O Brave Hero, Are You Telling Me to Die?

Author: Hama Bonba

In front of the deepest valley of the Demon Territory.

When the hero’s sword pierced the Demon King’s heart, the Demon King staggered back and fell to the bottom of the valley.

It’s done.

The death of the Demon King, bringer of enmity to all good living things.

However, the dark clouds in the sky have not dissipated, and the thick miasma still hangs in the air.

The Brave Hero mumbles as he looks down into the valley.

　

“It’s still impossible to end his life completely, isn’t it?”

　

As the hero said this, he took out a small crystal ball from his waist pouch and threw it to the bottom of the valley.

And then.

　

He slowly turns around and faces me.

　

“Ms. Support”

　

Ms. Support is the name that the Brave Hero calls me. My name is called and I take a step forward.

The Brave Hero continues.

　

“It’s your turn.”

　

I replied, not understanding his words.

　

“Yes. Erm… so what do I have to do?”

　

To be honest, I’m a humble support mage who doesn’t match the hero’s party. Unlike the Brave Hero, it’s not like I can do anything big.

At my reply, the Brave Hero’s brow furrowed, and sorrow appeared on his beautiful face.

　

“Leap to the bottom of the valley.”

“Heh?”

I made a pathetic voice. Did the Brave Hero request teleportation by magic? No, I can’t use such high-level spells.

As I remained silent, the Brave Hero forcefully said to me with a sad expression.

　

“For the sake of the country and the people, throw yourself into the bottom of the valley. By offering your soul, the Sealing Crystal will take effect, and the Demon King will be sealed forever without being resurrected.”

“Okay?”

――um, in other words.

　

You want me to die, right?

　

　

　　　　　■　　　　　■　　　　　■

　　　　　

There was a feeling of uneasiness from the beginning.

The time goes back to before the last expedition to defeat the Demon King.

The battle between the demons and the kingdom had reached its climax, and the assembled hero party left the Royal Capital to invade the Demon Territory.

Along the way, they stopped at a desolate Adventurer’s Guild in the frontiers.

I was a support mage who belonged to this small rural guild with the lowest D-rank.

　

Now,

　

Even though I heard that the Brave Hero had stopped by the guild I was familiar with, it had nothing to do with me as a low-ranked adventurer. I thought that this village was just a stopover for the hero party, and that they would leave soon.

However, the Brave Hero did not leave the village. On the contrary, the Brave Hero spent every day in the guild’s conference room.

　

One week passed, then two weeks.

　

Eventually, a rumor began to spread through the guild.

It said,

　

“The Brave Hero is looking for one last member.”

　

Hmm.

　

The members of the guild were nervous about the rumor.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking that it had nothing to do with me, so I kept my nose to the grindstone, but one day I was summoned by the guild master.

When I went to the guild’s reception room, I saw the master and the Brave Hero.

The master is usually a good, dependable person.

The master, with a blatantly bewildered expression, offered me a seat.

When the three of us sat down, the master opened his mouth.

　

“Rikka, erm… how to say it. Sir Arces here would like to have a word with you.”

　

Rikka is my name, and Arces is the name of the Brave Hero.

The Brave Hero said with a serious expression.

　

“From now on, once we get past the frontier, we will be in Demon Territory. The road to the Demon King Castle is long, and there is no place to stay on the way. So, we decided to bring more members with us”.

“Hah.”

“After carefully examining the various factors and conditions, we have decided that you are the best choice. I would like you to join us.”

――What was that?

Brave Hero, are you out of your mind?

　

When I remained silent, the master interjected.

　

“Um… Brave Hero. I’m sorry to say it, but Rikka is not that competent as an adventurer. As a guild, we can’t allow our members to do anything reckless.”

The master gently says, “It’s impossible for this person to go on a journey to subjugate the Demon King.” Good, master, I’m not confident either. Please persuade him.

But the Brave Hero shook his head.

　

“The additional members don’t need to be strong. We already have the strength……. Ms. Rikka, I heard that you are good at camp cooking, is that true?”

　

I was struck by these words from the Brave Hero.

　

――I see.

You want someone to take care of the daily needs?

Well, then.

　

When I agreed to join the party, the Brave Hero nodded happily and then said:

　

“Ms. Rikka, is there someone you like? Do you have a boyfriend at the moment?”

“No, I don’t.”

　

At that time, I wondered why he asked me that question so abruptly. However, I was so preoccupied with the sudden revelation of the plan to defeat the Demon King that I soon forgot about it.

　

　

　

Once the matter was settled, the rest came quickly.

The guild members who were free saw me off on the journey to defeat the demons.

I usually work solo, but when a large-scale demon slaying team was formed in the guild, I was there as a support mage, even though I was only a small part of the team, and cooked their meals, so I have many acquaintances.

　

Everyone looked worried but encouraged me.

　

　

　　　　　■　　　　　■　　　　　■

　　　　　

　　　　　

After that, we arrived at the Demon territory and proceeded to the Demon King’s Castle.

　

The members of the hero party were as follows.

First, the Brave Hero Arces.

The others are Baren the warrior, Saint Franna, and Naven the Sorcerer. They are a man, a woman, and a girl.

　

Mr. Baren, the Warrior, is a crude but good-natured man. He must be about five years older than me.

He was the one who was most pleased about my joining the party.

　

“The other members are all such big shots.”

　

That is the reason.

As I recall, the Brave Hero was a nobleman. The Saint holds a high position in the Church that contends for the first and second place. Naven, the Sorcerer, is highly respected in the Magic Society for her outstanding abilities.

In that respect, I am an adventurer just like him. So I feel like we were both complaining about the guild and talking about trivial things on our way to defeat the Demon King.

It seems that he wants to dig up hot springs with the reward for defeating the Demon King, and create a hot spring town in a remote region.

He must be a gambler.

　

　

Saint Franna is truly a saint.

She has a pretty face and a gentle personality. Her Holy Magic is perfect, and she’ll properly cast recovery spells even on a mistake-prone mopey mook like me.

She is usually smiling, but after entering the Demon Territory, she has whined only once.

“I want to eat something sweet, I want to eat sweets.”

　

She kept saying that time and time again, so I secretly made pudding with lots of precious sugar.

　

I didn’t have a strainer, and I was sorry that the pudding was so dull, but the Holy Saint was very pleased.

I could see her smile as she took a bite of the pudding with a spoon in her hand!

But on the other hand, I felt that her usual smile was a fake one.

I’ve heard that the power struggle in the church is tough, and the Holy Saint has to wear a smiling mask all the time.

Church officials, don’t put unnecessary mental strain on the Holy Saint.

　

　

Ms. Naven, the Sorcerer, is a true cannon.

The basic tactic of the hero party’s battles is for the hero and the warrior to draw enemies in front of them to buy time for Naven to chant, who then uses the large-scale magic spells that they have finished casting.

This is the pattern for most enemies, except for those that can only be defeated with the divine power possessed by heroes and saints.

　

She is cool, calm, and clear-headed.

A full-fledged intellectual with the look of a cool beauty despite her round glasses.

She usually doesn’t talk much, but when asked about magic, she goes on and on like water on a standboard. She’s a so-called magic nut.

　

She seems perfect, but there are also parts that are clumsy.

She often freezes when she starts thinking about something. Mostly when she comes up with a new magic theory, but when that happens, she can’t see what’s going on around her, so I often pull on her sleeves.

She doesn’t come back to her senses even if you shout at her, you know.

　

　

Arces the Brave Hero is strict with himself.

He wakes up first thing in the morning to swing his sword, a perfectionist who is talented but still spares no effort.

A generous person who does not hesitate to do tiresome things like camping.

He often preached the spirit of self-sacrifice to me.

At that time, even if I, the weakest of the hero party, were to die on the journey to defeat the Demon King,

　

“It will not be in vain. Don’t regret it.”

　

I thought he was talking to me with such kindness.

　

　

By the way, the fact that the Brave Hero calls me “Ms. Support” isn’t limited to the Hero.

In the Demon Territory, there is a nasty monster called Copyman, which copies your appearance if it knows your name. As a countermeasure, the hero party decided to call each other by their occupational names in the Demon Territory.

　

“Hero”, “Warrior”, “Saint”, “Sorcerer”, and me, “Support”.

　　　　　■　　　　　■　　　　　■

　　　　　

The scene returns to the beginning.

　

　

The Brave Hero is still looking at me with the valley behind him.

Of course, I don’t know what to say.

And then

　

“I didn’t hear anything about that.”

　

I heard a deep, hellish voice from behind me.

It was Mr. Warrior.

Usually, it is the Brave Hero who talks to intelligent enemies, so this is the first time I have heard Mr. Warrior’s angry voice.

I was overwhelmed by the terrible voice, which was different from the one I heard during our silly conversation, and I became even more immobilized.

However, the Brave Hero is unfazed by Mr. Warrior’s voice.

　

“This is a bitter decision for me as well. That’s why I didn’t tell you guys.”

　

Furrowing his eyebrows, he continues with a pained expression.

　

“We may have to face another unknown enemy, so I, Warrior, Saint, and Sorcerer will be indispensable in the future.”

I place a hand on my chest and clench my fists.

――that’s true.

I don’t want to hear it. Beyond that.

　

The alienation I felt when I interacted with other members of the guild.

Anyway, I’m not like them, I’m not powerful enough. And I’m about to be confronted with that fact…

　

But my stagnant dark thoughts are interrupted by the trembling voice of the Holy Saint.

　

“Such a … oh dear God. The Demon King was indeed defeated. At the bottom of the valley, he is again…”

　

As the Holy Saint pointed, the Brave Hero quickly turned around.

　

“What? How can he be revived so quickly?”

The Brave Hero leaned over the edge of the valley and looked down into the valley.

Mr. Warrior was also running towards him.

　

Or so it seemed.

　

However, Mr. Warrior gained momentum and ran behind the Brave Hero, and against his back.

He kicked.

　

“Wait.”

　

I can’t help but yell.

　

The Brave Hero, his legs were lifted off the ground by the kick, looked back at me for a moment.

On his face was written “Why me?”.

　

After that, the Brave Hero fell to the bottom of the valley.

　

After a while, a gentle, intelligible “fuwah” sound echoed in the area, and dark clouds parted and rays of light poured down. The drifting miasma was rapidly absorbed into the bottom of the valley.

　

It lasted about a minute.

　

The devastated land remained as it was, but after the surrounding area was transformed into a clean place, Mr. Warrior, who had turned his body toward the valley floor, looked back at us.

　

“Well, what’s done is done.”

Mr. Warrior’s mouth was slightly twisted, but his rusty expression didn’t match his words.

There was a slight pause, and someone behind me muttered.

　

“I guess so.”

It was Ms. Sorcerer.

When I turned around, Ms. Sorcerer was holding her glasses as she continued.

　

“My apologies, the Hero suddenly said something strange, so I got stuck in a thought loop…… what was that behavior? Was the Hero’s mind taken over by the Demon King? Or is it of his own will?”

“His own will. It must have been premeditated too.”

Mr. Warrior answered Ms. Sorcerer’s question.

I couldn’t even comprehend the sudden events.

Mr. Warrior continues.

　

“The Hero was having trouble choosing our last member in the Frontier Guild. I wondered why, so I asked the guild master who was helping to select the members. He told me that the most important requirement for the members that the Hero was looking for was that they had no relatives.”

I lost my parents at a young age and have no siblings.

――Ah,

The words of Mr. Warrior reminded me of something.

　

“Speaking of which, before we left, I was asked if I had a boyfriend.”

Was that a final confirmation?

Ms. Sorcerer let out a sigh at my confession.

　

“…… isn’t that pitch black. So, the reason why he was persistently preaching self-sacrifice to Ms. Support was to lighten his own mental burden a little.”

Ms. Sorcerer closes her mouth, adding as she felt nauseous.

　

―― I see, if I had accepted it and sacrificed myself, the Brave Hero would have nothing to worry about…

　

I shudder at the thought.

I wonder what the Brave Hero felt when he talked to me on that journey.

　

As I was caught up in an unanswerable thought, a voice came from behind me.

“If you had consulted us beforehand, I would have offered myself.”

It was the Holy Saint.

　

――huh, the Holy Saint is truly a saint.

　

When I turned to the Holy Saint, she had already turned her back to me.

　

“There’s no point in staying here. Let’s go home.”

　

I turned around and started walking.

　

When I saw the Holy Saint walking away, I felt my heart tighten.

　

――Come to think of it, the Brave Hero and the Holy Saint.

　

The back view of the Holy Saint as the distance becomes smaller.

Ms. Sorcerer calls out to me as I continue to watch with unbearable feelings.

I ask.

　

“Uh… Holy Saint and the Brave Hero were in love, weren’t they?”

　

At my question, Ms. Sorcerer frowned and shook her head.

“No, I don’t think so, because we’re a hastily built party just to defeat the Demon King.”

　

Great surprise showed on my face.

　

“Eh, but the Brave Hero said that once the journey was over, he was destined to marry the Holy Saint. So I thought that’s why the Holy Saint was sad.”

When I explained the reason, Ms. Sorcerer denied it while flailing her hands in front of her face.

　

“Sad? No, nothing like that. After all, think about it.”

　

The sorcerer sighs and continues.

　

“From the position the Saint was in at the time, she couldn’t possibly see the bottom of the valley.”

　

Mr. Warrior, who had caught up with Ms. Sorcerer, began to speak.

　

“After her words, the Saint gave me a hand sign telling me to drop the Hero into the bottom of the valley.”

――Eh?

　

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH!

　

　

　　　　　■　　　　　■　　　　　■

　　　　　

When we returned from the Demon Territory, the feat of subjugating the Demon King was complete, and everyone celebrated.

　

I declined the triumphant return, but I was abducted to the Royal Capital and received a reward from the King.

Of course, it was a reward worthy of a D-rank adventurer, but he gave it quite a bit of color, perhaps because the Brave Hero was missing and there was money to spare.

　

Afterwards, we attended the celebration party.

I was forced to sit down because there were already four custom-made seats.

During the party, the Holy Saint kept a sad expression on her face and held the portrait of the Brave Hero in front of her all the time.

　

“If I do it this way, everyone will misunderstand.”

　

So it was.

In fact, many of the people who came to the party saw her as a grieving Saint who had lost her lover, the Brave Hero. Even I saw her that way with my own eyes.

According to the Holy Saint, her popularity among the public is directly linked to her power within the Church.

　

After that, there was an interview survey about the subjugation of the Demon King.

　

Mr. Warrior and Ms. Sorcerer agreed to modify the Hero’s behavior. They testified that the Brave Hero had sacrificed himself.

In order not to break her oath to God to not tell a lie, the Holy Saint sobbed and cried continuously whenever the Brave Hero was mentioned, and she escaped by creating a situation where no one could talk to the heartbroken Saint.

　

―― Hmm, they’re all actors, aren’t they?

　

　

　

And.

　

Two months after the journey to defeat the Demon King, Mr. Warrior contacted me.

It seems that he dug up the hot springs like he wanted.

That’s a lucky break!

　

Mr. Warrior will build a hot spring town and become its representative, so he invited me to cooperate.

　

“Ms. Support, you’re good at cooking, why don’t you do work as an innkeeper?”

　

He said.

　

Mr. Warrior said he wanted to build a town where retired adventurers could live.

Originally, I started out as an adventurer because I had no relatives or resources to rely on, but I was keenly aware of my lack of aptitude, so I decided to accept Mr. Warrior’s invitation.

With the reward for defeating the Demon King and the loan from Mr. Warrior, I opened an inn.

Since the hot springs sprang up near the frontier village where I used to live, guild members from my old home often came to visit.

　

The Holy Saint and Ms. Sorcerer also occasionally come here to rest their bones.

On such occasions, Mr. Warrior and I are usually there to listen to their complaints.

Both of them hold important positions.

　

“Even though we are paid a lot of money, we are so busy that we don’t have time to spend it.”

　

That’s how it is.

It must be hard.

　

Compared to that, life in a hot spring resort is a leisurely affair.

　

Anyway.

Despite all that happened on that journey, I’m happy now.

The End