat!”.

Three were easy enough.

[A certain god blearily looks at the outsider.]

“I know, right? I feel a lot more agile than before.”

Even though my belly rolls since studying hard in middle school were still the same.

Could it be that I leveled up while I wasn’t looking?

[name] Kang Hansoo

[level] 1

[blessing] outsider F

[curse] hero E

[dividend] 3.43

To my dismay, nothing had changed.

Well, except for one thing.

“Outsider God, what’s ‘dividend’ on my status window? The number keeps getting higher, little by little.”

[A certain god makes fun of you for not knowing what a dividend is.]

“I mean, I know what it means.”

The ‘dividend’ I knew of?

They were expected earnings you could get from betting money on stocks, matches, and horse racing.

[A certain god specially advises you that the higher it is, the better.]

“Thanks, I’m tearing up from gratitude.”

It wasn’t sarcasm, I meant it. That was the first time the outsider god had given me any information about this fantasy.

Anyways…

“M-meat?”

A gnoll looked around in bewilderment that it was still alive.

Of course it would. Those guys had no concept of what being captured alive was like. Not me, though.

“There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Talking meat?!”

“I really want you to answer it. You see, I’m really pissed off because of the fairies.”

“Fairy meat?”

“Yeah. Fairy meat.”

My current state was much too weak.

I didn’t think I could get my revenge even if I gathered exp to level 2.

So I thought about a probable solution.

“Will you give… Fairy meat?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow! Talking meat! Question! Question! Ask! Fairy meat! Hurry!” 

The gnoll started to get excited at the promise of fairy meat.

“Calm down.”

I slammed down on its head with full force to help it calm down.

Bam!

“I-it hurts! Bad meat!”

I ignored the whining gnoll holding its head and started my questioning.

“How do you use the gnolls’ swordsmanship that makes your hands red?”

The solution I thought of…

I wanted to learn how to use the powerful attack the chief had used at his final moment.

It’s the ‘swordsmanship of the gnolls’ that only gnolls could use, so I was fine with just imitating it. At least I’d be stronger.

“Red meat?”

“Hm…”

“It’s fresh! I like it!”

It seemed like it didn’t know.

I was disappointed at the gnoll’s random answer, but I didn’t think the chief would have lied to me at that moment.

Swordsmanship of the gnolls…

I was lacking too much information.

I mentioned its other traits as I recalled the incident.

“The thing where your eyes turn red.”

“I know! I know!”

I should have used that from the start!

The word ‘swordsmanship’ the chief used could have been from the point of view of humans.

“What do you call it?”

“Power of Meat!”

“I… I see.”

What an unexpected name. I was ashamed of myself of going back to my edgy phase to imagine a cool name.

“No fairy meat if you’re lying.”

“It’s true! Fairy meat! Now!” 

Gnolls were bad at lying, so it had to be true.

If the ‘Swordsmanship of the Gnolls’ the Chief used at his dying moment was real, then the rest was simple.

“How do you use the power of meat?”

“A lot of meat!”

“A lot?”

“You just have to be full!”

“Hmm…”

‘Humans’ eyes don’t turn red because they’re full.’

Was that why it was called Swordsmanship of the Gnolls?

But the chief used the ‘Power of Meat’ even when he hadn’t eaten anything.

He did burn out from using all of his power immediately after, though.

“Meat! Fairy! Now!”

“…you seem hungry.”

“Meat! Promise! Meat!

I did promise the gnoll fairy meat, but I wasn’t done with my questions. So it was invalid…

[A certain god emphasizes that promises are sacred.]

“Ahem! I want to see the power of meat, what do you guys usually eat?”

“Meat!”

“Sorry, that was a stupid question.”

Swordsmanship of the Gnolls..

Power of Meat…

I still didn’t have enough information.

Let’s look into the gnoll’s ecosystem for a smooth revenge.