The Former Hero Began To Be Re-Evaluated

2 – The Second Hero (1)

While leaving the Empire, I examined my belongings.

An old and worn-out sword, a little bread to eat, a few pieces of gold coins—this was my entire fortune.

“If I had known, I would have taken my share.”

I really lived without any greed… that was the only thought that came to mind.

In truth, the position of a hero is not anyone’s personal property, and if you want, you can fill your pockets as much as you like.

From starting with the cost of potions, equipment expenses, as well as compensation for requests, and the support funds from the nobles, etc.

There were plenty of places where money was coming in, and there was no one to oversee that money.

It could be said that it was really good conditions for embezzlement.

But I didn’t embezzle.

Even though I could have, I didn’t lay a finger on it.

“I was a fool to trust those guys. Sigh.”

The reason was not that I had no greed for money.

I just believed that the Empire guys would take care of my share on their own.

In the past, even if I didn’t bother with this and that, I believed that if I worked hard, things would be taken care of on their own.

That’s how hard I worked as a warrior, and I trusted the Empire.

If the Empire also had thoughts, they would think to give me the right amount of wealth at the right time.

Even without committing crimes like embezzlement, I had confidence.

Any normal person would naturally believe that they would take care of everything for me.

“Oh well. Trying to get angry again.”

But this was the result. To be banished even though I worked so hard.

Looking at my empty wallet, I felt my heart empty as well.

Should I just go back to the palace right now and demand everything? If I just made up my mind, I could definitely do it.

Even though it was a somewhat frustrating moment, I decided not to do that.

Because regardless, the work I was about to do was just farming in the countryside from now on. Naturally, I didn’t need money for that, and even if I needed money, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Although I was deprived of the position of a warrior and banished from the Empire, my body was still that of a warrior.

If I just made up my mind, I could earn as much money as I wanted.

And I didn’t want to go back to the palace again just to receive a few pennies. There were various reasons, so I gave up on going back to the palace.

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“For now, let’s leave the Empire right away.”

Dirty and pathetic bastards.

I wanted to leave this place right now more than ever.

Just being in the same place as them was unbearable.

It’s not like money is important anyway, let’s just leave right away.

“Excuse me. Can I ask for directions? Which is the nearest town around here?”

“The nearest town from here would be Helena Village, are you going there?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

I approached the stable boy who was resting on the carriage and asked a question.

He responded to my question, but his expression was not very pleasant.

When I came out of the palace, returning the armor and weapons worn by the knights, my appearance now was no different from that of an adventurer wearing old clothes.

So, seeing my pitiful appearance, he couldn’t have had a good impression of me.

After all, the stable boy was just someone who earned money by taking customers.

Well, I understand his feelings because I know that my appearance is not satisfactory.

“Alright. Is this good enough?”

“Wow… I will serve you comfortably.”

I threw a gold coin to the stable boy.

As the stable boy’s eyes widened at the sight of the gold coin, his expression completely changed.

It was the moment when he went from seeing me as a mediocre adventurer to a customer he absolutely had to serve.

Money really is great after all.

The stable boy stood up from his seat and quickly told me to get on the carriage.

It seemed like he wanted to quickly take me on board in case I changed my mind.

His appearance wasn’t bad. I also wanted to leave this place quickly.

I got on the carriage and immediately the stable boy drove us out of the empire.

The horse began to run enthusiastically towards our next destination.

“But what were you doing, sir? Why are you leaving the empire?”

“Well, I have my reasons.”

After about thirty minutes of driving, it seemed like the stable boy was bored and started talking to me.

He asked what kind of person I was, but until yesterday, I was a knight.

I didn’t really have to hide it, but I decided not to say anything.

If I mention being a knight, it would lead to various questions and that would be bothersome.

If I just go along with it, the stable boy coincidentally brought up the topic of knights.

Huh… He brought up a story about me?

“I don’t know what your reasons are, but leaving this place doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Things have been quite ominous lately.”

“What do you mean by ominous?”

“Well, you know. This time, the hero, he couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord. It’s an event that has never happened in the history of our empire. Thanks to that, only the people of our empire are suffering.”

“Is that so-called hero you’re talking about right here in front of you?”

It was not a pleasant story, of course. Common sense dictated that there wouldn’t be a good story after being banished.

Nonetheless, it was irritating.

Listening to the innkeeper’s words, I felt a slight annoyance building up.

At first, it was somewhat surprising that the fact I couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord was spreading so quickly, known even to a mere innkeeper. But upon reflection, it wasn’t that surprising.

It was only natural that the Empire’s people had already spread all sorts of rumors about me before they kicked me out.

They certainly spread all kinds of rumors.

For the former hero who had worked so diligently, there was no sign of respect to be found. I had despised them from the beginning, but now the feeling was etched into my very bones.

“Ugh, why is this generation’s hero so weak…”

“I’m not weak!”

“Huh…?”

“It’s nothing.”

Hold back… Just endure it.

Realizing that there was no need to explicitly state my identity as a hero, I quickly turned my head.

The innkeeper was taken aback by my sudden outburst, but I dismissed it as nothing, and the innkeeper simply shrugged it off, moving on with the conversation.

It seemed that, in their eyes, the innkeeper didn’t think of me as a hero at all.

Well, that was the expected reaction. How could anyone logically think I was a hero? They probably thought they had misheard or something. Somehow, I managed to let it pass.

However, apart from that, the words I had just heard were truly unbearable, no matter when I heard them.

The word ‘weak’ was something I couldn’t tolerate no matter when.

I wasn’t objectively weak. This wasn’t just my own perception; I was genuinely on the strong side for a hero.

I was strong enough to take on most Demon Lords by myself. I had never heard anyone say that I was weak.

But the reason I couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord was because the opponent was as strong as I was.

The Demon Lord was the real deal. I had never encountered such a being, and it was so powerful that I could never face it again.

I was only able to hold my own because I was at my limit. If someone else had been the hero, they might have been defeated long ago, and the Empire might have been occupied.

“Can the Empire really handle that?”

But now I had been banished from the Empire. Honestly, at this moment, I couldn’t envision the Empire’s future at all.

With me gone, the only future I could foresee for the Empire was its destruction at the hands of the Demon Lord, regardless of what measures they took.

Will the Empire find a way to get out of this situation? Perhaps a hidden ace up their sleeve?

Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed them aside.

What’s the use of worrying about the future of the empire that I’ve already left behind?

It seems like my unnecessary pride has only grown since I started playing the hero.

I am no longer a hero, nor am I a person of the empire.

Let them handle their own affairs.

“Sir, we’ve arrived. This is the town of Helena.”

From now on, I would simply live my own life.

Whether the empire thrives or falls, prospers or perishes, I no longer had any stake in it.

No longer a hero, no longer obligated to solve the empire’s problems.

From now on, I would live anew in a new place.

# # #

Meanwhile, at that moment in the empire.

“Unfortunately, our former hero, Han-su, could not defeat the Demon King. He has tarnished the name of the past heroes.”

After the expulsion of Hero Lee Han-su, an uneasy atmosphere followed.

Exiling a hero was never an easy matter, which inevitably led to unrest.

Nevertheless, there was no time to dwell on emotions.

The Demon King was still alive, and the tasks for the hero remained.

Therefore, the empire promptly decided to select a new hero.

“However, the new hero will not be like the former. We will now select a new hero. Those who wish to become a hero, please step forward.”

Commander Jae-sang gathered all the knights and made the announcement.

They were going to select a new hero, offering a solemn opportunity for anyone willing to step up.

Understanding the weight of being able to become a hero, a brief silence fell among the knights.

However, that silence did not last long.

Soon, three individuals stepped forward.