The hero is now gone, but I’m still here, now what? (Undergoing editing)

“Okay- wait-” I wiped the sweat off of my forehead before staring Zath with a raised eyebrow, “you're telling me that somehow, what I did yesterday got onto the newspapers?” Zath's dry stare in response to what I said forced me to avert my eyes, “okay… maybe not somehow-” I knew that I didn't tell the villagers to not spread around what I did yesterday but… I… uh- also kinda didn't care- I don't know- I expected them not to? I mean, it's not like what I did is kind of a big deal…

 

I snapped back into the present, “I'm staring off into space again aren't I?”

 

My maid fixed me with a dry stare before nodding, well at least she didn’t call it out so I’m… fine now. I guess.

 

Zath sighed, “You killed an entire forest's worth of monsters.” My maid said dryly while waving the rolled up newspaper she held in her hands, I could barely see it but on the front page is a picture taken from inside the forest and from what I can see, the picture taken had a lot of monster corpses, “... since when have you been this strong?” She asked me, tone serious for once.
“I- how?” Zath asked again, expression incredulous like she couldn't believe the reality she was in, like she was still somehow stuck to the reality she had always been living in that isn't this-

 

I frowned, Goddess Zath, how hard is it to accept that I can kill an entire forest’s worth of monsters?

 

“You're staring into space again,” Zath narrowed her eyes, “and I think I know what you're thinking,”

 

‘That I'm happy for you being able to pass the entrance exam of Pledge Academy?” She narrowed her eyes at my words and I sighed, “okay, fine, throw me a bone and tell me what I'm thinking in this exact same moment, read my mind, go on.” I gestured for her to continue.

 

“First, we've been together since we were children-” I refused to meet her eyes, also, that's not a valid reason- should I say that? I should definitely say that- Zath spoke before I could, “and second, I can accept the fact that you can somehow wipe out a monster horde that needs entire armies to be dispatched alone but it is hard to believe,” I coughed into my hand and didn't lock eyes with her so her stare burned into my cheeks instead, “so… Neo,” she tapped her foot while crossing her arms, “care to tell me how you have that much power at your current age?”

 

“I- uh- I can't tell you that!” I defended loudly, hopefully my voice was enough to make Zath think twice or something but… from her stare, she was having none of it so I lowered the volume of my voice and said, “... I really can't,”

 

“I- everyone knows that you're the- you know what? Fair enough.” Zath nodded before walking forward and hugging me, “just… don't try to do that again okay?” she said with a sigh.

 

“Also, I don't know how exactly did you find out that there's a monster horde forming there- and don't say that you accidentally did because you won't be going to the Flora and Fauna territories for another day.” I pouted and she cupped my cheeks, her face went near mine- “... Neo, I care about you, you know that.” her expression was serious and her gaze conveyed that she meant everything that was coming out of her mouth, “i-if you die I'm gonna take my own life as well,” she said, “I live to serve you, and you alone.”

 

“Zath- I-” looked away, “-I'm sorry. Okay.” I returned her hug, “I really am.”

 

“Promise me you won't do that again,” she said.

 

“... I promise,” I said.

 

“SEE!-” Zath and I flinched, “-I TOLD YOU THEY’D MAKE UP!”

 

The two of us turned to glare at the person who yelled- Byzanthine, - who shamelessly grinned before moving behind Charcoal, who herself had a sheepish smile, and right next to her is Pearl, Amber… Cobalt- and- of course, because why not, Topaz and Quartz. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, they definitely saw what Zath and I did just now as something different from how I saw it didn't they?

 

See- this is why I wanted the military grade gravity well in my room and not a public gym, it's because of this!

 

“Can I ask why you're all here?” I said coldly.

 

Cobalt raised both his hands, a placating smile on his face, “whoa- we didn't mean to catch you two being sweet!” He said as if that will help with anything, “you don't need to lower your voice like that-” he made a gesture of zipping his lips, “your secret is safe with me,” he winked.

 

GODDESS, I AM NOT GAY-

 

“Not-that-it-was-a-secret-to-begin-with-” Byzanthine coughed into her hand, “ah, sorry, I think a mosquito just went inside my throat just now,”

 

“Uhuh,” I retorted and chose to willingly ignore her social jab, “so, again, why are you all here?”

 

“Is it too much for your siblings to congratulate you for pulling off an extermination alone?” Pearl said with a small smile, she walked forward and found a nearby gym bench to sit on, “really, I didn't expect my sister to be this-” she grabbed a rolled up newspaper from Cobalt's pocket, she unfurled it and waved it around, the title of headline read, [Her Majesty Neophyte exterminates a monster horde with a forest's worth!], “- strong!”

 

I winced at the burning stares that the people around me- including Zath, the traitor! - were shooting me with, “... do you think it's bad that I kept it a secret for so long?” I said with a sheepish grin, “I swear I have a reason for it though!”

 

And there really is a reason for me keeping my strengths to myself, and that's because the Demon Lord's Prophet would be able to predict my future more better if I did, right now, it probably sees me as like, a very fast Pledge Bearer but nothing more, and that's because I didn't use any of my other Techniques so far- it was also why I only used two of my strongest Techniques, because if I used all of them, the Prophet would be able to see them in his fortune telling as well, and thus would be able to tell the Demon Lord about it.

 

“And I'm guessing that you won't tell us?” Charcoal said with a small smirk, “or are you just gonna say that “you're not strong,” or something like that?”

 

Topaz giggled at her words, “Maybe if we start smooching her she'd break and tell us!” I stared at her, and so did the rest of my siblings.

 

“Okay, who told her about that?” Amber asked with a cold tone and I shrugged. She eyed the culprit, “Topaz? Who told you about that?”

 

“... no one.” She said before darting away.

 

Amber tried to chase after her but stopped, she sighed, “I'm calling a sibling meeting between all of us,” I winced, okay, that's bad- “and also, Neophyte, congratulations,” she turned back and started walking away, presumably to hide her scowl from us or something, because she's polite like that, “- breakfast is also about to start and remember everyone, the meeting starts afterwards.”

 

“Ahaha…” Byzanthine laughed her worries off, “can I not attend it?”

 

“No.” Amber said with finality before leaving the gym.

 

“Did you do it Byzanthine?” I asked my sibling who shook her head, “Pearl?” Also a denial, “Cobalt?” A shake of his head was his reply, “... Charcoal?”

 

“What makes you think that?” She said, “I mean, what if it's you,” she pointed out, “you did let Topaz see you getting sweet with your maid, what if she starts to get curious and reads books about that sort of thing huh? What will you do then? Corrupting our little sister like that!”

 

She willingly ignored the skeptical stares that everyone else in the gym shot her.

 

“Punish all of you for peeping on me even though you all knew you had Topaz and Quartz with you,” I replied with narrowed eyes.

 

She hissed before clicking her tongue, “I swear I thought I got you,”

 

“Right.” I shook my head before facing my other younger sibling, “Quartz, don't get too curious, but if you do, make sure to talk to any of us about it okay? And we'll answer your questions.”

 

“O-okay!” He beamed, “u-uhm-” my eyes widened and I saw Charcoal smirk, mouthing the words ‘watch your words~~’ silently as Quartz found what he wanted to ask, “w-why was everyone squealing and making weird noises when they were watching you and miss Zathania hug each other?”

 

“Right~~” I sing-sang, “Why were you all squealing and I quote, making weird noises hm?~”

 

I sat right next to Pearl, “how about we start with you? Dear sister?”

 

“I-is this necessary?” She asked and the rest of my siblings tried to run away but a single glare from me stopped that from ever happening.

 

I nodded, ah, I guess showing a bit of my power does have benefits after all! “Oh, Pearl, dear sister of mine, of course it is!”

 

…

 

After that brief interrogation- that resulted in justified apologies, really, they should’ve called out to us instead of peeping. - I found my way out of the gym to wash myself and change into a new set of clothes, and so did Zath, which means that I had another temporary maid serving me in her absence, well, not that I didn’t like the arrangement, honestly, the girl is pretty friendly and even nice to talk to, so all in all, I didn’t care and even enjoyed it.

 

After I was done changing, I walked out and met Zath halfway through the dining hall and we both went there together, the guards on either side of the door greeted us with a nod before opening it for us and we both stepped into the lavish room with small smiles on our faces- to the left, a large table full of food is being prepared by the servants while my family is sitting on another table, alongside a few others which… were empty… wait- why is there a buffet? What the hell?

 

“Uh… what’s the occasion?” I asked as I neared our table, “I don’t remember being invited to anything like this?” Did I miss something yesterday after I returned home? But I was here for the entire day training! Wait- “is this for me?”

 

Igneous Sear Everlast nodded, “it is, dear daughter,” he smiled at me, “congratulations for being able to pull such an amazing achievement off, alone too,” he clapped slowly, “really, kids these days, I swear I remember the Pledge Bearers of my generation not being able to do what you did at that age, they were all calmly training,”

 

“... right,” I said with a quirked eyebrow, “I only did the right thing.”

 

The Queen smiled, “that you did, and you saved most of the Flora territory because of your actions,”

 

Right… the horde would’ve done more than just wipe out a small village, they would’ve spread across the entire Flora territory if I didn’t kill them all but… everyone else would’ve already evacuated by then and the army would’ve been dispatched but-

 

Zath’s hand clasped my own and I was back in reality once more, “you did good, no need to think of anything else,”

 

“Everyone would’ve evacuated though?” I pointed out anyway.

 

“So you’d want the villages across the territory to get wiped out then? What about the closest village? Do you want that to get destroyed? Do you want the people there to die?” Zath retorted and I obviously shook my head in response, “then what about a few soldiers dying against the monsters?” I shook my head again, “then you did good, Neo.”

 

“Thanks.” I smiled.

 

“Your seat isn’t here,” The King said when Zath and I made our way toward the chairs, “you can sit at the center of the room alongside your lover.”

 

“She’s not my-” I sighed and nodded, “thank you, father.”

 

I walked away from the table and found the “center of the room” and… “what the he-ck?” I said confusion while eyeing the one circle table that every other long table in the room is facing, it’s also the nearest in the buffet table- also, how did I not see this earlier when I was eyeing the buffet? - so there’s some clear benefit to sitting here but… Goddess, the design is just so… so- marriagey, with both the table and the two chairs on it being draped in this long, white fabric.

 

And did I mention that the chairs were right next to each other? Placed and positioned in the same manner as that of a newlywed’s seats?

 

“Uh…” I trailed off, “Zath isn’t this a bit too intimate?” I said to her, “I mean- our image is-”

 

“Our image doesn’t matter,” my maid waved me off before dragging me to one of the chairs, she placed me there before sitting right next to me, she grabbed my hand from underneath the table before giving me an encouraging smile, “but if you care about something as petty as image, then just ask, I’ll tell the maids under House Phagea to correct those rumors.”

 

“... you don’t need to,” I smiled at her, “but thanks.”

 

“I am only doing my job mistress,” Zath playfully replied with a smile of her own.

 

With the two of us now placed directly at the center of the room, all everyone needed to do is wait for the rest of the guests- how did they even manage to invite all of the houses in a single day? Did Dad- er, I mean the king, hire multiple coaches or something?

 

Eventually, everyone did come, starting with the major Families, first House Tornaria, then Tequi- oh and look, there’s Capscaria and her sister, I waved at them and they waved back, - after that came Phagea, then Nimbusegia, then Whirlia, and oddly enough (or maybe it's expected?) the last one to come is house Eruptia, most of them didn’t look my way as they entered the room and fair enough, Inferno did fuck things up between us. And I'm fine with this whole willful ignorance thing if they are.

 

After that the minor houses came and once again, the only one that I recognized are the Venomites, what with their distinguishing dark-red and purple robes as well as the prodigious daughter of their house’s Scion, Elise- who is also a game character.

 

When everyone got comfortable, King Igneous Sear Everlast stood up from his seat and walked to the center of the room, directly in front of us, and was given an amplifier for his voice- he cleared his throat to test if it works or not as well as to quiet anyone who’s still talking. When the room went silent, he started his speech, “today, I am proud to announce many things, and all of them connected to my wonderful and prodigious daughter, Princess Neophyte Astral Everlast.”

 

Everyone- unnecessarily, - clapped and faced me, giving out curt nods in acknowledgment and I tried to reply with a grateful smile, even if I think I didn't deserve any of this.

 

“The first of my announcements would be the alliance between the Everlast Royalty and House Phagea,” another wave of claps, this time feeling more fake than the last one and I felt offended in Zath's place. Bunch of assholes.

 

“It was solidified when the young Phagea heir became a Vassal of my daughter a few days ago, their oath of loyalty having been sworn under the light of the Goddess herself,” I smiled at Zath and she nodded at me, “the next would be Neophyte’s admission to Pledge Academy, a rather minor thing, I know, especially after her most recent accomplishment: Wiping out a monster horde with a comparable threat to a juvenile Omegafauna all by herself,” the cheers became loud and I felt my face heating up, “and speaking of juvenile Omegafaunas, Neophyte also made a Pact with an adolescent Dragon of extreme power, and I cannot be any more prouder for what she has done, both during the past few weeks or so-” wait, has it really only been a few weeks? “- as well as the past few years, she has been a great boon to this City and I can't be any more prouder as her father.” 

 

He sighed, “it is why I am proud to say that my Daughter’s status as a Redeemer is now void, pushing her up the ranks of the Redeemed and making her worthy to be a citizen of Everlast once more, and by extension, as Royalty, Neophyte can once again compete for the title of crown princess-” a lot of murmurs came out as The King said that, most of them saying that it’s not even a question that I would become the crown princess or something along those lines, which is absolute horseshit in my opinion, I don't think I even deserve to be a Redeemer, let alone a Crown Princess.

 

“- right as long as she accomplishes feats of the same caliber that pushed her out of the Redeemer status,”

 

I stayed silent, I don’t think I’m interested in becoming a crown princess but honestly?.. I don't think I have a choice, especially at the upcoming entrance ceremony of Pledge Academy and the plot of the game unfolding for the next few years or so.

 

And… I- I hate it- sure, just don't give me a choice, because clearly, I don't have choices, it's not like I can pick between saving humanity or earning the title of Crown Princess.

 

I calmed down when Zath held my hand, I relaxed and my fist unclenched. I leaned into her and whispered, “Thanks,”

 

“And with that out of the way, the party can officially start, you need not to walk to the buffet, just simply ring the bell on your table and a servant would come serve you, ask for anything that might interest you, I assure you that our chefs make the best quality food,”